Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Bus Stop 4444 Does Not Exist (1)
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Sudden task assignment aside,
the AI voice had also provided me with an additional item necessary for this mission.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
"This is a symbolic item given only to employees who receive the 'Newbie Protector' title. Please keep it safe."
Thud.
?
Something small dropped limply to the floor in the empty space.
I lowered my gaze toward the source of the sound.
☺
'...A badge?'
I spotted a round smiley-face badge, about the size of an adult man's palm, lying on the floor.
It looked utterly ordinary, nothing special about it at all.
So...
'What the hell am I supposed to do with this?'
I stared at the badge for a while, unable to guess its purpose, then slowly bent down.
Reaching out toward the badge on the floor. The moment I picked it up.
A low voice tickled my eardrum from beyond the receiver.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
"Do not forget the dignity of being a Newbie Protector."
With those final words,
Click!
All the lights that had been illuminating the room until just moments ago went out in an instant.
'What now?!'
There was no way I could keep my wits about me amid this relentless chain reaction of bizarre phenomena without a moment to breathe.
*****
But fortunately,
Tat-tat-tat.
The vanished light began illuminating the surroundings again at a rapid pace.
As the light streams entered my vision, my anxious heart gradually settled.
Static crackle.
?
A burst of audio noise for a split second.
[The next stop is Bus Stop 0039.] [Passengers getting off at this stop are the 'right eyeball.'] . . . [The next stop is...]
The repeated announcement voice echoed.
It was a different tone from the AI voice just before, crawling into my ear.
Rumble.
!!
Unconsciously, sensing the vibration from under my shoes—unlike before—
Grab!
I quickly seized something overhead and managed not to fall.
'What the hell?'
The changed AI audio quality.
The mysterious vibration underfoot.
My gaze slowly began scanning the surroundings.
My line of sight shifted.
From left to right.
From right to left.
After confirming the nature of this space where I stood to some extent,
I realized it was no longer that room reminiscent of the backrooms.
So, where exactly was I standing right now?
The interior of a bus in motion.
Specifically, it seemed like a city bus.
At a glance, there was nothing drastically different from the bus interiors we all know...
Bullshit.
It couldn't possibly be an ordinary bus.
Visually, no differences from a city bus were apparent at first.
But the biggest difference in this bus lay with the passengers currently riding it.
For starters, the passenger standing next to me had an unsettling appearance.
Where a human's eyes should naturally be... there were no eyeballs.
And that was just the beginning.
No lower body or arms? Standard fare.
A man wearing a paper bag soaked in dark red blood upside down over where his head should be.
Crack!
A passenger emitting a nose-piercing stench from blood and pus dripping between grotesquely parted lips.
But among them, the most nauseating passenger was—
Squelch.
Squelch!
'So... that's what human organs look like.'
A passenger dragging their own organs across the floor.
Was that the real 'organ parade' I'd only heard about?
Shake.
Watching the organs jiggle this way and that from the bus's vibrations,
...Urk!
I barely suppressed the sensation that vomit was about to surge up my throat.
At first... I was skeptical.
But after witnessing this absurd scene with my own two eyes,
certainty set in.
Ghost Story Name.
- Bus Stop 4444 Does Not Exist.
I was currently inside one of the ghost stories from [Apocalypse of Ghost Stories].
Bzzz.
?
My smartphone suddenly began vibrating.
I immediately pulled it out from my pocket, and the post for that very ghost story I'd just recalled was open.
📰 /Apocalypse of Ghost Stories
Title: Bus Stop 4444 Does Not Exist Author: blbl Late at night. On a foggy day. If you happen to spot a dark bus stop by chance. Be sure to check the 'bus stop number'. If the number reads '4444', get away from that stop immediately. The bus that stops there has a high chance of dropping you off at a stop you never wanted.
*****
Back in my high school days, when I was obsessed with [Apocalypse of Ghost Stories],
This ghost story made me walk home—a full hour away—instead of taking the bus. Bad memories flooded back.
Of course, later on, the fear of the ghost story paled compared to
the terror of Mom standing at the front door late at night, switch in hand. So I took the bus after that.
'Who would've thought I'd end up on this bus for real.'
No buses for me anytime soon.
I desperately wanted to get off at the next stop right now.
But if I just got off recklessly,
probably...
I'd lose my perfectly fine 'right eyeball.'
The reason was simple.
The announcement I'd clearly heard when I first opened my eyes on this bus.
[The next stop is Bus Stop 0039.] [Passengers getting off at this stop are the 'right eyeball.']
The hidden meaning of the announcement was this:
To exit at that stop,
you had to pay with your right eyeball.
To get off this ghost story bus, you must pay with 'something' required at each stop.
If you try to get off without paying the required toll,
📰 /Apocalypse of Ghost Stories
/Bus Stop 4444 Does Not Exist If any passengers wish to disembark, please pay the ██ for your stop, then exit. Fare evasion is a serious crime. (Passenger A, who didn't pay with their left arm at stop 0012, was immediately swarmed by countless ████, had their █████ torn out, ████ ███ ████, and was then allowed to exit at that stop.) *Passenger A showed no movement after disembarking.
No need to explain the censored text.
Just try getting off without paying the proper toll,
and you're fucked.
[This stop is Bus Stop 0039.]
We'd arrived at stop 39.
The bus halted, and the grotesque passengers began disembarking one by one.
Squish!
Pluck!
Crunch!
"...".
I should stop looking.
Any more, and everything I'd eaten yesterday would come pouring out.
Seizing the moment the bus had stopped,
I began searching among the densely packed bizarre passengers
for the one who looked the most normal.
The reason for seeking someone normal was simple.
Before coming here,
one of the tasks the AI voice had given me:
- Rescue 1 missing newbie.
Escaping this place alone wouldn't be hard.
But one possibility to consider: besides me, there might be
another person on this ghost story bus.
I scanned the surroundings for a while.
From the passenger wearing their large intestine like a scarf,
to the one raising maggots in their hollow eye sockets.
......
......
......
There has to be someone, right?
No matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find anyone who looked like an ordinary human.
Hoping to find them before '0044 Bus Stop', I meticulously checked every corner of the bus.
Sniffle.
?
A faint sniffling sound from somewhere.
'A real person here?'
Sniffle.
I moved toward the faint sound,
and at the very back seat of the bus,
in the innermost corner, sitting slumped on the floor,
I found a female student swallowing tears, her face flushed beet red.
Two legs and arms fully intact.
Facial features all present and accounted for.
'A real person.'
This must be the newbie the AI voice mentioned.
I carefully initiated a conversation with the girl crouched on the floor, keeping my voice low enough not to disturb the other grotesque passengers.
"Um, excuse me?"
"...(sniffle)."
"Hey?"
"......"
She didn't seem to hear me properly.
Reluctantly, I reached out and lightly touched her shoulder.
"Hey..."
!!!!
The girl jumped in shock at my light touch.
She looked ready to scream any second.
'No!'
Grab!
I immediately clamped my hand over her mouth and gestured with my other hand for silence.
The girl first looked at me with panicked eyes,
then realized all the eerie passengers' attention was focused on us.
This ghost story bus had basic etiquette to follow.
📰 /Bus Stop 4444 Does Not Exist
Do not talk loudly while the bus is in motion. We are not responsible for any disputes with other passengers that may arise.
And those 'disputes' didn't need explaining.
...Guh.
Fortunately, the girl hadn't lost her situational awareness.
Thanks to that, the passengers' attention slowly shifted away, and simultaneously, the next announcement filled the bus.
[The next stop is Bus Stop 0040.] [Passengers getting off at this stop are the 'pancreas.']
The announcement signaling the arrival at stop 40 was imminent.
So, to stop 44,
three more.
I slowly removed the hand I'd been holding over the girl's mouth and gave a concise reply.
"We'll get off at stop 44."
"......"
The girl looked at me wordlessly,
with reddened eyes,
nod.
She nodded once more.
After that, we passed stops 41, 42, and 43 in sequence.
Stop 41: large intestine.
Stop 42: left little finger.
Stop 43: head.
Utterly ridiculous demands.
Sniffle.
On the other hand, it was a relief this girl hadn't gotten off at any previous stop.
'Almost there.'
And soon, the long-awaited announcement for stop 44 came.
[The next stop is Bus Stop 0044.] [Passengers getting off at this stop are '██████████'.]
A garbled, tearing voice.
The girl clamped her hands over her ears, shrinking in fear.
Spring!
But in contrast, I immediately stood up, grabbed her wrist,
grin.
and said with the most innocent smile in the world.
"Let's get off!"
"...Huh?"
The moment I'd been counting down to had arrived.
"W-Wait a second."
But the girl wasn't mentally prepared yet. It was natural to feel anxious.
"No. We have to get off now."
But we had to.
If we didn't get off here, I couldn't guarantee I'd stay sane riding with these repulsive passengers to the next stop.
Screech.
The bus's speed gradually slowed.
"Let's go!"
I pulled the girl to her feet and headed toward the back door.
Hiss.
The back door slowly opened with the characteristic sound of air escaping from a bus.
"Wait, hold on! Is... is it really okay to get off?!"
To the girl who still couldn't trust my judgment until the end,
the only thing I could say was this.
"Don't worry. I came here to rescue you."
"...What does that—"
With those words, the girl and I
step.
stepped foot onto Bus Stop 0044.