Chapter 16: Terminal Station: Ghost Village

Chapter 16: Terminal Station: Gui Village

Last Bus Route 444, current passengers: 9.

If no passengers disembark at the terminal, and one more person boards, Su Bai and the trio will face a choice: either get off at Gui Village or accept the failure of their initiation trial.

The ghost bride, who had been sitting quietly at the back of the bus, had suddenly become agitated earlier. Even though she had since calmed down, the trio’s tension and unease were nearing their breaking point.

"Heh heh—"

The white qipao paper doll sitting next to Qin Ge clearly sensed the growing panic in the bus. The fear and confusion emanating from the human players were like an irresistible delicacy to the malevolent spirits. If the despair radiating from the trio grew any stronger, the paper doll might not be able to resist indulging in its "meal," even inside the bus.

For a moment, no one in the bus spoke, and even the sound of breathing grew heavy.

Su Bai took the opportunity to slip into a shallow meditation.

When Last Bus Route 444 first departed from Lover’s Lake Station, it was moving at a very high speed.

At that pace, it shouldn’t have taken long to reach the terminal, Gui Village. Strangely, however, the bus, which had been accelerating wildly, slowed down shortly after leaving Lover’s Lake Station and soon returned to its original slow, swaying pace.

"Driver, why’s the bus slowing down?"

At this point, Su Bai was likely the only one who dared to speak in the bus. Even the two noisy water ghosts sitting in the front row, who had been harshly scolded by the driver earlier, were now so quiet it was as if they didn’t exist.

"I’m just a wagon driver. The speed depends on the mood of the passengers and the oxen," the Driver replied, compelled to answer due to Su Bai’s status but with a hint of irritation in his tone.

The "passengers" the Driver referred to were certainly not Su Bai or the white qipao paper doll but the true protagonist of this game—the ghost bride, A Xi.

The ghost bride A Xi likely had little rationality or memory left, but some instinctual emotions seemed to make her reluctant to go to Gui Village.

Unwilling, yet compelled—because Gui Village was a nightmare she could not escape.

"We’re almost there," the Driver said after driving a bit further, perhaps to give Su Bai a heads-up. "Keep an eye on the outside."

Qin Ge and the others, however, didn’t notice the special treatment in the Driver’s attitude, assuming it was just part of the newcomer quest’s instructions.

Hearing this, Su Bai ended his meditation and turned to look out the window.

Perhaps because they were nearing their destination, the mist outside the window had thinned slightly. The streetlights, though still dim, were more numerous than before. Under the glow of the red moon, the passengers could even make out some details along the roadside.

The bus had moved from the main road to a bumpy suburban path. As the mist cleared, fields and ditches became visible, resembling the scenery of an ordinary rural village at first glance.

But upon closer inspection, several scarecrows of varying heights, attire, and sizes stood in the fields. At first, they merely seemed eerie, but in the blink of an eye, they stepped down from their stands and began walking toward the bus like living corpses.

However, as these "scarecrows" approached the streetlights, they halted, seemingly unwilling to get closer to the light.

The bus continued forward, passing a lake darker than Lover’s Lake and a fragile bridge. Pale, ghostly hands occasionally emerged from the black water, resembling a field of ghastly reaching hands.

Even with the windows closed, everyone could hear the incessant wailing and howling from outside.

"This damn place," the Driver muttered, clearly displeased with this stretch of road.

The bus continued along the road. Though the "scenery" outside was horrifying—Zhang Yibu, the most timid of the trio, didn’t even dare to open his eyes—the ghostly entities outside made no move to approach the bus or even the road.

It was unclear whether this was by design of the game or because something on the bus struck fear in them.

After traveling a bit further, the streetlights were replaced by burning torches, and the bumpy road gave way to a dirt path. Su Bai looked out the window again and saw many "people" standing not far from the roadside.

The torchlight was too dim to make out their appearances or clothing clearly. These "people" stood densely on both sides of the road, almost blending into the village houses around them.

But once one realized that the figures surrounding the village were humanoid, an unprecedented wave of eerie dread and cold instantly enveloped them.

"Now arriving at Gui Village, the terminal station. Passengers wishing to disembark, please exit through the rear door. Those needing to return, please remain on board," the Driver announced as the bus came to a stop with a creak. Before opening the doors, he added sharply to the two dripping, chatty water ghosts, "You two, get off from the front door, and don’t get my bus dirty again!"

"Yes, yes, we’ll be back to wait for your bus after we’ve finished the feast," the male water ghost nodded repeatedly, then helped his female companion disembark.

"Make sure you wring yourselves out before boarding next time!" the Driver shouted after the retreating figures. The water ghosts bowed and nodded before hopping away arm in arm.

Last Bus Route 444, current passengers: 7.

Su Bai and the trio were on high alert as the doors opened. If more than two people boarded from the front door, they would have to disembark as quickly as possible.

Even Qin Ge, trapped by the white qipao paper doll, would have to make the decision to get off. After all, the worst outcome was "failure," and in the nightmare world, "failure" meant death in every sense.

A cold wind howled outside the door, stronger than at any previous stop, but no one boarded.

Wan Shasha, braver than the others, leaned forward slightly to peer outside the front door, only to jump back in fear a second later.

Su Bai also glanced outside. Though no one boarded, at least several dozen shadowy figures stood densely packed outside the front door, and even a few could be vaguely seen near the rear door.

All the figures stood motionless like scarecrows. No one boarded, and no more passengers disembarked.

The silence was finally broken by the Driver.

"How’s the wedding prep coming along?" Even the Driver of Last Bus Route 444 spoke cautiously now.

A cold wind blew in silence outside the door for several minutes before an unusually gravelly voice replied—

"Almost done, just waiting for the bride and the feast to begin. If you’re willing to help, Driver, everything will be complete."

"..." The Driver hesitated for a moment before firmly refusing, "Can’t do it this time."

"Then we’ll take the bride first."

As soon as the gravelly voice fell, a fierce wind swept into the bus.

"Jingle—"

"Clink-clank— Clink-clank—"

The gust rushed toward the last row of the bus, causing the silver bells on the ghost bride A Xi’s anklets to jingle. Though she had been quiet moments before, the ghost bride A Xi, stirred by the sudden wind, began thrashing and straining again, the invisible chains on her wrists and ankles clanking loudly.

Her pained howls followed, filled with sorrow and rage, sounding less like a human voice and more like the cries of a dying beast.

The ghost bride A Xi struggled to rise from her seat, but as soon as she lifted herself, the chains dragged her back down. The gaping wound on her chest bled more profusely than before, spreading across the bus floor.

Just as the others were frozen in panic, a semi-transparent shadow, identical to the ghost bride A Xi, was pulled from her body. This semi-transparent shadow, like a soulless apparition, followed the direction of the wind, slowly making its way toward the front door of the bus.

The closer the shadow got to the door, the more solid it became. By the time it stepped off the bus and merged with the shadowy figures outside, it was indistinguishable from the real ghost bride A Xi, no longer transparent in the slightest.

But when Su Bai and the others looked back at the last row, the ghost bride A Xi was still sitting there properly, her hands neatly placed on her lap.

Even the large pool of blood that had flowed onto the floor had completely vanished.

"The bride is here—"

The shadowy figures outside the bus, or rather, the villagers of Gui Village, unaware that only a shadow had disembarked, spread the good news among themselves and gradually dispersed.

Finally, the unusually gravelly voice called out once more from outside the door—

"Folks on the bus, it's so late now. Why not come on down to the village and stay overnight? You can even join us for a nice meal. The bride's here now, and all that's left is to get the feast going."

Su Bai glanced at the sky outside the window—this nightmare world had never seen daylight.

As for the trio besides Su Bai, they stayed seated without moving, listening to the "friendly" voice outside the door.

After all the bizarre events that had just unfolded, even if Su Bai had said nothing earlier, they would never dare get off the bus! Compared to the ghost village and those dark figures outside, not even the "friendly" Driver seemed better—let alone the white qipao figure, who hadn’t made a move yet.

The above statements do not represent Mr. Qin Ge’s views.

"What a shame."

Receiving no response from anyone, the unusually hoarse voice seemed to fade away, as if the "person" speaking had walked away.

The Driver of Route 444 Last Bus immediately closed the doors, turned on the headlights, released the brake, started the engine, and shifted gears seamlessly—faster than ever before.

Although returning from the terminal, the bus showed no intention of reversing or turning around. Instead, it charged straight ahead into the road.

Not long after the bus started moving, everyone heard the hoarse voice shouting from behind—

"Stop! The bride is fake! The bride is fake!"

But the bus showed no sign of slowing down, plunging straight into the mist ahead, where not even the light of a torch could be seen.

……

The trio on the bus remained dazed for a long time, staring blankly at the mist outside the window before finally snapping back to reality.

"Is it... over?" Wan Shasha asked disbelievingly, patting her own face.

Over?

As the bus drove into the mist, the smile on Su Bai’s face vanished.

Only he, having lived through this once before, knew that the first round had merely raised the curtain on this game. The true collapse always began in the second round.