After a brief exchange, it turned out this group came from other parts of Hengzhou City just like Yan Ao and the others, having similarly encountered those terrifying death options and barely survived after a brutal round of "elimination."
"We ran into each other while fleeing for our lives. After discovering that the entire Hengzhou City had become a dead city, we planned to head outside to seek help. But when we passed by here and saw the sign next to the bus stop, we had no choice but to board this bus, not realizing there were already people on board..." the middle-aged man said with a bitter smile.
"I told you not to come over, and now look—we've run into those damn options again," a youth wearing a hat behind the middle-aged man snapped in exasperation.
The middle-aged man's face turned pale, and he didn't refute the hat-wearing youth. It was indeed his fault earlier; seeing an urban village near the bus stop, he had wanted to invite everyone inside to look for food, never expecting to run into a death option.
"I don't want to stay here, I want to leave!" Among the eight people, a Stylish Woman shrieked uncontrollably, turning to flee the bus, only to be blocked once again by the invisible "wall."
It seemed this bus was boarding-only; once on, you couldn't get off. Seeing this, Yan Ao secretly committed it to memory.
Just like the shopping mall, whenever a death option appeared, it created a closed space. Until the requirements of all options were fulfilled, no one could hope to leave.
Although the middle-aged man also wanted to escape, he understood it was already too late. Consumed by frustration and regret, he could only advise his companions, "Everyone calm down. Even if we could escape, we'd only die—don't forget the options on the sign back at the station."
At these words, the previously somewhat agitated crowd instantly quieted down, leaving only the sound of the Stylish Woman sobbing softly. None of them were seeing the horrors of a death option for the first time; those who ignored the requirements of the options met with only one outcome—death, and a very miserable one at that. With the eight people brought aboard by the middle-aged man, the number of "passengers" on the bus suddenly increased to fourteen. Yan Ao observed quietly, vaguely sensing what might happen next.
The sign placed outside the station had blood-red writing under the options stating, "Make a choice within 4 hours and 44 minutes." Of course, that was just the time allotted to Yan Ao and his group; according to the middle-aged man, when they saw the sign, they had only 4 minutes and 44 seconds left.
Yet after they boarded, no new options appeared on the bus. Yan Ao pondered that perhaps more people would still get on during this allotted time for choosing...
Realizing this, Yan Ao couldn't help breaking out in a cold sweat. It seemed that after escaping the shopping mall, the outside world wasn't necessarily safe; similar options might be spread all over Hengzhou City, or even other places outside the city.
Looking at the ruined highways and urban villages under the blue sky outside the window, Yan Ao felt deeply worried about both his own life and his family back home.
Just as Yan Ao had guessed, in the time that followed, two more batches of people boarded the bus.
The first batch consisted of only one person—a fat man carrying a military backpack. He had a panicked expression when he got on, but upon seeing a large group of people on the bus, he became extremely excited, shouting that he had found saviors.
Upon learning that everyone was trapped on the bus, his expression crumpled into a weeping face, and he subsequently took a seat near the back under Ma Xingyou's comfort.
The second batch had three people—two men and a woman. Among them, one man and one woman were acting intimately and appeared to be a couple or boyfriend and girlfriend; the other man wore a jacket, had ordinary features, and followed closely behind them with a wretched expression.
Four batches of people had boarded in total. Counting Yan Ao and his group, eighteen "passengers" were now on the bus. Just when everyone thought more people might still arrive, a spine-chilling scene unfolded.
"Snap!" The LED screen hanging inside the bus suddenly flickered on. Originally used to play warm reminders such as "Please yield your seat to the elderly, the weak, women, and children," it was now replaced with blood-red text displaying a new death option:
○: Head to Gushi Town.
X: Head to Xishan Town.
Hint: Please make a choice within 4 minutes and 44 seconds. Exceeding the time limit will be considered an abstention, and those who abstain will die.
The sudden option caught everyone off guard, but shortly after, someone called out, "My home is in Gushi Town. If we have to pick one, I choose Gushi Town."
Both options on the screen belonged to towns in Hengzhou City, both quite far from the urban center. Gushi Town happened to be very close to Yan Ao's home. Seeing it, Yan Ao felt the same instinctive hope to choose Gushi Town as that person did; that way, he would at least have a chance to go home and check on his parents.
The two options looked identical, with no way to tell which was dangerous and which wasn't. The eighteen passengers on the bus didn't have any major disagreements, and in the end, the majority chose "○" Gushi Town.
Just as the voting ended, a roaring sound suddenly erupted. With a slight jolt of the bus body, the vehicle actually started moving.
"Damn it, are we seeing ghosts? There's clearly no one in the driver's seat!" The sudden change elicited terrified cries from the crowd. Everyone stared blankly at the driver's seat where a driver should have been sitting—it was completely empty, yet the steering wheel was slowly turning.
"Snap!" As the handbrake was pulled down by an invisible force, accompanied by a heavy roar of the accelerator, the bus slowly began to pull away from the bus stop.
Everyone on the bus, including Yan Ao, wore a look of utter terror. Some timid women couldn't help shrieking, and a few people attempted to pound on the doors and windows, but without exception, their efforts were in vain.
Driven by "autopilot," the bus quickly merged onto the highway, picking up speed. From the outside, it looked just like any properly functioning bus with nothing amiss.
Only the passengers inside wore pale expressions, as if they had encountered something terrifying.
"Damn it, where is this bus taking us?" Ouyang Zhi, whose temper was somewhat fiery, shouted.
"The destination should be Gushi Town, right? Didn't we just choose it?" Yan Ao had calmed down once the bus started moving. What's done is done; since they had already seen ghosts back at the shopping mall, what else could be more terrifying?
"The young brother is right. We might as well figure out what to do next," Ma Xingyou said, appearing equally calm. He put his arm around Yan Ziyu as they sat there, whispering softly by her temple to comfort her.
The others on the bus had at least experienced similar death options elsewhere; after a brief panic, they gradually quieted down. A few bold ones, like the hat-wearing youth from earlier, even rushed to the driver's seat in an attempt to seize control of the bus.
Naturally, the result was the same as with the invisible "wall"—the bus was controlled by some mysterious force, and no matter how hard the hat-wearing youth and the others stepped on the brakes or turned the steering wheel, they couldn't make it stop.
After a round of futile attempts, the hat-wearing youth and the others returned to their seats. As for the bus, it drove quietly along the highway, even skillfully dodging obstacles on the road surface. Everything looked completely normal.
Yan Ao leaned against the window. The bus was running smoothly, and his attention began to drift to the scenery outside.
The highway they were currently traveling on was a county road. After boarding Ma Xingyou and the others' ambulance to come here last night, they were originally supposed to follow this road to leave the city, but because of the death option, they had boarded this bus—and now, the vehicle was heading back in the direction of the urban area.