As the lights flickered back on, Jiang Yan quickly glanced over at Zhang Tiantian, hoping she wasn't the one taken this time.
Luckily, Zhang Tiantian was still peacefully asleep, seemingly dreaming. Jiang Yan exhaled in relief.
If both he and Zhang Tiantian were unharmed, then the latest victim must have been one of the streamers.
As for the man in the black hat, Jiang Yan wasn't particularly worried about him—this man seemed eerily familiar with the bus's supernatural nature and had remained calm the entire time. Jiang Yan even suspected he might belong to some paranormal organization and probably had some means of protecting himself.
Just as he'd guessed, the victim was indeed one of the streamers—the beautiful female streamer sitting beside the blond young man.
Jiang Yan had noticed her earlier. She was the most striking woman on the bus, with delicate features and skin as pale as snow. Likely the main attraction of the streaming team, her looks alone could capture an audience's attention, adding an element of thrill to any ghost hunt.
But if her fans could see her now, they would probably be too horrified to keep watching—or even eat for days.
She was unrecognizable, her once-beautiful face mangled beyond recognition. Her body was covered in bite marks, bones and organs exposed, as if a pack of wild dogs had torn her apart.
Who could have imagined that a young beauty, delicate as a flower, would meet such a gruesome fate in mere seconds?
Jiang Yan felt both fear and pity. In just half an hour, two lives had been snuffed out in front of him, each by an unthinkable death.
The scene shattered his logical, physics-based thinking, making him feel as if he were trapped in a nightmare with no end.
The other female streamer, apparently the victim's close friend, was sobbing silently, hands clamped over her mouth to suppress her cries.
But the blond youth, the team's leader, was the most devastated. He had organized numerous ghost-hunting expeditions before, and nothing strange had ever happened. It had made him think all those ghost stories were nonsense and emboldened him.
But now, his arrogance had led to this—two dead companions in half an hour. And this terrible sequence of deaths wasn't over.
Watching his girlfriend's tragic fate pushed him past his breaking point. Fear morphed into a fierce rage.
If they were all going to die, he might as well try his luck.
"Screw this! I'm getting off this bus!" the blond youth shouted, stepping out of his seat.
Jiang Yan and the man in the black hat both tensed.
"Is he insane?" Jiang Yan thought, worried that the blond youth's reckless actions might trigger an unknown consequence.
They'd already seen what happened earlier—when the blond youth argued with the man in the black hat, it had drawn the attention of the eerie tour group.
Fortunately, he'd stopped in time, and the anomaly had subsided.
Now, however, his actions could start the cycle again, this time with even less control over what might happen.
Yet, in the midst of all this danger lay a potential opportunity. If they could identify a new rule by observing this reckless act, it might reveal a way out.
Jiang Yan looked back at the man in the black hat, who remained impassive, so he chose to sit tight and watch.
The blond youth strode forward, immediately drawing the stares of the tour group. They all turned in unison, their hollow, blood-stained eyes fixed on him.
The intense gaze of the dead tour members made him feel like he'd been plunged into an icy abyss. His anger flickered, dampened by a wave of fear.
But he pressed on, determined.
Soon, he reached the middle of the aisle, surrounded by the lifeless passengers.
Oddly, none of the corpses moved as he neared them. They just sat there, staring at him with eyes in various stages of decay.
The blond youth's scalp prickled, his original plan to ask the driver to open the door seeming absurd now. The driver was just as dead as these passengers; dealing with any of them was the last thing he wanted. Instead, he continued toward the bus's central door.
He stared at the door with burning hope. If he could just get it open, he could escape this cursed bus.
Without a second thought, he kicked hard at the glass pane on the door.
"Bang!"
The glass shuddered but didn't crack. The glass in these buses was reinforced, designed to withstand impact.
But the blond youth's desperation outweighed his sense. He took a few steps back, then sprinted forward and kicked with all his strength.
He had put everything he had into that kick. Even if the glass didn't shatter, it should at least have cracked.
But the glass remained unscathed. Not even a scuff mark appeared.
"This… can't be. I hit it square on!" He staggered back, staring at the door in disbelief.
The door was right there in front of him, yet he couldn't touch it.
"I've had enough!"
He clenched his jaw, rage igniting once more. He still had millions in his streaming account, untapped fame, countless women he hadn't had the chance to enjoy.
To die here, trapped in this cursed bus—he couldn't accept it!
If he couldn't break the door, then he'd go to the driver.
The blond youth balled his fists and stormed toward the driver's seat.
"Right—the driver is the key! The driver has control over the bus. If I can find the button to open the door, I can get out!"
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became. Though he dreaded dealing with a corpse, there was no other option.
Reaching the front of the bus, he confirmed his worst fears:
The driver was indeed a corpse, just like the tour group members—its flesh rotting, hollow eyes staring blankly forward, with severe injuries leaving it even more damaged than the passengers. It had no hands, unable to hold the wheel.
Yet somehow, the wheel turned steadily, as if guided by an invisible force.
The moment the blond youth approached the driver's seat, all the tour members' heads turned toward him once again, each gaze carrying a chilling aura, freezing him to the bone.
Gritting his teeth against the rising terror, he leaned forward and began searching the control panel, hoping to find the door switch.
"Got it!" His heart leaped with hope as his fingers found the switch.
However, his excitement quickly faded. The door release button was buried at the far end of the panel, forcing him to lean across the driver's decaying body to reach it.
Revulsion washed over him, but he pushed through. This was his last chance.
Stretching as far as he could, he finally pressed the button.
It was a green, toggle-style switch, designed to move easily.
But even as he put all his strength into flipping it, the switch wouldn't budge. His veins bulged, his face flushed red, but the switch remained completely still.
"No… this can't be…" Fear engulfed him, wiping out any trace of his anger.
A horrifying realization dawned on him—not only were the passengers ghosts, but the bus itself was a ghost too.
He had been trapped inside a haunted entity.
Just then, the driver stirred, lowering its head to look at him with those empty eyes.
Its gaze chilled him to his very core. He instinctively looked up, locking eyes with the driver.
At that moment, the bus jerked to a sudden halt, throwing everyone forward as darkness consumed the cabin once again.