Chapter 23: The Abandoned Crowd

"I'll warn you one more time, if you disturb me again..." Luo Yexi flicked her hand, and from somewhere, she pulled out another small knife.

"You..." Ziteng Haoyi was clearly frightened by Luo Yexi's actions; he immediately stepped back twice, a look of astonishment on his face.

He had never imagined that among the students here, there would be such a dangerous person. Judging by the depth to which the throwing knife had embedded itself into the seat, this kind of attack would definitely be fatal.

"This student, no, this young lady, although there might be some misunderstandings between us, there is no need to go this far. This, this is very dangerous. Besides, legally speaking, murder is against the law..."

Ziteng Haoyi put on a fawning smile. He no longer cared about his image at all; after all, this was a life-or-death moment, and if he died, his image would be meaningless.

Luo Yexi glanced at Ziteng Haoyi, the message conveyed quite clear: if he kept babbling, he knew the consequences. Ziteng Haoyi hurriedly nodded repeatedly, then found a random seat and sat down. Only after sitting down did he realize his back was already soaked in cold sweat.

Luo Yexi put away the knife, leaned her head against Lingyun, and closed her eyes to rest. Lingyun sighed slightly in his heart. He doubted whether it had been the right decision to let Luo Yexi follow him into this world; after all, she was only sixteen, yet she had to face these dangerous and disgusting things alongside him.

After a while, Lingyun raised an eyebrow as he looked in the direction of Komuro Takashi. He discovered that, for some unknown reason, the Fate on Komuro Takashi was gradually draining away! If it continued like this, the future Komuro Takashi would be no different from a passerby.

"Ruoxi, what is going on? Why do I feel that the Fate on Komuro Takashi is draining away?" Lingyun knew this matter was definitely not simple. A Fate Child was precious to every world; they all carried a certain mission and were the ones who pushed the world's development forward. Otherwise, that world would not have requested Lingyun to protect Komuro Takashi from death.

"Brother, something major has happened to this world. At some point, a terrifying power seeped into this world, pushing it toward decay. As the Fate Child of this world, if Komuro Takashi is killed, it could cause a massive disturbance in the World Line. Under such a double blow, the world's decay would become irreversible." Ruoxi's voice also carried a hint of seriousness. "To avoid this, the World Consciousness paid a huge price to forcibly strip Komuro Takashi of his status as a Fate Child. After all, in his current state, it is too easy for him to die in this out-of-control apocalypse."

"Is that so?" Lingyun's brow furrowed instantly. "Then there is truly big trouble."

Guiding a world toward decay is not something an ordinary person could do. The most likely culprits are those bored Evil Gods wandering in the Void. If they were indeed the ones behind this, then to resolve it, one must leave no remnants behind. Lingyun had dealt with these guys many times before and knew how troublesome and lawless they were.

"Everyone, I have a few things to say," Igou Hisashi suddenly spoke up.

His voice sounded extremely prominent in the relatively quiet carriage, and the people inside turned to look in his direction. Ziteng Haoyi's gaze flicked toward Luo Yexi, but he found her still leaning against Lingyun with her eyes closed, showing no intention of speaking up to stop him. He couldn't help but harbor secret resentment, believing she was targeting him.

Seeing everyone looking at him, Igou Hisashi said: "Everyone seems to have forgotten one thing. If we want to survive, food and water are absolutely essential, but we haven't prepared these things. I believe we must first find a relatively safe place to collect enough daily supplies to survive in this world."

Listening to Igou Hisashi, the people on the bus began to discuss it. In the end, most of them agreed with Igou Hisashi's suggestion. After all, even if they were waiting for rescue, they needed enough food to hold out.

"School Infirmary Marikawa, drive the bus to a place with a convenience store. We must collect enough supplies to live for the next period of time," Miyamoto Rei said.

"Oh, understood," Marikawa Shizuka nodded.

Before long, the School Bus drove to a street corner. Turning at this corner would lead to a small street with several convenience stores, but the street was not wide; once the School Bus drove in, it would be difficult to turn around. However, there were not many dead bodies on the street; they were likely attracted to the outside.

"Everyone, leave some people to guard the vehicle, and the rest divide into several groups to collect daily supplies in the shortest time possible. Remember, take more high-calorie food like compressed biscuits and chocolate. Stronger boys, please help carry heavier things like mineral water," Igou Hisashi said. "We must be fast; we don't have much time. Also, don't make too much noise to avoid leading the dead bodies to our location."

Soon, everyone was divided into groups. Lingyun and Luo Yexi were in one group, Igou Hisashi, Miyamoto Rei, and Komuro Takashi in another, and Takagi Saya and the four-eyed nerd Hirano Kouta in another; others also formed teams. Marikawa Shizuka was originally supposed to stay and guard the School Bus, but after seeing a pharmacy on the street, she said she wanted to go down to find some common medicines. Helplessly, Busujima Saeko had to follow this somewhat airheaded School Infirmary to prevent any accidents. In the end, those left to guard the School Bus were Ziteng Haoyi and the group he had brought onto the bus.

Watching the crowd head off to collect supplies, a dark glint flashed in Ziteng Haoyi's eyes as he pushed up his glasses, wondering what he was thinking.

"Master, will that guy named Ziteng Haoyi just drive the School Bus away and abandon us?" Luo Yexi quickly grabbed bags of compressed biscuits from the shelf and asked in a low voice.

"It's not a question of whether he will, but a certainty. After all, you threatened him quite harshly before. If he doesn't abandon you as revenge, he wouldn't be Ziteng Haoyi," Lingyun shook the bag in his hand to fit more items inside.

Suddenly, the roar of an engine sounded outside. Luo Yexi's expression changed slightly, and she quickly walked out carrying the items in her hands. Many others came out of the convenience store with her; it was clear they had all been attracted by the sound of the car starting.

When they walked out of the convenience store, they were horrified to see the School Bus already at full throttle, speeding away into the distance.

"Ho, how could this happen?" A bag in a girl's hand dropped to the ground, her eyes filled with despair. "Why abandon us?"

Lingyun looked at the others; almost everyone had a look of despair in their eyes. Clearly, the act of being abandoned was too heavy a blow for them.

"Um, why did Teacher Ziteng drive the bus away?" Only the airheaded Marikawa Shizuka still didn't understand what had happened.

"Everyone, don't be discouraged. If you give up on yourselves, then no one in this world can save you." At this moment, it was still Igou Hisashi who stepped out to cheer the others up. "At least we still have enough daily supplies now. As long as we find a safe place, we can survive."

Everyone turned their gaze toward Igou Hisashi, and Igou Hisashi felt a bit of pressure from this.

"The most important thing now is to find a safe place and enough weapons," Igou Hisashi said. He now faintly possessed the demeanor of a leader. As for Komuro Takashi, he seemed to have been forgotten by everyone.

Marikawa Shizuka frowned and looked around. Being overly muddled, she now understood the fact that they had been abandoned: "Um, I remember, my friend's house is nearby. There is a car there, though it's not very big. Also, I remember, her house seems to have some weapons..."

Hearing this news, everyone cheered up. Regardless of anything else, having a safe place and enough weapons were the capital for surviving in this world.