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Chapter 3
Full Charm Points Attract Filth
Tang Yu wasn’t like other people.
He could see a game panel floating over everyone’s heads.
Each panel had six attributes, and the upper limit for every stat was 10.
It sounded ridiculous, but through the years Tang Yu had found the panels to be frighteningly accurate.
For example, Shen Junxing had three stats at 9 — which already made him the kind of “perfect kid” parents compared others to.
As for Tang Yu himself… all of his stats were 5 — even Intelligence.
Except for one: Charm = 10.
A textbook pretty face, empty head.
He’d never told anyone about it. Deep down, he suspected he was sick — that maybe this whole “everyone has visible data like NPCs in a game” thing was a delusion, and he was nothing more than a decorative side character in that imagined world.
But now… was his illness getting worse?
Otherwise, how could he possibly explain what he was seeing right now — a crowd of young people with “player panels” pressed around the bus door, jostling and shouting as if it were rush hour?
“Hurry up! Hurry up! Move it! The ones in front, get on already!”
Tang Yu blinked, looked around, and confirmed that he was the only passenger on the bus.
The seats were all empty. There was no reason to squeeze.
The first “player” practically stumbled aboard. Her very first act was to pick up a cigarette butt from the floor, shove it into her pocket without hesitation, then snatch up an empty soda can, and finally dash toward a crumpled snack bag like a scavenger on a quest.
Tang Yu: “?”
Wherever she went, she picked up everything she saw, like a diligent recycler exploring every inch of the bus.
Another player squeezed in right after her, tearing off his jacket, pants, shoes, and socks with frantic speed. When he was down to only his shorts, he muttered,
“Knew it. Can’t take these off…”
Tang Yu: “??”
A sudden bang exploded beside his ear.
He jerked his head around to see a fist pounding on the thick bus window — and above it, a glowing ID: [Yan Lang Never Misses an Update].
The man smashed the glass again and again, completely unfazed by pain. His blood-soaked knuckles looked as if they might punch through the glass at any moment and hit Tang Yu himself.
Tang Yu: “???”
Panicking, Tang Yu tried to slide away, but just as he shifted, more footsteps thudded up the stairs.
The pounding stopped; the crazy player turned and rushed toward the door.
Tang Yu pulled his cap low, pressed himself into the corner seat, and tried to make himself invisible.
“Damn, this game’s too realistic! The sensory immersion’s insane!”
“Whoa! You can actually pick up the fire extinguisher — and it sprays!”
“Hey, look! There’s an NPC here!”
Tang Yu froze. He could feel dozens of eyes turn toward him.
“Remember the immersive role-play rule,” a young woman’s voice reminded. “The system censors some words, but if you act too weird — like, say, not wearing clothes properly — it’ll make the NPCs uncomfortable.”
“Ha! You literally just called him an NPC.”
“This NPC’s stats are garbage… wait, his Charm’s maxed out?”
“Why’s he covered up like that? Won’t even let us see?”
“No way — I spent hours customizing my avatar and only got a 7 in Charm. I wanna see what a 10 looks like in-game.”
“Hello! Proposal!”
“No exclamation mark overhead — do we have to talk to trigger the quest? Hey, do you need help?”
“Hello! Robbery!”
Tang Yu kept his head down, overwhelmed and terrified, listening to their voices swirl around him.
“Why won’t this NPC talk? You think he’s a clue-type NPC?”
“What’s that mean?”
“The kind that dies at the start to drop a quest clue.”
“Sounds like cannon fodder. Isn’t it a waste for an NPC this good-looking to die?”
“Haha, maybe the system just thinks he’s perfect — like those dress-up games where the AI decides your ‘best outfit’ score.”
…
Tang Yu was reeling from the nonstop chatter when, suddenly, a bloody hand appeared right before his eyes, thick drops splattering onto the floor.
His pupils contracted.
He recognized that hand — the one that had just been pounding the glass.
Now, as it reached toward him, its torn skin barely clung to the shattered knuckles, some fingers hanging limp in a way that looked horribly wrong.
The man’s voice, however, was young and lively.
“Tch. Let me see the beauty’s face.”
Tang Yu froze. The NPC panels never showed gender — the guy must’ve mistaken him for a woman.
A drop of blood splashed onto Tang Yu’s pale hand.
He jerked, hiding it instinctively, but in the narrow seat there was nowhere left to hide.
The metallic reek of blood filled the air; that mangled hand reached for the strap of his mask—
“The driver’s dead.”
A cold, steady voice cut through the noise.
Most of the “players” turned toward it; the bloody hand stopped mid-air.
“Dead? Hurry up, move! I wanna see!”
“Holy crap, this dev team’s hardcore — no censor blur at all!”
“Damn, looks just like a dried corpse.”
“Dead like that and still driving? Guess it really is a horror game.”
“Can we hit it?”
“No health bar, no data panel — must be a non-attackable NPC.”
Amid the chatter, the same cold voice spoke again, calm and analytical:
“If the realism is truly one-hundred percent, then this driver died from blood loss. But oddly, there’s no blood anywhere on or around the body.”
…What?
The driver’s dead?
Tang Yu sat there, stunned. Even the bloody hand right beside him was forgotten.
A corpse driving the bus? What were they talking about? Were these people actually players… or had he finally gone insane?
His thoughts spun wildly, but he didn’t dare raise his head.
“The beginner quest just triggered!” someone read aloud. “Find the living driver! Ride the bus and reach the university! Difficulty: E. Reward: +1 Constitution. Unlimited revives! Though death count affects rating. Ugh, I kinda wanna die just to test it.”
“Anyone got an A3 driver’s license?”
“Relax, the tutorial’ll pop up once someone sits down.”
One eager player lunged for the driver’s seat — then gasped.
“Huh? The wheel won’t turn!”
“What the— it’s self-driving?!”
“Then why does it need a driver?”
“This corpse is glued to the seat — can’t pull him off!”
Shaking, Tang Yu looked up.
A cluster of curious players were crowding around the front, some poking at the ticket machine, others tugging the driver’s arms and clothes. But the body sat solid as stone, unmoving.
…Terrifying. Even if they weren’t players, they were absolute lunatics.
Suddenly someone shouted:
“Look! The fuel light’s on!”
The words had barely left his mouth when a player yanked the body free. It crashed to the floor with a heavy thud — and the head rolled clean off.
No blood spilled from the neck, only a dull, ashen gray.
The head rolled twice and stopped facing Tang Yu. Under the flickering ceiling light, its empty eyes stared straight at him.
A chill shot up his spine to the crown of his head.
Then, something even more horrifying —
A pair of female hands picked up the severed head.
It was the trash-picking girl from before. Hugging it to her chest, she sighed wistfully, “Ugh, inventory space is too small.”
Tang Yu sat stiffly in his seat, listening in numb disbelief.
“We’re almost out of fuel. Won’t make it far. Is there a gas station nearby?”
“Don’t worry, one’ll spawn soon — bet there’s a boss there too.”
Then came a voice Tang Yu recognized — the same energetic male voice that had been beside him moments ago.
“I’ve got a theory,” he said, like an excited streamer explaining to his audience. “This bus doesn’t need gasoline — it needs blood. Look at the window next to that NPC.”
Tang Yu’s head sank even lower; he wished he could fold himself in half.
“Earlier, my blood splattered on that glass. Now it’s gone.”
Gasps erupted around him — the others confirmed it. The window was spotless.
“Ever heard the urban legend of Bus 375?” the man continued. “A young guy boards the last bus one night. Halfway through, three weird people get on — long hair, long robes. Later, an old lady accuses him of stealing her money, drags him off the bus. Once they’re safe, she tells him: ‘Kid, I just saved your life. Those three weren’t human. When the wind blew, I saw under their robes — no legs.’”
Tang Yu’s breathing hitched. He stared at his pale hand.
“Next day, the driver and conductor disappear. Three days later, police find the missing bus a hundred kilometers away — inside, three rotting corpses. And in the gas tank…”
He paused for effect.
“…they found blood instead of gasoline.”
Tang Yu’s fingers twitched uncontrollably as he rubbed the unmarked back of his hand — the same hand that had been splattered earlier.
“Bro, stop. That story’s ancient.”
Then a new wave of shouts burst out.
“Wait! Look! Someone’s waving up ahead!”
“Not three people — just one! Looks like a janitor!”
“Those reflective stripes are blinding! I want that outfit skin!”
At the word janitor, Tang Yu stiffly lifted his head.
“Is that a monster? Why no red name?”
“Maybe it’s a transformation phase.”
