Welcome to the World of the Strong [Unlimited Flow] 3

Chapter 3: Newbie Village

Jiang Yu: “A strange, un-uninstallable app inexplicably appeared on my phone…”

As she briefly summarized what had happened, the others revealed similarly agitated reactions.

“Yes, yes, I have that on my phone too!”

“I figured I’d just fill in something random—it’s not like they’d charge me for it or anything—so I put down ‘get rich,’ and then—! Who knew I’d actually get sent to this godforsaken place!”

Listening to the others, Jiang Yu slowly lowered her gaze, hiding a realization.

Among everyone here, it seemed only she had been transported immediately after filling in her wish. For the others, some time had passed since that day.

That was why they hadn’t made the connection right away.

The expression on the college student’s face was grim. “So… so it’s real…” She looked like she wanted to cry but couldn’t quite let the tears fall.

“If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve controlled myself. I shouldn’t have just filled in whatever.”

The bald man sighed in agreement. “Tell me about it! This is… a modern, scientific society. Who knew all this supernatural stuff was real?”

The young man added, “So what do we do now? We can’t get off the bus, so are we just supposed to let the driver take us to the final stop? And also…”

He swallowed nervously. “Not to be a downer, but we’ve been making all this commotion, and the driver hasn’t reacted at all. It’s really not…”

The professional woman finished his sentence. “Not like a person at all, right?”

The young man shot back, “You said it! I didn’t say anything!”

The professional woman pursed her lips. “Isn’t it obvious by now that the driver isn’t human? Have you ever seen a driver who could operate a vehicle in an environment like that?”

She gestured toward the pitch-black windows.

The young man didn’t dare say anything more.

Jiang Yu spoke up. “Since we’re in an ‘unlimited flow’ instance, there must be a way to solve the puzzle and clear it. So I’m thinking, since we’re on a bus, maybe we can get off once we’ve solved the puzzle?”

The college student nodded. “But the problem is, we don’t have any hints or clues. How are we supposed to solve anything?”

Just then, the bus’s speakers crackled to life.

“Ding-dong-ding—”

It was the sound of a bus announcement, one that should have been exceptionally familiar. But hearing it suddenly in this environment, instead of bringing any sense of familiarity or comfort, it was unexpectedly chilling.

The normally flat electronic voice seemed to have taken on a stiff, eerie quality.

Everyone jumped, their hair standing on end as they looked around in terror.

“What’s going on? What’s that sound? What’s it going to announce?”

Jiang Yu’s brow furrowed.

The broadcast had started right after she mentioned solving a puzzle. That meant the content…

“Welcome, players, to the first instance of the World of Strength. This instance is the Newbie Village, designed for new players to familiarize themselves, practice, and adapt as quickly as possible.”

“In the Newbie Village, no eliminations or casualties will occur. Players may rest assured.”

“Newbie Village Mission: Among you is a highly experienced veteran. Players are to communicate, question, and investigate to identify this person. Doing so will clear the instance. Time limit: one hour.”

“Ding-dong-ding—”

“Friendly reminder: Please do not attempt to open the doors and leave the bus. Forcibly exiting to evade the instance will result in punishment.”

After that, it fell silent once more.

Just as I thought.

The announcement was packed with information. It not only explained their current situation and gave them a way out, but it also issued a mission and offered them a sliver of reassurance.

But—why would a newbie mission have a one-hour time limit?

Even though the broadcast explicitly stated there would be no eliminations or casualties, what would happen if they still hadn’t found the hidden veteran after an hour? What fate would they be sentenced to?

No one knew the answer, but no one dared to test it.

The broadcast had captured everyone’s attention, including the middle-aged woman, who had been listless after her earlier breakdown.

She looked up blankly at the sound.

After a brief silence, the college student was the first to speak. “So, you’re saying there’s an imposter among us?”

With that one sentence, the atmosphere shifted abruptly.

Everyone immediately began to size each other up mercilessly. The fragile trust they had just started to build shattered instantly. The distance between them grew once more, filled with suspicion, isolation, and vigilance.

Jiang Yu’s gaze swept over them, but she couldn’t determine anything from their expressions alone.

Their faces were stiff with excessive tension. This is not a good sign, Jiang Yu thought. Extreme emotions would only lead to flawed reasoning.

So, Jiang Yu said, “Not necessarily an imposter. The broadcast said it was a highly experienced veteran hidden among us. So, it could just be… a game.”

The young man immediately went on the attack. “What are you talking about? We’re in a horror game world and you think this is just a simple game? I think you’re the suspicious one here.”

“And besides, you’re the one who started all this in the first place! You’re so calm. All of us are panicking about being in a new place, but you’re the calmest one here. That makes you the veteran, doesn’t it!”

Having said this, the young man seemed to think he’d made a solid point. “I vote for her!” he declared.

Jiang Yu: …

She let out a breath, not rushing to defend herself. Instead, she looked at the young man. “Are you sure you want to vote for me? Based on that reason alone?”

The young man retorted, “What, are you scared? I just know it’s you.”

Jiang Yu nodded slightly. “You can vote for me. I won’t object. But if you’re wrong, you’ll have to bear the consequences yourself.”

Although she was bluffing to intimidate him, there was one thing Jiang Yu hadn’t figured out: would the final result be determined by a group consensus, or by individual votes?

The broadcast hadn’t specified, so they had to be cautious.

Despite her words, Jiang Yu was confident the young man would calm down for the moment.

As expected, upon hearing her, he hesitated.

The professional woman spoke up. “To decide she’s the veteran based solely on her calm demeanor? That’s far too rash. Do you think a veteran would expose themselves so easily? It’s precisely because they’re experienced that they’d know how to disguise themselves.”

“In other words, in a situation like this, what’s the better way to hide? By acting calm and rational, or by acting timid and scared?”

Hearing her logic, the young man’s expression began to waver. He was clearly being persuaded.

The professional woman continued, “Besides, I think she was actually helping us. Without her analysis just now, we might have died without ever knowing how to get off this bus. Isn’t it a good thing that we have a broadcast and a mission now?”

Rebuked by the professional woman, the young man looked embarrassed and mumbled as he turned his head away.

First suspected by one person, then “protected” by another—this stark contrast didn’t make Jiang Yu feel any goodwill toward the professional woman, nor did it lower her guard.

But the woman had made one correct point: a veteran would indeed be better hidden by pretending to be a newbie.

However…

Jiang Yu frowned slightly. She felt like she was still missing something—something crucial.

At that moment, the middle-aged woman finally understood the situation. “So, if we find that veteran, we can leave, right? We can get out of here?”

The college student said, “We probably can’t leave for good… Now that we’re in an unlimited world, is there really a way out?”

As she spoke, a look of sorrow and fear crossed her face.

The college student read a lot of unlimited flow novels. She was a huge fan of the genre and often sought out new stories to read.

When she was a reader, an audience member, she could shamelessly hope for the plot to become more difficult and terrifying. She could critique the protagonist’s intelligence and actions without restraint, experiencing the infinite game from the safe, god-like perspective of an outsider.

But now that she herself had been chosen…

She really couldn’t maintain her composure anymore.

The college student wanted to cry. She didn’t know why she had ended up in this situation, why this was happening, why she was the one chosen. What had she done wrong?

She truly hadn’t known that tapping on some random app would get her dragged into this.

If she could go back, she would have chopped off her own hand before ever touching it.

Because she had read so many unlimited flow novels, she could guess that there was only one way out: to fight against the so-called “Main God Space” and destroy it. Only then would they be free.

But… her? Could she really do that?

The college student’s unhesitating answer left the middle-aged woman stunned. She refused to accept this reality.

“How could we not be able to leave?” Her expression became desolate. “It’s impossible. It can’t be like this… My son is still waiting for me outside.”

“If we complete the mission it gave us, we can definitely leave. Right? We have to be able to, right?”

Muttering this, the middle-aged woman seemed to find a new surge of strength.

Her gaze fell on the college student, and she pointed a finger at her. “It’s you! It has to be you!”

The college student was taken aback, then shouted, “Are you crazy?!”

The middle-aged woman ignored her and continued pointing. “It has to be you! You’re the imposter! You’re the one who knows so much about ‘unlimited flow,’ rattling it off like an expert. You’re the one who told us so confidently that we can’t leave. You’re the imposter!”

With that, she lunged toward the college student.

The college student shrieked and instinctively backed away. “What the hell! Are you insane?!”

The bald man, who was standing nearby, reacted and blocked the middle-aged woman. At the same time, Jiang Yu took a step forward, her eyes flashing as she grabbed the college student’s wrist and moved to stand in front of her.

She appeared to be protecting the girl, but in reality, she was observing her reactions, expression, and movements from up close.

If she’s the veteran, maybe she’ll reveal something in a situation like this?

To Jiang Yu’s disappointment, however, every bit of the college student’s expression was genuine. There wasn’t a hint of acting.

Blocked by the bald man, the middle-aged woman switched her target.

“Why are you stopping me? Are you an imposter too? Fine, you’re both imposters! You’re covering for each other!”

The bald man, thoroughly annoyed, finally couldn’t take it anymore and gave her a shove.

“What is wrong with you! Didn’t you hear what was said? We have to answer the question and handle this calmly. Is throwing a fit going to solve anything? Is it going to help us find the imposter? Just because you say this girl is the one, does that make it true? What if you’re wrong? Are you going to take responsibility?!”

He was so furious that the veins on his neck bulged as he roared.

“You want to get out? Fine! The door’s right there! Go on, get out! Go!”

The middle-aged woman was stunned into silence by his shouting. She just stood there, dazed.

Seeing that she had quieted down, the bald man let out a breath and rubbed his head.

Jiang Yu said, “Let’s review the situation.”

The others looked at her.