Chapter 22: Ziteng Haoyi, Who Wants to Seize Power

April cherry blossoms were lined up on both sides of the highway, countless cherry blossom petals drifted down, and a school bus sped along the road.

The cherry blossoms were still dancing, but this world had already undergone a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering change; the originally quiet and peaceful world had turned into an apocalyptic Hell. While everyone was rejoicing at having escaped the school, they also began to worry about what kind of dangers were waiting for them in the outside world, their hearts filled with unease.

After things had been calm on the bus for a while and Marikawa Shizuka had begun driving the school bus steadily, Ziteng Haoyi started to become restless. He left his seat, walked to the side of Saeko Busujima's seat, and said with a polite face: "We've been saved. May I ask if the leader of your group is student Saeko Busujima?"

"There is no leader; everyone is just helping each other to survive," Saeko Busujima replied without even raising her head, her tone carrying a trace of indifference, perhaps because this teacher had not left a good impression on her.

"That won't do. In this apocalypse, if you want to survive better, you must have a leader... a leader who can clearly point out goals and make everyone follow the rules." A trace of joy flashed in Ziteng Haoyi's eyes.

In his mind, if Saeko Busujima—the strongest, most outstanding, and a school idol—was not the leader, then he, as a teacher, would become the person with the best chance of controlling this escape team. As for the other teacher, Marikawa Shizuka, she was completely outside his consideration; she was merely a School Infirmary, and a natural airhead of a weak woman at that, not even within his Enemy Detection range.

Ziteng Haoyi's idea was to increase his own chances of survival by controlling the people on this school bus. Whether it was the national champion Kendo expert Saeko Busujima or others who possessed weapons, judging by the fact that they could escape from the school, they all had decent strength, and these people could all potentially become his assets in the future.

Luo Yexi looked at the grandstanding Ziteng Haoyi, her brows slightly furrowed, and her body leaned slightly toward Lingyun. This so-called teacher gave her a very bad feeling, as if there was something on that person that she found disgusting.

Lingyun was also looking at Ziteng Haoyi in the same way; he seemed to sense an aura on Ziteng Haoyi that was incompatible with this world, but it was a pity that his current strength was still too low, and for the moment, he could not discern the source of this aura.

"Th-this is, what on earth happened in the city?" A terrified voice rang out in the school bus.

At this moment, the school bus happened to turn a corner, and people could see the scene of the downtown area through the cherry blossom trees.

Under the twilight sun, the city had already suffered quite serious destruction, and black smoke was rising from many places, giving people a feeling of decay and despair.

Looking at this apocalyptic scene, the hearts of many people on the school bus began to waver; in such a dangerous world, did they still have a chance to survive?

Seeing the situation in the downtown area, a trace of fear also flashed in Ziteng Haoyi's eyes, but at the same time, it strengthened his determination to survive, and to survive at all costs.

"Everyone, you see it now, don't you? This world has truly entered the apocalypse. If we want to survive, we can only rely on ourselves. And only by uniting together do we have the ability to survive better," Ziteng Haoyi said with a passionate face.

Lingyun's gaze swept over this so-called people's teacher, his brows furrowed tightly. At this moment, he felt his intuition telling him that this Ziteng Haoyi was likely not as simple as in the original story.

"Hey, that, why are we going to the downtown area now? Looking at how it is now, entering the downtown area will only lead to greater danger!" A blond guy in the bus couldn't help but speak up. "Besides, why must we go to the downtown area? Wouldn't it be better to find a safe place in the school and wait for someone to rescue us?"

This sentence from the blond guy instantly ignited the anxiety of the others on the bus, and many people were echoing him. The entire carriage instantly became noisy, completely forgetting how crazily they had fled onto this school bus earlier.

Marikawa Shizuka, who was driving, gradually furrowed her brows, seemingly becoming impatient with the noise.

"Shut up!" A cold voice rang out in the carriage. Although the voice was not very loud, it clearly reached everyone's ears, and the coldness within it made the noisy crowd all shut their mouths.

Saeko Busujima looked up and saw that Luo Yexi, who was sitting beside her, was coldly looking at the people in the carriage. Those swept by her gaze could not help but shiver violently.

"Then what do you want?" Luo Yexi's gaze fell on that blond guy.

"I, I..." The blond guy, bearing Luo Yexi's gaze, only felt immense pressure. His gaze swept around the people in the bus and then landed on Komuro Takashi, who looked like the easiest to bully. "I, I just really dislike that guy."

Komuro Takashi, who had already had a rough day, was being targeted for no reason, and he felt a fire of anger building up in his heart. He asked coldly: "I, what's wrong with me? Did I offend you somewhere?"

"You, you bastard!" The blond guy, who also had a fire of anger pent up in his heart, was enraged by Komuro Takashi's retort and swung his fist at Komuro Takashi's face.

Just as his fist was about to land, someone was one step faster than him. Seeing someone dare to bully his brother, Igou Hisashi did not hesitate at all; he leaped up from his seat and punched the blond guy in the abdomen. The blond guy let out a strange cry and collapsed, clutching his stomach. As the blond guy fell, the atmosphere inside the carriage suddenly became sinister.

"That really is some good team spirit; taking action for a companion is truly admirable," Ziteng Haoyi said with a formulaic smile on his face, clapping his hands in praise. "However, this incident just now proves that we need a leader to resolve the conflicts that might arise between us. If someone could come out to mediate at this time, wouldn't it reduce unnecessary internal friction?"

Seeing everyone staring at him, Ziteng Haoyi became even more smug: "I am one of the two teachers here, and furthermore, the only male teacher. I, though untalented, nominate myself to be the leader of this team to resolve disputes among everyone and lead everyone to survive in this apocalypse. Does anyone have any objections?"

"Clap, clap, clap, clap," those students who had been saved by Ziteng Haoyi applauded fanatically, seemingly expressing their full support for this proposal. Even those who had been saved by Lingyun's group were applauding, expressing encouragement for this people's teacher who "radiated the aura of a leader."

Ziteng Haoyi's gaze swept over two people. One was Saeko Busujima; as the daughter of the Kendo-renowned Busujima Family, a former winner of the national tournament, and the current captain of the Kendo Club, she was undoubtedly the idol of the school and a strong competitor for the position of leader. The other was Takagi Saya; Takagi Saya's father was the chairman of the "Yukoku Isshinkai," the largest right-wing group in the region, and she herself was a famous genius beauty in the school. Her competitiveness was no less than Saeko Busujima's.

However, after this look, he felt relieved. Saeko Busujima was holding her wooden sword, wondering what she was thinking; she was clearly distracted and obviously could not join the competition. As for Takagi Saya, perhaps because she was suddenly facing the reality of the apocalypse, she seemed still shaken, and there was a four-eyed nerd beside her fawning over her, making her quite impatient; it was obvious she could not insert herself into this matter either. In this situation, his position as leader was already a sure thing.

Having achieved the effect he wanted, Ziteng Haoyi felt even more smug. He spread his hands and said to Lingyun's group in a sentencing tone: "In other words, having gained the support of the vast majority of students, I am now everyone's leader. From now on, I will lead everyone..."

With a "thud," a silver light streaked past Ziteng Haoyi's cheek, leaving a bloody scratch on his face before piercing into the chair behind him. Ziteng Haoyi's words stopped abruptly, his mouth slightly agape as if he had been grabbed by the throat, and beads of cold sweat trickled down his face. Looking back, a small knife was half-embedded in the seat, its tail still vibrating continuously.

"It's really noisy; you're disturbing my rest!" An impatient female voice rang out, and Luo Yexi looked at Ziteng Haoyi with a face full of disgust.

Beside her, a blond guy was looking at her in astonishment; it was obvious that the small knife that had just been shot out was his.