In the scorching heat of early August, Gu Chengyuan was crammed into a bus packed like a sardine can, staring blankly out the window at the blindingly bright world illuminated by the sun, and worrying about how to endure the walk from the campus gate to the dormitory.
There's a kind of heat that makes you start sweating just thinking about it...
"Cough, cough~"
"Cough, cough~"
Especially with the sound of coughing all around him, Gu Chengyuan felt even more irritated.
"I don't know what's been going on lately, but a lot of people around seem to have caught a cold. Is it some kind of viral flu?"
Thinking this, he looked at the people on the bus who were coughing incessantly without wearing masks, feeling increasingly uneasy, and instinctively kept glancing at the bus route map.
Seventeen stops to go...
"No, I can't risk it. Better to spend thirty or forty bucks on a cab than to catch something and end up spending money and feeling miserable."
Having made up his mind, Gu Chengyuan dragged his suitcase, shouting "Excuse me," as he squeezed his way through the crowd to the bus door, ready to get off.
At the same time, he couldn't help but compare this struggle to a tough street basketball game, thinking that if he took the bus a few times a day, he might just become the king of street basketball in the country.
To ride the bus in G City, you must chant Buddha's name for politeness and use thunderous means to get by.
Hiss~
With a sound of the brakes, Gu Chengyuan dragged his suitcase and jumped off the bus, rushing to the bus stop just two meters away, not wanting to be under the scorching sun for even a second!
Bang~
Just as Gu Chengyuan turned around in the shade, he saw an elderly woman in a pink short-sleeved shirt, carrying a bag with an advertisement for some men's hospital, tumble off the bus.
"Ma'am, are you okay?"
Seeing this, Gu Chengyuan didn't have time to think, letting go of his suitcase and hurrying over to turn the woman over, making sure her belly was facing up.
Lifting her up was out of the question, not because he feared being blamed, but because she seemed quite old, and he wasn't sure if she had broken any bones. Lifting her recklessly might cause a bone to pierce an internal organ, and that would be truly heartbreaking!
When the woman's face was turned over, Gu Chengyuan shuddered, almost dropping her.
This woman seemed to have a tense relationship between her brain and limbs, as her hands and feet did nothing to help when she fell face-first.
Her face looked like a peeled tomato, her nose was crooked to one side, and blood foamed from her slightly open lips. It seemed unlikely that many teeth survived this ordeal.
The most frightening part was that Gu Chengyuan didn't even need to check her pupils for dilation; her eyes had already rolled back dramatically, reminding him of a song called "Where Did the Eyelids Go?"
Even someone like Gu Chengyuan, who rarely watched horror movies, found it hard to handle. He barely managed to keep from letting her head drop freely, thanks to his well-rounded development in moral, intellectual, physical, and artistic education since childhood.
After placing her head on the ground, Gu Chengyuan stood up, intending to step back. But just as he did, the woman, who had seemed lifeless, suddenly began convulsing on the ground, her hands and feet flailing, with blood foam gushing from her mouth.
Seeing this, Gu Chengyuan retreated even further, pulling his suitcase to stand behind the bus stop sign.
He glanced at the bus, wondering why no one was coming out to see the commotion, even though the pink-clad woman was convulsing like she was performing a Thomas flare. This was very un-Great Zhou!
Suddenly, a series of panicked screams erupted from the bus.
"Damn! Why the hell are you biting me?"
"Ah~ Let go! Don't bite me there! That's not allowed!"
"Driver, open the damn door!"
"Driver, you're biting me too!"
"Woo woo woo~ Don't come over!"
The sudden chaos left Gu Chengyuan momentarily stunned, staring at the bloody scene unfolding inside the bus.
A middle-aged man was holding a scantily clad female student, biting into her neck, pulling out something like a tube, and blood sprayed onto the nearby window.
An old woman was fiercely biting a young man's face, even though his nose had been bitten off. Despite the pain, his attempts to push her away were futile.
The scene was so gruesome that even the cannibals of Black State would cry out not to eat them!
As Gu Chengyuan struggled to process this, he turned to look at the pink-clad woman on the ground.
She had already stood up, seemingly adjusting to her body, wobbling with each leg moving independently, drooling as she lunged at Gu Chengyuan.
In that instant, Gu Chengyuan's panicked mind suddenly calmed, no longer fearful, and his icy limbs regained strength.
It was as if a paused video had finally hit play, running smoothly! Gu Chengyuan fluidly lifted his leg and kicked the pink-clad woman in the stomach as she lunged at him.
As she fell backward from the kick, she grabbed Gu Chengyuan's foot, and with the weight of her hundred-pound body, he lost his balance and fell toward her.
Seeing the woman with her gaping mouth and clawing hands, Gu Chengyuan twisted his waist, using his strong core to forcibly change his trajectory.
He fell beside her, and she immediately began clawing at him like a storm. Gu Chengyuan first blocked with his arms, then, disregarding any potential violation of her will, grabbed both of her wrists to temporarily stop her illegal assault.
As the pink-clad woman struggled to free her hands, she climbed onto Gu Chengyuan, her gaping mouth with yellow pus drooling toward his handsome face.
In this critical moment, Gu Chengyuan instinctively used his waist, performing a not-so-perfect but powerful bridge move, pushing her off with her wrists.
The pink-clad woman was pushed aside, and before she could recover, Gu Chengyuan took the opportunity to straddle her waist, threading his right arm under her neck and clasping his left hand over his right wrist.
Using his buttocks as a pivot on her waist, he spread his legs forward like a tripod for balance, locking her neck and pulling back with his body weight.
The pink-clad woman was instantly bent into a bow shape, and in his heightened state, Gu Chengyuan used all his strength, hearing a crack from her neck.
In the next second, the struggling pink-clad woman went limp, her head resting weakly on his arm, her body collapsing.
Gu Chengyuan held the position for about ten seconds, ensuring she was motionless, then gave a final confirming tug before releasing her with trembling hands.
Bang~
Watching the woman slump to the ground like a pile of mud, Gu Chengyuan felt no other emotions, standing up with a slight tremor.
"Did I kill someone?"
Ding!
System activated!
Congratulations, Commander, on achieving your first kill and earning the achievement "Ground Combat with the Elderly Woman, and Subduing Her!"