Crimson

After that delay, Zhou Tong had already taken her seat.

The two men looked at the people in the bus and shouted, "Damn it, hand over everything valuable on you! If you don't want to die, make it quick!"

With that, they raised the machetes in their hands and violently struck the metal handrails inside the bus.

The entire bus immediately fell into panic.

This scene...

It was simply the sort of scene that would only exist in some barbaric, uncivilized backwater.

Xu Qing truly found it hard to associate any of this with the future world.

Very quickly, the employees on the bus handed over their watches, phones, and other belongings.

But that was not the end of it.

The two men began wandering through the bus again.

Their gazes were fixed specifically on the women.

Sitting on the floor, Xu Qing watched everything unfold, his heart sinking.

Soon.

The two men arrived beside Zhou Tong.

Just as one of them was about to lean closer, his expression suddenly changed slightly. Frowning, he cursed, "Damn it, body odor!"

"Fuck! I'm about to puke," the other man cursed as he waved a hand in front of his nose.

The two of them passed Zhou Tong by at the same time.

Xu Qing and Zhou Tong both breathed a sigh of relief almost simultaneously.

Xu Qing was just a little embarrassed.

Those two idiots couldn't even tell the difference between foot odor and body odor.

He had worn those socks for three days. So absorbed had he been in martial arts training that he had forgotten to change them.

They had actually come in handy now.

But just as his heart settled, another scream rang out from the rear of the bus.

Xu Qing looked up and saw one of the men grab Sister Liu by the collar.

"Third Brother, take her down!"

As he spoke, he forcibly dragged Sister Liu toward the exit.

The unfortunate Sister Liu immediately began crying and screaming as she clung desperately to a seat, fighting with all her strength.

But she was no match for two burly men.

"Help! Help!!"

Sister Liu screamed herself hoarse.

Yet everyone on the bus silently lowered their heads.

Quite a few male employees shut their eyes in pain, not daring to look at Sister Liu's helpless expression.

Xu Qing wanted to stand up several times.

But whenever he thought of that gun, all the strength drained from him.

A gun!

Those people actually had a gun!

With his current strength, he did not know what would happen if he faced a gun head-on.

But he would never take that risk, especially with so many people present.

If he acted recklessly, he would not only place himself in danger, but also drag the other ordinary people on the bus into it.

Xu Qing gritted his teeth and lowered his head.

He closed his eyes.

"Save me! Please save me!"

As she passed the bus door, Sister Liu grabbed Xu Qing's clothes as though clutching the last straw that could save her life.

Yet Xu Qing tore her hand away and refused to look at her face.

He let the two men drag Sister Liu off the bus.

"Hahaha, this kid's smart enough to know when to be a coward," one of the men said with a laugh.

"Fuck, who wants to die over some woman? Nobody's that stupid," the other robber sneered.

As the three of them got off the bus.

A wave of exhalations immediately swept through the vehicle.

"Wuwuwu—"

Many of the female employees began to cry softly.

Low curses and angry muttering from the men were mixed in as well.

Xu Qing stood and returned to his seat.

No one said anything to him, nor did anyone mention his martial arts training.

Even Zhou Tong was the same.

She lowered her head and wiped away her tears, thanking Xu Qing under her breath.

She did not blame him for failing to save Sister Liu either.

Xu Qing took the socks, put them on, then put on his shoes and turned to look outside.

Soon, the convoy set off again.

Xu Qing saw around six men standing outside.

Five carried blades, while one had a gun slung over his back.

They escorted Sister Liu toward the woods, chatting and laughing all the way.

The security personnel turned a blind eye to it all.

They simply let Sister Liu be taken away.

This time, the return journey slowed down.

Watching the shadows of trees constantly flash past outside the window, Xu Qing's mind kept replaying Sister Liu's helpless cries for help.

After a long while, he recalled how he had been kidnapped shortly after transmigrating, only to be kindly saved by Zhou Yu.

The relief of surviving disaster, that joy...

Compared to the helplessness and despair he had felt when he was captured, it had left an unforgettable mark on him.

"Hey, do you have a mask or one of those sun-protection face coverings?"

Xu Qing turned to Zhou Tong and tapped her shoulder.

Zhou Tong nodded and took a pink sun-protection face covering from her bag. "What do you need it for?"

Xu Qing accepted the face covering. Seeing the employees in the bus lowering their heads or sleeping, he said quietly, "Keep this a secret for me. And remember to watch my backpack."

Then, beneath Zhou Tong's astonished gaze.

He opened the window and silently jumped out.

Watching Xu Qing vanish through the window, Zhou Tong covered her mouth in shock.

Thud!

After jumping from the bus, Xu Qing rolled fiercely and successfully stopped himself.

He looked back at the bus slowly driving away.

Then he drew a deep breath and rushed into the woods beside the road.

After entering the forest, Xu Qing carefully considered how to avoid exposing his identity.

In the end, he decided to wear his shirt inside out and reverse his pants as well.

Then he tied Zhou Tong's pink face covering over his face, completely concealing his features and leaving only a pair of striking black-and-white eyes exposed.

In that outfit, he looked just like a girl version of "Zorro."

Only then did he sprint along the highway toward the place where the bus had been stopped.

Based on the bus's speed and the time that had passed.

His current location was no more than three or four kilometers from the scene.

He checked the electronic watch on his wrist. It was now 18:57 in the evening.

Night was drawing closer.

He had to find Sister Liu before darkness fell completely.

Otherwise, once night came and there was no light anywhere, there would be nothing he could do.

Xu Qing sprinted at full speed.

On this desolate road, he had nothing to worry about.

He was like a cheetah.

For the first time, he felt truly unrestrained.

Out here in the wilderness, free from the company environment and the constraints of crowds.

For the first time, he ran with everything he had.

By the time he reached the place where the bus had been intercepted.

Xu Qing checked his watch.

19:00 sharp!

He had only taken three minutes!

That meant his speed had reached six seconds per hundred meters!

He had even surpassed every top-class hundred-meter sprinter from his previous life!

And he had maintained that speed for three kilometers without slowing down!

He had no idea what level that would count as among martial artists.

"Huff—"

Breathing lightly, Xu Qing marveled at his own speed while observing the ground.

He remembered that those men had dragged Sister Liu into the woods on the left side of the road.

Soon.

Xu Qing spotted several cigarette butts by the roadside and footprints leading deeper into the forest.

He quickly followed them, tracking the group all the way.

At night.

20:09.

"Hahaha! Boss, you should've seen it—the kid was so scared that he collapsed right onto the ground. He practically pissed himself!"

"Yeah, yeah, I saw it too. Second Brother was damn impressive!"

In the forest.

Beside a bonfire.

Six men sat around the flames, laughing and talking boisterously.

Beside them lay a large pile of "spoils," along with a rugged jeep.

Liu Yun's hands and feet were tied, and she was secured to the vehicle.

She looked at the robbers in terror and helplessness as they drank and chatted.

All sorts of miserable scenes kept flashing through her mind.

"Boss, this haul wasn't bad. We stopped three groups today, and we can probably make over three hundred thousand. Where do you think we should go have some fun afterward?"

"Speaking of fun, I've got to say it—Boss, you go first with that woman. Once you're done, the rest of us brothers can take turns!"

"Yeah! Boss goes first!"

"Hahaha!"

The contract has been signed. The status should change in the next couple of days, so brothers and sisters who haven't invested yet, hurry up.