Chapter 2 – S-Rank Talents for Everyone! And More Children, More Blessings?

[Vehicle talent awakened successfully!]

[Talent Name: Many Children, Many Blessings (Unique)]

[Talent Rank: SSS]

[Talent Effect: Female members inside the vehicle have a 100% chance of conception. Upon conception, they will bring random special rewards to the team. Repeated conceptions will greatly enhance the rewards.]

“What?”

A stifled cry of shock escaped Gu Qingyan, the most lively of the group.

The air inside the bus froze completely in that instant.

If the death rules earlier had only brought a shock to the mind, then this newly awakened vehicle talent delivered a devastating ethical and emotional blow to these eight young women in the prime of their youth.

Many Children, Many Blessings?

Conception?

When those two phrases were combined, and linked to Ye Chen, the only male on the bus, the meaning was very clear.

In an instant, almost all the girl had a complicated expression on their faces, a mixture of shame, anger, disbelief, and absurdity.

Chen Xi instinctively pushed up her glasses. For the first time, the eyes behind the lenses strayed from pure scientific analysis, carrying a hint of bewilderment.

Gu Qingci’s face turned deathly pale. She instinctively glanced at Ye Chen beside her, her lips parting slightly, but no words came out.

“Everyone, stay calm.”

Su Ziyun’s voice rang out again, like a stabilizing force, forcibly calming everyone’s emotions that were on the verge of collapse.

Her face showed no surplus expression. Behind her thin-framed glasses, her gaze was razor-sharp.

“First, this is a resource-acquisition type of talent. Second, its rank is SSS. If this is the highest level, then it means its potential for gains far exceeds anything we can imagine.”

Lin Wanqing snapped out of her shock almost immediately. She adjusted her rimless glasses and added in a purely rational tone.

“Teacher Su is right. From the perspective of return on investment, this is currently the only sustainable resource-acquisition method we currently know of that has reached the highest rank.”

“What kind of resource-acquisition method is this?!”

Qin Lan, the tactical genius with neat short hair, furrowed her brows. Her gaze swept across Ye Chen and the pale-faced girls, her tone carrying a hint of frustration.

She wasn’t opposed to paying a price for victory, but this price was nothing like any of the war game simulations she had before.

Just as the atmosphere inside the bus reached its most suffocating point, that cold mechanical voice rang out again in everyone’s minds without warning.

[Player Su Ziyun, Talent Awakening!]

[S-rank Talent: Daily Check-in.]

[Effect: Each day, you may choose one reward from three randomly appearing options.]

[Player Lin Wanqing, Talent Awakening!]

[S-rank Talent: Fair Value.]

[Effect: Can precisely identify the ‘current value’ and ‘potential value’ of any item. Once per day, you may forcibly conduct an absolutely fair ‘equivalent exchange’ during a transaction.]

[Player Qin Lan, Talent Awakening!]

[S-rank Talent: War Domain.]

[Player Chen Xi, Talent Awakening!]

[S-rank Talent: Matter Reconstruction.]

…

A series of golden lights emanated from everyone on the bus.

Gu Qingyan, Gu Qingci, Zhou Siyu, An Ran…

Every single one without exception!

Including Ye Chen, all nine people on the bus had awakened talents at this very moment!

And moreover, every single person’s talent rank was S-rank!

[Player Ye Chen, Talent Awakening!]

[S-rank Talent: Infinite Synthesis.]

[Effect: Can combine 10 identical items into 1 higher-level item of the same type.]

“This… this is impossible!”

Gu Qingyan stared at her own S-rank talent on her talent panel, then looked at the same golden glow radiating from everyone else and their stunned expressions, and exclaimed in a low voice.

“The system rules clearly state that the initial talent awakening probability is only one percent! For all nine of us to awaken, and all with S-rank talents, the probability is beyond any calculable number! This is absolutely impossible!”

A glint flashed in Su Ziyun’s eyes. She quickly connected the two anomalies.

“No, this is not coincidence.”

Her gaze swept across everyone and finally settled on Ye Chen.

“The one percent probability applies to all ordinary people across the world.”

“But we are not ordinary people. We are selected geniuses, so it’s not surprising that all of us awakened S-rank talents.”

“However!”

Su Ziyun’s tone shifted sharply, becoming incredibly sharp.

She paused for a moment, as if holding some intention, and then voiced the conclusion that everyone was subconsciously avoiding.

“My talent is a Daily Check-in for supplies, choosing one from three options. If my check-in doesn’t show the resources we need, then [Many Children, Many Blessings] will be the only option we can use.”

Those words instantly dissolved the faint joy that had just arisen from awakening S-rank talents.

The atmosphere became heavy again.

Su Ziyun took a deep breath. She knew that at this moment, someone had to play the villain.

“Students, listen to me.”

“What we’re discussing now is not ethics and morality from a peacetime era. This is survival, a matter of life and death. Even if we don’t activate the vehicle talent, after the three-day protection period ends, the thunderstorm will begin moving.”

“We have no choice.”

Her gaze swept across the eight girls one by one, finally landing on Ye Chen.

“For the sake of fairness and to protect everyone’s dignity to the greatest extent possible, I need to hear each of your opinions.”

The bus fell so silent that a pin dropping could be heard.

Every girl’s face was filled with pain and inner struggle.

The first to speak was Qin Lan.

She waved her hand with feigned casualness, but her tone was unusually resolute.

“I’m fine with it. It’s just that kind of thing. If it means we survive, what’s this little thing? I can even be the first one.”

Lin Wanqing pushed up her glasses, took a deep look at Su Ziyun, and calmly echoed, “From the perspective of maximizing gains, this is currently the optimal solution. I agree.”

Zhou Siyu looked at Su Ziyun with those eyes that seemed to see through the essence of things. She said softly, “For the supreme goal of ‘collective survival,’ individual sacrifice is logically justifiable. I… have no objection.”

One by one, the girls made their choices.

They were all top-tier geniuses in their respective fields. At this moment, their rationality overpowered their emotions.

Finally, everyone’s gaze turned to two people.

Ye Chen, and the pale-faced Gu Qingci.

Gu Qingci was Ye Chen’s childhood sweetheart. This was no secret within the class.

Gu Qingci bit her lower lip hard, her fingernails almost digging into her flesh. She looked at Ye Chen, tears glistening in her eyes, but stubbornly refused to let them fall.

At last, she gave a slight nod, her voice barely audible.

“I agree.”

Now, only Ye Chen remained.

He felt as though eight mountains were pressing down on him, each one so heavy that it left him gasping for breath.

He looked at Su Ziyun’s calm and trusting eyes, at Qin Lan’s feigned nonchalance, at Lin Wanqing’s rational composure, and at Gu Qingci’s eyes filled with pain and grievance.

He knew that as the Bus Captain and the only man here, he could not back down.

“If this is the only way…”

Ye Chen stood up. His voice wasn’t loud, but it reached every person clearly.

“I understand my responsibility. I am willing.”

As Ye Chen’s final words fell, this absurd and weighty plan, one that would determine everyone’s future, was officially set in motion.