Chapter 59: Bridge No. 3 Crematorium

The howling cold wind poured into the bus. It felt as though a layer of plastic wrap had been ripped from my face, finally allowing me to breathe freely.

After I pierced through the illusion, the way everyone on the bus looked at me immediately changed.

"Turns out we've got a Daoist priest on the bus! You know quite a bit, don't you, brother?" Wang Chunfu was quick to change his tune. Acting as if he had completely forgotten our previous clash, he sidled over with a fake, fawning smile.

I ignored him and patted the driver's shoulder. "Wipe your sweat and drive. Hurry up."

After I sat back down, Yi Yi turned around to look at me in disbelief. "How did you do that?"

She voiced what the vast majority of the passengers were wondering. Every one of them pricked up their ears, ready to eavesdrop.

"Your mom taught me. She gets all the credit." Pushing the source of the Talisman Paper onto a nonexistent person was a move I had planned before I even took it out.

"Mom? Did she tell you anything else?"

"Of course she did." I patted Yi Yi's head, spinning a white lie. "She said that as long as you're good, you'll get to see her very soon."

"Ding-dong! Zhanduan Watchtower. Please take your belongings and exit through the rear doors. Watch your step."

We had reached the stop. I checked the route map for Route 14; the stop after Zhanduan Watchtower was Bridge No. 3 Crematorium. Tonight's live-stream task would be completed soon.

"Let's get off. Stop worrying about your brother; we're lucky just to keep our own lives," Wang Chunfu consoled Jianye. The two of them were planning to get off at this stop, and Yuan Feng also seemed restless, eager to escape the eerie Route 14 Bus.

"Hey. If you don't want to die, ride with me all the way to the final stop." I stood up and looked coldly at the group. "I'm only warning you once. You have to see things through to the end."

The sight of me using the Way-Guiding Talisman to pierce through the illusion was already burned into their minds. As soon as I spoke, the group hesitated.

Frankly, I couldn't care less whether these people lived or died. I was only doing it to complete the Underworld Live Show's optional task—every extra survivor rewarded me with one point.

"We're not getting off, we're not getting off! We'll listen to you."

Three minutes passed, and no one disembarked. The driver closed the doors, ready to head to the final stop.

I breathed a sigh of relief. It hadn't been easy saving this bunch of bastards; if they got off and got themselves killed right at the end, all my efforts would have been for nothing.

"The vehicle is departing. Please hold on securely. Welcome aboard the Route 14 Driverless Bus. Please prepare your exact fare of one yuan upon boarding, and move toward the rear doors. The next stop is Bridge No. 3 Crematorium."

I turned to look out the window. It was around three in the morning—the darkest hour of the night.

'We're almost at the stop, but there's still a long time until dawn. This doesn't seem like the Underworld Live Show's style.' Feeling a growing sense of unease, I suddenly remembered the piece of yellow paper the Daoist from Qingtu Temple had given me. I quietly unfolded it. Though there was only one short line of text written on it, it sent a chill down my spine.

Releasing Yi Yi's hand, I pulled out a cigarette and clamped it between my lips. I flicked my lighter, but no matter what I did, it wouldn't ignite.

"Uncle, do you want me to help you?"

Looking into Yi Yi's pure, bright eyes, I silently shook my head. The message on the yellow paper told me that all my previous deductions were likely wrong.

The road grew rougher. The dilapidated bus bumped and rattled violently along. The land on both sides was completely desolate, without a single house in sight.

In the pitch black, only the sickly green-yellow headlights illuminated the path ahead, making the bus look like a small boat drifting across the Yellow Springs.

About ten minutes later, rows of buildings came into view. With traditional gray tiles and pale red courtyard walls, this was Bridge No. 3 Crematorium.

More and more paper money littered the middle of the road. When the night wind blew, it whipped up into a vast expanse of white. Further in, a spot that looked like a garbage dump was stuffed with the remains of spirit dolls and paper horses. Their vibrantly colored, exaggerated faces fluttered and trembled in the wind.

I shuddered, falling even more silent.

"Ding-dong! Bridge No. 3 Crematorium. Please take your belongings and exit through the rear doors. Watch your step."

The moment the broadcast echoed, every person on the bus stood up from their seat, almost as if they had coordinated it in advance.

"Let's get off." What was meant to come would eventually arrive. I patted my chest; by the time I lowered my hand, I already had the Maoshan Seven Dipper Talisman concealed in my palm.

The main gate of Bridge No. 3 Crematorium directly faced the stop. The moment I stepped off the Route 14 Bus and planted both feet on the ground, a text from the Underworld Live Show arrived right on cue.

"Ding!"

"Live-stream task: Arrive at Miyun Mansion at midnight, board the Route 14 Bus, and arrive alive at the final stop. Completed."

"Now initiating evaluation..."

"Completed live-stream task: 1 point. Peak concurrent viewers exceeded 1,000: 3 bonus points. Total value of gifts received during the live-stream exceeded 1,000 Underworld Coins: 2 bonus points. Entrustment from the Underworld not completed: minus 1 point."

"Optional task: Protect the passengers on the bus—Completed. 2 bonus points."

"Tally complete. A total of 7 points were earned during this live-stream."

Reading the texts from the Underworld Live Show, my expression grew even darker. It wasn't because the points from this broadcast were pitifully low, but because of the optional task.

I clearly remembered the explicit wording of the optional task: protect the passengers on the bus; every extra survivor rewards one point.

But now? Including the driver, eight people had arrived at the final stop, yet I was only rewarded two points!

This meant that out of the eight of them, six weren't human!

"Successfully arrived at Bridge No. 3 Crematorium. Failed to complete the entrustment from the Underworld. Triggered mandatory task: Survive until dawn!" Just as I had feared, the worst-case scenario had become a reality.

'The driver, Yuan Feng, Wang Chunfu, Jianye, Zhang Rong, Yi Yi, the guy in the hospital gown, and that eerie little girl sitting at the back of the bus... Out of the eight of them, who is human? And who is a ghost?'

I took out the yellow paper the Daoist from Qingtu Temple had given me and glanced at the words written on it again.

'Is it Yi Yi?'

"What are you looking at?" Seeing me standing there for a long time, Yuan Feng's eyes darted around before he walked over.

"Do I have to report my actions to you?" While on the bus, I had looked up his background online. The news only mentioned that his whereabouts were unknown; no one knew whether he was dead or alive.

"No need to argue. The few of us have practically been through life and death together; there's no need to ruin the peace." Wang Chunfu forced a smile, his voice trembling. With the bus parked at the gates of a crematorium, anyone would feel terrified.

Zhang Rong, missing one of her high heels, also stepped off the bus. She glanced around nervously like a petty thief, making sure the Red-Clothed Fierce Ghost hadn't followed them before scurrying to hide behind us men.

"Piss off. If it weren't for you dragging us down, we wouldn't be in this miserable state."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please, let me stay with you," she sobbed, begging bitterly.

Yuan Feng took one look at Zhang Rong and delivered a swift kick. "Get lost, you jinx."

They all treated Zhang Rong with sheer contempt. I was the only one who remained silent. Thinking I sympathized with her, Zhang Rong clutched her scraped arm and scrambled over to hug my legs. "You're a cop! Please save me! I'll do anything you want!"

"Anything?" I narrowed my eyes slightly. "Then can you tell me—are you human, or a ghost?"

Zhang Rong froze for a long time at my sudden question. She pounded her head with her fists. "My head hurts..."

I pried her hands off me. Standing amidst the group, I felt completely isolated. 'Out of eight passengers, there are only two living humans. Are you kidding me?'

"Where do we go now? Are we just going to wait in this godforsaken place until dawn?" Wang Chunfu asked, clearly looking to me for direction.

"Nowhere." I waved Yi Yi over, then began searching for the other little girl. I had a feeling that the two of them were the key to tonight.

"Everyone, three minutes are up. It's time to get back on the bus." The driver poked his head out the window. His face was covered in a layer of sweat that seemed as though it could never be fully wiped away.

"Leave? We're already at the final stop, where else is there to go?"

"We're heading back. Everyone, hurry up! We can't stay at any stop for more than five minutes!" The driver's words sparked panic among the group. "Don't tell me you're planning on spending the night at the crematorium? Even their own staff don't dare to stay here at night!"

Lingering at a crematorium in the dead of night was indeed a terrifying prospect, but the Route 14 Bus parked nearby felt even more eerie.

"You keep stressing that we can't stay for more than five minutes. Today, I'd like to see exactly what happens if we do," Yuan Feng sneered, having made up his mind to side with me.

"What about the rest of you?"

"We live at the previous stop, Zhanduan Watchtower. Why don't we..."

"Quiet!" Holding Yi Yi's hand, I walked out from behind the bus. "We're missing a person. Haven't you noticed?"

I had searched the entire area without finding the little girl who had been sitting at the back of the bus. It was as if the moment the Route 14 Bus arrived at Bridge No. 3 Crematorium, she had vanished into thin air.