I'm Actually Panicking Because My Heart Doesn't Beat (GL) - Chapter 55

Chen Man looked at Guan Xiaoxuan in shock: “Do you think this thing is mass-produced? I only brought four of them in total. After giving them to my team members, there was only this one left.”

As soon as Guan Xiaoxuan heard Chen Man mention her teammates, she asked, “One of your teammates has already been killed. His body was found this morning by the riverbank. His name was Xu Long.”

Chen Man’s expression immediately darkened, her brows tightly furrowed. “A Long and his brother got on the bus with me, but then one by one, they disappeared.”

“Did something happen to you all?”

“I don’t really know.”

Chen Man pulled her hat down low and glanced sideways at Guan Xiaoxuan. She said, “Last night when we boarded the bus, everyone was still in control. Even though the bus 444 was creepy, none of the weird things on it wanted to hurt anyone at first, so we were pretty safe.”

“After driving for a while, the bus announced for passengers to close their eyes. We followed the instruction the first time, and nothing happened. But then when it told us to close our eyes again, A Long suggested we open them to take a look. I didn’t want to, but he insisted and opened his eyes. When the driver told us to open our eyes, A Long had disappeared.”

As Chen Man spoke, her hands clenched tightly onto her pants, trembling slightly.

Guan Xiaoxuan was alarmed but kept her face serious as she asked, “What happened next?”

“A Long’s brother, Xu An, panicked when he saw his brother was gone. We guessed something bad had happened to A Long. We tried contacting him but couldn’t reach him. Then we were plunged into darkness again. Xu An and I decided to both keep our eyes open this time to see what was going on.”

“And… what did you see?”

“Darkness. Endless darkness.”

Chen Man’s eyes turned red. She looked at Guan Xiaoxuan and said, “The bus 444 doesn’t just run in the real world or the underworld; it even travels through a strange kind of ghost world. I saw countless vengeful spirits. Everyone else on the bus had their eyes closed, but outside the window, terrifying things were pressing against the glass, staring at me like they wanted to suck out my soul…”

“Some even got inside the bus. Xu An tried to fight them off to protect me, but the scary thing was, Xu An couldn’t touch those creatures, but they could hurt him. Later… Xu An was dragged off the bus. I couldn’t save him. When the driver told us to open our eyes again, I was the only one left on the bus.”

Chen Man shut her eyes tightly in pain and said to Guan Xiaoxuan, “In that dark battle, I used almost all my tools. Now my whole body is empty—there’s nothing left.”

Guan Xiaoxuan was silent after hearing this.

From Chen Man’s words, she learned some key points: During the trip, the bus 444 would ask passengers to close their eyes. It was safe to do so. But if someone opened their eyes, they would see something terrifying.

Chen Man said that opening eyes revealed darkness—what she called the ghost world. Guan Xiaoxuan didn’t fully believe that.

Originally, Guan Xiaoxuan was a total skeptic, but after all this, she slightly changed her thinking. Still, she thought the idea of a ghost world was too unbelievable.

For now, she decided to call it a special dimension—a place neither the underworld nor the real world, something Guan Xiaoxuan had never heard of before. The bus 444 could travel safely there, but passengers who opened their eyes inside wouldn’t be safe.

What about the driver? Did he open his eyes?

If he could, why didn’t those strange creatures hurt him?

Guan Xiaoxuan looked at the driver’s silhouette behind the advertising board and suddenly felt a strong gaze on her.

It was so intense, it felt like a needle piercing her brain, making her clearly aware someone was staring at her!

Who?

Who was watching her?!

Goosebumps broke out over Guan Xiaoxuan’s skin. She didn’t dare make a big move, only turning her eyes to look around.

In her line of sight were only the driver, four passengers, and Qiu Nan standing by the rear door. None of them were looking at her.

So the gaze most likely came from the other four passengers in the back.

Guan Xiaoxuan frowned and recalled: Besides Chen Man and herself, there was a glasses-wearing young man, a guy with headphones, a man dressed in black with a black mask, and a middle-aged woman holding a vegetable basket.

The man in black with the mask stood out, but the others were suspicious too. Everyone on this bus except Chen Man’s group was strange, so she had to be careful.

Chen Man seemed to sense Guan Xiaoxuan’s strange look and gently called her name in her mind.

Guan Xiaoxuan snapped back. The gaze was still very strong, but she had things to deal with. She told Chen Man, “I’ve got the details now. I’ll communicate with my team. You’ll cooperate with our plan. The main goal is to get you out safely.”

Chen Man nodded.

Guan Xiaoxuan adjusted her earpiece and whispered, “Qiu Nan, Chen Man has been found. Two other teammates are missing. Besides Xu Long, there’s also his twin brother Xu An, who was dragged off by those creatures. Chances are slim he survived. What we know so far is that the bus 444 tells passengers to close their eyes at some point. If someone opens their eyes during that, the creatures outside the windows will target them.”

Qiu Nan frowned and exchanged a look with her.

At that moment, Xing Tianqing’s voice came through the earpiece.

“Both of you listen carefully. We’re tracking your location. You’ll soon pass a traffic light and reach another bus stop. I’ve arranged backup there.”

“When you get to the next stop, take the people with you and get off the bus. The rest will be handled by the support team.”

Guan Xiaoxuan quietly replied, “Got it.”

She looked at Qiu Nan, and they both nodded slightly.

Teamwork was great—having backup made things feel much safer.

Guan Xiaoxuan told Chen Man the plan and said, “Get ready to get off at the next stop.”

“Impossible.”

Chen Man looked out at the city and said to Guan Xiaoxuan, “We can’t get off.”

Before Guan Xiaoxuan could ask why, the bus’s loudspeaker suddenly announced:

“Passengers, please pay attention. We’re about to enter an uninhabited area. Please hold on tight and close your eyes. Hold on tight, close your eyes.”

Guan Xiaoxuan’s heart leapt. Qiu Nan looked around nervously.

The bus 444, which was about to pass the traffic light, suddenly changed direction. All the passengers closed their eyes. Chen Man tightly shut hers and grabbed Guan Xiaoxuan’s arm, silently telling her to close her eyes too.

Guan Xiaoxuan quickly closed her eyes and whispered into her microphone, “Qiu Nan, close your eyes!”

Right after, Guan Xiaoxuan felt a cold, wet air wash over her. It was like the fog in the underworld, but colder and wetter—like the bus had suddenly plunged into an icy river.

Even her breath smelled like mud and sand.

She wasn’t sure if Qiu Nan heard her last words. When Guan Xiaoxuan reported to Qiu Nan and Xing Tianqing, she mentioned closing their eyes. If Qiu Nan wasn’t reckless, she should have closed hers too.

Complete darkness was unsettling. Guan Xiaoxuan didn’t dare open her eyes. She could feel Chen Man holding her arm, which gave her some comfort.

“After closing our eyes, what do we do?”

Guan Xiaoxuan frowned and asked Chen Man, “How long do we have to keep our eyes shut?”

Chen Man’s voice came quickly, “It’s not fixed. Sometimes a minute, sometimes over ten minutes.”

Guan Xiaoxuan wondered, “Chen Man, you’ve been on this bus for 24 hours. Haven’t you thought about getting off?”

“I thought about it at first, but every time I tried, the announcement told me to close my eyes. It’s like the bus knows I want to get off.”

“So when we’re allowed to open our eyes, where will we be?”

“Not sure. Sometimes in the real world, but mostly in the underworld. The bus only appears in the city after midnight, and after 4 a.m., it stays in the underworld. But it has a final stop, where many abandoned buses are parked. That’s where you can get off.”

[The last stop?]

[Right. Route 444’s last stop is out in the suburbs, but this last stop is actually inside the “Inner World.” It used to be a gas station, but it was abandoned. Even if I get off there, I can’t get out—I have to wait until after midnight to take the bus 444 again.]

That means this bus only runs from midnight to 4 a.m. The rest of the time, it rests at the so-called last stop until it starts running again at midnight.

Sounds pretty regular.

Guan Xiaoxuan frowned tightly. She didn’t know where she would wake up, or if Xing Tianqing and the others would catch up to help her.

If she ended up somewhere unexpected, whether they could escape would depend on her and Qiu Nan alone.

But Guan Xiaoxuan noticed one thing: ever since she closed her eyes, the gaze that had been watching her was gone. That meant the other person must also be a passenger on this bus—someone who also had to keep their eyes shut.

After chatting briefly with Chen Man, Guan Xiaoxuan wasn’t as nervous as before. About two minutes later, the bus’s PA system came on again.

“Attention passengers, the vehicle has passed through the no-man’s zone. Please open your eyes. Please open your eyes.”

Hearing this, Guan Xiaoxuan didn’t open her eyes immediately. Chen Man opened hers first, then gestured for Guan Xiaoxuan to do the same.

When she opened her eyes, Guan Xiaoxuan saw Qiu Nan still standing near the rear door of the bus, eyes tightly shut, holding a talisman in her hand.

Good—Qiu Nan was safe.

Guan Xiaoxuan breathed a sigh of relief and looked around, her brow furrowing again.