Seventh Middle School

"[Fifth Hospital] is here, passengers alighting please move to the rear door..."

"Pfft!"

The doors opened, and shadows disembarked one by one.

"Oh, heavens! Shameless! You're picking on this old woman!"

As soon as she got off the bus, the Old Woman, with a mournful face, stood by the car window, crying out against the injustice.

Fining her was one thing, but charging her again? It was simply outrageous.

As she spoke, she glared fiercely at Xiao Ran behind the car window, wishing she could tear that scoundrel to pieces.

The other passengers who disembarked cast looks of sympathy at the Old Woman.

Especially the middle-aged man who got off right behind her.

With the Old Woman as an example, when Xiao Ran checked tickets a second time, this middle-aged man immediately caved. He paid the fine decisively. Although it was three times the ticket price, it was still a huge profit compared to the Old Woman's outcome.

The Old Woman's curses through the window weren't enough. She reached for her waist with her other hand: "You brat, if you dare to come down, I'll... I... Huh?? Where's my knife??"

She fumbled around, even lifting her waistband, but couldn't find the large cleaver she had tucked into the back of her waist.

Looking up, she saw Xiao Ran standing behind the car window, idly playing with a strangely shaped large cleaver.

"My knife!!"

The Old Woman's voice suddenly rose eight octaves, and she jumped up, trying to rush back onto the bus.

But just then, a "click" from behind indicated the doors were closing.

"Bang bang bang..."

"Open the door, open the door! Thief! Robber! Open the door, I'll fight you!!"

The Old Woman pounded frantically on the door.

Hearing the commotion, Huang Le leaned against the window, looking at the now frantic Old Woman. He turned back to Xiao Ran, who had returned to his seat: "What's wrong with her?"

"She probably lost something," Xiao Ran said nonchalantly, fiddling with the cleaver he had just acquired. "Though it's probably not anything important. My grandpa used to say that anything tucked into the back of your waistband or your back pocket is worthless trash."

The Old Woman's door-pounding didn't last long. The driver had no intention of opening the door for her and just stepped on the gas.

"Robber! Thief!!"

Watching the bus quickly disappear from sight, the Old Woman let out a weak wail before slumping to the ground and bursting into tears.

"What a good knife!"

Xiao Ran looked at the cleaver in his hand. It wasn't long, more like a meat cleaver, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, with a deep blood groove along the blade. The black blade seemed to be forged from some unknown material.

It looked heavy, but felt surprisingly light in his hand.

The only regret was that this knife wasn't a Cursed Object.

Putting the knife away, Xiao Ran thought for a moment and handed the knife he had originally been holding to Huang Le.

"You're getting off at the next stop. Take this knife for self-defense."

"Oh, thanks, brother."

Huang Le was overjoyed. While the knife wasn't particularly rare, in this place, having a knife for protection was better than being unarmed.

"No need. There's nothing else I can teach you. Just be careful with everything and don't trust anyone easily."

Xiao Ran had a good impression of Huang Le; at least their cooperation just now was excellent. But there were some things he couldn't explain to him in too much detail. The trial was something Huang Le had to face himself, and Xiao Ran didn't even know its content.

As for Cursed Objects and Curse Marks, those were even harder to explain. He could only wait for Huang Le to get through this trial on his own.

There were still a few scattered passengers on the bus. Xiao Ran could clearly see who had tickets and who didn't, but he didn't continue checking.

After all, Huang Le was getting off at the next stop, and he himself would be getting off at the one after that.

There was no need to make enemies of everyone.

They couldn't do anything to him on the bus, but once they got off, that might not be the case.

Besides, he had already earned quite a bit on this trip.

Fines and back payments: five yuan for the old man, eight yuan for the Old Woman, three yuan for the honest-looking middle-aged passenger, plus an F-class Cursed Object lighter and the cleaver he just acquired.

After deducting the five yuan of ghost money he would give the driver later, his net profit was eleven yuan. Combined with the three yuan of ghost money he already had, Xiao Ran suddenly felt like his pockets were bulging.

The biggest gain, however, was forcefully taking the Empty Handed Master from Mei San.

It was practically a divine skill for earning foreign currency.

If it weren't for the fact that he was nearing his stop, Xiao Ran figured he could have gotten rich just by being a ticket inspector.

"Ding! [Jiaomu Village] is here. Passengers alighting, please prepare to move to the rear door."

The bus soon arrived at a village. Looking out the window, it was pitch black outside. Houses stood dark and empty, and the air was filled with a smell like burnt charcoal.

"Brother, I'm getting off here. Thanks for looking out for me on the way. If I survive, I'll definitely find you for a drink."

"Okay!"

Xiao Ran nodded, left Huang Le his contact information, and watched him disembark.

As Huang Le stepped one foot out of the carriage, his figure blurred, as if entering another world, and disappeared before Xiao Ran's eyes.

"Ding, next stop, Seventh Middle School. Passengers alighting, please move towards the rear door."

No one got on at this stop. The driver quickly closed the doors and started the car, driving forward.

Xiao Ran stood up from his seat and walked to the driver's side, placing the red armband and seven pieces of ghost money on the cup holder next to the driver.

The driver glanced at the money, picked some up in his hand, and weighed it. He listened to the crisp clinking of the spirit money, and a smile as sweet as honey spread across his bear-like face.

"Five yuan, why did you give me seven?"

"Things went smoothly, and I also benefited from your presence. I wouldn't feel right if you didn't accept it, big brother."

"Heh!" The driver curled his lips. He knew Xiao Ran was trying to butter him up, but he still felt pleased. After all, who would refuse money?

After putting the money away, he pushed the red armband back to Xiao Ran. "Come back often if you have the chance. My route always loses money, and I need someone to help me manage it. Come help if you have time."

"Sure thing."

Xiao Ran happily put the red armband away.

This Cursed Object was small, but the key was getting on the driver's good side. If he encountered trouble in the future, he could just hide in the car. At the very least, it could save his life.

"[Side Quest: Temporary Ticket Inspector] has been completed. Rewards will be settled after this Lost City expedition."

As the driver accepted the money, Xiao Ran also received a notification.

According to the prompt when he entered the Lost City, he only needed to complete three side quests to escape. He had already completed one before even reaching the quest location, so Xiao Ran couldn't be happier.

"Seventh Middle School, right?"

The driver glanced at Xiao Ran. "That's not a good place."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ran knew the driver was warning him and quickly asked, "Big brother, this is my first time here. Please give me some pointers on what I don't understand, so I can broaden my horizons."

As Xiao Ran spoke, he subtly took out two more pieces of spirit money and placed them on the cup holder.

"I don't know much either." The driver's gaze flickered to the hell money before continuing, "I've only heard that place has terrifyingly strict rules. But the truly dangerous ones are those Weird Tales. If you go to school there and encounter something you don't understand, you can find the dorm manager, Sister Li, in the dormitory building. Give her this, and she'll help you."

As the driver spoke, he took a small box from a nearby storage compartment and handed it to Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran opened it. Inside the box was a pair of reading glasses.

"She left them here last time she rode my bus."

"Left them?"

Xiao Ran was suspicious of the word but still took the item. "Thank you, big brother."

The driver nodded and said nothing more.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran tactfully returned to his seat.

It was only about a five or six-minute journey before the outline of a campus appeared in the distance.

"Ding, Seventh Middle School has arrived. Passengers alighting, please move towards the rear door."

Following the announcement from the car's speaker, Xiao Ran also stood up and moved to the rear door. The other passengers in the car saw this and remained seated, showing no intention of getting off.

As the vehicle slowly pulled to a stop, with a "click," the door opened.

Xiao Ran stood at the door and looked out for a moment. Before him was an empty street. The campus gate across the road was mottled with rust, and the entire campus was shrouded in a dark shadow.

He stepped off the bus and walked towards the campus gate across the road.

"Hey!"

Xiao Ran turned his head and saw the driver shouting at him through the car window, "Remember to check your ticket."

Then, under Xiao Ran's bewildered gaze, the driver started the car and quickly disappeared from his sight.

"Ticket?"

He reached into his pocket and felt around. His original ticket was gone. In its place was a student ID card stained with blood.

The bloodstains had blurred the photo on the student ID.

At this moment, the bloodstains seemed to come alive, twisting and forming a line of bloody text.

Name: Wang Meng Class: 2017 Cause of Death: Suicide by jumping

Main Quest: Complete this semester's final exams.

[The deity on duty in this Lost City is the God of Pleasure Hu Ji. You can please the deity through acts of intimacy between men and women to obtain temporary special ability buffs. The greater the pleasure, the stronger the buff you will receive!]