Chapter 62: Ren Nanase in Action
The middle-aged man had his hands tightly clenched together, praying to Amaterasu, God, and the Buddha. He hoped, above all, that the strange being wouldn't sit next to him.
But then...
He stole a glance and saw the strange being had stopped when it reached his row.
The middle-aged man gritted his teeth and quickly moved, stepping towards the aisle-side seat, deciding to sit there.
Whatever it took, he was going all out.
To his delight, the strange being moved back, walking toward the rear of the bus.
He'd made the right move!
The blue-haired delinquent was also relieved to be seated on the right-side single seat. He had made a good choice.
"Phew…"
At that moment, the strange being sat down in the seat behind the middle-aged man.
"It hurts…"
"It's torn…"
"It's coming out…"
A low, eerie groan echoed in the air.
The bus started moving again with a loud rumble, and everything gradually settled back into silence.
Lin Ye didn't think this cycle of getting on and off the bus would be so simple. There must be some hidden trouble ahead.
After the bus moved onto the road, Lin Ye decisively activated time stop and moved toward the strange being to observe it up close.
Its face was unclear, but its eyes were a dark, ashy color, and its torn clothes were fused with the bloodied flesh of its body.
Enduring the discomfort, Lin Ye pulled at the clothes, trying to see the state of the strange being's body under the dim light inside the bus.
There was a long, 10-centimeter wound, with black-red fluid oozing out and staining the torn clothes.
"That matches its murmurs," Lin Ye thought.
Any normal person would be unable to move with such a wound. In fact, they would most likely be dead by now.
He checked its pockets but found nothing useful, so he returned to his seat.
The bus rumbled on steadily.
Ren Nanase gently tapped Lin Ye's arm and turned her phone screen toward him.
— "Which stop can we get off at?"
— "Fourth stop, Chiba Station. The next stop is the second one."
Three more stops to go!
But at least they were closer to hope.
Ren Nanase felt a glimmer of hope rise. She had begun to adapt to the situation. At least there was now a chance of surviving and leaving the bus. She owed that to Lin Ye.
Suddenly, Ren Nanase's gaze fell to Lin Ye's abdomen, which appeared to be wet and blackened. As a nurse, she was very sensitive to the scent of blood.
That was definitely the smell of blood.
Thud... Thud...
She pulled Lin Ye's arm and pointed at his abdomen.
Lin Ye looked down and immediately realized his abdomen was wet and sticky. Without hesitation, he lifted his shirt and saw a small wound, blood slowly seeping out.
It had been infected by the strange entity's rules.
Lin Ye looked at Ren Nanase, and under her stunned gaze, he reached out toward her. She instinctively tried to stop him, and that was when Lin Ye realized he could let her check for herself.
He pointed to his own wound.
Ren Nanase lowered her head and lifted her shirt, only to find she was bleeding as well.
Her face instantly paled.
It didn't hurt, but blood was flowing.
Ren Nanase's gaze turned desperate, silently asking Lin Ye for help.
The blue-haired delinquent also noticed the problem. Why was blood starting to flow?
What was happening?
He was terrified—he didn't want to bleed to death!
Instinctively, he glanced toward Lin Ye.
At that moment, Lin Ye thought for a moment, then understood the cause. He immediately stood and walked toward the driver's seat.
Under the confused gazes of the others, they saw Lin Ye take down a first aid kit marked with a red cross from the driver's seat.
He carried the kit back to the strange being who had just boarded the bus.
Click...
The first aid kit opened.
Looking at the contents, Lin Ye realized he would need to study and familiarize himself with medicines and tools for such situations.
Ren Nanase, as a healthcare worker, immediately understood Lin Ye's intentions.
But her legs felt weak, and her body was trembling from the cold. Still...
She gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, and stood up, moving to Lin Ye's side.
Ren Nanase pointed to herself and the first aid kit, indicating she would handle it.
Lin Ye agreed without hesitation, offering to assist her.
He gently lifted the strange man's shirt to reveal a 10-centimeter wound on his abdomen.
Ren Nanase had seen many similar severe injuries before, so she wasn't fazed. However, seeing such a wound on a strange entity was something new to her.
She started stitching the wound with practiced hands. Starting off a bit clumsily, she quickly grew more adept. With the right care, the wound could heal quickly without worrying about infection or severe scarring.
In just three minutes, the wound was stitched up.
The strange being's low moans finally stopped.
"It doesn't hurt anymore…"
"It feels better…"
The sounds from the strange man ceased completely.
Both the blue-haired delinquent and the middle-aged man stared in shock, utterly amazed by the girl's courage to treat the strange being's wound!
They immediately checked their own wounds, but blood was still flowing from their abdomen, though it had slowed down.
Lin Ye also noticed that his own bleeding hadn't stopped completely.
There must still be some rule they hadn't accounted for.
Lin Ye motioned for Ren Nanase to return to her seat after finishing her work.
Once seated, he noticed the blood still hadn't stopped flowing.
Quickly, he scanned the bus and realized the problem.
There were empty seats in the row—two strange beings and the middle-aged man occupied three of them.
He immediately signaled the blue-haired delinquent and the middle-aged man to sit beside the two strange beings.
They shook their heads vigorously, refusing to sit next to them.
"No way!" they thought.
"I'm not sitting next to those creatures!"
Thud...
Thud...
Lin Ye didn't hesitate. He forcibly pulled both men to the empty seats next to the strange beings.
It was a matter of life and death, so he used a straightforward and forceful approach.
As for himself and Ren Nanase sitting next to the strange beings?
He didn't mind helping others if necessary, but he wasn't about to risk his life for two men he didn't even know.
If Ren Nanase could perform surgery to contribute to their survival, what were these two men doing, just sitting there?
Besides, Lin Ye had tried to move the strange beings before, but once they sat down, it was as if they were connected to the bus, immovable.
Therefore, he had to make the two men pay the price.
The middle-aged man and blue-haired delinquent trembled in fear, convinced the strange beings would transform into man-eating monsters and devour them whole.
Lin Ye pointed at Ren Nanase, and she checked her own abdomen again. Lin Ye leaned in to observe and even touched her side, making her shiver and blush.
— "It's fine now, no more bleeding."
Ren Nanase just wanted to say, "You could've checked your own wound," but she knew Lin Ye was only using this excuse to take advantage of her.
Whatever. It had already been seen, already been touched. She might as well consider it a reward for him!
Thinking this way, Ren Nanase let go of her discomfort.
"Attention, passengers. We will soon be arriving at the third stop. Please prepare to disembark."
The third stop was approaching.
What strange being would board next?