Creak. The bus door opened and the group of people who had been waiting at the bus stop rushed onto the bus.
It was early August, and the midsummer weather was unbearably hot. It was still early in the morning, but the scorching sun had turned the seaside town into an oven, making everyone who was outdoors suffer. The air conditioner on the bus was very attractive. If they got on early, they could at least get some rest.
"Phew, it's so hot."
"Sir, can you turn up the air conditioner?"
The passengers rushed onto the bus. After a round of fighting for seats, a chubby middle-aged woman who sat at the front of the bus begged the driver.
"It's loud enough." The middle-aged driver did not even look at her. He closed the door and drove on.
Shen Haoxuan boarded the bus late and he was a teenager. It was not appropriate for him to fight for a seat with the middle-aged woman and the middle-aged man.
He was a high school graduate and it was summer break. He did well in the exam and got into the university he wanted. His parents were so happy that he decided to take the driver's license. He had not finished the course yet and since he had a license but no car, he could only take the bus.
That day, there was a rare anime convention at the seaside town. Even though it was not big, it was a blessing for the youngsters.
Shen Haoxuan had already arranged to meet his friends at the convention and he was on his way there.
Just the thought of the event made him excited. He heard that there would be a few internet streamers, he could not wait.
"Cough … Cough …"
Suddenly, a series of uncomfortable coughs came from inside the bus. The coughs were so loud that it caused everyone to frown.
Shen Haoxuan turned to look and saw an uncle sitting not too far away from him.
The middle-aged man was in his forties. He was dressed casually and looked like an ordinary passerby. However, what caught people's attention was that the middle-aged man's complexion was very bad. He was a passenger on the bus and had been sitting in the air-conditioning for at least one stop, but he was sweating profusely. Even the white shirt on his upper body was stained with sweat.
"Cough … Hmm …" The uncle's coughs finally subsided. It took him a long time to adjust his heavy breathing.
But suddenly, another series of violent coughs came. The uncle's whole body was shaking. His face was red and his coughs sounded like thick phlegm.
The few passengers who were originally standing around the uncle immediately squeezed away from him. The passengers who were sitting next to him and in the row in front of him also hurriedly got up and left.
There were three empty seats around the uncle, but no one dared to sit there.
"What the hell?" The auntie in front of the bus looked back. There were only two seats between them, and one of them was empty. The auntie grumbled, "If you're sick, you should wear a mask when you're on the bus." The uncle still couldn't stop coughing, and the auntie grumbled even louder, "Can you bear with it? Can you press it with your hands? "
"Ah, I'm sorry …" The middle-aged man did not argue with her. Instead, he coughed and said, "I have a fever. I'm coughing a little."
"A little cough?" The middle-aged woman complained. "You call this a little cough? Tuberculosis, "she finally muttered.
Under normal circumstances, no one would side with such an overbearing auntie, but this time, they felt uncomfortable.
This was not the first time Shen Haoxuan had encountered someone coughing on the bus, but this was the first time he had encountered someone with such a serious cough.
The bus continued to move down the small town road. The atmosphere inside the bus became more and more oppressive. The uncle tried his best to hold it in. He used his hands to cover his mouth but he still coughed. The coughing grew louder and louder.
Seeing his saliva splattering everywhere, the passengers around him had a hard time calming down. They tried to squeeze their way to the other seats.
"Sir, can we stop the bus?" Someone asked, trying to get off the bus.
"You can't stop here." The driver said with a tone that said, "He doesn't want to wear a mask, but you can wear one yourself."
"Oh no … I mean …" The uncle wanted to say something, but before he could, his words turned into a coughing fit. His hands gripped his chest in pain and his body shivered. "… When I left home, it wasn't … this … this serious …"
"Wah, you'd better stop talking!" The auntie yelled angrily. "I beg you, if you're sick, don't take the bus."
Shen Haoxuan could not stand it anymore. He said, "If you're sick, you need to take the bus to the hospital. Uncle, do you need me to call an ambulance for you? "
Many of the passengers agreed or else the bus would have to travel all the way to the hospital's emergency building.
This was because the uncle's face was too ghastly. He coughed so hard that he looked like he was about to stop breathing. When he wasn't coughing, he was gasping for air.
"Hmm, hmm!" Suddenly, the uncle's eyes widened and his chest convulsed. He turned his head to the side and coughed violently. It sounded like something had cracked.
The crowd was stunned. Even Shen Haoxuan and the auntie were startled. They saw the uncle cough out a mouthful of blood and it landed on the bus's floor.
But it was not just blood, there was also some red, sticky substance. There was phlegm, but it was not just phlegm …
It was like something inside the lungs had been infected and rotted into small pieces, mixed in with the bloody phlegm.
A horrible stench spread through the air.
"Ah!" A young female passenger not far away screamed. The phlegm that the uncle coughed out splashed on her feet and dress.
"Tuberculosis ghost!" The auntie screamed in shock and anger.
At the same time, the young male passenger next to the female passenger was assaulted by the stench. His face paled and he could not stop himself from vomiting. A large amount of undigested food tumbled out from his mouth. It splashed all over the floor and the surrounding passengers' clothes.
Instantly, the stench inside the bus thickened. The whole bus turned into a living hell. Panicked screams filled the air.
"Open the window, open the window!"
"Why are you still opening the window? Stop the bus, stop the bus!"
Shen Haoxuan was dumbfounded. He saw the auntie stand up to grab the driver's steering wheel to force the bus to stop. Out of instinct, he and the other two male passengers rushed forward to stop the auntie. Everything turned upside down.
On the other side, the uncle was still slumped in his seat. His face was filled with pain and terror. His red eyes stared at the puddle of stuff that he had coughed out.
'What … is that thing …'
"Cough, cough …"
More violent coughing sounds erupted, and bloody saliva splattered everywhere.
Microscopic bacteria floated in the air. Some of them drifted into the air conditioner while others drifted into the passengers' respiratory tract and lungs …
The driver's seat was a mess. The fully loaded bus staggered along the road.
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