Welcome to the World of the Strong [Unlimited Flow] 11

Chapter 11: Newbie Village

Meanwhile, while the bald man was distracting and tangling with the monster at the front, Jiang Yu quickly ducked and ran to the middle of the bus.

She didn’t know if the monster had noticed her, but she was now very close to it—only two steps away.

It was impossible for Jiang Yu not to be scared. After all, before coming to this so-called World of Strength, she was just an ordinary person.

But there was no time for fear now.

Only calmness could ensure survival.

Jiang Yu took a deep breath and, before the monster could notice her, quickly grabbed the fire extinguisher and hugged it to her chest.

She didn’t plan on leaving just yet.

The fire extinguisher in her arms was a dry powder type. Although Jiang Yu knew very little about them, most of her knowledge coming from that one video, she was the only one who could do this now.

She had a brief moment to quickly calm herself and recall the key points from the video.

Then, she would spray the dry powder at the monster.

When using a dry powder extinguisher on a normal fire, you were supposed to be about two meters away from the source, but that was mainly for safety, to keep a distance from the flames.

Jiang Yu wasn’t trying to put out a fire. She was trying to block, or rather, blind the monster’s face and eyes—if it had any.

So, being far away wouldn’t be effective.

And she couldn’t be sure if the monster’s tentacles would interfere.

The best course of action was to stand close to the monster and spray it with the fire extinguisher when it least expected it, especially while its two tentacles were still busy with the bald man.

Jiang Yu took a deep breath, her brow furrowed, and operated the fire extinguisher based on what she had learned from the video.

Her heart was pounding, but her hands moved with steady precision. Finally, she squeezed the handle, aiming the nozzle at the monster.

“Pssssssht—”

Caught off guard, the monster got a face full of dry powder.

The small tentacles that had been writhing angrily from its facial orifices suddenly stiffened, then began to thrash wildly, as if trying to escape a dry swamp.

It looked as chaotic as a blind person who had just lost their sight.

Before using it, Jiang Yu hadn’t been sure if it would work. She had just thought of it as a weapon.

Now, seeing that it had some effect, she breathed a sigh of relief.

…But the way the monster was writhing was truly disgusting. Watching it from this close was a bit much to handle.

Having succeeded, Jiang Yu didn’t linger.

As she was heading back, the two tentacles that had been attacking the bald man quickly returned to defend, searching for her.

“Watch out!” the bald man shouted.

As he yelled, Jiang Yu had already thrown the fire extinguisher at one of the tentacles, then rolled on the ground to dodge the other.

Having lost its “eyes,” the monster’s attack accuracy had dropped significantly.

But just because it couldn’t see clearly didn’t mean it didn’t know where people were.

Especially… it remembered the scent of that woman.

The scent of the woman who had sprayed its face with dry powder, making it unable to smell or feel the air!

It had to catch that woman!

When it caught her, it would wrap its tentacles around her body and snap her into pieces, one by one!

With this vicious thought, the monster attacked again.

Just then, Lin Hui and the college student, fighting through their fear, managed to “drag” the driver out.

“Drag” was no exaggeration. The driver was completely limp, and it took both of them to move him.

Both of their faces were ashen. The college student looked like she was about to burst into tears.

Only when she had gotten close to the driver did she realize how terrifying he was, and how foul and scary he smelled. But at this point, there was no turning back.

Heaven knows how much courage it took for her to drag the driver over.

The college student’s face was a mask of misery, tears welling in her eyes. In her heart, she was already sobbing.

My hands… I’m never going to get them clean.

If she could, the college student would have scrubbed her hands with her own saliva.

Although the driver looked like a male, he didn’t seem human. But his weight was indeed that of an adult man. Lin Hui was pale, but her forehead was beaded with sweat.

When she saw Jiang Yu running over, her eyes lit up. “Jiang Yu! Over here!”

Jiang Yu turned and saw the driver being pulled by them.

She immediately said to the bald man, “Come help!”

The bald man was quick to react, joining Lin Hui and the others.

The group used the driver as a shield, holding him in front of them.

Seeing this, the young man, though a little embarrassed, also hid behind them.

The tentacles’ reach wasn’t very long. They could have reached Jiang Yu and the others, but now that the driver was in the way, they could only hit him.

Suddenly, a thought struck Jiang Yu.

She took a step out, standing to the side of the driver.

“Jiang Yu?!” Lin Hui instinctively cried out.

Jiang Yu couldn’t answer her.

She was watching the tentacles’ movements intently.

Suddenly, a tentacle whipped toward her. Jiang Yu narrowed her eyes and, with the bald man’s help, yanked the driver in front of her.

“Smack!”

The tentacle knocked the hat off the driver’s head.

It revealed a hairless, blue scalp, the same color as his face.

Although the atmosphere was tense, a small, involuntary smile touched Jiang Yu’s lips.

She had never imagined that this was what was under the hat.

The driver, having been attacked, was no longer calm and indifferent. His large eyeballs moved, rolling around in their sockets as if to identify his attacker. Finally, his gaze landed on the monster.

Jiang Yu saw the change in him and finally let out a breath of relief.

There were still five minutes left. They would have to rely on the driver to stall for time.

The driver’s body stirred, and the bald man quickly let go. Jiang Yu and the others also backed away.

As the driver slowly moved, stepping toward the monster, Lin Hui couldn’t help but pull Jiang Yu aside. “Why did you suddenly run out like that?”

Jiang Yu said, “I was thinking, since the tentacle was already consciously attacking me, that means it has some way of identifying people. I was afraid it would go around the driver and refuse to attack him, so I stood next to him.”

And when the tentacle attacked, she would use the driver to block it.

That was the safest way.

Lin Hui’s lips moved. “But what if… what if you weren’t fast enough?”

Jiang Yu smiled slightly. “I would have been.”

She valued her life. She would never let herself die here. The strength one could summon in a life-or-death situation was immense.

“Besides, the bald man was helping me.”

Hearing this, the bald man rubbed his head and grinned. “No problem.”

The driver walked toward the monster, his steps heavy, as if each one would leave an imprint on the floor. As he walked, his skin color began to subtly change.

It was shifting from olive green to red.

The bald man was surprised. “Is that supposed to mean he’s angry? This thing is pretty smart.”

Indeed.

But this was good news. At least it meant the driver had targeted the monster, and would therefore help them.

Only then could everyone finally breathe a sigh of relief.

The monster seemed to sense that the newcomer was hostile and instinctively roared at the driver. But as soon as it opened its mouth, its attack was thwarted by the powder covering its face.

The driver roared back.

Their roars were different, but one thing was the same: Jiang Yu and the others couldn’t understand a word.

Just then, something under the driver’s clothes began to bulge and move more violently. Finally, it burst through the fabric and came out.

Hidden beneath the driver’s body were eight octopus-like legs, which instantly lifted his entire body off the ground.

The eight legs slapped the ground in an agitated, angry rhythm, leaving wet patches behind.

The college student felt a wave of nausea.

If she were asked to move the driver now, she wouldn’t dare, not even if she had ten times the courage.

The bald man said, “An octopus spirit? No wonder he smells like the sea.”

No one knew if the driver was really an octopus, but… as long as he was helping them, it was a good thing.

The two began to fight, and the bus began to shake.

As their battle grew more intense, the bus itself seemed to be in danger of breaking apart.

Everyone grabbed onto something to steady themselves, their eyes glued to the countdown timer.

—Thirty seconds left.

Once the timer hit zero, they would be free.

Twenty-nine, twenty-eight…

The bus shook more and more violently, as if it were about to fall apart at any moment.

The bald man gripped a yellow handrail tightly. “Don’t fall apart! Please don’t fall apart! Bros, take it easy with the fighting!!”

Twenty-two, twenty-one…

The young man was crouched on the floor, hugging a seat and muttering prayers.

Sixteen, fifteen…

Cracks had appeared on the floor of the bus, and several of the surrounding windows had shattered. Fortunately, for now, the only two non-human creatures inside were the driver and the monster.

Ten, nine…

Lin Hui stood on a seat and grabbed the overhead rail. She held out a hand to Jiang Yu. “Stand up here. If the bus really… at least we can hold onto this for a while.”

Jiang Yu looked at her, then took her hand and climbed up.

Three, two, one—

The moment the countdown ended, the bus shattered.

【Ding-dong-ding—】

This time, hearing the sound no longer brought fear. Instead, it was replaced by a profound sense of security, and tears of gratitude almost streamed down their faces.

“You’re finally here!” the bald man cried out.

The destroyed parts of the bus seemed to freeze in place, as did the fight between the driver and the monster.

The entire space was paused, and the danger was gone.

【Congratulations, players, on completing the mission within sixty minutes. The system will now calculate your scores based on your performance and issue rewards.】

【System calculating…】

With the chaos paused, everyone relaxed a little.

The college student asked, “There are rewards? What kind of rewards?”

This time, the broadcast didn’t answer, probably because it was calculating.

The young man also stood up and straightened his clothes, looking a little disgruntled. “What do you mean, ‘based on performance’? Aren’t we all scored together?”

Lin Hui shot him a disdainful look. “What right does someone who freeloaded and got carried to victory have to be scored with us?”

“You!” the young man retorted.

But because she was right, he didn’t dare to argue much.

He just pouted and fell silent.

Although the atmosphere had quieted down, this time, no one’s heart was pounding with fear.

A moment later, the broadcast spoke again.

【Announcing player scores and rewards.】

【Instance: Newbie Village. Players: Lin Hui, Jiang Yu…】

【Player Jiang Yu, Rating: S. Reward: 100 points. Congratulations on leveling up!】

【Player Lin Hui…】

The broadcast then announced the scores of the other players one by one.

Unlike Jiang Yu, none of them received an S rating. The others all had lower scores and rewards than her.

The scores descended from Lin Hui to the bald man, the college student, the young man, and finally the middle-aged woman.

Of course, the middle-aged woman had no rating, and her reward was 0 points.

Jiang Yu, who had received the only highest score and rating, was now the focus of everyone’s surprised and envious gazes.

Just then, a phone began to ring from somewhere near each of them—or rather, on each of them.