Strange Game - Anime Mashup

The middle-aged man clenched his fists tightly, praying fervently to Amaterasu, God, Buddha—any deity that might listen. He just hoped this eerie figure wouldn't choose to sit next to him.

But then, to his dismay, the strange man stopped at his row.

Gritting his teeth, the middle-aged man quickly shifted to the seat by the aisle, moving his body with determination. He wasn't going to take any chances.

The next moment, relief washed over him as he noticed the strange man stepping back instead. He had made the right call!

Meanwhile, the blue-haired man silently celebrated being seated on a single seat on the opposite side. For once, his luck seemed to hold.

"Phew…"

The strange figure finally took the seat behind the middle-aged man.

"It hurts…"

"It's cracked…"

"It fell out…"

The eerie muttering continued, soft but unnerving, as the bus rumbled back to life, the wheels turning steadily on the road ahead.

Lin Ye sat motionless, deep in thought. This boarding and departure seemed far too simple—something didn't add up. After a moment, he stood abruptly. Without hesitation, he activated his ability, stopping time and walking to the newly boarded figure's side to investigate.

Under the dim bus lights, the man's features were barely discernible. His dark gray eyes stared blankly, his clothes—what was left of them—appeared fused with his flesh, grimy and tattered.

Suppressing his discomfort, Lin Ye peeled back the fabric. Beneath it lay a grotesque wound about ten centimeters long, oozing black and red fluid that soaked the torn clothes.

"It matches his muttering," Lin Ye thought grimly. A normal person would have been incapacitated—or worse, dead—from such an injury. He searched the man's pockets but found nothing useful. Satisfied for the moment, he returned to his seat.

The bus continued to rumble smoothly.

Nanase Ren tapped Lin Ye's arm and held up her phone for him to read:

"Which stop can we get off at?"

"The fourth stop—Chiba Station. The next is the second stop."

Three stops remained, but at least they were moving closer to safety. Nanase Ren felt a glimmer of hope. Thanks to Lin Ye's leadership, their odds seemed better than before.

Then, something caught her attention—Lin Ye's abdomen. The nurse in her immediately recognized the smell of blood. Alarmed, she tugged his sleeve and pointed at the dark, wet stain on his clothes.

Lin Ye looked down, his eyes narrowing. Without hesitation, he pulled up his shirt to reveal a small, bleeding wound. The blood was dark, as though tainted by something unnatural.

Nanase Ren gasped. She instinctively lifted her own shirt to check her abdomen and was horrified to find a similar wound, black blood trickling from it. Her face turned pale.

It didn't hurt, yet the bleeding was real. Her wide eyes met Lin Ye's, pleading silently for help.

Across the aisle, the blue-haired man noticed the issue and panicked. "Why am I bleeding?" he thought, his voice trembling. He glanced at Lin Ye, desperate for answers.

Lin Ye wasted no time. He strode to the front of the bus and retrieved a first aid kit marked with a red cross from behind the driver's seat. Returning to the aisle, he opened it to reveal a neatly arranged set of tools and medications.

Lin Ye paused, realizing that properly using the things inside the first aid kit required medical knowledge he didn't possess. He glanced at Nanase Ren.

The nurse hesitated. Her legs felt weak, her body trembling from the cold fear gripping her. But, clenching her fists, she steadied herself and stood up. She walked over, pointing to herself and the kit, signaling that she would take over.

Lin Ye immediately handed the kit to her and began assisting her as she worked. He lifted the strange man's clothes again, exposing the grotesque wound beneath.

Nanase Ren's hands trembled as she prepared the tools, but she focused, recalling her training. The needle and thread moved swiftly under her experienced fingers, and within three minutes, the wound was sutured cleanly.

The eerie figure's low moans ceased. "It doesn't hurt… Comfortable…" he murmured, slumping into silence.

The blue-haired man and the middle-aged man gawked in disbelief. They were amazed by Nanase Ren's courage—she had just operated on something utterly inhuman.

Lin Ye observed their reactions and turned his attention to their bleeding wounds. Checking his own wound, he noticed it hadn't fully healed either. Something was missing—another piece of this bus's sinister rules.

He scanned the bus and noticed something. There were three empty seats scattered among the rows occupied by the strange creatures and the middle-aged man. Lin Ye gestured for the middle-aged man and the blue-haired man to sit in those spots.

They immediately shook their heads in protest. "No way!" their expressions screamed.

Lin Ye's patience wore thin. If they refused to act, their wounds might prove fatal. Without hesitation, he forcibly dragged the two men to the empty seats, ignoring their feeble resistance.

Lin Ye reasoned that he and Nanase Ren had already contributed significantly to the group's survival. It was only fair the others take some risk. Besides, he had already tried moving the strange creatures but found them immovable, as though fused with the bus itself.

With the men seated, Lin Ye returned to Nanase Ren. She checked her wound again and confirmed it had stopped bleeding. Lin Ye leaned closer to examine it, his fingers lightly brushing her skin. She shivered, her face flushing deeply.

"Thank goodness it's healed," she murmured.

Relief spread among the group as the bleeding wounds ceased. Just then, the bus's automated voice announced:

"We are about to arrive at the station. Please prepare to disembark."

The third stop loomed ahead.

What horrors awaited them this time?

Up until now, even the blue-haired man, who had struggled academically and entered society straight out of high school relying on his fists and bravado to navigate life, had begun to grasp the unspoken rules of Bus No. 18.

You couldn't make loud noises, talk to the driver, or sit alone in a row of seats.

If you didn't disembark at a legitimate stop, you would be swallowed and killed by the monstrosities aboard.

And the newest rule? If the strange problems of the new passengers weren't resolved, then the living passengers would inevitably face the same fate until death.

However, with the unknown slowly becoming known and the rules coming into focus, the passengers began to regain some semblance of confidence. All they needed to do was follow the rules.

The bus came to a slow stop at the next station.

Compared to the previous stop, this one was better lit. Through the grimy windows, muffled voices could faintly be heard outside.

Click.

The front and rear doors creaked open again.

This time, neither the blue-haired man nor the middle-aged man moved from their seats. Both had learned from Lin Ye that they needed to disembark only at the human stop: Chiba Station.

The blue-haired man kept his eyes locked on the route map, his focus unwavering on Chiba Station.

"Two more stops," he muttered. "Only two more."

Hope was within reach.

This time, only one passenger got off the bus—a figure seated in the single row on the right.

Replacing him was a pale little boy in black sportswear, his face so ashen it resembled that of a corpse.

Nanase Ren stole a glance at him from afar but immediately looked away.

'The passengers on this bus are terrifying...'

"The bus is about to depart. Please take your seats."

With the automated announcement, the front and rear doors closed once more, and the vehicle began its rumbling journey forward.

The pale boy shuffled slowly down the aisle, his head tilted unnaturally to one side.

The only sounds were the bus engine and the rhythmic tap of the boy's footsteps.

"Uncle, will you play a game with me?"

The boy addressed the first strange figure seated on the left.

Unsurprisingly, the eerie passenger remained motionless, ignoring the boy's request.

Undeterred, the boy moved to the next passenger, only to be met with the same unresponsiveness.

He continued his journey down the aisle until he reached the middle-aged man.

The man kept his head bowed, eyes glued to the floor, silently praying that the boy would pass him by.

"Uncle, play a game with me!"

Suddenly, the boy's face appeared beneath the seat, his bulging eyes staring up at the trembling man.

Hiss...

The man inhaled sharply but quickly clapped his hands over his mouth to stifle his scream. He squeezed his eyes shut, pretending he didn't see or hear the boy.

Seeing this, the boy sighed and moved on, stopping at the blue-haired man next.

'Please don't notice me, please...'

"Big brother, play a game with me."

The blue-haired man's heart sank, but he followed the same strategy as the middle-aged man—head down, eyes closed, silent.

Lin Ye had been observing the boy's behavior carefully.

While the other two could afford to feign ignorance, Lin Ye knew better. If every human passenger refused the boy's request, it would undoubtedly trigger a fatal rule.

The bus had already begun accelerating.

If Nanase Ren also refused, the vehicle would likely reach breakneck speeds, hurtling its passengers toward inevitable death.

"Okay," Lin Ye finally said. "Big brother will play a game with you."

The boy lit up with glee, hopping up and down in excitement.

Nanase Ren's heart clenched with worry. She knew the boy's next request would have been directed at her if Lin Ye had refused. And if it had come to her, she wouldn't have had the courage to accept.

Lin Ye turned and gave her a reassuring thumbs-up.

Nanase Ren couldn't help but smile.

The boy beamed. "Great! Big brother will play with me!"

His joy was palpable, and with each hop, the bus seemed to settle back into a steadier pace.

"We'll play a guessing game," the boy explained. "I'll hide a piece of candy in one hand, and you have to guess which one. If you guess wrong... you'll have to come home with me to play more games."

'A fifty percent chance of winning. Seems fair enough,' thought the blue-haired man.

Nanase Ren, however, felt uneasy. Could a game with such high stakes really be this simple?

Before she could dwell on it, Lin Ye proposed, "How about this? I'll hide the candy, and you guess."

The boy tilted his head. "You're the first person to offer to play with me. Okay, I agree!"

He handed the candy to Lin Ye but added sharply, "Don't think about throwing it away! I'll know if it's not in either hand."

The blue-haired man's jaw dropped. 'So even that loophole is closed?!'

"Of course," Lin Ye replied calmly, smiling.

Lin Ye placed his hands behind his back, swapping the candy between them a few times. Finally, he extended both hands, palms facing down.

"Alright, guess!"

The boy studied Lin Ye's hands carefully. "Hmm... this one!" He pointed to Lin Ye's left hand.

"No, wait—this one!" He switched to the right hand.

"Are you sure?" Lin Ye asked.

"Absolutely. Open it!"

Nanase Ren's heart sank. She had seen Lin Ye hide the candy in his right hand earlier.