The bus moved steadily along its route, with the sun also descending, casting a golden hue over the towering buildings that gradually faded away.
“Ji Yang Station has arrived. Passengers wishing to disembark, please gather your belongings and exit through the back door,” announced the electronic voice of the bus stop indicator.
At this station, more people suddenly filled the bus, taking up all the seats and leaving five or six standing.
After three minutes of travel, the Fire Tooth Dog inexplicably turned its head and barked at the passenger next to Qiao Sang.
The person sitting beside Qiao Sang was a female student dressed in the uniform of Hanggang Sixth Beastmaster High School, who had boarded the bus at the same stop as Qiao Sang.
The girl glanced at the Fire Tooth Dog but said nothing, merely shifting slightly away.
Qiao Sang turned the Fire Tooth Dog toward herself and asked, “What’s wrong?”
The Fire Tooth Dog looked at the girl.
“Yah?”
It tilted its head, seemingly just as puzzled.
“Do you know this might scare others?” Qiao Sang gently patted the Fire Tooth Dog on the head.
“Yah.”
The Fire Tooth Dog responded resolutely and turned to gaze out the window, once again admiring the view.
Seeing this, the female student smiled kindly at Qiao Sang and said, “I’m fine.”
Qiao Sang noticed the distance that had grown between them, more than ten centimeters compared to before, and was about to say something when the Fire Tooth Dog turned again, showing its sharp teeth towards the girl, looking fierce.
The girl jumped slightly, instinctively wanting to get up.
“Could you control your Fire Tooth Dog? You're scaring others, and you need to take responsibility for that!” a dissatisfied male voice piped up.
The man speaking was standing next to the female student, with a square-shaped face and dressed in a gray tank top.
“Yeah, that Fire Tooth Dog clearly hasn’t been tamed properly,” an aunt sitting nearby chimed in.
“There are plenty of people on this bus; just put it away,” another voice offered.
The girl looked at Qiao Sang, her eyes filled with hope that she would put the Fire Tooth Dog away.
Qiao Sang frowned, unfazed by their comments. It was normal for Beast Masters to carry their companion beasts without any issues. It was common for companion beasts to act independently. These people were likely making a fuss because they saw her as just a kid. Had she been a bit older, they would not have dared to voice such opinions.
However, it was indeed the first time her Fire Tooth Dog had behaved like this on a bus…
“What’s wrong?” Qiao Sang asked the Fire Tooth Dog, turning it to face her.
“Yah.”
The Fire Tooth Dog haughtily turned its head away, choosing to ignore Qiao Sang.
It had heard the comments around it and thought its Beast Master might scold it too.
“Fire Tooth Dog.” Qiao Sang grabbed its head, forcing it to look at her.
The Fire Tooth Dog's eyes were a mix of stubbornness and grievance.
Qiao Sang looked deeply into its eyes and said earnestly, “I believe in you; you should believe in me too. If something’s wrong, you can tell me. You know I understand you.”
Upon hearing her words, the Fire Tooth Dog perked up immediately.
“Yah, yah, yah!”
“Yah, yah.”
“Yah, yah, yah, yah, yah!”
The Fire Tooth Dog animatedly gestured with its little paws. Qiao Sang confirmed, “You mean something suddenly appeared on her and then vanished?”
“Yah!”
The Fire Tooth Dog nodded vigorously.
“That thing startled you when it appeared, didn’t it?” Qiao Sang patted its head.
“Yah.” The Fire Tooth Dog buried its face against Qiao Sang in a display of grievance.
The girl beside them watched their interaction, stunned for quite some time.
So this was the nature of the Fire Tooth Dog… It was pretty cute… Perhaps she should try for a fire-type beast as her second contract?
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Qiao Sang comforted the Fire Tooth Dog, then turned to the girl and said, “You heard what I said.”
Snapped back to reality, the girl asked uncertainly, “You’re saying that something suddenly appeared on me?”
Qiao Sang nodded.
“But…” The girl hadn’t finished when a voice interrupted.
“Listen to her nonsense, she’s just making excuses because she doesn’t want to put her Fire Tooth Dog away. I warn you, take that Fire Tooth Dog back now! If someone gets hurt, you'll regret it!” The square-faced man glared at Qiao Sang.
“Yeah, hurry up and put it away. It’ll be too late if someone gets hurt,” the aunt echoed.
“Put it away; everyone is worried.” Another voice chimed in.
“I don’t think this girl looks like someone who would lie. What if there's some ghost system supernatural beast on this bus?” a different voice chimed in.
The bus fell into sudden silence.
When it comes to supernatural beings, the ghost system is the most mysterious. Any paranormal events become reasonable if they involve a ghostly being.
For instance, things inexplicably disappearing or rooms suddenly turning cold are minor issues.
Ghost system beings are elusive and strange.
Take the possessive spirit as an example.
This spirit enjoys inhabiting different people. The host retains awareness but cannot control their body, simply forced to watch as their body does all sorts of crazy things.
Jumping around, dancing, or leaping into water might be manageable, but if the spirit likes to run around naked, that’s just unfortunate.
The police often have a love-hate relationship with these possessive spirits.
They can inhabit living beings and enjoy jumping into the deceased as well. Two years ago, at the Guang City police station’s entrance, unidentified corpses would inexplicably appear from time to time.
Some had died a day ago, a year ago, or even ten years ago. One corpse was linked to a high-profile disappearance case about the campus beauty Lu Baiqian from three years back.
Upon viewing the surveillance footage, it was confirmed that the possessive spirit had controlled the corpse to appear at the police station.
Initially unaware, they later recognized it by the unique build of the possessive spirit.
While they appreciated how the possessive spirit could help them find bodies they couldn’t locate on their own, it was frustrating that recently deceased bodies also appeared, disrupting crime scenes.
Additionally, the Soul Sucker can appear around lost individuals to guide them in the right direction, but it requires a certain amount of their essence as payment.
Though it sounds like an understanding ghostly being, it is anything but.
Not long ago, a woman left a bar late at night and called for a taxi, waiting on the roadside, possibly swaying after drinking.
The Soul Sucker decided she was lost…
Before the taxi arrived, it forcefully sent her home and drained her essence, leaving her confused when she saw her reflection the next day.
The various misdeeds of ghost system beings are simply endless.
Meeting one that only plays pranks is fortunate, but encountering an evil wild ghost system being is terrifying.
At that moment, everyone on the bus number 66 felt a sense of dread.
(End of Chapter)