Chapter 16: The Departure of the Ghost in the Wedding Dress

Seeing the young man kneeling on the floor, Huan Xiao sighed.

"Hey, Mr. Glasses, why don't you help him? He's literally kneeling and begging you."

Huan Xiao, who delighted in watching chaos unfold, remarked with a smirk. The kneeling boy immediately shifted his focus, casting an eager, desperate gaze toward the bespectacled youth. In his mind, he felt the bespectacled boy was far more reliable than Huan Xiao, who did nothing but act like a salted fish waiting to rot. By comparison, the bespectacled youth, who looked like a man of intellect, seemed much more...

"I can't help."

These words shattered the boy's illusions.

"Wh-why? Is it not enough money? Or is there something else you want? I can do anything..."

The boy struggled to find a way out. He saw the Ghost Bride approaching with a cruel smile, and he didn't want to die yet!

"Find your own way. I don't know which stop she’s getting off at either."

With a face void of emotion, the bespectacled youth adjusted his glasses, his tone cold and detached. Now, the boy targeted by the Ghost Bride fell into total despair. He stared at the bespectacled youth and Huan Xiao with eyes full of resentment, gritting his teeth as he racked his brain to guess where the ghost would disembark.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him. Their task as players was to survive until the Netherworld Station. Could it be possible that this Ghost Bride was also heading to the Netherworld Station?

Hesitant and pressed for time, the boy clenched his fists. He had no time to waste. Rather than being killed by the Ghost Bride right then and there, he might as well gamble on it—perhaps he could snatch a glimmer of hope!

With this thought, the boy mustered all his strength and shouted:

"It’s the Netherworld Station!"

Upon hearing his answer, the Ghost Bride paused. Seeing this reaction, the boy was overcome with exhilaration. He felt proud of his own quick thinking and intellect in such a life-or-death moment.

"You're getting off at the Netherworld Station."

Confidence bloomed in his chest, though a remnant of fear lingered on his face. That was it—he must have guessed correctly. Surely, the ghost couldn't touch him now. After all, these specters had to follow the rules, too!

Hahaha, it was so simple after all. It wasn't hard at all.

Just then, the familiar chime echoed through the 404 bus.

"Ding! Nanfeng Garden has arrived. Passengers, please board promptly."

The bus doors slid open. It was at this moment that the Ghost Bride moved. She bared her teeth and whispered:

"You... guessed wrong."

Then, in one swift motion, she swallowed the stunned boy whole from head to toe. The boy didn't even manage to make a sound before he was consumed. Afterward, the Ghost Bride greedily licked her lips, her gaze drifting toward the three remaining players—excluding Huan Xiao—as if contemplating devouring them as well. But in the end, she did nothing and simply drifted off the bus.

Huan Xiao watched clearly; the ghost's aura had flared up the moment 'Nanfeng Garden' was announced. It seemed she had an enemy at Nanfeng Garden and had taken the bus specifically to settle a score.

Outside, none of the waiting passengers boarded. They seemed unable to see the 404 bus or the ghost drifting past them. At the station, one person voiced their confusion to a companion.

"Geez, did it suddenly get cold tonight?"

"I think so, too. I’ve got goosebumps. There’s no air conditioning here, why is it so freezing..."

Huan Xiao watched with her own eyes as the Ghost Bride drifted through the group at the station and vanished into the distance.

"Hey... what are you looking at?"

A young man in a black hooded jacket noticed Huan Xiao’s gaze following the empty air. He had been too afraid to speak before, but now that the Ghost Bride was gone, he let out a sigh of relief. He had survived; the fierce spirit had finally departed!

Huan Xiao snapped out of her trance and replied, "Nothing."

Her dismissive demeanor signaled that she didn't want to talk, so the hooded youth wisely stopped prying. He had only been trying to lighten the mood. The bus was too quiet, and the darkness made it feel as though a figure could be watching them from the corners at any moment—the sheer terror of it was suffocating.

Huan Xiao leaned against the window, eyeing the barbecue stalls outside, her mouth watering. Good heavens, if not for the time limit on getting off the 404 bus, she would have hopped out to buy a few skewers right now. Mutton, fish balls, pork loin, chicken wings, ham, mushrooms, potatoes... she wanted it all!

By the time the bus doors closed and no one had boarded, the three remaining players finally relaxed.

"Did that female ghost leave? ...Thank goodness she’s gone, or we would have all been dead."

The hooded youth, seeing no new passengers, slumped back into his seat. Then, seemingly recalling something, he added, "Come to think of it, I think I saw a missing person notice at one of the previous stops."

"...The one looking for the runaway bride?"

The bald man’s voice still trembled; he hadn't yet recovered from the shock. Seeing that he remembered, the hooded youth continued, "Yes, that’s the one. The dress in the notice looked very much like the one the... ghost bride was wearing. I suspect they’re connected."

He hesitated when mentioning the ghost bride, but realizing she had already left the bus, he mustered the courage to speak. There was no point in fearing a ghost that had already departed; he would be facing these things often, so he couldn't afford to be a coward.

"What missing person notice?" Huan Xiao asked curiously. She had been too busy thinking about food to pay attention to any posters.

"It was posted on the advertising board at the station. A bride went missing from a wedding seven days ago, and her family has been posting notices everywhere to find her."

Seeing Huan Xiao join the conversation, the youth didn't mind; having one more person to talk to provided a sense of security. He looked at the rain outside, feeling a strange sense of relief amidst his lingering fear. In these short-term games, once you survived the first major hazard, you were generally considered safe.

With the ghost gone, the four of them engaged in a rare moment of casual chatter.

"Little sister, you're a player too, how did you end up on the bus before us?" the hooded youth asked, voicing his confusion.

Huan Xiao shook her head and answered truthfully, "I don't know. This is only the second game I've participated in."

"No wonder you don't know anything; you're just a rookie," the bespectacled youth said with a tone of disdain.

He regretted thinking highly of her earlier. It seemed Huan Xiao was merely a reckless newcomer. Players like her existed, though most were terrified of ghosts; she was an outlier.

"The spawn points are random; this girl just had bad luck. But to have survived until now, I suppose her luck isn't all that bad." He paused, then added, "Also, the missing bride on the notice is definitely the ghost bride."