Mysterious Awakening

Chapter 309: Petty

Looking at the bus that had stopped with its engine turned off, Xu Feng’s complexion wasn’t good, because the engine cutting out meant he had to leave the temporarily safe bus and head outside.

If he forced himself to stay on the bus, he was certain to die, and it was the same for a ghost controller, without any exception.

He had once witnessed such a scene, when almost half the people in the bus had died, including a ghost controller stronger than himself. That time, he had been utterly clueless and only managed to survive by dumb luck, which made him understand the terror of the situation afterwards.

"There are three ghosts outside, I don’t know if they have left. If they have, everything will be easy to handle. But if they’re still lingering nearby, I can only continue to stall for time and wait for the bus to restart. I hope the situation won’t continue to deteriorate further," Xu Feng glanced to the side.

He didn’t stray far from the bus that had stopped, all the while staying alert to everything unusual around him.

"Never mind the dangers outside for now, I heard your conversation just now. That newcomer is also a ghost controller who tracked your signal. He should’ve been here to help you. Was it really okay to sell him out without saying a word?"

The man in the duckbill cap suddenly teased with a laugh, also monitoring their surroundings.

Xu Feng’s expression remained very calm, "What does it matter to me if he dies out of ignorance about the bus’s rules? Without my warning, he would have died during the first stop. Strictly speaking, I helped him. What can I do if the bus suddenly stops? In this situation, nobody would want to be involved.

With the three ghosts lingering outside already very dangerous, plus the possibility of that newcomer turning into a vengeful ghost after death, our survival chances out here would be minimized."

The man in the duckbill cap said, "Maybe the other person is an expert. If you gave him a hand, it’s very likely he would cooperate with you to fend off the ghosts that might appear at any moment. This would greatly increase our chances of survival.

You also said earlier that having more people on the bus is good, and after all, encountering multiple ghost controllers on the bus isn’t something that happens easily. We’ve been waiting for days and have only encountered one."

"It’s precisely because it’s hard to come by that I don’t have high hopes. I don’t even know when his seat will come into play. If there’s no trouble, I could give him a hand, but not when there’s an incident. So, it’s better to take care of the present. If we can’t survive the present, talking is useless," Xu Feng said.

"As for the expert you mentioned, that’s even more unlikely. I have gone through the files at the ghost controller headquarters. The latest update was fifteen days ago. I remember the names of all the top ghost controllers, and he’s just a pure newcomer. Relying on him to be of great help? Here, the only truly capable people are just you and me.

If it weren’t for being trapped by this bus, we would definitely be among the top existences in the ghost controller circle now," he said with strong self-confidence in his words.

"What’s there to be confident about with a freak accident?" the man in the duckbill cap commented.

The conversation between the two men wasn’t hidden from anyone.

Perhaps they were accustomed to this kind of exchange, since they spent all day in the eerie bus, and after someone died, only ghosts remained. So it didn’t matter what secrets came to light. Even if someone heard, ordinary people couldn’t easily leave the bus and they would soon become dead.

And the dead can’t remember secrets.

However, Xu Feng had overlooked the presence of Yang Jian.

He hadn’t seen Yang Jian get off and thought he was already dead on the bus. After all, that was the experience in the past, no exceptions.

However, Yang Jian managed to leave by using the Ghost Domain in the last moment before the lights inside the bus went out.

Not only did he get off, but he also spontaneously helped Zhang Haw and the other two ordinary people.

Yang Jian was now standing by the side of the road, only about ten meters from Xu Feng and the man in the duckbill cap. However, hidden as he was within the Ghost Domain, they hadn’t detected him.

The two men seemed to have no resistance against the ability of the Ghost Domain.

"This strange bus can also stop running? People who stay on it after it stops are bound to die. Xu Feng needs someone to ’hold a seat’ on the bus, and not just anyone, but a ghost controller... He purposefully stepped off at the very last moment just to secure my position, to leave me, the one closest to the door, inside the bus, ensuring my death."

Yang Jian’s gaze shifted slightly; he had overheard the entire process.

But he wasn’t angry about Xu Feng’s selfish actions.

For survival and self-preservation, it was not surprising for a ghost controller to do such things. If it had been him, he wouldn’t have saved Xu Feng either if he were in trouble. The only difference was that he wouldn’t deliberately trap others.

Of course, not being angry didn’t mean he had no opinion about Xu Feng.

Whether it was the intentional reminder not to get off earlier or the decision to leave him inside the bus, both actions were purposeful, taking advantage of his knowledge to manipulate him, a newcomer to the bus.

"Isn’t it a bit inappropriate to discuss me in front of me like this?"

Yang Jian suddenly became visible at this time, his figure appearing out of nowhere on the road, watching them with a cold gaze.

Hmm?

Upon hearing his voice, Xu Feng shivered violently and then looked at Yang Jian with extreme shock, "Weren’t you on the bus? How could you possibly be here?"

Just now, he had deduced that it was impossible for Yang Jian to have gotten out of the carriage.

Even if he moved very quickly, he would have been trapped inside.

"I’ve got quick feet, so I got off the bus quickly, and that’s why I left," Yang Jian said. "Sorry to disappoint you, but it looks like this newcomer is going to be a bother for you."

"Interesting."

The man in the duckbill cap next to them was startled for a moment before laughing, "I thought someone who was supposed to be dead had actually survived and left the bus. I was keeping an eye on you the whole time; the moment the carriage went dark, you disappeared. I thought you were dead for sure, but you managed to escape."

After all, as a ghost controller, he had seen many strange things and quickly stopped finding them strange.

Those who could control vengeful spirits were not to be judged by common standards.

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"And here I was, thinking the person sitting in the back row was a ghost. Turns out it’s a human. When did you get off the bus?" Yang Jian asked.

"There’s a window in the back row; I escaped through the window," the man in the duckbill cap said, shrugging his shoulders, looking pretty relaxed.

Yang Jian said, "The windows can’t be opened. I tried."

"They can’t usually be opened, but once the engine is off, they can open, just like the doors. The doors won’t open while the bus is running; when the engine is off, the restrictions are lifted. This is an emergency situation on a Ghost Car and doesn’t happen often.

Once it occurs, all spirits and passengers must get off; otherwise, it becomes extremely dangerous, more perilous than facing a vengeful spirit. For people like us, that’s a checkmate situation, with no chance of survival. Fortunately, this time it wasn’t so bad. There were only three ghosts on the bus, and... they’re not here now. They must have left," the man in the duckbill cap said.

"Since you’re not dead, let’s cooperate and strive to survive together. As long as you can leave the Ghost Car with us afterward, there will be unexpected gains," Xu Feng immediately changed his tune, seeking cooperation.

Yang Jian looked at him and said, "I refuse to cooperate with you."

"Why? Is it because of what just happened? There’s no need for that. In the adult world, it’s not about right or wrong, just pros and cons. If you were in my shoes, you’d do the same, all in the name of survival."

He spoke righteously, without the slightest sense of shame about his previous actions.

"That’s true, but people always have their tempers. You could have withheld information from me, but you shouldn’t have deliberately set me up. After all, I’m a bit petty," Yang Jian said.

Xu Feng said, "Whatever, if that’s the case, then we’re on our own. I won’t rescue you. Good luck to you."

If Yang Jian refused, then Xu Feng wouldn’t press it; a newcomer wouldn’t be much of a help in cooperation, so seeking an ally was better than having one more enemy.

"Before I leave this Ghost Car, at some point, I’m going to attack you. If you survive that, we’ll call it even. If not, well, goodbye," Yang Jian said.

He held up a finger and very seriously told him, "I’m giving you a heads-up as a return for the warning you gave me earlier, so you can be a bit more prepared."

"Are you saying this to get me to finish you off right here?" Xu Feng’s face turned cold, and he spoke with a hint of threatening intonation.

Yang Jian smiled slightly, "I may be new, but do you think a newcomer has to be easy to deal with?"

"Another arrogant young man. Gets a little skill and thinks he’s above everyone else," Xu Feng said with a cold laugh.

"Then try and see if you can take me down," Yang Jian replied calmly.

As the two faced off, a mournful wailing suddenly drifted from the dark woods by the roadside.

A chilling sense of dread arose in everyone’s heart.

The Crying Tomb Ghost... hadn’t left.