Chapter 1 The People Are Here

"Alright, it looks like everyone's here." The strong man naturally became the leader of the group. "The mission is about to start, everyone get ready."

As if responding to the strong man's words, a light gradually appeared in the distance.

As the light grew closer, two beams pierced through the darkness.

A brand-new, luxurious bus slowly pulled up to the platform.

"Speak less, observe more, make sure it's safe before you do anything, and try not to act alone." While the bus door was about to open, the strong man took the time to lower his voice and give a few more instructions.

As soon as he finished speaking, the door opened.

A young man jumped down from it.

He had a buzz cut, a blue sweatshirt, and washed-out jeans, and looked to be in his early twenties.

His mouth moved as if he was chewing gum.

"Sorry for the wait, everyone. The weather caused some delays, my apologies." As soon as the young man opened his mouth, he gave everyone a surprise – it was actually a woman.

The woman introduced herself, "I'm honored to be your guide on this trip. My name is Zheng, you can call me Xiao Zheng, or Guide Zheng, either is fine."

"Guide Zheng," someone responded.

Everyone tacitly avoided calling her Xiao Zheng.

"Alright, everyone, please get on the bus," Guide Zheng said politely. "The weather is bad and the roads are rough, let's hurry."

Everyone boarded the bus in order from left to right, first the strong man, then the woman with a mole on her lip, the male clerk, the balding middle-aged man, Jiang Cheng, the nimble fatty, and finally the pure girl.

Only after getting on the bus did they realize that there were already other passengers.

A couple sat in the back left, the girl was reading a magazine, and her boyfriend was wearing an eye mask and headphones, leaning against the window to rest.

There was also a middle-aged woman with a large boy sitting in the first row of seats behind the driver.

They were probably mother and son, but the boy was perhaps ill, in low spirits, and his eyes were unfocused. As Jiang Cheng passed by, he noticed that the boy's fingers were wrapped in bandages.

After Guide Zheng got on the bus, she told everyone to find a seat. Then the door closed, and she sat to the right of the driver.

The strong man sat behind the mother and son, while the woman with a mole on her lip sat behind Guide Zheng.

Jiang Cheng chose a seat in the second row behind the couple. As soon as he sat down, a huge body leaned over. "Brother, let's sit together!"

Jiang Cheng looked up and, sure enough, it was the nimble fatty. He said, "Okay, but I don't like sitting on the inside."

"It's okay, I can squeeze in."

Half a minute later, the fatty managed to squeeze in, but the remaining part still took up some of Jiang Cheng's space, forcing him to move outward.

The male clerk tried several times to share a seat with others, but was met with cold shoulders. In the end, the pure girl let him sit next to her.

The middle-aged man sat alone in the last row. Jiang Cheng glanced back at him and noticed that his face was so gloomy that water could drip from it.

"Brother, can you tell me what's going on here?" The fatty leaned over and asked in a low voice, "I fell asleep and ended up here."

Jiang Cheng told the fatty the information he had gotten from the strong man, embellishing it a bit. The latter almost burst into tears. "If you die here, your whole family will die upside down, bleeding out?"

"That's right."

"Then why aren't you more scared?"

Jiang Cheng turned his head and said in a very serious tone, "Because I'm an orphan."

The journey was calm, so calm that the male clerk thought it might continue like that, but the sudden sound of brakes shattered all the beautiful dreams.

"Bang!"

The huge inertia, along with broken glass shards, swept through the entire carriage like a storm.

The bus, hit something.

The male clerk shrank into the aisle between the two rows of seats, blocking everyone's way out, his mouth open as if he was about to scream. In the end, the strong man dragged him out of the carriage and slapped him twice.

"If you don't want to die, shut your mouth!" he threatened fiercely.

The male clerk huddled on the ground, covered in dirt, and finally got up after a while, hiding at the back of the group.

Indeed.

The bus, hit a tree.

The driver got out to check and found that heavy rain had caused a collapse on one side of the road, changing the vehicle's normal trajectory, and after losing balance, it crashed into a tree on the side of the road.

Fortunately, no one was seriously injured, most were scratched by broken glass.

But the bus was out of commission. This place...

Jiang Cheng looked around. It could be said that it was neither a village nor a store. There was only a straight road leading to an unknown direction.

The rain, although lighter, was still falling.

"Passengers, I'm really sorry." Guide Zheng came over, wringing her hands, with specks of blood on her arms. "It looks like today's trip is a wash."

It had only been a few hours since they first met, and she had already apologized twice, but everyone knew that neither time was she sincere.

According to the strong man, she was just an NPC to advance the plot.

"How about this, I know there's a villa in that forest over there, you can go there to take shelter from the rain first, and when we find a car, we'll come back and pick you up." Guide Zheng pointed to the forest not far away.

Even a newcomer like Jiang Cheng felt that this was not a good choice, but the strong man and others agreed and then turned to walk into the forest.

The real mission… was here!

The originally relaxed atmosphere changed.

"Wait!" Guide Zheng stopped them, then ran back to the bus to get a few umbrellas. "Don't get wet."

"Thanks."

Walking on the muddy road, one might fall if they weren't careful. After about half an hour, a three-story villa finally appeared in front of them.

The villa was hidden by layers of dense forest, making it extremely difficult to spot unless one got very close.

"Can people live here?" the pure girl said softly.

The dilapidation of the villa was obvious. It was estimated that no one had taken care of it for at least 5 years, and the front was covered with layers of fallen leaves.

"If you don't want to live here, you can stay outside," the strong man said without turning his head, then walked towards the villa, holding an umbrella.

Jiang Cheng looked at the strong man's back. The strong man's mood seemed to be getting worse. In fact, everyone could hear that the pure girl was just complaining.

But Jiang Cheng smelled fear in their complaints and dissatisfaction.

After everyone else followed, the fatty, who was sharing an umbrella with Jiang Cheng, urged, "What are you looking at, big brother? Hurry up."

"Yeah."

No one answered the door. The strong man tried to push it, but unexpectedly, the thick wooden door was pushed open a crack.

The door, was unlocked.

After the door was fully opened, the scene inside came into view.

The spacious living room was only slightly old, but it didn't feel too dilapidated. A thin layer of dust had accumulated on the floor and the rectangular dining table.