After the explosion, the bus, for no apparent reason, couldn’t start.
Lin Siyin’s gaze deepened as she looked towards Ma Jiang, who was organizing the students to enter the villa in the woods.
If all this was just a coincidence, it was too much of a coincidence.
"Master, the engine is broken."
At this moment, a young man holding a wrench, his face covered with black soot, came up to the bus driver and said.
"This is troublesome."
Taking out his cell phone to check for signal, the bus driver had a headache, "There’s no signal coverage here, if we want to find a repair shop, we’ll have to walk down the mountain."
Hearing this, Lin Siyin narrowed her eyes and asked the bus driver with a smile, "Master, are you going to go down the mountain later?"
"We definitely have to, what’s up?"
Turning to Lin Siyin, the bus driver said cheerfully, "It’s at least an hour’s walk from here to the foot of the mountain, and the path isn’t even smooth. You college students might not be able to handle this kind of hardship."
Shaking her head slightly, Lin Siyin smiled, "I’ll just follow behind you, thanks in advance, Master."
"You girls, are just..."
The bus driver cut off halfway through his words and waved his hand helplessly, "Alright, alright, let us pack up our things first, and then we can set out."
Lin Siyin nodded, looked around, and pointed at a nearby tree, "Master, then I’ll wait for you there."
The bus driver, already on the bus, poked his head out of the window for a glance, "Yeah, we’ll come get you later."
Lin Siyin walked to a shady corner by the trees and waved at Gui Xiaomeng and Su Nian, "I’ve got a feeling something isn’t right. Let’s head down the mountain directly later and contact STO."
"Indeed, something isn’t right."
Gui Xiaomeng frowned slightly in agreement with Lin Siyin’s words, "Ma Jiang has been unusually enthusiastic today. It’s unnatural and suggests something is amiss."
Su Nian, who was nearby, looked towards the students from another school and said quietly, "I’ve noticed those students seem to be more than just students. There’s not a hint of freshness or excitement on their faces. Instead, they’re more like... people who come here often and have become indifferent to it."
Prompted by Su Nian’s observation, Lin Siyin then noticed.
Those students were wearing Beihua’s uniforms, but their expressions weren’t like those of university students but rather, steady like politicians.
As the three women quietly waited for the bus driver, a thunderclap sounded in the sky, and the originally clear weather suddenly turned gloomy.
Looking up at the sky, Lin Siyin stared at the crimson color in the clouds, her expression growing darker.
While she was learning the talismanic technique from Wang Duli, Lin Siyin had learned about many Abnormal Creatures with strange powers, from Wang Duli.
One kind, called the Thunder Insect, could change the weather through its own abilities.
When Abnormal Creatures invaded Lingchuan City, they used tens of thousands of Thunder Insects to bring torrential rain in an attempt to flood Lingchuan City.
At the critical moment, Wang Duli magically drew a Mountain Shifting and Sea Filling Talisman and saved Lingchuan from disaster.
Lin Siyin, who was already late to the practice, now only knew an attack and a Defensive Talisman technique.
To inscribe talismans with such great power was a completely unrealistic problem.
The bus driver, who was packing up on the bus, looked up at the sky and, shaking his head, walked towards Lin Siyin, "Little sister, I’m afraid we can’t go down the mountain today."
Lin Siyin nodded her head, saying nothing.
If they insisted on descending the mountain in this weather, they would undoubtedly be fighting against nature itself.
The wet, slippery mountain paths and blurred vision weren’t any safer than the Abnormal Creatures.
Seeing Lin Siyin remaining quiet, the coach driver thought she was unhappy and spoke up to comfort her, "Looking at these clouds, it’s very dangerous to head down the mountain rashly, especially since the mountain roads are quite steep."
"It’s alright, driver."
Lin Siyin smiled politely at the driver and pursed her lips, "I understand all that, but driver, looking at the weather, if it stops raining tomorrow, could we go down the mountain then?"
"If it stops raining tomorrow..."
The driver raised his hand to stroke his chin, shaking his head, "I guess not. Once this rain starts to fall, it’s sure to be heavy. I won’t mention the mud on the roads, but I’m afraid of a misstep leading to a fall into a gully. It’s safest to go down the mountain when it’s clear."
Lin Siyin took a deep breath and nodded solemnly.
Gui Xiaomeng, who was beside her, looked up at the raindrops about to fall and changed the subject, "This rain looks like it’s about to come down any moment, let’s quickly get inside the villa and avoid getting drenched."
Gui Xiaomeng, taking one person by the hand, smiled at the coach driver and then headed towards the Mountain Villa.
After looking around and seeing no one else, Gui Xiaomeng continued walking, lowering her voice, "There’s water and electricity supply here, the signal shouldn’t be this poor. The only possibility is that someone has planted a signal jammer around the villa. Since we can’t descend the mountain, let’s search for the jammer."
"I knew something was off,"
muttered Su Nian, following up, "This isn’t some remote wilderness, and none of my three SIM cards has a signal, which is really strange."
Lin Siyin didn’t speak.
Spiritual Energy surged and swept through the Mountain Villa, discovering that her Spiritual Energy detection couldn’t penetrate the walls of the villa beyond its exterior outline.
"Let’s go inside for now."
Withdrawing her Spiritual Energy, Lin Siyin felt momentarily at a loss.
She took a deep breath, "When the enemy advances, we’ll defend; when the water rises, we’ll build dams. Let’s check out what Ma Jiang is up to."
In the sky, once more, a dazzling lightning bolt flashed.
The thunderous roar of thunder coincided with the moment raindrops began to lightly fall from the sky.
The villa was large, so even with so many people in the hall, it didn’t feel crowded.
Lin Siyin and her companions stood by the front door, with Qiu Yuebai and Bai Xinxin standing nearby.
The group was somewhat familiar with Bai Xinxin, Liu Shishi’s sister-in-law.
They nodded and exchanged greetings, but without much further interaction.
Everyone’s gaze then turned to Ma Jiang, who had found himself a microphone.
"Folks, come over here to pick up your room keys for entering your rooms. Make sure not to lose these cards, otherwise..."
He paused, drawing out his words before saying humorously, "The two hundred yuan deposit for this activity will be mine, haha."
Laughter filled the hall.
Ma Jiang raised his hand to quiet the crowd; when the murmur had died down, he continued, "Because the theme of this activity is self-reliance, each room has a kitchen. So if you want to eat, you’ll have to cook for yourself."
"Of course, food supplies are provided. They’re in the big kitchen on the first floor, where you can take what you need, but don’t waste it..."
After finishing these instructions, Ma Jiang began to distribute the room keys.
Lin Siyin’s eyes narrowed as she slowly stepped forward.