The Record of Strange Tales

On the other side, the uncle, having confirmed that he had gradually gained the right to speak, spoke seriously.

"This is my deduction. Do you have any other questions? As for what a Strange Tale is and what logical rules mean, let's skip that. I don't have time to popularize Strange Tale knowledge for you. As ordinary people, you had best not contact these things too much."

Wang Xia and Tang Nianke were originally full of questions, but upon hearing the uncle's last two sentences, they immediately swallowed their questions back down.

Zhao Yanchun asked calmly, "Uncle, you say we are ordinary people, so does that imply... you are not an ordinary person?"

The uncle glanced at her once more. Although it was extremely unlucky to wander into a Strange Tale while going out to buy groceries, and his temporary teammates seemed to be ordinary students, fortunately, their mental fortitude was not bad. The first girl who knocked down the man in the trench coat was the bravest, keen and intelligent. And these three college students weren't just terrified; even the most cowardly boy knew to come and help.

Out of this slight goodwill, he rolled up his sleeves. His biceps bulged slightly, and his otherwise normal skin shimmered with a metallic luster. He swung his hand and punched the iron bars, producing a crisp metallic clanging sound.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My surname is Hu, and I am a Transcendent. My defensive power is quite good. Leave dealing with that man to me next. Choose two people to cooperate with me to tie up all the men, and the other two will protect that pregnant woman."

Tang Nianke's eyes widened, and even Zhao Yanchun, who had always been very calm, showed surprise.

Wang Xia cried out in shock, "My goodness, a superhero?!"

Ye Yu: 【He really is a Transcendent.】

From this Uncle Hu's words, it was clear he was very experienced with Strange Tales. It was normal for him to be a Transcendent. However, while he stood up to control the right to speak, he had absolutely no intention of pulling out an Investigator certificate. This did not align with the behavioral rules of official Investigators. He didn't seem to be part of the official Investigation Bureau... Was he an unorganized rogue, or a member of some other folk organization?

Yu Xi said contemptuously: 【Just a mere Tier 3 small fry. I advise you not to pin your hopes on him.】

"Clang, Fengqiao West Station. Passengers preparing to alight, please exit from the rear door."

At the fifth stop, the bus's announcement caused the atmosphere, which had eased slightly, to tense up once more. As the fourth man in a trench coat boarded the bus, Hu Kailiang scanned everyone and quickly pointed at Zhao Yanchun and Ye Yu.

"The three of us will stop the men from continuing to board. You two are responsible for protecting that pregnant woman. Remember, our lives are currently tied to hers. Once there is a problem on my side, the only thing you need to do is put all your effort into keeping that pregnant woman alive."

Hu Kailiang chose Zhao Yanchun because she was still sick. No matter how calm and rational she was, she couldn't hide her face, which was flushed red from a fever. She needed rest. And Hu Kailiang chose Ye Yu because she had shown courage, sharpness, and intelligence, looking far more reliable than Wang Xia. Only by choosing her to protect the pregnant woman could he feel at ease.

However, what he didn't know was that while Ye Yu seriously agreed on the surface, standing in the aisle in front of the pregnant woman like a lone warrior guarding a pass, her mind was actually contemplating how to turn around and slash open this poor pregnant woman's stomach with a knife.

Zhao Yanchun had intended to stand with Ye Yu, but Ye Yu pressed her down onto a seat.

"Aren't you still sick? Sit down and rest for a bit. Only by saving your strength can you handle what comes next."

She pulled out her phone and muttered, "Sigh, let me check if my phone has a signal. As soon as I see a signal, I'll call the police immediately. Don't worry, as long as we work together, we will definitely survive!"

Zhao Yanchun was not made of iron. Exhausted, she sat on the seat. Having run a fever of forty degrees, the moment she relaxed, her brain turned to mush. But under such circumstances, she really didn't dare to fall asleep. At this moment, she vaguely saw Ye Yu beside her pulling out her phone to operate it, so she couldn't help but pull out her own phone as well.

Ultimately, no matter how calm she was, she was just an ordinary college student. In such a situation, she would instinctively want to seek help from the police.

On the other side, seeing Ye Yu take out her phone, Yu Xi couldn't help but mock: 【There's no signal anyway. What are you pulling your phone out for? Preparing to play a tense and exciting round of Anipop to ease your mood?】

Ye Yu: 【...Shut up, I don't have time to deal with you right now.】

As she spoke, she raised her head to look at the three people struggling with the trench-coated man, then quickly lowered her head to fiddle with her phone.

Seeing her click open the 'Strange Tale Simulator', Yu Xi couldn't help but say suspiciously: 【Could it be that you plan to create a signal Strange Tale to help you send a distress signal outside? Useless. This ghost bus has space-jumping capabilities. Even if the Investigation Bureau wants to save you, they won't be able to find you for a while.】

Ye Yu, busy typing, ignored him. She clicked on editable slot number two for a new Strange Tale, paused for a moment, and then tapped her finger. Just like that, a new Strange Tale was born!

【The Record of Strange Tales】
Strange Tale Grade: Tier 3
Strange Tale Range: All marked phones.
Strange Tale Source: Ye Yu's phone.
Death Rule: ...
...
*
No matter how Zhao Yanchun fiddled with her phone, she couldn't get a signal. Just as she was about to put her phone away in disappointment, a blank red-and-black app suddenly appeared on her screen. It pushed the other apps aside, openly occupying the most central position. The icon was a dark silhouette of a person holding a cat, with the figure's feet stepping on countless bizarrely twisted monster silhouettes, and at the very bottom were five large characters.

The Record of Strange Tales?

Zhao Yanchun's movements froze. She frowned at this bizarre app that had suddenly appeared, and then heard the girl in front of her quickly turn her head and speak.

"Huh? Strange... I couldn't find a signal, but I suddenly found that my phone somehow has an extra..."

Before Ye Yu could finish her sentence, her gaze suddenly landed on Zhao Yanchun's phone screen. Her almond eyes widened, filled with shock.

"You... You have it too?!"

Her shocked voice drew the attention of the others. The strength of the new trench-coated man who had boarded the bus had already exceeded the range of an ordinary human. Fortunately, Hu Kailiang's strength was also not small, and after some effort, he finally tied him up.

At this moment, the three of them walked to the back of the bus. Hu Kailiang asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

Zhao Yanchun held up her phone: "An app suddenly appeared on our phones."

Ye Yu also held up her phone. "Yes. I was trying to find a signal, but this app suddenly appeared on my phone. Then, when I turned around to tell her about it, I didn't expect her phone to have it too."

"The Record of Strange Tales?"

Hu Kailiang suspiciously scanned their phone screens, careful not to touch them. Right at this moment, Wang Xia suddenly cried out in shock. "Huh?! My phone has it too!"

Tang Nianke was startled, then quickly checked her phone: "I have it too!"

Hu Kailiang immediately pulled out his own phone, and his face darkened. On his phone, a bizarre app had also appeared at some point. Under these circumstances, this suddenly appearing app exuded an aura of eerie mystery.

What was even more bizarre was that as they all pulled out their phones to look at the app in confusion, it suddenly opened and ran automatically. On a snow-white interface, standard black characters appeared out of thin air, one by one.

'Good afternoon, lovely humans. Very glad to meet you. Congratulations on becoming our first members. Let us work together to completely contain the Strange Tale world for God as soon as possible! Try your best to please God. As long as you can win God's smile, perhaps something good will happen! :)'

Wang Xia had already been scared out of his wits by the ghost bus. At this moment, his hand shook, and he quickly threw his phone onto an empty seat beside him. "What is this thing?! Did we run into a ghost again... No, did we run into another Strange Tale?"

Hu Kailiang frowned and said, "I'm afraid so. Everyone, put your phones aside. Absolutely do not touch them randomly, to avoid triggering the death rule of the Strange Tale."

While Ye Yu obediently followed everyone in placing her phone on an empty seat, her mind stirred, and another sentence immediately appeared on everyone's phones.

'I greeted you so friendly, yet you have such an attitude. How rude. But it's fine. Humans trembling in fear look even more delicious... Ah, no, I mean even more lovely. As for who I am? I am The Record of Strange Tales itself, a lovely Strange Tale that loves to engage in friendly communication with humans. You can directly call me Mr. System. :)'

"Delicious. It just said we look delicious, right?"

Wang Xia was so scared he backed up two steps, fearing that in the next second, his phone would open up a massive abyss and swallow him whole.

"It... seems different from that pregnant woman. It seems to be communicating with us," Zhao Yanchun identified the key issue. "It... possesses intelligence?"

On the phone screens, text appeared once more: 'Yes, I possess intelligence, lovely humans. I am engaging in a communication between intelligent beings with you. This is very meaningful, isn't it? :)'

Tang Nianke's expression softened slightly as she said, "This Strange Tale's attitude seems quite good. Can we..." Communicate well with it so it would let them go?

"No. Stay away from those phones!" Hu Kailiang's face was pale as he quickly backed up several steps, the dread in his eyes even thicker than when he faced the ghost bus!

Sweat beaded on his forehead as he ground out word by word. "It is currently known that the lowest grade for an intelligent Strange Tale is Tier 6. And this ghost bus... is rumored to be only Tier 4."

Hearing this, the others' faces changed drastically, and they quickly backed away from the five phones on the seats. According to Uncle Hu's words, this app was actually even more dangerous than this terrifying ghost bus?!