The urban landscape gradually receded behind them.
The frigid, moisture-laden bus creaked toward the desolate suburbs, like a fish silently disappearing into the night ocean.
Raindrops pelted the windows.
The outside world turned indistinct.
"Lu Fei, should we make our move now?" Jing Jian eyed the two passengers.
After brief consideration, Lu Fei replied: "Wait longer."
"Still waiting?"
"We'll act when the bus approaches that bridge—safer that way. Otherwise, if it stops to pick up more passengers en route, wouldn't that waste our efforts?" Lu Fei spoke cautiously.
They'd waited so long for this particular bus. If things went wrong today, who knew when the next opportunity would come.
"Fair point." Jing Jian took a deep breath and continued biding his time.
The bus traveled increasingly farther.
"Brr... so cold... Where is this?"
A heavily made-up woman slowly opened her eyes. After glancing outside the window, confusion surfaced on her face.
"How did I oversleep past my stop? Wait... I don't remember the bus making any stops..."
She scanned the dimly lit compartment. The sight of three unfamiliar men deepened her unease.
"Driver, how long until the next stop?"
She stood up near the exit door and loudly asked the driver.
But the driver remained motionless, hands gripping the steering wheel, eerily silent as if he hadn't heard.
"Hey! When will we arrive?"
"What's all the noise?" The drunken man she'd awakened scowled and shouted, "We'll stop when we reach the station! Driving at night in the rain is dangerous enough. If you keep distracting the driver and cause an accident, will you take responsibility?"
"This bus hasn't stopped in over an hour!" The heavily made-up woman suddenly remembered something, her face turning deathly pale. "This can't be... I remember Route 44 was discontinued long ago..."
"What? This is Route 44?!"
The drunkard's eyes widened abruptly, his drunkenness vanishing instantly.
"I... I thought I boarded Route 14 or Route 4... How did it become Route 44? That's the ghost bus..."
"Ghost bus?!"
"That submerged final-night bus! Oh god, why is there so much water inside..."
"We're done for! This must be the ghost bus!"
The two belatedly awakened passengers huddled together in panic, cautiously approaching the driver.
"Driver, please open the door. We want to get off..."
The driver remained frozen.
His hands on the steering wheel had turned pale and swollen.
Murky water streamed down his body, emitting a strong fishy stench.
"Ghost!!"
The two screamed in terror, desperately pounding on the doors.
"Stop shouting. It's useless."
Jing Jian couldn't help but stand up.
Only then did the two realize there were still people in the car.
"You... you also accidentally boarded this haunted car?"
"Great! Come help, let's pry the door open together..."
The pair frantically waved at them, consumed by anxiety.
"Wait a bit longer. This isn't the best timing yet." Lu Fei glanced out the window.
A small bridge loomed faintly in the night not far ahead.
"What's there to wait for!"
"If we wait any longer we'll lose our lives!"
The two refused to listen, desperately kicking at the car door.
Bang!
As the door opened, a mass of slippery water weeds came surging in.
"Ah!"
The drunkard fell on his buttocks in terror.
Then the entire vehicle filled with horrifying crawling sounds.
"Lu Fei, look outside!" Jing Jian whispered urgently.
Lu Fei turned to look.
Clusters of black water weeds had completely covered the windows, wriggling like snakes as they invaded the compartment, rapidly crawling toward the four passengers.
"Help..."
Before the couple could escape, the water weeds entangled them, dragging them back to their seats and binding them tightly.
The two were utterly terrified, trembling all over, unable to even cry for help.
Algae had also crept onto the bodies of Lu Fei and Jing Jian.
In the blink of an eye, the entire carriage was covered with these cold, slippery aquatic creatures.
However, the two exchanged a glance and did not struggle.
The bus was about to ascend the bridge.
They gripped their respective ritual tools, preparing cautiously.
Soon.
The faint sound of flowing water came from outside.
The algae-covered bus slowly climbed onto the small bridge.
"Now!"
Strands of hair extended from the black umbrella, worming between the algae and giving a slight tug.
The algae on their bodies instantly snapped, and the two immediately stood up.
"Help!"
"Save me..."
The man and woman, seeing them free, were both shocked and delighted, immediately calling out for help.
Jing Jian quickly ran over and severed the algae on them with the Seven-Star Ritual Sword.
Meanwhile, Lu Fei searched for an escape exit.
Every window was crawling with algae.
"These windows won't open at all... Wait, this bus has a broken window!"
Lu Fei looked toward the rear of the vehicle.
Sure enough, they found the broken window blocked by thick aquatic weeds, horrifying and disgusting.
"Hurry over here!"
Lu Fei waved at Jing Jian and ran quickly towards it.
Countless weed tendrils reached for him, all severed by the black hair.
"Follow him!"
Jing Jian forcefully pushed the terrified couple. Staggering forward, their ankles got entangled by weeds within steps.
"Aah! Help!"
Their panicked screams attracted more entangling weeds.
"Stop screaming! Run if you want to live!" Jing Jian shouted irritably, clearing a path with his ritual sword.
After much stumbling and crawling, the weed-covered pair finally reached the rear compartment.
Lu Fei acted immediately.
The jujube wood staff erupted with thunderous power, blasting a huge hole through the dense weeds. Rain and cold wind poured through the opening.
"M-magic!"
The makeup-caked woman and drunkard gaped in shock.
"Stop staring! Jump now!" Lu Fei urgently shouted.
The bus was approaching the center of the small bridge - the exact spot where vehicles previously lost control.
"I-I'm scared! Handsome, can you jump with me..."
The heavily made-up woman trembled at the writhing weeds outside. Her pleading eyes met Lu Fei's cold rejection before she was shoved out mid-sentence.
"No."
The woman landed hard on the ground with a thud.
The bus isn't moving fast enough to kill anyone.
'Your turn!' Lu Fei said coldly, glaring at the drunkard.
In such urgent moments, there's no time for psychological preparation.
'I-I'll do it myself!' The drunkard's body trembled as he desperately clawed at the window, struggling to squeeze through.
But his bulkier frame compared to the heavily made-up woman got him stuck.
Water weeds surged rapidly from all directions.
'Get down there!' Seeing the aquatic plants about to engulf him, Jing Jian directly kicked the man's backside.
'Aaaah~~~'
The drunkard plummeted with a blood-curdling scream.
Bang!!!
The next instant, the bus suddenly careened uncontrollably toward the guardrail.
After an earth-shaking crash,
the vehicle tumbled into the pitch-black river.
Whoosh——