Limited Abilities
If all the passengers on the bus had been wearing seatbelts, the injuries caused by this accident would likely have been much less.
Unfortunately, most people don't wear seatbelts when riding a bus.
There are no "what ifs" in the real world, and life doesn't offer second chances.
All the passengers in the carriage were thrown to one side. Many people were already flying out of their seats when the bus turned sideways. They were completely out of control when it overturned, like glass marbles in a metal box, and some were even thrown out of the window.
Within the space that Xiang Kun had desperately created with his own body, the little boy was not injured by collisions or squeezing, nor was he pinned down by anyone else. Apart from being frightened and a little dizzy from being shaken, his physical condition seemed to be fine.
After the bus stopped moving, Xiang Kun did not forcibly lift himself up from under the two passengers, fearing he might injure them—in fact, when the bus overturned, he deliberately moved there to let them be crushed, also to help alleviate some of the impact injuries they suffered.
Xiang Kun first helped one of the passengers move a little, then slowly propped himself up and helped the other passenger move so that the little boy could get up.
"My leg, my leg feels broken!!"
"Help me! Someone please help me!"
"I... I can't breathe..."
"Help me~~~~"
"Aaaaaah..."
At first, there were screams of panic and fear, followed by cries for help and wails.
Several passengers were thrown out and lost consciousness when the bus braked and swerved sideways; passengers sitting on the side of the overturned vehicle were not only impacted by that side, but also by the impact of other passengers and luggage falling from the vehicle, as well as the vehicle's inertia causing it to swing towards the roof; collisions between people, between people and the vehicle, and between people and luggage caused numerous injuries; shattered window glass, flying in all directions, was also a terrifying "weapon".
After getting up, Xiang Kun first made sure he hadn't suffered any fractures or other injuries, then went to open the two emergency escape windows on the roof—both doors of the bus were now facing the ground.
He first carried the little boy he was protecting out of the emergency escape window, then climbed out himself and carried him to a safe area on the side of the road.
They were still on the highway, and Xiang Kun couldn't guarantee that the cars coming from behind would stay focused and prevent a secondary collision, so he didn't dare let the little boy get too close.
Although the little boy didn't appear to have any injuries, he seemed completely terrified, his eyes wide open, unable to utter a single word.
Xiang Kun didn't have time to communicate with him. After crossing the roadside barrier and putting him in a safe area, he prepared to return to help others.
Feeling a tug on his clothes, Xiang Kun stopped and turned around. He saw the little boy finally seeming to have come to his senses, pulling him aside and whispering, "Dad..."
"Huh?" Xiang Kun was a little confused, but then he realized that the boy was asking him to help him find his father. Earlier on the bus, the little boy had been sitting with a rather thin man, who was probably his father.
"Stay here and don't move. I'm going back to save your father," Xiang Kun said solemnly, holding his shoulder.
Xiang Kun climbed over the guardrail again and returned to the emergency lane of the highway.
The two cars that were coming from the opposite direction crashed through the median and ended up in this lane. Their bodies were completely disintegrated, a truly horrific sight.
The impact wasn't limited to the bus carrying Xiang Kun and his group; several other vehicles were also affected, either directly hit or involved in accidents while trying to avoid it. At least eight vehicles were left stranded on the road.
Meanwhile, many vehicles that had come from behind were parked on the emergency lane, and some people inside got out, calling the police and trying to help.
Instead of immediately returning to the bus, Xiang Kun quickly went over to two private cars and asked for the warning signs from their trunks. He then ran over 200 meters to place them there to warn and alert the vehicles behind, preventing secondary or even tertiary accidents.
Then Xiang Kun returned to the bus and helped a passenger out of the emergency exit, allowing those who came from the emergency lane to help to lead him to the roadside.
Xiang Kun climbed back into the car. The situation inside was horrific. He switched to infrared thermal imaging vision mode, quickly built a cognitive model, and assessed the injuries of the passengers.
Many people were asking him for help, and those nearby who were also trapped reached out to pull him up.
While telling them that he had called the police and an ambulance and that someone would be coming to help them soon, Xiang Kun began to act according to the plan he had calculated in his mind.
He first helped those who weren't seriously injured but were just stuck and unable to move, carefully leaving through the emergency window without causing further harm to other injured people nearby.
As for the seriously injured, even though they were screaming pitifully and constantly asking for help, Xiang Kun only comforted them with words and did not move them. He had just observed that the vehicle would not catch fire or explode, and that they could wait for professional medical personnel to provide first aid.
Xiang Kun also found the thin man who sat with the little boy in his memory, but at a glance, he knew that the man was dead.
After helping several passengers who were still able to move to get off the bus, Xiang Kun also got off to help lift an SUV that had overturned and crashed into the roadside guardrail, so that the female passenger trapped inside could be rescued.
Because several people helped lift the car, he didn't have to worry about the effort he put in.
When he faintly heard the sounds of ambulances and police cars, Xiang Kun stopped his rescue and assistance efforts, picked up his backpack, and stood aside with the still somewhat bewildered little boy.
However, when the child whispered his request to find his father, Xiang Kun didn't know how to respond. In his cognitive model, he couldn't find a suitable answer that wouldn't affect the child's psychology, so he could only remain silent.
Fortunately, the little boy stopped making a fuss and just stood next to Xiang Kun, staring longingly at the overturned bus.
Traffic police, paramedics, and firefighters have arrived and are urgently handling the scene, treating the injured, and clearing traffic.
Xiang Kun quickly observed the rescuers, then chose a female medical worker, went over to her, handed the little boy over, and told her that the boy's parents were still on the bus.
The medical staff noticed blood on him and asked, "Were you also a passenger on that bus? Come over and check if you're injured."
"No need, I'm fine. I was lucky I wasn't injured. This blood belongs to other people." Xiang Kun naturally refused.
But when he tried to walk to the side, he found that his clothes were being tugged again. The little boy was looking up at him with pleading eyes, not saying a word, but the fear in his eyes was clearly palpable.
The medical staff glanced at Xiang Kun and said, "You stay here with him. I have to go help out over there, so I probably won't be able to look after him. After his parents are rescued, we'll see if we can contact his family to come over. You can ride with him to the city in our car later."
Xiang Kun had no choice but to squat down next to the ambulance with the little boy. He could sense that the little boy now had an inexplicable trust in him, probably because he remembered how Xiang Kun had protected him when the car accident happened.
Seeing a child of that age, he thought of Liu Shiling, so he took out a five-cent Coin from his pocket and put it in the little boy's hand.
"Do you know what this is?" Xiang Kun pointed to the Coin in the little boy's palm.
"Money," the little boy said softly, somewhat bewildered.
"What about the pattern on it?"
Using the light from the car next to him, the little boy looked for a while and then whispered, "A five-pointed star."
"This is the national emblem. It's on the hats of police officers and People's Liberation Army soldiers. Just holding it will remind you of them, and then you won't be afraid," Xiang Kun said earnestly, then helped the little boy hold the Coin in his hand.
He really hopes that he can use his "Emotional Assimilation" ability to calm down the injured and staff around him.
Unfortunately, he can't enter that emotion right now, and he doesn't have a suitable emotional vessel with him.