Morvian Holt folded his arms, the faint ticking of his chest-mounted speedometers echoing through the empty hall.  

“Before we discuss the purchase, Mr. Gates,” he said, “you’ll have to pass a *qualification test.*”

Joseph frowned. “Qualification? To buy a car?”  

The ghost dealer smiled, polite but cruel. “To buy *my dealership.* Ownership in the underworld is bound by motion and mastery. If you can’t control what’s sold here, you’re not worthy of owning it.”  

He gestured to a dull gray sedan behind him, its frame twitching as if alive. “Drive this. Complete the circuit around the ring road. You have five minutes. Fail, and—” He snapped his fingers. The sedan gave a soft growl, its tires turning into fanged mouths. “—the car finishes *you.*”

Joseph stared at the vehicle, unimpressed.  

*This ghost is really not smart,* he thought. *I need to take a test to sell a car? What kind of rules are these?*

But people in a haunted house obey the host. He forced a smile. “Fine. Let’s hear the rules.”  

When Morvian finished explaining, Joseph realized it wasn’t just unreasonable—it was nearly suicidal. The sedan wasn’t exactly junk, but compared to the time limit, it was a death sentence.  

He sighed. “You know what? Forget this.”  

He reached into his *Ring of All Things.* Golden light spilled out as stacks of Mingbi appeared, their glow painting the whole hall in molten gold.  

“I’ll take that one instead.” He pointed toward the far end of the showroom, where a low, gleaming vehicle crouched under spectral blue light. Its body shimmered like wet ink, its headlights shaped like eyes ready to devour the road.  

Morvian blinked. “You mean… the *Gui Baojini?*”  

“Yeah,” Joseph said. “Wrap it up. How much?”  

The dealer hesitated, trying to look composed even as greed flared in his hollow eyes. “That… model isn’t cheap. It’s an apex-class soul vehicle. Price: eight hundred million Mingbi.”  

Joseph didn’t even blink. He snapped his fingers, and bundles of Mingbi stacked themselves into the air, high enough to brush the chandelier. “Done.”  

Morvian swallowed. *By the Abyss… who the hell is this man?* He forced a smile. “Very well. The Gui Baojini is yours.”  

The car’s doors opened automatically, glowing faintly as Joseph approached. The metal hummed in tune with his heartbeat. The moment his hand touched the wheel, the dashboard flickered to life, runes rearranging into words only the living could see:  

> **Soul Bond Established: GUI BAOJINI.**  

> **Rule: Driver’s will determines speed. Failure equals absorption.**

Joseph smirked. “Good girl.”  

Morvian cleared his throat. “The test remains the same—five minutes around the city—”  

Joseph interrupted, voice calm but sharp as glass. “Before I start, a question.”  

Morvian froze. “Yes?”  

Joseph leaned against the car, his eyes half-lidded but cutting. “If I die during the test… does the sale of your dealership still count?”  

The words hit like a hammer.  

The ghost’s face twitched. He hadn’t expected that—hadn’t thought the human would even *ask*.  

“Technically…” Morvian stammered, “if the buyer dies before completing the contract, the sale is void. Ownership reverts to the original holder.”  

Joseph smiled faintly, slow and dangerous. “So if I die, you lose both your property *and* the money.”  

A beat of silence.  

The color drained from the dealer’s translucent skin. His greedy little plan to humiliate the mortal, maybe bleed him for more Mingbi, had just backfired catastrophically.  

He coughed, forcing a shaky laugh. “On second thought—perhaps the rules were… unnecessarily harsh.”  

The red script hanging in the air above the car shimmered, then began to rewrite itself.  

> **Rule Update:**  

> **Complete one full circuit of the road. Time limit removed.**  

> **Objective: Return safely. Success upon survival.**

Joseph tilted his head. “Now that sounds reasonable.”  

“Safety first,” Morvian said, sweating phantom oil. “The road is… unpredictable, after all.”  

Joseph climbed into the Gui Baojini, the cockpit wrapping around him like liquid shadow. The engine ignited with a scream, a chorus of souls roaring into flame.  

Blue light flared beneath the tires, burning sigils into the floor.  

He grinned, pressing the accelerator. “Then let’s go for a drive.”  

The car shot forward, leaving a trail of blue fire as the blood-red gates of the dealership yawned open.  

The mission text across the windshield pulsed once, crimson and cold:  

> **Mission Initiated: Trial of the Ghost Road.**  

> **Rule: Stay in motion. Stop, and the road stops you.**