This gas station looks just like one in real life; if there's any difference at all, it's only that its area is a bit smaller.
"I originally thought we would have to buy two barrels of gasoline on the way back, but now that's taken care of."
Li Shuai was curious about this sudden appearance of "something", but he wasn't the only one, Xiao Mo and Zhan Luan Fa Shi were also like that. Because this gas station was not empty, there was still a staff member inside it.
He was a man of about forty years old, wearing a blue overalls with a red duck tongue cap on his head. Since they approached here, the staff's eyes had been on them, making Xiao Mo and others feel chilly behind their backs.
"Who would have thought that this godforsaken place still has people going to work? Truly, in this world, nothing is strange!"
Li Shuai had just grumbled a sentence when Xiao Mo asked Lao Gao and the other:
"This gas station just appeared out of thin air? Then how can there be staff here, unless..."
"What else could it be?"
At these words, Xiao Mo swallowed hard and hastily withdrew his curious gaze.
After everyone confirmed the location of the bus, they didn't rush to refuel and leave. Instead, they went in pairs to nearby shops to buy things they needed. As for the money for shopping, Zhang Tianyi paid for it. Xiao Mo initially wanted to refuse, after all, he had some money on him, but Li Shuai, who was with him, accepted this kindness without hesitation.
"Money is a good thing, and it's given to you for free. When dealing with someone who doesn't care about money, just remember one thing: don't be stingy! If you don't want it, they'll think you're hypocritical; if you want too little, they'll think you look down on them. That's what rich people are like!"
But let me tell you, I used to be rich too, and I spent money more lavishly than him. Otherwise, do you think I would ask for such a small amount of money from him? I would slap a wad of cash in his face and then tell him, "Listen, kid, I don't have any moral integrity or anything like that, but what I do have is money. Does it make you uncomfortable when I throw my money around?" Well, if you're so capable, why don't you try throwing your money at me?
"Yes, you're awesome!"
Xiao Mo had already been driven to tears and laughter, and seeing that Li Shuai showed no signs of shutting up, she could only force out this one sentence. However, this sentence was quite effective, and Li Shuai's broken car mouth finally shut up.
"You're really a person with a bad sense of humor!"
He glared at Xiao Mo fiercely and left quickly after saying this.
When they were ready with their things and came back, the sky was almost dark. Zhang Tianyi thought that there was no plan to stay overnight, so as soon as they returned, they were called onto the car.
When he got on the bus, Xiao Mo saw that the staff member was refueling the bus, just like in reality, inserting a fuel pipe into the bus's oil tank. He walked past "that person" and "that person" turned around to stare at him with a piercing gaze, which made Xiao Mo feel a chill run down his spine. His body involuntarily shuddered, and he quickly quickened his pace, taking three steps as two, and got on the bus.
Just as the "person" turned his head back, Li Shuai, who was following Xiao Mo, slapped his shoulder with force. In an instant, a deathly pale face stared at Li Shuai's face, and his two slightly bulging eyeballs also widened suddenly.
Looking at this bloodless face, Li Shuai's expression also solidified a bit, but he still forced a smile and said:
"Don't get me wrong, I think you look a bit pale, so I'm reminding you to wear more clothes."
Li Shuai hastily ran onto the bus after finishing speaking with a hardened expression.
"That idiot!"
Zhang Tian's face turned black as he cursed in a low voice, while Xiao Mo and Zuo Ran both let out a sigh.
Soon, Old Gao started the car and with a slight vibration under his feet, the gas station behind him gradually became blurred and finally disappeared from everyone's sight.
Away from the town, the car was once again shrouded in an endless darkness. The road ahead, which stretched out to who-knows-where, looked pale and shining under the bus's headlights. This made Xiao Mu, who had been gazing out of the window all along, feel a sense of illusion - was the road quietly lying at their feet really a road?
The car was eerily quiet, with everyone leaning against their seats, each lost in their own thoughts as they gazed out the window. Today's driver was Miao Ran Fa Shi, who had originally been scheduled to drive, but Lao Gao seemed to still be reeling from the recent events. Since waking up from his hospital stay a few days ago, he had been in a state of silence and few words, as if he had experienced something in his dreams that had left this old bird, who had already gone through two reincarnations, with a soul that was no longer at peace.
Xiao Mo was thinking to himself when Li Shuai's head quietly appeared from behind, ignoring his malicious gaze, and heard him say in a low voice:
"Do you think people become ghosts after they die and continue to stay with their loved ones?"
This question stumped Xiao Mo, he was taken aback for a moment, and then replied uncertainly:
"Maybe, after all, even those evil spirits and ghosts exist, so this situation is also possible."
Xiao Mo suddenly thought of Wang Dama and other residents in the haunted building, it cannot be denied that those residents did not have malicious intentions, on the contrary, they even blocked the evil spirits for him when they arrived, it can be seen that the ghosts in this world are not all ruthless, there are also kind and benevolent ones.
Upon hearing his response, General Li suddenly fell silent for a few seconds, and then he asked again:
"So you're saying that after we die, we can reunite with our family?"
"This..."
Xiao Mo was at a loss for words for a moment, and after thinking for a while, he replied:
"I don't know if we'll be together after death, but one thing is for sure: if they love you, they will definitely want you to live on. Because only by living can you enjoy all of this."
"What if those who are still alive lose everything?"
"I'd rather die than live..."
Xiao Mu replied in a voice that only he could hear.
Although both of them lowered their voices, someone still heard everything. That person was Old Gao, who sat only one seat away from them.
Just as Xiao Mo had guessed, Lao Gao suffered a huge shock in this incident, enough to make him collapse.
As for human beings, everyone makes some mistakes in their lifetime. Some are trivial errors that may be forgotten after a good night's sleep. Some are big mistakes, perhaps hurting themselves or someone else. In any case, whenever thinking of these mistakes, one can't help but feel regretful, yet they will all fade away with the passage of time, and even be completely forgotten.
However, there is another kind of mistake that falls between the two. For some people, time is their antidote, making them forget any unpleasant experiences. But for others, time is a poisonous medicine, and as they grow older and wiser, those unpleasant experiences become more and more unforgettable.
Unfortunately, Lao Gao belonged to the latter. Over the years, especially after becoming an escapee and knowing that vengeful spirits really existed in the world, his nerves had been constantly tormented. This torment came from regret for his past mistakes, as well as fear of being retaliated against.
He didn't want to die and didn't want his mind disturbed by these things, so for a long time he tried his best to forget this experience. In fact, he was very successful, and the matter had not appeared in his head for a long time. He even forgot that he used to be an accomplice to murder!
However... the nightmare made him recall all of this, even though he knew it was just a dream, but he couldn't wake up. That person kept wandering behind him, recounting those scenes to him.
It's been many days since that nightmare, but the man's voice has not disappeared. The experience at that time is like a single song being replayed over and over in his mind. Whether he closes or opens his eyes, the scenes from back then are all in front of him, everything is so clear and visible.