Another Dispute, Splitting into Two Paths

Inside the Carriage, that burst of blood mist was still slowly dissipating.

Everyone was shocked, their gazes darting between Crow's shattered head and Jiangnan's still-raised finger.

Fear, confusion, and a sense of bewildered world-view collapse.

"What... what's going on? Why did Crow suddenly die?"

In a Corner, a petite Female Student (she) wearing thick-soled Glasses raised her hand.

Her name was Liu Yuqing, a top student ranked high in the entire school.

"I... I think I saw..."

"Jiangnan just made a gun gesture, and... he even spoke!"

"Then Crow exploded!"

As soon as she said this, several surrounding Female Students (she) gasped.

However, before the shock could fester.

"Huh? Liu Yuqing, is your Brain also scared silly?"

A sneer rang out.

The one speaking was a Female Student (she) sitting in the front row.

She was dressed head to toe in designer brands, still tightly clutching an un-tagged Hermes bag, her chin so sharp it could kill.

Her Nasal Bridge was translucent, an obvious Influencer Face that had undergone excessive plastic surgery.

Her name was Bai Lianhua, notorious in the Class for being a snob.

"Do you think this is a novel? Making gestures, speaking?"

Bai Lianhua rolled her eyes dramatically, pointing at the still poker-faced Jiangnan:

"Everyone knows he's a Mute (he)!"

"What, is there really a lunatic who would pretend to be mute for eighteen years just to show off, only to do this today?"

"That's too ridiculous!"

Although Bai Lianhua's words were harsh, they were, undeniably, logical.

Who would be so bored as to pretend to be a Mute (he) for eighteen years?

However, Liu Yuqing bit her lip and mustered the courage to retort.

"But... but, I really saw it."

The next second, the female student sitting beside her spoke.

It was Liu Yuqing's best friend, and also the class beauty, Yu Shishi.

She was pure and beautiful, and usually inseparable from Liu Yuqing.

"Yuqing, classmate Jiangnan has a certificate from the hospital, you must have seen it wrong."

"If you don't believe me, think carefully. If you were a fake mute, you could speak but couldn't because of some hardship!"

"To not be able to share earth-shattering gossip, to be misunderstood and unable to explain, how unbearable would that be!"

"Let alone eighteen years, even one year... I couldn't persist!"

Hearing this, Jiangnan, who had been expressionless, twitched the corner of his eye.

He nodded madly in his heart.

I have to say, you've spoken my mind!

Eighteen years! A full eighteen years!

Do you know how I've spent these eighteen years?!

To save up these few words, for the power of that shudder.

How many times I wanted to complain, how many times I wanted to curse, but in the end, I could only tightly grip my thigh and swallow my words!

This also led to him being almost unable to make any expression on his face now.

Besides a forced crooked mouth and a cold laugh, he was basically expressionless!

"But..."

Liu Yuqing wanted to say something more, but was rudely interrupted by a roar.

"Enough! Who cares if he's a real mute or a fake mute!"

Yang Wei suddenly jumped up from his seat, his finger trembling as he pointed at the corpse on the ground.

His eyes were different from Li Xin's desire, filled with fear.

"Compared to how the crow died..."

"Didn't you guys just see what he did?!"

Yang Wei shouted loudly, his face full of terror and anger:

"He grabbed Li Xin and used him as a human shield!!"

"He used a living person to block the crow's beak!!"

One sentence stirred up a thousand waves.

The crowd, who had been immersed in the crow's cause of death, suddenly recalled the chilling scene just now.

That mute, whom they usually regarded as a weakling with no presence.

Had actually plucked Li Xin, who weighed 140 jin, out with one hand and thrown him at the monster like trash!

"I saw it too... too cruel..."

"Although Li Xin was a bit much just now, Jiang Nan can't just kill someone!"

"Exactly, a murderer... what's the difference between him and that monster?"

In an instant, the public opinion inside the carriage changed.

Fear often turned into attacks on others.

Jiang Nan looked at these classmates who had been timid just now, but now stood on the moral high ground and pointed fingers.

But in his eyes, there was only teasing.

Especially this big guy, who was actually using the herd mentality to win people over.

It reminded him of a sentence he saw online before.

When you are barked at by a wild dog by the roadside, will you bark back?

Of course not.

Because Jiang Nan would just beat it to death.

Then he slowly raised his right hand, index finger straight, pointing at Yang Wei's glabella.

At this moment, Yang Wei's hair stood on end.

"You... what do you want to do..."

When he saw the trembling tone and the eyes full of fear.

Hmm? No.

I know... so that's how it is.

Jiang Nan frowned, then the corner of his mouth raised.

It seems...

Things were not as simple as he imagined.

He had underestimated this big guy, falling for some stereotypes.

Next, Jiangnan put down his hands, shook his head, and spread his palms.

The meaning was simple: you guys do as you please.

However, in the very next moment.

"Whoosh!"

A gust of fragrant wind swept over.

Immediately after, Jiangnan felt his vision darken, and two mounds instantly enveloped his entire face!

It was Chen Tong!

This voluptuous beautiful teacher, in her haste, rushed forward and directly gave Jiangnan a "face wash."

Forcibly pushing his head into her surging bosom!

"Mmm..."

Jiangnan immediately felt his breath catch, almost suffocating.

Oh! This damned suffocating feeling...

And this damned softness!

Chen Tong held Jiangnan tightly, turned her head, and angrily rebuked Yang Wei and the others.

"What time is it! And you're still infighting!"

"Can't you guys calm down and think about what we should do next?!"

It had to be said that Chen Tong, as a counselor, had some authority.

Plus, she usually treated her students well, having helped quite a few students during last year's winter break exams.

And she was a great beauty. When she got angry, many people lowered their heads.

"Hoo..."

Yang Wei, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, heard Chen Tong speak and then, with his neck stiffened, shouted.

"Teacher Chen, you're being biased! Jiangnan, he clearly..."

"Stop arguing! Everyone stop arguing!"

Just then, another voice cut in.

It was the chubby kid with glasses, Wang Meng.

He ran over from the driver's seat, covered in sweat, interrupting their dispute.

"Our goal isn't infighting, it's to survive until sunrise!"

Wang Meng said, panting:

"By the way, my family owns a repair shop. After Wang Shifu died, I went up to check the car's condition."

"Bad news: The power system is completely paralyzed, and the engine is scrap. This bus is now an iron coffin, completely undrivable!"

Hearing this, everyone's faces instantly turned pale.

The bus was broken?

Wouldn't that mean they'd be trapped and die here?

"Why don't we all think about what to do next? I don't recommend staying in the bus."

Wang Meng pushed his glasses up and pointed at the broken window.

"You all saw it, those crows could smash through the glass with ease."

"This bus's defense power is no different from paper in front of those monsters!"

Hearing Wang Meng's words, everyone immediately shifted their attention away from Jiangnan.

After all, life and death were the most important matters!

"Damn it!"

Yang Wei angrily punched the bench and cursed, "That surnamed Wang is a real bastard! He must have known all along!"

"No wonder the car door wouldn't open! And he was so distraught then!"

Yang Wei paced back and forth in the aisle, his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty.

During this time, he secretly glanced at Jiangnan, who was still struggling, several times, trembling all over.

Finally, he stopped abruptly, his eyes sharp and fierce.

"No! We can't wait any longer!"

"The bus is too big a target! And..."

He glanced with disgust at the corpses of Wang Shifu and Li Xin on the ground, and the blood everywhere.

"The bloody smell here is too strong! It will definitely attract more monsters!"

"We have to leave!"

As he spoke, Yang Wei looked around, his gaze falling on the large wrench in Chen Tong's hand, as if he wanted to snatch it.

But the next second, he met Jiang Nan's eyes, which had just broken free from Chen Tong's embrace.

Yang Wei shivered all over and immediately abandoned the thought.

"Hmph!"

He snorted coldly, turned around, and grabbed a few scattered bags of potato chips and beef jerky from the ground, stuffing them into his bag.

Then, with quick hands, he took the window-breaking hammer hanging by the window, and the high-power flashlight beside Wang Shifu's corpse.

These were already the most valuable supplies in the vehicle.

He walked to an unbroken window, smashed the glass with a hammer, and looked back at everyone.

"This vehicle is a death trap! Who wants to come with me?"

"It's dark outside, but as long as we find an open place without trees, there won't be those crows! An open field of vision is safe!"

The crowd looked at each other.

Looking at the blood and corpses filling the vehicle, and then at the broken windows, fear overcame everything.

"Me! Brother Yang Wei, I'll go with you!"

"I'm going too! It's too smelly in this vehicle!"

"Let's go, let's go, I also think it's safer outside!"

Driven by their will to live, most of the students picked up their belongings and scrambled to follow Yang Wei out the window.

In just two minutes.

The originally crowded carriage instantly became empty.

Only four people remained.

Chen Tong, Jiang Nan, Wang Meng, and the petite girl from before, Liu Yuqing.

Outside the window, Yang Wei shone his flashlight and shouted back.

"Teacher Chen! Aren't you coming down?"

Chen Tong looked at Yang Wei, then at Jiangnan beside her, appearing hesitant.

"Jiangnan... should we go too?"

"It really is too bloody here..."

However, Jiangnan shook his head.

He found a clean spot and sat down, his expression calm.

Joking.

He was currently a Glass Cannon Mage with High Attack Low Defense. Although his Word Spirit was strong, his body was still a Mortal Body.

This bus, though old, was at least a layer of sheet metal.

Actively leaving cover to go into that unknown Night Jungle?

And going into an open area?

Wasn't that purely idiotic behavior?

Seeing that Jiangnan refused to move, Chen Tong became even more conflicted.

She didn't know what choice to make. Reason told her that Yang Wei made sense, but her intuition made her not want to leave this student.

Finally, she looked into Jiangnan's eyes and asked.

"Why? Give teacher a reason."

Jiangnan took out his Memo Pad, the tip of his pen scratching across the paper, and concisely wrote two characters that seemed to pierce through the paper:

[Trust me.]

Looking at these two words, Chen Tong took a deep breath.

A strange sense of security surged in her heart again.

"Okay."

Chen Tong's gaze firmed, and she shouted towards Outside the Window, "I'm not leaving, you all be careful!"

This time, Yang Wei and the others Outside Car were completely enraged.

"Tch, I think Teacher Chen is infatuated with that Pretty Boy!"

"Exactly, following a Mute to wait for death!"

Everyone chattered and gossiped.

These words fell on Jiangnan's ears like a joke.

Who would argue with a dead person?

His gaze swept over the other two who remained.

Wang Meng was hunched over the control panel, seemingly trying to see if anything could be repaired, ignoring the calls from outside.

Meanwhile, a small dispute was happening with Liu Yuqing.

She was leaning out the window, desperately trying to persuade Yu Shishi, who was below the vehicle.

"Shishi! Come up! It's really too dangerous outside!"

"I think it's safer inside the car!"

Liu Yuqing shouted anxiously.

Yu Shishi stood in the cold wind, looking at the car with some hesitation.

But before she could speak, Bai Lianhua, standing beside her, grabbed her arm.

"Oh, Shishi! Why are you listening to that bookworm?"

Bai Lianhua looked at Liu Yuqing with a disgusted expression.

"Liu Yuqing, if you want to die, don't drag others down! Didn't you see that Jiangnan kills without batting an eye?"

"Compared to that pervert, I'd rather follow Brother Yang Wei!"

"He's the center for the school basketball team, and a sports student. Even if we encounter a monster, he can carry us away!"

Beside them, three boys who had always pursued Yu Shishi immediately chimed in.

"Exactly! Shishi, ignore that four-eyes girl!"

"We'll protect you! What future is there with that mute?"

"Shishi, hurry up and leave, it's too cold here!"

The way these boys were bowing and scraping, don't ask why they didn't look like sycophants, just ask why they were deeply affectionate warm guys.

Yu Shishi looked at Liu Yuqing, then at the boys surrounding her like stars, and finally gritted her teeth.

"Yuqing... I'm sorry."

"I think everyone is right. How about... you come down too?"

Hearing this, Liu Yuqing's eyes instantly dimmed.

She could tell that in the face of life and death, this best friend bond was nothing more than that.

She took a deep breath and shook her head desperately.

"Shishi, can you trust me just once?"

Yu Shishi dodged her gaze and found an excuse: "I... I'm afraid of blood."

Liu Yuqing didn't speak anymore.

She silently took a step back, then, in front of her former friend, resolutely closed the car window.

She even fastened the latch.

This closure separated two worlds.

"Tch! What kind of person is she! I tried to be nice and she took it for granted!"

Bai Lianhua spat fiercely at the car window.

Then she affectionately linked arms with Yu Shishi, not forgetting to turn back and give the three boys a seductive glance.

"Let's go, let's go! You guys better be good Flower Protectors~"

"Don't worry!"

The three boys instantly became as energetic as if they had been injected with chicken blood.

"Alright, stop dawdling!"

Yang Wei, ahead, waved his flashlight impatiently.

He glanced back at the pitch-black bus and at Jiangnan, who wasn't planning to leave, and felt relieved.

I don't want to be with a monster...

Yang Wei thought warily, then gave the order.

"Let's go! To the open ground over there! The more open it is, the fewer trees there will be, and without trees, there will be no crows!"

The group marched mightily towards a slightly sparser area deeper in the jungle.

As night deepened, the blood-red moon climbed above the treetops.

Inside the carriage, Jiangnan leaned by the window, watching the group of figures gradually disappear into the darkness.

"Open area..."

Jiangnan sneered inwardly.

In this Barbaric Realm full of crises, exposing oneself in an unobstructed wilderness...

That wasn't called safety.

That was called a buffet opening.