Time Game

Chapter 1: Strange Bus (1)

Lu Pingsha checked his phone and watch again: they clearly showed it’s 4:00 am.

But how could this be?

He left the company at 3:50 am, then waited a few minutes for this bus, and now he's been on this strange bus for at least ten minutes, yet it’s still 4:00? His watch could be attributed to a malfunction, but could his phone be broken too? Aside from the incorrect time, all other functions on his phone still works.

Such a bizarre situation, what’s going on?

Lu Pingsha's mind is already in turmoil, but he pretends to be listening to the music while discreetly observing other passengers. There are about twenty people on the bus, and it’s strange to have so many people at 4:00 am. Lu Pingsha happened to be the last passenger on this bus. After his boarding, no one else got on.

Lu Pingsha is sitting in the middle of the bus. In the front are six young men and women, reeking of alcohol and smelling of barbecue fumes, probably just back from a late-night party; they seemed relatively normal.

Behind him sit two men and two women, around twenty-five to thirty years old. Extrapolating from their expressions, they seemed to know each other, but they appeared unusually nervous. Their eyes also met Lu Pingsha's for several times. But how to put it? The way these people looked at him was strange. Precisely, from the moment he boarded the bus, these four people have been looking at him like he was a dead man.

At the very back are a group of hardcore spy enthusiasts, dressed in very unconventional clothing and able to easily frighten people in the middle of the night. But considering there is a stadium nearby that frequently hosted anime conventions, and these people are quiet, Lu Pingsha just took a glance at them and then looked away.

The passengers on the bus are all doing their own thing, seeming quite peacefully. But Lu Pingsha had goosebumps all over his body. He feels there was something wrong with the bus, and everyone here is strange.

How did he end up in this predicament? Lu Pingsha couldn't help but drift into memories.

———————— One hour ago ——————————

“Go find it. The answers you seek are all there!” This voice was like a thunderclap, instantly waking Lu Pingsha from his sleep. It was that dream again. It's been over ten years, repeating itself over and over, but never specifying what he’s trying to find. Even if the person in this dream didn't get tired of it, he was getting fed up!

Lu Pingsha groggily opened his eyes, and felt numb on his right arm, which he had been using as a pillow. After a while, Lu Pingsha finally came to his full senses. The company was already empty. He checked his phone; it was already over 3 a.m.

At this time, unless it’s a critical period for a project deadline, even the most hard-working employees would be sound asleep. If it weren't for the fact that his inspiration only truly blossomed at night when he was writing in the company, he also wouldn't have stayed until now.

Lu Pingsha lay back in his chair, slightly clearing his head.

Recently, he'd heard that some employees near the Advanced-Tech Park had mysteriously disappeared and police made numerous inquiries. Some reporters said it was due to the exploitation from the new media and film companies, etc. As a well-known entertainment company, Pure Film Entertainment couldn't give its counterparts in media field any ammunition at this time, so it stipulated that employees couldn't stay overnight at the company.

Pure Film Entertainment Co., Ltd., in just ten years, carved out a niche for itself among film companies with its horror films, quickly rising to become a nationally renowned large company. It boasted numerous artists, excellent relationships with major video platforms, and possess a unique IP industry chain, especially famous for its horror and thriller films.

At first, horror and thriller films were strictly regulated; no other film company specialized in this genre. But two years ago, for reasons unknown, government officials suddenly relaxed restrictions on horror and thriller films, even providing numerous policy supports. Before other film companies could react, Pure Films seized the opportunity and quickly became an unstoppable force, transforming to a giant in the entertainment industry. Therefore, many suspected that Pure Films had powerful backers and extensive connections to achieve this.

Lu Pingsha was one of the pillars of Pure Films' IP department. Pure Films spent a large sum of money to buy his book and offered him a high price to be a screenwriter. Since he didn't have a wealthy father, he delightfully agreed. If he rejected, the reason must be because the money wasn't enough. With the money in place, everything was fine.

Now, whenever he thinks back, Lu Pingsha feels lucky. He not only has his own private office with a bathroom, but he also consistently ranks at the top in various assessments, always wining first-prize. Calling him a winner in life wouldn't be an exaggeration.

Lu Pingsha leisurely walked to the garage and stood in front of his newly purchased electric vehicle, feeling that his little vehicle was as adorable as ever. The company garage housed almost every type of luxury car on the market, with countless limited-edition luxury cars costing seven or eight figures—who could blame them when their company's actors earned so much?

Among these luxury cars, Lu Pingsha's electric vehicle particularly stood out. But Lu Pingsha still loved it the most, after all, it can avoid the pain of traffic jams and is able to find a parking spot anytime.

However, for some reason, electric vehicle don’t work now. Strange, it was fine this morning.

After trying for a few minutes without success, Lu Pingsha decided to leave. It wasn't like he couldn't get a taxi at this hour. Their company was located in the Advanced-Tech Park, next to many large internet companies. So there are always programmers who worked overtime until late night and had to call taxi. Therefore, taxi drivers often loiter here!

However, when thinking about it carefully, Lu Pingsha felt something strange started happening from the moment he woke up.

Lu Pingsha waited for over twenty minutes, but not a single taxi passed by, and all the ride-hailing apps also didn’t response at all. He even tried calling the various taxi advertisements plastered on the telephone poles, but still no one answered.

"Besides these fake advertisements, legitimate rental listings, and private car services, why are there also yellow Talisman Paper plastered on the telephone poles?" Lu Pingsha couldn't help but complain. "These people obviously haven't watched our company's films. Talismans should be pasted on the front door or carried with you as protective charms."

“Forget it, I'll just go back to the company and sleep. I can revise today's events a bit and pad out another chapter to meet the readers' word count.”

Just as Lu Pingsha decided to return, a dilapidated bus swayed and stopped in front of him.

Wait, it's 4 AM! How can there still be buses? And this bus is so dilapidated! It looks like it's completely beyond repair, and it even has some weird dark marks on its body.

"Aren't you getting on?" The driver, with an unremarkable face, asked Lu Pingsha softly.

Are you kidding me? He wouldn't definitely get on this weird bus even if someone paid him!

However, for some reason, Lu Pingsha heard himself reply to the driver, "Okay, I'm getting on." Then, he boarded this bus which exuded an oddity from head to toe!

The moment the door closed, he seemed to hear a mechanical whirring sound beside him, but it was so fast that Lu Pingsha couldn’t tell if it’s real.

And then, here he is.

Lu Pingsha gritted his teeth slightly; the pain in his lips calmed him down from panic little bit.

Yes, this bus was the strangest thing! He clearly intended to stay away from this bus, but somehow he ended up getting on. These days, getting on is easy, but getting off is difficult: this bus hasn't stopped yet.

But why does everyone seem so calm?

Lu Pingsha desperately wanted to think he was overthinking it, but he checked again and again, and the bus route outside was definitely not any of the nearby ones.

When he first bought his vehicle, he had driven the routes around the company countless times and is very familiar with them. How could he not recognize this way?

He was quite sure he had encountered one of those mysterious events.

Five months ago, while searching for inspiration, he "accidentally" stumbled upon a confidential website of country X and saw some related records.

In this world, besides science, there are many mystical events that science cannot explain. Unfortunately, that website was too confidential; he had only just breached the firewall when the records vanished without a trace, and he had never found them again, no matter what method he tried. Later he even wrote this story into his book, which was criticized by readers as being a bit cliché.

Now, he's directly run into it himself.

Art imitates life!

"Sister Chen, what do we do? This bus has already passed three stops, and we still have no clue. If we don't find that thing hidden among the passengers before it reaches the final stop, we're doomed." The speaker was a middle-aged man around thirty-five years old. He looked listless and pale, as if he had been working overtime for seven days without sleeping. It wouldn't be surprising if he suddenly died at any moment.

His voice noticeably weakened when he mentioned “that thing" on the bus. In this place, in this environment, he didn't dare use a name that ordinary people would understand; he could only simply use "that thing" instead.

There's a rule in this game: never easily say certain names, because if you call "it" by its name, "it" will respond to you. And the response from these things is definitely not what a human being would want to see.

"Shut up." Of the four men and women, the one in the lead was the youngest, a girl who looked no more than twenty-three. She wore black-rimmed glasses, had a baby face, and looked like a recent college graduate.

The man immediately became much more obedient.

"Currently, my 'Crisis Glasses' haven't detected anything unusual, so “that thing” hasn't made its move yet. This bus has twenty-seven stops from start to finish, and we've only gone three stops so far, what's the rush?" Chen Qufang glared at the man. Although she was also a little flustered at first, she stayed calm soon.

No doubt, a newbie who's only done this game twice is still too inexperienced. It's just a cyan-level mission; the death rate won't be too high. Besides, the number of passengers on this bus is limited; finding one hidden "thing" among them won’t be too difficult.

“Let’s find someone to test the waters first,” Chen Qufang thought for a moment, then took out a wad of banknotes from her pocket. " Zhang, you do it.”

“Okay, Sister Chen.” Another young man replied, immediately understanding Chen Qufang’s meaning, and walked towards Lu Pingsha with the money.

Lu Pingsha was the last to board the bus at the Advanced-Tech Park stop no less. He’d been playing on his phone and listening to music the whole time, making him seem the most normal person on the bus. Therefore, the four people decided to first talk with Lu Pingsha.

“Hey man, can you do me a favor?” The young man approached Lu Pingsha, reached out and took off Lu Pingsha's earphones, and said with a smile.

Lu Pingsha immediately snatched the earphones back from him, but didn’t get angry. If there is really something wrong with this bus, these four people seems to know something.

The world was far from as peaceful as it seems to be, a fact Lu Pingsha is very clear of. He rarely considered about these things, thinking that even if the sky fell, someone taller would hold it up. So he simply lived his life peacefully.

Now, it seemed some things have come his way.

“What favor?” Lu Pingsha asked feignedly.

“Well, our company has a questionnaire.” The young man took out paper and pen, placing them next to a stack of banknotes, and looked at Lu Pingsha. “If you can help me get the names and contact information of everyone on this bus and fill out the questionnaire, this whole stack of banknotes is yours. How about that, not too difficult, right?”

The young man spoke casually, with a tone that said, “You’ve hit the jackpot.”

Chen Qufang was quite satisfied with Xiao Zhang’s performance; there were still capable people among the new recruits. If the last passenger to board could help them gather information about the other passengers, it would be a great help to their mission

If that thing was indeed disguised as a passenger, then any contact would would definitely trigger some kind of restriction. Then, whatever the restriction is, they could complete their mission by following the clues.

As for this ordinary person being used as a stepping stone, they didn't even consider him a threat. Everyone caught in this game of time would die, soon or later.

How could Lu Pingsha not know what these people were up to?

Heh, did they think he was stupid? His acting was even worse than the trainees their company just hired. Failure!

"If you made it, I'll give you double!" Thinking Lu Pingsha thought it wasn't enough, Xiao Zhang raised the price.

Hey bro, cannon fodder with your IQ wouldn't survive three sentences in my book.

Lu Pingsha glanced at him helplessly, unable to understand why someone can be so confident while being so normal. He rolled up his sleeves, showing off the gold watch on his wrist.

Even on the dimly lit bus, the gold watch, studded with numerous small diamonds, was quite eye-catching. Even someone with no taste would know this watch was valuable.

Xiao Zhang was somewhat stunned.

Lu Pingsha then slowly pulled a set of car keys from his pocket, jingling them, then leaned back in his seat, silently pulling up his bank balance page. The seven-figure sum on it directly pierced into Xiao Zhang's heart.

Sorry, I never bow down to money." Lu Pingsha subtly flaunted his wealth, "Find someone else, don't bother me while I'm listening to music."

Xiao Zhang was dumbfounded. He'd just been humiliated by an ordinary person flaunting his wealth?