Chapter 1 First Arrival

The first time Jiang Cheng boarded this bus, he noticed the man. He appeared alongside the Ghost Bride, belonging to the same level of existence.

Black ash continued to fall, and the entire bus was filled with a despairing atmosphere as if the end of the world had arrived.

Jiang Cheng sniffed, his nostrils filled with the burnt smell of ash.

Being able to alter the environment on this bus was similar to the Ghost Bride, but in terms of degree, it was even stronger than the Ghost Bride, which could not help but fill Jiang Cheng with anticipation for this mission.

No, not anticipation.

Vigilance.

Without further hesitation, Jiang Cheng and Fatty strode towards the driver's seat of the bus.

The further they walked, the more ash swirled around them. Waves of heat accompanied by a scorched smell assaulted them, and before long, Jiang Cheng and Fatty were drenched in sweat.

They had to stop.

But then an even more terrifying scene unfolded. Because they had not found seats, they were being targeted by the "passengers" on the bus. Figures appeared in the surrounding seats.

The closest to Jiang Cheng was an old woman.

The old woman was looking at Jiang Cheng with a kind expression, as if she were looking at her own grandson.

After sensing that the other party had no malicious intent, Fatty breathed a sigh of relief, but the next second, he saw the old woman's hand tremble a few times before suddenly breaking off at the wrist, falling to the ground with a "plop."

Fatty: "!!!"

The old woman didn't seem to think this was a big deal, still wearing that kind and amiable expression. "Young man, I dropped something. Could you please pick it up for me?"

Anyone could see that this was a trap. Jiang Cheng acted as if he hadn't heard or seen anything, remaining unmoved.

"Young man, this old woman is not feeling well and can't bend down. I need you to pick it up for me. Don't be ungrateful." The old woman seemed certain that Jiang Cheng had heard her, her expression gradually becoming twisted.

Fatty stared at the severed hand on the ground, his face pale. The severed hand was wriggling strangely, its five chicken-claw-like fingers constantly twitching, crawling towards their feet.

The danger wasn't limited to that. More and more "passengers" revealed themselves. Sitting next to the old woman was a young woman holding a baby in her arms. The young woman kept her head lowered, softly chanting a strange ballad, seemingly trying to lull the baby to sleep.

But what was chilling was that the baby in her arms had been dead for a long time, rotting beyond recognition.

Near the window was a man with an afro. The man twisted his neck, staring fixedly at Jiang Cheng in a way that no living person could. Then, he took off his mask, revealing a gaping maw filled with barbs.

The passengers on the other side were not to be outdone. A dark-skinned man wearing a hard hat and work clothes slowly turned his head, his neck emitting cracking sounds.

From Fatty's perspective, a large hole was visible on the side of the hard hat. Through the hole, he could see the shattered skull inside, along with disgusting liquid constantly flowing out.

The dark-skinned man's brain seemed to have been hollowed out...

Fatty subconsciously determined that after the dark-skinned man completely turned his head towards them, something terrible would happen next.

The situation before them completely exceeded their expectations. What was this, were they going to be killed by these passengers before they even truly entered the instance?

In the nick of time, an arm tore through the snow-like curtain of ash and grabbed Jiang Cheng's hand.

Jiang Cheng couldn't help but shudder.

The hand was soft and had a familiar scent. The next second, a beautiful figure appeared before him.

Who else could it be but the Ghost Bride?

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, the Ghost Bride gracefully moved, stepping squarely on the old woman's severed hand crawling on the ground, causing the old woman's face to twitch in pain.

And at the moment the Ghost Bride appeared, the situation immediately reversed. Most of the passengers quieted down.

After the Ghost Bride smiled at Jiang Cheng, she gently turned her head, her expression not so friendly when she looked at the other passengers. The old woman immediately hunched over, not even daring to make eye contact with her.

The young woman holding the baby stopped singing, and the afro-headed man with the bared teeth also put his mask back on.

Only the dark-skinned man with the hollowed-out brain didn't seem to have reacted yet, still twisting his neck. When he finally turned his neck towards Jiang Cheng's side, the head wearing the hard hat suddenly flew up, flying towards Jiang Cheng.

"Flying head?" Fatty exclaimed. He had read a similar scene in a horror novel recently.

But just as the head flew halfway, it was grabbed by a hand. Fatty watched as the Ghost Bride's face became very ugly. Then, with one hand grabbing the head and the other hand slowly raising, clenching into a fist, gathering strength, she shattered the hard hat with one punch. The head rolled around on the ground, eventually disappearing somewhere.

Casually throwing the half-remaining hard hat next to the old woman, a nearby passenger was so frightened that his head fell off. Immediately, all the surrounding passengers disappeared in tacit agreement.

The Ghost Bride turned her head, her face full of love as she looked at Jiang Cheng. She took Jiang Cheng's hand and led the way forward.

Following the Ghost Bride, the surrounding scorching heat was suppressed, the temperature rapidly decreasing, and the air became humid again.

Being held by the Ghost Bride like this, Jiang Cheng felt complicated, even somewhat resistant. It wasn't that he didn't understand her feelings, but he felt more guilt and gratitude towards the woman in front of him.

He didn't know how far they walked when the Ghost Bride suddenly stopped. Then, she turned around and stared at Jiang Cheng with a strange and adorable look, as if waiting for praise.

Jiang Cheng had just regained his senses and didn't understand.

But the next second, Fatty seemed to have discovered a new world, excitedly abandoning the doctor and rushing like a madman to a seat. "Huai Yi!"

"Wang Qi!"

At that moment, Huai Yi and Wang Qi were sitting side by side. When they saw Fatty, Huai Yi's originally mournful face instantly changed. He leaped up from the chair with a "teng!" "Brother Fugui! Brother Jiang! It's actually you guys!"

Unlike Wang Qi's well-behaved Zhongshan suit, Huai Yi's attire was truly mismatched. A white shirt was paired with a checkered skirt that was asymmetrical on the left and right, probably a style of dress he learned from another world.

"Number 10..." Wang Qi looked at Fatty, his voice choking, but he was smiling. He knew that Number 10 would not let him down.

Fatty looked at this one, then touched that one, happy like a child weighing over 200 pounds. He seemed to have completely forgotten that this was a bus, within the Old President's domain.

In his mind, it wouldn't be long before he could definitely take them off the bus.

Jiang Cheng reached out and patted Huai Yi's shoulder, then stroked his hair, feeling the coldness that definitely did not belong to a living person from his fingertips. His eyes couldn't help but turn red.

While Fatty was busy rubbing Wang Qi's face, Huai Yi gently patted the back of Jiang Cheng's hand, then glanced at Fatty, smiled, and gently shook his head at Jiang Cheng.