Ling Cage, pick up Lu Mingfei at the start.

Lu Mingfei followed them into a huge vehicle, in which sat another man whose imposing figure almost took up two seats.

The car was spacious, but it felt somewhat cramped at the moment. Lu Mingfei was huddled in the back seat, squeezed together with two men of very different builds.

Beside him was a burly man who occupied almost one and a half seats, and on the other side was Xu Tong, who looked somewhat lean and had lively eyes.

"Xu Tong, who's this kid?" The burly man, as imposing as a mountain, asked in a deep, booming voice, his gaze fixed on Lu Mingfei with undisguised curiosity. His massive frame seemed to thicken the air in the carriage.

As soon as Xu Tong got in the car, he familiarly put his arm around Shan Da's shoulder, exclaiming in an exaggerated tone, "A treasure I picked up on the road! Let me tell you, Shan Da, this kid is really weird! It's like there's an invisible radiation zone around him. A dozen snake dogs rushed over, but they were like they'd hit a wall just a few meters away from him, and they didn't dare to go any closer. One of them even ran away in fright! Like they'd seen a ghost!"

Upon hearing this, Shan Da's eyes widened instantly. He pushed up his glasses, and his gaze towards Lu Mingfei changed from curiosity to suspicion: "Is it really that far-fetched? Don't try to fool me, kid!" After saying that, he subconsciously looked at Bai Yuekui, who had just gotten into the driver's seat, his eyes filled with a desire for confirmation.

Bai Yuekui slammed the car door shut and fastened her seatbelt with a clean, decisive motion. She didn't turn around; her cool voice remained clear even amidst the engine's low roar: "That's right. Let's go back to the village first, give him a full scan, focusing on the fluctuations in his life essence to see if it's some kind of unknown essence awakening."

In the passenger seat, Sui Xing was as quiet as a statue, intently wiping her uniquely shaped longbow. The quiver was at her feet, and she was oblivious to the noise behind her. Only when she occasionally adjusted the angle of the arrows did her fingertips reveal the precision and patience of a cheetah.

Lu Mingfei was squeezed to sit next to Xu Tong near the car door. His clothes, which were originally quite clean, were now covered with dust and sweat stains, sticking to his skin and causing a sticky and uncomfortable feeling.

His face was pale, his heart was still pounding in his chest, and the lingering fear of survival hadn't completely subsided. It all felt so unreal—one second he was drooling over his keyboard after an all-nighter at an internet cafe, the next he was desperately fleeing through monster-infested ruins. Go back? Could he even go back? A profound sense of bewilderment gripped him.

Once his heartbeat had calmed down a bit, he mustered his courage, his voice still trembling slightly: "Where...where exactly is this? Who are you? Those monsters...the Devouring Beasts? And, Source Awakening...what is that?" A series of questions came out, the only straw he could grasp in this bizarre situation.

"Hey! I thought you'd lost your mind!" Xu Tong turned around, grinned, and patted his chest. "Listen up, my name is Xu Tong! This valiant man is Shan Da! The cool lady wiping her arrows is Sui Xing! And this is our wise and mighty Boss Bai!" He pointed to the driver's seat before answering Lu Mingfei's question, "Those things are Devouring Beasts. You don't even know that? How did you survive? Source Awakening... it's a long story. I'll explain it to you when we get back to the village!"

He abruptly changed the subject, leaning forward closer to Lu Mingfei. The playful expression on his face faded, replaced by a more inquisitive tone: "So, kid, what's your name? Where did you come from? How come you're all alone in that godforsaken place without any decent protection? And what exactly is this 'Three-Step Forbidden Zone' you're talking about? Why don't the Devouring Beasts dare to approach it?"

This series of questions was like pebbles thrown into calm water, instantly freezing the air inside the car. Even Bai Yuekui, who was about to start the car, stopped and looked at Lu Mingfei calmly but with great penetrating insight through the rearview mirror.

Even Suixing, who had been focused on the bow and arrow in his hand, paused slightly while wiping his bow. Although he did not turn around, he was clearly listening intently.

Instantly becoming the center of attention, Lu Mingfei felt a chill run down his spine, his throat tighten, and his speech became even more incoherent: "Lu... Lu Mingfei, my name is Lu Mingfei. I... I don't know how I got here... I was in an internet cafe... I fell asleep, and when I opened my eyes... I was in this godforsaken place."

He swallowed hard, struggling to find the words: "Devouring Beasts... I have no idea what they are... I don't know why they're afraid to come here... We don't have these monsters where I'm from." His voice carried a hint of grievance and disbelief. "I... I live with my uncle and aunt, and I'm still in school... Shilan Middle School... I just want to go back now..."

"What the hell?" Xu Tong was the first to exclaim, his face contorted. "Time travel? Where are your parents? Do they live with your uncle and aunt? Go to school? Where do they go to school?" His question represented the thoughts of everyone on the bus.

"My parents... are archaeologists who work abroad most of the time, so..." Lu Mingfei answered honestly.

Internet cafe? Archaeology? Abroad? Shilan Middle School? Bai Yuekui's fingers tightened almost imperceptibly around the steering wheel, his knuckles turning slightly white.

These words, put together, paint a picture completely different from what she knew, a picture that only existed in the memories of the old world or in dusty documents. It was absurd.

Did he take something like "Angel Potion" or "Miracle K" and become delirious? But even so, how could someone who is not fully conscious possibly survive alone in a dangerous ruin?

A bizarre yet seemingly the only plausible guess formed in her mind. She took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil within her, her voice remaining calm, but a subtle tension could be detected upon closer listening: "So, you mean... you're not from this world?"

Lu Mingfei nodded vigorously, almost impatiently, as if he had finally found someone who understood his situation.

"hiss--"

A deathly silence fell over the carriage. Xu Tong's mouth hung open, his expression frozen, as if he had heard a story even more terrifying than the talking Devouring Beast.

Shan Da's mouth was slightly open, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Lu Mingfei and Bai Yuekui. His eyes behind his glasses were wide open, as if he were trying to confirm whether he was hallucinating.

Even Sui Xing completely stopped wiping, turned her head slightly, and her cold gaze fell on Lu Mingfei through the gaps in her hair, the scrutiny even stronger than before.

Another world? A peaceful high school life? These concepts were as distant as myths to them, who were struggling to survive amidst bloodshed and despair.

Bai Yuekui stared through the rearview mirror at the boy huddled in the back seat, his face pale, his eyes filled with fear, confusion, and a faint glimmer of hope.

His reaction, the naturalness with which he mentioned "going to school" and "uncle and aunt," even with a hint of complaint, didn't seem fake. This intensified her absurd suspicion.

"You come from... a world with schools and archaeologists, but no Devouring Beasts?" she asked again, her tone calm yet carrying an undeniable guiding force.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Lu Mingfei seemed to have grasped a lifeline, and his speech quickened. "Where we are... although we have exams and a lot of homework, and it's very boring... there are no monsters! The sky is blue! You can see stars at night! I... I'm really just an ordinary high school student, I don't know anything!" By the end, his voice was trembling with sobs, as his long-suppressed fear and helplessness finally found an outlet.

"Holy crap! Time travel?! Really?!" Xu Tong snapped back to reality, slapping his thigh with a sharp sound. His expression was a mix of shock, excitement, and disbelief. "This is even more outrageous than a group of Devouring Beasts doing a square dance!"

He suddenly leaned close to Lu Mingfei, almost nose to nose, his eyes gleaming with the light of a researcher discovering a new continent: "Are the laws of physics in that other world the same as ours? What about the speed of light constant? Was your 'forbidden zone' ability something you were born with, or did you acquire it after coming here? This is astonishing! This is a complete subversion of our existing understanding!"

Lu Mingfei shrank back, pressed tightly against the car door by his burning gaze and rapid-fire questions, and stammered, "I...I don't know anything about constants...I'm just a terrible student...Ability? What ability? I don't know..."

"Enough, Xu Tong." Bai Yuekui interrupted, her voice not loud, but carrying an unquestionable authority. "Whatever the problem, we'll discuss it when we get back." Her gaze remained fixed on Lu Mingfei, her tone returning to its previous calmness, even carrying a hint of cruel pragmatism.

"Lu Mingfei, if what you say is true, then the reality is—you probably can't go back now."

These words were like an icicle, instantly piercing the faint hope that had just ignited in Lu Mingfei's eyes. He slumped his shoulders, lowered his head, and curled up silently in his seat as if his spine had been removed.

"In this world," Bai Yuekui's voice clearly reached his ears, carrying an almost cold rationality, "to survive, you must learn to face the Devouring Beasts, understand the Mana ecosystem, and... adapt to the changes that may be happening to you."

She paused, then emphasized, "Your 'ability,' whatever its nature, is the only asset you can rely on right now, since it exists."

"As for where you come from," she said finally, her tone slightly softer, but the sense of distance still lingered, "until it's proven you're harmless to us, and that you can find a way to control your abnormalities, this is simply a story that needs to be kept strictly confidential... Understand?"

Lu Mingfei remained silent, then nodded. He understood. In this completely unfamiliar and perilous world, he had no right to bargain, no way out. The words "survive" had never felt so heavy and clear as they did at this moment.

His astonishing remarks about "another world" have been like a boulder thrown into a seemingly calm lake, the ripples spreading silently and stirring up unknown undercurrents.

Bai Yuekui glanced one last time through the rearview mirror at the figure that looked particularly thin and timid against the backdrop of the burly Shan Da and the lively Xu Tong.

If he truly comes from a peaceful world without Mana ecosystems or Devouring Beasts... then does his very existence signify some kind of variable that transcends the current logic of despair? Is this variable a faint flame of hope in the darkness, or... a key to an even deeper abyss?

She gripped the steering wheel tightly, her knuckles sharp. Regardless, the most important thing was to confirm. To confirm whether he was the key to opening a new chapter, or… a more dangerous Pandora's box that urgently needed to be dealt with.

She let out a long breath, as if trying to expel all the chaotic thoughts in her chest.

"Everyone, hold on tight!"

It was only then that the other passengers belatedly realized that the person sitting in the driver's seat was Bai Yuekui!

Xu Tong's expression changed, and he called out first, "Wait! Boss! Let me drive! You must be tired from your journey, please get some rest!"

Shandong quickly realized what was happening and chimed in, "Yeah, boss! We can handle this kind of rough work!"

Bai Yuekui seemed not to hear at all, a mischievous smile curving his lips as he moved with lightning speed—starting the engine, shifting gears, and slamming on the gas!

"Let's go!"

Before Lu Mingfei could even react to the sudden tension, a powerful jolt slammed him into his seat! The engine roared furiously, and the ruins outside the window were instantly blurred into streaks of color as they hurtled backward!

"Aaaaaaahh ...

Inside the carriage, only Lu Mingfei's mournful wails, which had been constant throughout the journey, and the helpless or restrained expressions of the other passengers, together formed the beginning of this extraordinary journey to an unknown homeland.