"Stubborn as a dead duck!" the attendant retorted, unwilling to be outdone.
Ning Wei couldn't be bothered. She had spent a lot of energy at the hospital and just wanted to rest.
The attendant, believing she had won the verbal spar with Ning Wei, became even more arrogant and tried to grab her to continue the argument.
Her skeletal hand reached for Ning Wei, who exerted a slight force, pulling the entire skeleton apart.
Perhaps this body had been dead for too long, because with Ning Wei's gentle pull, the attendant's arm detached and clattered to the floor, flesh and bone landing with a dull thud in the middle of the carriage.
Ning Wei was a little surprised, but even more astonished was the attendant.
"Are you crazy!" the attendant screamed, scrambling to pick up her bones and flesh.
One of the passengers, already terrified of ghosts, fainted on the spot.
"I didn't mean to. You grabbed me and wouldn't let me leave," Ning Wei said, feeling a tiny pang of guilt seeing the attendant's pitiful state.
The attendant, clearly more concerned about her flesh and blood, ignored Ning Wei and crouched down, diligently gathering pieces of bone and skin.
"I'll apologize if that's what it takes," Ning Wei muttered softly.
The attendant finally reattached her flesh and blood and glared at Ning Wei.
At this moment, the quiet driver suddenly spoke, "I told you not to provoke her."
Hearing this, the attendant immediately turned her blade towards the driver, pulling off one of her own hands and repeatedly smashing it into the driver's head.
Seeing the attendant's anger redirected towards the poor driver, Ning Wei quietly retreated to her assigned seat in the back row.
The driver, true to his nature, simply took the blows without retaliation. After the attendant had vented her frustration, he slowly started the bus and continued on their way.
Feeling both Ning Wei and the driver had bullied her (as she saw it), the attendant decided to give up. She slumped into her seat, propping her legs up high.
The driver looked helpless and reminded the passengers, "Please fasten your seatbelts!"
"Click, click, click." The sound of seatbelts being fastened filled the air.
The attendant grumbled again, "I reminded you before, why weren't you this quick then?"
No one dared to speak. No one wanted to be the third unfortunate soul to anger the attendant to death.
The bus sped along, as if the driver had an urgent appointment. Perhaps he was eager to drop off the passengers so he could find a place to appease the ruffled attendant.
The attendant indeed remained listless throughout the journey, paying no attention to the passengers and not uttering another word.
The driver, unconcerned with their well-being, drove erratically. The road was incredibly bumpy, and he maneuvered the vehicle with a rumble like a tractor on the broken pavement.
Ning Wei was jolted awake and shouted in annoyance, "Driver! Are you trying to shake our brains out so you can get off work early?"
The driver dared not respond. If any passengers died on the bus now, both he and the attendant would be punished.
As expected, the driver began to drive more smoothly. However, this displeased the attendant, who let out cold huffs periodically.
The innocent passengers suffered greatly, never before wishing so desperately to reach the next stop.
Finally, to everyone's relief, the bus came to a halt.
The attendant kicked open the door and stood aside reluctantly, saying, "Zoo Station. Passengers, please disembark quickly. I'm sure you'll all enjoy this stop very much."
She chuckled slyly at the end of her sentence.
The passengers swallowed hard and quickly disembarked in order of their seats.
Ning Wei was the last to get off. As she passed the attendant, she let out a heavy huff.
Before the attendant could retort, Ning Wei strode towards the station.
The driver quickly closed the bus door and, with the furious attendant, sped away from the station.
Upon arriving at the Zoo Station, everyone first observed their surroundings.
This was the best station they had encountered so far. The area was filled with childlike decorations, with plastic animal cutouts adorning the station's perimeter, clearly indicating their location.
"This place looks new, must be a new station."
"Does that mean it's safe?"
No one could answer this question. The experience was too bizarre; it felt like no station would be truly safe.
However, they only thought these things to themselves, as having hope was better than constant fear.
They stood around for a long time until a cute little cat appeared.
It glowed with a faint green light. After glancing at the group, Ning Wei said, "Let's go. This is our guide."
"But it's an animal," someone hesitated.
Ning Wei had already taken a few steps. Hearing this, she turned back to look at the group. "It's a zoo. Isn't it normal for animals to lead the way?"
She walked off without waiting to see if they would follow.
However, not everyone was skeptical. Those familiar with Ning Wei, such as Mei Nan, Song Zhi, Fu Chengwei, Zhu Yulian, and others, trusted her implicitly.
More people began to follow, and eventually, even the last stragglers, unwilling to remain behind, grudgingly caught up.
The group passed through a mist, and when they emerged into the light again, it was broad daylight.
They found themselves in a large open space with many vendors selling various small items, food, drinks, toys, and stuffed animals.
Further ahead was the main entrance to the zoo.
The zoo was doing good business, with a long queue already formed, mostly families with children.
Fu Chengwei, the tallest among the passengers, looked ahead and said in a low voice, "We need to get tickets to enter. What do we do?"
Hearing this, everyone patted their pockets and pulled out work passes. On them read: "Zoo Staff, Loss Prohibited, Consequences at Your Own Risk!"
The tourists in front finally passed through, and now it was Ning Wei's group's turn.
Ning Wei presented her work pass to the ticket checker at the entrance.
"Why are you so late? Hurry inside and find the director! The zoo is swamped, why are you queuing with the visitors!" the ticket checker chided the entire group before opening the gate for them.
Fu Chengwei muttered, "If they know it's so busy, why are they wasting time here."
After saying this, he glanced nervously at the entrance, ensuring the staff member hadn't heard him, and then let out a soft huff.
According to the staff member's instructions, they were supposed to report to the director.
However, none of them knew where the director was. They decided to split up and look for staff members. With their mouths, they could ask anyone.