With the system prompt falling silent, Jiang Xiuxiu realized the bus had stopped.
They had arrived at their destination, at the entrance of the riverside village.
Through the window, Jiang Xiuxiu could clearly see the desolate fields and dilapidated houses in the village.
As the system had mentioned, this place was indeed quite remote. At a glance, Jiang Xiuxiu couldn't see any modern equipment.
Scattered houses, elderly villagers, and frequently used wells.
To give an inappropriate analogy, everything here seemed like China in the 1950s or 1960s. From the environment to the residents, there was an unmistakable sense of antiquity.
After arriving, the players quickly stood up one by one.
They formed a line and got off the bus.
When Jiang Xiuxiu left the bus and stepped onto the muddy ground, a system prompt appeared in front of her.
**Player Jiang Xiuxiu is a veteran player. Special abilities and clearance tasks have been matched.**
**Special Ability: Transformation Technique**
**Clearance Task: Dress the boss in the specified outfit.**
**Would you like to receive the related task items?**
Seeing this, Jiang Xiuxiu silently said "accept" in her mind.
Shortly after, she felt something in her hand.
Compared to a maid outfit, it was much lighter.
However, the fabric had not decreased; instead, there was more of it.
Looking down, Jiang Xiuxiu saw a neatly folded piece of black cloth in her hand. The fabric was of excellent quality and elastic.
What puzzled Jiang Xiuxiu was that on top of this piece of fabric, there was a black headband.
On the headband were two long, straight bunny ears.
Jiang Xiuxiu was stunned.
She suddenly had a bad premonition.
Seizing the moment when no one was paying attention, Jiang Xiuxiu quickly examined the clothes.
Besides the headband, she found a black leather collar, panties with a fluffy bunny tail, and a tight black uniform.
The fabric was subtle yet exquisite, with an enticing low neckline that perfectly exposed the abdomen, and a tailcoat-like hem.
However, compared to the maid outfit that could cover the thighs, this outfit's skirt was extremely short, seemingly revealing too much.
Jiang Xiuxiu was shocked.
Could this be the legendary bunny girl outfit?
No, what is up with this system? Why would it give her such clothes?
Could it have been infected by some kind of virus?
If she gave this outfit to Xu Bai, he would surely kill her!
Without hesitation, Jiang Xiuxiu quickly hid the outfit in her backpack.
Unless it was the final moment and she was sure to subdue Xu Bai, this outfit must not see the light of day.
Then, pretending like nothing had happened, she began to observe others.
Some players were obviously experienced in the survival horror game, familiar with their special abilities and clearance tasks.
As Jiang Xiuxiu observed them, they also glanced at her.
Another group of people was still frowning at their special skill information.
As for Ye Ming, Jiang Xiuxiu had already asked about his ability before entering the game.
Ye Ming's special ability was quite common, enhancing his strength at critical moments. His task was similar to hers: to defeat the boss.
After receiving her task items, Jiang Xiuxiu looked at the players' faces, trying to remember them.
Next, she planned to discuss with Ye Ming how to proceed.
However, just as Jiang Xiuxiu looked up, she saw Ye Ming beside her, staring at her.
"Ye Ming?" Jiang Xiuxiu asked.
What was going on? Why did Ye Ming seem upset?
"Nothing."
Seeing Jiang Xiuxiu's puzzled expression, Ye Ming's gaze shifted, and he smiled faintly. "Let's go inside quickly and not fall behind."
He naturally had a gentle and fair look. Now, with this smile, he appeared even more clean and fresh, without any hint of darkness.
Jiang Xiuxiu looked at him, noticing his calm demeanor.
Maybe she had misread his earlier expression.
Thinking this, Jiang Xiuxiu didn't ask further.
Seeing the other players heading into the village, she quickly pulled Ye Ming along to follow the group.
When the last person entered the village, the system prompt finally sounded.
**All players are in place. The third escape game scenario, the Riverside Lonely Village, officially begins.**
**All players, please remember to carefully play your respective roles during the game.**
**Do not let NPCs notice your origins. Do not let NPCs discover their identities.**
**If an accident occurs, you will bear the consequences.**
**The game plot starts in five, four, three, two, one.**
As the system's sharp prompt ended, the distant bus suddenly started moving on its own, without a driver.
It slowly left the village, disappearing into a white fog in the distance.
The game had begun.
Following the system's information, the players planned to go to Wang Xiaoyue's house first.
Their game objective was related to Wang Xiaoyue, so going to her house was a logical step.
Unfamiliar with the road, the players decided to ask the village residents for directions.
On the way, the players noticed that there were few young people in the village, and most were elderly.
Occasionally, they saw old people sitting by the roadside, making it easy to find someone to ask for directions.
However, to their surprise, the elderly in the village were not as friendly as they had imagined.
Not only were they unfriendly, but upon seeing the players, they would intentionally avoid them, either hiding or going home and closing the door.
But once the players passed by, the elderly would secretly peek out, staring at them with eerie eyes.
Moreover, the villagers seemed mysterious and enigmatic.
Almost no one spoke loudly. The villagers huddled in corners, whispering to each other. The village's atmosphere was quiet and oppressive, and the occasional barking of a dog could startle the players.
After spending some time in such an environment, even the players gradually stopped talking.
After three unsuccessful attempts, they finally managed to stop a woman returning from doing laundry by the river.
Though she also seemed reluctant to engage with them, she was too small and frail to resist being stopped.
However, upon hearing that the players were asking about Wang Xiaoyue, her expression changed immediately.
"Wang Xiaoyue? I don’t know who that is. Don't ask me."
"We just want to know where her house is. Could you point us in the right direction?" the players asked helplessly.
The players were tired and not insistent on getting information; they just wanted to find a place to stay before nightfall.
Given how unwelcoming the village was, they knew it was unlikely they would be allowed to stay overnight. The only option left seemed to be Wang Xiaoyue's house.
The woman looked at them warily and kept her mouth shut, refusing to speak.
It was only when a male player showed signs of impatience that she got scared and stammered, "Head south. The Wang family lives there."
With that, she seized the opportunity and darted away, escaping through the crowd.
The players had no other choice and followed her directions, heading south.
The village was bordered by a river, which lay precisely to the south.
Following the path, the houses became sparser, and the sound of the rushing river grew clearer.
**Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang.**
After walking some distance, a sudden clamor of drums and gongs erupted from the riverside.
Such noise, abruptly breaking the near-desolate silence of the village, didn't bring a sense of liveliness. Instead, it felt eerie and unsettling.
What was happening across the river?
The players discussed briefly and decided to sneak a peek.
Jiang Xiuxiu had no objections.
To get a better view, she and Ye Ming moved to the front of the group.
Since the river was not far, they climbed onto a slightly elevated rock, giving them a clear view of the riverside.
To avoid being noticed, everyone carefully hid behind bushes and rocks, peering through the gaps toward the source of the noise.
On the desolate riverside, there was a wedding procession dressed in festive red, carrying a sedan chair and scattering paper flowers.
The drumming and gong sounds came from this procession.
Jiang Xiuxiu saw that there were about thirty or forty people in the ceremony, either walking in front holding a long red cloth embroidered with large flowers or scattering red paper flowers behind.
Everyone wore red sashes and red flowers on their heads. At the center of the ceremony was a small sedan chair, decorated with the double happiness character, with the bride in red sitting inside
.
Tnote:: Double happiness character The Legend of the Double Happiness Symbol (thoughtco.com)
If not for the incongruous setting, this would be quite a lively wedding ceremony.
The only strange thing was that there was no groom, only the bride.
"Is someone in the village getting married recently?" the players whispered.
"But why would they go to the riverside?"
"Maybe it's a local custom. Some places have wedding parties visit temples too."
"I wonder if this is an important clue."
Having identified the source of the noise, the players quickly lost interest.
After a brief discussion, someone suggested returning to the village to continue searching for Wang Xiaoyue's house.
Most players wanted to leave.
Jiang Xiuxiu was still curious about the ceremony, but she didn't want to stay behind alone.
Just before leaving, Jiang Xiuxiu hesitated and glanced back at the wedding procession.
Her intuition told her there might be an important secret with this strange wedding procession.
As Jiang Xiuxiu turned back, a cold wind blew from the riverside.
The wind lifted the villagers' clothes and blew open the sedan chair's curtain.
Jiang Xiuxiu saw with her own eyes that the bride in the sedan chair, dressed in red, was not alive.
Her face was made of white paper, her mouth painted red, and her eyes were two black holes, looking both comical and terrifying.
The bride was a paper image.