Groups of villagers, their eyes and faces filled with extreme fear and disgust, were scattered around. Ying Xia stood at a distance, watching them. In the crowd, a young boy covered his mouth and ran out.
He seemed terrified, stumbling as he ran, retching. After a while, he leaned against a flagpole, covering his mouth, and finally vomited.
After vomiting for a while, he looked up to find a handkerchief in front of him: “Xiao… Xiao Xia?”
“Take it.”
The crowd that had gathered around the corpse was driven away by the village chief and others, leaving the body exposed in broad daylight. Ren Qiu looked at it, forcing a smile uglier than crying.
“…You’re not in good health, why did you come to see this?” Ying Xia frowned at him, “Go back quickly.”
“I…” Ren Qiu bent his knees. The impact of the bloody scene, along with his weak body, made his vision darken. Ying Xia noticed everyone’s eyes and whispers directed their way, so he grabbed Ren Qiu’s arm without hesitation and said coldly, “Come with me.”
Ren Qiu obediently followed him, and the two arrived at a deserted alley. A black cat, initially rummaging through the trash, arched its back and hissed at them as if seeing something terrifying.
Ying Xia glanced coldly at the black cat, which stared back with golden pupils before running away.
“Ah Xia,” despite being brought here, Ren Qiu still heard the ubiquitous rumors. He looked at Ying Xia with difficulty: “Is what they say true? Did… did sister really do it?”
Ying Xia didn’t reply, turning his head away.
Ren Qiu stared at him persistently.
“That’s what everyone says,” Ying Xia said quietly after a while. He placed his hand on Ren Qiu’s shoulder and said solemnly, “Don’t think too much about it, these things have nothing to do with you, understand? Just live well…”
His hand was pushed away. Ren Qiu glared, his voice intense: “I don’t believe it, sister, how could she do such a thing… cough… she… she…”
“What’s the use of telling me this?!” Seeing Ren Qiu covering his throat and coughing incessantly, Ying Xia’s voice also became urgent, “Everyone says so, everyone thinks so, you…”
He finally softened his voice: “Just don’t worry about these things… I’ll protect you, whether it’s Ren Chun or not… I’ll protect you, you won’t be killed by anyone…”
However, Ren Qiu didn’t hear the last part of his softened words. His face suddenly turned red with anger from the insult to his sister.
“She was bullied while alive, and now she’s being talked about like this after death? Sister, she was so kind, so good… cough, cough… no, no…” Ren Qiu suddenly straightened up as if remembering something and ran towards the village entrance, “I need to go, I need to prove it to them…”
Ying Xia was momentarily stunned by his sudden action. After a while, he caught up and grabbed Ren Qiu’s hand: “What are you doing?”
Then, he saw a face full of tears.
“…I need to prove,” Ren Qiu murmured, “I need to prove it’s not my sister, it’s really not my sister… it’s not her, it’s not her, there’s another Fierce Ghost, using her name to cause trouble, my sister was a good person, she wouldn’t hurt anyone…”
Seeing Ren Qiu’s tears, Ying Xia finally calmed down.
“Cough, cough…” The emotional outburst seemed to have drained the last of the frail boy’s strength. His vision darkened, and he slid down the wall. Severe hypoxia and dizziness overwhelmed him, and he grabbed Ying Xia’s sleeve: “Ying Xia, I…”
“It’s okay.” He heard the other’s low voice, felt the gentle hand stroking his forehead, “Everything will be okay…”
“…Ying Xia, actually, I’m so scared…” After a while, he heard the boy in his arms whisper, “I’m really scared, those dead people, those ghosts, I don’t know what I’m afraid of, but I’m so scared… that ghost, it can’t be sister, right? If it’s sister… does she remember me? If Fierce Ghosts have no consciousness, will she… kill me like she killed them? Will I… die?”
Ying Xia didn’t speak.
After a moment of silence, Ren Qiu forced a smile: “…Sometimes, I feel like what I’m afraid of isn’t this, I feel like, I…”
His voice was muffled by a cold hand covering his mouth.
“Ren Qiu, don’t be afraid.” He heard Ying Xia’s low voice, “I’ll protect you, I’ll always protect you… you won’t be killed.”
As he spoke, Ying Xia hugged his shoulders.
“I’ll make sure you survive.”
He said with absolute certainty.
Lin Huai opened his eyes again, this time in a bumpy, extended van. Outside the windows were barren mountains, yellow sand, trees, and low roads.
After the teleportation began, he stared at Chu Tianshu, who was lunging towards him, and before he could react to being grabbed by the wrist, he was thrown into the system space like a discarded soda can. Before he could steady his swaying mind, a cold voice echoed in his head.
“Before entering the instance, you can purchase five randomly refreshed items. Would you like to refresh the store?”
…Wait, I can buy things again?
Lin Huai, who was just frowning, showed an innocent smile at this good news.
“The item store must have good things,” he said, “This isn’t like gacha, it’s absolutely fair and just, no company would be like Tencent, letting money go unearned…”
As for the budget concerns that ordinary people would consider, they were completely absent from his mind. Through excellent performance in the previous two missions, Lin Huai had already accumulated a considerable amount of game currency.
With the smile of a primary school student carrying a hundred yuan in pocket money, taking his crush to the school store, he opened the store, determined to buy everything.
Ten minutes later.
Lin Huai kicked the wall of the system space.
“System!!” he roared, “I f*** you—”
Before his foot could touch the wall, he was thrown out of the space like a melting ice cream.
As he was thrown out, his mind, previously filled with money, items, and curses, finally spared some space for an unexpected situation.
Come to think of it, when he was teleported into the system space, he seemed to see a flash of white light on Chu Tianshu[mfn]Sometimes its Chu Tian sometimes its Chu Tianshu… I don’t know what the author is doing…[/mfn]’s body…
Could he also…
‘But such a coincidence can’t happen in the world.’ He narrowed his eyes, ‘But if that person really came in…’
He curled one corner of his mouth.
“This just got more interesting.”
A kind smile bloomed on Lin Huai’s face. In the bumpy van, Ruan Tian, who had just woken up and was observing her teammates, couldn’t help but shrink back when she saw the eerie smile on the young man’s face next to her.
It seemed she was the first to wake up in this game.
What woke Ruan Tian was a suffocating feeling of being crushed. If she hadn’t opened her eyes to find herself in a van, she would have thought she was packed into a barracks bunk. After some observation, she realized it was an eight-seater van. The first row had two seats, one occupied by a driver in a baseball cap (presumably an NPC), and the other by a fat man sleeping with his head tilted. The second and third rows were bench seats, apparently meant for three people.
She was in the third row of the three-seater, but this barely third row had squeezed in four people.
She, a glamorous woman, and two men entangled together, seemingly determined to share a seat.
The nearly suffocating Ruan Tian: …
The two young men, one handsome, the other delicate. The handsome one had messy chestnut hair, a high nose bridge, and was sleeping with his mouth open, looking carefree. The delicate young man had smooth black hair, pale skin, and a furrowed brow, but for some reason, he was smiling eerily.
Ruan Tian: …
Though she was nearly suffocated, she shrunk towards the door, trying to escape the two entangled weirdos.
‘What’s wrong with the game?’ she complained in her heart, ‘Couldn’t they rent a bigger van…’
After her, the glamorous woman with curly hair next to her was also squeezed awake. The woman opened her eyes, looked around, and upon seeing the bizarre scene, her face, initially ready to curse, stiffened. She paused, then also squeezed towards Ruan Tian.
Ruan Tian: I’m so miserable.
After the van hit a bump, everyone in the car finally woke up from the intimate contact between their heads and the roof. Besides the four in the third row and the fat man in the first row, there were three men in the second row. The young man in the middle had a gentle demeanor, fair skin, and after rubbing his temples, he opened his somewhat dazed eyes.
Lin Huai also fully woke up from the sudden brake. As soon as he woke up, he felt the intense pressure on him.
He turned his head “…” to see Chu Tianshu, under the effect of the sudden brake, thrown onto him.
What was even more suffocating was—he actually—
Just rolled over, muttered, and fell back asleep?
And the two women sitting in the same row with him were looking at them with expressions of “look at those perverts,” using “= =” eyes.
This made Lin Huai, who had just decided to embark on the path of the lurking Red-robed Ghost, very uncomfortable. As he considered whether to quickly scratch the other and stage a car accident while no one was looking, the person lying on his lap finally woke up slowly.
Chu Tianshu opened his eyes and met Lin Huai’s kind smile.
“You’re awake?” Lin Huai asked softly.
“Uh… what? Where is this? How did I end up in a car?” Chu Tianshu jumped up from Lin Huai’s lap, and after hitting his head on the roof, he let out another scream, “I was just at home, how did I suddenly end up here… are you filming a show? Where’s the camera? Is this Dad, Where Are We Going or Back to the Field? Who are you? Why are you in the same car as me?”
He looked like a newbie suddenly strangled by fate, spouting the typical lines of an infinite flow cannon fodder.
Lin Huai: …
But there were people genuinely fooled by Chu Tianshu, or rather, everyone except Lin Huai, who was already in the know, was tricked. The college student in the second row sneered: “Another newbie?”
“Is this your first time in the game? Don’t worry.” The soft, stream-like voice came from the second row. It was the gentle young man: “Stay calm, we’ll explain everything to you after we get off.”
Chu Tianshu sobbed twice: “But I’m so scared, where is this? Deep in the mountains, I want to go back, I haven’t finished my summer homework…”
Lin Huai: …
Chu Tianshu continued to pretend to be a newbie, covering his face. He peeked through his fingers to observe Lin Huai’s expression.
Lin Huai still wore a spring-like smile. He leaned close to Chu Tianshu and whispered: “If you keep pretending to cry, I’ll kill you.”
Chu Tianshu: “Yingying—great minds think alike.”
“By the way, can the driver hear us?” Yan Chuchu glanced at the driver in the front row and whispered.
“Usually, before the game starts, the system gives players time to introduce themselves and sets up a sound barrier between players and NPCs.” Chu Tianshu said, “So even if you call the driver an idiot now, he won’t turn around and hit you…”
Lin Huai narrowed his eyes: “Didn’t you say you were a newbie?”
Chu Tianshu: “…”
Lin Huai: “See, you’re exposed.”
Chu Tianshu raised his hands under everyone’s gaze, acting innocent: “I read it in the newbie starter pack, didn’t you all get it?”
Yan Chuchu: “…I don’t remember getting anything like that when I first entered the game.”
Chu Tianshu: “Then you must not have paid, we got a newbie guide and a Zhao Yun for the first six yuan.”
Lin Huai: “…”
Seeing the lively atmosphere behind, the gentle man spoke first: “Since that’s the case, let’s take this opportunity to introduce ourselves. I’m Cheng Xin, a university teacher, mainly researching humanities.”
The cold man next to him adjusted his glasses: “I’m Zhang Mingge.”
He didn’t mention his profession, but Lin Huai felt uncomfortable upon seeing his face.
“Ji Nanquan.” The college student who had mocked Chu Tianshu earlier said proudly, “A veteran, just returned from studying in the US, got pulled into the game right after getting off the plane, sigh, UA Airlines’ first-class service is getting worse, couldn’t sleep the whole flight, didn’t even get to drink a double espresso after landing…”
“Brother Ji, you’re quite knowledgeable.” The glamorous woman casually interrupted his bragging, “I’m Yan Chuchu, an extra in Hengdian.”
The fat man in the first row said: “I’m Liao Guan, hehe, haven’t participated in many games, I’m a chef.”
Liao Guan spoke, stealing glances at Ruan Tian, clearly fond of the well-behaved girl.
When it was Lin Huai’s turn, he said: “Lu Xun said, fierce beasts walk alone, cattle and sheep move in herds. I’m Lin Huai, a decisive task executor, I hate dragging newbies.”
As he spoke, he stared at Chu Tianshu’s face, smiling meaningfully.
“I’m Chu Yangyang, a newbie who paid six yuan, please take care of me, especially the big brother surnamed Lin next to me, thank you, baa baa.” Chu Tianshu quickly said.
Lin Huai: …I’ve never seen such a shameless person.
After going around, it was finally the turn of the ordinary-looking Ruan Tian. She seemed very nervous, stammering twice, making Ji Nanquan show some impatience.
This made her even more nervous. Cheng Xin, seeing this, said gently: “Don’t be nervous, take your time.”
“I… I’m Ruan Tian.” She whispered, “This is my second game.”
After saying this, she looked up to see Cheng Xin’s encouraging smile, feeling warm inside.
Perhaps due to the system’s sound barrier, the man in the driver’s seat seemed completely unaffected by the commotion behind him. He wore headphones, humming a tune, holding the steering wheel as he sped along the bumpy dirt road. After the introductions, everyone was soon jostled into silence.
Halfway through, the car screeched to a halt. At that moment, a system prompt sounded in everyone’s ears:
“The sound barrier has been lifted, the game begins.”
After the prompt, everyone who had been dozing off assumed a docile posture. The driver, a middle-aged man in his forties, turned to the group and said: “Go north a bit further, and you’ll reach Jiang Village.”
He called everyone to get off, pulling out their bags from the trunk: “The villagers have been informed, when you enter the village, tell them you’re here for research, they’ll treat you well…”
Everyone nodded. Seeing this, the driver smiled again, curling his lips: “You players are quite obedient, not noisy, not crying, since you’re so well-behaved, I’ll give you a hint…”
As he spoke, he pulled out a crumpled cigarette box from his pocket and handed it to the group, then got back into the car. Cheng Xin and the others immediately huddled together to study the cigarette box. Lin Huai, standing aside, showed a thoughtful expression.
“What?” Chu Tianshu asked him, “What are you thinking?”
“Since I didn’t get any useful items…” Lin Huai muttered to himself, “Then create conditions to get a system-provided item.”
Chu Tianshu: “Huh?”
He watched as Lin Huai rubbed his knuckles and walked towards the driver: “I choose you…”
The van had already started its engine. The driver adjusted the rearview mirror, ready to hit the road, but just as he fastened his seatbelt, the door beside him let out a tearing wail.
Driver: …
He stared in shock at the door, which began to warp and twist under the force of the pull, then a hand reached in and pulled down the door lock.
The door—was forcibly opened.
Driver: …
‘Somehow I feel a bit panicked…’ The driver’s expression twisted, ‘But, I’m just an NPC…’
As he thought this, he saw the seemingly frail young man climb in from outside.
“Hey, driver,” the young man who opened the door looked at him with a friendly smile, “As the saying goes, see the Buddha to the west, why don’t you come into the village with us.”
As he spoke, he reached into the driver’s seat and firmly grabbed the driver’s hands.
His hands were cold, but strong.
The driver wasn’t sure whether to be shocked that the player had opened the door with his bare hands, or that the player could perform such a feat. He swallowed hard, feeling inferior under the other’s smile: “This… I’m just an NPC responsible for transporting you…”
Lin Huai: “Don’t be shy, come into the village with us.”
Driver: “I mean, I’m really just an NPC responsible for driving…”
Lin Huai: “When people die, there’ll be a hearse for you to drift in the village.”
Driver: “No, I mean…”
He was racking his brains trying to explain, then saw the other’s widening smile: “What gave you the illusion that I was consulting your opinion?”
Driver: …
His smile was so gentle, but the driver read a strong threat in it. The driver shouted: “What do you want to do to me? I’m a system NPC, you can’t do this to me…”
As he spoke, he heard a crisp sound. Lin Huai bent the steering wheel with one hand: “Do you want to come down with me alive, or dead?”
Driver: “…Wait a second, let me grab something.”
After being successfully dragged out of the car by Lin Huai, the driver looked on with a tearful face as Lin Huai rummaged around in the car, then asked him: “Can this car really not drive in?”
The driver said, “It’s true, the roads inside are all rough and hard to navigate.”
Lin Huai replied, “Oh, okay.”
Then, he dragged the driver by the hand and walked in front of the crowd. As they walked, he asked the driver, “What’s your name?”
The driver was almost in tears, “I’ve already told you, I’m really just a driving NPC, I don’t have a name…”
“Is that so…” Lin Huai stroked his chin, “Then you can take my surname, Lin. As the saying goes, ‘A wise man knows when to yield.’ You seem quite wise, so I’ll call you Lin Junjie.”
Author’s note: *Explanation of the censored reference:
“Chrysanthemum Wilted”: Lyrics from Jay Chou’s song, describing the pain caused by hemorrhoids from eating too much hotpot.
![You’re Causing Chaos Again [e-sports]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/1sMqC2JNjIep8Ov.jpg "You’re Causing Chaos Again [e-sports]")
