ICSST CH32: Intelligence

Inside the Minotaur’s bus.

This long-delayed “tsk” finally reached him, the origami boy sat in brief silence before his face turned chillingly cold.

Zhou Qi’an spat and sat back down—anyone watching him would think he was utterly insane.

The bus continued its journey through the tunnel. Zhou Qi’an drifted into a light sleep, his body fully relaxed. This period, before officially entering the instance, was relatively safe.

Just as he was about to slip into deep sleep, a sound like nails scratching against a blackboard suddenly came from outside the window.

With his head resting against the glass, the sound reverberated through his eardrums. He instinctively opened his eyes—

A pair of unfocused, vacant eyes were pressed tightly against the window, staring straight at him.

“!”

The uninvited guest outside the window clawed violently at the glass. The corpse was heavily waterlogged and bloated.

The other players remained calm. In these tunnels, sightings of these giant underwater creatures were common. There was even a theory that these were failed evolutionary attempts of past players.

The Minotaur’s bus did not slow down in the slightest. After a few bumps along the way, the creature clinging to the vehicle was gradually shaken off, like a louse being flicked away.

A platform appeared inside the tunnel.

The bus decelerated and stopped as a few figures boarded.

Tap.

Tap, tap.

The new passengers moved slowly, their footsteps heavy and sluggish, as if all their strength was concentrated in their ankles.

Zhou Qi’an immediately shook off any lingering sleepiness and focused his gaze on the bus doors.

A hunched old woman stepped in, her head entering the vehicle before her body.

An elderly player? At least she looked relatively normal.

Just as he was about to exhale, another head—identical to the old woman’s—suddenly emerged from behind her. However, the second head’s left cheek was covered in fleshy tumors, and its narrow eyes locked directly onto Zhou Qi’an.

That pair of venomous eyes lingered on him for a moment before the second head extended its neck, revealing bright red gums.

Zhou Qi’an: “Pah.”

Conjoined old woman & bus passengers: “…”

For some reason, the origami boy suddenly felt a little better. As it turned out, this guy was just plain crazy.

The conjoined old woman’s expression turned sinister as she took a seat in the front row. Soon after, the second passenger boarded.

Zhou Qi’an instinctively counted heads.

Fortunately, this one only had a single head. However, as he turned to sit down, Zhou Qi’an’s breath hitched.

The man had four extra arms growing from his back, positioned irregularly as if they had been forcibly grafted onto him.

The last passenger to board looked relatively normal—aside from having metal-synthetic limbs, there wasn’t much wrong with him.

As soon as the three monstrous passengers took their seats, they began chatting, occasionally letting out eerie laughter.

At the same time, the players on the bus also began taking action.

Instead of targeting the newly boarded passengers, they were stealing from the original monstrous passengers. Clearly, they had been waiting for all the passengers to arrive, hoping to find an easy target.

After some comparison, they ultimately chose to go after the first group of passengers.

The college student asked, “They’re all stealing those little white cards. Should we join in?”

Zhou Qi’an remained silent. The college student followed his gaze and looked toward the back row, where a man in a baseball cap was moving forward.

The man was tall, wearing a black cardigan adorned with a gallows print. On his fingers, he wore a skull ring that rotated in precise intervals—like a stopwatch—constantly scanning his surroundings on his behalf.

A thought surfaced in Zhou Qi’an’s mind: Not quite human, not quite ghost.

As the man in the baseball cap passed by the origami boy, the boy instinctively toned down his usual arrogance.

The man walked to the front row and stopped.

The conjoined old woman didn’t even need to lift her head—her second head had been staring at him from the moment he approached. After Zhou Qi’an’s earlier display, her first reaction was: Is he going to spit at me too?

Two seconds later, the old woman’s forked tongue flicked across her lips—an unmistakable sign of preparing to eat.

The man in the baseball cap remained eerily calm. He slowly pulled back the bandages on his wrist, and a faint black mist seeped out.

Zhou Qi’an frowned. He had seen this kind of black mist before—inside the idol’s body. However, the mist released by the baseball cap man seemed far less aggressive. Even so, the fact that a human could produce a monster’s essence was bizarre enough.

He moved closer and sat down beside the origami boy, deliberately asking, “Is that guy really strong?”

With this boy’s arrogance, he would surely reveal something useful while trying to mock him.

Sure enough, the origami boy sneered, calling him a country bumpkin before replying coldly, “What do you think? He just forcibly extracted yin energy from one of the monster passengers on the bus, infused it into his own body, and then released it to disguise himself as a monster.”

Whether it was extraction or infusion, either process would be fatal for most people.

There was a rare trace of admiration in the boy’s tone as he added, “The top-tier powerhouse of the Black Magic Society—he truly lives up to his name. His body’s evolutionary level is at least 70% or higher.”

The Black Magic Society?

That name was infamous in the game, yet to Zhou Qi’an, it was nothing more than a foreign term.

He asked, “What’s the difference between us and monsters? Monsters have intelligence and special abilities—so do evolved humans. The only difference is a matter of degree, right?”

“A stray dog on the street has intelligence and a mind of its own—it’s just lower than a human’s. Its sense of smell is far superior to ours, which counts as a special ability. So tell me, what’s the difference between you and a dog?”

A player behind them let out an amused laugh.

But Zhou Qi’an clapped his hands in praise. “Excellent question. This is almost as thought-provoking as ‘Which came first, the whale or the Whalers’ association?’”

The player behind him nearly laughed again—until she suddenly covered her ears.

Moments ago, she had used a special method to eavesdrop on the monster passengers’ conversation, but something had forcibly cut her off.

The baseball cap man cast a glance in their direction. There was a silent warning in his eyes that made the girl stifle any complaints.

Meanwhile, the origami boy skillfully crafted a tiny paper crane, sending it flying toward the front seats. Unfortunately, before it got too far, the baseball cap man caught it between two fingers, crushing it into powder with an effortless motion.

The boy’s expression darkened. “He wants to monopolize all the information.”

Zhou Qi’an looked confused. “Why hoard information? Wouldn’t it be better for everyone to share and help each other?”

At that moment, the origami boy looked at him exactly the way Han Li had looked at the naive college student earlier.

The boy spat at him in return. “Idiot! Ever heard of information warfare? That intel can be sold for a high price. You think this is some kind of mutual aid group? He’d rather see us all dead to lower the instance’s difficulty.”

“Oh, I see.” Zhou Qi’an nodded in realization.

From this perspective, the game’s purpose for including monster passengers seemed to serve two roles:

One, to help players identify a common pattern—leading them to steal those small white cards.
Two, to offer a more challenging choice—players could try to obtain valuable information from the newly boarded passengers.

The origami boy was still in a foul mood. He couldn’t afford to offend a top-tier figure like the baseball cap man, so he was about to take his frustration out on Zhou Qi’an.

But the next second, the young man beside him suddenly stood up.

“You—”

Zhou Qi’an didn’t stop walking. He didn’t even pause at his original seat, instead continuing forward—directly passing the baseball cap man and heading straight for the three newly boarded ghostly passengers.

The origami boy was stunned, and the other players also turned to look in surprise. Even the hooded man, who had been sitting with his eyes closed the entire time, slightly opened them, revealing a pair of blood-red pupils.

Seeing a second person approach, the conjoined old woman’s expression grew even colder. Both of her faces twisted into sinister smiles.

Zhou Qi’an sat down beside her without hesitation.

The reckless move made the baseball cap man narrow his eyes slightly.

In the back, the origami boy was frozen for a moment before bursting into laughter. “This idiot doesn’t actually think he can just walk over and listen, does he?”

If he wanted to die, there were better ways to do it.

From the moment Zhou Qi’an sat down, the old woman’s smile vanished. Her aged eyelids grew clouded with a diseased white film, while the second head behind her opened its mouth wide, revealing jagged teeth.

Zhou Qi’an had taken inspiration from the baseball cap man.

That man had blurred the boundary between human and monster, which had prevented the creatures from targeting him.

So, Zhou Qi’an looked at the conjoined old woman and solemnly said, “Look, I have two heads too.”

He pulled off his wig, letting long, icy-blue hair cascade down. Even under the dim bus lighting, it shimmered with a captivating glow.

The entire bus fell silent.

Not because they were entranced by his hair—but because they were completely dumbfounded by his actions.

Even among evolved humans, their altered organs wouldn’t fool monsters.

To monsters, a human was always a human.

Just as a person could recognize a two-headed dog as a dog, a monster could always distinguish between human and non-human.

The real distinguishing factor wasn’t physical appearance—it was the different “essence” that separated humans from ghosts.

Thus, the conjoined old woman only hesitated for a brief moment before stretching out her neck in fury. Her massive maw gaped open, aiming to bite off Zhou Qi’an’s head and savor the burst of fresh, juicy flesh.

Her meal was right before her—yet in the blink of an eye, her jaws clamped down on empty air.

Murky eyes fixated on Zhou Qi’an, who had swiftly retreated a step.

“You’re fast, kid,” she remarked.

Zhou Qi’an calmly removed his glasses. “I also have another pair of eyes.”

They were clean, clear—more beautiful than the purest sapphire. Zhou Qi’an deliberately emphasized, “Look, they’re blue.”

Some of the passengers in the back row were so embarrassed they were practically curling their toes into the floor.

Yet, the conjoined old woman paused for two full seconds. Those eerie eyes met Zhou Qi’an’s gaze, and for the briefest moment, she actually felt… a flicker of fear.

Two seconds later, she forcibly expelled the feeling.

Perhaps she felt tricked. Her cheeks bulged as she made up her mind—No matter what he says next, I’m eating him!

“Wait!”

Wait your whole damn family!

“Let me show you my heart first.”

The conjoined old woman froze again!

And not just her—several other players, now curious, turned their heads to watch. Could he actually take out a heart?

Zhou Qi’an remained completely still.

The old woman’s patience was wearing thin, and just as she was about to lash out in rage, Zhou Qi’an murmured, “Can’t you see it?”

“Wait.”

This time, it was the multi-armed passenger who spoke. “Can I touch it?”

Zhou Qi’an dodged swiftly.

But it seemed this passenger had sensed something. He leaned in and whispered to the other two monsters. The conjoined old woman retracted her stretched-out neck, her deeply wrinkled face blooming into a smile. “Ah… so that’s what it is.”

No wonder she had felt something was off the moment he boarded.

Her sharp gaze occasionally flickered toward Zhou Qi’an’s chest, a glint of greed and hunger flashing in her murky eyes.

Zhou Qi’an simply smiled, letting her stare all she wanted.

Xun Er, oh Xun Er, your five-star fish-eye is truly useful.

And this damn game… of course, it’s screwing me over again.

During his last mission’s settlement, it had specifically noted that the fish-eye had fused even further with his heart. Zhou Qi’an had felt uneasy about that detail ever since.

Xun Er hadn’t known exactly where the fish-eye was located before, so Zhou Qi’an had used this moment to test whether monsters could sense it now that the fusion had deepened.

And now, his suspicion was confirmed—the five-star fish-eye was irresistible to other monsters.

Its aura might even grow stronger over time, attracting more hungry gazes.

The baseball cap man noticed where the monsters were staring, his eyes sweeping over Zhou Qi’an’s chest. There was something valuable hidden there.

Sensing the greedy stares, Zhou Qi’an simply smiled. He loved nothing more than watching greedy people walk away empty-handed.

With this revelation, the three monsters seemed to fully accept Zhou Qi’an as someone with “two hearts.” Their hostility faded.

They were about to resume their conversation when—

A loud, booming voice suddenly cut through the eerie silence:

“Unity is strength~”

Every syllable was perfectly enunciated, nearly dispelling the oppressive atmosphere inside the bus.

Three monster passengers: “…”

Zhou Qi’an launched into another verse.

The old woman’s withered lips twitched. “What… are you doing?”

“I saw such a beautiful lady, my heart was moved, and I felt the urge to sing a song in her honor.”

Beautiful… lady?

At the driver’s seat, the Minotaur—who had just been called “brother” earlier—twitched slightly at the corner of his mouth.

Zhou Qi’an gazed sincerely at the old woman. “A pair of lovely sisters, that’s you two.”

Monsters loved simple, straightforward flattery. The conjoined old woman’s two heads immediately burst into delighted, giggling laughter.

The baseball cap man instantly understood Zhou Qi’an’s game. His expression grew even colder.

Zhou Qi’an didn’t spare him a glance. Instead, he continued speaking to the old woman. “Sister, that paper-playing brat over there told me that information is the most valuable thing. If you hoard the right info, you can sell it for a fortune.”

The old woman rasped, “He’s got some sense.”

To disguise himself as a monster, one had to use their body as a conduit. The baseball cap man clearly wouldn’t be able to keep it up for long—his bandages were already beginning to seep blood. Finally, he cast Zhou Qi’an a cold glare before turning back to his seat.

On his way back, the origami boy opened his mouth, as if to say something—only to be silenced by a single icy glance from the baseball cap man.

The boy’s face stiffened.

Damn it, what does this have to do with me?!

The college student beside him murmured in sympathy, “All you did was summarize what he already did… why is he so mad?”

A few other passengers glanced over.

Another weirdo. Seems good at fanning flames.

A moment later, Zhou Qi’an returned to his seat, casually adjusting his wig as he spoke. “Alright, gentlemen—shall we start bidding?”

At the mention of that last word, the college student tensed instinctively.

Here we go again. The buyer’s market is back.

“I just got my hands on some great information. Selling it cheap.”

When the baseball cap man had approached, the front-row passengers hadn’t revealed anything substantial yet. Right now, only Zhou Qi’an possessed valuable intel.

Surrounded by wary gazes, Zhou Qi’an yawned and repeated, “Bidding, anyone?”

Points, items—bring it all on.

The baseball cap man casually began rewrapping the bandages on his arm. Then, he spoke:

“Cooperation increases survival rates in multiplayer instances. I’m willing to share the information I overheard earlier—free of charge.”

Of course, free meant nothing. He’d probably just weave together some vague nonsense. But in saying that one sentence, he had essentially put Zhou Qi’an on the chopping block—if he still insisted on selling his information, he’d risk offending everyone.

As soon as the baseball cap man made his statement, multiple eyes turned to Zhou Qi’an.

Someone spoke up. “Are you willing to—”

Zhou Qi’an smiled. “Are you willing to serve as my warhorse and fight for me from this day forward? If you’re willing, then so am I.”

The college student tugged lightly at Zhou Qi’an’s sleeve, signaling for him to keep a lower profile.

A white card was tossed over. The college student blinked, hesitating for a moment before hurriedly catching it in shock.

Zhou Qi’an idly toyed with another white card—one he had swiped from the old woman’s pocket. Smiling faintly, he said, “What’s more important—this bunch’s fake goodwill, or points and items?”

The college student instinctively shook his head.

“Then what are you trying to talk me out of?”

“…”

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Author’s Note:

Zhou Qi’an’s Travel Diary:

Overtime? Great sorrow.
Temporarily escaping the boss? Great joy.