Hearing the young man in the hat speak, the driver surnamed Zhou perked up again. "Exactly! If it weren't for meeting this fellow driver tonight, we'd all be in for a rough time."
"Yeah, yeah, thanks to you!" the young man said repeatedly, then suddenly seemed to remember something. "By the way, I recall this bus route should have stopped running long ago. Why is there still a bus at this hour?"
"It should have been off duty by now, but this bus had some issues. It was sent for repairs a few days ago and only came back from the maintenance yard today. Since I have to return to the depot anyway, I figured I might as well pick up a few passengers."
This explanation was, of course, a spur-of-the-moment fabrication by Zhang Yaqi, but the two passengers didn't seem suspicious. They nodded, said a few more words of thanks and relief, and then returned to their seats.
The rest of the journey was uneventful. The bus drove on for a while, but perhaps because it was too late or because of the heavy rain outside, no other passengers boarded.
Five camping students, a charter driver, and a young man living up the mountain—these were all the passengers on the bus at that moment. Zhang Yaqi thought it would be wishful to assume none of the seven were ghosts, but when he tried to pinpoint a "strange guest," or a ghost in disguise, none of them seemed to fit.
Could it really be that none of these seven were ghosts?
Zhang Yaqi racked his brain but still couldn't tell, and a hint of resentment crept in. This girl he was working with on the mission, apparently named Zhou Junzhu, was utterly useless beyond being scared and panicked.
But that thought was a bit unfair to Zhou Junzhu. Though she was equally terrified inside, she understood that fear and avoidance wouldn't solve anything. And since she was playing the role of a ticket seller in this mission, with more freedom to move around than the driver, she had to do something...
After hesitating for a long time, Zhou Junzhu finally stood up from her ticket seller's seat and walked toward the first passenger, the driver surnamed Zhou.
Seeing Zhou Junzhu take action through the rearview mirror, Zhang Yaqi's expression grew complicated. Though he had complained inwardly that she was useless, now that she was actually doing something, his heart tightened with anxiety. He had no idea whether her move would bring good or bad luck.
In this conflicted state, Zhou Junzhu reached the driver surnamed Zhou. Though she had mustered her courage, her heart was still full of fear and dread. She opened her mouth, but perhaps because she was too nervous, she blurted out an absurd question.
"Uncle, you... are you a ghost?"
You...!
In an instant, Zhang Yaqi felt his vision go dark, nearly fuming with anger. He knew this girl Zhou Junzhu had little mission experience, but he never expected her to be so brainless as to ask such an unbelievable question!
If that driver surnamed Zhou really was a ghost, wouldn't that directly expose his identity? Once a ghost's cover was blown, whether it would get off the bus was uncertain, but the chance of it going on a killing spree was extremely high!
Zhou Junzhu, I'm going to be killed because of you!
In that moment, Zhang Yaqi's mood plummeted, almost resigning himself to death. But the driver surnamed Zhou was taken aback, then couldn't help but chuckle. "Little girl, have you been reading too many horror novels? Look at me, do I look like a ghost?"
"You, you don't..." Zhou Junzhu was startled herself, cursing her own impulsiveness. It wasn't just impulsive—it was sheer stupidity!
This Uncle Zhou was definitely not a ghost... No matter how you looked at it, he didn't seem like one!
"Sorry, Uncle, I was just trying to joke with you..." With an awkward expression, Zhou Junzhu apologized sheepishly, silently blaming herself for her incompetence.
At the same time, she caught Zhang Yaqi's furious glare.
If you want to die, fine, but don't drag me down with you!
Zhou Junzhu, are you short-circuiting or what? How could you ask such a stupid question!
Thinking this, Zhou Junzhu dared not say more and was about to slink away when a voice came from behind.
"Little girl, wait a moment."
Zhou Junzhu turned around, looking at him with some surprise, and saw the driver surnamed Zhou with a strange expression, as if hesitating to speak. She felt a bit puzzled.
"Uncle, is there something else?"
"It's nothing major..." Pressed by Zhou Junzhu, he became hesitant. "Well... now that you mention it, I do recall something suspicious. I'm not sure if I should say it."
"Suspicious?"
Zhou Junzhu frowned, a flicker of alarm crossing her face as a thought popped into her mind.
What does he mean? Could this be the story giving us a clue?
But the driver surnamed Zhou didn't seem to notice the change in Zhou Junzhu's expression. He frowned deeply, lost in thought for a moment, then looked up, his face serious as he beckoned her closer. When the girl approached with a head full of questions, he whispered in her ear, in a voice only the two of them could hear.
"Shh, let me tell you, I noticed a secret just now... I suspect there might be a ghost on this bus!"
"Uncle, wh-what did you say?!"
The moment she heard the word "ghost," Zhou Junzhu felt as if all the blood in her body had frozen. A wave of immense fear surged to her head, making her voice tremble. But then she quickly realized she couldn't let this slip. Though her face was pale, she tried her best to stay calm.
Zhang Yaqi saw all this from the driver's cabin, but due to the distance, he had no idea what the driver surnamed Zhou had said to Zhou Junzhu to scare her so badly.
Could it be that he just told her there was a ghost on the bus?
It must be said that Zhang Yaqi's wild guess hit the mark. Indeed, upon hearing that there was a ghost on the bus, Zhou Junzhu nearly broke down. But luckily, she hadn't lost all her senses. She asked in a trembling voice.
"How, how can you be sure?"
"If you say there's a ghost on the bus, then... where is it?!"
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