Chapter 2
Chapter 2: Word Spirit Bullet
【 3…2…1…0】
As the countdown reached zero, the world went dark like someone had yanked the power switch.
Darkness swallowed everything, followed immediately by a wave of weightlessness.
"Ugh!"
After some unknown stretch of time, when Jiang Nan opened his eyes again, the sound that greeted him was a chorus of shrill bird cries.
Caw! Caw!
It was the cry of crows—yet far more piercing than any crow on Blue Star!
The bus cabin fell dead silent, then erupted in screams.
"Where are we?!"
"The sun! Look at the sun outside!"
Jiang Nan turned to the window.
Mount Tai was gone. The highway was gone.
The bus now sat parked in the middle of a grotesque jungle smothered in dark violet vines.
Every tree was twisted into some kind of diseased, contorted shape, like countless agonized human bodies tangled together.
Hanging in the sky was a dim, yellow-brown sun, lifeless and hollow, staining the entire jungle blood red.
This was a kingdom of perpetual twilight.
Before anyone could recover from the shock, that voice rang out inside every person's mind.
【 Welcome to the Savage Realm, Newcomer Arrival Zone No. 199.】
【 Time until nightfall: 2 hours.】
【 Special Notice: The darkness here conceals "things" beyond your imagination.】
【 You are strongly advised to locate a safe shelter before nightfall, or use available resources to reinforce your defenses.】
【 Wishing you all—a pleasant evening.】
The moment the voice faded, a foul, metallic-smelling wind seeped through the gaps in the windows, and the temperature inside the cabin plummeted.
"Ugh!"
A girl in the front row finally couldn't hold it together and retched violently into a trash bag.
The weightlessness and the sudden environmental upheaval had most people's brains frozen in place.
"Wh—where are we?"
"Tai—Mount Tai! My phone—there's no signal!"
Class President Li Xin's microphone slipped from his hands and hit the floor with a piercing screech.
He stiffly turned his head and stared at those violet, human-body-twisted trees outside the window, his teeth chattering uncontrollably.
Just then, a chubby bespectacled boy seated behind Li Xin—Wang Meng, the class's resident novel fanatic—suddenly blurted out, cool as you like:
"Holy crap. Mount Tai, a bus, the whole class transported somewhere… Our plot, is the next step going to be dumpster diving at the Great Thunder Temple, then riding nine dragons to haul a coffin to the North Star Territory?"
That profoundly deadpan observation cracked the frozen air in the cabin by just a fraction.
"Wang Meng, what kind of time do you think this is to be joking?!"
Teacher Chen Tong, face drained of all color, grabbed a seatback and pushed herself upright. "Everyone stay calm! Check yourselves for injuries first!"
"I'm not joking, Teacher Chen."
Wang Meng pointed at the eerie red glow outside, his voice wavering.
"This whole vibe is way too intense. I keep feeling like any second now some guy named Ye Hei is going to show up and take us all for immortal cultivation…"
"Screw immortal cultivation!"
Master Wang, the driver, suddenly let out a low roar.
He was frantically yanking at the bus door, then slamming on the horn over and over.
Beep! Beep!
The harsh horn blared out far into the silent jungle.
"The door won't open! Damn it! The door won't open!"
Master Wang was drenched in sweat. "My wife and kid are home waiting for me to eat dinner… What in the hell is this place?!"
"I want to go home! I want to go home!"
Fear is contagious.
Watching the normally steady bus driver completely break down, the students in the cabin finally understood—this was no drill, and this was no film set.
Panic began to ferment in the cramped cabin.
"Everyone, calm down!"
At that moment, Class President Li Xin shot to his feet.
His face was pale, but his eyes burned with an almost manic energy.
He strode to the front of the cabin and clapped his hands sharply, trying to pull everyone's attention toward him.
"Classmates! And Teacher Chen, Master Wang!"
"The situation is obvious now—we've been transported somewhere, and it's somewhere extremely dangerous!"
Li Xin swept his gaze across the cabin, his voice rising. "That voice said the night will bring danger!"
"We are all in this together—we cannot just sit here and wait to die! We have to unite if we want to survive!"
At the word "unite," many of the rudderless students seemed to find an anchor, and nodded along.
"The class president's right—what do we do?"
Seeing the response, Li Xin straightened his back.
"First, to ensure fair distribution of resources and prevent hoarding or waste—"
"I suggest everyone take out the food and water in their bags! We pool everything together, manage it centrally, and distribute it equally!"
The moment those words landed, the students who had been nodding froze solid.
Everyone instinctively clutched their bags tighter, eyes turning guarded.
In peaceful times, they might have gone along with it to save face.
But right now, that was survival food.
"Says who?"
From the back rows, 3 tall boys stood up in unison.
The one in front was Yang Wei—the school basketball team's center, 190 centimeters tall, his sheer size exuding a crushing pressure.
Yang Wei stared at Li Xin with a cold smirk and shook his head flat out.
"Li Xin, has your brain not caught up yet? This is the apocalypse. What kindergarten game are you playing?"
"Yang Wei, what do you mean by that?! I'm doing this for everyone's good!"
Li Xin's expression darkened. "Without order, we're just scattered sand—how do we survive tonight?"
"Save it!"
Yang Wei let out a contemptuous snort and tore the mask right off.
"We're all adults here. Don't bring that student council bureaucrat act in here."
"Let's be straight—yeah, we're classmates, but we've only known each other for less than half a year. Half of us don't even know each other's names."
Yang Wei jabbed a finger at the jungle outside. "In a place like this, supplies are life!"
"Hand everything to you? What if you give yourself an extra bottle of water and shortchange someone else a bite of bread? Who starves then?"
"Pooling everything together only creates conflict!"
"When people start throwing punches over a mouthful of food, we won't even manage to stay temporary allies!"
Yang Wei's words were ugly—but they cut like a knife, driving straight into the most selfish corner of every person's heart.
"Right… I only have 2 packs of crackers in my bag. I'd feel sick handing them over."
"I brought my own water—why should I give it to someone else?"
The students who had still been hesitating moments ago now turned away, clutching their supplies with both hands, terrified someone would snatch them.
Li Xin stared at the scene, his face flushing crimson with rage.
The feeling of having his authority challenged made him—always the top student, always in control—feel utterly humiliated.
"Fine! You won't hand things over, is that it?! You think Li Xin is also some selfish type, is that it?!"
Li Xin gritted his teeth, grabbed his own bag, and upended it onto the seat.
Chips, cola, beef jerky…
A lavish spread of snacks scattered across the cushion.
As a rich kid, he had indeed brought the most.
"See that?! I brought the most—and I'm willing to put it all out!"
Li Xin bellowed with righteous conviction.
"Some people have darkness in their hearts and refuse to cooperate—fine. But please don't drag down the ones who actually want to survive!"
That display of leading by example genuinely stunned a good portion of the cabin.
Li Xin pressed his advantage: "In an environment like this, we need a strong central leader to direct our actions!"
"I, Li Xin, nominate myself for the role of temporary squad leader! Those who follow me will have water to drink and food to eat!"
With that, he didn't look toward Yang Wei—instead, he turned and looked directly at Master Wang, still huddled in the driver's seat.
Master Wang was a stocky man, a large maintenance wrench still gripped in his hand.
He was currently the most physically threatening unit on the bus.
"Master Wang, you must be hungry too, right?"
Li Xin quickly plucked a vacuum-sealed braised chicken leg from the pile of snacks, put on a smile, and held it out.
"You've worked so hard driving for us—eat this first. We need you to help guard the bus!"
"We can't let anyone who doesn't follow the rules cause trouble in here. Don't you think, Master Wang?"
This was naked recruitment.
If he could win Master Wang over, secure the muscle, his position as squad leader would be unshakable!
But before Master Wang could reach out—
Smack!
A large hand cut in from the side.
Yang Wei snatched 2 packs of crackers and a bottle of iced tea from his 2 followers and slapped them down in front of Master Wang.
"Master Wang! Don't let this phony talk you into anything! He just got a power trip going and wants to play emperor!"
Yang Wei squared off against Li Xin. "You want to build factions?"
"I can play that game too! Master Wang—roll with us. No one tells you what to do. We're brothers. Meat on the table, we split it equally!"
"You—!"
Li Xin seethed. "Yang Wei, are you deliberately going against me?!"
"I just can't stand your two-faced act!"
The 2 of them faced each other down, moments from coming to blows.
The cabin had split into 2 camps, the tension drawn razor thin.
But no one noticed that Master Wang, still hunched in the driver's seat, was trembling badly.
His bloodshot eyes weren't fixed on the chicken leg, nor on the iced tea.
They were locked—unblinking—on the twisted dark violet trees beyond the windshield.
Beep! Beep!
Master Wang suddenly went off like a man possessed, laying on the horn twice.
"Everyone shut up!"
He didn't take anything from either side. Instead, he turned around, grabbed the heavy maintenance wrench, and slowly rose to his feet.
Years of driving had made Master Wang powerfully built. Standing at full height now, combined with his face contorted by sheer terror, he radiated a pressure even more frightening than Yang Wei.
"M-Master Wang?"
Li Xin startled, his hand frozen mid-air still holding the chicken leg.
"Drive where?! Huh?! You tell me where to drive?!"
Master Wang's eyes were red as fire. He pointed at the highway that had vanished completely outside, his voice cracking into a ragged shout.
"Can't you see?! The road is gone! Mount Tai is gone! I've driven for 20 years and I have never seen a place like this!"
"I want to go home… My wife and kid are home waiting for me to eat dinner, and you little punks are here arguing about who's in charge?!"
"What brothers?!"
Master Wang swung the wrench hard and brought it down on the fare box—sparks flew.
"That voice just said, survive until sunrise tomorrow… Right. Stay alive."
"Only by staying alive can I get home! Only then can I see my family, hahaha!"
He collapsed to the floor in a near-hysterical daze, hugging his head and laughing.
Yang Wei and Li Xin said nothing, both dropping their eyes in silence.
Teacher Chen Tong walked to the front row and pressed a hand to her forehead, her temples throbbing.
She knew that as a frail English teacher, her words carried no weight anymore.
‘What a mess. Can't anyone just keep a level head…?’
Chen Tong sighed and, out of reflex, glanced back at Jiang Nan, sitting alone in the far corner of the last row.
That boy who was always so quiet—he was still right there, hugging his bag, tucked into his corner.
Expressionless. Not competing, not scrambling, not panicking.
‘If only everyone could be like Jiang Nan—say nothing, but at least not add to the chaos. That would be something.’
Chen Tong thought to herself, with a bitter kind of wistfulness.
What she didn't know was this:
The Jiang Nan she saw as well-behaved and quiet was, at this very moment, staring into empty space—his heart blazing with wild elation.
Just now, the moment the bus had fully landed in the Savage Realm, that progress bar had finally reached its end.
【 Environment parsing complete.】
【 Check In System activated!】
【 Current location: Twisted Jungle】
【 Check In?】
(Partial map shown below—a full map feature will be unlocked later and a complete version will be provided at that time.)
Without a single moment of hesitation, Jiang Nan roared inside his mind:
"Check In!"
The next second, a melodious chime rang through his thoughts—clear as a bell, sweet as relief.
【 Ding! Check In successful!】
【 Congratulations, Host—you have obtained Grade A Word Spirit 'Bullet'!】
As the chime faded, a surge of warmth flooded every corner of Jiang Nan's body.
A detailed block of information materialized on the light screen.
【 Word Spirit·Bullet (Grade A)】
Effect: Compresses Word Spirit energy and fires a single bullet—colorless, formless, soundless, ignores all physical defense.
Property: Perfectly straight trajectory; unaffected by wind or gravity.
Range: 100 meters.
Cost: 1 word per shot (Current Reserve: 6,666).
Activation Method: Raise your hand, form a finger-gun shape, aim at the target, and speak the activation word aloud: "Bang!"
Jiang Nan slowly raised his right hand, using the seat as cover, and quietly shaped his fingers into a gun.
He aimed it at the crow perched on a branch outside, screeching away.
Colorless. Formless. Soundless.
Ignores all defense.
100-meter range.
And most importantly—
This thing only cost 1 word.
Just 1 word—to take a life.