Underworld Player

How can you be so sure that I’m not one of ‘them’?” said Bai Zhi as he looked back at the legs motionlessly dangling over the chair.

“Well, I have a passive skill—Spirit Sense.”

Perhaps aware of the importance of making an ally in this situation, Lin He quite readily revealed his Player handle, as well as the details about his passive skill.

[ Salted Fish**: Level 9 ]

[ Skill Name: Spirit Sense ]

[ Type: Passive ]

[ Rank: Rare ]

[ Effect: Increases Perception by 2 points, grants some ability to detect hidden danger, sense falsehood and identify illusions ]

[ SE Consumption: None ]

[ Requirements: Perception of 12 or above ]

[ Note: “Match the frequency of the reality you want and you cannot help but get that reality.” – Einstein, probably ]

“Level 9…” said Bai Zhi as he narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
A moment later, he decided to share his handle and level as well.

[ Black&White: Level 4 ]

After he revealed his Player information, Bai Zhi saw Lin He visibly sigh in relief.

“I’m glad we met.
When it comes to facing down the supernatural, there’s safety in numbers.
Well, any ideas how we’re going to handle this?”

Discretion was always the better part of valor when encountering a supernatural entity for the first time.
Those who would rush in gun blazing tended to go the way of the dodo, so in this, Lin He clearly showed the wisdom of experience.

“Simple.
We don’t make the first move, be still that we may adapt to change.^” said Bai Zhi, glancing at the increasingly unfamiliar landscape passing by his window.

Turning to look at Lin He, he said, “The doors and windows are all sealed off, while other means of leaving the bus have also been disabled.
It’s not like we’d be able to jump off the bus safely anyway, so all we need to do is sit tight and wait…
By the way, can your skill detect anything weird about the other passengers?”

Lin He shook his head.
“All I know is I get bad vibes from the spot next to the old woman, but good vibes at the back of the bus.
There’s only so much this skill can do.

Bai Zhi gazed out of the window.
The scenery was getting more desolate the further along the bus travelled, while the sky seemed to get gloomier by the minute.
Clearly, the bus was shuttling them toward a strange, uncharted location.

Lin He seemed to arrive at a similar conclusion as he watched the passing scenery from his side of the bus, but he pulled a long face that only grew longer the longer he stared.

“…Are we just going to twiddle our thumbs? I have a feeling that the longer we wait, the more deadly it’s going to get in here.”

“Just until the bus stops,” said Bai Zhi casually.
“Buses gotta stop sometime.”

The darkening sky loomed over a landscape that was rapidly transforming into something eerie.
The clouds took on increasingly grotesque formations as the trees themselves twisted into unnatural shapes, bizarrely resembling tortured human figures.

The way things were going, even if they successfully got off the bus, returning to the normal world seemed impossible.

The both of them had been keeping an eye on the mysterious pair of legs that had appeared out of nowhere, just in case something more unusual happened, but to their relief, nothing new had appeared since the disembodied legs.

However, something was rapidly changing inside the perfectly sealed vehicle.

The other passengers had finally wised up to the strange goings-on outside their windows.