3: Chapter 3 Strong Control

Ding Qing's thunderous slap instantly plunged the noisy carriage into a dead silence.

Zhang Han's massive body crashed to the ground with a dull thud.

His cheek swelled up visibly to the naked eye.

He fell unconscious, though his breathing remained steady.

Ding Qing had exercised restraint in his strike.

At this moment, everyone's eyes were focused on Ding Qing, their panic tinged with a hint of awe.

This classmate, usually hot-tempered and tall, was now displaying not just physical force, but a cold decisiveness that forcibly suppressed chaos in a desperate situation.

Ding Qing looked around, his gaze as sharp as a blade. His voice was low yet highly piercing, cutting through the sound of rain and the remaining sobs:

"Listen to me, all of you!"

"If anyone else fucking shouts about getting off the bus or dares to touch the door handle, I don't mind letting them sleep even sounder than Zhang Han!"

He kicked the unconscious Zhang Han at his feet. "Now, who else wants to go down there and die?"

There was total silence.

Even the leading Teacher Huang and the driver, Old Zhang, subconsciously held their breath.

The Aura Ding Qing exuded at this moment made them feel a more tangible sense of pressure than the dark shadow outside the window.

Seeing that he had intimidated everyone, Ding Qing softened his tone slightly, but it still carried an unquestionable authority:

"I know you're scared, I'm scared too! But is being scared useful? Look outside!"

He pointed at the bus window; the thick fog was as white as curdled milk, swallowing everything.

"Get off? Where to? You can't even see the road! That damn thing is waiting in the fog. Which of you is sure you can escape?"

"Have you all forgotten how Zhou Qinghai disappeared?!"

At the mention of the terrifying scene where Zhou Qinghai was swallowed up, several girls couldn't help but sob again.

But this time, their voices were kept very low, filled with fear.

"Staying in the bus, at least we have a metal shell protecting us. It'll take some effort for that thing to get in! As long as we don't look at it, it seems like it can't directly make a move!"

Combining Zhou Qinghai's encounter with the previous disappearances, Ding Qing quickly summarized the key information.

"Who was looking out the window just now? Do you want to die?!"

Everyone was as quiet as cicadas in winter, lowering their heads one after another, not daring to look out the window anymore.

Wang Yang wanted nothing more than to bury his head under the seat.

"Teacher Huang," Ding Qing turned to the leading teacher, whose face was covered in blood, "any signal to call the police or contact the Mountain Villa?"

Teacher Huang shook his head in despair, his voice hoarse: "No... no signal at all! Not even one bar!"

Ding Qing frowned and looked at the driver.

"Old Zhang, what exactly is wrong with the bus? Can it be fixed?"

Driver Old Zhang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his face devoid of color:

"Student... Student Ding, the bus really won't start! I tried again and again just now, but there's no reaction at all. It's like it's completely dead!"

"This shitty road, this damn weather, and... and that thing..."

He glanced fearfully at the thick fog outside the window. "The bus... the bus might really have broken down. I need to check the engine or the wiring."

"Broken down..." Ding Qing pondered for a moment.

While staying on the bus was relatively safe, it was essentially waiting for death.

Once that dark shadow appeared again and found a new way to attack, or if the fog changed in some way, they would be like turtles in a jar.

Repairing it was the only chance to break the deadlock.

"We can't just wait."

Ding Qing made a decision, his gaze sweeping over everyone before finally landing on the unconscious Zhang Han. "Someone needs to go down and check the bus's condition."

As soon as he said this, the carriage, which had just quieted down, became restless again.

"Go down?! Isn't that just seeking death?"

"Ding Qing, are you crazy?!"

"Let me finish!" Ding Qing growled, suppressing the discussion again. "Going down is a risk, but waiting to die on the bus is even stupider! The repairs must be fast! And not everyone is going down!"

He pointed at Zhang Han on the floor: "When he wakes up, he's coming down with me! He's big and can lend a hand."

This was both utilizing Zhang Han's physique and giving him a chance to redeem himself through service, preventing him from causing chaos again once he woke up.

"Old Zhang," Ding Qing looked at the driver, "you're the driver, you know this bus best. The repairs will mainly depend on you."

"The two of us will be responsible for keeping watch and protecting you. Everyone else, stay on the bus! Absolutely! Absolutely! Do not look out the window! Draw all the curtains!"

"Wang Yang, keep an eye on them. If anyone dares to move or look around, I'll deal with them when I get back!"

He entrusted the task of maintaining order inside the bus to his most trusted childhood friend.

Although Wang Yang was terrified, he nodded vigorously upon hearing Ding Qing's instructions: "Brother... Brother Qing, don't worry!"

Ding Qing walked over to Zhang Han, knelt down, and patted his face with moderate force: "Wake up! Stop playing dead!"

Zhang Han slowly woke up.

His eyes were confused at first, but then he felt a burning pain in his cheek.

He remembered what had happened, and just as his anger began to rise, he met Ding Qing's cold gaze.

The warning in that gaze and the subtle hint of giving him a chance made him forcefully suppress his anger, which turned into suspicion and a trace of fear.

"The bus broke down; it needs to be fixed," Ding Qing said concisely. "You, me, and Old Zhang—the three of us are going down to repair it."

"You'll be responsible for assisting Old Zhang and keeping an eye on the rear of the bus. I'll watch the front and the sides."

"Remember, no matter what you hear, without my command, absolutely! Do not! Look up into the fog!"

"Just keep your head down and work, or look at the bus. Understand?"

Zhang Han looked at Ding Qing.

Then he looked at the terrified expressions of his classmates and the blood on Teacher Huang's face.

Finally, his gaze fell on the eerily white thick fog outside the window. He swallowed hard and nodded:

"...Un... understood."

"Good!" Ding Qing stood up and walked to the door controls. "Old Zhang, where are the tools?"

"Un... under the driver's seat... there's a toolbox..." Old Zhang's voice trembled.

"Teacher Huang, guard the door. Lock it immediately after we go out! We'll knock three long and two short when we return!" Ding Qing instructed.

Teacher Huang nodded repeatedly, gripping the handrail by the door tightly.

The atmosphere in the carriage was tense to the extreme.

Everyone held their breath.

They silently watched as Ding Qing, a barely-standing Zhang Han, and Old Zhang, who was holding a simple toolbox, gathered by the door.

Outside the door, the thick fog rolled and surged outside the windows like ocean waves.

Ding Qing took a deep breath and took one last look at the camera on the ceiling.

Whether this was a show or not was no longer important at this moment.

He slammed the door open button.

"Sshhh..." The pneumatic door slowly opened, and a damp, cold fog, carrying the scent of mud and rotting vegetation, instantly flooded into the carriage.

"Go! Fast!" Ding Qing barked, being the first to step into that suffocating pure whiteness.

Old Zhang followed closely with the toolbox, and Zhang Han gritted his teeth, forcing himself to follow.

The bus door quickly closed and locked behind them.

The thick fog immediately swallowed the three figures.

Outside the bus, there was only the monotonous sound of rain and a vast, unsettling expanse of white.

Those inside the bus could only hear their own racing heartbeats.