A Special Way to Survive

The time is 5:30 AM.

Nearly twelve hours have passed since Yang Jian boarded this bus.

During the journey, we encountered three stops, one engine failure, and another passage through a strange cemetery. Although the journey was not long, the dangers along the way were unprecedented.

Those who board this bus are instantly plunged into a nightmare-level supernatural event. You might survive once, but it's unlikely you'll survive a second or third time. Eventually, you'll be killed.

"When did the streetlights appear? Does this mean things are back to normal? Has that terrible journey finally come to an end for this bus?"

Yang Jian kept an eye on the scenery outside the car window.

At that moment, he noticed that rows of streetlights had suddenly appeared along the dimly lit highway.

The streetlights stretched out in front and behind, illuminating the entire road. Everything around was clearly visible, and the gloomy and ominous atmosphere had vanished. There were even several trucks passing by in the early morning.

"If this bus stops and opens its doors in this city, you'd better get off immediately. This is one of your few chances. Otherwise, the longer you stay on this bus, the more you'll want to leave." Suddenly, Lin Bei, who had been sleeping, woke up again.

He abruptly reminded Yang Jian.

"Judging from your tone, you're not planning to get off the bus?" Yang Jian asked, voicing the question that had been on your mind.

I had my suspicions before.

Xu Feng and Lin Bei weren't without opportunities to get off the bus; they could have done so when they boarded during the day, but they didn't.

Therefore, Yang Jian guessed that the two people stayed on the bus voluntarily.

Lin Bei said, "It's not that I don't plan to get off the bus, but that I can't. Actually, it's not a secret. I can tell you without worry. A senior who was trapped on the bus told me when I got on that this bus has a strong suppressive effect on vengeful ghosts. You saw that before."

"Four ghosts were on the bus, yet they didn't kill a single ordinary person."

"The more dangerous the place, the safer it is. There's some truth to that. So, you're staying on this bus to save your lives?" Yang Jian's eyes flickered, and he immediately made a connection. "I've already observed your situations, especially Xu Feng. The vengeful ghost has completely affected his body. He's only retaining his consciousness. This would never happen outside."

"A normal Ghost Tamer of his caliber would have died from the resurrection of the vengeful spirit, but he didn't here."

"If this bus can restrain ghosts, then it can also restrain the ghosts inside you. Staying here can prevent you from dying from the resurgence of vengeful spirits?"

Lin Bei smiled and said, "Your observation is very keen, and your guess is accurate. You're right. Staying on this bus can indeed prevent you from dying from the resurrection of the vengeful ghost. In fact, Xu Feng and I were already in the state of vengeful ghost resurrection, but we haven't died because of the suppression of the bus."

"This situation is quite special. After all, the problem of vengeful ghosts reviving is almost unsolvable at present. The only way is to control a second ghost to restrain each other and achieve a balance. But that is only a temporary solution. The balance will soon be broken as the Ghost Tamer continues to use the power of the vengeful ghost. When the two ghosts revive together, they will die even faster."

"On the bus, there's no need to control a second ghost to maintain the so-called balance. The resurrected ghost can't kill, which means you'll never have to worry about dying. No matter how many times the ghost inside you awakens, it only keeps increasing your strength."

"But the cost of avoiding death seems a bit too high," Yang Jian.

Xu Feng said coldly, "Living is the best outcome. Any price is worth paying. You haven't experienced the horror of a vengeful ghost's resurgence, the feeling of being gradually robbed of life by the ghost within your body—despair, fear, helplessness. It's like a drowning person desperately grasping at the last straw."

"Is that so? But looking like this, you'll probably be stuck on the bus for the rest of your lives. What's the point of living? Wait, no, why didn't you die from the resurrected vengeful ghosts after you got off the bus?"

As Yang Jian spoke, he suddenly noticed a flaw in his statement.

Lin Bei rubbed his bald head. "Actually, it's nothing. It's just that if we stay here for too long, the ghost, which has been suppressed for a long time, seems to gradually fall into a dormant state. In that state, we can control a fully revived ghost, but it won't last long. Once the limit is exceeded, the ghost will be stimulated to revive and will still kill us."

Upon hearing this, Yang Jian immediately thought of his own situation.

Their situation is similar to that of someone who hangs themselves; they also utilize the coercive power between ghosts to suppress each other.

However, Yang Jian's method is more violent and also very effective, essentially like going all in.

If you win, you have everything; if you lose, you have nothing.

Their method is more subtle, similar to buying insurance and earning interest; although the amount is small, it is more secure.

"Even if you don't stay for life, according to your logic, it would still be a considerable amount of time, and you'd encounter dangers along the way. It's not like you're safe just because you're on the vehicle," Yang Jian.

Lin Bei said, "As long as I can stay here, I'll leave sooner or later. The longer I stay on the bus, the longer the ghost inside me stays asleep. I've been here for six days and gotten off twice. I should have died from the ghost's resurrection the day I got on, but luckily I survived on the bus. On the third day, when I got off, the ghost's resurrection time was reduced to three minutes. But now, the ghost's resurrection time is about ten minutes, and I can control a resurrected ghost without worrying about it during that time."

"It's incredible, isn't it? The longer you stay, the longer you can control the resurrected ghost. Maybe if you stay for a few months, the ghost will fall into a deep sleep."

"That's enough, Lin Bei. You've said enough. You should keep this important information a secret."

Xu Feng stared at Lin Bei, feeling very dissatisfied with his attitude in revealing the secret.

Lin Bei laughed and said, "He had a chance to get off the bus alive, so he should take this news out. We people who can't live without buses might die on the bus at any time. Are you planning to keep this secret to yourself until you die? Besides, the information we got was kindly left behind by the first few Ghost Tamer, and they were the first group to find it by risking their lives."

"If the clues here end here, the Ghost Tamer get on the bus later will have to start searching all over again. How many people will die needlessly in that situation?"

"You, who's studied Buddhism, are only now remembering you're supposed to be chanting scriptures? If you're so kind, why didn't you save those passengers before?" Xu Feng sneered, "Stop pretending to be compassionate."

"I have limited abilities and can't save others, so I might as well close my eyes and fall asleep, knowing nothing, unable to see death or despair."

Lin Bei said, "So I only do what I can. There's a saying that goes, 'To help others, you must first help yourself.' Although I don't save people, I won't harm them either."

"What's the difference?" Xu Feng rolled his eyes. "It's still just watching coldly from the sidelines."

Ignoring their mutual accusations, Yang Jian said directly, "According to your logic, this bus is the last hope for the Ghost Tamer as they face revival? Although it's somewhat dangerous, getting on the bus is still worthwhile."

"You can't understand it like that. This bus can't be controlled. Who knows what kind of haunted place it will end up in? I haven't been on the bus for long, but I've encountered two instances of it stalling, one when it was fully loaded, and another when a ghost blocked the way. All of these were major crises. Although I can control the resurrected vengeful spirit, it's still not easy to survive."

"All the previous Ghost Tamer are dead. He was like me, able to control a perfectly resurrected ghost, but his ability wasn't enough to protect himself, so he died. I remember hearing from the last surviving Ghost Tamer that the longest person survived on this bus was two and a half months. I don't know if it's true or not."

"Lived for two and a half months? Is that person dead?" Yang Jian, somewhat surprised.

Unexpected situations kept arising on this strange bus, yet some people managed to endure it for so long.

"No, he got off the bus. As for whether he died or not, nobody knows. Anyway, he never got back on the bus," Lin Bei said.

Two and a half months?

That is, more than seventy days.

It's not easy for this bus to last even a day, let alone more than seventy days. The person who survived is a real talent.

"After more than seventy days of suppression, the ghost inside his body may have gone from a dormant state to a dead state. Maybe, like me, he has perfectly controlled the resurrected ghost. Although taking the bus and hanging are different methods of suicide, the result is the same." Yang Jian felt that the person who had lived for more than seventy days was not dead.

Instead, it's hidden in some city.

Even if someone did survive using this method, Yang Jian wasn't envious.

Others endured over seventy days of hardship to succeed; heaven knows how many near-death experiences they faced. Even if the final result is perfect, the vengeful ghost deserves the sacrifices others made.

However, Lin Bei's words solidified Yang Jian's resolve.

Indeed, there are some people in the world who have embarked on a path of completely controlling vengeful spirits through various methods.

Yang Jian wasn't the only lucky one who was fortunate enough to succeed.