Vote, Draw the Blade, Clean House

"I beep (censored)... Why is it this thing?"

"It's been a whole month, and I haven't run into an S-level Vengeful Ghost even once."

Seeing the Multi-headed Ghost appear, even Shen Nian, who was usually so composed, lost control of his emotions for once and let out a quiet curse. He gripped the gun beneath his Trench Coat tightly with one hand, fighting the instinct to either attack or get off the bus.

That showed just how terrifying this Vengeful Ghost was. If it went berserk, whether the Supernatural Bus could suppress it was anyone's guess.

The more dangerous things got, the less he could afford to get off the bus. On the bus, the Multi-headed Ghost might still have some regard for the rules. Once they got off and entered a Supernatural Place, all the rules on the bus would stop applying. That would mean certain death.

At the same time, when one of the countless heads met his gaze, a nearly insane thought surfaced in Gao Tian's mind:

Should he use the Shattered Face Ghost's ability on it and seize its Killing Rule?

Although Gao Tian didn't know what the Multi-headed Ghost's Killing Rule was, Xu Yuan had died at its hands, and Shen Nian had reacted to its appearance with such alarm. That was proof enough that this thing was outrageously powerful.

If he could claim its Killing Rule, this mission would be an incredible success.

But if Gao Tian attacked this Vengeful Ghost, the risk would be enormous. As an S-level Vengeful Ghost, the Multi-headed Ghost was terrifyingly powerful in its own right. It wouldn't be easy to hunt.

If it were so easy to target, it wouldn't have been given that rating.

After thinking it over for a moment, Gao Tian still decided against it. He'd already struck it rich on this trip by finding the Terror Blade. There was no need to gamble with his life again.

But he never expected that even though Gao Tian hadn't moved from his seat, the Multi-headed Ghost, with its countless faces, would seem to sense something. Beneath its coat, faces of men and women, young and old, each with their own expressions of joy and anger, all shifted into calm smiles. Dozens of pairs of eyes turned toward Gao Tian.

Had it noticed him too?

Gao Tian didn't want to hunt it, yet he'd become the Multi-headed Ghost's prey.

As the countless faces beneath the Multi-headed Ghost's coat stared at him, Gao Tian's face began to feel warm. Two streams of blood slowly trickled from his eyes. The whole world spun around him.

What good was the Shattered Face Ghost's power? Gao Tian felt completely hollow. He couldn't even lift a finger, let alone use a Ghost's ability.

He'd been suppressed. The Multi-headed Ghost had only glanced at him, yet it had locked down his ability.

"Vote!

"Everyone, vote for this Ghost! Vote for it right now, or none of us will be getting off this bus today!"

Seeing blood stream from Gao Tian's eyes while the Multi-headed Ghost that had caused it faced no punishment at all, Shen Nian realized how serious things were and shouted as fast as he could.

This Ghost was different from the others. They had to make it get off the bus. They couldn't waste even a second.

Meanwhile, now that the number of passengers had reached eight, the other two Ghosts on the bus began to stir.

The Tall Male Corpse in front of Gao Tian came to as if from a dream. It felt around frantically, as though searching for its missing Rusty Long Saber.

Fortunately, all that remained in its eye sockets were two gray dots, so it couldn't make out its surroundings.

The Old Woman sat motionless, as though she were dead. The Blood Red Inverted Cross stuck in her head sprouted outlines of blood-red eyes across its surface. They swept over everyone inside the bus, and the Old Woman began to stir.

Su Jiu panicked.

"How do we vote? Where's the voting button?"

Meanwhile, on the Multi-headed Ghost's first head, which was already nearly touching the ceiling when it boarded, three faint blood-red crosses appeared.

The vote had begun.

Those three votes had come from Gao Tian, Su Jiu, and Shen Nian, all trying to kick it off the Supernatural Bus.

All the faces on the Multi-headed Ghost still wore faint smiles. It stretched out a long, black, withered-wood limb like an arm and pointed at Gao Tian. A blood-red cross appeared above Gao Tian's head.

The Multi-headed Ghost had voted for Gao Tian.

The Old Woman with the Inverted Cross turned toward the Tall Male Corpse beside her. A blood-red cross appeared above its head.

The Tall Male Corpse was still feeling around its seat, searching for its missing saber. It hadn't looked up to vote once.

The Multi-headed Ghost had three votes, while Gao Tian had one. It looked like the former would be getting off the bus.

Shen Nian turned around and called to Zhou Yan and Ling Feifei, who were seated at the back of the bus:

"Hey, you two, hurry up and vote! Didn't you come together?"

Ling Feifei looked anxious.

"But wouldn't it be wrong for all of us to vote for that Ghost?"

At first, Shen Nian thought he'd misheard her. Then a surge of uncontrollable fury welled up inside him.

"What are you talking about?

"People are supposed to vote for Ghosts, aren't they?

"If you don't vote for a Ghost, who are you going to vote for? If this Multi-headed Ghost doesn't get off the bus, we'll all die here!"

Ling Feifei pointed at her head, looking completely innocent.

"But have you ever thought about one thing?

"There are already more people on this bus than Ghosts. If we all band together and vote for the Ghosts, don't you think that's unfair to them?

"Have you ever experienced what it feels like to be left out?"

Shen Nian felt as if his head had exploded. He'd traveled far and wide for years and encountered all kinds of people and Ghosts, but this was the first time he'd met someone this absurd.

What was she talking about? What was this woman talking about? He couldn't understand a word.

Shen Nian's brain had crashed. He turned to Gao Tian in a daze.

"Hey, didn't these two come with you?

"Are they people or Ghosts?"

At a moment like this, what Ling Feifei was saying didn't sound like anything a human could say. Shen Nian would sooner believe she'd been possessed by an Evil Ghost than accept that she truly meant it.

At first, there had only been one red cross above Gao Tian's head, but then another appeared. Someone else on the bus had voted for him.

It was Zhou Yan, sitting in the back.

He looked completely innocent.

"Sorry, Gao.

"My wife comes first. Feifei was often left out at school when she was little. She can't stand to see something like that happen, even to a Ghost."

A third red cross then appeared above Gao Tian's head.

Ling Feifei had made her choice too. She'd also voted for Gao Tian.

The situation had taken a sudden turn. The Multi-headed Ghost and Gao Tian had each ended up with three red crosses, after a three-to-one lead.

The one stroke of luck in all this was that, under these circumstances, the current round of voting would be voided, and the second-round Blood Vote would begin.

Gao Tian wiped the blood beneath his eyes. The formless terror that had enveloped him gradually faded. The bus began to exert its power, suppressing the Multi-headed Ghost and protecting him. He managed to catch his breath.

The bus could still suppress the Multi-headed Ghost. That was good news.

Just then, the Multi-headed Ghost, still standing, split open the mouths on its more than twenty faces in perfect unison. They let out a collective "hehehe, hahaha, hohoho," like canned laughter from a cheap soap opera.

Then it casually tore off the head of a Forty-something short-bearded uncle from its body. When the head hit the ground and rolled a few times, the severed neck began to sprout pink columns of flesh. Thin, noodle-like limbs resembling arms and legs bulged from them.

The flimsy, matchstick-like "body" slowly climbed to its feet, supporting the uncle's head. Its body was shorter than its head. The grotesque proportions made it look like a newborn child with an adult's head. At first glance, it was both ridiculous and horrifying.

After the Multi-headed Ghost removed one of its heads, it shrank by the height of that head.

But Gao Tian couldn't laugh at all when he saw this.

After the Multi-headed Ghost tore off the head and it came to life on the ground, the red passenger count at the front of the bus changed again, from eight to nine.

That was possible too?

So the Multi-headed Ghost was a composite made up of countless Ghosts. It could create a new Ghost just by tearing off part of its body. The bus recognized it as a passenger and even gave it the right to vote.

S-level Vengeful Ghosts had so many tricks. It could kill Gao Tian while obeying every rule of Bus 444. How was anyone supposed to deal with that?

As the passengers stared in shock and fear, the thing Gao Tian had dreaded most came to pass. The newborn Ghost, with its oversized adult head and unsteady gait, pointed its "hand" at Gao Tian as soon as it hit the ground.

The red crosses above Gao Tian's head became four.

Four to three. There was no way he could hold out until the next round. Gao Tian was about to lose his passenger status.

"Change your votes!"

In despair, Shen Nian roared at the passengers in the back.

He couldn't understand it. He just couldn't. How could anyone be this stubborn and stupid?

What good could it possibly do them to vote their companion, Gao Tian, to his death?

Zhou Yan and Ling Feifei looked at the red crosses above Gao Tian's head and did nothing, pretending not to hear Shen Nian's roar.

"Please... Change your votes..."

Su Jiu couldn't take it anymore. Tears spilled from her eyes.

But no matter how desperately she begged, Zhou Yan and Ling Feifei still refused to change their votes away from Gao Tian.

For Gao Tian, if he lost his passenger status, every Vengeful Ghost on the bus would be free to kill him.

He had only one way out now—

"Get off the bus. Get off right now!"

Shen Nian gave up on Zhou Yan and warned Gao Tian.

"You might survive for a while if you get off. If you stay on the bus, you'll die for sure."

They had no other choice. They might as well try this desperate gamble.

The other Vengeful Ghosts also shifted their attention to Gao Tian when the fourth red cross appeared above his head.

Gao Tian looked toward the station outside the back door.

This had to be Dexin Hospital, the stop listed on the timetable. Gray Fog filled the area outside, where countless figures in white coats and blue-and-white hospital gowns flickered in and out of sight.

This stop in the Inner World looked extremely dangerous. He might not survive as long after getting off as he would on the bus.

Even though he could use the Black Card to Teleport away as soon as he got off, he'd also fail the Third Green Text Mission. That would cost Gao Tian far too much. He'd throw away every small advantage he'd built up in one fell swoop.

Gao Tian slowly raised his head. The Terror Blade in his hand rang out like thunder.

"I'm not the one who should get off.

"I won't die in some insignificant place like this."