Chapter 43: Pagoda Primary School

[The Third Mission]

Before February 5th, regardless of the mode of transportation used, head to Pagoda Primary School and check in to complete the mission.

Game participants: Gao Tian, Su Jiu, Ling Feifei, Zhou Yan.

...

When Gao Tian went downstairs, he found a crowd of residents already gathered in the first-floor lobby, staring at the green text that had materialized out of thin air on the wall.

For ordinary residents, the mortality rate skyrocketed after the first two missions. The third was a true gate of death. Not everyone was like Boss Jin, rich enough to hire an administrator to step in.

Some wept tears of joy upon seeing their names absent from the mission board. In the crowd, Su Jiu's small face was deathly pale. She had never expected that, having completed the Sapphire Mall mission less than a month ago, the Apartment would list her as a participant for the next one so soon. It was much faster than anticipated.

Like a startled deer, her gaze darted to Gao Tian, who was also studying the mission board. Fortunately, her companions for this mission included the highly promising newcomer. With Xia Ta absent, sticking close to Gao Tian might just increase her chances of survival by ten percent.

Looking at the green text on the wall, Gao Tian knew that what the Pot had shown him was most likely a fragment of the future.

The various strange actions that "Gao Tian" had performed on the bus definitely held a deeper meaning, even if his present self didn't know it yet.

Once the crowd dispersed and the other residents returned to their rooms, only the four participants of this mission remained in the lobby, along with Xia Ta and Jiang Yang, the two Apartment administrators.

Xia Ta had stayed behind specifically for Gao Tian. She always kept an eye on promising newcomers. Administrators could die too; if she perished in her sixth mission, the Apartment would need new experts to lead everyone forward.

The other two participants, Zhou Yan and Ling Feifei, were a recently graduated college couple. They had moved into the Apartment less than a month ago and had smoothly survived their first two Green Text Missions. There was one strange detail, however: every other participant grouped with them had died. Not a single third party had survived; every time, only this couple made it to the end.

Since all the relevant personnel had gathered, Xia Ta didn't waste any words and got straight to the point:

"Everyone, can you draw any hints just from the literal text of the mission?"

Her gaze fell on Gao Tian, but the first to speak was the boyfriend, Zhou Yan.

He had already used his mobile phone to search for "Pagoda Primary School." The conclusion was that, let alone in Shanghai City, this primary school didn't exist anywhere in Dragon Country.

"The Green Text Mission requires us to reach Pagoda Primary School and check in, but it never said we need to go inside and explore.

"So, the real difficulty is most likely figuring out how to find the location of Pagoda Primary School."

After Zhou Yan shared his thoughts, Ling Feifei smiled brightly beside him and clapped her hands lightly:

"You're so amazing, Hubby. You found a direction so quickly."

This couple was quite interesting. To them, the terrifying Green Text Mission was just a backdrop to show off their affection. They didn't seem to feel the tension and oppression of the Apartment missions at all.

Leaning against the wall, Jiang Yang said lazily, "Your line of thought is correct. This Pagoda Primary School doesn't exist in the real world at all; it's in the Inner World."

Zhou Yan turned to him.

"How do you know?"

Jiang Yang answered, "Because my fifth mission took place right there.

"The horrors inside are far beyond the imagination of you newcomers. You should consider yourselves lucky that this is only your third mission. The Apartment only requires you to check in at the entrance; you don't need to go inside."

Zhou Yan wanted to press further and ask what exactly was inside Pagoda Primary School. However, Jiang Yang didn't want to discuss the topic and cut him off:

"The way to complete this mission is very simple. Just take Bus 444, and you'll enter the Inner World and arrive at Pagoda Primary School.

"The risk of death will likely come from Bus 444. It's a bus that specifically shuttles between reality and the Inner World. There are Rule-Based Horrors on board that must be strictly followed, or you will be killed by ghosts.

"However, compared to the absolute death trap of Pagoda Primary School, just sitting on Bus 444 gives you a relatively high chance of survival, provided you obey the rules."

Highly skeptical, Zhou Yan checked his mobile phone again and looked up, ready to argue:

"I'm telling you...

"There is no bus route 444 at all.

"Is your intel actually accurate?"

Off to the side, the timid Su Jiu uncharacteristically interjected:

"He already said it's a bus that shuttles between reality and the Inner World. How could you find it on normal bus routes?

"Just like the Living Apartment we live in. Can you find this address on a rental app?"

Zhou Yan curled his lips and chuckled.

"Alright, I won't argue.

"Since you're so smart, keep talking. I'm all ears."

It was obvious that this couple was incredibly overbearing. They rarely listened to anyone else's opinions.

Jiang Yang ignored him. After all, the two Apartment administrators had come down primarily for Gao Tian.

They wanted to ensure Gao Tian survived his third mission so he could grow into someone capable of holding his own later on.

As for someone like Zhou Yan, if he were executing the mission alone, Jiang Yang wouldn't have even bothered to look at him.

When it came to the rules on Bus 444, Jiang Yang's slit eyes grew uncharacteristically serious:

"Gao Tian, grab a piece of paper and write down every single word I'm about to say. Study it carefully.

"These rules might seem simple, but they were paid for with the lives of the veteran residents. Without the experience of those who came before you, you wouldn't even know how you died once you got on that bus."

Gao Tian opened the notes app on his mobile phone. Beside him, Su Jiu sat up straight, obedient as a primary school student paying attention in class.

"This bus travels through the Inner World, so it doesn't just carry human passengers; ghosts will ride it too.

"But don't worry. On the bus, the power of ghosts is heavily suppressed. As long as you grasp the three rules, humans and ghosts can coexist peacefully.

"In addition, the bus will pass through countless Supernatural Zones, and the threat level of every single one of those places is no less than the Living Apartment. However, as long as you stay in the bus and don't get off, the things outside won't dare do anything to the vehicle."

Jiang Yang paused. There were exactly three rules on the Supernatural Bus, each bought with the blood and lives of their predecessors. He detailed them one by one:

"Rule one: Passengers on the bus must not kill each other.

"Rule two: There must be no more than seven passengers on the bus.

"Passengers must not make loud noises, destroy public property, or interfere with the driver. Furthermore, aside from getting on and off at regular stops, passengers must not forcefully leave the bus by prying open windows or using other methods."

If passengers couldn't kill each other... Humans and ghosts were both passengers on this vehicle, meaning the ghosts couldn't directly kill humans either. They could only sit nicely.

This was a classic contradictory Rule-Based Horror. Gao Tian quickly spotted the issue and asked, "What happens if rule one and rule two conflict with each other?

"For example, if there are already seven passengers on board, and at the next stop another ghost gets on, making it eight passengers.

"What should we do? Try to force the eighth passenger off?"

Jiang Yang shook his head.

"In that situation, a voting phase begins."

Gao Tian asked, "Voting?"

Jiang Yang replied, "Yes.

"A round of voting is held among all eight passengers, including the one who just boarded. Every person—or ghost—has one vote to choose who they want to kick off.

"The one with the most votes loses their passenger status. Without the bus's protection, they will end up in a highly miserable state; the other ghosts on board are freed from their suppression and can kill them directly.

"At that point, if you get the most votes, you only have two choices: either get off the bus, or forcefully remain on board and become the focused target of the other ghosts."

His gaze remained fixed on Gao Tian, half-joking and half-warning:

"I'm afraid no human could withstand the combined attacks of four ghosts at the same time.

"But getting off the bus also means death. That's because the places where the Supernatural Bus stops are mostly terrifying locations. They are swarming with even more Fierce Ghosts."

He added an explanation:

"If two passengers receive the same number of votes, a new round of voting begins. This is the second round: the Blood Vote.

"In the Blood Vote, no passenger can choose the same target they voted for in the previous round. You must select a new target.

"Furthermore, if two passengers end up with the same number of votes again in this round, both will simultaneously lose their passenger status.

"During the voting process, if a passenger suddenly dies for whatever reason or directly gets off the vehicle, dropping the number of passengers back down to seven or fewer, the voting will immediately terminate."

Su Jiu asked, "If we complete the check-in mission at Pagoda Primary School, how do we return to the real world?"

Jiang Yang answered, "The Gray Ticket Stub.

"When you go back to your rooms, you will find a Gray Ticket Stub for boarding Bus 444.

"With it, you can ride this Supernatural Bus freely for three days.

"After you get off and arrive at Pagoda Primary School, if you run fast enough, you can dash to the school gates, complete the check-in, and quickly return to the bus before it drives you back to reality.

"Of course, it doesn't matter if you can't make it in time. Just hold onto your ticket stub and wait for the next bus.

"Under normal circumstances, the next bus will arrive at the same stop every five to ten minutes."

Right then, Gao Tian noticed a bug concerning this bus:

"There are four of us participating in the mission this time.

"If the number of passengers on the bus reaches eight, our four votes account for exactly half.

"As long as we pool our four votes together, the target we choose will definitely get the most votes.

"After all, it's impossible for Fierce Ghosts to be as united as human passengers.

"As long as we stay in sync, we'll be in an invincible position right from the start."