56. The Phantom of the Mountain Road

8:00 AM the next day.

On a small mountain on the western side of East Sea City, a dark brown coach bus was making its way along the winding mountain road.

There were over twenty passengers on board, but the atmosphere was exceptionally quiet.

The passengers were either sleeping or staring at their phones. Only the onboard television at the very front of the bus was playing a movie, emitting a faint sound.

It looked like a completely ordinary scene.

However, if anyone were to approach the driver's seat, they could see through the reflection of the windshield that the driver's face was constantly changing and even becoming somewhat distorted.

The expressions on the driver's face shifted rapidly—sometimes laughing, sometimes angry, sometimes dejected, and sometimes calm... It looked extremely eerie.

Before long, with trembling hands, he pulled a cigarette from his jacket pocket. Without lighting it, he simply clamped it between his lips.

The tip of the cigarette shook incessantly along with the shifting expressions on his face.

The conductor, Xiao Li, who was sitting just behind and to the side of the driver, seemed to have noticed something unusual and prompted, "Old Zhang, you know the rules. Smoking is not allowed inside the bus."

"I know." Driver Old Zhang replied in a trembling, intermittent voice, "I... I just... had a craving... holding it to pass the time."

"Old Zhang, your condition doesn't look right today. Are you sick?" Sensing something amiss, the conductor Xiao Li stood up, ready to step forward and check on him.

However, the moment he straightened up, through the reflection of the windshield, he clearly saw that Old Zhang's face had morphed into one of pure malice!

"Old Zhang... Old Zhang, you!" Xiao Li was struck with sheer terror.

But it was already too late. Driver Old Zhang suddenly slammed the steering wheel hard. The coach made an almost 120-degree turn, violently crashing toward the guardrail on the right side of the road!

The iron guardrail on the right was less than half a meter high, and directly below it was a cliff dozens of meters deep! Moreover, the coach was currently traveling at high speed.

If the coach smashed through the guardrail and plunged down the cliff due to its high speed and massive momentum, not a single passenger on board would survive!

Conductor Xiao Li was paralyzed with fear.

What was Old Zhang doing? Did he want to drag everyone on the bus to their deaths?

Furthermore, because of the sharp turn, the inside of the bus was thrown into violent turbulence.

Many passengers looked forward with panicked expressions, completely at a loss.

Faced with the impending disaster, not a single passenger was mentally prepared.

......

However, at this critical juncture, an agile figure darted out from the middle of the bus like a sharp arrow.

In just a moment, he reached the driver's seat, grabbed the steering wheel, and wrenched it in the opposite direction.

Screech——

The tires scraped against the ground, emitting a sharp, piercing screech.

The coach carved a massive "S" shaped trajectory across the winding mountain road.

At the same time, the bus engine was instantly pierced by a bolt of lightning from an unknown source, and the coach finally came to a stop after slamming against the guardrail.

Everyone on board escaped unharmed.

……

Driver Old Zhang's plan had failed.

He fiercely jerked the steering wheel and stomped hard on the accelerator, trying to force the coach back toward the cliff.

To his astonishment, no matter how hard he pulled with both hands, the steering wheel remained completely motionless, and pressing the accelerator yielded no response.

Could it be that the combined strength of his two hands was inferior to the strength of just one hand belonging to the young man before him?

"Who on earth are you?"

The malicious expression on driver Old Zhang's face was almost tangible, and thick black mist poured out from his eye sockets, ears, and nostrils, "Don't you know that interfering with a driver will get you locked up?"

Yet, looking at this young man, he discovered that the youth was wearing an Ultraman mask, hiding his true face.

This young man was, of course, Su Yu.

Recalling a horrifying tragedy from his past life through last night's news reports, he remembered the incident.

That disaster had claimed the lives of over 400 people and could be said to be one of the earliest and most severe haunting incidents.

Moreover, the root of the entire event seemed to begin today.

Thus, Su Yu traced the source back to its origin—this very coach—and timely prevented the tragedy of the bus plunging off the cliff.

As for the Ultraman mask, he had swiped it from a shelf at the downstairs supermarket, at the cost of the supermarket owner having to replace a batch of security cameras.

......

Looking at the ghost-possessed driver Old Zhang, Su Yu revealed a faint smile behind his mask: "Hello, driver, I am Ultraman Tiga."

Using his free right hand, Su Yu struck a respectful gesture: "Merciful Buddha! Benefactor, I see evil and delusion in your heart. Today, on behalf of the Buddha, I, Tiga, have come to deliver you!"

As he spoke, a massive surge of current poured from Su Yu's hand.

Lightning attributes were the natural nemesis of all evil spirits.

Crackle! Snap!

Driver Old Zhang was electrocuted until his entire body was charred black and shaking violently.

Yet, amidst Su Yu's "electrotherapy," the ghost attached to him was rapidly destroyed, turning into a wisp of light smoke.

"Ding! You have killed [Soul-Controlling Ghost Lv 8] and gained 640 experience points."

Su Yu was currently level 10, so the experience gained from killing a level 8 ghost was reduced by 20%, dropping from 800 points to 640 points.

If Su Yu were level 18 right now, killing the soul-controlling ghost would basically yield no experience points at all.

However, Su Yu didn't care about this bit of experience; the real boss was still waiting ahead!

......

Because of the bus's sharp turn and collision with the guardrail, the interior of the coach was currently in complete chaos.

Some passengers had bumped their heads and were bleeding, and they were already cursing angrily:

"Is this how you fucking drive?"

"Did it break down or something?"

"Hey, kid in the front, what are you doing?! Don't distract the driver! You gonna take responsibility if something happens?"

Conductor Xiao Li's face was pale, cold sweat streamed down his back, and his lips trembled, unable to utter a word.

Only he had witnessed driver Old Zhang's actions. Had this young man wearing an Ultraman mask saved everyone at the most critical moment?

This scene felt just like something out of a television drama!

Su Yu turned a deaf ear to the voices behind him.

Before the coach had even come to a complete stop, he used lightning to break the door open and leaped out.

"Brother, you......" Conductor Xiao Li reached out, but he didn't know what to say.

"Don't worry about me, call the police immediately!" Without looking back, Su Yu vaulted over the guardrail and leaped down toward the cliff below.

"Ah! Someone jumped off the cliff!"

"Hurry up and call the police, someone's died!"

The interior of the coach descended into utter pandemonium.

Many people caught sight of driver Old Zhang's nearly charred appearance and shrieked in terror.

……

All of this had nothing to do with Su Yu anymore.

With a single leap off the cliff and casting [Blink] in the final second to land steadily, Su Yu's landing was remarkably graceful.

Directly opposite him was a forest shrouded in black mist and teeming with ghostly shadows.

The soul-eating ghost he had killed just moments ago was merely a minion; the true mastermind behind the scenes consisted of eight ghosts lurking within this forest.

According to the judgment made by the expert panel review in his past life, that soul-eating ghost had controlled the driver, intending to make the coach plunge off the cliff so the passengers would become food for the ghosts.

Later on, this group of ghosts carried out a series of roaming crimes.

After consuming a few more batches of "food," they disguised themselves as passengers and personally drove a bus straight into the East Sea Bus Station!

The East Sea Bus Station became a river of blood, ultimately resulting in four hundred deaths and shocking the entire nation!

Right now, hiding within this ghost-infested woodland was the entire ghostly "crime syndicate."

"Found you!" A smile appeared behind Su Yu's mask.