Chapter 185: Aggregate
"...What do you mean?"
The young man's head stopped laughing.
"Of course it's because I need you to help me deal with the things inside the Coin Slot Space."
Lin Ye said with a smile.
"...What's inside there?"
Unable to sense the interior of the Coin Slot Space, the young man's head attempted to control the hatching creature to leave, but he failed.
"Then you'll have to ask our friend in the back—who knows what it put inside there."
Lin Ye leaned against the seatback, looking toward the mysterious black-clad figure sitting by the window.
"How did you discover me?"
"I've dealt with so many small temples, yet the owner of this place hasn't shown any reaction at all. That's very abnormal. Since those two are together, the only suspicious one left is you. As for putting things in the bus—for a monster like you that controls others through the slender creatures inside small temples, how could you possibly miss the opportunity to control the bus through train tickets?" Lin Ye admitted he was purely guessing, but some things didn't require evidence—intuition was enough.
"You've mistaken one thing. While I can indeed control those nodes to some extent and influence the surroundings through them, I didn't create those nodes. In fact, the purpose of those nodes' existence is to keep me confined to this immovable area. I must thank you—if you hadn't destroyed those nodes, it would have taken me much longer to completely hollow them out."
The mysterious black-clad figure removed its black clothing, revealing not a human body at all, but a biological aggregate formed by densely packed white slender creatures.
"I originally intended to let you leave, since you helped me destroy the nodes and are going to drive me to a new Plane. But unfortunately, you know too much."
The middle-aged bald man silently exited the bus and closed the door, leaving only the box inside the vehicle.
"Dammit, take me with you!"
The young man's head growled in a low voice.
Although he had gained some special abilities from devouring a relic fragment, these two on the bus were clearly not ordinary people. Now that he couldn't control the hatching creature, staying here any longer might really mean the end for him this time.
"Goodbye, I'll miss you."
The middle-aged bald man retreated to Yang Lin's side, watching the drama unfold from outside the bus.
He knew the young man still had other methods, so he planned to wait until the big shots inside had fought it out before going in to clean up.
After all, without the bus, they would be trapped here.
Lin Ye leaned against the seatback. He didn't plan to initiate attack—the reason he remained seated was because he needed to stay close to the Coin Slot Space. The 'train ticket' he had inserted earlier was already affecting the bus's operation. Having briefly contacted the deepest part of the bus before, perhaps he could exert some influence on the vehicle during this opportunity.
The slender creature aggregate suddenly shattered the box containing the young man's head, several slender creatures piercing into the head's interior.
"Hmm, let me see what kind of monstrosity you put in there. Now even I can't control what's inside."
"Hisss, stop poking! I'll tell you, alright? It's a derivative of a relic fragment, called an 'egg' hatching creature. I suggest you drive the bus out first, otherwise when what's inside comes out, none of us will escape."
The aggregate didn't stop its actions. The young man's head kept twitching slightly, and before long, it stopped moving completely.
Black and white filaments began growing silently from every corner of the bus, these threads entangling all living creatures inside.
The aggregate casually tore apart the young man's head, then ignored the surrounding filaments, instead hurling numerous slender creatures toward Lin Ye.
However, before those slender creatures could reach Lin Ye, they were shredded by the rune traps inside the bus.
"When?"
The aggregate looked at the rune traps spread throughout the entire bus, asking in surprise.
"I started setting up these rune traps not long after boarding. Concealment is the most important trap technique."
After multiple simulations, Lin Ye had become familiar with Robert's body. Although he couldn't engage in direct frontal combat, with some enhancement, setting up rune traps was still possible.
The aggregate shredded the surrounding black and white filaments. It didn't continue attacking—the part of its body placed in the Coin Slot Space was very important to it, and now it was truly extremely weak.
"Ultimately, we have no need to attack each other. Drive the bus outside, and afterwards I can let you leave."
"Hmm... good idea... have them board the bus then."
Lin Ye was still sensing the deepest parts of the bus through the Coin Slot Space. He had achieved some results, but was still some distance from success—he needed to buy a little more time.
"Good idea my ass! He's clearly stalling for time. Hurry up and kill him so we can drive away! I don't want to die with you!"
A slender creature growing on the aggregate suddenly spoke.
"You're actually not dead? Is this consciousness transfer technology?"
As it spoke, the aggregate suddenly crushed that slender creature.
"Useless. You've contacted me too deeply. Your brain-dead operation got rid of my 'egg,' so now I can only use your body."
The young man had transferred to another slender creature.
While the two argued, the black and white filaments in the bus grew increasingly numerous, occupying all unoccupied spaces.
Lin Ye continuously controlled the runes to shred the nearby black and white filaments, but he knew it was meaningless because the deepest parts of the bus were crammed with massive amounts of black and white filaments. In the most densely packed area, an egg-shaped object with black and white patterns was incubating.
"Hey, kid, hurry up and drive the bus out! You don't want to die here either, right?"
The aggregate and the young man reached an agreement. They decided to deal with Lin Ye first, then drive away from this prison.
"Haven't you realized yet? This bus has been taken over by the thing you created. I can't drive either."
"Hisss, stop poking! I'll tell you, alright? It's a derivative of a relic fragment, called an 'egg-hatching creature'. I suggest you drive the bus out first, otherwise when what's inside comes out, none of us will escape."
Seeing the bus move, the passengers still outside hurriedly rushed toward the vehicle—they didn't want to be trapped in such a place.
"Excellent, we can finally leave here."
The aggregate said excitedly.
It didn't care about the young man inside it—just one more consciousness meant nothing to it.
The young man was also very excited. As long as they could leave here, it had ways to deal with the aggregate. Once they reached the other side, it would be calling the shots.
However, their excitement didn't last long before the bus stopped.
Lin Ye certainly wouldn't let the bus return like this. The organization's mission was to resolve anomalies, not bring back a bus full of them.
He really didn't want to have to start over again.