Chapter 22: The Arrogant Youth

The sudden remark from the bespectacled boy made Huan Xiao worry that her ability to see the ghost in the white dress had been discovered. That shouldn't be the case, though; she had been playing the part quite well.

To her surprise, the boy continued, "The broadcast just now told passengers getting off to alight, whereas when we boarded, it instructed passengers to board. Clearly, the 404 bus's broadcast system possesses a certain level of intelligence. It knows when the ghost in the white dress has finished killing someone and needs to get off. In other words, we can tell if the ghost is on the bus based on the broadcast announcements."

Having said this, he sat back in the seat in front of Huan Xiao with a nonchalant air, his mood visibly improved.

"It seems you've figured out how to avoid being hunted by the ghost," Huan Xiao remarked in a matter-of-fact tone.

The boy’s expression was relaxed, no longer showing the fear he had displayed earlier. To possess such a mindset, it was clear he had completely unraveled the conditions for the white-dressed ghost’s killings.

Realizing he had been caught, the boy didn't deny it. He said with a flourish, "Naturally, but I won’t be telling you."

He had only just figured it out himself. The red-clad ghost who had been killed by the white-dressed one and lost its eyes, along with the two consecutive players who died right after seeing the ghost smile at them—by synthesizing all this information and making a few logical leaps, the answer became obvious.

Gouging out one’s own eyes could not be the optimal solution, as the game would never present a dilemma that required such a massive sacrifice. The only reason he had urged the hooded youth to gouge his eyes out earlier was that he wanted to maliciously make the boy’s death more painful, though there was a tiny part of him that wanted to test if the method might actually work.

Having solved the mystery, the bespectacled boy congratulated himself on his own cleverness. These were answers he had painstakingly puzzled out, which just went to show how brilliant he was! And since these were his findings, he wouldn't share them with this newcomer.

The 404 bus set off once again. After plunging into a shroud of black mist for a moment, it emerged back onto the narrow country road. There were the familiar weeds, the familiar dirt path, and the familiar, fleeting glimpse of a white hem.

Seeing the boy close his eyes to rest, Huan Xiao didn't bother speaking to him. Since he refused to reveal the way to survive the ghost, she didn't press the issue; after all, she didn't need to know the survival method. Under the premise that the white-dressed ghost perceived Huan Xiao as a powerful spirit like itself—and one with even more ghost energy—the entity would never dare to attack her. Therefore, Huan Xiao only needed to stay on until the final stop to head home.

The bus fell into an unusual silence. About three minutes later, Huan Xiao felt a presence beside her. She looked over and discovered a pale, ghostly face pressed against the glass. Its pitch-black, blood-rimmed eyes were staring fixedly at her, and the rain outside traced chaotic streaks across its face, with blood flowing along the droplets to create branch-like patterns on the window.

This time, Huan Xiao instinctively checked its clothing: it was indeed the white dress. It was still refusing to give up, coming back to try and scare her again—was this just how ghosts greeted one another? Seeing that Huan Xiao remained unfazed, the ghost seemed disappointed and soon vanished.

Huan Xiao couldn't help but let a small smile tug at the corner of her lips. Was this ghost deliberately trying to rattle her? She had already been "scared" once; how could she possibly be frightened by the same trick a second time?

Huan Xiao stared blankly at the overgrown fields outside. Suddenly, her gaze drifted past the driver's seat and caught sight of a white figure appearing on the road ahead.

It was the ghost in the white dress!

Huan Xiao’s eyes widened in disbelief; she hadn't expected the ghost’s target this time to be her. That made sense, though—the bespectacled boy kept his eyes closed, so even if the ghost appeared, he wouldn't see it. That must be his method of avoidance. However, Huan Xiao felt neither nervous nor afraid. In the face of absolute strength, all fear ceases to exist. She was actually quite curious to see what the ghost would do next.

The 404 bus plowed straight into the white-dressed figure, not slowing down in the slightest.

*Thump.*

The bus jolted again. Huan Xiao watched as the ghost was sent flying at an unnatural angle, slamming against the front windshield and pressing its face against the glass, staring directly at her. Its head had struck something, causing a massive wound from which blood poured, washing over the glass and soaking its entire face in crimson. Then, it looked at Huan Xiao, and its mouth slowly curled into a horrific, ghoulish grin...

In the blink of an eye, the ghost was gone. The view in front of the bus returned to normal—just the transparent rain and the dim, obscured dirt road. It was as if it had all been a hallucination, but Huan Xiao caught a glimpse of a white figure appearing in the tall grass at the side of the road.

This time, it wasn't just a fleeting hem; Huan Xiao could clearly see the ghost’s full form. It was gradually closing in on the 404 bus, seemingly no longer hindered by its previous collision.

"You saw it, didn't you?" The bespectacled boy’s voice came from the front, dripping with schadenfreude.

It was obvious what he meant; both of them knew that this collision marked the beginning of being "marked" by the ghost in the white dress. The boy had opened his eyes at some point, his expression a mix of a smile and a sneer as he mocked Huan Xiao’s carelessness.

Huan Xiao hadn't expected to see such a complex expression on a single person’s face. However, the more pressing question was: why was this person mocking her for no reason?

"And what if I did?" Huan Xiao replied, looking entirely fearless. She dumped the rest of her sugar-roasted chestnuts into her mouth and tossed the paper bag out the window in a fit of pique. She hated people who harbored inexplicable malice toward her; she hadn't offended him, so why couldn't he just speak normally?

"You really aren't afraid, are you?" Seeing her anger, the boy, perhaps wanting to show some "kindness" to a dying person, softened his tone. "To be honest, I had wondered if you possessed some kind of life-saving item, but..."

He paused deliberately, but finding that Huan Xiao didn't take the bait, he inwardly dismissed her as boring and continued, "But it’s impossible for a player to possess the power to fully counter a malevolent spirit."

Huan Xiao disagreed and retorted, "What about Spirit Controllers? They can control ghost energy; how are they any different from ghosts?"

"It’s not the same." The boy looked at Huan Xiao as if she were mentally deficient, yet he kindly explained it to her, reasoning that she had no chance of surviving this game anyway. "I usually don't like playing the role of a mentor to newcomers—it’s stupid, and there’s no benefit in helping them... but I do enjoy explaining things to someone like you, who is already as good as dead."