Chapter 2478: Soulless Tremor
The old lady lost interest in talking with him and waved her hand. "Move aside. Don't block my view of the flowers."
Having failed to get the location, and with the two players from the Wan Clan not looking easy to deal with, Bubble Bean glanced at Painting Woman, who was snickering on the side, and shot her a fierce glare.
Painting Woman rummaged in her pocket and pulled out a stamp fruit. It was clearly a new one, and instead of reading "Been Here," it read "Ugliest in the World."
Bubble Bean knew reasoning with her was useless, so he looked at Xu Huo. Xu Huo wasn't looking at him, but it was as if he had eyes in the back of his head. He said, "If you've got nothing to do, look at the flowers, cultivate your mood. Or sleep, catch up on rest. Either is better than wasting your breath."
Bubble Bean got even angrier at that. He simply moved to a spot far away from them, eight zhang off.
The trip to the next stop would take a while. Most people on the bus chose to sleep or rest with their eyes closed. Whether they wanted to sleep or not, as time passed, they all seemed to involuntarily fall into a comfortable slumber.
After another ten minutes or so, a player walked over from the front carriage. He blocked the front door, changed into a protective suit that concealed his face, then drew a dagger and looked at the players in the carriage—he should have seen sleeping players, but when he looked up, he found four pairs of eyes staring back at him.
Xu Huo, Painting Woman, Bubble Bean, and one of the Wan Clan players were all awake. They just watched him set the scene, change clothes, and put on shoes.
There was a moment of silence, then the fully covered figure gave a deep bow, said "Sorry for the intrusion," and respectfully withdrew from the carriage.
"There are petty thieves everywhere." The Wan Clan player woke his companion and then woke Old Lady Gui, reminding them to get up and move around.
Just then, the food cart arrived. The old lady bought a bread roll for each of the two players and looked at them fondly. "Eat, eat. My grandson says this bread is the best."
The two Wan Clan players clearly knew the old lady, so they asked if her grandson was still working in another city.
"Yes." The old lady's smile deepened. "He's been busy for a while. Won't be back anytime soon."
The two players chatted with her for a bit. After they finished eating, the next stop arrived.
The old lady had a customer here, so she needed to make a brief stop. The bus wouldn't wait long enough, so they had to stay here for at least half a day and catch the next bus.
The old lady wouldn't tell anyone the address, so they had to follow her lead. This was a large city with complex transportation. They followed her through several flight transfers before reaching their destination.
It was a bookstore. A young clerk greeted them. When he learned the old lady's purpose, he said apologetically, "The boss went to Xiao'an City a few days ago and hasn't returned yet. I'm not sure where he's staying. But before he left, he said not to contact him unless it was important. He might be on vacation."
With only a general location, the old lady immediately decided to go to Xiao'an City to find the bookstore owner.
"Can't you deliver it next time?" Bubble Bean looked at the old lady. "Xiao'an City isn't small. How are we supposed to find this person?"
But the old lady was stubborn. "I'm old. My eyesight and hand strength aren't what they used to be. I'm afraid I won't be able to make nut carvings anymore. This is my last delivery. I have to make sure the buyer is satisfied."
The two Wan Clan players naturally supported her, and Xu Huo had no objections. So the group set off again. Unexpectedly, on the next bus, they ran into Ling Ling again. Three other players were traveling with her. When Xu Huo and the others saw them, the four of them didn't look good. One of them was seriously injured.
Before they could exchange greetings, several flying knives shot in through the window. They crisscrossed through the carriage before retracting and flying back toward Ling Ling and her group.
Ling Ling and her companions were clearly not new to this kind of attack. While blocking the sneak attacks, they also kept watch for the players hiding in the distance.
"Cowards! If you've got the guts, get on the bus!" Another buzz-cut man stared grimly at a few flickering figures in the distance. The train was moving, and the attackers were chasing them using short-range teleportation items. Aside from the first surprise attack, they hadn't boarded the bus since. They just kept harassing them from a distance, giving them no peace!
There were other ordinary people in the carriage. With players fighting, the train's protective robots immediately activated, turning into spherical objects to wrap around the passengers. But because they were on the train, both sides held back. Probably afraid that too many deaths would attract government attention, they didn't use items with large-scale destructive power.
"Bang! Bang!" After Ling Ling and the others deflected the flying knives, a suction force appeared in the middle of the carriage. In an instant, it pulled all the active items in the carriage together, then flung them out of the train.
"What the hell!" The buzz-cut man tilted his head and grabbed a fine needle that whizzed past his ear. The thing slipped out of his grip as soon as it touched his hand, easily piercing his personal defense barrier and protective suit before burrowing into his flesh!
A sharp dagger cut open his skin. As blood flowed out, the fine needle, which had been traveling along his blood vessels, struck the blade. It then changed direction and flew toward Ling Ling!
"Soulless Tremor!" Ling Ling didn't dodge. As her words fell, everything in the carriage—tables, chairs, items, including the fine needle—all began to tremble. Because of this vibration, the needle stopped in midair. It was then sucked into an instrument syringe.
The needle disappeared. The carriage returned to calm. Everyone quickly moved to cover, waiting for the next wave of attacks.
But the outside went quiet. The flickering figures also vanished.
Ling Ling relaxed but was also furious. "We've only been on the bus for half a day, and this is the fifth attack. What do they want?"
"It looks like the will you're delivering is very important." Bubble Bean interjected. "Did the employer insist you take the bus?"
"Otherwise, why would we choose such a troublesome method?" Ling Ling said helplessly. The employer's payment was secondary. To clear the instance, they had to follow the employer's instructions first. Besides, they wouldn't get new instructions until they reached the next stop, and only then would they know where they were actually going.
"Where are you headed?" Ling Ling asked Xu Huo.
"Helping the Wan Clan deliver a return gift to a customer." Xu Huo said. "If you think it's dangerous, you could join us."
Ling Ling shook her head, declining his offer. "The higher the risk, the greater the chance of success. We've already come this far. It would be a shame to give up halfway."
Xu Huo noticed that after she said this, another female player with a flower tattoo on her forehead subtly relaxed her body. So he added, "You're just a temporary team anyway. You can disband anytime. It's just one instance. No need to take such a big risk."