Chapter 5: Attempt

In an instant, a violent impact struck; Ding Mo's hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, and his seatbelt jerked fiercely against him.

It felt as if his ribs were about to be snapped by it!

However, this move was remarkably effective; the "Ding Mo" beside him slammed headfirst into the plastic panel next to the dashboard.

This intense impact immediately caused a dent in his forehead!

But the texture of the dent was not like bone or flesh; instead, it felt like an inflatable rubber ball!

Still, this blow effectively interrupted his actions, and the rate at which the "Threshold" was dropping slowed down.

The "Ding Mo" beside him, with a dent in his forehead, froze in place.

【Prompt: As the driver, your slow speed and caution have ensured driving safety; your behavior is commendable!】

【Threshold +10%】

"What does this prompt mean... Regardless, as long as it works!"

Taking advantage of the few minutes he was stunned, Ding Mo hurriedly delivered him to the destination.

Turning off the taximeter, Ding Mo watched the guy, who had turned back into a stranger in a T-shirt, get out and walk away, and he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

Only when he relaxed did he realize his clothes were already soaked through with cold sweat.

As for that strange man, he walked up to a storefront, stood next to the door, and his facial features actually began to disappear!

In the end, he turned into a "mannequin" draped in clothes!

It stopped moving.

"What... what on earth is this thing!" Ding Mo gasped, staring at it.

This world is truly insane.

Fortunately, he, Ding Mo, survived... Ding Mo withdrew his gaze and looked at the money left on the passenger seat.

【Threshold: 31%】 → 【Threshold: 45%】

【Prompt: You have completed the driver's primary duties and earned an income; Threshold restored.】

The time now,

has reached 2:01 AM.

"Still, still okay..." Ding Mo leaned against the driver's seat, panting heavily.

For now, he was safe.

After sitting for a while, Ding Mo finally managed to regain his composure and started the car to get back on the road.

Even so, the bizarre and terrifying encounter just now still made it hard for him to concentrate for a long time; his Adrenaline continued to secrete uncontrollably, and his breathing remained rapid.

"Woo—" Amidst the whistling wind, a taxi drove along the highway.

On both sides of the street, the lights were almost all extinguished, and even the sporadic shops had closed their doors. The thick night, like ink that could not be dissolved, pressed heavily around the vehicle, even making Ding Mo feel vaguely suffocated.

Even the streetlights had mostly gone out due to the late hour, plunging the entire highway into deeper darkness. Only Ding Mo's headlights shone lonely, barely illuminating a pitifully small area.

By this time, he had mostly recovered, and his breathing had leveled out.

In fact, he felt exceptionally invigorated inside!

For no other reason than that the time on the dashboard had reached—2:33 AM!

In the last half hour, he hadn't picked up a single passenger! And this meant absolute safety!

No passengers meant no danger.

And this was all because... Ding Mo looked at the speedometer, which showed a speed only one-third of what it was before: 20 km/h.

That's right, Ding Mo really didn't want to pick up these dangerous passengers anymore; the mannequin from earlier had left him with severe psychological trauma!

Believing he hadn't violated the rules or the logic of a driver's behavior, the method he thought of was to lower his driving speed and shorten the driving distance.

This greatly reduced the probability of him encountering passengers!

So far, this measure had been very effective.

"Keep it up, the Task time is almost over." Ding Mo thought, then felt the pocket on his chest.

Only to find that his cigarettes had been smoked up at some point.

Woo!

On the deserted highway, Ding Mo's taxi drove past a set of traffic lights that were turned off; the devices on the traffic light poles were submerged in darkness, impossible to see clearly.

But if Ding Mo could see clearly, he would have discovered that where the surveillance cameras should have been mounted on the traffic light poles, they had been replaced by a row of dead men's heads!

"Their" gazes at this moment turned in unison toward the slow-moving taxi on the road below!

Next to them stood a sign:

Minimum Speed Limit—35 km/h!

Time passed, and it soon reached 2:49 AM.

"Only ten minutes left!" A look of joy appeared on Ding Mo's face.

And there was still not a single passenger to be seen on the road ahead; he should be basically safe... he hoped so.

Patter! But just then, a cold rain suddenly began to drift through the darkness.

"Hmm?" Ding Mo's brow furrowed slightly.

For some reason, a trace of unease suddenly rose in his heart.

Soon, the rain grew heavier! In just one minute, it turned into a torrential downpour!

Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat! Raindrops strafed the windshield like machine-gun bullets, and the view inside the car instantly blurred.

Ding Mo had no choice but to turn on the windshield wipers.

Patter!

In the hazy darkness, Ding Mo still did not see a single passenger on either side of the road.

"Just hold on for ten more minutes!"

Just as Ding Mo, who was thinking this, turned his head back, he was suddenly stunned.

Then...

Screech—!!

A piercing sound of braking rang out, and Ding Mo looked at the main road ahead with a pale face.

There, there were actually 5 figures in tattered clothing!

They were covered in mud, as if they had just rolled around in the dirt. They were not holding umbrellas or wearing raincoats, just standing straight in the rain like that.

"Hoo, hoo, hoo!" Ding Mo became nervous in an instant!

He didn't see any passengers on the side of the road, but instead got his car blocked on the main road?

To tell the truth, Ding Mo had the urge to slam on the accelerator and hit them; anyway, there were only ten minutes left, as long as he could drag it out...

But in the end, Ding Mo did not dare to do so and moved his foot away from the accelerator.

Refusing to take passengers had already caused a 50% drop in the Threshold, and if he dared to hit the passengers... the consequences would simply be unimaginable!

At this moment, those 5 people saw that Ding Mo had brought the car to a steady stop, and they finally reacted:

They either floated or jumped, moving toward the taxi in a way that did not conform to the laws of physics!

That was simply not a way of exerting force that a human could achieve!

It was as if there were a few silk threads pulling them from the sky, controlling them like puppets!

Seeing this eerie scene, Ding Mo only felt his scalp tingle, and a chill shot straight into his brain!

"Gulp!" He swallowed a mouthful of saliva, suddenly regretting why he hadn't just hit them earlier.

These things were not human!

But it was too late to leave now.

The 5 figures, three men and two women, pulled open the car doors and sat in.

The foul-smelling scent of rainwater immediately filled the cramped space inside the car.

The 5 figures then leaned crookedly against the seats; compared to passengers taking a ride, they were more like 5 corpses placed on the seats!

"..." Ding Mo tried hard to take deep breaths, suppressing the fear within himself.

He asked the "passengers" who were within arm's reach:

"Y-you... hello, wh-where... are you going?"

Ding Mo felt his voice trembling uncontrollably, and he couldn't calm down.

After his voice fell, a long time passed before one of the passengers, who looked like a middle-aged man, said:

"Straight ahead, 40, kilometers."

His head was tilted against the side of the seat, his eyes were bulging, his face was deathly pale, and his voice sounded like machinery grinding.

"O-o-o-okay!" Ding Mo responded somewhat wordily.

Such terror at such close range, the real smell of the rain, was crazily oppressing his nerves!

After all, he was still an ordinary college student just a few days ago, and he had never encountered such a thing!

Ding Mo gritted his teeth, trying to calm himself down while starting the car.

Swish!

But 5 heads immediately turned in unison, staring fixedly at Ding Mo!

Ding Mo's body stiffened,

His gaze was drawn to something on the dashboard.

That was... the taximeter!

All kinds of negative emotions oppressed his brain, and under extreme fear,

He made a mistake!