CHAPTER 158: CHAPTER 158: OLIVER

The golden light enveloped Blake briefly, then faded.

Everyone held their breath.

Finally, the light disappeared entirely. Blake collapsed, unconscious but alive.

A stunned silence filled the bus as dozens of eyes turned toward Naina... full of shock, gratitude, and disbelief.

They couldn’t believe their eyes.

"Am I... am I truly seeing a talisman?" Jamie asked in a stuttering voice while everyone felt hope lighting up in their chest.

What was a talisman? It was a hope for many, a legendary piece of paper capable of single-handedly protecting them!

Ordinary people don’t even have the fortune to see it in their entire lives.

Some even have talismans in their house decorated as an heirloom.

And now... they were seeing Naina use it so freely...

Though their hearts ached, at the same time, all of them lit up with hope.

Suddenly to them, Naina wasn’t a human anymore... but a god. Even the panic in their heart reduced by more than half.

Naina quickly turned toward Maya.

"Check bus number two. What’s happening there?"

Maya dialed immediately, her hands shaking, but the call didn’t go through.

Confused, she and Naina turned toward the windows.

Only then did both realize... Bus Two had stopped, and red smoke was rising from a certain distance.

And something felt horribly, unnervingly wrong about the distance between them.

Maya rushed toward the driver, her shoes thudding against the dark-blue rubber flooring of the bus.

The faint smell of engine oil and burnt rubber drifted in through the cracked window, mixing with the sharp scent of fear that clung to everyone.

"Stop the bus!" she cried, grabbing the edge of the driver’s seat.

The driver’s hands shook violently against the steering wheel, the faux-leather cover slippery with sweat.

"We’re done for!" he shouted, his voice cracking. "We’re all finished! You think we can survive with just a few talismans? Those things are rare... how many do we even have left?"

He had seen many such incidents and knew well enough that a few talismans won’t be enough for them to leave unscathed.

His breath came out in ragged gasps, fogging the glass slightly.

The dim interior lights flickered, casting long, trembling shadows across his face.

They were doomed! They were doomed anyhow! But before dying, he wanted to do a last sprint and get his bus far away from the ghost portal. In case... just in case they find some method to survive.

’Maybe the portal is far from where we are now... as long as I quickly drive away... maybe I will survive!’

Before he could spiral further, Naina raised her voice.

"If you stop right now, I’ll give you ten talismans!"

The bus fell silent. Even the old engine seemed to be quiet for a heartbeat.

The driver blinked, startled. Slowly, hesitantly, he pressed the brake. The large red-and-white bus gave a long, shaking sigh as it rolled to a halt on the gravel path.

In the end he couldn’t resist the temptation of 10 talismans. Naina was able to exorcise a ghost with just 3 talismans. With 10, his chances of surviving will be more than anyone on the bus.

Naina walked forward, the rough texture of the aisle carpet brushing against her shoes, and pulled out ten talismans.

Their faint golden glow illuminated her trembling fingers. She pressed them into the driver’s palms.

He stared at them as if she had handed him life itself.

Behind them, Maya’s eyes glistened with a mix of fear and admiration.

Naina turned toward Maya, intending to speak, when she clashed into the eyes of her other colleagues. They were staring at Naian with envy and hope.

Before Naina could speak, Maya rushed out in a soft voice:

"It’s alright if you don’t give us any more. You’ve already done more than enough by helping bus number two. We won’t hold you responsible for anything."

Half of the employees murmured in agreement, their voices shaky yet sincere. The cool air from the cracked windows brushed their faces, carrying the earthy scent of the forest outside.

But the other half panicked.

"Why should we wait for bus two?" Xander shouted, his voice trembling. "We need to leave right now! Why risk ourselves?!"

He couldn’t understand why they want to save everyone. Do they need to act like a holy mother now? What a sin!

Oliver immediately stood up, pressing his hand to his injured chest and coughing.

"Think! The ghost zone edge must be close. If the driver goes five or ten kilometers more, we might be able to escape. We’re almost out; we should try to save as many as we can!"

His certainty gave everyone a moment of hope.

But Sasha, still trembling from her near-death experience, shook her head violently. Her hands clutched the burgundy seat, knuckles white.

"If we were at the end," she sobbed, "then why did bus two stop? Something’s wrong."

The bus went silent again.

Oliver took a long breath before answering.

"The ghost panicked before it was exorcised. It acted like it was being pushed back. That only happens when a ghost is nearing the boundary of a ghost zone. We’re close. We can still make it out. But..."

He looked directly at Naina.

"We can’t leave bus number two behind. I’ll go with you."

Naina blinked, startled. The edges of the talismans in her hand dug into her palm, their paper surface warm from her body heat.

Everyone knew why Oliver and Naina insisted on saving the second bus.

It wasn’t just morality. It was the law.

If someone capable of saving others abandoned victims inside a ghost zone, they would be imprisoned for life.

This rule was created to stop powerful individuals and those with talismans or spiritual artifacts from letting ordinary citizens die as shields.

Even if Naina survived today, abandoning the second bus meant imprisonment.

Her decision wasn’t just sacrificial... it was necessary.

Oliver stepped toward her, his legs shaky but determined. His hand reached out and wrapped around hers. Her fingers felt ice-cold.

He froze. For the first time, he realized the woman who had been strong, capable, and confident... was terrified.