"Why hasn't it come yet? I've waited so long I could have wilted!"
"Yeah, we were supposed to leave at seven, and now it's already eight."
Complaints began to emerge from the fifty students, from first to fifth grade. Children have limited patience; they started grumbling after just a ten-minute delay.
"Please don't worry, everyone. It's rush hour, and as you know, traffic in Suzhou City can be terrible. It won't clear up for a while, so please be patient," the teacher in charge continuously tried to soothe the students.
Sure enough, before long, a bus arrived, and the elementary school students cheered as it came to a halt.
"It's bus number one, but where is bus number two?"
"Yeah, where's bus number two?"
"Don't worry, students. I left half an hour before bus number two and only just arrived, so it will probably be a bit longer for them. Children and parents for bus number one, please follow me and line up in an orderly fashion."
"Forget it, I'm not going anymore. After waiting so long, it's better to stay at home and play video games."
"Yeah, yeah... This is so dull!"
After bus number one left, the remaining elementary school students became even more vocal with their complaints. Song Jia kicked the ground continuously, a look of unhappiness on her face. However, Song Jia was relatively quiet by nature, so she refrained from complaining for a long time.
Joy always comes unexpectedly. Not long after bus number one had departed, bus number two also arrived. The sight of the second bus elicited another round of enthusiastic cheers from the students.
Especially those who had been clamoring to give up and go home were now jumping around more than anyone else. Ah, their mouths protested, but their actions revealed the truth.
There were fifty-two seats on the bus, with adults and children sitting in pairs. The parents from this prestigious school indeed had good manners. They lined up in order and took their seats systematically. Aside from the noisy chatter of the students, the adults conversed softly and gently.
"Hey, Mr. Huang, we're boarding the bus too. How's traffic on your end?"
"Ugh, don't even get me started. We're stuck and not moving an inch. We probably won't reach Sky Curtain Lake until noon. I don't know what's going on today; there's fog everywhere, the overpass is closed, and the whole city is gridlocked."
"Nothing we can do about it then. See you at Sky Curtain Lake."
"Alright!"
After Mr. Qiu hung up the phone, the driver suddenly spoke up, "Mr. Qiu, the city traffic is so bad, why don't we take the Ring City National Highway? There should be fewer cars there. It might mean an extra thirty kilometers, but we could arrive in about an hour."
"Really? Then please, take the Ring City National Highway."
"Alrighty, kiddos and parents, please fasten your seat belts; we're setting off!"
The bus slowly began to move. Sure enough, a massive traffic jam awaited right outside the school gate. After crawling through a slow stretch of road, the bus finally picked up speed. Traffic in the city was almost at a standstill; it was actually faster to circle the outskirts of Suzhou City to reach their destination.
The bus filled with chatter and laughter; the teachers were occupied with playing games with the children, ensuring a cheerful and lively atmosphere throughout the journey.
Wang Lan rested his head to the side, looking out the window. Perhaps this summer offers my final moments of peace. Having awakened as a Star Martial Warrior, I'll have to seize every opportunity to become stronger. In the world of Star Martial Warriors, you either grow stronger or perish.
For average people, this world was safe. They lived in a country that was constantly growing stronger. There was stability and a booming economy; everyone was well-fed and clothed.
However, this safe environment couldn't exist without the Star Martial Warriors' constant battles and efforts. Since the Demon Clan was repelled seventy years ago, human civilization had enjoyed this long period of peace. But throughout history, the Demon Clan never gave humanity much time to recuperate.
Each invasion by the Demon Clan brought painful memories to humanity. Between two hundred and seventy years ago, over a period of one hundred and thirty years, the human population plummeted from seven billion to two billion. Generation after generation, if one were to count the dead, it would be an astronomical number too harrowing for humanity to contemplate.
Although there was no war at present, Different Dimensional Spaces opened frequently. Each one required the dispatch of Pioneer Teams and armies for exploration. Spaces that could be controlled served as training grounds; those that could not were sealed off.
If left unchecked, Exotic Beasts from the Different Dimensional Spaces would break out and hunt humans. One only needed to look at the cities destroyed by Exotic Beasts in the Middle East, or witness the people displaced by their weakened nations, to realize how fortunate it was to be born in such a strong and safe country.
The country's strength came not only from its booming economy but also from the formidable power of the Star Martial Warriors. An economy without Star Martial Warriors is but a castle in the air, while Star Martial Warriors without an economy leads to destructive militarism. Jade Country, however, balanced both, demonstrating agility and strength combined.
Suddenly, the bus began to slow down, and Wang Lan's thoughts were interrupted.
Outside the window, a blanket of dense fog had appeared. It was so thick that one couldn't see their own hands in front of their face. Visibility wasn't just less than five meters; it was probably less than two.
"What's going on? How could there be such heavy fog..."
"The weather is really abnormal today. Driver, can you still drive? Should we stop?"
"We can't stop here; we're on a mountain road. If we stop, cars behind us might hit us, and we could tumble down the cliff. Low visibility isn't a problem; we'll use the horn to get our bearings."
The bus inched forward at a snail's pace, rocking gently. After around half an hour, they hadn't encountered any other vehicles on the road.
Wang Lan frowned. Although the Ring City National Highway often had fewer vehicles, it should still have had a steady stream of traffic.
"Driver, did we take the wrong turn?" Wang Lan suddenly realized something was wrong and asked aloud.
"No, I know Ring City National Highway like the back of my hand; I could drive it blindfolded."
But the problem is, driving now is no different from driving blindfolded. Visibility of only two to three meters is virtually like being blind.
"Driver, something's not right. We've been going uphill for half an hour. What place has such a long incline?"
"Incline? Are we going uphill?" The driver suddenly yelled anxiously, "Why do I feel like we're on flat ground? Ah! Not good—"
A scream startled everyone on the bus, and in an instant, the bus began to lean steeply. Wang Lan quickly wrapped his arms around Song Jia beside him as piercing screams filled the air, and suddenly, the bus seemed to lose its weight.
The world spun wildly, and the bus tumbled repeatedly down the slope.
BOOM—
With a violent jolt, the rolling bus came to a halt.
Once the bus stopped, Wang Lan quickly released Song Jia from his embrace. "Jiajia, how are you? Are you hurt?"
"Brother... it hurts so much..."
"SOB SOB SOB... It hurts, Mommy..."
"Uncle, my head hurts so much, and I'm bleeding..."
In an instant, cries filled the interior of the bus. Wang Lan unbuckled his seatbelt. As the bus lay on its side, Wang Lan punched through the glass and nimbly climbed out.
Just moments ago, the fog had been dense and disorienting, but now the sun shone brightly. Moreover, their surroundings resembled a canyon. If there was a canyon in Suzhou City, it would be West Mountain Canyon, but this didn't look like it. Perhaps it was the different angle.
"Brother!" Song Jia struggled to look up at Wang Lan.
"Come, give me your hand, and I'll pull you up."
After pulling Song Jia out of the bus, a fashionable woman handed over her child.
"Everyone, come one by one, don't push..."
Wang Lan took the children one by one and then helped the people inside climb out of the bus.
"We fell from such a height, and all of us are still alive?" Once outside, several parents looked incredulously at the cliff hidden in the clouds above.
"Not everyone is alive. The driver died."
"Let's not feel relieved yet. Hurry and make a phone call for help."
"Damn, I don't have a signal on my phone. What about your phones?"
"Same, no signal."
"Didn't they say 4G covers the entire city?"
"Maybe the mountains are an exception."
"I'm afraid it's not that simple..." one of the middle-aged men, who looked to be in his forties, said as he gazed solemnly at the bus.
"Look, the bus has been reinforced. It's because of these reinforcements that we didn't die when we rolled down from the top of the mountain. But with the driver dead, I can't be sure if the bus was reinforced long ago for passenger safety or if it was a temporary measure."
"Regardless of that, we first need to find a way to call for help. Everyone spread out and see where there is a mobile signal."
There were twenty-five children on the bus, and twenty-five adults too. Aside from a few who were injured, most adults were fine. In this situation, the children were disoriented and could only cry, but the adults had already started to look for solutions.
RUMBLE—
Suddenly, the sky darkened, not giving people a chance to breathe, and it started to drizzle.
It was June, and normally a little drizzle wouldn't be a problem. But strangely, this rain felt unusually cold, chilling them to the bone.
The dozen or so parents searching for a signal had to run back. Adults might endure the rain, but the children could not, especially those who were frightened and injured.
"Listen up, return to the bus! First, let's right the bus. Quick!" The middle-aged man suddenly began to command. His tone naturally carried a leader's aura, and everyone subconsciously followed his orders.
Wang Lan found a fallen dead tree not far off, and it took twenty people to right the bus.
Once again, they took shelter inside the bus, as the rain pitter-pattered outside. Gradually, beads of ice formed on the windows. Hail began to fall, in June!
"Mommy... I want to go home..."
"SOB SOB SOB... I will never go to summer camp again..."
One set off another, and cries quickly filled the bus again. Meanwhile, Wang Lan frowned, feeling an uneasy premonition. The weird fog, the eerie fall into the canyon, and now the bizarre hail.
"Just waiting here won't do us any good. How about this: who can offer a phone? I'll make a simple signal-sending device. There probably isn't a signal repeater here, which is why our phones have no reception," a bespectacled man from the central-south region calmly suggested.
"It's no use!" The middle-aged man who first gave orders spoke in a deep voice, "My phone is equipped with Sky Blue Star's top signal-sending device. It connects to satellite communications and is military-grade. Self-checks indicate everything is normal, but now, it has no signal either."
The middle-aged man went to the driver's seat and moved the driver's corpse aside. "Let me see if the bus can still be driven."
He skillfully started the engine, engaged the gears, and checked everything. After a short while, he turned the bus off again.
"The bus can start, but the brakes are broken. It seems the brake pads have shattered. Without spare parts, we can't fix them."
"What shall we do then?"
"The most optimistic scenario is to wait until people outside notice we're missing and come to rescue us."