The black raincoat concealed the figure's body. He was bundled up thickly, looking somewhat bloated. The moment he noticed the bus heading his way, he turned and broke into a run down another road.
"Why is it chasing me?" Panic flickered in his eyes. Route 104 had deviated from its usual course — something that had never happened before.
The decrepit bus glided through the curtain of rain at an unhurried pace, keeping pace alongside the raincoat man as though waiting for him to board.
Something this eerie actually happening was enough to quicken the raincoat man's steps. He swiveled his head left and right, searching for a narrow alley the bus couldn't squeeze into.
"Walking outside alone in this downpour — it's awfully dangerous, you know."
The raincoat man linger outside for a moment before finally stepping aboard.
He took off the raincoat, revealing a face Chen Ge knew well.
Chen Ge had seen this passenger before. Last time he'd gone to Liwan Town in the eastern suburbs, it was this very person who had introduced him to the Route 104 ghost bus.
He was a doctor in the burn unit. He had married a patient much younger than himself, but due to a string of circumstances, his wife had taken her own life in the bathroom.
Ever since, he had worn the scarf his wife had knitted for him and wandered through the shadows of this city, searching for a way to see her again.
The doctor spotted Chen Ge the moment he got on board. In this grim, terrifying environment, a familiar face could always bring a sense of security. Without a moment's hesitation, he walked over to Chen Ge and sat down in the second-to-last row.
The bus lurched back into motion. Heavy rain hammered against the windshield, the sound grating on the nerves.
"You're still alive?"
Chen Ge's way of greeting people was rather unique. The doctor didn't take offense. He held up a finger to his lips, then lowered his voice: "This bus is different from usual tonight. Something might be wrong."
"Different how?" Chen Ge listened intently, already mentally cataloguing ideas for future improvements.
"Hard to put my finger on. It just… feels wrong." The doctor set his raincoat aside and used his peripheral vision to study the other passengers, deliberately ignoring Chen Ge.
"No wonder you bolted when you saw the bus pull into the stop." Chen Ge shrugged as though it were nothing. He stuffed the white cat back into his travel bag. Whenever danger had passed, the white cat always became docile and well-behaved, clinging affectionately to its owner.
Once the doctor had boarded, the Route 104 bus swung back around and resumed its normal route.
"Still a few more stops before Liwan Town. There sure are a lot of tourists riding the Route 104 ghost bus late at night." Chen Ge closed his eyes to rest. Whether it was the drunk man or the red high heels, none of it fazed him. Tonight, his primary target was the Red Raincoat.
The bus cut through the curtain of rain. Lightning split the sky and thunder rumbled outside, violent wind and torrential rain battering the world beyond the windows, while inside, the air was thick and suffocating — it felt as though even breathing had become difficult.
Five or six minutes passed before the Route 104 reached the next stop.
On the empty platform, a pool of blood was being washed away by the rain.
No one knew what had happened at that stop before the ghost bus arrived. The bloodstains were fading slowly in the downpour.
"When the Red Raincoat is agitated, blood drips from her raincoat — is this from her?" Chen Ge couldn't be sure. It was entirely possible that a passenger waiting for the bus had been killed instead.
The doors opened. As per routine, even if no one was boarding, Tang Jun would stop here for three minutes.