Who will open the door for me...

Cao Xianming had already had Uncle Lao Zhang pass down orders that no one was to get out of their vehicles. Tonight, they would spend the night inside.

Because if anything happened, staying inside was the only way they could start the vehicles and escape danger as quickly as possible.

Naturally, Yang Yong could no longer ride his bicycle tonight either. He could only squeeze into the crowded bus for the time being.

The bus was the convoy's communal property, normally used to transport the elderly, the weak, women, and children. But no one else took charge of it; Zheng Xiaofeng handled most of its upkeep.

As soon as Yang Yong boarded, a middle-aged man came toward him.

The man wore thick, black-rimmed glasses and had an honest-looking face, his smile tinged with reserve.

This was Driver Old Zhao. Before the Apocalypse broke out, he had been this bus's driver. With his skilled driving, he had actually managed to force his way out of Goat City in this bus. He was another fellow with unbelievable luck.

Seeing Yang Yong board, Old Zhao immediately came forward and greeted him respectfully. "Mr. Yang."

Yang Yong nodded and walked farther inside.

One sweep of his gaze, and his heart sank.

Everyone on the bus looked terrified, their eyes filled with lingering dread. Even their breathing was hushed, as though they feared disturbing something terrible.

Several unconscious people lay bound in the aisle down the middle of the bus.

They were the survivors who had been controlled by the Eerie last night.

They had been unconscious for an entire day and still showed no signs of waking. Their breathing was as faint as candles flickering in the wind. Clearly, their chances were grim.

Yang Yong silently withdrew his gaze, chose a seat near the front, and closed his eyes, intending to make do with a night's rest on this jolting bus.

But he could not dispel that bone-deep chill.

He knew this night was destined to be anything but peaceful.

At first, everything remained normal as night fell.

Yang Yong pulled his clothes tighter around himself, holding the Iron-Plate Token in his left hand and gripping the Little Golden Flood Dragon Scissors in his right, then slowly closed his eyes.

He had thought he could get a solid night's sleep, but before drowsiness could fully take hold, an urgent voice suddenly rang out across the convoy through the Loudspeaker. "Everyone, wake up! The convoy is moving out immediately!"

It was Old Cao's voice!

What happened?

Weren't we supposed to rest here tonight?

Why were we suddenly setting off again?

For a moment, everyone was bewildered, their faces blank with confusion.

But Old Cao's orders had never been open to question. No one dared delay, and they scrambled to gather their things.

The three Off-Road Vehicles and the bus started almost simultaneously, their engines roaring with particular harshness in the deathly still night.

They had barely driven any distance when Old Cao's voice came over the loudspeaker again. This time, his tone was more grave than ever before, with even a hint of trembling.

"Attention, everyone! From now on, no matter what voices you hear or what they say, do not believe them!"

He even added another warning.

"Even if it's my voice, you absolutely must not trust it!"

Those words sent a jolt through everyone's hearts.

Did the captain mean... an Eerie was coming?

Although no one knew what they were about to face, judging by the way Old Cao was bracing for a formidable enemy, that Eerie was certainly no ordinary threat!

A terrifying chill instantly enveloped the entire convoy. Even the air seemed to freeze.

Inside the bus, Yang Yong clenched the Little Golden Flood Dragon Scissors so tightly that his knuckles turned deathly white. His eyes remained fixed on the pitch-black night outside the window, every muscle taut, ready to strike at any moment.

Yet the vehicles continued onward, and after quite some time, everything around them was still quiet. Nothing unusual had happened.

Could Old Cao have been too nervous and scared everyone for nothing?

Just as that thought surfaced in everyone's minds and they were about to relax, a sinister voice suddenly drifted in from right against the window. It was soft, yet it pierced everyone's eardrums like a spike of ice. "Open the door... who will open the door for me..."

At first, the voice sounded somewhat unfamiliar, but when they listened closely, everyone's hair stood on end!

So alike!

Far too alike!

It was unmistakably the voice of their captain, Cao Xianming!

Within a few minutes, the voice changed again, adopting the tone Old Cao used when issuing orders to the convoy with the Loudspeaker. Every word was imitated to perfection.

It was the middle of the night, and everyone was so sleepy they could barely keep their eyes open. Quite a few were still half asleep, murmuring fragments of dreams.

"Don't kill me... don't kill me..."

"Mom... I miss you..."

"Dad? Is that you?"

"Give me back my life..."

All manner of sleep talk echoed through the deathly quiet bus, making it even more sinister.

Just when everyone was at their sleepiest and most muddled, that unnerving voice outside the window sounded again and again, like a summons to death.

Everyone who was awake tensed, clamping their hands over their mouths for fear of accidentally making a sound and alerting the thing outside.

Yang Yong was the only Transcendent on the bus. All the survivors looked to him for help, their eyes filled with terror.

Yang Yong reacted instantly, shouting sharply, "Quick! Turn on all the lights inside! Everyone, watch the people around you. If you see anyone about to speak, cover their mouth immediately!"

Holding up the Little Golden Flood Dragon Scissors, he swept his ice-cold gaze over every person on the bus.

The ruthlessness in his eyes made everyone's heart tighten.

They had no doubt that if anyone dared open their mouth, Yang Yong would act without hesitation.

No one dared drag their feet. They hurriedly switched off the lights, then rushed to shake their soundly sleeping companions awake.

Those shaken awake looked utterly bewildered. Before they could open their mouths to ask anything, the people beside them clamped hands over their mouths.

"Shh-"

The person motioned for the awakened sleeper to look out the window, then pointed to their own mouth.

Just then, the familiar voice outside the window rang out again, calling over and over, "Open the door... open the door... hurry up and open the door..."

As though possessed of some magic, the voice kept changing.

From Old Cao's voice, it changed to Wang Ying's, then to that of Convoy Supervisor Lao Zhang. In the end, it even became the voice of a survivor in the convoy who had long since died!

It was as if it could read people's memories, choosing to imitate the voices that were most familiar and most capable of touching the tenderest parts of their hearts.

Even Yang Yong heard the voices of relatives buried deep in his memories, relatives who had long since perished in the Apocalypse. They called his name again and again, filled with endless hurt and pleading.

Three months after the Apocalypse broke out, everyone knew one ironclad rule.

In a situation like this, they must never answer, much less open the door!

Answering that Eerie was equivalent to forming an invisible contract with it, allowing it to slip into the vehicle under the rules.

And.

If they opened the door, the consequences would be even more unthinkable!

Gritting his teeth, Yang Yong abruptly rose from his seat and walked step by step to the very front of the bus.

His hawklike gaze remained fixed on every person inside, afraid that someone would succumb to the temptation and answer.