Chapter 1 Dead?

Looking at the blood on the bus and the corpse with twisted limbs, William Dawson knew he was probably really dead.

Now he was floating lightly outside the bus, his ethereal figure swaying in the wind, a pair of helpless eyes constantly glancing around.

All around were medical staff coming and going, and onlookers watching the scene.

“I... am I dead?”

A minute ago, a moving truck suddenly lost control, skidding at a 45-degree angle, and its left front side crashed precisely into the middle of the bus, killing William Dawson with pinpoint accuracy.

Other than William Dawson, not a single person on the bus was even injured.

“Heh...!”

William Dawson didn’t know what to say. Was there really such an unlucky way to die in this world?

But thinking about it, it didn’t really matter. Staying in the world with no attachments was less appealing than finding a chance to start over.

But what was he now? A ghost?

William Dawson’s corpse was stuck in the deformed bus. After confirming the victim was dead, the medical staff were trying to pry him out.

He really couldn’t bear to watch. The scene was like squashing a mosquito on a curtain—hard to clean up, and you’d curse a bit while doing it.

Before William Dawson could even accept the fact of his own death, a somewhat unreal female voice drifted down from the sky.

“Hey? Hey? That soul, can you hear me?”

William Dawson froze. Was someone talking to him?

After all, it was his first time dying, and he had no experience. Not knowing what was going on, William Dawson stood there in a daze, not daring to respond.

“This ‘voice transmission’ seems to have a bad signal. Miss White, can yours work?”

“I’ll give it a try, wait a moment.”

There were now two voices in the sky, and they even started chatting with each other.

A few seconds later, the girl called “Miss White” spoke up, this time deliberately raising her voice:

“That soul, the one outside the bus, can you hear me? Don’t move! If you leave, it’ll be a problem.”

William Dawson was now one hundred percent sure someone was talking to him, but where were they?

“Damn, still not working. He can’t hear us.”

“Let’s speed up then.”

Who were these two? What were they doing?

Based on his extensive movie-watching experience, anyone who mysteriously tells you to stop is never a good person. Better to take the chance and slip away.

After all, he was already dead—could things get any worse?

Just then, a gust of wind blew by. William Dawson adjusted his posture and floated along with the wind.

He hadn’t floated for even three seconds when a battered minivan suddenly dropped from the sky, landing right in front of him.

“What the hell?”

William Dawson was almost sent off a second time by this sudden turn of events. Since when did minivans have a flying mode?

“Phew, made it in time.”

Inside the car sat two girls, both in work uniforms—one in black, one in white. The van stopped in front of William Dawson, and the door opened automatically.

“Hello, sorry to keep you waiting. Please get in.”

The girl in black, who was driving, spoke up.

William Dawson was completely confused. What was going on? These two girls, one in black and one in white—were they Black and White Impermanence?

So after death, was it really like the legends?

But this beat-up minivan, and these goofy-looking Black and White Impermanence—were they really the legendary messengers of the underworld?

William Dawson was speechless. If this minivan could fly, he couldn’t escape anyway. Thinking this, William Dawson silently got in the car.

Looking around, the minivan was even more rundown inside than it looked from the outside. Most ridiculous of all, above the radio was a sticker that read, “Please take care of your own belongings.”

As soon as he sat down, the girl in black, who was driving, asked:

“Hello, what are the last four digits of your ID?”

Hearing this, William Dawson had a vague sense that something was off.

“What the hell? Is this a ride-hailing service?? Who gets on a ghost car and reports the last four digits of their ID?”

The girl in white in the passenger seat quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, “Oh, we’re just following procedure. The Soul Administration Bureau just issued a new regulation. Lately, too many souls have dissipated after taking the ferry, so the higher-ups are taking this very seriously.”

William Dawson was speechless, pointing at the girl in white: “But aren’t you the ferry? Isn’t soul dissipation your doing??”

The girl in black didn’t like that, pouting as she said, “That’s different. We’re an official vehicle from a legitimate organization, all documents in order. There are a lot of unlicensed cars stealing business these days.”

There were even unlicensed cars stealing ghost passengers?

William Dawson held his forehead, never imagining that death would be so exhausting.

“Fine, fine, last four digits: 2213,” William Dawson muttered.

“Okay, Mr. Dawson, right? Would you like us to follow the GPS or do you want to give directions?”

“How could I possibly know the way!”

“Hehe, just kidding. Mr. Dawson, you’ve got quite a temper.”

“……”

William Dawson stopped talking. There was no way to make sense with these two girls in a short time.

The minivan made a U-turn on the spot, then slowly lifted off the ground. William Dawson took one last look at his own corpse, which still hadn’t been pried out.

“By the way, are you two really Black and White Impermanence?”