Chapter 1 – Bus Road Survival

[A global welcome to all humans aged 18 to 60. Welcome to the Road Survival World!]

[Your only goal is: Survive!]

A cold, emotionless mechanical voice rang out without warning in Ye Chen’s mind and the minds of everyone else.

Ye Chen’s eyes snapped open. The blinding sunlight made him squint instantly.

In front of him was no longer the familiar academic seminar room, but the interior of a slightly worn-out bus.

Outside the window, there was an asphalt road that extended endlessly forward. On both sides of the road was barren desert, with no signs of life anywhere in sight.

Beside Ye Chen sat seven girls, all wearing similarly stunned expressions, along with a young female teacher who was gripping the handrail tightly and barely managing to stand.

They were the top geniuses from Xia Country’s most elite class. Just one minute ago, they were holding their weekly routine academic seminar. The next second, they were all teleported to this godforsaken place.

[In this world, you will face unprecedented trials.]

[The rules are as follows:]

[One: Ten kilometers behind each bus’s starting position, there exists a continuously expanding thunderstorm. The thunderstorm will advance forward at an initial speed of 5 kilometers per hour. Any unit caught by the thunderstorm will be instantly annihilated.]

[Two: During the three-day protection period, a radius of 10 kilometers around your spawn point is a safe zone. No monsters or dangers exist within this area.]

[Three: When the protection period ends, the thunderstorm will begin to move.]

[Four: Supply boxes will randomly spawn along the way. To reduce survival pressure, pregnant women will have their pregnancy status cleared on the second day.]

[Five: Each person has a 1% chance of obtaining a talent.]

[Six: The bus you are currently riding in will be your initial vehicle. Each bus can carry a maximum of 50 people. Players in an organization will be matched with others of the same organization. Players without any organization will be matched randomly. Organizations include: school classes, company departments, military platoons, etc.]

[Seven: Each bus will awaken a unique vehicle talent.]

The voice in their minds sounded again, its content clear and ruthless, like a just-delivered death sentence, plunging everyone into a cold abyss.

[Now, you are given 10 minutes to familiarize yourselves with the rules and elect your sole Bus Captain.]

[The countdown begins!]

The cold voice faded.

After a deathly silence, panic that could no longer be suppressed erupted inside the bus.

Road survival? A thunderstorm hunting them down? Instant annihilation?

Every piece of information struck like a heavy hammer, violently shattering the scientific worldview they had built over the past eighteen years.

“Students!”

A clear, powerful voice rang out, instantly silencing all the commotion and whispering.

Everyone’s gaze instinctively focused on the source, as if finding a pillar of support.

It was their lead teacher, Su Ziyun.

This teacher, who earned dual doctorates in Management and Psychology at just twenty-eight, adjusted the thin metal-frame glasses on the bridge of her nose. Behind the lenses, her gaze was terrifyingly calm.

“Panic solves nothing. What we’re facing now is a supernatural event, but our brains are still working.”

“Now, I need all of you to use the knowledge you’re best at. Take five minutes to verify whether our current environment is real and whether the rules are credible.”

Her voice carried an undeniable power, like a clear spring pouring into their restless hearts.

“Yes!”

The seven gifted girls responded almost simultaneously. Along with Ye Chen, everyone immediately sprang into action.

This was an academic instinct engraved into their bones. When faced with the unknown, they first analyze and then decide.

Ye Chen immediately took action, carefully inspecting every detail of the interior of the bus, touching the seats, feeling the texture of the fabric and foam, trying to find flaws from this realistic touch.

Five minutes passed in the blink of an eye.

“Reporting to Teacher Su!” The first to speak was a girl with a neat ponytail and lively, intelligent eyes.

She was Gu Qingyan, a genius in mathematical modeling and probability theory.

“From a probabilistic standpoint, the probability of all nine of us having the exact same dream at the same time, with identical dream details including the rules we heard, is lower than 10 to the power of negative 28.”

“In other words, the probability that we are dreaming is lower than winning the lottery jackpot a hundred times in a row. Therefore, this is most likely not a dream.”

As soon as she finished speaking, a petite girl with a baby face but a somewhat aloof demeanor pushed up her glasses and took over the conversation.

It was Chen Xi, a genius in both theoretical and applied physics.

“Physical rules exist.”

“I tested with my phone’s built-in sensors. The gravitational acceleration is approximately 9.8 meters per second squared, the air composition is highly similar to Earth’s atmosphere, and there are no signs that fundamental physical constants have changed.”

Chen Xi’s words brought a slight relief to everyone.

But her next words sent everyone’s hearts into the abyss again.

“However, there is one phenomenon that completely defies the known laws of physics.”

She extended her fair finger and pointed to the sky behind the bus.

“That thunderstorm.”

Everyone looked in the direction she was pointing.

On the horizon about ten kilometers behind the vehicle, a mass of impenetrable dark clouds hung like a massive curtain. Blue-purple bolts of lightning cracked wildly within them. Even from this distance, the aura of destruction made their scalps tingle.

“Thunderstorms are extreme weather phenomena. Their internal energy is highly unstable, and their formation and movement depend on complex conditions.”

“There is no way a thunderstorm could remain stationary in a fixed area like a wall for several minutes.”

“It’s like a background painted in the sky. It defies science.”

Chen Xi said her conclusion calmly, her voice carrying a hint of confusion and gravity in the face of the unknown.

After hearing everyone’s reports, Su Ziyun nodded. Her ever-composed face now bore a trace of seriousness.

She made the final summary.

“One, we are not dreaming.”

“Two, we are most likely no longer in our original world, but the basic physical laws of this world are consistent with those of Eart, which means most of the knowledge we possess is still valid.”

“Three, we have been transported to a real existing world at the same time, where a deadly threat called the ‘thunderstorm’ exists. Its mode of operation is evidently driven by the rules set by that ‘voice.'”

Su Ziyun’s words were like a heavy hammer, completely shattering the last shred of hope in everyone’s hearts.

The atmosphere inside the bus was extremely oppressive.

“Now, let’s move to the second agenda,” Su Ziyun continued without pause.

“Elect the Bus Captain.”

“Is there even a need to vote? Of course it should be you, Teacher Su!”

Qin Lan, a girl with short, neat hair and piercing eyes like a blade, was the only one among the group who was twenty years old, while the others were eighteen. She was admitted on exceptional grounds due to her astonishing talent in tactical command and simulated combat.

“Exactly! Teacher Su’s expertise in management and psychology makes her the best person to lead us!” Lin Wanqing immediately agreed. For her, a student majoring in economics, choosing the most beneficial option had become second nature.

“I agree!”

“I second that!”

All the girls, including Ye Chen, unanimously agreed that Su Ziyun was the only suitable candidate for Bus Captain.

However, Su Ziyun slowly shook her head.

“No. I cannot be the Captain.”

Everyone froze, confusion written all over their faces.

“Why?” Qin Lan frowned, voicing everyone’s thoughts directly.

“If not you, who among us is qualified?”

Su Ziyun’s gaze swept across each person, over those youthful and beautiful faces that were filled with confusion, and finally landed on Ye Chen, the only man on the entire bus.

Her eyes were calm, clear, and even carried a hint of cold cruelty.

“Because we have come to a completely new world. A savage world where there may be no laws, no morality, no order, only the most primitive rules of survival.”

“In our original world, you were the elite, the chosen ones. But here, the first thing you need to do is recognize your new position. What will you, what will we be?”

Su Ziyun’s question plunged the gifted young women into deep thought. They could interpret countless possibilities from their respective fields of expertise, but at this moment, the answer was glaringly harsh.

Lin Wanqing was the first to react. She habitually tried to measure things in terms of “value,” but the conclusion she reached made her face pale slightly.

Su Ziyun caught her expression, nodded, and laid bare the bloody reality in even more direct words.

“Exactly. In a world where order has collapsed, women, especially beautiful women like you, will rapidly degenerate from equal individuals into coveted ‘resources.'”

Resources!

This word pierced like needles, stinging the pride of every girl.

“Our bus has eight women and one man.”

“If I serve as the Bus Captain of this unit, and when we encounter other teams in the future, and the Captain’s information is displayed, have you considered what that represents in the eyes of others? A team led by a woman, with women making up the majority of its members.”

Her voice wasn’t loud, but it sent a chill crawling up everyone’s spine.

She didn’t wait for an answer and delivered the verdict directly.

“It represents weakness and vulnerability. It represents an opportunity to exploit. It represents a tempting treasure trove that can be easily plundered without paying a heavy price!”

“That will attract countless unnecessary prying eyes and threats. Our survival difficulty will increase exponentially.”

Su Ziyun’s logic was clear, ruthless, and brutally realistic.

This first lesson in survival hit them with shocking force, allowing these sheltered flowers to smell the bloody scent of the apocalypse for the first time.

“Therefore, the Bus Captain must be the only male among us, Ye Chen.”

All eyes turned sharply to Ye Chen, their gazes filled with complicated emotions.

“Having Ye Chen as Captain sends an external signal: this is a male-led team. That alone will naturally deflect most of the malicious probing and unnecessary trouble caused by gender bias.”

“Internally, I will always be your teacher, your strategic mentor and psychological advisor. That won’t change. I will assist Ye Chen in making the most rational decisions.”

“Ye Chen handles external affairs, responsible for executing decisions and handling all outside communications. I handle internal affairs, responsible for strategy, planning, and logistics coordination. This is our optimal solution for the current situation.”

Su Ziyun looked at Ye Chen and spoke, word by word.

“Ye Chen, are you willing to take on this responsibility?”

Ye Chen was stunned.

He never imagined that one day he would be pushed into this position.

Looking at Su Ziyun’s calm yet trusting eyes, and at the seven outstanding female classmates whose eyes carried a mixture of dependence, scrutiny, and expectation—

He knew he had no way out.

In this crazy world, as the only male in this small group, he had to stand up like a man and shoulder everything.

Ye Chen took a deep breath and rose from his seat.

“I am willing.”

His voice was firm and resolute.

[Time’s up.]

[Bus Captain election complete.]

[Captain: Ye Chen.]

[Vehicle talent awakening in progress…]