Chapter Six: The Old Man of Sanitation

  When I turned the steering wheel to the left, shifted into first gear and pressed the brake pedal all the way down. A miracle happened, the broken sedan I rented suddenly rapidly reversed towards the right rear side.

  In an instant, it had backed up to the side of the road on the right, and was staring at a large tree on the roadside that was about to crash into.

  "Step on the gas!"

  The man who was shouting at me shouted again at me.

  I didn't think much and stepped on the accelerator all the way down as he instructed.

  All I heard was a screeching sound, and my old sedan came to an abrupt halt. Under the force of inertia, I shook violently inside the car, and my entire head almost crashed into the windshield in front of me.

  After my car stopped at the side of the right lane, I found that the No. 64 bus on the left side, which was originally heading towards me, drove away to a distance without any hurry or delay.

  After the No. 64 bus drove away, I suddenly found that the driver who looked like Zhao Yang opened the window, stuck out his head and smiled at me. He smiled very strangely, making me feel flustered and at a loss...

  After this bus completely disappeared from my line of sight, I hastily opened the door and ran out of my old sedan, leaning against a tree by the side of the road, panting heavily.

  I've never encountered such a thrilling paranormal event in my life, I'm really scared, I feel that my life has become very crazy at this moment.

  Just as I was panting heavily, the voice that had shouted at me earlier sounded in my ear again.

  "Hey kid, you okay? Didn't get hurt or anything?"

  Someone asked me and I hurriedly lifted my head to look in the direction of the person who was shouting, only to find that the person speaking to me was actually a sanitation worker wearing an orange-yellow work uniform.

  The sanitation worker looked over fifty years old, with several birthmarks on his face, wearing a small yellow hat and holding a broom, smiled at me and asked.

  I calmed down and took a deep breath, then asked the sanitation worker: "Uncle, was it you who just told me how to drive?"

  The old man, who looked like a sanitation worker, smiled and said, "If it's not me, then who else would be here with you?"

  Hearing him say that, I quickly asked: "Uncle, what exactly happened just now? What's the deal with that No. 64 bus full of blood...? Why did my car suddenly drive onto a one-way street and couldn't get out of here, and why did it suddenly lose power?"

  Do you see me asking him so many questions? The old man opposite threw away the broom in his hand, sat down on the stone steps by the road with a plop, slowly rolled up a bag of tobacco, took a puff, and then asked me: "Tell me, why do you want to take this road? Don't you know that this road can't be walked at night?"

  "This road can't be walked at night? Why? I'm walking this road to understand the route of bus No. 64, and also to investigate whether a driver named Zhao Yang who drives bus No. 64 is alive or dead!"

  "Oh? You know Zhao Yang?"

  As I asked this, for some reason, the old man's eyebrows furrowed and his eyes suddenly became bright and piercing.

  "Oh! I only met him once at a little past midnight, and thought he was strange at the time, so I made a special investigation today. How is it that you know Zhao Yang too, uncle?" I curiously looked at the old man.

  "How could I not know him? Wasn't that guy just driving bus number 64?"

  When I heard the old man's answer, my head buzzed loudly, as if it had exploded.

  "What did you say? You said that the bus driver who was driving the No. 64 bus, which was packed with zombies, was Zhao Yang?"

  The old man took a deep breath and said, "Of course, if you unfortunately die on this road too, then you'll also be a passenger in his car. That car is a hearse, carrying the spirits of men who died driving private cars at night on this road."

  "Hearse? A hearse carrying dead people?! What...what's going on here?" I stared at the old man in front of me with wide eyes.

  Seeing me looking at him like this, the old man smiled and said: "If you want to ask who Zhao Yang is, you really asked the right person. I had a lot of dealings with Zhao Yang in the past, and he often ran on this line. And I'm mainly responsible for the environmental sanitation work on this road, so although we didn't chat much, we would always see each other when we came and went."

  When I saw the old man talking so much, I got a bit impatient, so I hastily asked: "Is Zhao Yang alive or dead?"

  "Is it life or death? Do you think the driver who drove a car full of mangled dead bodies is still alive? I still remember, on the day he died, he crashed and killed many private car owners and innocent pedestrians on this road. It was around mid-August that day, and I was sweeping the street at the scene, so it's still very clear in my memory..."

  "What?!"

  I was so scared by the old man's response that I sat down on the ground with a thud.

  If what the old man said was true, then it is a fact that Zhao Yang was indeed dead. In mid-August, he registered on August 14th, and the time basically matched...

  At this moment, I don't know how to express my feelings. I really think I've run into a ghost! If Zhao Yang is dead and can still come find me, then what else could he be but a ghost?!

  That hateful Yin Lao Liu, he clearly agreed to be a matchmaker for me, but then lied and said it wouldn't be a ghost! Damn it!

  At this moment, I have the heart to kill him!

  After a while, when I came to myself, I asked the old man in front of me again about the reason why Zhao Yang died and why he killed so many private car owners before his death.

  For a question like mine, the old man told me that he didn't know. And why this road would have such a strange and supernatural event, it should be closely related to the deceased Zhao Yang.

  After confirming that Zhao Yang was indeed dead, I prepared to drive away from this damn evil road. However, I'm not sure if I can still get out of here, what if I encounter the same situation again, circling around on this ghost road, and then encountering that terrifying bus No. 64 again, and having another car lose control, what should I do?

  As if seeing my doubts, the kind old man said to me: "Young man, let me take you for a ride, I'll sit in your car and guarantee that nothing will go wrong along the way."

  I'm not sure if this sanitation worker can really do what he says, but to be honest, I'm also at a loss for what to do. So I gritted my teeth and thought, since I have no other choice, let's just treat a dead horse as if it were alive and see where it takes me, after all, it won't hurt to let this old man take me on a ride.

  After I nodded in agreement, the old man got into my car and then I started the car, driving smoothly towards the city center.

  I drove very carefully, with the gearshift never exceeding third gear, and kept my speed under control at around 40 miles per hour. I was afraid that if I sped up, the car would lose control again, and with one careless move, it would be a fatal accident...

  Seeing me driving so carefully, the old man sitting in the passenger seat smiled and said to me: "Young man, there's no need to be so careful, just drive as you are. If the car really breaks down, just operate it in reverse."

  "What does it mean by 'operating in reverse'?" I asked curiously.

  "It's like reversing becomes forward, the accelerator is the brake, turning left on the steering wheel means turning right on the steering wheel, driving on the left side of the road means driving on the right side, you have to drive on the left because only when you drive on the left will you appear in the right lane."

  "What? You mean this road, everything is reversed?" I felt incredulous.

  The old man smiled at me and said, "Now is not the time. What if you suddenly discover that you've encountered the 64 bus or can't get out of this road? That would mean everything here has turned upside down."

  When he said that, I was scared and sweating. I didn't expect this good road to become so eerie.

  Just as the old man said, he sat in my car and I drove smoothly out of the road and approached the city center. As we approached the city center, the old man asked to get off.

  After he got off the bus, I was grateful to the old man and asked him where he lived. When I have time, I will definitely go visit him.

  The old man didn't specifically say where he lived, but vaguely said: "Where I live is not suitable for you to go, it's too dark and dirty..."

  After exchanging a few more pleasantries, I was about to get back in the car and bid farewell to the old man. Just as I was getting into the car and preparing to leave, the old man suddenly turned around and returned to my window, speaking to me in an imploring tone

  "Hey kid, since you can meet Zhao Yang in the middle of the night, it means you'll be able to see him again. Next time you see him, tell him to go to Old Sun's house at midnight and take a stroll around. Tell him that the Suns owe him an apology, and he should come find them when he has some free time. Tell him that person knows they were wrong and has acknowledged it, so he can come... He will make amends..."

  Suddenly the old man said such inexplicable words to me, I felt very unwell, so I just raised my face and was about to ask him something when I found out that outside the car window...

  Not a soul in sight!

  Nobody!

  I was shocked and immediately opened the door to get out of the car, looking around in all directions. At this time, I found that there was no one wearing an environmental protection uniform around here, not even a shadow of a person!

  The noble gentleman's gathering hall is shrouded in dark fate

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