Chapter 48: Voting, Drawing the Blade, and Cleaning House

"I f—... why is it this thing? I haven't encountered an S-Level Fierce Ghost once in a whole month."

Upon seeing the Multi-Headed Ghost appear, the usually composed Shen Nian suffered a rare loss of control, swearing softly. One hand gripped the gun beneath his trench coat in a death grip, fighting back the primal urge to either attack or flee the bus.

Such was the terror this Fierce Ghost inspired. If it went on a rampage, it was completely unknown whether the Supernatural Bus could even suppress it.

Yet, right now, getting off was the worst possible choice. On the bus, the Multi-Headed Ghost might still harbor a trace of wariness toward the rules. But outside, in the Supernatural Zone, every rule on the bus would become completely invalid—a true guaranteed death.

Meanwhile, as he locked eyes with one of its countless heads, a borderline insane idea sprang into Gao Tian's mind:

Should I use the Shattered Face Ghost's ability on it and steal its Killing Rule?

Although Gao Tian didn't know what the Multi-Headed Ghost's Killing Rule was, the fact that Xu Yuan had died at its hands and the composed Shen Nian had reacted with such horror upon seeing it was proof enough. This thing was absolutely game-breakingly strong.

If he could seize its Killing Rule, the payout for this mission would be off the charts.

However, if Gao Tian made a move against this Fierce Ghost, the risks were monumental. As an S-Level Fierce Ghost, the Multi-Headed Ghost's raw strength was absolutely terrifying. It would not be hunted down so easily.

If it really were that easy to target, it wouldn't have been graded at this level.

After thinking it over for a moment, Gao Tian abandoned the idea. Finding the Terror Blade on this trip was already a massive gain; there was no need to gamble his life a second time.

Yet, completely defying expectations, even though Gao Tian sat entirely still, the Multi-Headed Ghost seemed to sense something. Beneath its coat, the myriad faces—originally a distinct array of men, women, the elderly, and the young, displaying joy, anger, sorrow, and delight—suddenly morphed in unison into peaceful smiles. Dozens of eyes turned to stare directly at Gao Tian.

Had it noticed Gao Tian as well?

Gao Tian had decided against hunting it, never expecting to become the Multi-Headed Ghost's prey instead.

At the same time, under the unified gaze of those countless faces, Gao Tian's face inexplicably grew hot. Two trails of warm blood slowly trickled from his eye sockets, and the entire world began to spin.

Forget the power of the Shattered Face Ghost. Right now, Gao Tian felt a hollow emptiness throughout his entire body. It was difficult to lift even a single finger, let alone activate a ghost's power.

He was completely suppressed. Just by glancing at him, the Multi-Headed Ghost had locked down his abilities.

"Vote!

"Everyone, vote for this ghost! Vote for it right now, or none of us are getting off this bus alive today!"

Seeing Gao Tian bleeding from his eyes while the culprit, the Multi-Headed Ghost, suffered zero punishment, Shen Nian realized the gravity of the situation and shouted at the top of his lungs.

This ghost was different from the others. It had to be kicked off the bus without a single second to lose.

Meanwhile, because the number of passengers had reached eight, the other two ghosts on the bus began to awaken.

The tall male corpse in front of Gao Tian roused as if waking from a dream. Its hands blindly patted the surrounding area, seemingly searching for its lost Rusted Longblade.

Fortunately, only two gray specks remained in its eye sockets, leaving it completely unable to see its surroundings.

The old woman sat motionless in her seat, resembling a corpse. However, the blood-red Inverted Cross embedded in her head began to grow active as bloody, eye-like contours opened across its surface, scanning everyone in the cabin.

Su Jiu was in a complete panic:

"How do we vote? Where is the voting button?"

At the same time, three faint, blood-red crosses appeared on the highest head of the newly boarded Multi-Headed Ghost—a head that already brushed the ceiling of the bus.

The voting had already begun.

These three votes came from Gao Tian, Su Jiu, and Shen Nian, all attempting to force it off the Supernatural Bus.

The myriad faces on the Multi-Headed Ghost maintained their faint smiles. It stretched out a long, dark piece of withered wood resembling an arm and pointed at Gao Tian. Immediately, a blood-red cross appeared above his head.

The Multi-Headed Ghost had voted for Gao Tian.

The old woman with the Inverted Cross turned toward the tall male corpse, and a blood-red cross materialized above its head.

The tall male corpse was still fumbling around its seat for the lost blade. From start to finish, it never raised its head to cast a vote.

Currently, the tally between the Multi-Headed Ghost and Gao Tian stood at three to one. It looked like the former was destined to be kicked off.

Shen Nian turned his head and shouted at Zhou Yan and Ling Feifei at the back of the bus, "Hey, hurry up and vote! Didn't you guys come here together?"

An anxious expression surfaced on Ling Feifei's face:

"But... wouldn't it be a bit mean if all of us voted for that ghost?"

When Shen Nian heard this, he initially thought his ears were playing tricks on him. Then, an uncontrollable surge of fury rushed to his head:

"What the hell are you talking about?

"Of course humans are going to vote for the ghost! Isn't that obvious?

"If you don't vote for the ghost, who else are you going to vote for? If this Multi-Headed Ghost doesn't get off the bus, every last one of us is going to die here!"

Ling Feifei pointed a finger at her own head, looking completely innocent:

"But have you ever thought about this?

"There are already more humans on this bus than ghosts. If all of us band together and vote for the ghost, don't you think that's way too unfair to it?

"Have you ever experienced what it feels like to be isolated?"

Shen Nian felt his brain metaphorically explode. He had traveled far and wide for years, seeing all kinds of people and ghosts, but this was his first time encountering such a spectacular piece of work.

What was she saying? What on earth was this woman talking about? He couldn't comprehend a single word.

His mind completely crashed. In a daze, Shen Nian turned back toward Gao Tian:

"Hey, aren't these two with you?

"Are they even human, or are they ghosts?"

At this critical juncture, the words coming out of Ling Feifei's mouth didn't even sound like something a human would say. Shen Nian would rather suspect she had been possessed by an evil spirit than believe these words genuinely came from her own heart.

Above Gao Tian's head, where there was originally only a single red cross, a second one materialized. This meant someone else in the cabin had voted for him.

It was Zhou Yan from the back row.

His face bore a thoroughly innocent expression:

"Sorry about this, Gao.

"Nothing in this world matters more than my wife. Feifei was constantly bullied and isolated at school when she was younger, so she can't stand seeing similar things happen—even if it's happening to a ghost."

Immediately following that, a third red cross appeared over Gao Tian's head.

Ling Feifei had made her choice as well; she too had voted for Gao Tian.

The situation took a severe nosedive. From the original three-to-one advantage, both the Multi-Headed Ghost and Gao Tian now sported three red crosses each.

It was the only silver lining in this disaster.

In the event of a tie, this round of voting would be voided, pushing them into a second round of blood voting.

Gao Tian reached up to wipe the blood from beneath his eyes. The invisible terror that had engulfed his body was slowly melting away. The bus had begun to exert its power, suppressing the Multi-Headed Ghost and protecting him. He finally managed to catch his breath.

The bus could still maintain its suppression over the Multi-Headed Ghost. This was good news.

Right at that moment, the still-standing Multi-Headed Ghost's twenty-plus faces moved in terrifying unison. Their mouths split wide open, emitting a synchronized chorus of laughter—hehe, haha, hoho. It sounded exactly like the canned laugh track from a third-rate soap opera.

Immediately afterward, it casually ripped off one of its heads—the face of a short-bearded man in his forties. As the head hit the floor, it rolled a few times before thick, pink stalks of flesh began to split and push out from the severed neck. These stalks quickly sprouted fleshy pink appendages resembling arms and legs.

This frail, stick-figure-like "body" slowly crawled up, supporting the middle-aged man's head. Its torso wasn't even as tall as its head. This grotesque proportion made it look like a newborn baby grafted with an adult's face. At first glance, it was both comical and deeply horrifying.

Having discarded one of its heads, the Multi-Headed Ghost's overall height subsequently dropped by exactly one head.

However, watching this unfold, Gao Tian couldn't find a single reason to laugh.

Because after the Multi-Headed Ghost tore off a head and birthed a new entity on the floor, the red passenger counter at the front of the bus ticked upward once again, jumping from 8 to 9.

That was allowed?!

This meant the Multi-Headed Ghost was a composite entity made up of countless individual ghosts. As long as it tore off a part of its own body, it could create an entirely new ghost. And the bus recognized this new entity as a valid passenger, even granting it the right to vote!

S-Level Fierce Ghosts had far too many tricks up their sleeves. To be able to vote Gao Tian to death while strictly adhering to the rules of Bus 444... how was anyone supposed to survive this?

Under the stunned, terrified gazes of everyone present, Gao Tian's worst fear came to pass. The moment that newborn ghost with the massive adult head found its footing, hobbling awkwardly on the floor, the very first thing it did was stretch out its "hand" to point directly at Gao Tian.

The red crosses above Gao Tian's head became four.

Four to three. There would be no stalling for the next round. Gao Tian was about to be stripped of his passenger status.

"Change your votes!"

In utter desperation, Shen Nian roared toward the back row.

He couldn't fathom it. He truly could not comprehend how people this stubbornly idiotic could exist in the world.

What possible benefit did they gain from voting to kill their own companion?

Zhou Yan and Ling Feifei stared at the red crosses above Gao Tian's head with complete indifference, pretending they hadn't heard Shen Nian's furious shouts.

"I'm begging you... please change your votes..."

Su Jiu couldn't hold back anymore, tears spilling from her eyes.

But no matter how bitterly she pleaded, Zhou Yan and Ling Feifei's chosen target remained Gao Tian.

As for Gao Tian, the moment his passenger status was stripped, every Fierce Ghost on the bus would be completely free to slaughter him.

Right now, he was left with only one way out—

"Get off the bus! Get off right now!"

Giving up on Zhou Yan, Shen Nian shouted a warning to Gao Tian:

"If you get off, you can at least survive a little longer! If you stay in the cabin, you are absolutely dead!"

It was a desperate measure for a desperate situation—a last-ditch effort when all else had failed.

As the four red crosses materialized over his head, the gazes of the other Fierce Ghosts shifted directly onto Gao Tian.

Gao Tian looked out through the rear door toward the bus stop.

This had to be Dexin Hospital from the timetable. The outside world was shrouded in gray fog, and within the station, countless silhouettes wearing white lab coats and blue-and-white patient gowns faded in and out of view.

This stop in the Inner World looked incredibly dangerous. If he got off, he might not even survive as long as he would by staying on the bus.

Even if he could instantly use the Black Card to teleport away the moment he stepped off, his third Green Text Mission would end in absolute failure. If he did that, the losses would be too catastrophic, flushing every single sliver of advantage he had built up so far right down the drain.

Gao Tian slowly raised his head, the Terror Blade in his hand emitting a deafening roar:

"I'm not the one who should be getting off.

"I won't die in a pointless hellhole like this."