Chapter 381: The Truth About The Ghost Bus (2/2)

”Yes,” I nodded. “It’s most likely dry ice. That’s why the fog is so dense and the temperature is lower near the fog!”

As soon as I stated my conclusion, they all seemed enlightened. The eerie atmosphere was mostly diffused by now. In fact, my main goal tonight was to expose its hocus-pocus and prove that the ghost bus was fake.

“Then what about the ghosts sitting on the bus?” Dali pointed out.

”That?” I scoffed. “In fact, I thought about it for quite some time when I went back the other day. Finally, I realized the trick to it was–”

I walked to the front window and sat down. Then, grabbing a laser pointer out of my pocket, I aimed it at the window. When the spot of light moved back and forth across the glass, the others immediately realized what the problem was. When it passed through the center of the glass, the light transmittance deteriorated.

I knocked on the window and explained, ”This is a sort of optical glass. On the surface, it looks normal. In fact, its light transmittance is different from normal glass. Perhaps someone deliberately arranged this. So, when light passes through, the silhouette of a person is revealed on the ground or on the wall as if the bus is full of people.”

”Is it all fake?” Luo Youyou seemed disappointed.

I nodded, ”I was skeptical from the moment I got on the bus. I’m not an atheist but I’m used to verifying the authenticity of strange phenomena first instead of taking them at face value.”

”Song Yang’s practice of seeking the truth is worth learning!” praised Dali.

”Since all this is fake, let's talk to the driver!” suggested Xiaotao.

She stood up, walked towards the driver's seat, and flashed her badge. ”Stop the bus. We’d like to have a word with you!”

But no matter what Xiaotao said, the driver showed no response. When I walked up to him, I noticed his impassive, vacant eyes in the reflection of the windshield, like those of a dead man.

”This guy may have mental problems. We might as well stay till the last stop and see where that leads us.”

Right then, a crisp snap sounded through the bus–Dali was playing with his newly bought Zippo lighter. At the flash of the flame, the driver suddenly screamed, ”Fire! There’s a huge fire! Help!”

The carriage suddenly tilted, prompting me to hold on tightly to my seat while Xiaotao fell into my arms.

Then the bus swung to the other side, our bodies undulating and swaying in the same direction. Dali, Luo Youyou, and Bingxin screamed in fear. We watched the windows shake and the lights in the bus flicker.

The bus moved like a slithery snake on the road, barely stabilizing after several zigzags. At this moment, I was in my seat with Xiaotao pressed on top of my body. She covered her head with her hands as if she had bumped herself.

Gently massaging her head with my fingers, I asked, ”Does it hurt?”

”I’m alright!” Then, she snapped, ”Is he trying to kill us?”

Before I could say anything, she stood up and charged towards the driver, pulling out the bus key without warning. The bus came to an abrupt halt.

”Get out!” Xiaotao demanded.

However, the driver remained silent and motionless, turning the steering wheel as he looked straight ahead. It was as if the outside world had nothing to do with him...

A Chinese idiom alluding to leadership rendered ineffectual by recalcitrant subordinates.