Chapter 173: Bus
Lin Ye and the bus merged together without any resistance, flesh and plastic naturally piecing together like puzzle pieces.
The orange prison uniform and shoes also became part of the puzzle. If he returned like this, Robert wouldn't need to change clothes anymore.
Lin Ye didn't panic, planning to deal with his body issues after leaving the ruins.
They were still under the gaze of the giant eyeball, and until they escaped its sight, this phenomenon would only gradually worsen.
"Ah?! Why can't I move!"
"My clothes! The clothes are sticking to my body!"
"What do we do! I can't tear the clothes off!"
"The pistol is fused to my hand, I can't change the magazine!"
The passengers also noticed the abnormal condition. They frantically tore at their own bodies as more stitched-together monsters squeezed into the bus, piling up like a trench in front of them.
Two passengers pressed against corpses had merged with the dead bodies. They desperately tore at the corpses, trying to separate themselves. "Focus on dealing with the monsters first. We'll handle other problems after getting out of here," Lin Ye said loudly.
If all the passengers died, he wouldn't last much longer either.
"He's right! Don't let the monsters get close, or they'll merge with us!" Yang Lin shouted.
Half of his body was fused to the seatback, limiting his movement. He could barely thrust his long sword at approaching monsters.
But the sword quickly merged with a corpse. When he tried to push the corpse away with his left hand, that hand also fused with the dead body.
Other passengers faced similar situations. Firearms became unusable, melee weapons easily merged with monster bodies. They could only grab nearby corpses as weapons, but this couldn't kill the approaching stitched monsters.
They soon discovered that the corpses merged with their bodies were absorbing their strength, with blood-red eyeballs appearing on their skin surfaces.
As passengers gradually lost combat ability, Lin Ye could only continuously create spiritual energy blades to kill approaching stitched monsters.
For Lin Ye, merging with the bus wasn't entirely bad. Robert's body was too fragile - he needed a more resilient one.
Lin Ye used his mental energy to sense the bus's interior. Unlike before, this time he could perceive the shallow layers inside.
The bus interior was pitch black, preventing deep penetration, leaving him wandering in the darkness.
Finding the bus offered no help for their current situation, Lin Ye abandoned it and began sensing the stitched monsters merged with the vehicle through the bus connection.
Theoretically, the bus, passengers, and stitched monsters had all become parts of Lin Ye's body.
As long as his mental energy was sufficient, he could control every component.
Soon, Lin Ye's mental energy spread throughout every corner of the bus.
The controlled stitched monsters dug out their mutation organs, then collapsed onto the bus, becoming part of the vehicle.
Sensing Lin Ye's mental energy, the eyeballs within the stitched monsters began violently shaking, oozing viscous fluid, attempting to interfere with his control.
But this was meaningless. Lin Ye's mental energy wandered unimpeded through his own body, eliminating one after another stitched monster merged with the bus.
Now Lin Ye didn't even need to actively press the accelerator - it automatically descended, moving his right foot downward.
Bathing in the giant eyeball's gaze, Lin Ye's merger with the bus gradually deepened, and his control over the entire vehicle became increasingly effortless.
This was the highest realm of driving - man and vehicle becoming one.
Lin Ye raced through the ruins, leaving the giant eyeball-covered stitched structures behind. The stitched monsters couldn't keep up with his speed. Even when occasional lucky monsters jumped onto the roof, they became part of Lin Ye's body, obediently digging out their mutation organs.
"Trash, eat my exhaust fumes."
The bus's speed increased rapidly, soon exceeding normal vehicle limits. Before long, the city ruins faded behind him.
But Lin Ye kept accelerating. The surroundings became blurred colors lingering on his retina. This speed gave him a thrilling sense of freedom.
Monsters appearing on the road were smashed to pieces. Passengers by roadside couldn't even wave at him in time, let alone chase the bus.
This created an illusion that nothing could stop him.
This illusion prevented him from noticing that the corpses and passengers on the bus were gradually decreasing, his body being slowly consumed by the driver's seat.
Nothing comes without cost. Great power naturally demands a heavy price.
Now was time to pay that price.
................................
Buzz buzz buzz...
Lin Ye opened his eyes, still immersed in that unstoppable sense of freedom.
[Remaining Simulation Attempts: 7]
'So this is how the body affects the mind...'
'Too terrifying. Even though I was completely conscious, I made decisions completely different from my normal state, without even noticing anything wrong...'
'Fortunately it was just a short experience. If I stayed in that body long-term, I might become a completely different Lin Ye...'
Lin Ye thought about his main body in the shelter. Previously he hadn't worried much, but now he feared being influenced by that Abyssal Evil God.
'The body affects the mind, but the mind can also affect the body. So if my mental energy becomes strong enough, nothing can change me?'
Lin Ye decided to spend more time reading in the library.
The asylum should have many ways to enhance mental energy. This simulation stronghold seemed much more important than he initially thought.
Following the previous simulation's procedure, Lin Ye again sat in the bus driver's seat. The man-vehicle merger experience gave him much deeper understanding of this bus. While being consumed by the bus, he vaguely sensed something in its deepest depths.
Like the previous simulation, only Yang Lin and the boy remained as passengers when they reached the intersection. But this time, Lin Ye spared the boy's other bodies, only making him submit his train ticket.
'Which path should I take this time?'
Lin Ye had been considering this question since boarding.
The city ruins route was possible - if he could master controlling the bus, he could bring passengers out alive.
But Lin Ye couldn't guarantee he could maintain rationality when merging with the bus again.
So he wasn't keen on revisiting the city ruins. As for those passengers, they could wait for the next bus.
'Maybe try the left path this time?'
Looking at the somewhat familiar lead-gray sky, Lin Ye turned the bus into the left fork.
He still had seven simulation attempts - he could afford some experimentation.