"Next stop, Xin Nan Station. Passengers who wish to alight, please prepare yourselves."
Once the bus steadied, Song Shi leaned against the handrail to maintain her balance and lowered her head to browse her smart device.
She had spent a long time speaking with Wang Ding this morning, and she realized that while she had a basic understanding of the various abilities in this world, she was almost completely ignorant about other matters.
She knew nothing about the history, the origin of the exotic beasts, the politics, the economy, the technological advancements, or the social system of this world.
There was still so much for her to catch up on.
Song Shi navigated through relevant websites, carefully studying their contents and memorizing what she could.
"Xin Nan Station has arrived," a mechanical voice echoed from the speaker.
The bus braked suddenly, and Song Shi leaned forward due to the inertia. She swiftly took a step forward to steady herself, not once lifting her head as she continued absorbing the information on her smart device.
"Thud!"
Suddenly, a heavy impact.
A sharp pain shot through the back of Song Shi's head, and her forehead collided with the corner of the seat in front of her.
At that exact moment, the driver started the bus again, and Song Shi's body was thrown back. A hand suddenly grabbed her hair, dragging her to the ground.
The majority of passengers' attention was drawn to the commotion. Seeing Song Shi on the floor, they began to whisper among themselves.
Ignoring the stares, Song Shi pushed herself up from the floor, steadying herself by gripping the backrest of a seat, and turned to locate the instigator.
A group of students who had boarded at Xin Nan Station.
They were dressed in the uniforms of Renxi High School, around her age.
One of the boys, whose uniform was unbuttoned, had his hand in his pocket while the other elbow rested on a smaller companion's shoulder. He wore a smug expression, gazing at her with an air of provocation.
Song Shi locked eyes with him.
A thick silver chain hung around his neck, beside which was his ID card: Senior 3, Class 2, Renxi High School, Jin Xianhui.
"You failed to awaken and still have the nerve to come back to class?" He patted his companion's chest, eyes still fixed on Song Shi, though he was speaking to the other boy. "You've just transferred here, let me introduce her. She's the infamous violent-type high-probability differentiator from our school."
His tone dripped with mockery.
When Luo Xu heard the term "violent-type," he froze, instinctively taking a step back.
This was a reflex ingrained in the people of this world.
Even if they had never encountered a violent-type high-probability differentiator in person, stories of explosions, robberies, serial murders, and terrorist attacks caused by such individuals constantly flooded media platforms. These incidents frequently made headlines, sometimes even happening in their very neighborhoods.
The shadow of fear had long overshadowed them.
No one knew when a violent-type high-probability differentiator might suddenly snap and commit murder.
So, when facing one, especially after just striking her and pulling her hair, Luo Xu was overcome with terror. He could already imagine his own body, torn apart in an explosion, his parents tasked with collecting his remains.
He remembered hearing that just yesterday, a bus nearby had been blown up by a violent-type high-probability differentiator. Fortunately, a brave high school student had saved everyone on the bus. He had thought those people were lucky, but never expected the next disaster would strike so soon.
"Someone help me!" His legs weakened, and he felt as though he might kneel.
Jin Xianhui, still with his elbow resting on his friend's shoulder, was the first to notice Luo Xu's trembling. He yanked him back by the collar, giving him a loud slap on the back of the neck and scolding him. "Idiot, with me here, what's there to be afraid of?"
He then turned his gaze toward Song Shi, curling his finger at her. "Trash can, didn't you see you scared the piss out of my buddy? Come apologize."
"No, no, it's fine…" Luo Xu hurriedly waved his hands, trying to break free from Jin Xianhui's grip, but the other's muscular arm held him firmly in place, leaving him trapped and pale, unable to even look at Song Shi.
Seeing that Song Shi didn't move, Jin Xianhui scanned her up and down. "Still haven't awakened your abilities, and you can't even understand human speech? Also, where's breakfast? Didn't I tell you to prepare it every day for us?"
"Trash can?" Song Shi repeated the words through gritted teeth, her face twisted in a mocking smile.
Now, everything became clear to her.
She had been bullied in her past life.
Her classmates had even given her a despicable nickname.
"What are you laughing at?! A cancer to the Federation!"
Song Shi's sarcastic laughter stung Jin Xianhui's pride. In a fit of anger, he shoved Luo Xu aside and swung his palm toward her face.
The practiced motion made Song Shi shudder, imagining how many times the original had been beaten like this.
She kept her guard up, watching Jin Xianhui's movements. When he made his move, she stepped back just in time, causing his slap to miss by inches, its force cutting through the air and blowing her hair behind her ear.
"Still trying to dodge?!" Jin Xianhui's face flushed with rage as he lunged at her with his other hand, grabbing at her collar.
Song Shi sidestepped, and his arm swiped past her, barely missing her. Taking advantage of the opportunity, she kicked him in the elbow with swift precision.
Jin Xianhui let out a pained scream, quickly pulling his arm back, but Song Shi seized the hanging bus handle, launching herself into the air and delivering a powerful kick to his chest.
Jin Xianhui was sent flying back, his hands instinctively grabbing hold of his companions to steady himself, but still unable to stop his momentum.
The three of them crashed to the floor in unison.
The bus rocked twice before finally regaining balance.
Song Shi landed smoothly, still gripping the hanging ring, her gaze descending upon them as though looking down from a great height.
A line of text flashed through her mind:
[Anti-bullying Progress: +1%]
Her gaze darkened further.
The sudden chaos left most of the onlookers too stunned to react.
The bus was primarily filled with students from Renxi High School, most of whom were on their way to early classes.
There were very few violent-type high-probability differentiators at Renxi High, and the students, due to their varied psychology, watched them with great interest.
Those like Song Shi, who carried the violent-type gene but were frequently bullied, were well known to all.
They had come to watch her misfortune, but what they saw instead was this.
Jin Xianhui had already risen to his feet, one hand clutching his chest, the other supported by Luo Xu.
The murmurs around them reached his ears like daggers, cutting at his pride. His fury intensified, and he pushed Luo Xu aside, clenching his fist as he advanced toward Song Shi.
Without any formal combat training, his every swing was driven purely by rage, completely lacking technique.
By contrast, Song Shi wasn't in much better shape herself. She had only learned a few basic self-defense moves in her previous life, techniques that would be useless against someone with even basic fighting experience.
However, she had the advantage of her "exceptionally gifted" body. As a violent-type high-probability differentiator, even without having awakened her abilities, the violent-type gene within her still existed in full force.
Her physical capabilities far surpassed ordinary humans.
Whether in speed, strength, reflexes, or even her recovery from injuries.
This was why she had been able to last until the end in the experimental facility's glass dome when facing exotic beasts, and why she could survive Qin Yi's deadly attacks, even managing to delay the attack of the Earth Wolf Beast until reinforcements arrived.
Song Shi raised her arm in defense, and Jin Xianhui's punch, which had carried great force, was immediately reduced by more than half.
Jin Xianhui, unable to react as quickly, stumbled forward. Just as he was about to reach her, the driver braked, propelling him even further.
Luo Xu shouted in alarm, reaching out to grab him but missing.
Song Shi swiftly dodged to the side, her back pressed against the seat. The student seated there hastily curled into a ball in the corner.
Due to inertia, Jin Xianhui couldn't control his body. Even if he tried to stop, it was too late, and he saw Song Shi slip past him.
As he was about to fall, Song Shi extended her foot and tripped him, causing him to faceplant onto the floor, his hands instinctively reaching for the ground to cushion the blow.
But instead of the painful thud he expected, an overwhelming sense of suffocation encircled his neck, as though death itself had gripped him by the throat.
Amid the gasps of those around him, Jin Xianhui saw the fearful expressions of the new arrivals on the bus.
"Your necklace is quite sturdy."
(End of chapter)