Chapter 522 Getting Off

Chapter 522: Disembarking

After the terror and despair they had just experienced, fleeing this eerie bus was almost an instinctive reaction for everyone. However, surprisingly... perhaps due to the cooperation they'd shared earlier, the able-bodied passengers didn't choose to rush alone into the freedom of the night. Instead, they instinctively helped those who were too weak to walk on their own.

The rear door had already been smashed open by Su Bai, and a strange scent of blood lingered in the air, likely emanating from the now withered, grayish heart.

Outside the rear door was a familiar yet alien real world, with moonlight spilling onto the damp ground. During the time they were trapped in the rift, it seemed a light rain had fallen in the real world. The ground was slightly wet, and the air blowing in through the door still carried a hint of moisture.

This should have been the moment they desperately longed for. Yet, when the true exit appeared before their eyes, many passengers didn't rush out immediately. Instead, they stood there dazed, momentarily unable to accept the reality of it all. This concrete proof of escape left them momentarily stunned.

Were they really saved?

Amidst this brief hesitation, Wu Hang shoved his way through the crowd and walked over to the "heart." No one noticed his movements, as everyone's gaze was fixed on the exit.

At the front of the bus, the massive, monstrous-looking "heart" lay still. Wu Hang slowly raised his right hand. The joints and bones of his palm had seams so fine they seemed almost inhuman.

The next second, his hand dove unhesitatingly into the interior of the "heart."

There was no splattering blood, no resistance whatsoever. The strange lump of flesh seemed to have completely lost its vitality. Wu Hang's hand easily retrieved a fist-sized crystal from within. The crystal was a deep, rich red, with what seemed like a liquid light flowing inside, emitting an eerie luster under the moonlight.

He lowered his hand, clenched the crystal, and walked straight through the crowd toward Su Bai.

As the crystal neared those passengers whose vital energy was drained, teetering on the brink of death, it would slowly glow faintly, like a gently flickering flame. Then, the originally pale, withered faces of those passengers gradually regained color. Their legs no longer felt weak and unsteady, and a spark slowly returned to their eyes. While these changes weren't enough to restore them to full health immediately, compared to their previous state resembling the living dead, it was a world of difference.

Wu Hang stood beside Su Bai, quietly watching the last group of passengers leave the bus. He didn't speak until everyone had disembarked. Only then did he slowly raise his hand, holding the crystal out for Su Bai to see.

Compared to when it was first retrieved, the crystal's luster had noticeably dimmed.

"A portion of the vital energy was distributed to the surviving humans." Wu Hang paused, gently stroking the surface of the crystal as if sensing its remaining energy. After a moment, he continued, "The remaining portion is still sufficient for research. Perhaps it can improve Mother's condition."

With that, Wu Hang put away the crystal, and he and Su Bai stepped off the bus one after the other.

With the death of the "heart," the thick fog along the bus route had already dissipated.

The night outside remained quiet. Yet, for those who had survived this bizarre journey, this moment of peace felt especially precious. Many passengers simply sat down on the ground, some even lying flat on their backs, breathing in the long-missed fresh air in big gulps. Although their strength hadn't fully returned, expressions of relief after a narrow escape appeared on their faces.

The thick fog had finally cleared, revealing the night sky completely. The crescent moon in the sky was cold and bright, its light casting a serene silver-white hue over the world. Some passengers who had been trapped on Bus No. 666 for too long looked up at the long-unseen moonlight and couldn't help but cry. Their tears fell onto the damp ground, carrying indescribable complex emotions—shock, joy, relief, and even a sense of bewilderment at reuniting with the real world.

The two female college students beside Feng Yan were affected by this mood, their eyes also quietly reddening as they sobbed softly. Feng Yan, meanwhile, silently helped the old lady beside him to sit down on the curb steps. The old lady was just an ordinary person. Though she didn't show her emotions as openly as the younger ones, her hands still trembled slightly, enough to show the fright she had endured throughout the journey.

In the distance, the muscular fitness enthusiast and the office worker patted each other on the shoulder, their faces showing the relief and relaxation of having regained their lives. The office worker looked up at the night sky, let out a long sigh, and smiled self-deprecatingly, "...My daughter would never imagine that I encountered something like this tonight. This is way more thrilling than any movie."

But not everyone's emotions were so uniform.

Among the crowd, Zhen Youbing's expression was completely different from the other passengers. He stood in a corner, his gaze wandering, his face gloomy. Perhaps because he had permanently lost a segment of his finger, this once arrogant and disdainful man was no longer his initially overbearing self. Instead, he was deliberately avoiding others. He shrank back, avoiding Feng Yan's gaze, and didn't dare approach Su Bai. In the end, he walked alone into the shadows, his expression dark and inscrutable.

However, these details held little significance for Su Bai.

He simply stood quietly in place, admiring the world under the night sky. A breeze brushed past, bringing with it a hint of moisture from the recent rain.

Not far away, the damaged marks remained on the building wall hit by the bus. Yet, what caught Su Bai's attention more were the faint footsteps approaching from not too far away. Although it was late at night, the sound of the crash had clearly drawn some attention, and people were moving in their direction.

Su Bai's gaze turned to Feng Yan. Because the signal had returned, Feng Yan was currently on his phone reporting the situation to the relevant authorities. From the sound of his conversation, he seemed to have also mentioned the timely and effective reinforcement provided by a Special Ability User named Su Bai. Not long after, Feng Yan looked at Su Bai with a peculiar expression.

Regardless of what Feng Yan heard on the other end of the call, after hanging up, he said nothing about it. Instead, acting in his role as a member of the special operations team, he urged everyone to leave the "accident" scene as quickly as possible. Although many passengers were still physically weak, a few minutes weren't enough for legs that had been on strike for weeks or even months to start walking quickly again, they also knew how strange it would look for over thirty people to be lying or sitting at an "accident" scene. In the end, Milly and the muscular man, among others, helped take the passengers to a nearby dark alley to hide for a while.

Different from the previous instances of mutual aid, because their vital energy had slightly recovered, this time some of the older passengers could support each other as they walked forward.

After ensuring the passengers had put some distance between themselves and the "accident" scene, Feng Yan looked at Su Bai with a still somewhat odd expression. His voice was low and restrained as he asked, "Mr. Su, our team leader said that although they received the distress signal from the phone... they were completely unable to track my location and couldn't dispatch any reinforcements."

He took a deep breath, stared into Su Bai's eyes, and asked word by word—

"Mr. Su, just who are you?"