Horror revival: I Own a Ghost Bus

After pressing the channel button, the TV didn't change as expected. Instead, the screen filled with the grotesque face of a female corpse.

It seemed as if this female corpse had been forcibly stuffed into the narrow television, her face pressed up against the screen, making her twisted expression even more horrifying.

Her bloodshot eyes seemed to lock onto Jiang Yan, and a chilling, ghastly smile crept onto her face.

Suddenly, the TV began to shake violently, and dark red blood started seeping from its casing, as if the corpse within were trying to break free.

"So, there's a ghost trapped inside," Jiang Yan murmured, surprised, as he quickly took a step back to keep a safe distance.

Beside him, the man in the black hat cried out nervously, "The ghost's trying to come out! Quick, turn off the TV!"

Jiang Yan knew where the power button was, but he made no move to approach or shut off the TV. Instead, he stood there silently, watching.

Seeing this, the man in the black hat grew frantic. Thinking Jiang Yan was finally feeling fear, he rushed forward to turn off the TV himself, but Jiang Yan intercepted him.

"Why are you stopping me?! Can't you see the ghost's hand is coming out?!" the man in the black hat shouted.

By this time, the TV was shaking so violently that cracks had started forming on the screen, and a hand had broken through the glass, reaching out.

Yet Jiang Yan remained unfazed, his voice calm and low. "Take a closer look. Which hand is coming out?"

"The hand... it's clearly…"

Following Jiang Yan's cue, the man in the black hat regained his composure and turned back to the TV. He realized that the screen itself was intact. The broken screen and the hand reaching out were simply an illusion on the screen.

The illusion was so realistic that, in a state of panic, it was easy to be deceived. But upon a closer, calmer inspection, the truth became clear.

"This ghost is trying to lure us into pressing the power button," Jiang Yan explained.

Understanding dawned on the man in the black hat, and he couldn't help feeling a pang of regret for almost being duped by this "TV ghost." At the same time, his respect for Jiang Yan grew. This college student was unnervingly calm, almost like an experienced ghost-tamer.

Veteran ghost-tamers often developed a cold, detached demeanor after countless brushes with death, their human emotions gradually dulling. Yet Jiang Yan, who had only just entered this dangerous world, already displayed an unshakeable composure, something the man in the black hat found both surprising and admirable.

"So, you're saying that pressing the power button is this ghost's killing mechanism?" the man asked.

"I'm not entirely sure," Jiang Yan replied, "but whatever the ghost wants us to do, we definitely shouldn't."

They both stared silently at the TV, where the images remained as disturbingly lifelike as ever, the corpse seeming almost ready to step out of the screen. But neither of them moved.

In reality, the TV just shook, bled a little, and otherwise didn't do anything more.

"It seems this ghost doesn't have the information we need. Maybe we should try looking somewhere else," the man in the black hat suggested.

Jiang Yan, however, wasn't ready to leave. He gazed at the TV with a sly smile. "Hold on. I want this ghost TV."

The man in the black hat was taken aback, stunned for a moment before he processed what Jiang Yan meant. "You're planning to harness this ghost TV?"

He could hardly believe it. This college student, barely three days into his journey as a ghost-tamer, was actually contemplating the capture of a second ghost.

Typically, ghost-tamers faced the ever-present risk of their first ghost "resurrecting." If they avoided overusing their powers, they might delay this resurrection by about two years. But trying to harness a second ghost was a known, though perilous, method of suppressing this resurrection—one with a success rate so low it was often considered suicidal.

"Yes," Jiang Yan said. "When I saw this ghost TV, the ghost bus inside me reacted strongly. It seems the TV ghost might be connected to the bus. And if I can capture it, the ghost bus' resurrection will be suppressed. With stronger ghostly power, we'll have a better chance of escaping."

"Your plan makes sense, but you have no idea how difficult it is to harness a second ghost. It's incredibly dangerous—more of a ten-deaths-to-one-life sort of chance. If handling the ghost bus was hard, taking on a second ghost could be impossible for you." The man in the black hat looked at Jiang Yan, his concern evident. He didn't believe Jiang Yan could control a second ghost.

If the success rate of taming a first ghost was one in ten, then the chance of controlling a second ghost was one in a thousand. Balancing the power of two ghosts was no small feat.

But Jiang Yan wasn't one to give up easily. He had to at least try.

"Help me suppress the ghost TV. I'll see if I can draw the ghost out," Jiang Yan said, stepping closer to the TV.

The man in the black hat sighed in resignation. Realizing he couldn't dissuade him, he draped the sleeve of his ghost-infused coat over the TV.

The coat's ghostly aura pressed down, causing the female corpse in the TV to hesitate and retreat slightly.

At the same time, the screen switched back to a news broadcast.

"Damn it. The ghost hid itself again; there's no way to make direct contact like this," Jiang Yan muttered, frowning.

Left with no other choice, he grabbed a red emergency hammer and swung it down on the top of the TV.

Bang!

The hammer smashed a palm-sized hole into the TV's casing.

The hammer was as powerful as ever, but the cost was steep. Previously, when he used it as a human, it had drained all his energy. Now that he had bonded with the ghost bus, the toll was lighter, but his arm was left weak and numb.

But breaking open the TV was worth the price.

Peering through the hole, Jiang Yan saw the dark interior of the TV, where the corpse's ghastly face stared back from the shadows.

This female corpse was the essence of the ghost TV; to truly harness it, he would need to extract her.

Of course, pressing the power button would also bring her out, but that might trigger the ghost TV's killing mechanism. Jiang Yan wasn't willing to take that risk.

With the screen now shattered, the news broadcast faded to black. Clearly, there wasn't enough ghostly power left to maintain the illusion.

Jiang Yan looked at the dark gap, hesitant. Inside was likely the ghostly domain of the TV ghost. He wasn't keen to enter recklessly.

He'd test it with his own ghostly domain first.

With a thought, Jiang Yan unleashed his second-tier ghost domain. The dim hut brightened as a yellowish glow enveloped it, casting a haunting light over everything inside.

The female corpse within the TV shrieked.

However, using the emergency hammer had taken its toll, and now maintaining the ghost domain strained Jiang Yan's body. His limbs began to tremble violently as the ghost bus' resurrection intensified.

Under these conditions, he could only sustain the second-tier domain for a minute, but that was all he needed.

Looking into the TV again, he saw that the dim interior was now partially illuminated. The female corpse huddled in a corner, her bloodshot eyes staring silently at him.

"No, this won't work. My second-tier domain isn't enough to subdue this ghost, and it doesn't last long enough. Entering the TV would be too dangerous." He retracted his domain, abandoning the idea of venturing inside.

The man in the black hat exhaled in relief beside him.

Just then, the darkened screen twisted, and suddenly, a corpse-marked hand reached out, targeting Jiang Yan.

"Damn, I forgot about the other ghost…"

But his reaction was too slow. Before he knew it, the rotten hand had gripped his arm, and a chilling cold spread across his skin. Gradually, he lost all feeling in his arm…

----------------------------------------------------------------

𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮. 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚!

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 shoutouts 𝘁𝗼:

•Leroy

• Jonathan Bailey

𝗔𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸:

• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: 𝙂𝙚𝙩 50+ chapters 𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚.

• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁-𝗢𝘂𝘁: 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩!

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝗺𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝘁, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀!

👉 𝙅𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙣𝙤𝙬: patreon.com/sorkarnayeem