Chapter 25: The Nonexistent Station

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【2. Do not respond to any whispers from beneath your seat】

The threat of ghosts lies far beyond the physical realm; they are far more adept at psychological erosion. At this moment, [Ink-Stained Dust], [Blade Suppressing Mountains and Rivers], and [Cotton Candy and Cat] are deeply ensnared by the whispers emanating from beneath their seats. Even though their logic tells them this is merely a scare tactic, the terrifying nature of mental attacks is that they allow fear to breach the defenses of reason.

Bai Ming, however, remains completely unaffected. Relying on his extraordinary perception and hearing, he detected the presence of the whispers early on. He possesses the trait [Rebel]; 1 point of Willpower immunity is equivalent to 2 points, and his additional 4 points of Willpower immunity effectively function as 8 points. As long as the situation does not involve illusion-based attributes like those in Rule 4, [Rebel] can effectively counter "Charm"-type whispers.

【Rebel (C+): You despise authority, you defy the law, and you are born as a crack in the order. Gain a +4 morale bonus when making Willpower checks to resist "Charm," "Coercion," or "Domination" effects.】

"When the water ghost attacked, I used [Null] to immunize myself against Rule 1: 'You must have your own seat on the bus.' But this also means I lost the opportunity to gather intelligence by violating Rule 1."

Bai Ming watched these three players with amusement. Naturally, he would not take the opportunity to strike. Their childish, cynical taunts could not stir even the slightest ripple in his heart. More importantly, these players still held utility value—for instance, serving as his test subjects for unknown rules.

Bai Ming had now realized a fatal flaw in [Null]. In the Twilight Game, the penalties for violating rules form an interconnected chain of clues. For example, the penalty for Rule 1 in [The Last Bus] would reveal the attack patterns of the dark shadows in Rule 2. These penalties themselves constitute a puzzle of intelligence for the dungeon; they not only increase the success rate of clearing the level but also unearth deeper secrets. By using [Null] to exempt himself from penalties, Bai Ming would face the dilemma of missing information when acting alone. While he could handle low-level dungeons, he would likely hit a wall in high-level puzzle-solving dungeons. Although [Null] could guarantee he wouldn't be erased, failing to clear the level meant zero rewards and would jeopardize his survival probability in the next dungeon.

"Just like now, I have no way of determining if 'I was not attacked when the bus stopped' is due to the immunity effect of [Null], or if the ghosts simply do not attack passengers without seats." This distinction is crucial. [Null] only takes effect against explicit rules; if it is a behavioral pattern of the ghosts, it implies variables. Of course, explicit rules can also change, but compared to black-and-white regulations, those underlying "hidden rules" are clearly more uncertain.

This is the dual law of the Twilight Game: there are explicit rules, and there are even more hidden rules. Just like in the previous dungeon, [Campus Daily Life], the "behavioral patterns of teachers and students after attacking a student" was a classic hidden rule, never explicitly stated like "Students should get along with each other and not quarrel or fight."

Regardless, according to information from the [Player Forum], ghosts must follow specific patterns when killing. When the conditions for killing are not met, they only induce prey to violate rules. Just like the girl in the JK uniform who intimidated Bai Ming earlier, she was trying to bait him into attacking a passenger to gain counter-attack permission.

"Huff!" [Ink-Stained Dust], being the highest-level player with a Willpower attribute of 6, was the first to break free from the control of the whispers.

"You're awake? The surgery was successful."

Hearing Bai Ming’s mocking words, [Ink-Stained Dust] spoke with a grave tone: "It seems I underestimated you. The reason you were entangled by the water ghost was that you triggered [Spirit Sight]."

[Cotton Candy and Cat] also regained consciousness at this moment: "What is [Spirit Sight]? Brother Ink."

[Blade Suppressing Mountains and Rivers] coughed up some blood and said solemnly: "So-called [Spirit Sight] is seeing the deeper levels of reality due to excessively high perception. For instance, [Yin-Yang Eyes] are a form of [Spirit Sight]. Just as biological vision and hearing have a reception range, people with high perception have a broader range, making it easier for them to see ghosts."

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[Cotton Candy and Cat] utilized her intuition to capture a piece of information, shocked: "You mean this [Wu Tian] is very strong!"

[Ink-Stained Dust] sneered: "Constantly violating Rule 1 without any consequences, and being the first to wake up from the whispers—isn't that the definition of strong? However, he won't last long. We must find seats before the item's duration ends. [Wu Tian], go ahead and test if you can attack passengers while the bus is moving."

Bai Ming smiled slightly: "Why should I test it? That's a very dangerous thing to do."

[Ink-Stained Dust] said: "Don't you want to live? Don't tell me you can keep violating the rules on the paper forever."

Bai Ming countered: "Why not?"

[Blade Suppressing Mountains and Rivers] said: "[Wu Tian], we admit we looked down on you before, and we apologize. But in the Twilight Game, players are not necessarily hostile. We hope we can cooperate in the upcoming tasks."

*Who looked down on whom!* [Cotton Candy and Cat] felt resentful. It was impossible for her to bow to Bai Ming because the one she relied on, [Ink-Stained Dust], hadn't bowed. If she bowed first, she would be slapping [Ink-Stained Dust] in the face. Doing so would surely offend both parties. This was the experience she had accumulated over a long time; although she couldn't control her inner emotions, she still maintained appropriate reason in her actions. However, [Blade Suppressing Mountains and Rivers] was different; his dependency on [Ink-Stained Dust] was weak, and he could barely be considered an equal. When someone needed to lower their head, he was the perfect choice to speak up.

Bai Ming took out the steel rod he used in [Campus Daily Life] from his [Backpack]. The [Long Rod Type 1] was too long—a full two meters—and not suitable for the bus.

"What you said makes a lot of sense."

[Blade Suppressing Mountains and Rivers] praised: "As expected of an expert, even your weapon is stained with blood. You must have personally slain at least hundreds of ghosts."

Bai Ming replied: "Wrong, it was thousands."

Bai Ming wasn't lying. The students kept reviving whenever he hit them, so he had to kill them again to send them to the graveyard.

[Cotton Candy and Cat] muttered under her breath: "Bragging. Thousands? Why not say tens of thousands?"

[Blade Suppressing Mountains and Rivers] was also speechless, feeling that this independent player named [Wu Tian] really knew how to climb the pole.

[Ink-Stained Dust] said in a deep voice: "No! He really has killed thousands of ghosts. I can feel the wailing of thousands of spirits from that steel rod."

A level 6 player's Willpower attribute is 6. These 6 points added to perception, even if not quite as high as Bai Ming's +4 bonus to listening equivalent to 8 points of perception, were enough for [Ink-Stained Dust] to see many things.

[Ink-Stained Dust] said: "It seems I underestimated you after all. You have such strength at level 3; could you be a legendary S-rank rated player?"

S-rank rated players are truly rare; one might appear only among ten thousand players participating in the Twilight Game. And often, such people survive even after completing dozens of dungeon tasks. They are basically the top brass of major organizations.

Having this pointed out by [Ink-Stained Dust], [Blade Suppressing Mountains and Rivers] and [Cotton Candy and Cat] immediately felt regret. Especially [Cotton Candy and Cat], who directly thought she had chosen the wrong man. [Wu Tian] had been sitting right behind her when he first entered the dungeon. That meant [Wu Tian] was originally interested in her. That was certain; after all, this was a skin she had sculpted in a "man-slaying" style. Any man would be tempted. But now that the "big leg" that should have been hers had flown away, how could she not regret it? [Cotton Candy and Cat] also knew that she no longer had enough time to change her bed-partner; she could only continue to rely on [Ink-Stained Dust], which made her regret even more profound.

[Blade Suppressing Mountains and Rivers] sighed: "No wonder you chose to be an independent player. It's only natural for someone with such strength to pursue freedom."

Bai Ming sighed: "I find that you all have a deep misunderstanding of me. I am not an S-rank player at all." *If I weren't afraid of scaring you, I'd tell you I'm a G-rank rated player.*

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[Ink-Stained Dust] said: "Regardless of your newbie rating, your current strength is worthy of S-rank. As a high-level player, shouldn't you pursue a perfect clear? Why not cooperate to test the rules, such as what happens if you attack a passenger while the bus is in motion? It just so happens you also need a seat to avoid violating Rule 1."

Bai Ming didn't even lift his eyelids: "Not interested."

[Ink-Stained Dust]’s gaze flickered, and he gave a look to [Cotton Candy and Cat].

"Oh my~ Brother [Wu Tian]~" [Cotton Candy and Cat] instantly switched to a sweet, cloying tone, her eyes curving into crescents: "It was us who were blind and failed to recognize a master. You are a big person with a big heart; don't hold it against us~"

Although [Cotton Candy and Cat] felt a sense of humiliation in her heart, she didn't think this behavior was wrong. Or rather, this was her familiar territory: using men as stepping stones to climb higher and reach more sophisticated circles. But Bai Ming remained unmoved.

[Ink-Stained Dust] was silent for a moment: "I was offensive earlier; I hope you can forgive me."

Bai Ming scoffed: "Don't put on an emotional drama here; it's just trouble for others."

As soon as these words were spoken, the air froze abruptly. [Ink-Stained Dust]’s gaze turned completely cold: "It seems you've made up your mind?"

[Blade Suppressing Mountains and Rivers] said helplessly: "Why take it this far? We are all players..."

[Cotton Candy and Cat]’s smile vanished completely, and her words became more direct: "If you won't grab a seat, then just wait to be erased by the rules."

Half an hour later, Bai Ming still stood safely in the carriage. [Ink-Stained Dust] remained silent, his expression shifting between anger and confusion. [Blade Suppressing Mountains and Rivers] furrowed his brows, clearly unable to understand the situation. [Cotton Candy and Cat] was completely panicked; ignoring [Ink-Stained Dust]'s attitude, she threw flirtatious glances at Bai Ming repeatedly. Seeing his gaze sweep over, she immediately struck a pitiful, heart-wrenching pose.

Unfortunately, Bai Ming didn't care about her at all; his sweeping gaze was merely observing the three players.

*Hiss—!*

The bus stopped without warning. There were no station announcements, nor was there a platform.

【3. If the scenery outside the window suddenly stops moving, close your eyes immediately until the vehicle restarts.】

The players reacted extremely quickly, closing their eyes in unison. Bai Ming was no exception.

However—

*Creak—!*

The bus door opened at a non-station location.

【6. If the bus door opens at a non-station location, do not go out.】

*Thump, thump, thump—!*

Heavy footsteps came from the door, like wet soles stepping on sticky blood, step by step... slowly approaching Bai Ming, who kept his eyes tightly closed.