I'm Actually Panicking Because My Heart Doesn't Beat (GL) - Chapter 56

The No. bus 444 drove steadily through a gray-white world. Outside the window, thick fog blanketed everything, with visibility less than five meters.

Guan Xiaoxuan stared wide-eyed at the scene outside.

From what she knew, the fog in the “Inner World” was home to very dangerous strange beings. Those black, twisted shapes were actually monsters in disguise.

Even Bai Zhiqi had warned her not to step into the fog, not even a half step—otherwise, you might die without even knowing how.

But now, the No. bus 444 was openly driving on the roads in the Inner World. Guan Xiaoxuan could even see vague black figures lurking in the buildings lining the street.

Those figures seemed completely unaware of the bus, acting as if it didn’t exist.

After watching for a moment, Guan Xiaoxuan was shocked but still reached out first to grab Qiu Nan’s hand nearby.

A few passengers glanced up at her and Qiu Nan, then, seeing they didn’t do anything else, looked away.

Guan Xiaoxuan was startled and didn’t dare to make too much noise. When she saw Qiu Nan’s eyes open, she whispered, “Don’t make any sudden moves.”

Qiu Nan had been through a lot and knew to stay calm no matter what. She looked around and widened her eyes at the fog outside the window.

Inside the bus, it was very quiet. Outside, even quieter. It felt like apart from the sound of the bus moving, there was no other sound in the whole world.

Guan Xiaoxuan nudged Chen Man sitting inside, pointing at her ears. Reluctantly, Chen Man handed over her earplugs.

Guan Xiaoxuan then passed the earplugs to Qiu Nan, silently signaling her to put them on.

Qiu Nan vaguely understood what they were and, after putting them in, heard Guan Xiaoxuan say, “This is called a whisper device. Chen Man and her team use it for strange situations. We’re borrowing it for now. Just think about what you want to say in your mind, and I’ll hear it.”

“I know. I’ve heard about this before,” Qiu Nan said, glancing at Chen Man. “It used to sell well on the black market. This is my first time using it.”

Guan Xiaoxuan said, “There are only two of these right now. It’s not safe to talk out loud. I have a few things I want to tell you.”

Qiu Nan nodded seriously, “I have something to tell you too.”

“Then I’ll go first,” Guan Xiaoxuan said, “I wasn’t very specific when I reported earlier. Now, I’ll explain everything in detail.”

After Guan Xiaoxuan finished telling Qiu Nan about Chen Man and her team’s experiences, Qiu Nan frowned and said, “I feel it too. That no-man’s zone gives me the creeps. I feel like if I open my eyes there, something bad will happen.”

“Do you know what a no-man’s zone is?” Guan Xiaoxuan asked, curious.

“Not exactly. I tried contacting Xing Tian but couldn’t reach her,” Qiu Nan frowned, looking deeply at Guan Xiaoxuan. “If this bus keeps circling in the Inner World, we’ll have to find our own way out.”

Guan Xiaoxuan nodded. “Chen Man said the No. bus 444 runs from midnight to 4 a.m. It’s only been less than half an hour, so we still have over three hours. Maybe we can get back to the real world.”

Qiu Nan pulled several items from her bag and handed them to Guan Xiaoxuan and Chen Man.

Chen Man, without earplugs, looked puzzled at the items.

Qiu Nan explained, “I made these myself. They work well against ordinary strange beings. Think of them as firecrackers—they can freeze strange creatures in a two-meter range for about five seconds. That can help you escape or attack.”

Guan Xiaoxuan nodded, then asked, “Anything else? I have a feeling we might end up in some kind of battle royale.”

Qiu Nan glared at her, “Don’t say nonsense.”

Then Qiu Nan generously gave them more items, handing over bundle after bundle. Chen Man was shocked, not sure what was going on. After returning the earplugs, Guan Xiaoxuan explained everything and they divided the items evenly and packed them away.

After that, Guan Xiaoxuan started watching the surroundings carefully. She pretended to accidentally drop something and bent down to pick it up, glancing at the people in the back row.

The person dressed in black with a black mask seemed to be resting with eyes closed. Others were bored, some staring ahead, some looking out the window. No one noticed Guan Xiaoxuan’s movement.

That was strange.

Guan Xiaoxuan picked up her things and sat back down, still puzzled. That strong feeling of being watched was there, but she couldn’t see anyone actually watching her.

The No. bus 444 continued smoothly through the streets of the Inner World. It stopped at bus stops, opening its doors, but no one got on or off.

Qiu Nan couldn’t reach Xing Tian, and Guan Xiaoxuan was worried.

After almost an hour of driving inside the Inner World, the broadcast suddenly came on again.

The three of them looked at each other, then closed their eyes.

That cold, wet feeling returned, as if the bus was driving underwater instead of on land. Guan Xiaoxuan instinctively gripped the items in her pocket tightly.

She thought if she just kept her eyes closed like before, they’d safely pass through the no-man’s zone and return outside. After contacting Xing Tian and the support team, they would be safe.

Though it might take longer, Guan Xiaoxuan believed Xing Tian and the others were searching hard for them.

As long as they got back to the real world, they could contact each other again.

Just then, she suddenly felt a pair of small hands resting on her leg.

The hands were thin and small—not adult-sized, more like a child’s.

A child?

Why was there a child on the bus?

Guan Xiaoxuan immediately became alert. She remembered there was only one person with a child on board: a woman sitting near the front, holding a toddler who looked about two or three years old.

But why was that child touching her leg?

“Help my mom…”

Suddenly, a clear, cold voice whispered right next to Guan Xiaoxuan’s ear. The small, fragile voice said, “Help us…”

Then there was a screech of brakes and a loud crash, which threw Guan Xiaoxuan off her seat. The world spun wildly before she slammed hard onto something, banging her forehead painfully.

“Ugh—”

Holding her head, Guan Xiaoxuan blinked open her eyes and felt a chill all over.

But when warm sunlight streamed through the window, the coldness faded.

“Attention passengers, next stop: East Suburb Plaza. Please hold on tight and give your seat to the elderly, pregnant women, and passengers holding children. Thank you…”

A gentle female voice came from the broadcast. Guan Xiaoxuan realized she was still on the No. bus 444—but this time, things had changed.

It was afternoon, the sunlight slightly dim and yellowish. It looked to be about 3 p.m.

Outside, cars were driving, and in the distance she could even see the cross-river bridge.

Guan Xiaoxuan didn’t understand why she had been closing her eyes just moments ago, then suddenly opened them and found herself here. She remembered feeling a child’s hand, then everything spun, and she heard a car crash.

“Help us…”

That fragile voice was the last thing she heard.

Rubbing her head, she looked around from her seat at the very back of the bus. She could see everything inside the bus clearly.

Qiu Nan wasn’t there. Chen Man wasn’t there either.

Looking at the other passengers, Guan Xiaoxuan saw some unfamiliar faces, and some that looked very familiar.

For example, among the people sitting in the front rows, there was a woman holding a small child. Across from Guan Xiaoxuan sat a young man wearing glasses, but she didn’t see the man dressed in black with a black mask anywhere.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the child—a tiny kid so young it was hard to tell if it was a boy or girl. The child wore a knitted pumpkin hat and sat in the woman’s arms looking a bit upset, seeming to dislike riding the bus.

Guan Xiaoxuan reached inside her clothes and felt the strange items she had hidden there—the pistol, and even the talisman Qiu Nan had given her for protection.

It was strange. All her things were with her, yet she had somehow ended up in this place. Why?

Putting together what the little girl had said earlier, Guan Xiaoxuan suspected that what she was about to see was the scene on Route 444 just before the bus crashed into the river.

Using her own face was too risky. Although she didn’t know exactly what might happen, to be safe she pulled out Cheng Yi’s face mask from an inner pocket, quietly put it on, and disguised herself as an unremarkable person. She then sat quietly in the very last row of the bus.

No sooner had she put on the disguise than the child in the front row started crying. At first, it was soft sobbing, and the woman tried to comfort the child. But the crying got louder and louder until the child was screaming at the top of their lungs.

Behind the woman, a young man in a suit was holding his phone, talking on a call and clearly frustrated. The child’s loud cries made him sweat visibly.

“Stop crying!” the young man shouted, covering the phone with his hand and yelling at the child in the front, “This is a bus. Can your kid please be quiet?”

The woman looked distressed and kept apologizing, but the child refused to stay in her arms, crying and demanding to get off the bus.

The young man seemed to lose his temper. He stood up from his seat, grabbed the child roughly from the woman’s arms, and pushed them to the floor. Then he shouted hysterically at the kid, “Cry, cry, cry—what are you crying about? If you can’t behave, why did you even come on the bus? Do you know how important the call I was making just now was?!”

The child froze on the floor for a moment, then started crying even louder.