"No, I’m scared!"
Lin Beichen felt a bit helpless and led her, struggling to crawl out of the narrow window.
It wasn’t until he looked at the entire vehicle that he realized the car body was severely deformed, and the front windshield was shattered into pieces.
The driver, Xiao Hei, had a slight bleeding on his forehead but was pressing it with a tissue to stop the bleeding.
Everyone looked at each other and let out long sighs, marveling with tears of relief.
They had just survived a near-death experience.
The events that had just occurred were still vivid in their minds, too thrilling, enough to be remembered for a lifetime.
"It’s strange. I clearly remember the car was tilting to the right. How did it end up flipping to the left?"
"I remember we all had our eyes tightly shut, but I could hear a sound like an electric current!"
"Yes, I heard it too. It seemed to pass right by my ear, and then there was a loud bang. It felt like the shockwave from a severe explosion flipped the vehicle over!"
"That’s right. I felt it too. There was definitely an explosion!"
"I felt it too!"
"So did I!"
The group, having disembarked from the vehicle and gradually recovering from their fear, began to recall the events that happened on the bus.
They all felt this incident was bizarre and fishy.
And they weren’t alone; most of them had heard the explosion.
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"Everyone, look! There’s a crater left by the explosion."
"Oh my God, the crater is so deep, and it’s cracked."
"How could it be such a coincidence? The explosion happened just as the vehicle was passing by."
"It can’t be that coincidental, can it? I was fully conscious, and although the vehicle swayed at the last moment, it wasn’t enough to flip it over. It was still sliding forward, and then the explosion happened."
"Did anyone see it clearly?"
Lin Peng stepped forward, looking around. He asked everyone, and they all shook their heads, indicating they didn’t dare open their eyes at the time.
There were over fifty people, yet not one of them saw what just happened clearly.
In fact, Lin Beichen was the only one who did not go up to check the explosion crater because he already knew what caused it.
While the others went back to check the explosion marks, Lin Beichen approached the flipped vehicle to inspect the underside.
Before the vehicle lost control, he had heard the sound of metal snapping. Lin Beichen suspected it was the brake pads.
As expected, the brake calipers on both rear wheels were shattered.
The front brake pads were similarly broken, with a corner fractured, which reduced the braking force. They were still emitting steam clearly from friction.
"Hey, kid, still not willing to let your girlfriend down?"
The driver, Lao Hei, noticed that Lin Beichen didn’t follow the crowd but was checking the brake pads, so he walked over.
Lin Beichen was stunned by the remark. He had been so focused on the incident that he hadn’t noticed An Xiaoran was still holding onto his shoulder, reluctant to come down.
"Can you come down now, Miss An?"
"My feet and hands are numb, I can’t move!"
An Xiaoran looked around and saw Hao Jianhua’s stern gaze on her, and also noticed the driver Lao Hei looking in her direction, which made her cheeks blush with embarrassment.
After a moment, she finally managed to get back on the ground.
"S-Sorry, I was too nervous..."
An Xiaoran brushed her long hair behind her ear, her head lowering more with each word as she felt incredibly embarrassed. She vaguely remembered biting Lin Beichen’s shoulder, but all she wanted now was to hide and not see anyone.
"You’ll have to pay for the rabies vaccine when we get to our destination. For the bite mark on my shoulder."
Lin Beichen said, pulling down his sleeve to reveal the deep bite mark on his shoulder.
Originally embarrassed, An Xiaoran furrowed her brows, stepping back and retorted angrily:
"You need a rabies vaccine for animal bites! I’m a human, not an animal!"
The awkwardness was replaced by anger; she stomped her foot in frustration, wondering how he could think of her that way.
"Alright, alright, you two can squabble later. I need to borrow your boyfriend for a bit."
"He’s not..."
Lao Hei grinned, showing his teeth. Before An Xiaoran could explain, he had already pulled Lin Beichen aside.
Xiao Hei was a cheerful person. Even after a near-death experience, it was already in the past.
He still had a doubt, though, about the brake pads. Both he and Lin Beichen had noticed it.
"I checked the brake pads before we set off. There shouldn’t have been any issues."
"I suspect someone tampered with it before we left."
"I’ve heard you all are top scholars in various fields. Can you tell me anything?"
Lao Hei voiced his concerns, asking Lin Beichen.
"It might not be the case. The mountain road is rough. Maybe the brake pads were damaged by hitting rocks."
Lin Beichen didn’t elaborate much, especially as other students started to gather around, watching the underside of the vehicle.
However, neither Lao Hei nor Lin Beichen continued discussing the brake issue to avoid causing panic.
During this period, Hao Jianhua reported the situation to Atlantis University, and they arranged for another vehicle and an ambulance to come to pick them up.
Hao Jianhua then conveyed this news to everyone, which was a rare piece of good news, allowing them to relax a bit.
...
...
In a building, next to Griffin’s desk, the phone rang.
"Your agents really messed up!"
"The vehicle flipped, but out of over fifty people, only a few had minor injuries and no serious damage."
"Their principal contacted me, and they’ve arranged another vehicle to pick them up. It’s back to the hotel after that. Do you have any other plans?"
The voice on the other end of the phone was from the President of Atlantis University, Sittelberg.
He delivered the latest news to Griffin with a tinge of mocking sarcasm in his tone.
"I understand."
Griffin, not wanting to explain more, hung up the phone with a trace of anger in his heart.
He immediately dialed another number.
"Hei Yi, initiate the second plan!"
After a long wait, he finally received a female voice response.
"Henry doesn’t fail easily. He tampered with all four brake pads, and it still didn’t work?!"
Hei Yi was one of Griffin’s most trusted poison experts.
Henry was a top-notch assassin, specializing in making accidents look like they happened naturally.
Hei Yi was surprised by Griffin’s words.
In her experience, that stretch of road had caused numerous successful accidents and had a perfect success rate.
Henry was an expert at making accidents look perfect, such that when the vehicle reached the downhill section, incidents occurred.
Even if the police arrived, they couldn’t find any traces, ultimately ruling it an accident.
It was his specialty, and creating a minor issue with a student bus shouldn’t have been a problem.
From Hei Yi’s perspective, it was just pure luck for the survivors.
However, she also began preparing for the next part of her plan.
...
...
In the Great Xia Kingdom, inside the Safety Bureau’s meeting room.
Song Xiangdong was presiding over a domestic security meeting, with many high-ranking officials gathered, including several military figures present via remote video on the big screen.
Song Xiangdong was discussing staff allocations, and assignment adjustments.
At that moment, an elderly man knocked on the door, revealing a side profile. He looked at Song Xiangdong and gestured for him to come over.
This made Song Xiangdong’s expression somber. Hesitating for a moment, he put down the meeting materials.
"The meeting is adjourned. We will resume in the afternoon."
The high-ranking officials inside the meeting room were puzzled, watching Song Xiangdong’s back as he left. What matter could be more important than this high-level meeting?
Song Xiangdong did not provide an explanation. He felt a heavy weight, for the man who came to see him was the chief of the national religious affairs bureau.
His appearance was a surprise to Song Xiangdong.
As he left the meeting room, he saw an elderly man with white hair, a thin frame, and a slight hunch, waiting with a cane.
Beside him was the oldest four-star general from the previous meeting of the four-person group.