Chapter 2: Midnight Taxi

"Have I really died?"

"And am I really a transmigrator? Or is this just a delusion born from my distorted perception?"

As things stand, because his perception had been distorted once before, Ding Mo was actually deeply suspicious, suspicious of whether the memories in his mind were real or fake.

Perhaps, just as that group of men in black said, he had long since gone insane due to "Pollution," and only appeared normal on the surface.

But regardless, he wanted to survive now.

He had to complete the "Typewriter" Task!

On the deserted road, Ding Mo gripped the steering wheel tightly.

It was just... what would be waiting for him next?

While driving, Ding Mo kept scanning the text that had appeared on his retina since just a moment ago:

【System Task Issued】

【Hint: Given that you are joining this system for the first time, this task will initiate a beginner-specific task hint.】

【Task: Work as a taxi driver and pick up passengers until 3:00 AM.】

【Hint 1: Once the task is completed, you may return to your original world.】

【Hint 2: During the task, please try your best to ensure your words and actions do not deviate from your Identity. A sincere tip: this is entirely for your own good.】

【Message: You write him, you become him, you act him out... until you are no longer him, or your life ends.】

【Threshold: 100%】

"A task?" This made Ding Mo feel as if he had fallen into some pathetic game.

The time at this moment was—1:00 AM.

The only good news was that his mental state seemed to have returned to normal, and that inexplicable "feeling of being watched" from inside the house just now had also vanished.

The streets on both sides were gray and hazy; there seemed to be some fog on the road, and one could only vaguely glimpse the colorful buildings and storefronts in the distance. It was like being separated by a layer of tissue paper, seemingly impossible to ever truly touch.

"This must be the 'Luanzang Road' written on the paper earlier."

This name is just too ominous; why doesn't the government here change it?

Changing it to something like 'Sleep-Peace Road' would be better.

At this moment, Ding Mo, who was driving, suddenly saw a shadow on the side of the road waving at him.

That was undoubtedly a gesture to hail a ride.

"Here it comes... I hope it goes smoothly." Ding Mo took a breath.

Then he steered the car to pull over.

He had encountered enough bizarre events; with tasks, transmigration, and the like, the current situation left him no choice but to believe it.

Just assume he had gone crazy.

Ding Mo kept approaching the shadow that was still waving, twenty meters, ten meters...

Until Ding Mo saw that strangely swaying hand clearly.

How was it strange?

The hand illuminated by the headlights was flat and thin, with rough fibers left over from cutting along the edges; it didn't look like a living limb at all, but rather like a hand made of paper!

Ding Mo's pupils constricted, staring blankly at the flat figure not far in front of his car, wearing a red cheongsam and sporting death-makeup.

This thing wasn't a person at all, but a paper cutout draped in clothes!

It was currently waving at Ding Mo, like a normal passenger hailing a cab. A flat bag hung from its arm, swaying.

It even occasionally smoothed out the hair "stuck" to its face and neck that didn't move at all, as if it really considered itself a charming lady!

Ding Mo's heart gave a violent jolt, and he immediately jerked the steering wheel!

The taxi drifted, the gust of wind it kicked up hitting the "lady" and causing its thin body to sway.

The headlights sped away...

Seeing this, the "lady" even stiffly tilted its neck, seemingly confused as to why Ding Mo had suddenly turned around and left.

And as Ding Mo saw this scene in the rearview mirror, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine!

So, the passenger he was supposed to pick up wasn't human?!

What on earth is going on in this place? Is this what "Different Space" means?!

But,

Just at this moment, the data on his retina suddenly began to jump frantically:

【Threshold: 100%】→【Threshold: 50%】!

Ding Mo's field of vision suddenly twisted—

The entire world before his eyes seemed to have been thrown into a washing machine, disintegrating into frenzied blocks of color on his retina.

It felt as if thousands of poisonous bees were flapping their wings inside his skull, and his eardrums emitted a terrifying buzzing sound under high pressure!

If there were a bystander here, they would discover that his eyeballs were almost splitting his eye sockets, scarlet blood vessels crawling all over the whites of his eyes, and his pupils had shrunk to almost the size of needle points!

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh—!"

He screamed, and the moving vehicle almost lost control and flipped over!

Fortunately, the symptoms only lasted for an instant, and he recovered in time.

The vehicle also stabilized.

Yet the safety Threshold on the panel had dropped by 50% all at once!

According to the emergency training content from that group of men in black earlier, this "Threshold" was an important indicator for measuring his mental state.

There was too much specific content, but he only remembered one conclusion:

If the Threshold was too low, his mortality rate would rise sharply! Even his perception would become distorted!

Things like mistaking excrement for a luxury dinner and enjoying it thoroughly would no longer be just a dream.

【Newbie Tip: Because you refused to take a passenger, you have seriously violated the driver's behavioral logic, Threshold lowered!】

"So... that's it... No wonder the second tip... was 'do not deviate from your character Identity'..."

Ding Mo inhaled frantically, alleviating the symptoms remaining on his body.

And as the Threshold lowered, he began to feel something again:

The dark corners outside the car that the streetlights could not reach had become somewhat shadowy, as if some eerie things were hiding within them, staring at him!

Ding Mo even felt that there was not just one of them, but that they were in groups... no, they were everywhere!

Ding Mo, who was driving, suddenly whipped his head around as if he had discovered something!

He saw a long, thin strand of a woman's hair drift across the outer film of the car window glass.

"Huhu hu!" Ding Mo's breathing became rapid, and cold sweat secreted from his back.

He had returned to the state he was in just now in front of the Typewriter.

Moreover, he discovered that his "Threshold" had begun to drop continuously and uncontrollably!

【Threshold: 49%】

【Threshold: 48%】

【Threshold: 47%】

... 【Threshold: 45%】!

In just ten minutes, his Threshold had dropped by 5%. According to the training content, if it falls below 60%, the Threshold will show a trend of continuous decline.

And once it drops below 20%, one will "get lost" and never be able to return!

If this continued, he wouldn't even be able to last until 3:00 AM; he was about to be finished!

Ding Mo parked the car on the side of the road, enduring the terrifying gazes from the darkness, and cursed in his heart:

"Damn it, I must never refuse a passenger again next time!

"But that passenger who hailed the car..."

His words suddenly came to an abrupt halt, because at this very moment,

A hand pulled open his car door.