Kaguya-sama: Love Is War wants me to turn myself in.

How could an ordinary high school student kick someone so far?

How much force must have been in that kick?

And their expressions were too calm.

Not only was Amamiya Natsuki calm, but even the young lady who was drying her hair with a towel remained composed, showing no sign of tension.

If you were a newcomer, you should be feeling anxious and trembling right now, right?

Just like that newlywed woman in her dinosaur pajamas, who was incoherent and couldn't even speak properly...

Regardless of what these people thought, Natsuki Amamiya calmly extended one finger and said expressionlessly:

"This is the first time."

After a pause, Natsuki Amamiya continued in a cold voice:

"It's also the last time."

With Amamiya Natsuki's current physical abilities, plus the added bonus of the title "Dark Walker," it's no exaggeration to say that he could beat a tiger with his bare hands without using any weapons.

He had already held back; otherwise, a full-force kick could have killed someone.

"..."

The bus stop quickly fell silent; everyone was terrified and dared not utter a sound, except for the torrential rain pattering on the rain shelter.

After a long while, the yakuza man finally stopped vomiting, had the strength to get up, covered his stomach with both hands, and slunk away. He carefully hid in the corner of the rain shelter, not daring to say anything harsh or even look Amamiya Natsuki in the eye.

Amamiya Natsuki ignored him and started twitching her little finger.

Before long, his little finger began to tremble rapidly.

Kaguya Shinomiya observed this and said softly:

"President, is Chika here?"

“She is indeed here.” Amamiya Natsuki nodded. “There should be several scenes running at the same time here. Since Chika isn’t with us, we need to go find her.”

After confirming that Chika was safe and sound, Amamiya Natsuki felt relieved for the time being and began to study the clues she had seen earlier.

"Use hope to extinguish despair..."

The purpose of the Gate of Ghost Stories is to draw people in and absorb their despair. To destroy this gate, the power of hope must be used.

The question is, how do you use something that you want to be invisible and intangible?

Amamiya Natsuki pondered for a moment, then turned her gaze to the 'players' chosen by the Gate of Despair. These ordinary people were caught up in the ghost stories, and even if they were lucky enough to survive this time, they would die in the next ghost story. Despair permeated everyone.

"I think I know what to do..."

Amamiya Natsuki's thoughts quickly became clear.

There were only two of them, Kaguya and him, but there were probably dozens of unfortunate souls entangled in the Gate of Despair. The hope of two people could not outweigh the despair of dozens of people.

and so……

The safest approach is to transform everyone's despair into hope.

The bus stop fell silent; no one spoke, no one talked.

Several minutes passed, and suddenly someone whispered:

"Look, the words in blood have appeared!"

Upon hearing this, Natsuki Amamiya and Kaguya turned to look at the bus stop advertising board behind them.

Suddenly, a streak of bright red blood appeared on it, and then the blood began to writhe and twist, turning into characters.

[Scene: Ghost Bus]

[Mission Objective: Take the midnight ghost bus to the final stop. Anyone who gets off midway... dies.]

No reward.

Or, to put it another way, the reward is being able to return to the real world after completing the game.

The character for "death" is noticeably larger than the other characters, and blood is constantly dripping from it, making it look particularly terrifying and gruesome.

Besides Natsuki Amamiya and Kaguya, there's another real newbie in this scene: a girl wearing dinosaur pajamas.

Upon seeing the words in blood, the girl in the pajamas screamed, then covered her mouth tightly with both hands, her face pale, her body trembling, and tears welling up in her eyes.

"This is the right way for a newcomer to behave..."

Several 'veteran players' subconsciously complained to themselves, then secretly glanced at Natsuki Amamiya and Kaguya.

Those two high school students were clearly newcomers who emerged from the fog, so why weren't they afraid at all?

Amamiya Natsuki looked at Kaguya and whispered:

"Let's get on the bus first and see how difficult the task is."

Kaguya Shinomiya nodded slightly and said:

"Let's get through this first, then we'll go find Chika and Moeha."

As they were talking, two dim yellow lights pierced through the rain and shone over. Then, an old, dilapidated bus swayed along and stopped at the bus stop. The door opened with a hiss, and a chilly, eerie breeze blew out.

"It's about to begin."

"This should be the bus."

"Get ready to board... I hope I can survive."

"That driver...was he dead?"

Amamiya Natsuki narrowed her eyes slightly and looked towards the driver's seat.

The driver was wearing a bus uniform, but his face was clearly desiccated, his eyes were bloodshot and crimson, and his head slowly turned to look at the crowd below the platform.

Without a doubt, this is a ghost driver.

Natsuki Amamiya peered through the window. A few passengers were already scattered on the bus. There was a woman with black hair covering her face, resembling Sadako; a woman with a slit at the corner of her mouth revealing a strange smile; and a guy wrapped in bandages... Without a doubt, the passengers on the bus were also ghost passengers.

Seeing this, the other 'veteran players' were alright, though their faces were grim, and they managed to maintain their composure. The newbie girl in the dinosaur pajamas, however, burst into tears, her voice trembling with fear and anxiety:

"Can we...can we not get on the bus?"

"We have to get on the bus." The middle-aged woman sighed, her face also tense, but she managed to maintain her composure. "If we get on the bus, we might have a chance to get back alive; if we don't, we'll definitely die."

The girl in the dinosaur pajamas had tears in her eyes and just kept shaking her head.

At this moment, a bold young man stepped forward, carefully boarded the bus, and prepared to walk to the back.

"Wait a moment……"

The ghost driver suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse and unpleasant, like dry wood being rubbed together.

The young man trembled, quickly stopped, and looked nervously at the ghost driver.

Then the ghost driver slowly said:

"You have to pay..."

Everyone: "..."

Paying for a bus fare is a matter of course, and there's nothing wrong with that.

"I have money." The young man breathed a sigh of relief, quickly took out his wallet from his pocket, and took out some coins. "I'll pay right away."

Who knew the ghost driver would say in a hoarse voice:

"No...the bus only accepts ghost money."

Since it's a ghost bus, it's normal for it to accept ghost money.

The young man's face quickly darkened, and he couldn't help but say:

"How can I take the bus without ghost money?"

Before entering the Gates of Despair, no one knows what they will encounter, so naturally no one prepares that thing in advance.

Everyone else pricked up their ears, anxiously awaiting the answer.

"No ghost money?" The ghost driver suddenly revealed a ferocious and bloodthirsty smile, his voice hoarse and unpleasant as he said in a low voice, "Then you can still take the ride, you just need to... pay with one finger as fare."

Chapter 629 What is a Bus God of War?

As the ghost driver pointed with his right hand, the coin-operated area suddenly transformed into a hideous giant mouth, filled with sharp fangs and crimson flesh, which was clicking and snapping as it opened and closed.

"Hands, fingers?"

Several passersby turned pale, and the girl in the dinosaur pajamas trembled and burst into tears again.

“That’s right, it’s your fingers. You can use your fingers instead of ghost money…” The ghost driver’s voice was hoarse, and a terrifying smile appeared on his face. “The bus will only wait for you for three minutes… and it only needs your fingers. Other people’s fingers are fine too.”

Upon hearing this, the expressions of several passersby changed, and they quietly distanced themselves from others.

If you don't want to lose a finger, you can ask someone else to sacrifice their finger in your place. The problem is, no one will agree to that. So... the only option is to kill each other, sacrifice others, and protect yourself.

"Tsk."

In the silence, a click of the tongue suddenly rang out.

Upon hearing the sound, the other players all looked towards Amamiya Natsuki.

Facing the gazes of the unfortunate group, Natsuki Amamiya slowly began to speak:

"Actually, there's another way..."

Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, Natsuki Amamiya stepped onto the bus, then pulled out a bloodstained axe, pointed it at the bus driver, and smiled:

"Robbery."

Everyone: "..."

Natsuki Amamiya had already realized that this scene required no puzzle-solving, nor did it require wisdom or ability, because the Gate of the Strange wanted only one thing: humanity and despair.

Even if you sacrifice a finger to get on the bus now, you will definitely encounter all sorts of dangers later on, constantly squeezing out your despair.

Unfortunately, these unlucky guys aren't players of the game, so they can't see the attribute panel and can't even paste skills.

Since that's the case, the only way to rekindle their hope is with an axe.

"Wait a minute!" a passerby exclaimed in surprise. "Where did he just get that axe from?"