When the Rules Descend: Starting with the 404 Last Bus

On a stormy night, Jiang Zhe is stranded in the wilderness and unexpectedly boards the last No. 404 bus bound for the city.

Only after getting on does he realize that something is terribly wrong with it.

A passenger in a raincoat clutching a black bag, a ticket seller who doesn't exist, a driver with a human face growing from the back of his neck, and the yellowed "No. 404 Overnight Long-Distance Bus Passenger Safety Rules" behind the seats: every rule is a matter of life and death.

Don't change seats. Don't respond to the ticket seller. Don't eat food offered by the person next to you. If you hear a strange announcement, cover both ears...

Anyone who breaks a rule is reduced to nothing but human skin in an instant.

But Jiang Zhe soon realizes that the rules aren't impossible to beat.

The rules say not to let go of your ticket, but they don't say you can only cover your ears with your hands. They say you must accept the food, but they don't say you have to eat it.

Stay calm enough, and even an apparent dead end has a loophole.

Until the bus stops at a strange service area, half red and half green.

The shadows on the ground begin to stand upright. A second set of rules quietly appears, and an unknown survivor has left behind a message:

If you want to make it back alive, go to the rear door and get the real return ticket.

Only then does Jiang Zhe realize that the true destination of the last No. 404 bus may never have been the city at all.