Chapter 27 The Eternal Passenger

"There's some big news here!" Chu Ning pointed at the newspaper, his finger resting on a section that had been set apart to report the incident in detail. It was clear that this event had drawn much attention at the time, with society at large placing special importance on it.

A bus accident had resulted in thirteen deaths—no one aboard survived.

Tan Ya leaned over, curious to see what major event Chu Ning was referring to, driven by her own inquisitiveness.

"Bus number 24 crashed into an abandoned building on Huaguang Road due to an accident, causing the entire structure to collapse and bury the bus beneath it. After a lengthy rescue operation, no survivors were found. The cause of the accident remains under investigation."

Tan Ya read the news aloud, her voice growing softer until it faded away completely. She glanced uneasily at the other passengers, relieved that they hadn't noticed her muttering.

She finally remembered the incident; after all, with over ten fatalities, it counted as a major disaster. However, Tan Ya had only heard about it in passing on the news, and she wasn’t clear about how things developed afterward.

She had posted a few condemnations online, blaming those responsible, but then lost interest entirely. The internet’s memory was shorter than a goldfish’s, and since Tan Ya had no personal stake in the matter, she wasn’t about to expend any effort following up.

"Huaguang Road is actually quite close to my home," Chu Ning remarked, marveling at the unpredictability of fate. Who could have imagined something like this would happen?

Was it the driver who had lost his mind and decided to take everyone with him? Or perhaps a passenger had seized the wheel, precipitating disaster?

The truth would be difficult to uncover, with many obstacles to the investigation. Besides, the public might not even care about how things turned out.

"Of course it’s close—there’s a bus stop near your house. It’s not surprising that the accident happened nearby," Tan Ya rolled her eyes, feeling as though Chu Ning was stating the obvious.

"Oh, you’re right! I was being silly. The world is full of coincidences," Chu Ning admitted sheepishly, conceding that there was no need to make a fuss—such things just happened.

"Wait—do you remember which bus lines run near your house?" Tan Ya’s nerves tightened. Despite what Chu Ning said, there really weren’t so many coincidences in the world. She glanced at the other passengers again.

One, two, three... sixteen—the total number of people on the bus was sixteen. Her heart clenched with fear. Subtracting herself and Chu Ning, there were exactly fourteen other passengers.

Chu Ning merely smiled, declining to answer her pointed question. He gave her an apologetic look, then pressed his hands to his stomach. "Sorry, my stomach’s a bit upset. I need to get off for a moment. I’ll be right back."

With that, he hurriedly stood and walked to the driver, murmuring a few words. The bus slowed and came to a stop.

For Chu Ning, this was a question of life and death—he had no idea what buses ran near his home. He chose the most plausible excuse to leave and avoid the situation for now.

He hadn’t expected the driver to be so understanding, actually stopping the bus for his personal matter. What a good man!

Tan Ya watched helplessly as Chu Ning left the bus. She tried to follow him, finally understanding what was happening: she was on the very bus from the news report.

But Chu Ning pressed her shoulder, stopping her from rising. He claimed it wasn’t appropriate for a girl to follow him on such an errand.

Tan Ya tried to resist, but her feet felt nailed to the floor, fused with the bus itself.

Her mouth, too, seemed glued shut; no matter how she tried, she couldn’t speak. All she could do was watch Chu Ning leave, despair filling her heart.

This was the second time Tan Ya had ridden this bus. After learning about its origin, fear welled up inside her. The first time she’d boarded, there had been exactly thirteen passengers.

If her deductions were correct, some poor soul must have become a permanent member of this bus—destined to remain here forever.

It’s said that ignorance dulls fear, but once you know enough, terror takes root. Now, Tan Ya believed it.

The first time she boarded, she’d thought it was just another ordinary bus, no different from any other. She hadn’t taken note of anything strange.

After all, ghosts were bound to have their oddities—she’d assumed all the passengers came from different places. Who would have guessed they were all together? This was no small joke.

Crack!

The weather changed as suddenly as a child’s mood, shifting from clear to overcast in an instant. Lightning flashed, illuminating the passengers’ faces—pale and decaying, their skin ghastly and rotting. Tan Ya’s pupils contracted in terror.

A piercing scream echoed within the bus, yet none of the passengers’ mouths moved. Tan Ya couldn’t trace the sound’s source, nor did she have the presence of mind to care.

The passengers were all standing. Even those with broken legs were propping themselves up on seats, forcing themselves to their feet. They were slowly advancing toward Tan Ya, vying for the chance to feast.

Drip, drip...

Blood spattered on the floor, blossoming into crimson flowers. The stench of corpses was unmistakable. As they closed in, Tan Ya shrank into her seat, horrified. Why were these passengers still clinging to their bodies?

Until she noticed the bloodstained newspaper on her seat. It contained a follow-up report: all the bodies from bus 24 had vanished without a trace. The funeral home’s security cameras showed no one approaching the corpses waiting for cremation.

The perpetrator behind this mass theft of corpses had yet to be found—and these weren’t the only bodies that had gone missing.

"Chu Ning!" Her scream, ragged and desperate, echoed through the bus. Tan Ya broke free of her restraints, clutching the medical kit to her chest to ward the passengers off.

"Stay away! All of you, stay away from me! Don’t come any closer, do you hear me?"

Frantically she waved the medical kit, retreating into a corner, desperate to prevent the passengers from doing something unspeakable.

Then she realized what set her apart: the other passengers had their bodies, while she was nothing but a soul—a lonely, pitiful soul.