A finger

Upon hearing this, the ghost couple was completely stunned.

They were unaware of the contract's command and believed Blood-Eye Ghost's words that once John died, it could be free.

Not handing over the X ingredient, if John were to die as a result of punishment, this thieving ghost would surely cling to them forever, consuming their wealth until they were bankrupt!

After some thought.

Exchanging one X ingredient for the normal operation of the supermarket seemed like a good deal, right?

As long as they got rid of this thief, no matter how great the losses of the supermarket, they could be recovered.

"Human, you're ruthless," the female proprietor said with a grim face.

After being swindled by the Fierce Ghost Restaurant, she had sworn never to sell any ingredients to them again, and now she was slapping her own face!

"I'll sell it to you, but it will cost 2000 ghost Coins, not one less."

"Of course." John smiled slightly, that puppet guy had some conscience after all, at least he really gave John a black gold card for swiping ghost Coins.

The balance on this black gold card was over 20,000 ghost Coins!

The blood eye on the back of his hand closed.

John silently gave a thumbs up to the Blood-Eye Ghost: "Buddy, you're pretty smart, knowing how to scare them like that!"

What drove the ghost couple most insane was the Blood-Eye Ghost.

A single "I want to stick around in your store forever" broke their defenses, and they hurriedly handed over the X ingredient!

The female proprietor told John to wait and then went into a room.

The male proprietor, looking fierce and malevolent, stared at John as if his gaze could kill. John felt that if looks could kill, he would have turned to ash already.

Ewan, hiding behind the shelves, had been stunned all along.

My goodness!

This John really had guts, daring to negotiate with ghosts and even threaten them. That was truly manly!

While shocked, an indescribable admiration also surged in Ewan's heart!

"If only I could be half as cool as John!"

After a long time, the female proprietor came out, holding an antique box made of copper metal.

The lock was an ancient horizontal broad lock, full of mystery.

"Here's the ingredient you wanted," the female proprietor handed it over, along with a key.

John took the box, slightly startled: "This is the X ingredient?"

X was just a code name; no one knew what was actually inside the box.

Holding the box, John felt his mood being affected, becoming unusually irritable.

Then, the box shook violently.

"Is this X ingredient... alive?"

===

Leaving the Sinister Supermarket, it was already deep into the night.

At the gloomy and pitch-black bus stop, John stood holding a box in his hands.

The stench of decay emanating from the box made John very uneasy.

"What on earth is in this box?" John asked.

"A finger," replied the Blood-Eye Ghost.

"A finger can cause this much commotion?" John was extremely shocked.

Could the owner of this finger be an especially formidable ghost?

"This thing can also be used as an ingredient? You ghosts really have some bizarre tastes," John remarked with a hint of sarcasm.

"It's not about taste. It's that they can only eat this kind of thing, or rather, this is the only food they can absorb."

"The ghost that can consume this finger is definitely more terrifying than you can imagine," Blood-Eye Ghost said.

"More powerful than you?" John asked tentatively.

"Not bad, I suppose. If I weren't injured, with all nine eyes open, I wouldn't be afraid of it!" Blood-Eye Ghost said with a touch of pride.

"You're injured? Who hurt you, and how bad is it?"

"You ask too many damn questions!"

"Human, don't think that because you've made a contract with me, we're buddies. You've deceived me, and I haven't forgotten that grudge. Once the contract is up in a year, you'll be the first one I devour!"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Besides, who says you'll be able to beat me in a year?" John said with an unconcerned smile.

Ding ding.

The long sound of a bell echoed from afar.

Through the mist, the bus slowly approached.

"Bus is here," John said, getting up with the box in his hands.

"Aren't you afraid of being killed by the ghosts on the bus?" Blood-Eye Ghost asked oddly.

"Why should I be scared? I've got you, don't I?" John replied with a casual smile. The Raincoat of the Rainy Night Murderer wasn't very effective; slightly more powerful ghosts could see right through it.

So, John simply walked the streets openly as a human.

After all, with the contract in place, Blood-Eye Ghost was obliged to act as his unconditional protector.

Blood-Eye Ghost sighed, feeling as if he had been spat in the face by a llama.

The bus came to a stop at the station, and the front door slowly opened. John boarded directly.

"Human?"

The ghost driver, who was about to close the door, suddenly realized John's identity and instinctively froze.

A human, riding the bus in the middle of the night in Thriller World.

This was rather audacious!

The ghost driver quickly recovered from his shock.

There were only two types of humans who would do such a thing.

One was a Half-ghost.

The other was someone carrying some kind of terrifying ghost Item.

In any case, they had a trump card and were not afraid of ghosts causing trouble.

Having driven the bus for several years, the ghost driver understood the situation. He just frowned, somewhat loathing the idea of a human on his bus. But due to the rules, he couldn't refuse any passenger, so he could only close the door and start the bus.

There weren't many passengers on the bus.

A couple.

An old man.

And a passenger wrapped up like a mummy.

Inside the bus, there was no scent of life; clearly, they were all ghosts.

They stared straight at John, their eyes filled with a mix of surprise and suspicion.

The scent of a human infiltrated their nostrils, like the fragrant aroma of delicious food, tantalizing their taste buds.

Yet, none of them made a rash move.

Those who dared to walk the streets of Thriller World at midnight were often not the sort to be trifled with.

"That box."

Suddenly, the mummy ghost sitting at the back spoke up with a brief statement.

The other ghosts then noticed the box in John's hands, and their eyes widened, revealing a greed more intense than when they had seen the human.

"Precious ingredient!"

John's brow furrowed. This he hadn't anticipated—that the ghosts would set their sights on the box.

The bus suddenly stopped; they had reached a station.

"Bleeding Street has arrived. Passengers getting off, please take your belongings with you. The next stop is..."

The doors opened.

No passengers got off, nor did any get on.

The atmosphere inside the bus grew increasingly tense.