Not only the netizens, Tan Xingyun and the other two felt exactly the same way as the live comments.
Xu Xiuman glanced at the young man sitting behind her through the rearview mirror.
At first she had subconsciously ignored him.
To her, as long as he and that guy named Li Kang didn't hold them back, that was enough.
But now it was clear he was far stronger than them and much more composed.
She could also tell he didn't want to talk.
It wasn't silence from dislike of speaking, but rather a deliberate choice not to interact with them.
So even when she needed chat to ease the tension, she mostly chose the other two.
The beer-bellied uncle beside her obviously shared the same understanding.
Li Kang needed no further comment; soaking in the pride that his instincts were always right, he radiated a relaxed confidence that having a master on the team made the game secure.
After the car sped past the grave mounds, the road only stayed smooth for a moment before it began to jolt again.
Tan Xingyun couldn't help but sigh, "This road really twists and turns. I don't dare go too fast; there are so many corners I’m afraid I’ll drive you into a ditch."
Li Kang nodded with relief, "Good thing you volunteered to drive, uncle. I can't do it, I didn't pass my driving test."
"I got my license, but I don't drive often, so I'm not very practiced," Xu Xiuman added.
The only one who got car sick, Xu Xi, grunted, "……"
He tried to join the conversation, but his head felt woozy.
[Lol, the three over there are chatting happily, while Xu Xi is alone with his eyes closed, what a clear divide]
[Xu Xi: With my one man power, I have successfully isolated all teammates]
Just as Xu Xi had gotten used to his butt being jostled now and then, the relatively light chatter at his ear suddenly stopped.
"It's raining…"
Right after Xu Xiuman's words came the pitter-patter of raindrops striking the car window.
At first the rain was the size of millet, but within moments it turned into heavy drops the size of beans.
Soon, the pattering rain blurred the view outside.
"This is bad, the rain's heavy and the road's already rough," Tan Xingyun said with a grim expression. Although he had some confidence in his driving, they were still inside an instance where unpredictable things could happen at any time, so he couldn't afford to be careless.
"Why does it have to rain now!" Li Kang muttered under his breath.
One man's careless remark, another's alarm bell.
Xu Xi's heart skipped.
From years of watching films in his previous life, sudden environmental changes usually hinted that something unusual was about to occur.
The next second—
"Look, is that…?"
With Xu Xiuman's prompt, Xu Xi exhaled softly.
Sure enough, his premonition was right.
Through the rain-dense curtain and the car window, Xu Xi could barely make out an old woman standing near the roadside not far ahead. She looked about the same age as the old man from the funeral shop, bent over protectively holding a cloth bundle in her arms, drenched and miserable from the downpour.
Perhaps noticing the car's headlights, the old woman hurriedly waved at them.
"An old woman suddenly appearing in the middle of the road out of nowhere? That's not normal!" Li Kang scoffed.
The other three privately agreed.
"Then I won't stop; I'll just go around her," Tan Xingyun said.
No one objected.
This wasn't the real world; nobody would risk their life out of goodwill.
Besides, even in reality you'd worry she might be deliberately staging an accident to make a claim.
None of the four planned to pay attention to this inexplicable old woman, but just as Tan Xingyun prepared to drive past her, the old woman suddenly lunged into the middle of the road as if not the slightest concerned she might be run over.
"Shit!" Tan Xingyun slammed the brakes, and the car screeched to a halt right in front of her.
It was a close call.
Even someone as composed as Tan Xingyun couldn't help cursing aloud.
Fortunately everyone was wearing seat belts and nothing else happened, but their faces were pale.
[Is this old witch crazy? She actually used her body to block the car, not afraid of getting smashed to death!]
[She's obviously a supernatural being, no need to think twice. And if you hit her who knows what happens—these four are doomed]
[This hag is clearly trying to force us to stop. Players can't avoid it; even without physically blocking the car she'd still find a way]
Some of the comments were more perceptive.
No matter how you looked at it, an elderly woman appearing alone by a deserted highway was suspicious—especially inside an instance. If she were a normal person, the abnormality itself would be the horror.
The four players inside the instance understood this clearly, but this supernatural creature seemed unwilling to let them go easily.
"Please, give me a ride!" The old woman seemed to have anticipated their reluctance; she clung to the front of the car and shouted, "I'm trying to go home, but it just started pouring and I didn't bring an umbrella. Please, just give me a ride, my house isn't far!"
The heavy rain washed over her, wet hair plastered to her pale cheeks, dripping clothes clinging to her frame. Her pleading expression tugged at anyone's sympathy.
But—
[What a flimsy excuse. Is there any sign of habitation within ten miles?]
[Besides, that funeral shop owner said this road only leads to a funeral parlor. There's no way her home is a regular house]
[Maybe her home is the crematorium in the funeral parlor, who knows (laughing)]
Even the live comments didn't buy it, let alone the four inside the car.
"She's holding onto the hood too tightly, I can't pull away," Tan Xingyun frowned, irritation on his face.
He didn't dare to force it, worried about provoking the old woman who was clearly supernatural.
"She's only blocking our car and hasn't forced us out or attacked. Either the vehicle itself protects us and she can't get in, or we haven't triggered the death rule so she can't harm us," Xu Xiuman also frowned, tightly watching the old woman while offering her opinion.
Either way, no one wanted to act rashly.
But the old woman clearly had no patience to wait for them to decide.
"Please, just give me a ride, I will pay you!" The old woman continued to beg, but the four noticed her expression growing darker.
Tan Xingyun ground his teeth, rolled down the window, and said to her, "I'm really sorry, granny. We're in a hurry. Maybe wait for the next car?"
"It seems you don't want to give me a ride…" The old woman's voice trailed off. Despite Tan Xingyun's polite explanation, she wasn't ready to give up, "If that's so…"
[Oh no, oh no, this damned old woman is about to transform]
[Xu Xi, say something already!]
Inside and outside, everyone was nervous. Li Kang even instinctively turned to look at the young man beside him, "Brother Xu, what should we do?"
Just as the old woman's face was about to darken completely, Xu Xi suddenly rolled down his window.