Infinite: Dawn Game

Chapter 965 Confession

In the driver's seat, the hat that was originally a deep, almost blood-red color on the driver's head had completely changed to an ordinary, old, faded red hat.

He himself slowly, very slowly, turned his head, exposing his face completely to everyone for the first time.

The wary expressions on everyone's faces froze.

Contrary to their expectations of something terrifying and sinister, what they saw was the face of an ordinary middle-aged man, overworked, with deep eye bags and wrinkles.

The driver's eyes were no longer as strange as they had been at the beginning; instead, they were filled with a heavy weariness and a trace of... barely perceptible, long-suppressed, numb grief.

He glanced at the empty carriage, now only occupied by the players, his lips moved slightly, and he spoke softly in a hoarse but no longer mechanical voice:

“That day… I didn’t hear anything behind me at first, but then I did… It was so chaotic, the car was a complete mess… It was terrifying… I… I saw blood in the rearview mirror…”

The driver's voice was low, as if he were talking to himself, or as if he were confessing to someone who didn't exist.

"I was really terrified, really. I'm an old hand at this, I've been driving the night shift for almost twenty years now... ten years... I've never encountered anything like this before..."

A hoarse voice slowly emerged from the driver's throat:

“I saw so much blood… so many people, so many people were running towards me… but my mind went blank. I just wanted to get to the next station with people as quickly as possible, as fast as I could… I thought that once we got to the station, the police would be here soon… I didn’t expect… really… I really didn’t expect it to be like that…”

The driver raised his slightly trembling hand and covered his face.

“I kept having dreams afterward… I dreamt of that girl’s eyes… I dreamt of a car full of blood… I was too scared to drive the night shift anymore, but I didn’t know how to do anything else besides driving…”

"I'm sorry... I'm really... sorry..."

The bus was now empty except for the driver's voice; no one spoke up for him.

Xu Han sighed and helped He Lingling move to a seat next to him.

What can these "bystanders" say?

The driver's fear and cowardice are undeniable facts, and it is also true that his choice indirectly led to the tragedy...

But at this moment, he was no longer a purely hateful NPC, but a cowardly ordinary person whose life had also been partially destroyed by that tragedy.

After all, if we look at it from a bystander's perspective, the driver didn't actually do anything heinous; he was just standing by, panicked and fearful.

But fear and cowardice always accompany human growth, and how can we possibly get rid of them?

Xu Han dared to say that none of the people present dared to say they were never afraid or timid.

However, he found the driver's earlier statement, "I didn't hear anything at first," rather strange.

Thinking of this, Xu Han gently nudged He Lingling's arm and whispered:

"What did the driver mean when he said he didn't hear it at first? That shouldn't be the case... If someone in the car had been stabbed, there would have been a lot of screams..."

Xu Han couldn't help but find it a bit strange.

How could the driver not hear such a loud noise?

Chen Yi and An Jie also heard Xu Han's question. They exchanged a glance and saw the same doubt in each other's eyes.

Yes.

Why did the driver say he didn't hear it at first?

"..." He Lingling, who was being watched by the three of them, did not say anything.

Just when the three thought she didn't know either, He Lingling suddenly said, "Shi Jiu."

Yu Shijiu, who was standing at the very front of the group, turned his head and asked, "Hmm?"

He Lingling: "What do you think?"

"..." Yu Shijiu paused, then hesitated and asked, "What is Sister Lingling asking?"

"driver."

He Lingling said.

Yu Shijiu blinked. "The driver... he's quite pitiful too."

He Lingling stared at him for a long time, then closed her sore, tearful eyes and whispered:

"You noticed it too."

"It should be pretty easy to spot, right?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Shijiu subconsciously looked at the driver again, his gaze lingering on him for several moments.

"Given his situation... I guess he really didn't hear it at the time, but..."

He paused for a moment, then said casually, "But I feel both sorry for him and hate him."

He Lingling sighed: "You're right."

The three people listening nearby, completely bewildered, were speechless.

Xu Han couldn't hold back and said urgently:

"What do you mean? Why are you talking in riddles? This won't do! We're teammates! Good teammates! Good teammates don't speak in half-hearted terms—"

"Minor Cold".

Chen Yi interrupted Xu Han, seemingly realizing something as well, and glanced at Lin Hai and his group of four out of the corner of his eye.

"It's not too late to talk about it after we get out."

Anjie understood from Chen Yi's expression and nodded in agreement, "Okay, I'll listen to your brother Chen."

Xu Han: "..."

He Lingling didn't open her eyes, taking advantage of this rare free time to rest for a while, and said softly with her eyes closed:

"Brother Chen is right."

Xu Han turned to look at Yu Shijiu.

Yu Shijiu had already turned her head back to stare at the driver who was talking and repenting to himself, completely unaware of Xu Han's gaze.

Xu Han secretly glared resentfully at He Lingling and Yu Shijiu, who were speaking in riddles and offering no explanation.

He Lingling, who had just opened her eyes, caught her red-handed.

Xu Han: "..."

He chuckled awkwardly twice, and, finding something to do, grabbed He Lingling's hand and began to treat her.

—Although he was just treating her casually and didn't intend to fully heal He Lingling, since the dungeon was almost cleared, there was no need to waste his skills.

It was simply to ease the tension and shut He Lingling up instantly.

As Xu Han pondered this, he lowered his head, completely ignoring He Lingling's gaze.

He Lingling: "..."

Now that Xu Han has done this, it's really not a good idea for me to "scold" him.

He Lingling felt aggrieved, but she didn't say anything more. Feeling the warm current flowing from the point where her hands met into her body, which was in excruciating pain, the pain in her eyes lessened considerably.

As for Lin Hai and the others...

He Lingling thought for a moment, then shifted her position and leaned back in her seat, squinting as she "peeked" at Lin Hai's current state.

Anjie and Chen Yi, who were watching openly and honestly, were speechless.

The two locked eyes, then silently found a seat and sat down, only glancing at the four "Echoes" out of the corner of their eyes.

"..."

As Lin Hai listened to the driver's confession, the muscles on his face twitched as if they were contorted, but in the end, he turned his face away, neither looking at the driver nor saying anything more.

Lin Hai knew in his heart that the hatred and pain did not disappear with the departure of those "passengers," and perhaps... perhaps they would never completely disappear.

But that crazy idea of ​​dragging everyone down with him and making all the bystanders die again was briefly and temporarily extinguished by Ah Xiu's final smile and the driver's belated "I'm sorry."

Lin Hai lowered his hand in vain, feeling as if something heavy was pressing down on his chest, making him completely unable to move.

Mulanzhi looked at his stiff, mechanically lowered hand and pursed her lips.

A brief silence fell over the carriage, broken only by the sound of the rain pattering outside the window and the driver's suppressed sobs.

Lin Hai slowly stood up, his body swaying slightly.

Mulanzhi and Li Yema instinctively wanted to help him, but Lin Hai gently waved his hand to stop them.

"I am fine."

Lin Hai raised his head, his gaze sweeping over An Jie and the other four. In his small pupils, the twisted madness had faded, leaving only a bottomless weariness and a trace of almost empty calm.

"The game isn't over yet," Lin Hai's voice was terribly hoarse, yet exceptionally clear. "Those 'things that shouldn't exist' mentioned at the beginning of the game... have they really all been completely eliminated?"

Lin Hai's words startled everyone in the car.

Anjie and Chen Yi immediately became alert, gripping their props tightly and looking around.

The carriage did look much "cleaner." The eerie black fog and passengers had completely disappeared, and even the uncomfortably cold temperature had risen considerably and was no longer so cold.

But if everything was really cleaned up, why would Lin Hai suddenly say something like that?

"..."

He Lingling was also startled upon hearing this. She subconsciously endured the intense pain in her eyes and forcefully gathered her remaining mental energy to activate "Ghost Eye".

In an instant, the edges of her black pupils, which had returned to normal, began to dilate, and her empty gaze slowly penetrated, landing on the air in the carriage, the seats, the floor... and even on the driver's ordinary, faded red hat that trembled up and down with his constant sobs.

These things were indeed covered with a dense layer of thin, dark black mist.

From a distance, it looks like fog, but in reality it is... some "pollution" that is trying to attach itself to the player's consciousness.

"There really are still some residues..."

He Lingling's voice was filled with suppressed fear; she couldn't believe she hadn't noticed this, and she spoke rather quickly:

"It's very faint, very thin... but it's definitely there, not in any specific 'thing,' but... permeating the entire carriage."

He Lingling took a breath, sounding somewhat uncomfortable, before continuing:

"Or rather, it is the 'mark' left by the tragedy in Lin Hai's memory. It is the source that supports the existence of this instance, and it is also the key that the system uses to judge the outcome."

"……What's the meaning?"

Anjie frowned. "I can't see it, but you can all?"

Chen Yi and Yu Shijiu shook their heads at the same time, as did Xu Han.

Mulanzhi, Li Ye, and Ma Ming all looked rather grim—they couldn't see anything either.

The three of them thought that as long as they could wake Lin Hai up, everything would be fine... but what is this now?

Lin Hai tugged at the corners of his mouth, a smile that was both bitter and knowing:

"I knew it... how could a dungeon be cleared so easily... it's not just about the 'solution process' in the story, it's also about seeing which of us players can give the dungeon's story a happy ending."

Lin Hai looked at An Jie: "Captain An, it seems we still have to 'fight' for a result."

Ange gripped her short blade tightly and said in a deep voice, "How do you intend to fight for this?"

Direct armed confrontation?

Neither side is in good condition right now. Lin Hai has just suffered a severe mental blow, and Mu Lanzhi and the other two are also quite exhausted.

On the "Living" side, He Lingling was nearly exhausted, and Xu Han's healing ability was almost depleted. Chen Yi could try to open up, but he could only serve as a support shield... Although the contamination in Yu Shijiu's left arm was temporarily suppressed, the hidden dangers remained—An Jie subconsciously excluded Yu Shijiu directly.

Yu Shijiu decided against it... If these two sides really went head-to-head, the outcome would be quite unpredictable... It would be too foolish to fight to the death at this time.

Lin Hai obviously didn't have that idea either.

He was silent for a few seconds, then his gaze fell on Yu Shijiu, or more precisely, on his left arm, which was wrapped in cloth again but still trembled with unease.

“Your arm,” Lin Hai said softly, “is most sensitive to the ‘residue’ here, right?”

Yu Shijiu blinked and did not deny it: "Yeah, it seems... a little 'hungry'."

This description sent a chill down Xu Han's spine.

What...what do you mean by...hungry?

Xu Han glanced furtively at Yu Shijiu's left arm.

"Guild tournament dungeons really like to 'transform' players' memories."

Lin Hai spoke slowly, as if he were organizing his thoughts, or explaining to everyone.

"The game transformed my obsession and hatred into the skeleton and flesh of the 'Homecoming' instance, and turned the fear and indifference of those passengers into black mist and the rotting corpses and skeletons of those who got on and off the train..."

He paused for a few seconds after saying this before continuing:

"Then... it transformed my love, pain, and guilt towards Ah Xiu into the hooded passenger, the ghost couple, Xiao Juan, and Ah Hao. Although these NPCs, composed of my memories, have all gotten off the bus and left, the source is still here."

"If I'm not mistaken..."

Lin Hai clenched his fist tightly, his nails digging deep into his palm, and his voice suddenly became very soft.

"...The source should be the despair and resentment left in this car after Ah Xiu was killed—these boiling, desperate and complex emotions are still hidden in every corner of this car."

He looked at Yu Shijiu as he spoke, his trembling voice softening slightly:

“I watched your live stream. Your left arm absorbed the pollution left behind by the field mice in the burrow. This pollution is strictly speaking part of the Dawn Game. I suspect it might be able to… ‘eat’ the last bit of hidden stuff.”

“But this is dangerous. I can’t guarantee anything. You might be attacked by the backlash, or you might lose control and hurt people, or you might… successfully ‘purify’ this last ‘thing that shouldn’t exist’.”

Chen Yi and An Jie frowned upon hearing this, and were about to speak when Xu Han's voice rang out first.

"no!"

Xu Han strongly disagreed. He quickly ran to Yu Shijiu's side, grabbed his arm, and said in a deep voice:

"Shi Jiu cannot take risks."

Others might not know, but he did... Although Yu Shijiu seemed to be doing well now, in reality... the field mice deep in those burrows were not so easy to deal with at all.

Putting everything else aside, you can tell just by looking at the tufts of hair on Yu Shijiu's arms, right?