“Medusa?”
Xin Meng looked at the card in her hand: [Bus No. 2, there is a Medusa on board, please do not make eye contact with it.]
“You made eye contact with Medusa? What does she look like?”
“I-I don’t know,” Li Yougen said, still shaken, continuously retreating. Unlike the first time when he rushed to get on the bus, this time he had retreated all the way to the back of the six people, not wanting to get on at all. “I only saw her eyes, stone… particularly big…”
“Think carefully, what did you see that made you see those eyes?” Xin Meng pressed.
“I don’t know!” Li Yougen shouted, “As soon as I got in, I just saw those eyes, and then I died! Died!!”
His emotions were on the verge of collapse, only able to scream repeatedly. Xin Meng couldn’t extract any substantial information from him. She looked at You Yi, who nodded and said, “The best way is not to look at anything inside the bus.”
Xin Meng had a sudden inspiration, took out a long, thin piece of cloth from her backpack, and handed it to You Yi. “Just use this to cover your eyes.”
You Yi took the cloth, folded it into a strip, but first helped Xin Meng put it on, then took out another identical piece from his bag to tie around his own eyes. The others saw this and quickly rummaged through their bags, all finding this piece of cloth of unknown purpose.
Their backpacks were directly equipped by the system, containing very few items, mostly food and water, with limited usable tools. This piece of cloth, however, had not appeared before. It was inconspicuous and had been pressed at the bottom of the backpack, so it hadn’t received much attention. But now, thinking back, it was very likely that the system had provided this item specifically for this bus ride.
The cloth was made of a material similar to thickened glasses cloth, smooth on the surface, with excellent light-blocking properties, all in a uniform gray-blue color.
“Who, who can help me put it on…” Seeing that everyone else was putting on the cloth, Dong Xiu, who had no arms, was anxious and quickly sought help.
But he was destined to be disappointed, as Qi Xiaokui completely ignored him. Li Yougen, scared, had already hurriedly put on the cloth to cover his eyes, not caring about anyone else’s life or death. As for Xiong Jiabao, he glanced at Dong Xiu, thought of how he had repeatedly tried to harm him, curled his lip, turned his head, and pretended not to see.
In the end, it was still Xin Meng who kindly reminded him, “You can just close your eyes yourself.”
Because just now, the three of them had actually thought of using their lives to exchange for his, Xin Meng, though kind-hearted, was not a saint and naturally did not intend to help him. Giving a piece of advice was already quite good.
Dong Xiu had no choice; the karma he had created was coming back so quickly. He could only tightly shut his eyes and, relying on the sounds he heard, stumbled along behind the others and got on the bus.
Xin Meng followed behind You Yi, who held her hand and led her. The man’s steps were steady, without a hint of hesitation, as if the darkness had no effect on him. His broad palm was warm and strong, making Xin Meng, who should have been at a loss after suddenly losing her sight, feel very reassured. She stepped onto the three steps and entered the bus.
As soon as they entered the bus, it was as if someone had suddenly removed their noise-canceling earplugs. Various noisy sounds surged into their ears like a tide—talking, shouting, the cries of children, and the scolding of adults, all mixed together chaotically.
It was like stepping into a vegetable market, no, it should be a kindergarten, as the sounds around them were mostly those of children.
Once they boarded the bus, they experienced a completely different treatment, as they soon heard a woman with an accent shouting from the driver’s seat: “Blind people are getting on the bus, who will give up their seat? Everyone take care, give up a seat, hey!”
Soon, Xin Meng felt someone approaching her. A small hand grabbed her other hand, and in a soft, tender voice, said, “Blind brother, you can sit here, I’ll take you!”
The cute little voice hadn’t yet reached the age of voice change, making it hard to tell if it was a boy or girl, melting hearts. However, Xin Meng only felt a moment of sweetness before quickly regaining her senses, stepping back cautiously and withdrawing her hand. “Thank you, but no need.”
The child continued, “Big brother, come with me quickly, otherwise the driver auntie won’t drive!”
As if to confirm his words, the female driver shouted again, “Sit tight, everyone must sit steady before we can drive!”
Xin Meng was helpless and quietly asked You Yi, “What should we do?”
“Just sit down first,” You Yi’s deep voice replied, then he said to the child, “We need two adjacent seats.”
The child seemed a bit unhappy, muttering under their breath, “Still making requests, huh?” Seeing that the two didn’t respond, they reluctantly said, “Then come with me, I’ll let Hong Hong give you a seat, she’s sitting next to me.”
After saying that, the small hand reached out again to grab Xin Meng’s hand. Xin Meng’s sharp intuition seemed to sense something, and she quickly pulled her arm back behind her, smiling awkwardly. “Thank you, little friend, you just lead us, we’ll follow you.”
“Eh?” The child asked in surprise, “Aren’t you blind?”
Xin Meng smiled and said, “But we have ears, our big brothers’ ears are very sharp.”
“Okay, then follow me!” The child’s voice became a bit distant as they walked towards the back of the bus. Xin Meng didn’t understand how to discern sounds with such advanced skills, but she trusted You Yi, and he didn’t let her down, accurately following the child’s light footsteps, which were almost inaudible, until they stopped at the back of the bus.
“Wow! You really kept up!” The child exclaimed dramatically, “Big brother, can you really not see? Hong Hong, do you think the big brothers are amazing?”
“What’s so amazing about that,” another little girl said in a baby voice, “They must be cheating. That piece of cloth should be see-through, they can definitely see us, so of course they can find their seats!”
“Right, it can be like that!” The earlier child’s mood suddenly dropped. They asked Xin Meng, “Big brother, did you really cheat? Cheating isn’t what good kids do, you’ll be punished!”
Clearly, it was the innocent words of a child, but when it came to the word “punishment,” it inexplicably carried a different tone.
Xin Meng was taken aback.
In the other seats, similar conversations were happening simultaneously.
Others were being pulled and tugged, Dong Xiu was pushed from behind by a small hand, and they all found the seats they were “given.” Almost simultaneously, several children asked the same question: “Can your eyes see?”
However, strangely, although this question rang out at the same time, it somehow did not resonate within the bus. The ears of the six people seemed to have been fitted with filters; apart from Xin Meng and You Yi, who heard the same child’s voice, the other four could not hear each other’s questions, naturally not realizing anything was amiss.
Qi Xiaokui was much friendlier to the children than to adults, speaking with more patience: “Sister really can’t see, you just pulled me over.”
The child tilted their head curiously, looking at the long-haired sister and the cloth on her face: “Then, can you take off the cloth on your eyes so I can see? I want to know if you really can’t see at all!”
Qi Xiaokui shook her head, still being quite vigilant. When it came to personal safety, she had to refuse even when facing a child: “No, the cloth on my eyes is useful, I can’t take it off.”
The child let out a disappointed “ah,” then coquettishly said, “Then, can I just touch it? Just touch it, please~”
This time, Qi Xiaokui hesitated for a moment. Under the child’s heart-melting coaxing, she couldn’t help but relent: “You can only touch it once, you can’t take it off, understand?”
“Understood! Dou Dou understands!” The child named Dou Dou happily replied, then saw Qi Xiaokui bend down and come closer. Dou Dou’s two black bean-like eyes smiled like the moon, happily raising their hand, their fingertips touching the smooth cloth…
Qi Xiaokui suddenly felt the cloth on her eyes disappear!
She instinctively opened her eyes in shock, and immediately met a pair of enormous stone eyes. Those stone-like eyes filled her entire field of vision, and apart from that, she could see nothing else. The gaze from those stone eyes was filled with malice and delight, staring at her intently. Qi Xiaokui suddenly felt her body become unresponsive, incredibly stiff, as if she had turned into a completely unfeeling stone!
From the perspective of others, the “5” above her head silently jumped to “4”…
Like her, Xiong Jiabao was also caught in a dilemma, with two children hugging his legs, a continuous stream of coaxing and pleading that never stopped, perfectly coordinating to sing a duet, their sweet and soft voices alternating. Xiong Jiabao quickly succumbed to the onslaught of the adorable kids.
“Alright, alright, I’m scared of you, you can only touch it once, absolutely can’t pull it!”
In the end, Xiong Jiabao compromised, just as he was about to bend down to get closer to the children, suddenly a sharp pain shot through him. He reached back to touch his lower back and found a palm-sized wound there, which he must have gotten when he ran out of that bus earlier. The wound wasn’t deep, just scraped skin, and it had already scabbed over, but bending down would pull at it, causing him to break out in cold sweat. He couldn’t care less about coaxing the children anymore, covering the wound and exclaiming, “Sorry, sorry, little friends, uncle’s back is hurt, I can’t bend down, don’t look!”
The two children exchanged glances, both showing disappointed expressions.
On the other side, a cute little girl was clinging to Dong Xiu, asking in a chirpy voice, “Uncle, can your eyes see?”
Dong Xiu was impatient with her persistence and replied irritably, “What’s it to you!”
The little girl said sweetly, “Mommy said cheating isn’t what good kids do, you’ll be punished! Even though you’re a big uncle, you can’t cheat!”
Dong Xiu sneered, “Get lost!”
The little girl wouldn’t give up, “Then uncle, you tell me, can you see me?”
After all, she was an NPC. Dong Xiu hesitated for a moment before he was about to kick her away. Then he suddenly thought, could this be two different options given by the game? One was to answer that he couldn’t see, and the other was to say he could see.
If he said he couldn’t see, wouldn’t that reveal his true situation to these NPCs, leaving him at their mercy?
This was simply something Dong Xiu could not tolerate. He never liked exposing his weaknesses and problems to outsiders. He preferred to create confusion, leaving the enemy unclear about the situation while he stayed behind, strategizing.
So he warned the little girl, “That’s right, I can see. I can not only see the seats, but I can also see you and each of your actions. You better not play tricks!”
“Hee hee hee…” The little girl laughed triumphantly, “You really cheated! Uncle will be punished!”
Before Dong Xiu could react, it felt as if something suddenly bit his eyelid, causing him to scream in pain and involuntarily open his eyes. What came into view was a pair of enormous stone eyes, and the number above his head changed from “3” to “2”…
