Chapter 144

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As he pondered which ability to enhance next, the distant sound of an approaching vehicle broke his thoughts.

An old, large bus emerged from the darkness.

Syd frowned slightly, his eyes flashing with curiosity.

Why did this bus feel strange to him? Or rather, wasn't it odd for a bus to appear in the middle of the night?

As he considered this, the bus slowly came to a stop in front of him, conveniently at a bus stop.

A faint mist had silently risen around the bus stop, making the already dimly lit area seem even darker.

Syd focused his gaze on the peculiar bus.

It was hard to see inside due to what seemed to be tinted windows; all he could see was darkness through the windows, revealing nothing about its interior or its passengers.

The bus door clicked open, and Syd peered inside, noticing a driver dressed in a bus driver's uniform sitting at the wheel.

However, the driver's face was hidden in shadows, making it difficult to see clearly, even with Syd's extraordinary vision.

At that moment, a nervous middle-aged man's voice came from inside the bus.

"Don't get on! Leave now! This bus is not safe for you!"

Syd, initially only curious and not intending to board, raised an eyebrow at the warning.

Now, he was intrigued. He felt a sudden urge to board the bus and see what was going on.

As for the supposed danger, he dismissed it outright.

After all, what kind of threat could an old bus possibly pose to him?

With that thought, he got up and stepped towards the bus's open door.

He walked up the steps and glanced around at the seats.

First, he looked at the driver's seat...

Now that he was closer, the shadows hiding the driver receded, revealing his features.

The driver appeared to be in his thirties, with a pale, somber face.

As for the other passengers...

"Didn't I tell you not to get on? Why did you still come up?"

The familiar middle-aged man's voice spoke again.

Syd looked over to see a middle-aged white man in a suit sitting in the fifth row, appearing to be in his forties, with a sturdy build and a rugged face.

The man was frowning, looking at Syd as if he were crazy.

Beside him sat a man and a woman, both frowning at Syd as well.

Other than these people...

Syd scanned the other seats but found them empty.

The bus door behind him clicked shut, and the bus began to move.

After a quick glance, Syd lost interest and casually walked to the back row, planning to sit there and observe what would happen.

As he passed the three people, the middle-aged man who had spoken earlier sternly said, "You have no idea where this place is, yet you still dared to get on?"

The man, feeling a bit helpless, looked at Syd, who was dressed in black, wearing a black mask and sunglasses.

As a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, he and his two colleagues had been sent to investigate a series of disappearances in this area.

According to the records, every few days, one or two people would vanish mysteriously from this street, totaling over a dozen disappearances so far.

Witnesses claimed that one of the missing individuals was last seen boarding a strange bus...

Similar incidents were documented in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secret files—trains vanishing mysteriously, only to reappear later with all passengers missing, and planes experiencing similar occurrences.

Thus, S.H.I.E.L.D. suspected this latest series of disappearances was another such mysterious event.

So, they had been dispatched to investigate.

However, they hadn't expected to see a random person boarding the strange bus shortly after they found it.

The three agents were exasperated.

This random person, likely like the other missing individuals, had foolishly boarded the bus, leading to their disappearance.

The bus clearly looked suspicious, yet someone dared to board it in the middle of the night? Couldn't they think twice about the oddity?

They could already envision this young person becoming another victim of a mysterious incident.

Syd ignored them and made his way to the last row, ready to watch how things would unfold.

Seeing his dismissive attitude, the three agents were even more exasperated. Was this person so arrogant?

"Kid, I'm not joking. This bus is dangerous; you shouldn't have gotten on!"

The man warned sternly, "When it stops, get off immediately, or you might not survive!"

Despite the warning, the young person dressed in black, who appeared quite young, showed no reaction and simply ignored him.

The woman with long auburn hair, sitting beside the man, pulled on his arm and said indifferently, "Gilu, forget it. If he wants to die, let him."

Gilu frowned, feeling a bit annoyed. This young man was both arrogant and dismissive, ignoring their warnings completely.

Forget it, if he wants to die, there's nothing we can do...

Shaking his head, he decided not to bother anymore.

After a while, the bus seemed to be slowing down to a stop.

Syd turned to look out the window.

What was once a foggy scene, with nothing visible, gradually became clearer.

An old bus stop appeared.

Vaguely, he could see a few passengers waiting for the bus.

As the first passenger boarded, Syd frowned slightly.

The newcomer was dressed in black, tall and thin, and looked somewhat peculiar.

His figure seemed a bit ethereal...

Upon boarding, the man scanned the bus and fixed his gaze on them.

Sniffing the air, his eyes showed a mixture of suspicion and greed. "Living people?"

His gaze swept over the four of them.

Gilu and his colleagues felt a chill.

"A ghost?"

"This is a ghost bus?"

In an instant, they felt a cold realization, understanding how those people had disappeared.

As they nervously pondered solutions, the black-clad man's gaze moved past them with slight apprehension and focused behind them.

Immediately, his eyes lit up with excitement.

The next moment, he drifted towards the back row.

Oh no! Gilu and his colleagues exchanged worried glances.

Although they had previously thought the young man was seeking death, seeing someone about to die in front of them still made them want to help.

If they didn't act, this young man was as good as dead!

(End of Chapter)