Beep——Student card.

After swiping my card to get on the bus, I found a seat near the back door and sat down, put on my headphones to listen to music.

Soon enough, my roommate Wang Chu from the opposite bed plopped down next to me.

He was steaming with sweat, “Lao Zhou, I finally caught up with you.”

I took off my headphones, “Senior Chu, why are you chasing me?”

Both the front and back doors suddenly closed at the same time, and the school bus started to move slowly.

He leaned in to check the surroundings and signaled me to lower my head.

“The new campus is not safe, something strange is up.”

Half a year ago, the new campus was suddenly put under strict lockdown. No one could enter or leave, and no items could be exchanged.

The school never disclosed the reason for the lockdown until last week when it was finally lifted.

Soon afterwards, the school issued a new regulation stating that students from the old campus must take the school bus to go to the new campus and could not go there by themselves.

The school bus stop was at the south gate, with only one trip per day to and from the new campus.

Ten minutes ago, I had just arrived at the stop and was attracted by the [School Bus Riding Rules] on the notice board.

The rules were quirky, and the phrase “Can be used to save your life at a critical moment” had a bizarrely threatening undertone.

So, I took a photo of the rules and posted it in our dorm group.

“I happened to be near the south gate, saw the photo, and rushed over immediately.”

Wang Chu wiped the sweat off his face.

I was puzzled, “Is the new campus off limits? But the school has been unsealed already.”

“Do you know what happened to the people who came back from the new campus last week?”

“The school bus took them straight to the school hospital, and everyone was quarantined for three full days before being released!”

“Now that we’ve just set off, let’s get off quickly!”

Wang Chu pulled on my arm, trying to drag me off.

I held him down and shook my head, “It’s too late. The rule says ‘Once the school bus starts, do not get off until you reach the new campus, no matter what happens along the way, or face the consequences.’ If the new campus is really as dangerous as you say, we can simply stay at the gate after we get there and not go in.”

“That’s another way.”

I was about to ask him more details about the new campus.

Suddenly, a harsh alarm sounded in the bus.

Beep Beep——Beep——Fare Evader——

Beep Beep——Beep——Fare Evader——

A male student in the front row stood up, “What’s going on? Where is the alarm coming from?”

Someone echoed, “It seems to be saying someone evaded the fare?”

Someone else panicked, “But it didn’t say you need to buy a ticket to take the school bus... Isn’t swiping the card enough?”

“Everyone listen up, the rules clearly state that you only need to swipe your student card to take the school bus, no tickets are required. There must be a student who forgot to swipe their card. The student who didn’t swipe should just swipe now and it should be fine.” A calm, clear voice came from the back.

Secretly, I turned around to look. The girl speaking was wearing a school uniform skirt, had a delicate appearance, and was holding a canvas bag pinned with a school badge.

I gave her a thumbs-up, and she smiled at me in return.

“Lao Zhou, Lao Zhou, borrow me your student card.” Wang Chu pulled me back.

I realized, “Was it you who didn’t swipe the card?”

“I was in a hurry and forgot to bring it, hurry, give it to me.”

Wang Chu reached into my pants pocket, and I quickly handed him the card.

While saying, “Sorry, forgot to swipe,” he rushed to the front door.

Beep——

The moment the student card touched the card reader, the alarm stopped.

Wang Chu breathed a sigh of relief and waved the student card at me, “It’s fine now.”

Before I could even smile, an even louder alarm overwhelmed us.

——Malicious Fare Evasion——Beep——Warning Once——

——Malicious Fare Evasion——Beep——Warning Once——

The cold, mechanical female voice repeated continuously.

It sent chills down our spines.

Everyone on the bus turned to look at the front door. Wang Chu stood there awkwardly, gesturing frantically at me.

My face turned red. I quickly ran to the front door.

“What kind of cybernetic mess have I gotten into... What should we do, Lao Zhou?”

He grabbed me in a panic.

“Didn’t you always have ideas? Now you ask me when you get into trouble?”

I glanced at the girl from earlier and found she was also looking in our direction. My face felt even hotter.

“Something must be wrong; let’s stop the alarm first.” I turned and tapped on the transparent glass of the driver’s cabin. “Driver, could you please help turn off the alarm first?”

The driver’s cabin was enclosed with glass, leaving only a small doorway, with a small window for emergency communication.

No matter how I banged on the glass or knocked on the window, the driver had no reaction, as if he couldn’t even see me!!

“Why is he ignoring us?” Wang Chu panicked, “Could he be a dummy?”

As soon as he finished speaking, the driver suddenly turned his head 90 degrees to stare at us for a moment, then turned back to continue driving.

In that brief moment, I noticed the driver was wearing a blue shirt uniform with our school badge pinned on his chest.

School badge... But I remember the badge is only given to teachers and students. Do other staff also have one?

I scrutinized the driver: He looked young, with a sharp jawline, a buzz cut, wearing sunglasses, had an earring hole on his earlobe, and a light mole on his chin. His overall vibe was quite rebellious. Someone like him could easily make girls scream just by showing a side profile on the street. Why would he want such a boring job as a school bus driver? There’s definitely something odd!

“Lao Zhou! What are you spacing out for!” Wang Chu pinched me hard, bringing my thoughts back.

The bus cabin was already in chaos.

“What are you two doing! Quickly stop the alarm! It’s going to be so annoying the whole way!”

“Why would you take the school bus without a student card? If you didn’t have it, don’t board the bus. Now you’re causing trouble for everyone.”

“The alarm is so noisy... it’s making me anxious...”

Wang Chu’s face was as red as a tomato, and he shouted back, “I’ll sit wherever I want! None of your business! If you can’t stand the noise, get off the bus!!”

The bus fell silent.

Everyone saw Wang Chu’s furious look and didn’t dare to make a sound.

“Um...” A timid female voice came from the back of the bus.

Everyone turned and saw a short-haired girl standing up, pointing to a spot near the back door in the sixth row.

“There’s a conductor here... Maybe buying a ticket will solve it...”

[Rule Three: Swipe your student card when boarding. There is no conductor on the bus.]