The Mule had given Li Ang such a detailed explanation to prove that this matter was merely a commission that had been passed on, which might contain a mission, and was not a trap set for players in collaboration with the Special Affairs Bureau or any business consortiums.
When the Mule finished sharing all the information, a mission prompt also sounded in Li Ang's ear:
[Mission Trigger Conditions Met]
[Mission Type: Regular Mission]
[Mission Name: Six Feet Under]
[Mission Objective: Resolve the supernatural events in Dusheng Village]
[Mission Time Limit: 72 hours]
[Reward 1: 300 Experience Points]
[Reward 2: 600 Game Coins]
[Reward 3: Random Quality Random Item*1]
[Failure Penalty: None]
[Accept/Decline]
In terms of rewards, this regular mission wasn't difficult. Even if one foresaw risks and fled early, there would be no penalty for failure.
Li Ang did not reply to The Mule immediately. Instead, he carefully reviewed the materials and did some online research before deciding to accept the mission. He then opened the friend chat window.
Li Rising: I accept the commission.
The Mule: OK, the client has already transferred the full 500,000 to me. After deducting the agency fee, it's 450,000. How do you plan to receive the money after the job is done?
The Mule didn't ask Li Ang whether he had actually received the mission or when he would head to Dusheng Village—that would break the unspoken understanding among players.
Li Ang responded, "Exchange the 450,000 into Game Coins for me. I'll let you know when the job is done."
Their communication ended.
"Dusheng Village..."
Muttering the name, Li Ang went back to his bedroom and started rummaging through his belongings.
This remote village was quite far from Yin City. To get there by public transport, one would first have to take a train out of Yin City and then make several bus transfers to finally reach it.
There was an inevitable risk of exposure along the way, so Li Ang took makeup tools and clothes from his bedroom and placed them into his backpack inventory.
After calling out to Chai Cuiqiao, Li Ang put the black umbrella into his backpack, confirmed the water and electricity at home were off, and then left. He walked to a public restroom outside his residential complex where, inside a cubicle, he used makeup tools to adjust his facial contours.
He donned a wig, put on sunglasses, a tight white suit jacket over a black T-shirt, tight capri pants, and slipped on some loafers. Finally, he stuck high-quality, soft, ultra-thin, transparent fingerprint covers he'd bought from Taobao onto his fingers.
After all that effort, a swaggering, roguish youth had been concocted.
"Bro, my knife's dull and my horse is lean; I'm not looking to pick a fight with you. But tangle with me, and I guarantee you won't get any 'good fruit' out of it."
Li Ang practiced in front of the mirror and nodded in satisfaction.
This disposable 'Vest' would be called "Brother Han," characterized by his knack for showing off, spouting provocative talk, and stirring up trouble. This chapter first appeared on *.
Li Ang left the public restroom. In a surveillance blind spot, he jimmied open a privately locked shared bicycle and wove his way erratically through the streets. Later, in a parking lot on the other side of the suburbs, he broke into and stole an old van with a "For Rent" sign.
He drove the van for eight hours, then parked it near a bus station in a county town. After a few hours of sleep, he boarded a rural bus at dawn.
Besides the middle-aged female conductor, the bus wasn't crowded. There were only three university students in the back and a young woman in sunglasses and a white dress, who looked quite elegant.
Playing the part of a roguish youth, Li Ang sat behind the elegant young woman. He spread his legs wide, draped his arms over the back of his seat, and chomped noisily on his gum.
The three university students glanced at him with disdain. But, as if Li Ang had eyes in the back of his head, he turned around, pulled his sunglasses down his nose, and raised an eyebrow. "What you lookin' at, bro?"
These kinds of characters were always obnoxious. The three students pursed their lips without a word, lowered their heads, and went back to their handheld game consoles.
Li Ang turned his head back, continuing to chew his gum.
Passengers gradually boarded. About half an hour later, the portly, balding bus driver finally got on. He calmly took a sip of brown iced tea, turned on the electric fan to cool himself for a moment, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and then leisurely started the vehicle.
The brownish-yellow metal bus left the county town, passing through towns and villages as passengers got on and off.
As noon approached, the high sun was obscured by gloomy clouds. Low rumbles of thunder rolled across the sky, and the air became stuffy and humid.
The bus traveled along the winding mountain road. As lightning streaked across the sky, a downpour hammered down from above, drumming loudly on the bus roof.
Li Ang, occupying two seats, opened his eyes. Irritably, he reached out and slammed the window shut with a BANG.
The noise from the window slamming shut seemed to have disturbed the elegant young woman in the white dress sitting in front of Li Ang. She put down her book, slipped it into her backpack, and started chatting with the female conductor sitting beside her.
Sitting behind them, Li Ang didn't mean to eavesdrop but still managed to glean from snippets of their conversation that the young woman's surname was Wei. She was an artist who had come to the countryside to seek inspiration. She was asking the conductor, Song Zhen (who was also the wife of the driver, Tian Yourong), if there were any scenic spots nearby.
The heavy rain was enough to drench any passengers without umbrellas, but it didn't yet affect the metal bus's progress.
The portly driver, Tian Yourong, switched on the windshield wipers. Their SQUEAKING, mixed with children's crying and adults' coughing, provided a rhythm for the advancing bus.
The rain kept pouring harder.
Just as the bus rounded a bend on the mountain road, the young woman named Wei suddenly stopped chatting with the conductor. She closed her eyes, her body leaned forward, and she slumped over.
Conductor Song Zhen cried out in alarm. Driver Tian Yourong glanced at the rearview mirror, hit the brakes, and slowly brought the vehicle to a stop.
The passengers craned their necks, looking on as the conductor hurriedly helped the young woman. Her face was pale, and she was shaking as she fumbled in her small bag for a piece of chocolate, tore open the wrapper, and ate it.
After a moment, her color improved. She slowly sat up, nodding apologetically to the conductor, the driver, and the other passengers.
"I'm sorry, I have low blood sugar. I'm feeling a bit better now."
This incident only caused a brief delay. Tian Yourong sat back in the driver's seat. Just as he was about to start the bus, a loud BOOM resounded from up ahead.
The mountainside on the winding road ahead had collapsed entirely.
Under the pounding rain, tons of rock, tangled with uprooted green trees, slid onto the road, completely blocking their path.
Driver Tian Yourong turned deathly pale with fright. He turned his head and exchanged a glance with his wife, their eyes filled with relief.
If it hadn't been for the young woman's sudden hypoglycemic episode causing that slight delay, the entire metal bus might have been swept off the mountain road by the mudslide.
At this moment, the other passengers also realized what had happened. Breathing quickly and unevenly, they looked at the pale-faced Ms. Wei with a mixture of fear and awe.
Before anyone could relax, another BOOM shook the area as the mountain behind them began to slide. A massive mudslide surged down, completely blocking the road behind them.
CRACK! CRACK!
An ominous noise came from the mountainside next to the vehicle.
Tian Yourong, terrified out of his wits, quickly unbuckled his seatbelt and shouted to everyone on the bus, "Get out!"
The passengers, jolted back to their senses, began shouting and wailing. Forgetting all courtesy, they scrambled off the bus, braving the torrential rain. They followed Tian Yourong, running forward and scrambling over the now-settled mounds of mud and debris from the first slide.
They hadn't gone far when the mountainside next to where the bus stood collapsed completely. Trees and rocks smashed onto its roof, pushing the vehicle to the edge of the winding road.
The metal guardrail on the mountain road couldn't withstand the force of the mudslide for even five seconds. It buckled, and the bus, along with the debris, plummeted over the cliff. A long moment passed before the sounds of crashing and banging echoed up from below.
The survivors, standing on the relatively stable section of road in the pouring rain, looked at each other in dismay.
Driver Tian Yourong wiped the rain from his face and shouted, "The bus is gone! This place isn't safe! Let's get to the village ahead and find shelter, quickly!"
As for the name of the village ahead... Li Ang, who had already memorized the local map, cast a knowing glance at the young woman in the white dress.
Ahead lay Dusheng Village.