Chapter 588: Outsiders

    Gu Luoxin held his breath sharply, his eyes round and unblinking.

    He— He had no idea how to describe what kind of creature the bus officer was. The man had a towering stature, the top of his head nearly grazing the ceiling, and he was shirtless. Instead of a smooth expanse of skin, however, his upper body was entirely constructed from mechanical parts, his prosthetic limbs equipped with a complete and thorough network of tendons and muscles.

    It was something Gu Luoxin had ever seen in sci-fi movies, leaving him wide-eyed in a mixture of stupefaction and awe.

    But the surprise didn’t end there.

    For when the bus officer finally turned to face them, only then did Gu Luoxin take notice of the massive wings behind his back. Unlike Noir’s bone wings, the bus officer’s wings were covered in long, rich brown feathers, their tips brushing against the back of his knees. They folded quietly behind his back, yet their sheer presence was impossible to ignore.

    His posture was ramrod straight, his shoulders squared, gaze fixed ahead— he exuded the disciplined air of a straight-laced soldier, or maybe something even more detached... like an unfeeling machine.

    "Welcome, outsiders." Even his voice had an inorganic quality to it, sounding not fully human. "We will now be heading to House of Evil."

    As soon as he finished talking, the driverless bus began to smoothly make its way down the empty road.

    Gu Luoxin swallowed hard, his fists clenching nervously atop his lap. He had originally assumed the theme of House of Evil was going to be a horror or psychological thriller, but it seemed like... he had judged it too early? At least, the bus officer did not look like a ghost at all.

    "Before we proceed, allow me to share the background of our world with you." He casually pried open a panel on his chest and stuck his hand inside.

    Had he been a normal person, this scene would have looked downright creepy with flesh tearing and blood splattering in all directions. But because he was a cyborg, no bloody scene took place. He rummaged inside the cavern of his chest before pulling out what seemed like an asymmetrical rock.

    With a single tap of his finger, the rock lit up with an intricate network of sensory lights before forming a holographic projection, suspended in midair.

    As if on cue, the lights inside the bus dimmed, allowing the harsh glare of the projection to cast eerie shadows over the players’ faces. Gu Luoxin had no idea how the other players were faring right now, but he was certainly astonished— completely and thoroughly mindblown and bamboozled by this display of advanced technology.

    A wholly unfamiliar world was unfolding right before their eyes.

    "Since the beginning of the time, our world was divided into three great territories— the sky, the land, and the sea."

    As the bus officer spoke, the scenes on the holographic screen flashed by, displaying several breathtaking landscapes captured from the distant skies, the thriving land, and the bottom of the sea, each carrying their own charm. With a pinch of his fingers, the bus officer zoomed out before selecting the sky, and the image faithfully transitioned to reveal a majestic floating city high up among the clouds, its golden spires reaching the heavens. The piercing cry of a bird rang out.

    "Master of the Sky—Garuda."

    The scene flickered again, descending onto a vast metropolis of steel and glass.

    "Master of the Land— Human."

    Finally, the image plunged into the boundless sea where a silent, ethereal city loomed in its depths, illuminated by bioluminescent algae.

    "And Master of the Sea— Siren."

    "The three territories did not mix with each other on the surface, but secretly, there was a lot of tension undercurrent. The garudas looked down on humans and often traded them as slaves; the humans hunted the sirens for their precious scales and delicious flesh; the sirens coveted the garuda for their bones which could be distilled into a potion capable of temporarily turning their fishtails into legs. Each faction hold mutual hostility for each other, but at least, a fragile equilibrium was maintained thanks to the restraining food chains."

    "That was, until humans began to grow dissatisfied. They envied the garudas for their powerful wings and razor-sharp talons and how they dominated the skies. They were also jealous of the sirens’ beauty, their long lifespan and their mystical voice..."

    "Humans are ordinary, weak and greedy." The bus officer lowered his gaze and solemnly recounted, "For that, they embarked on the path of mechanical transformation, replacing flesh with steel to extend their lifespan. They built ships to conquer the seas and spacecraft to explore the skies. They are no longer content with their current territory. Now, they are aiming to seize the other two factions, becoming the ruler of the world."

    Gu Luoxin was completely absorbed in the worldbuilding, listening with bated breath.

    In an instant, he recognized the difference between the high-level Cycle and the others he had challenged before. The solid background, the rich characters, and not to mention the extensive scope... they were so complete and fleshed out. No wonder people speculated that high-level Cycles were a separate realm of their own!

    "Outsiders," the bus officer lifted his eyelids, assessing the players with a sharp, piercing gaze. "You are to enter our world, and therefore, there are some rules you must abide by."

    "Firstly, you must not allow the natives to discover your identity as an outsider."

    Gu Luoxin nodded in understanding. He had heard from Shen Nianzu before that high-level nightmare creatures were aware of the existence of players. They considered themselves as superior beings and despised these intruders who invaded their homeland. For that reason alone, it was of paramount importance to keep their identity a secret, or else the consequences would be unthinkable.

    The other players must have figured this out too, for they remained silent.

    Just take this as a roleplay, Gu Luoxin told himself with a nod, but then a random question popped up in his mind. Hold on, players were all humans so wouldn’t that place them in the land territory? They had neither fish tail nor wings; it shouldn’t be possible for them to cosplay as a garuda or a siren, right?

    Gu Luoxin knitted his brows in thought, when the bus officer continued,

    "Secondly, usage of skill cards and props will be blocked..."

    As soon as this rule was announced, the atmosphere in the bus instantly exploded. "What?!" Jiang Shun was so shocked that he shot up to his feet, his tone laced with agitation. "What do you mean by that?! We are not allowed to use our skill card and props?! Wouldn’t that leave us completely vulnerable?!"

    His barrage of questions had completely encapsulated everything the players wanted to ask, and everyone echoed the complaints.

    Amidst the sudden ruckus, only Gu Luoxin sat quietly, his face as pale as a sheet. He was too shaken to speak.

    No skill card or props... what difference was that to sending themselves to their deaths?!

    "... except two," the officer finished his sentence, giving Jiang Shun a sidelong glance that instantly froze the latter in place. "This is a new rule that has just been implemented after taking into consideration how the previous outsider nearly destroyed our world. You are allowed to choose two props, with rank Epic at most."

    When Gu Luoxin heard the first half of the sentence, the first person that popped into his mind was Grandpa Song, holding his sword of light and clashing with the Nightmare. But soon he couldn’t afford to be distracted anymore, for the officer had given them time to choose.

    The highest level prop allowed was Epic, which meant he couldn’t bring Toki along. No kingkong either.

    Gu Luoxin slumped into his seat, feeling a sense of dread settling on the pit of his stomach. Did it mean his only choice was life-saving props? It was fortunate that Shen Nianzu had the foresight to split the props evenly among them, stuffing them with as many props as possible in case of emergency. Too bad that most of the props were not usable now.

    With a heavy heart, Gu Luoxin opened his prop storage and picked a life-saving prop for his first slot.

    As for the second slot, he had intended to choose another life-saving prop as well – survival was the priority, after all – when he caught sight of their one and only healing prop stored in his inventory. Shen Nianzu had deliberately left it with him because he was the most worried about him.

    With the healing prop, they would have three chances to recover from serious injuries while the life-saving prop could only help them escape once.

    Did it need to be mentioned which one was better?

    Gu Luoxin decisively chose the healing prop.

    Perhaps to appease the disgruntled players, the bus officer added in a flat, indifferent tone, "In exchange, you will be equipped with the novice tutorial and protection package for the first eight hours. You won’t die and won’t sustain any injuries."

    That slightly eased the players’ tense expressions.

    Good, the first day was usually the time to probe the death conditions and familiarize themselves with the environment. If they could be invincible for eight hours, not needing to worry about death or injuries, it would make everything a whole lot easier.

    "Thirdly, there are no core NPC. Your task is simply to... survive for three days." For the first time ever, the officer’s deadpan expression gave way to a stiff and distorted smile.

    "Attributes will be distributed randomly. I wish you the worst of luck."

    Right as his last ominous words settled in the air, the bus entered the tunnel and everything went dark before Gu Luoxin’s eyes.