The Senior Male Student finally accepted the painful reality.
Before he could even find someone to delegate tasks to, he had already become free labor for that group in the Exploration Department.
“You all go down first.” He stood up, letting out a bitter laugh as he gazed skyward. “Even though I got the time wrong, since you’re already here, let’s just go with it.”
With that, he raised his guidance sign and continued his volunteer work.
“Alright, sure!” Huang Xiu and her two companions readily complied, following the Senior Male Student’s directions down the stairs and off the platform.
The buses arranged by Tiandu University were parked in the underground parking lot, eight of them neatly arranged in two orderly rows.
The buses were brand new, emblazoned with the Tiandu University emblem. Their glass was so pristine that even a mosquito might slip.
From the entrance of the underground parking lot to the buses, a dedicated path had been marked out with red barrier ropes.
Tiandu University truly spared no expense in every aspect of their arrangements.
Passersby waiting for their own transport cast envious glances at the scene.
Some parents even tugged at their children’s hands, pointing at Huang Xiu and the other freshmen, earnestly saying, “You must learn from your older brothers and sisters!”
Huang Xiu had never imagined that she would one day become the ‘perfect child’ parents held up as an example.
At that moment, she, like the other freshmen around her, straightened her back and, with a face full of pride, boarded the bus bound for the university.
The drivers of the eight buses were all young, dressed in Tiandu University uniforms, and serving as volunteers for the university.
They offered a welcoming smile to each freshman who boarded.
Huang Xiu boarded the third bus, driven by a beautiful Senior Female Student, which was why quite a few freshmen had chosen this particular bus.
However, for Huang Xiu, her choice was merely because the first two buses were already full.
Watching the smiling Senior Female Student in the driver’s seat, Huang Xiu hesitated for a moment, then couldn’t help but ask, “Senior Female Student, you must be from the Exploration Department, right?”
She was slightly worried that this one might be unreliable too.
“Yes, that’s right.” The Senior Female Student, wearing a pair of white silk gloves, replied with a soft chuckle. “You must have seen Si Ming, right? He’s always like that, you’ll get used to it.”
With that, she gestured gently with her right hand.
“Please, have a seat, adorable Junior Female Student. We’re about to depart.”
Huang Xiu nodded, then chose a window seat in the back row. Chi Xue quickly claimed the seat next to her.
Ying Zhiyu, Liu Lu, and Yang Qu, who had somehow converged on the way out of the station, exchanged glances, then had no choice but to sit separately.
Bu Chenghua, however, didn’t mind. He cheerfully picked out a freshman who looked amiable, sat down next to them, and struck up a conversation.
The eight buses were filled with Tiandu freshmen, transported by the special train.
The volunteer drivers lightly pressed the accelerator, and the buses let out a sudden roar. Their bodies vibrated as they began to move, forming a long, single file line as they exited the underground parking garage.
It was six o’clock; the sky hadn’t yet darkened, but dusk was settling in.
The setting sun, a fiery orb in the west, painted half the sky crimson. Vehicles during rush hour choked bridge after bridge.
The buses crawled like tortoises in the sea of traffic, inching forward, then stopping again. This stop-and-go motion was enough to stir irritation and even nausea.
Huang Xiu was not prone to motion sickness and felt fine. She looked out the window.
In the distance, towering skyscrapers seemed to bridge heaven and earth. They were like colossal pillars supporting the sky, or silent, watchful giants.
Ying City was small and remote. It took only half an hour to drive across the entire city, and traffic jams were unheard of.
The tallest building there wasn’t even thirty stories high.
This was a sight she would never see in Ying City.
At this moment, Huang Xiu truly realized.
She had left home and arrived in a strange city over 1,500 kilometers away, on the cusp of a new chapter in her life.
The volunteer Senior Female Student driving the bus was in no hurry at all. She looked every bit the seasoned senior.
“Once you’ve been in Tiandu for a while, you’ll get used to the traffic,” the Senior Female Student said with a smile. “It’s always like this here—minor jams on weekdays, major ones on weekends. There’s never a time without traffic.”
The Senior Female Student offered a reassuring smile.
After crawling for several hundred meters, the bus finally cleared the most congested stretch.
After driving for a bit longer, the vehicle exited the urban area and reached the outskirts. The traffic here was considerably lighter, allowing the bus to finally pick up speed.
“Everyone, hold on tight and fasten your seatbelts!” the Senior Female Student shouted loudly, narrowing her eyes. “I’m about to accelerate, or we’ll be late!”
Hearing this, Huang Xiu, having experienced Professor Yuan and Senior Female Student Li’s driving skills, instantly had an ominous premonition.
“No way…”
She quickly fastened her seatbelt and nudged Chi Xue, who was still lost in thought. “What are you staring at? Hurry and buckle up!”
“Ah!”
Chi Xue, though a little bewildered, still complied.
However, some freshmen ignored the Senior Female Student’s reminder, continuing to play on their phones or casually chat.
Watching everything through the rearview mirror, a slight curve appeared at the Senior Female Student’s lips. “These freshmen are just too adorable, every single one of them!”
“Indeed!” Listening to the bursts of laughter coming through her earpiece, she spoke through her headset to the vehicles ahead. “Accelerate!”
“Alright!” came the reply from her earpiece.
No sooner had she spoken than the Senior Female Student gripped the gear stick, swiftly shifted into sixth gear, and then pressed a blue button on the dashboard.
“Hold on tight!” she burst into laughter, and stomped hard on the accelerator with her right foot.
Boom!!!
The engine’s roar reached a crescendo at that moment, and the exhaust pipe immediately gurgled and spewed thick black smoke.
The vehicle’s speed surged dramatically.
In an instant, it rocketed far beyond its initial 60 km/h.
A powerful surge of acceleration slammed the freshmen back into their seats, rendering them utterly immobile.
Except for Huang Xiu and a few others, most people’s phones slipped from their grasp and clattered to the floor due to the sudden acceleration.
Pit-pat!
Suddenly, phones skittered across the floor everywhere.
The scenery outside the window blurred past like streaks of light. In their peripheral vision, the dashboard swayed wildly, as if drunk.
At this point, the vehicle’s speed had reached unfathomable levels.
Seeing this, the Senior Female Student laughed with an unsettling cheerfulness. “The Research Department’s modified bus truly packs a punch!”
“Holy cow!”
Huang Xiu clutched desperately at the iron handrail beside her.
A fierce gale roared in through the slightly open window, whipping her hair relentlessly.
This speed was maintained, and even increased, making the young girl’s expression grow increasingly terrified.
The moment the bus finally stopped, the reputation of the Research Department was etched deep into the minds of every freshman on board.
‘Anyone capable of modifying a bus like this couldn’t possibly be normal!’
The bus doors slowly opened, and a flood of freshmen surged out, not willing to spend another second inside.
They stood on solid ground, their faces pale, their legs weak. Their stomachs churned violently, and they desperately wished to vomit and find relief.
Watching this scene, the Senior Female Student’s eyes curved like crescent moons. As if she had anticipated this, she produced a handful of plastic bags from the bus and offered them.
“Come on, come on, go ahead and throw up in these.”
This was a traditional freshman welcoming event for Tiandu University’s Exploration Department. It likely began the year the Research Department successfully modified the school buses.
While it held no particular significance, it was entertaining enough and offered endless amusement at the freshmen’s expense.
That alone was reason enough for them to keep it going year after year.