Hearing Jiang Tao mention the "Ghost Chariot," Bai Ru couldn't help but recall the widely circulated online legend of the "Route 330 Bus." She glanced sideways at Gu Yi, who seemed to sense her movement, offered an inscrutable smile, and remained silent.

"Let me explain," Jiang Tao began. "Don't worry, I used to drive a taxi. I can talk while driving; it won't be a problem, uh…"

As soon as he finished the sentence, he paused for no discernible reason, his expression turning slightly unnatural.

Gu Yi shifted in the back seat, trying to settle more comfortably, and spoke slowly, "Relax, nothing will happen now. However, you should watch your mouth; some things shouldn't be said casually."

At his words, although a flicker of defiance crossed Jiang Tao's face, he offered no rebuttal. This exchange, so heavy with unspoken strangeness, only intensified Bai Ru's curiosity...

Jiang Tao was twenty-nine. He lost both parents in primary school and was raised by his grandmother. Due to their financial situation, he started working right after high school graduation. In today's society, securing a high-paying job with only a high school diploma isn't easy. He ended up as a repair technician at a computer company, but after two years, his salary hadn't increased much before the company finally went bankrupt. Around that time, his grandmother, the only person he had to lean on, also passed away, leaving him completely alone.

Fortunately, Jiang Tao had an inherently cheerful disposition. Despite his deep grief over his grandmother's death, life had to go on. He had saved a small sum through careful frugality, so he decided to get a driver's license and look into driving a taxi.

Coincidentally, a neighbor from his building, Brother Wu, also drove a cab and, upon hearing Jiang Tao's intentions, offered to help. After some discussion, Jiang Tao paid Brother Wu a deposit, and they agreed to share one car—one driving the day shift, the other the night.

Since Brother Wu was in his forties, Jiang Tao, wanting to be considerate, volunteered to take the night shift.

The night shift had its merits and drawbacks. Even when Jiang Tao started at five-thirty and finished at ten-thirty—only five hours—his back ached fiercely. Plus, he had to be vigilant about drunk drivers or patrons passed out in the middle of the road.

Even worse, if he picked up a customer who was completely inebriated, not only was the car likely to get soiled, but there was also the constant worry of not getting paid the fare. In short, only Jiang Tao himself could truly comprehend the mix of bitterness, hardship, and small joys involved.

However, it wasn't until Brother Wu’s old vehicle was scrapped and replaced with a new one that Jiang Tao finally realized that the issues with passengers were merely minor concerns...

One evening three months ago, around ten o'clock, Jiang Tao had just dropped off a fare and was preparing to head home for the night. He preferred not to pick up any more passengers because his current location was near the urban fringe, bordering the suburbs. In all his time driving, he had never taken a fare out of the city limits, having often heard tales of highway robbery lurking in the outer districts at night.

He had just tucked the collected fare into his bag when the rear door of the taxi was suddenly yanked open, and a fashionably dressed woman quickly slipped inside.

"Driver, please hurry up, thank you," the woman urged before she was even fully seated, sounding as if someone were pursuing her.

Startled, Jiang Tao instinctively started the engine and slowly pulled the car away from the curb. Just then, he heard another click from the back door, as if it hadn't latched properly. When he glanced into the rear-view mirror, he saw that in that brief moment, a second woman, dressed in red, had taken the seat next to the first, presumably having entered from the other side.

"Is everything alright? Where to?" Jiang Tao asked, sensing something odd in the first woman's hasty tone, so he couldn't resist inquiring further.

Seeing the car in motion, the fashionable woman seemed to sigh in relief. Upon his question, she replied, "It's fine, it's fine, take us to Xiqing Road."

Her voice had noticeably lost the tension it held moments before.

But Jiang Tao felt a sudden headache looming. Xiqing Road was practically at the opposite ends of the city from where they were—another urban fringe area, but on the city's other side. A one-way trip there would take at least forty minutes. It looked like he’d be working late tonight.

Still, a fare was a fare, and Jiang Tao found it difficult to refuse; he let out a quiet sigh of resignation.

After stating their destination, the fashionable woman leaned back against the rear seat, resting against the door, appearing to close her eyes to rest.

Jiang Tao used the rear-view mirror to examine his two passengers. The fashionable woman had short, ear-length hair, with several streaks dyed black-red among the dark strands. The upper half of her face was obscured by a large pair of sunglasses, but her nose and mouth were delicate. Her face was powdered a bit too white, and though Jiang Tao couldn't name the brand, her clothing looked expensive.

He then looked at the woman in red and couldn't help but startle. Since entering the car, this woman had been leaning against the back seat, her head propped against the door. Her long, flowing hair covered her face, making her features impossible to see. A voluminous red gown concealed her entire body; he could vaguely make out that her hands were likely resting on her lap, but the dim cabin light and the seat backs obscured any clear view.

Is she alive or dead? The sudden thought shocked Jiang Tao.

Once the notion took root, it spiraled out of control. Jiang Tao kept glancing into the rear-view mirror, trying to catch sight of the woman in red to see if she was still breathing.

This movement, however, caught the attention of the fashionable woman, who suddenly turned and asked Jiang Tao, "What are you looking at? Why aren't you driving properly?"

"Is... your friend alright?" Jiang Tao finally voiced his concern.

The moment the question left his lips, the fashionable woman clearly froze, blurting out, "What friend?"

Jiang Tao felt a deafening whir in his mind, like an electric shock that left his entire body numb. Instinctively, he wrenched the steering wheel and slammed on the brakes.

The sudden, violent stop threw the fashionable woman in the back seat forward, unprepared, slamming her head against the front seat backrest, eliciting an involuntary, "Ouch!"

Simultaneously, Jiang Tao looked up into the rear-view mirror and realized the woman in red had not been affected by the abrupt braking. Her posture hadn't shifted at all, though her hair had become slightly disheveled around her face. Peering through the strands, Jiang Tao distinctly saw an eye filled with vicious resentment, staring directly at him through the mirror.

A ghost?

"Oh, God..." Jiang Tao could hold it in no longer. Terrified, he shouted and threw open his door, scrambling out.

After running barely two steps, he spun around and lunged back to the taxi, yanking open the rear door again. He grabbed the fashionable woman and dragged her several steps forward before catching his foot on something uneven. He stumbled violently and crashed hard onto the ground. Unfortunately for him, the woman was pulled down on top of him, landing squarely on him and hurting him badly. The fall sent her large sunglasses flying a considerable distance.

At that moment, Jiang Tao couldn't spare a thought for his pain, nor did he feel any inclination toward chivalry. He roughly shoved the woman off him, struggled to his feet, and then reached down to pull up the other woman, who still seemed utterly bewildered by the situation. He noticed a slight redness and swelling near her left eye—he couldn't tell if it was from the fall or if it had been there before.

In that brief moment of distraction, Jiang Tao's gaze swept past the taxi. Suddenly, his eyes widened in astonishment: the rear seat of the car was empty. The woman in red had vanished without a trace.

A slight breeze swept past, making Jiang Tao feel an internal chill, as if someone had breathed directly onto the nape of his neck. A wave of coldness ran down his spine, and he instinctively snapped his head around. There was nothing behind him.

The fashionable woman, though unclear on what had transpired, was terrified by Jiang Tao's bizarre behavior. She had forgotten about her lost sunglasses and was backing away slowly, inch by inch, her eyes wide with terror. She wanted to get away from Jiang Tao, yet she dared not run.

Jiang Tao then noticed that the entire main road was eerily deserted. There wasn't a single passing vehicle at this hour. The moon was hidden, and the stars were sparse in the sky. Though they were still technically in the city, it felt like a desolate wilderness. He suddenly realized that even if he wanted to flee, he had no idea where he could go.

"You... are you alone? Didn't you see anyone... next to you?" Jiang Tao managed to ask, his voice dry.

The fashionable woman shuddered, shaking her head stiffly. She didn't even dare to properly answer his question.

Jiang Tao forced himself to swallow hard and mechanically raised a hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead. After a long moment, he asked again, "Do you... have a cell phone?"

His own phone was in the glove compartment on the passenger side, but he absolutely refused to approach the front of the car just then.

The woman trembled slightly, then shakily reached into her small shoulder bag and pulled out her phone. After a moment's thought, she pulled out her wallet as well and offered both items to Jiang Tao.

Seeing her action, Jiang Tao felt a bizarre urge to laugh and cry. He took the phone from her hand, gently pushed away the hand still clutching the wallet, and said hoarsely, "I... I'm not trying to rob you..."

Holding the phone, Jiang Tao faced a new dilemma. He didn't know who to call. Should he call the police? Would they treat him like a lunatic if they arrived? He considered calling Brother Wu; logically, he should inform him, but what could he possibly say? I met a ghost while driving late at night?

He glanced back at the fashionable woman. His sequence of strange actions had finally angered her. She straightened up and raised her voice, demanding, "What is wrong with you? You keep asking if I'm alone—what exactly happened?"

After a moment of silence, Jiang Tao spoke to her carefully, "After you got into the car, I saw another woman sitting next to you, wearing red."

The woman’s eyes flew wide open. Her mouth opened, attempting to form words, but no sound came out. After a long pause, she stammered, "Are... are you telling the... truth?"

Jiang Tao's expression was equally grim, and he nodded.

The woman slowly turned her head toward the taxi, glanced quickly inside, then just as fast turned her head back to look at Jiang Tao, asking in a trembling voice, "Right now... there doesn't seem to be... anyone."

Jiang Tao said nothing, only nodding again.

Suddenly, the woman's gaze shifted from Jiang Tao’s face to the space directly behind him. Her eyes nearly bulged from their sockets, her expression contorting with sheer horror. In a voice barely above a whimper, she whispered faintly, "There’s a woman standing behind you, wearing red..."