New concept of the mysterious way to ascend to immortality

Chapter 166 The Call from the Distant Mountains

After driving for another half hour into the mountain, the car officially entered the "Mist Zone." The dreamlike scenery outside gradually disappeared, replaced by an endless mist.

At this moment, the vehicle is winding its way through the mountains in the clouds and fog, with only a monotonous 'boundless fog' visible to the outside world, and visibility of less than five meters.

Even more terrifying was the sound; the world outside the window was completely silent except for the mechanical sounds of the bus itself.

There were no birdsong or frog croaks outside, and only breathing could be heard inside the car; no one spoke. Dark, rainy clouds filled the sky above, enveloping the car in a dense canopy, while lush vegetation cast large shadows.

The atmosphere was indescribably oppressive, giving one the ominous feeling of being in a horror movie.

Little Spicy Strips, who shared the view with Yuan Zhu, couldn't help but exclaim, "This atmosphere is really a bit scary. It reminds me of the movie 'The Mist' that you remember, Boss."

Yuan Zhu responded: "With such thick fog and such poor visibility, I don't know how the driver with short legs judged the road? Pressing the accelerator so hard, was he trying to take everyone to their deaths?"

He looked ahead and saw a hazy white expanse outside the windshield, with no sign of the road. The headlights only illuminated the dim environment, as if he had transitioned from dusk to night.

In this atmosphere, only the ventilation system on the roof continuously brought in fresh, moist air, offering a slight sense of comfort. Everything else only fueled the adults' unease, making them increasingly fearful the more they thought about it.

So some people closed their eyes to rest, some lowered their heads to read novels and magazines under the bright overhead light to distract themselves, and some wore headphones to listen to music...

"Look, look! That fashionable young lady's Walkman is a mouse! (ο｀*))) Sigh!"

Spicy Strips suddenly shouted, causing Yuan Zhu to turn his head and peek. A well-dressed woman was wearing ordinary headphones. However, the connector at the other end of the headphone wire was inserted into the spine of a mouse on the back of its neck, and she was repeatedly rotating and pressing the mouse's head with her thumb, seemingly performing operations such as 'changing songs and adjusting the volume'.

Yuan Zhu remained silent, only utterly shocked: "???"

"I remember there's a mouse on the market that can record home videos, capture precious and touching moments, and even project them. Using your common sense, if there are handheld home camera mice, then this so-called 'biological audio playback mouse' seems even more technologically inferior?"

"We can consult Mengxi about this later. Perhaps we can buy one and give it to my younger brother?"

In a world where even a simple, handmade rat-shaped sachet is considered a blessing, gifting a high-end rat-shaped music player would be incredibly stylish! How about that?

Just as Yuan Zhu was secretly observing the passengers' every move, he suddenly heard a faint chanting sound. It was like a call from the distant mountains, as if some mountain spirit or fairy was singing in a remote valley. The sound pierced through the mist and entered his ears, making him involuntarily captivated.

The Soul Crystal emitted a faint light, enveloping his mental world and radiating outwards throughout his head, keeping him extremely clear-headed and allowing him to better appreciate this 'mental influence'.

Yuan Zhu: "That's interesting. There's something wrong with the fog outside. Although the pollution concentration is very, very low, and the ventilation system has a filtration and isolation function, there are still some fresh air residues that seep into the car. Long-term breathing of these can affect mild mental perception."

By this time, the bus had been traveling through the foggy area for more than 40 minutes. The outside world was completely shrouded in mist, and the extreme silence both inside and outside made it difficult to perceive time.

Such prolonged breathing does indeed subtly affect the mental state of all passengers.

However... "I actually felt very relieved and relaxed."

"You've already condensed a Soul Crystal, making you a standard extraordinary being. After you die, you'll release 'extraordinary (holy light) characteristics, the kind that people will pick up and use to refine potions!"

clap clap clap!
Before Xiao La Tiao could finish speaking, Yuan Zhu felt the surrounding space slightly distort, followed by a continuous banging sound from outside the window. Something was banging on the car window.

The voice sounded both real and unreal, leaving him somewhat unsure whether it was genuine or not.

So he reached out and slightly parted the curtains to look outside. In the unchanging 'sea of ​​mist and clouds,' tentacles suddenly appeared, formed from condensed mist, with suckers growing on the side near the glass, and faint blue patterns emerging.

These misty tendrils were not shaken off by the bus; instead, they maintained the bus's speed, appearing outside the window and continuously whipping against the glass, making violent collision sounds.

"Ok?"

The monotonous view outside the window took on a new look, especially after his eyes fell upon the misty tentacles, which began to flap more vigorously, their rhythm and frequency increasing.

It sounded like a struggle for help, or perhaps a threat; the banging was terrifying, making the window rattle as if it were about to shatter. Yet, in the visual footage, the glass showed no signs of shaking.

The little spicy snack immediately defended its boss: "Boss, don't panic! These tentacles look incredibly realistic, but there's a blind spot: the window glass doesn't move an inch. These misty tentacles are real, and the slapping motions are real, but the force is fake, and no sound is transmitted. What you're hearing is just an auditory hallucination. What you're hearing is all visual! Especially when you look directly at the outside world, this hallucination is amplified and becomes even more real. So, please look away!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Zhu immediately turned his head and noticed that the atmosphere inside the car was somewhat heavy. For example, the middle-aged elite next to him had already closed his eyes and was resting against the back of his seat.

It was clear that he was also affected by the fog, somewhat tense, with a slight sheen of sweat on his forehead. But that was all he did. If he had actually heard the same 'clattering' knocking sound, he certainly wouldn't have remained so calm.

Then, Yuan Zhu looked back and observed that most of the passengers appeared nervous or uneasy, but they were all able to control themselves well.

On the contrary, some people who were near the window showed more intense changes in their emotions and expressions, and had already shown varying degrees of panic.

Yuan Zhu: "This Misty Mountains is quite something. The mist that seeps into the bus is weak enough for ordinary people to ignore, but if it rises to the point of permeating the entire mountain range, it's a bit terrifying. It's a super pollution."

When he turned his attention back to the window, he belatedly realized that the 'knocking sound' he had just ignored was now like a song that had finished playing and switched to a new track.

Now, he heard a fearful cry for help coming from outside the window. It was a pleasant female voice, somewhat like a spicy snack, which naturally won him his favor.

At that moment, a woman's voice was calling out to him from outside the window, pleading for help. She said her soul was being controlled by a demon, and she wanted to escape its clutches. Only if he opened the window and let her in could she truly escape.

Then, the plaintive yet melodious female voice kept promising things like repaying kindness with her body, good deeds being rewarded, and being able to have a baby... These promises perfectly aligned with the traditional values ​​of the people of Runing. It was like the traditional formula of a ghost story from "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" about a woman repaying a debt of gratitude.

Frankly, he didn't believe this flawed explanation at all. What controlled female ghost could possibly run faster than a bus? If you followed me around for hours, talking to me for hours, you'd be out of the Misty Mountains by now! Would I even need to save you?

Objectively speaking, however, the voice possesses a certain bewitching quality, capable of seducing and captivating. Furthermore, the continuous lamentations, while somewhat coherent, form a coherent logic. This is extraordinary! It represents the 'mental pollution' caused by the fog, yet it also carries a coherent intelligence. Ordinary people, after listening, find it difficult to resist, using their own 'common sense and experience' to fill in the gaps in their understanding, ignoring any inconsistencies, and ultimately falling into a state of conviction.

However, for Yuan Zhu, all he could say was that this [Soul Crystal] was incredibly useful. His mind and spirit remained in a cool and refreshing state, perfectly rational.

The Soul Crystal first grants a layer of Rational Protection, illuminating the soul with a layer of holy light, maintaining rationality, clarity, and immunity to seduction and mental pollution...

Secondly, the [Soul Crystal] also functions as an auxiliary computing tool for the CPU. It supports not only complex calculations but also a large number of simple matrix operations.

Therefore, he seemed to have an innate ability to "see through" the "fog" outside the window, remaining clear-headed throughout while simultaneously immersing himself in it, accepting the pollution, and appreciating the performance. This added a touch of novelty to the otherwise tedious journey.

"Do you think that if ordinary people rashly enter the Misty Mountains and are exposed to this kind of pollution, they will all die?"

Snapped!
Before the words were finished, another noise came from outside the window. This time, it was a different kind of 'slapping' sound, unlike the 'tentacle's' lashing.

When he slightly lifted the curtain, he saw a somewhat frightening black handprint slammed heavily on the glass, followed by a painful and desperate tearing motion, slowly sliding down, leaving behind glaring black bloodstains.

"Why are they adding special effects?"

The ghostly activity outside the window was changing far too frequently. It switched to a new activity approximately every ten minutes, constantly harassing Yuan Zhu. Meanwhile, the middle-aged man beside him remained completely unaffected.

Spicy Strips analyzed, "It might be related to your mental activity level? To explain it using the analogy of a K-type game, your [Inspiration] is too high, and the [Soul Crystal] has a built-in effect of maintaining a constant Sanity value, so you frequently receive mental pollution from the outside world and, through judgment, fall into one cycle after another. The fog of the outside world seems to be filtering out your 'mental loopholes' through exhaustive search."

"As for the other ordinary passengers, their inspiration is even lower, their Sanity is weak, but they are inherently dull and need to be slowly polluted and eroded... The fog outside will not frequently change the song, doing so would only lead to failure due to the large difference."

Yuan Zhu: "This world is really interesting. Even just taking a ride in a car can bring you so many new and interesting things."

Suddenly, an idea popped into his head, so he quietly stretched out his finger and pressed his index finger against the inside of the car window.

This action was like stirring up a hornet's nest. The person made desperate, bloody handprints outside the window, frantically pounding on the window and screaming in an extremely pitiful, piercing scream: "Help me! Let me in! I'll curse you!"

Even the icy aura and drops of blood seeped through the window, condensed on his fingertips, and seemed to come alive as they snaked up his forearm.

Yuan Zhu looked at him with shock and admiration, muttering to himself, "You are truly brave!"

Immediately, a faint holy light shone from his fingertips in response. Outside the window where he was, screams of pain and terror erupted. The misty hands, bloody handprints, and black bloodstains that had been pounding on the window all vanished, and the scene outside returned to its dim, hazy whiteness.

He was saddened that the originally amusing 'first-person immersive mental pollution hallucination video' was gone.

"Boss, you're so mean! Hiding behind a one-way window and burning someone's hand with a lighter!"

While he was having a great time, more passengers experienced deeper damage. Several people spoke up and called for the flight attendants' help.

Each time someone spoke, it would disturb the thick fog outside the car window to varying degrees. The louder the sound, the stronger the impact.

Those who remain restrained can still speak softly. However, those who are near the window, more strongly affected, and excessively tense and fearful will fall into a deeper state of 'mental pollution' because they make too much noise.

One of the young men, covered in sweat, fell into a deep hallucination, letting out terrified screams and struggling violently: "Don't come any closer! Please don't come any closer! Don't kill me! I didn't kill your son, and I certainly didn't eat him!"

"???"

Yuan Zhu stared wide-eyed in surprise, as if she had heard some gossip, and secretly glanced back. It was a young man who looked to be in his early twenties.

"This old car is truly a gathering of wise men and talented people. His emotions are too genuine, it doesn't feel like acting."

"I think it's because I'm too immersed in the role, and I'm hypnotizing myself?"

Just as he and Xiaola Tiao were discussing the authenticity of each other's 'dreaming', the burly flight attendant had already walked over carrying a peeled wooden stick about the thickness of a little finger.

With his eyes closed, he cried out in alarm and struggled to get off the seatbelt, unaware that he was in a car. He raised his hand and unleashed a lightning-fast five-lash volley.

Clap clap clap clap!
The thick arm swung the flexible wooden strips, sending afterimages flying, and lashed them hard against the young man, making him scream in pain. He suddenly opened his bloodshot eyes and looked into the warmly lit but strangely heavy-hearted carriage, his eyes revealing a sense of surviving a nightmare.

Looking at the imposing female Illidan again, there was no anger, resentment, or questioning about why she hit me; only endless gratitude and a desire to 'whip me again!' to grant me more pain and clarity.

As if sensing the passenger's need, the Valkyrie hesitated for a moment, then with a lightning-fast crack, lashed out, striking the opponent's body with her whip. The loud sound of the whip tip seemed to momentarily raise the sanity level of the entire vehicle.

Even the person sitting next to me who wasn't hit couldn't help but twitch and tremble, their eyes becoming much clearer.

The flight attendant, a female warrior, asked, "Would you like some bundled services?"

The young passenger who was violently beaten by the train attendant on the long-distance bus nodded repeatedly and said impatiently, "Yes, yes!"

The flight attendant nodded, pulled a rope from his bag, deftly wrapped it around the rope, and explained, "You were shouting too loudly just now. If you are disturbed again and make a sound, you will have to purchase a 'silencing device'."

The so-called 'silencing device' is actually a gag that no one has bought yet in the carriage.

The young man nodded repeatedly upon hearing this and pleaded, "Please tie it tighter, it hurts!"

"No, too tight will cause poor blood circulation."

(End of this chapter)