A hot potato, tackle it head-on

As he left the Spooky Mart, it was already deep into the night.

Nick held a box in his hands at the gloomy, dark bus stop.

The corpse-like stench emanating from the box made Nick feel uneasy.

"What's inside this box?" Nick asked.

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

"Can a finger cause such a fuss?" Nick was horrified.

"The owner of this finger must be some kind of terrible entity, right?"

"This thing can also be used as an ingredient. You ghosts have really bizarre tastes," Nick complained.

"It's not a matter of taste," the Blood-eyed Ghost said. "It's just that they can only eat things like this, or rather, it's the only food they can absorb."

"A ghost that can eat this finger is definitely more terrifying than you can imagine," said the Blood-eyed Ghost.

"More powerful than you?" Nick asked tentatively.

"Maybe. If I weren't injured and could open all nine of my eyes, I wouldn't be afraid of it!" the Blood-eyed Ghost said proudly.

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

"You're asking too many questions!"

"Human, just because you've made a contract with me, don't think we're close. I remember the grudge you've caused me. When the contract is over in a year, I'll eat you first!"

"We'll talk about that in a year," Nick said with a carefree smile.

"Besides, you might not even be able to beat me in a year, right?"

The sound of a distant bell chimed.

Through the white mist, a bus slowly approached.

"The bus is here," Nick said, holding the box and standing up.

"You're a human taking the bus. Aren't you afraid of being torn apart by the ghosts inside?" the Blood-eyed Ghost asked strangely.

"Why should I be afraid? Isn't there you?" Nick smiled.

The raincoat of a killer wasn't very effective, and slightly stronger ghosts could see through it.

 So, Nick simply walked down the street openly.

After all, with the contract, the Blood-eyed Ghost had to unconditionally serve as his protector.

The Blood-eyed Ghost's face darkened, feeling as if it had been spat on by a llama.

The bus stopped at the station, and the front door opened slowly.

Nick got on the bus and dropped two ghost coins into the fare box.

"A human?" The ghost driver, who was about to close the door, suddenly realized Nick's identity and was momentarily stunned.

A human, in the middle of the night, taking a bus in the Horror World.

This was too outrageous!

The ghost driver quickly calmed down from his shock.

There were only two types of humans who dared to do this.

One was a half-ghost. The other was someone carrying some kind of terrifying ghostly entity.

In short, they had something up their sleeve and weren't afraid of ghosts causing trouble.

The ghost driver had been driving the bus for years and understood this.

He just frowned, disgusted that a human was on his bus, then closed the door and started 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 human presence, so they were all ghosts.

They stared at Nick with a look of surprise and suspicion.

The smell of a human entered their nostrils, like the fragrance of delicious food, arousing the hunger in their bellies.

However, none of them made any hasty moves.

Someone who dared to walk alone on the streets of the Horror World at night was likely not someone to be messed with.

No matter how uncontrollable their hunger was, they restrained themselves.

"That box," the mummy-like ghost sitting at the back suddenly spoke, saying just two words. The other ghosts then noticed the box in Nick's hands. Their eyes lit up, revealing a greed even greater than when they saw a human.

"A precious ingredient!" Nick frowned.

He hadn't expected that these ghosts would be interested in the box.

The bus suddenly stopped at the next station.

"We've arrived at Bloodless Street. Passengers please take your belongings and exit the bus. The next stop is..."

The doors opened.

No passengers got off, and no passengers got on.

The atmosphere inside the bus became increasingly tense.

Suddenly, the couple, who seemed to be lovers, stood up and walked towards Nick.

The man's face was pale, but it revealed a sickly greed, much like a drug addict on a high.

As he walked beside Nick, his face twisted strangely, as if there were worms crawling beneath his skin, making a sound like his vocal cords being torn: "Human, the box..."

Before he could finish speaking, Nick coldly said, "Get lost!"

Anger flashed in the man's eyes. He had never been insulted by a human before.

But the more this happened, the more wary he became.

After a moment of struggle, he retreated and sat back down.

Soon, the bus arrived at another station.

This time, a few more ghosts got on.

They were all startled when they saw Nick.

Then, they noticed the box, and their eyes were filled with the same greed.

As the bus made several more stops, the number of passengers on the bus increased.

And all their eyes were fixed on Nick's seat by the window.

This gaze was like a fat sheep on a chopping block, being eyed by countless hungry wolves.

If Nick hadn't had strong mental resilience, an ordinary person's courage would have been shattered!

"Everyone seems interested in that box, right?"

At this moment, the mummy-like ghost sitting at the back spoke again.

It looked at Nick and revealed a chilling smile.

"No matter how powerful a human is, they can't overcome a group of ghosts. Let's all attack together, tear this kid apart, and then divide the contents of the box among us, how about it?"

"If the outside world heard that a human had intimidated all the ghosts on this bus into not daring to move, it would be a huge joke!" the mummy-like ghost laughed.

It had also set its eyes on the box.

But it didn't dare to make a move alone, so it started to incite everyone else to attack together.

Because of the mummy-like ghost's words, many passengers were itching to make a move. This tense atmosphere only needed a spark to ignite it.

The mummy sneered internally, knowing it had achieved its goal. All it needed now were a few more voices to chime in, and the passengers would swarm towards Nick.

Nick looked at the agitated passengers and felt uneasy.

He had been relying on the Blood-eyed Ghost to terrify these ghosts and hold on until the station.

Now, thanks to the mummy ghost's instigation, the situation seemed to be getting out of control.

Honestly, if the passengers swarmed him, he didn't think the Blood-eyed Ghost could protect him.

Nick finally understood.

Why the landlady said he couldn't bring back Ingredient No. 8.

This was even more troublesome than a hot potato!

In front of ghosts, this thing was even more tempting than humans!

As the scene grew restless but no ghost dared to be the first to act,

Nick suddenly thought of a plan. "Brother..."

The Blood-eyed Ghost said, "What, do you want me to take care of all the ghosts in the car?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm injured now and can't do that."

"Take my advice. If you want to live, hand over that ingredient, and you'll make it to the station alive!"

Nick ignored the Blood-eyed Ghost's words and asked, "Can you beat that mummy at the back?"

"If it's just one, I can beat it so badly even its mother wouldn't recognize it," said the Blood-eyed Ghost.

"Good, then let's take it on!"

Nick said immediately.

"Now?"

"Yes, just that one!"