[3...2...1...0]

As the countdown hit zero, it was as if someone had suddenly cut the power to the world.

Darkness swallowed everything, followed by a sensation of weightlessness.

"Ugh!"

No one knew how much time had passed, but when Jiang Nan opened his eyes again, he was greeted by the piercing cries of birds.

"Caw! Caw!"

It was the sound of crows, sharper than those on Blue Star!

Inside the bus, there was a deathly silence, which was soon broken by screams.

"Where are we?!"

"The sun! Look at the sun outside!"

Jiang Nan looked out the window.

There was no sign of Mount Tai, no highway.

The bus was now parked in a bizarre forest covered in dark purple vines.

All the trees were twisted in a sickly manner, like countless tortured human bodies entwined together.

A dim, yellow sun hung in the sky, casting a deathly pallor and staining the entire forest blood-red.

This was the realm of dusk.

Before everyone could recover from their shock, a voice echoed in their minds.

[Welcome to the Wilderness Realm, Newcomer Zone No. 199.]

[Two hours until nightfall.]

[Special reminder: There are "things" in the night here that you cannot imagine.]

[Please make sure to find a safe shelter before dark or use available resources to fortify your defenses.]

[Wishing you all a pleasant night.]

As the voice faded, a foul-smelling wind blew in through the cracks in the bus windows, and the temperature inside plummeted.

"Ugh!"

A girl in the front row couldn't hold it any longer and vomited into a trash bag.

The weightlessness and drastic change in environment left most people's minds in a state of shock.

"Where... where are we?"

"Mount Tai? The signal! My phone has no signal!"

The microphone in class monitor Li Xin's hand fell to the floor, emitting a piercing screech.

He turned his head stiffly, looking at the twisted purple trees outside the window, his teeth chattering uncontrollably.

At that moment, a chubby guy with glasses sitting behind Li Xin, the class's novel enthusiast Wang Meng, suddenly blurted out.

"Damn, Mount Tai, the bus, the whole class has crossed over..."

"Is our next step to scavenge at the Great Thunderclap Temple and then have nine dragons pull a coffin to the Beidou Starfield?"

This comment, filled with sarcasm, slightly eased the tense atmosphere in the bus.

"Wang Meng, this is no time for jokes!"

Teacher Chen Tong, her face pale, stood up, holding onto the seatback. "Everyone, stay calm! Check if anyone is injured!"

"I'm not joking, Teacher Chen."

Wang Meng pointed at the eerie red light outside, his voice shaky.

"This smell is too strong, I feel like any second now, a student named Ye Hei will take us to cultivate immortality..."

"Immortality, my ass!"

Driver Master Wang suddenly let out a low growl.

He frantically tugged at the bus door, then honked the horn like crazy.

"Beep! Beep!"

The shrill horn echoed far into the silent forest.

"The door won't open! Damn! The door won't open!"

Master Wang was sweating profusely. "My wife and kids are waiting for me to have dinner at home... What the hell is this place?!"

"I want to go home! I want to go home!"

This kind of fear is contagious.

Seeing the usually composed driver break down, the students in the bus finally realized this wasn't a drill or a movie.

Panic began to ferment in the cramped bus.

"Everyone, don't panic!"

At that moment, class monitor Li Xin suddenly stood up.

Although his face was pale, his eyes were filled with excitement.

He quickly walked to the front of the bus, clapping his hands to draw everyone's attention.

"Classmates! And Teacher Chen, Master Wang!"

"It's clear now, we've crossed over! And we're in a very dangerous place!"

Li Xin scanned the crowd, raising his voice: "The voice said there would be danger at night!"

"We're all in the same boat now, we can't just sit and wait for death! We must unite to survive!"

Hearing the word "unite," many of the panicked students seemed to find their backbone and nodded in agreement.

"The class monitor is right, what should we do?"

Seeing the response, Li Xin straightened his back.

"First, to ensure the rational distribution of resources and prevent anyone from hoarding or wasting."

"I suggest everyone take out the food and water from their backpacks! We'll manage them collectively and distribute them uniformly!"

As soon as he said this, the students who had been nodding froze.

Everyone instinctively clutched their backpacks tighter, their eyes becoming wary.

In peaceful times, people might cooperate for the sake of appearances.

But now, those were life-saving supplies!

"Why should we?"

In the back row, three tall boys stood up in unison.

The leader, Yang Wei, the center of the school basketball team, stood at 1.9 meters tall, exuding an intimidating presence.

He looked at Li Xin with a sneer and shook his head.

"Li Xin, have you lost your mind? This is the apocalypse! Are you playing house?"

"Yang Wei, what do you mean? I'm doing this for everyone's good!"

Li Xin's face darkened. "Without rules, we'll be a scattered mess. How will we survive the night?"

"Cut the crap!"

Yang Wei sneered, tearing off the facade.

"We're all adults here, don't bring your student council bureaucratic style here."

"Let's be real, we're classmates, but we've only known each other for less than half a year, and we can't even remember all the names."

Yang Wei pointed at the eerie forest outside the window: "In this hellhole, supplies are life!"

"Hand them over to you? What if you give yourself an extra bottle of water and give someone else less bread? Who's going to starve then?"

"Concentrating supplies will only lead to conflict!"

"We might not even be temporary partners if we end up fighting over food!"

Yang Wei's words, though harsh, were like a knife stabbing into the most selfish corners of everyone's hearts.

"Yeah... I only have two bags of cookies in my bag, I wouldn't feel safe handing them over."

"The water I brought, why should I let others drink it?"

The students who had been hesitating now turned sideways, clutching their supplies tightly, fearing they would be taken away.

Li Xin watched this scene, his face turning red with anger.

The feeling of having his authority challenged was incredibly humiliating for him, a top student.

"Fine! You won't hand them over, huh? You think I'm selfish too, huh?"

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Li Xin gritted his teeth, grabbed his backpack, and dumped it on the seat.

Chips, cola, beef jerky...

A pile of snacks spilled out.

As a second-generation wealthy, he indeed brought the most stuff.

"See? I brought the most! But I'm willing to share!"

Li Xin shouted righteously.

"Some people, with their dark hearts, unwilling to unite, but please don't affect those who want to survive!"

This act of leading by example indeed shocked many.

Li Xin seized the moment: "In this environment, we need a strong leadership core to direct our actions!"

"I, Li Xin, nominate myself as the temporary leader! Those willing to follow me will have water to drink and food to eat!"

After speaking, he didn't look at Yang Wei but turned to the driver, Master Wang, who was huddled in the driver's seat.

Master Wang was a burly man, holding a large wrench.

He was currently the most intimidating force on the bus.

"Master Wang, you must be hungry too?"

Li Xin quickly picked a vacuum-packed braised chicken leg from the pile of snacks, smiling as he handed it over.

"You've worked hard driving, have this chicken leg first, we need to guard the bus!"

"We can't let those who don't follow the rules cause trouble, don't you agree?"

This was blatant recruitment!

As long as he secured Master Wang, with the support of force, his position as leader would be solid!

However, before Master Wang could reach out.

"Smack!"

A large hand suddenly intervened.

Yang Wei snatched two bags of cookies and a bottle of iced tea from his followers, slamming them in front of Master Wang.

"Master Wang! Don't listen to this hypocrite's nonsense! He's just power-hungry and wants to be a tyrant!"

Yang Wei, unwilling to be outdone, glared at Li Xin: "You want to form cliques?"

"I can do that too! Master Wang, follow us, no need to listen to anyone's orders, we'll be brothers, sharing the meat!"

"You!"

Li Xin was furious, "Yang Wei, are you deliberately opposing me?!"

"I just can't stand your hypocrisy!"

The two were at each other's throats, ready to fight.

The bus was divided into two factions, the atmosphere tense.

But no one noticed that Master Wang, who had been huddled in the driver's seat, was trembling violently.

His bloodshot eyes weren't looking at the chicken leg or the iced tea.

Instead, they were fixed on the twisted dark purple trees outside the windshield.

"Beep! Beep!"

Master Wang suddenly went mad, honking the horn twice.

"Shut up, all of you!"

He didn't take anything from either side but instead grabbed the large wrench and slowly stood up.

Due to years of driving, Master Wang was quite burly, and when he stood straight.

With his face twisted in extreme fear, he exuded an even more terrifying pressure than Yang Wei.

"Mas... Master Wang?"

Li Xin was startled, his hand holding the chicken leg frozen in mid-air.

"Drive where? Huh? Tell me where to drive?!"

Master Wang's eyes were bloodshot, pointing at the highway that had completely disappeared outside, his voice hoarse as he roared.

"Can't you see? The road's gone! Mount Tai's gone! I've been driving for twenty years and never seen a place like this!"

"I want to go home... My wife and kids are waiting for me to have dinner, and you little brats are talking to me about being in charge?"

"Talking about brotherhood?"

Master Wang swung the wrench, smashing it into the fare box, sparks flying.

"That voice just said, survive until the sun rises tomorrow... Yes, survive."

"Only by surviving can I go home! Can I see my family, hahaha!"

He sat on the ground, nearly hysterical, clutching his head and laughing foolishly.

Yang Wei and Li Xin dared not speak, lost in thought.

Chen Tong, who had walked to the front row, held her forehead in frustration, feeling her temples throbbing.

She knew that as a gentle English teacher, her words no longer held sway.

"Really, can't they just calm down..."

Chen Tong sighed, instinctively glancing back at Jiang Nan, who was sitting in the corner of the last row.

The boy who was always quiet, still sat there hugging his backpack.

Expressionless, not fighting, not panicking.

"If only everyone could be like Jiang Nan, not speaking but not causing trouble either, how great would that be."

Chen Tong thought bitterly.

Little did she know.

The seemingly obedient Jiang Nan in her eyes was staring into the void, filled with joy.

Just now, as the bus fully descended onto the land of this "Wilderness Realm," the progress bar finally reached its end.

[Environment analysis complete.]

[Sign-in system activated!]

[Current location: Twisted Forest]

[Sign in?]

Without any hesitation, Jiang Nan shouted in his heart:

"Sign in!"

The next second, a pleasant notification sounded in his mind, like a heavenly melody.

[Ding! Sign-in successful!]

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining the A-Rank Word Spirit 'Bullet'!]

As the notification ended, a warm current surged through Jiang Nan's body.

A detailed piece of information appeared on the light screen.

[Word Spirit · Bullet (A-Rank)]

Effect: Compress the power of the Word Spirit to fire an invisible, colorless, silent air bullet that ignores physical defenses.

Feature: Absolute straight line, unaffected by wind or gravity.

Range: 100 meters.

Consumption: Each shot consumes 1 word (current balance: 6666).

Activation method: Raise your hand, form a gun gesture, aim at the target, and say the trigger word "bang!"

Jiang Nan slowly raised his right hand, using the seat as cover, and gently made a gun gesture.

Aimed at the crow cawing on the branch outside the window.

Invisible, colorless, silent.

Ignores defenses.

A hundred-meter range.

Most importantly...

This thing only costs one word!

And it can take a life!