In Virtual Reality ☆ 1: The Eternal Bus (1/4)

—— A bus that loops forever.

—— A haunted house that accepts screams as payment to skip scenes.

—— A dark and shadowy university that demands the best behaviour

—— A lift that leads to hell and back.

—— A stairwell that doesn't let you leave until you reveal its history.

—— A library that was filled with death and secrets.

 

In the 23rd century, the struggle between life and death was being played out worldwide.

 

People blessed with “good luck” were forced to wander through mysterious dilemmas and pay attention to its rules.

 

 

“—— Don't disturb the driver while driving.”

“—— Don't push the lift button at random.”

“—— Don't pile up your rubbish in the stairwell.”

“—— Don't make a lot of noise in the library.”

 

 

But all changed when someone finally noticed that amid all the recent spirit shenanigans, a person in a pink hoodie consistently strung out.

 

 

**

 

 

Xu Jin Yi, who had a sizable collection of single-player horror-themed RPGs, was pleasantly delighted to discover that several of them had been upgraded to a VR version.

 

Using VR's default avatar with a pink hoodie, Xu Jin Yi relied on her bountiful experience to beat bosses, break puzzles, and tease NPCs.

 

There was only one obstacle she couldn't beat.

 

NPC: “…
I don't know your name yet, pink hoodie.”

 

Xu Jin Yi hesitantly entered her ID: “…
YourRealDaddy24K??”

 

[Blocked word detected.
Please re-enter ID]

 

 

 

Chapter 1: The Eternal Bus (1/4)

 

“— Riverside (江城Jiang-Cheng) Station is here! Passengers getting off the bus, please bring all your belongings and get off through the back door.”

 

At seven o'clock in the evening, the sun had long since set in the west, and the surroundings were quiet.
Only the voice announcement of the approaching bus rang in Wang Zhou Zhou (王周周) ears.

 

An orange and red bus parked next to the lush greenery.
The “25” was loosely plastered to the glass window, looking no different than a normal bus.
After a short pause, the front door opened with a bang.

 

The boy paused the video playing and boarded the bus with his head bowed while pulling out the code on his phone.

 

“— Code swiped successfully.”

 

Holding his phone, he found an empty seat.
As he sat down, he noticed that there were unexpectedly many people on the bus at this time of day.

 

He sat by the window in the seat second to last before the back door.

 

While the bus had not left, Wang Zhou Zhou casually surveyed the people inside.
In front of him, to his left, sat a hunched-over old man with his head bowed and a round black plastic bag at his feet.
Directly in front of Wang Zhou Zhou were two rows of seats facing each other, and in one of them, a man who appeared to be a social animal was reclining.
[TN: slang for an office worker like a corporate slave] But the other man's back was turned to Wang Zhou Zhou, so he could not see his face clearly.

 

And the rest…

 

Wang Zhou Zhou slightly tilted his head and looked sideways.

 

To his left, two men sat behind him in the last row of two seats.
For some reason, his intuition told him that the two men looked strangely at each other.
As if they wanted to beat each other up.
There were many empty seats on the bus, yet they were sitting close together.

 

Sensing his gaze, both of them turned their heads in unison.

 

The stern expression on their faces and the empty pupils of their eyes startled Wang Zhou Zhou.
He turned his head hastily and stopped looking.

 

Wang Zhou Zhou looked at the time: 19:10.
This was the terminus of this bus route, and the bus would start its journey in five minutes.

 

The bus was so silent that Wang Zhou Zhou was too embarrassed to play on his mobile phone.
He rummaged through his pockets and finally found his headphone cord, which had knotted into a tangled mess.

 

Wang Zhou Zhou: “…”

 

He resigned himself to his fate and began to untangle the ball of yarn.

 

“— Code swiped successfully.”

“— Code swiped successfully.”

 

Two more passengers boarded the bus.

 

Wang Zhou Zhou casually glanced up.

 

'Ah, it was them.'

 

The two girls got on the bus one after the other.
After looking around, they decided to sit in the double seat a row away from the old man.
Wang Zhou Zhou plugged in his headphones and nodded in greeting.

 

These girls went to the same driving school as Wang Zhou Zhou.
Tomorrow they'll do their second test together.
The instructor had shown them around the exam centre today, so they got off a little later than usual.

 

Luckily, they also caught the last bus.

 

The two girls were chatting quietly at the front, but the atmosphere around them was so quiet that at one point, the two little girls stopped talking and silently looked at their phones.

 

At the last minute, before the bus left…

 

“— Code swiped successfully.”

 

The last man was also from the same driving school.
He was gasping for air and looked all sweaty.

 

Wang Zhou Zhou remembered him.
He wasn't serious at all when they learned to drive.
The first time behind the wheel, he nearly knocked over the instructor directing them into the open field.

 

He was the last to board the bus and nearly missed it, perhaps because the instructor had him remain behind to scold him.

 

Wang Zhou Zhou doubted he'd pass tomorrow's test.

 

The man cursed under his breath and then sat down in front of the social animal.

 

Wang Zhou Zhou averted his gaze.

 

Finally, the bus drove off.

 

“Vehicle is starting; please sit still and hold on tight.
Next stop: Riverside Station.”

 

Wang Zhou Zhou's hand holding the headphones paused for a moment.

 

'Which station? Wasn't this the Riverside Station?'

 

Under the driver's professional skills, the bus smoothly departed from the stop and moved forward.

 

'…Maybe I heard it wrong.' Wang Zhou Zhou hesitated for a moment and withdrew his gaze.

 

***

 

The # 25 bus stopped right in front of Wang Zhou Zhou's front door, so it was convenient for him to get to and from school every day.

 

It only took him seven stops from the bus terminal to get home.
He wasn't familiar with other passengers, but occasionally he saw those two girls on the bus when he got off.

 

But today, something very st