If that was a human, then Lu Ban felt that something was wrong with this world.
Because that was definitely not the appearance of a normal modern human being, and it was somewhat different from an ape. It looked more like some kind of quadrupedal crawling creature that was forcibly standing and running, with a weird posture, giving people an indescribable feeling of nausea.
But it was just a fleeting glimpse, and the thing went away with the bus. Lu Ban didn't care about it and turned his head back.
"Tell me, what was that outside the window just now?"
He asked the young man.
"W-what what?"
The young man was stunned and quickly moved his butt away from the window.
"It's the one that looks like a human, didn't you see it?"
Lu Ban also pointed.
“No, no!!!”
He shrank his neck hard as if he was about to cry.
"Oh, maybe I saw it wrong."
Lu Ban responded.
“…That’s a rat man.”
The big man sitting in the front row said casually.
"Rat-man?"
Lu Ban looked over and saw that the big man had well-developed muscles in his arms and a holster on his waist.
"Rat man, I don't know where you came from, but I've been on this road for many years. Is this your first time to the Wasted City?"
The big man did not refuse to communicate, but seemed very familiar with it.
"right."
Lu Ban responded.
"Those ratmen dug a lot of holes underground. Sometimes the holes were close to the ground, and people would sink into them when they walked in. They would never be able to climb out, and eventually they would suffocate to death and become food for the ratmen."
The big man spoke seriously, as if he had experienced it himself.
"But the ratmen are very weak. An ordinary person can easily beat one with one punch. They are just that kind of creatures, not much different from wild dogs."
"oh!"
Lu Ban responded again.
He exchanged a few words briefly.
Lu Ban discovered that being handsome was somewhat useful.
At least in the car, which was originally stagnant, there was a little human voice in Lu Ban's words.
The big man's name is unclear, his nickname is "Hound", and the young man's name is Stone. As for the woman, she did not answer. From "Hound"'s mouth, we learned that her name is "Mary".
The three people looked like mixed race, with yellowish skin and lighter hair, so their specific race could not be identified.
"...Hey, after the prohibition, the city has become more and more chaotic, but it's also good, because this way bounty hunters like us can make more money. The more chaotic the city is, the more expensive things will be!"
The "Hound" was not as aloof as he appeared to be. Instead, after hearing Lu Ban's words, he started talking about the Abandoned City.
"Bounty hunter, awesome."
Lu Ban acted as a qualified supporting actor and echoed his words.
"Yes, I have been in the Wasted City for several years. If you have any questions, you can ask me."
The Hound laughed heartily.
"… Wasted City, are there really so many cars in Wasted City?"
That young man, Shi Tou suddenly asked.
"Yes, everywhere. There are also trams, which are trains with antennas on top."
"Will there be dances? Theatre performances? ... singing halls?"
"Yes, we have everything. Whatever you can think of, we have it."
The "Hound" gave a meaningful smile.
"The girls in the singing hall are all top-notch beauties. As long as you can get their attention and have enough money, you can have a wonderful night... Of course, guys like us can only make do with the cheapest roadside stalls."
"I, I'm not interested in those!"
When Shitou denied it, he straightened up and the thing in his arms was revealed.
It was a book that Lu Ban saw. The title of the book was "Old News from the Wasted City" and the author's name was Gu Du.
"Wow, the book from Gudu was obtained by someone who was deceived again."
The Hound quickly snatched the book, flipped through two pages amid Stone's protests, and then returned it to him.
"This writer is quite famous in Wasteland. He is an upper-class man who often hangs out with married women. He likes to write scary stories and write about women. Only young people will be fooled by him. Alas, Wasteland is not that comfortable."
The Hound sighed and looked back at the stone.
"You can understand this book, can you read?"
"A little bit."
Shitou nodded ignorantly.
"That's good. At least you can do some easier work in the waste city if you can read. Oh, you don't know that most of the young people who go to the waste city end up as coolies. With a physique like yours, three months is enough to cripple a person. Those who can't move in the middle of the journey will be thrown to the dogs. Human life is not worth much."
"Hound" sighed and patted Stone's weak shoulder.
"I can introduce you to some work then. Don't worry, I'm quite famous in Waste City. No one will dare to cheat you."
“That’s amazing!”
Lu Ban responded and asked another question.
"Come to think of it, it's so dark outside, how did the driver know the way?"
The fat driver hadn't said a word since the beginning and stayed out of the matter. Lu Ban was asking about the "hound".
"Don't you know that all roads lead to the Wasted City? As long as they are man-made roads, they all lead to the Wasted City."
"I see. As long as nothing goes wrong along the way and we just drive safely, we can reach the abandoned city tomorrow morning, right?"
Just as Lu Ban finished speaking, he saw the middle-aged woman Mary, who had kept her mouth shut just now, stand up.
"Don't talk nonsense."
Her voice was a little hoarse, the wrinkles on her face were much deeper than her age, and her eyes were deep, like the night outside.
"oh……"
Does this person also know that you can’t set flags randomly?
Lu Ban looked at her for a second. At this moment, a loud noise suddenly came from the front of the bus.
Bang——
The whole car braked suddenly and everyone fell forward.
Lu Ban held on to the seat. The weight of the "hound" itself was enough to make Mary as steady as a rock. Only the stone was tottering and almost falling off the chair.
"H-What happened?"
The thin young man Shi Tou asked with a horrified look on his face.
"Something went wrong."
The driver spoke at this time, his voice was muffled.
"Can you handle it?"
The Hound walked over.
Even if he didn't explain, everyone knew that it was not a good thing for a car to be parked here in the wilderness late at night.
"I'll try."
The driver tried to start the car, but only heard a hoarse sound, and the engine seemed to be completely unable to move.
"Is it a mechanical problem?"
The Hound glanced out the window, the shadow in his eyes growing thicker.
"I don't know. I need to go down and check."
The driver stood up, bent down with difficulty with his bloated body, took out the toolbox, and opened the car door.
It was dark outside, lit only by the lights of the cars.
The driver and "Hound" got out of the car, and the rest of the people stayed in the car.
"Is everything ok?"
Shitou was a little curious, but didn't dare to look.
Mary said nothing, but pulled her clothes tighter around her and moved away from the window and the car door.
Lu Ban remained silent.
Since it is a high-difficulty mission, it will definitely not be that simple, and it is normal for the bus to break down.
He looked out the window. The thick darkness obscured everything. Even the figures of the driver and the "hound" became blurry.
The repairs continued. During the long wait, outside the window, Lu Ban looked straight at the area illuminated by dim lights, where light and shadow intertwined.
At the edge of the light, it seemed as if something was lurking there, squirming, twisting, and peeking at the car.
As long as humans are not paying attention, these vicious guys will immediately emerge from the shadows and tear apart everyone they see.
At this moment, a sharp, piercing, heart-wrenching howl came from a distance.
Amid the howling, Lu Ban vaguely saw something passing by the light and passing by the driver and the "hound".
Bang——
"Hound" immediately pulled out his gun, and after a bang, the world fell silent.
"What is that?"
Lu Ban asked casually.
The next moment, something hit the glass right next to his face!