Chapter 102

Chapter 102

"Can it fit? If not, go with the managers to pull the carts." Rong Chen shouted from below the vehicle.

Most of the children were riding in a vehicle for the first time; none of them would want to get off and pull carts, so they immediately replied, "It can fit."

"I'm holding one, I can take another."

"Pick up those standing too; once you hold them, they won't fall even if you let go."

...

No one wanted to get off the bus. Fortunately, Linya City's old buses were wide and long, and everyone was just kids. Over a hundred people managed to squeeze into the two carriages. Chu Ya carried Shen Juanjuan and got on last, while Liu Zhen and Wang Chengcai, who were also holding their siblings, were in front of him.

Chu Ya tried to close the door, but there were too many people, and the door wouldn't shut. The driver had already started the vehicle. Chu Ya had no choice but to place Shen Juanjuan inside, making him hold onto Wang Chengcai's legs, while he grabbed the door frames on both sides.

As the bus moved forward, the students shouted toward the back, "Managers, hurry up, hurry up."

The manager's angry voice came from behind, "Who's sticking their body out of the window? You'll fall and die! Sit back!"

"There are no seats."

"Then stand still!"

Seeing Shen Juanjuan standing, Lin Duozhi and Liu Sijin wanted to slide down and stand with him. Liu Zhen helplessly said, "There's no space to stand. You two, stay put."

The bus hit a large pothole, causing the people inside to scream in shock. Chu Ya was actually jolted off the bus, but after running a few steps, he jumped back in.

"Shen Miaomiao," Shen Juanjuan called out in panic.

"I'm fine," Chu Ya quickly replied. "Stand steady and don't fall."

Yun Tuo stood next to the driver, ready to control the situation if anything went wrong. Hearing Shen Juanjuan's voice, he leaned over and said, "Hey, this cookie has a little cream inside. Brother Juan, do you want me to hold you?"

Shen Juanjuan was unwilling: "I don't want to go inside. I want to stay here and watch Shen Miaomiao."

Yun Tuo asked at the bus door, "Xiaoya, is everything okay there?"

"It's fine."

The road was bumpy, and the vehicle shook continuously. Chu Ya observed the shapes of the potholes, suspecting they might be unfilled bomb craters, when he saw a large shell lying by the roadside.

Despite being jolted around, the children in the bus remained happy and excited. Every time the bus hit a pothole, everyone would shout in unison. Shen Juanjuan was afraid Chu Ya would fall off the bus and watched him intently, though he also absentmindedly joined in the shouting.

The landscape on both sides of the road was open fields. As Chu Ya was observing the distance, a black shadow suddenly darted past him.

A black-and-white kangaroo leaped over the bus and stood in the middle of the road, looking proudly at the vehicle.

Chu Ya recognized the kangaroo and called out to the bus, "Zhao Xiaozhuang, bring Thunder back. Don't let it run around everywhere."

"It went out on its own. It doesn't want to stay in the mental domain."

Other children who had broken through or differentiated could also see the kangaroo. Hong Wenzhi said, "Mine wants to go out too, but I didn't let it. I said it could come out after we enter the city."

Shen Juanjuan peeked through the gaps between people's legs and shouted, "Chu Baolong has been complaining about wanting to come out, and so has Shen Wangwang. Doesn't Shen Wangwang want to play? It hasn't done that either."

Liu Zhen also called out to the back, "Don't delay things. Bring your Thunder back quickly, or it will cause trouble."

Zhao Xiaozhuang, exasperated, said, "If I bring it back, it will attack the eggs in the mental domain and cause chaos."

"Let it attack the eggs. It's better than it causing trouble outside."

The kangaroo stood in the middle of the road, excitedly hopping with its feet crossed, and made boxing gestures at the bus. In the next second, it disappeared, and Zhao Xiaozhuang brought it back into the mental domain.

The bus continued forward. The road not only had potholes but also sections with standing water. When this happened, the driver would drive into the open fields and bump along to bypass these areas.

"Shen Miaomiao, hold on tight," Shen Juanjuan shouted, swaying with the crowd.

"I know, I won't fall," Chu Ya tightened his grip on the door frame.

"Let me carry you!"

"Not yet. If I can't hold on, I'll call you."

"Okay."

Seeing that Chu Ya hadn't fallen off again, Shen Juanjuan finally relaxed and began singing softly with Lin Duozhi. However, the bus was too crowded, and neither of them could reach the steering wheel.

"Grandpa's little car goes beep beep beep, da da da, beep beep beep..."

"We're riding in a big car."

"My big car goes beep beep beep, da da da, beep beep beep..."

After about ten minutes, scattered buildings appeared on both sides of the road, looking like factories. They were all gray cement houses with collapsed walls and rusty iron gates with unreadable factory signs.

To the right of the road was a sand factory. As the bus approached, gunshots suddenly rang out, and a group of people in various combat uniforms retreated from the gate, firing back into the factory as they went.

The children immediately panicked and started calling out to Brother Chu Ya and Brother Yun Tuo. Seeing the group about to retreat onto the main road, Chu Ya, without hesitation, summoned Black Wolf. Yun Tuo also drew his gun from his waist, and a Crested Goshawk took flight above the bus.

The driver, however, remained calm, driving steadily. He glanced at Yun Tuo in the rearview mirror and smirked.

"You newcomers to Linya City are such cowards. These gangs are just fighting over a factory. They fight every day. We'll wait here for ten minutes until they finish, then we'll go through."

The driver stopped the bus on the main road, turned on the radio, leaned back in his seat, and a sweet female voice came from the speaker.

"You stand across from me, seeing through all my thoughts, oh oh oh, seeing through..."

Bang bang bang!

"Some words may never be spoken, but your gaze has already told me, oh my, oh my, told me..."

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Chu Ya stood at the bus door, the Black Wolf crouched tensely beside him on the ground, ready to pounce at any moment.

The group ahead was locked in battle, shouting as they dove to the ground or hid behind obstacles, firing guns and hurling grenades toward the factory gate. Grenades flew out from inside the factory, and Chu Ya watched two new craters form on the road.

But as the driver had said, no one paid any attention to the bus parked on the road.

The children huddled inside the bus, barely daring to breathe, their bodies trembling with each blast, letting out faint gasps of fear. Thankfully, Chu Ya and Yun Tuo were there, and the cheerful song playing inside the bus helped ease some of the fear from the artillery fire.

Chu Ya focused on the front and cast a psychic shield around the bus. The other sentinels in the bus also unleashed their psychic powers, linking together to silently envelop the entire bus.

The battle continued, and Chu Ya glanced at Shen Juanjuan, who wasn’t watching the battle but had squeezed his head between others’ legs, staring intently at him.

“Don’t be scared!” Chu Ya mouthed.

Shen Juanjuan managed a nod. “I’m not scared. Don’t fall.”

“I won’t fall.”

The attackers outside suddenly surged back into the factory, the artillery fire grew louder, and screams echoed. The skirmish lasted only a few minutes before the gunfire died down, leaving only shouts and the sound of running feet.

The driver reached over and turned off the music. “Let’s go. They’re done.”

The vehicle started again, and the driver said proudly, “I told you we’d only need to wait ten minutes. These rundown factories are just targets for small-time gangs—fights don’t last long.”

As the bus passed the factory, Chu Ya, gripping the door, saw a row of people kneeling with hands on their heads, surrounded by gunmen, with bodies sprawled behind them.

The children in the bus buzzed with excitement and curiosity about Linya City, laughing and playing despite the crowded, bumpy ride. But now, everyone stared out the windows, the bus so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

“Shen Miaomiao…” Shen Juanjuan whispered, squeezing closer to Chu Ya.

Chu Ya turned and saw Shen Juanjuan’s unease, so he reached out a hand. Chu Ya pulled Shen Juanjuan in front of him, planting his legs wide to block the door. Shen Juanjuan hugged his legs, burying his face in Chu Ya’s abdomen.

Breathing in Chu Ya’s familiar scent and feeling his warmth, Shen Juanjuan’s panic melted away. Even as the bus jolted, he felt no fear of falling, knowing Chu Ya would steady him.

He turned his head to look out the bus door. The pothole-riddled road and stretches of yellow grass looked no different from an abyss. But the wind blowing on his face wasn’t cold and biting—it seemed a bit better than an abyss.

The city’s outline emerged ahead. This time, the children didn’t cheer—they just silently gazed at the dark buildings through the windows.

The bus soon entered the city. Linya City’s buildings were mostly six or seven stories tall but sprawled endlessly across the horizon. Chu Ya noticed the buildings weren’t brick or concrete but raw steel, their mottled rust and rough welds exposed.

The first bus stop arrived quickly, and everyone got off. Though called a bus stop, there was no sign—just crooked words painted on an iron wall: Chenkang Street Station.

Chu Ya noticed that the character for "Chen" was miswritten, with "几" rendered as "儿."

“Standing on the street like this is too conspicuous,” Yun Tuo frowned slightly as he looked at the group of children standing by the street. “The people in Linya City are not kind, and they don’t usually see so many children, who knows what they might think?”

Seeing that passersby were looking over, Chu Ya had everyone stand in an alley behind them, leaving only the students who had successfully broken through.

“This place isn’t great—not like my Mixin Town,” Shen Juanjuan said disdainfully to Lin Duozhi. “Look at these houses, all black and ugly. They’re worse than our welfare home and nowhere near as nice as Mixin Town’s.”

"I've never been to Mixin Town," Lin Duozhi said.

"When we get back, I’ll invite you over to my place and show you my treasures—" Shen Juanjuan suddenly stopped mid-sentence, glaring at the ground like it owed him money, then snapped back and continued, "—and my steel ball car."

"What were you looking at just now?" Lin Duozhi asked curiously.

"I wasn’t looking at anything. It’s just that Chu Baolong wanted to come out again and kept arguing with me. I couldn’t even hear what you were saying."

"How does it argue?" Lin Duozhi asked.

"It just goes on and on, 'wah wah wah.' Spot doesn’t give you any lip?"

"No," Lin Duozhi shook his head.

"How is that possible?" Shen Juanjuan was incredulous. "Is Spot a mute? Every time Chu Baolong goes back, it won’t shut up in my head—just yammering on and on."

"Spot isn’t a mute. It talks to me, but it doesn’t argue."

Shen Juanjuan looked confused, like he’d just been told the sky was green. "Then maybe it doesn’t know how. You should teach it to argue, or it might become mute."

Someone across the street was eyeing the kids, their gaze darting from one to the other. Liu Zhen shot them a frosty glare, while Wang Chengcai casually pulled a gun from his waistband and started twirling it in his hand.

Their eyes landed on the gun, and without a word, they turned and strolled off like nothing happened.

The creak of cart wheels echoed down the street as Rong Chen and the managers finally rolled into town. Yun Tuo approached them, speaking naturally in a low voice with Rong Chen, his gaze briefly sweeping over their surroundings.

Yun Tuo usually seemed laid-back, but that look was pure ice—deadly and sharp. The guys tailing the managers, no strangers to danger, took one look and knew they were out of their league. They promptly turned and left.

"How’d it go?" Chu Ya asked as he walked up.

Rong Chen wiped the sweat from his face. "Not sure if you'd call it smooth. There were always people following us, clearly with ill intentions. We flashed our guns and started banging spoons on pots—it was so deafening, those creeps couldn’t take it and bolted."

With everyone gathered, they now headed to the courtyard the orphanage had purchased. Once the students in the alley came out, Chu Ya consulted with Yun Tuo and then said, "Alright, everyone, release your Quantum Beasts now."

"Can I let Chu Baolong out?" Shen Juanjuan asked.

"Yes, you can."

In a flash, a handful of black-and-white Quantum Beasts popped up on the street—some pacing, some preening, and others just checking out the scene.

"Awooo!" Chu Baolong suddenly let out a startled cry, tiptoeing on its hind paws to avoid a puddle of murky sewage, nearly stepping on a bag of garbage by the roadside. It turned its head to survey the surroundings, its expression somewhat overwhelmed, before vanishing into thin air.

"Chu Baolong, why are you back again? Go outside, go outside, your brother is telling you to go out." Shen Juanjuan frowned and drew his neck in. "Will you go out, will you? Will you? How about becoming mute?"

"Roar!" The Black Wolf also growled lowly at this side.

Chu Baolong reappeared on the street, its hind paws raised high, balancing on its claw tips. It looked around disdainfully, then glanced at the Black Wolf staring at it. The Black Wolf hurried over, picking it up and tossing it onto its back.

"Awooo!" The Teddy Bear called out to Chu Ya.

Chu Ya, who was whispering with Wang Chengcai, turned his head and took off his backpack, pulling out a shoulder bag and handing it over.

The Teddy Bear took the shoulder bag, pulled out a small towel, shook it open in the air, and then lifted its hind paws to start wiping itself.

Yun Tuo and Rong Chen led the way at the front, with other guides and sentinels scattered throughout the group. Chu Ya walked at the back with Shen Juanjuan, while the quantum beasts followed closely beside their owners, curiously looking around.

Linya City was by the sea, and the entire street was permeated with a salty, fishy smell. Dried fish of various sizes hung from the window sills of buildings on both sides. The streets were already narrow, and the shelves of shops on both sides extended onto the street, making them even narrower.

The owner of an ironware shop sat at the entrance with his shirt open, revealing large tattoos and scars on his chest. The owner of a meat shop leaned against her iron gate, using a fan to drive away flies buzzing around the iron plate. On that iron plate lay two halves of a Mutant, its fur and scales not yet removed, blood dripping down to the ground.

Although there were many people on the street, they were all silent, their eyes either melancholic or fierce, blending into the dark steel buildings behind them, exuding a gloomy and rusty atmosphere.

When these children dressed in sailor uniforms, with innocent expressions, appeared on the street, everyone looked over.

The children stood out starkly against the city, like a bright splash of color in a large, dull watercolor painting, both out of place and strikingly noticeable.

Everyone's gaze followed them. The ironware shop owner stood up, the meat shop owner stopped shooing flies, and countless pairs of eyes appeared in the dark corners. Even the upper floors of the steel buildings showed moving figures, standing at the windows looking down.

The children walked quietly and nervously, the surroundings silent except for the occasional gunfire in the distance and the creaking of cart wheels rolling over the ground.

The quantum beasts became alert. Chu Baolong, sitting on the Black Wolf's back, no longer thought about cleaning its hind paws, its white fists subtly extending claws, its eyes darting left and right.

Clang!

A sharp, heavy sound from the left abruptly broke the silence of the street.

The quantum beasts immediately entered combat mode. The leopard cub and the fox bristled, and the Teddy Bear immediately stood up on the Black Wolf's back, raising its paws.

A one-armed helper at a cleaver shop met everyone's gaze and quickly squatted down to pick up a copper pot that had fallen to the ground.

The quantum beasts returned to normal, except for the kangaroo, which continued to hop in front of the helper, its fists swinging at the air.

Like most people on the street, the helper was an ordinary person who couldn't see the quantum beasts and didn't know a kangaroo was punching the air near his head. Only a few people behind some windows showed surprise but quickly retreated and closed the windows, as if afraid of trouble.

Shen Juanjuan, being held by Chu Ya, wasn't scared. He didn't avoid the gazes but stared curiously at the people.

A bald man with a nose ring and bare chest stood against the wall. Shen Juanjuan stared at his ear, which was adorned with rings. Suddenly, the bald man opened his mouth, his face contorted in a fierce expression, showing uneven teeth and a ring on his tongue.

Shen Juanjuan froze for a second, then opened his mouth, breathing out aggressively, showing his teeth. Chu Ya looked down at Shen Juanjuan, then at the bald man, his eyes cold with warning.

The bald man's attention shifted to Chu Ya. After sizing him up, he stepped forward, twirling a sharp dagger between his fingers.

Before he could get close, Chu Ya released a thread of mental energy, causing the bald man's dagger to slip from his hand and clatter into the gutter by the roadside.

The bald man stopped, turned to look at Chu Ya, his eyes filled with uncertainty and fear. But he didn't move forward; instead, he picked up the dagger and leaned back against the wall as if nothing had happened.

"Hiss..." Shen Juanjuan blew another breath at him before turning to Chu Ya, frowning. "This guy thinks he's so great, showing me his missing teeth. Who hasn't lost teeth? I've lost teeth too, and his missing teeth make him look so ugly."

Shen Juanjuan shook his head, then turned to look elsewhere. A young, beautiful woman leaned against a door frame, waving at him with a smile. "Hey, handsome."

Shen Juanjuan immediately composed himself, pursing his lips. After taking a couple of steps, he responded shyly, "Hi..."