Now That's What You Call a Bus-Riding Champion

"We'll get through one trial first, then go find Chika and Moeha."

As they spoke, two dim yellow lights pierced the rain and shone toward them. An old, dilapidated bus swayed into view and stopped at the bus stop. The doors hissed open, and a chill filled with sinister intent blew out at them.

"It's starting."

"This must be the bus."

"Get ready to board... I hope we make it out alive."

"That driver... is he dead?"

Amamiya Natsuki narrowed his eyes slightly and looked toward the driver's seat.

The driver wore a bus uniform, but his cheeks had the unmistakable look of a dried corpse. His bloodshot eyes were crimson, and he slowly turned his head to look at the people waiting at the stop.

There was no doubt about it: he was a ghost driver.

Amamiya Natsuki peered through the windows. A few passengers were scattered around the bus: a woman whose black hair covered her face, much like Miss Sadako; another woman whose mouth had been slashed open by a sharp object, leaving her with an eerie smile; and someone wrapped head to toe in bandages... There was no doubt that the passengers were ghosts, too.

The other "veteran players" managed to keep their composure, though their faces had gone pale. The newcomer in dinosaur pajamas burst into tears, her voice trembling with fear as she asked:

"C-can we just not get on?"

"We have to get on," Auntie said with a sigh. She was tense, too, but still managed to stay somewhat calm. "If we get on, there's a chance we'll make it back alive. If we don't, we'll definitely die."

The dinosaur pajamas girl's eyes welled up with tears. She could only shake her head over and over.

Just then, a bold young man stepped