Volume One: Entering the City for the First Time Chapter Three: Prologue

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Watching as Xia Rong led Lu Yi and the other newcomers toward the bus, Ao Huang checked the time once more and asked Xia Rong in a low voice, "You’ve covered all the necessary introductions, haven’t you?"

Receiving Xia Rong’s affirmative reply, Ao Huang nodded heavily. "Let’s get on the bus." With that, several of the seasoned trial-takers boarded first.

Lu Yi lifted his foot to follow, but a sudden ringing filled his mind, followed by a flood of words appearing before his inner eye.

"Prologue," he murmured, wiping the thin sheen of sweat from his brow. Calm down, he told himself, it’s only the prologue—there shouldn’t be any danger. And if his deduction was correct, even the order of executioners hasn’t been set yet; there won’t be any real threats.

As he thought this, Lu Yi’s nerves gradually settled. He glanced at the others—some looked uneasy, their gazes fixed blankly as they likely read the script in their minds, while others appeared composed. Whether that calm came from confidence or ignorance, Lu Yi could not tell.

Thinking about confidence, Lu Yi’s gaze shifted to Fang Hao. He wanted to see what differences lay between himself and Fang Hao.

Yet what he saw surprised him—Fang Hao wasn’t reading his mental script at all. Instead, he rested his chin in one hand and stared at the bus door, his eyes slowly narrowing. Soon, a knowing smile played at Fang Hao’s lips.

As if sensing Lu Yi’s gaze, Fang Hao turned his head and locked eyes with him. Lu Yi froze for a moment, about to speak, but Fang Hao merely curled one side of his mouth in a careless smirk and turned away.

Seeing this, Lu Yi abandoned the idea of opening his mouth. Frowning, he looked toward the bus door. What on earth was Fang Hao watching? Wait—Lu Yi’s heart gave a jolt, and he hurriedly rifled through the prologue script in his mind. Nothing. There was nothing. How could that be?

Lu Yi couldn’t claim to remember every newcomer’s name and face, but he was familiar with most. The prologue did contain lines where these people interacted with the locals, but there were no lines for the seasoned trial-takers. What could explain this omission?

Though Lu Yi couldn’t find an answer, a faint premonition stirred in his heart—there was more to this than met the eye, and this trial for newcomers might be even more complicated than he’d imagined.

A dragging suitcase rumbled behind him, and at that moment, the cue for the prologue’s start sounded in his mind. Lu Yi clenched his fists, steeling himself for what was to come.

"Ningyu." Startled by the voice, Lu Yi saw a young man about his age waving as he ran over. Checking the script, Lu Yi looked toward Lu Ningyu, who, along with Li Xinran and a few other girls, was huddled with a boy, whispering and giggling—likely friends from the real world.

Double-checking the script, Lu Yi hurried forward to block the young man, his face darkening in annoyance. "Wang Gaoyi, what’s your business here?"

Lu Ningyu had to shift her attention, since the locals were beginning conversations with her group.

"W-Wang Gaoyi, why are you only just arriving?" Lu Ningyu recited her line mechanically.

"I see why you’re so eager—you made plans in advance," Lu Yi said, displeasure written across his face. "Li Xinran, did you know about this too?"

"Heh, brother-in-law..." Wang Gaoyi grinned sheepishly, stepping closer as if to explain.

"Yes, we planned it. What’s it to you?" Lu Ningyu’s words, which should have carried a hint of pride, were delivered flatly, her face expressionless.

Turning to Wang Gaoyi, Lu Ningyu asked, "Where’s your luggage? Are you just going to tag along empty-handed?"

"Ningyu, I was just about to tell you. My online guild leader is hosting a meetup today, you know that."

"I don’t," Lu Ningyu replied, her expression twisting as if she were casting off all her pent-up negativity. In a burst of irritation, she kicked Wang Gaoyi hard on the leg. "Go spend time with your damned buddies."

With that, Lu Ningyu tossed her head and dragged Li Xinran toward the bus. At that moment, a man with a backpack and a heavy suitcase finally caught up. "Come on, you rushed ahead and didn’t even help carry anything."

"Xinran, what are you staring at? Let’s go—just seeing him annoys me," Lu Ningyu said, nudging the reluctant Li Xinran with her elbow.

Next came the scene where Li Xinran batted her eyes at Xie Ruida, both of them exchanging silent, electric glances. Lu Yi checked the script and thought to himself.

Sure enough, as soon as Li Xinran heard Xie Ruida’s voice, she turned and blinked at him. Lu Yi glanced at the script again. "That’s supposed to be a seductive look?"

Nonetheless, Xie Ruida played his part, gazing at Li Xinran with silent passion after their charged exchange, raising his hand dumbly but saying nothing.

A sharp honk shattered the moment. The impatient driver blared the horn repeatedly, urging everyone to store their luggage and board the bus.

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"Ha." Lu Yi yawned, the monotonous scenery outside the window bringing on the fatigue left from his sleepless night.

Shaking his head to rouse himself, he checked the map—less than half an hour remained before they reached the cable-stayed bridge. He decided to wake Lu Ningyu beside him.

Seeing Lu Yi’s phone, Lu Ningyu snapped to attention, a little more alert. Before either could speak, the window beside Lu Yi started rattling incessantly.

"Hey man, keep it down," grumbled the man dozing behind Lu Yi, pulling his cap from his face in annoyance.

"Sorry, I’m not trying to bother you—it’s the window," Lu Yi replied with a helpless shrug.

The man shot him a skeptical look. "We’re on flat ground, so why is only your window making noise?"

Lu Yi watched the window bumping against the frame, unsure how to respond. The man had a point—the bus was cruising smoothly on a level road, and only his window rattled.

"Are your legs twitching?" Lu Ningyu whispered as she leaned in.

Lu Yi rolled his eyes. "Could your shivering make the window shake?" No sooner had he spoken than a chill wind, out of place in the summer heat, swept in through the window, making Lu Yi shiver.

Strangely enough, the window stopped rattling after the cold gust.

Suddenly, Lu Yi’s left eye throbbed painfully, and he blinked reflexively. For a fleeting instant, he saw a wisp of black mist drifting toward the front of the bus. His left eye stung so badly, the muscles twitching uncontrollably, that by the time he tried to track the mist again, everything looked normal.

No one noticed that, as he glimpsed the shadow, a six-pointed star—rounded at the edges and woven from crimson threads—surfaced deep within the pupil of his left eye.

Xie Ruida cast a glance at Lu Yi, then turned to Li Xinran, who was dozing against another girl.

He’d hoped to sit next to Li Xinran, but fate hadn’t allowed it. Watching her sleep, Xie Ruida focused his attention back on his phone.

On the screen, the latest superhero film was playing. The hero was declaring the villain’s defeat, the villain about to utter his final words—when a harsh static hissed through Xie Ruida’s headphones.

He tore them off with a curse. Suddenly, he felt something bump his arm—the one holding his phone.

His grip faltered, and his phone crashed to the floor. Annoyed, Xie Ruida frowned and looked around for the culprit but found nothing. Grumbling, he bent to pick up his phone.

The bus’s television, too, began to malfunction, hissing with static before the screen flickered and twisted, the actors’ lines dissolving into stuttering fragments.

"I...come...from..."

The driver noticed immediately. After fiddling fruitlessly with the controls, he decisively switched off the TV, steered the bus into a service area, and parked.

Unbuckling with practiced speed, he turned to the passengers. "Take a ten-minute break here."

Xie Ruida picked up his phone, now spiderwebbed with cracks. He sighed, rubbing his forehead—but a moment later, he stared at the screen as if seeing something uncanny.

Time slipped by; the driver soon returned, re-buckled his seatbelt, and called out, "If you need to shop or anything else, do it now—we’ll be leaving soon."

At the driver’s words, Xie Ruida seemed to shake himself awake from a dream. Suddenly, he stood. "We have to get off the bus."

"What?" his classmate beside him replied, shaking his head. "If you want to go, go. I’m staying."

A heavy thud—someone slamming a door. Xie Ruida looked over to see a large truck hauling steel pipes slowly leaving the gas station.

"We must go, now," Xie Ruida insisted, hurrying over to Li Xinran and pulling her to her feet. "We’re getting off."

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"What are you doing?" Following the script, Lu Yi stood as well, grabbing Xie Ruida’s shoulder with displeasure.

The boy who had been with Lu Ningyu, along with another new trial-taker, rushed to intervene. Together, they separated Lu Yi and Xie Ruida, and in the ensuing commotion, the group disembarked from the bus.

As they stepped off, Lu Ningyu rubbed her forehead. "I was supposed to be on a nice trip, but that idiot ditched me for a game. And now you’re making a scene, Xie Ruida?"

Xie Ruida used all his eloquence to explain the danger to the group.

"What?" a girl exclaimed, staring at Xie Ruida in disbelief, then shaking her head. "Xie Ruida, what you’re saying is pure fantasy."

She turned as if to get back on the bus.

"No, I swear on my honor," Xie Ruida said quickly, blocking her path with solemn sincerity.

The driver blared the horn impatiently, then strode to the door and shouted, "Are you done yet? We’re leaving!"

"We’re not getting back on," Xie Ruida replied loudly.

"What?" the driver retorted, annoyed, and began listing all the rules and regulations.

"We’re adults—we’ll take responsibility ourselves," Xie Ruida interrupted, and the argument escalated until the driver slammed the door, started the engine, and sped away.

"Kid, just because of your damned hunch, you made us all get off?" a portly middle-aged man finally spoke up, dragging his feet.

With that, the middle-aged trial-taker struck a running pose, but only ambled after the bus at a walking pace.

He raised his hand as if to flag down the driver, but before he could call out, the faintest whiff of exhaust made him cough uncontrollably, so much so he couldn’t straighten up.

Lu Yi and the other newcomers glared at the man with barely suppressed anger—for his reckless interference had derailed the plot, causing all the newcomers to lose fifty reward points.

After a bout of coughing, the man straightened, eyes red. As the instigator, he naturally received a harsher penalty—but with his back to the group, he was grinning.

According to the script, he should have boarded the bus, then gotten off again once the other trial-takers had advanced the story. But why should he follow the script and stake his safety on everyone else doing the same?

Getting on the bus offered no reward and might even mean getting stranded—and killed—if others changed the script. Not boarding wasn’t a compulsory plot point, and by the seasoned trial-takers’ logic, the punishment shouldn’t be severe.

If that’s the case, why not be the first to alter the script?

The man composed himself—such actions, which incurred everyone’s wrath, couldn’t be repeated often.

He coughed a few more times, then walked over to Xie Ruida, poking him in the shoulder. "It’s all your damned fault, kid—ruined my holiday."

Though his words were harsh, his eyes burned with interest as he stared at Xie Ruida. The protagonist—a hero with foresight. Even if it’s within this storyline, currying favor with him could improve one’s chances of survival.

Not just the middle-aged man; many trial-takers were now pondering how best to extract information from the protagonist, while others, recalling the man’s earlier breach of the script, found new thoughts stirring.

As everyone read their scripts with varying degrees of indifference, a plume of dust rose in the distance, the ground of the service area trembling faintly.

"It’s a landslide!" shouted one of the staff. As his words faded, a swirl of black smoke appeared within the dust.

"Hurry, call for help!"