Volume One, Chapter 105: Feeding

The bus was small, with only about ten seats in the back. Mo had already carried Su Ziwen to the last row earlier, so now naturally he needed to keep an eye on him, just in case the driver braked suddenly and sent Su Ziwen flying.

Ivanoti sat down on the opposite side of the last row, curiously glancing at the figure wrapped up tightly next to Mo.

This senior Su Ziwen was indeed extraordinary; it looked like she was going to sleep the whole day through.

Yu Jiuchuan sat in front of Mo and Su Ziwen, leaning against the window and continuing to read his book.

After getting on the bus, Yan Ruoting and Du Haiwei didn’t choose to sit near Mo and the others but took seats close to the front door. They pulled out their eye masks from their backpacks, preparing to catch a nap during the journey.

The driver counted the passengers, confirmed the number, then started the engine, driving the bus slowly towards the Anjie border exit.

Two accompanying jeeps flanked the bus, one in front and one behind, escorting and protecting the middle vehicle.

After showing their documents, the light green bus slowly crossed the Anjie barrier, officially leaving Qin City.

As they passed the Anjie border, a mysterious thin film appeared again on the sheath of the Spatial Stone knife in Mo’s backpack. Simultaneously, a vast amount of silver-white radiance flickered within Su Ziwen’s body.

The appearance of this “world membrane” on the Spatial Stone knife sheath seemed to trigger some changes in Su Ziwen’s spatial abilities.

However, as the bus moved farther from the Anjie barrier, the sheath gradually returned to normal. Su Ziwen’s body also returned to its usual state, though the concentration and activity of her altered cells seemed to have increased significantly.

Yet none of this attracted much attention; those on the bus either slept or studied as they usually would.

Ivanoti rested her head against the window, curiously admiring the landscapes of the Central Continent, while Mo pulled out a thick workbook and began to study intensively despite the bumpy ride.

This winter holiday assignment had been handed out before the lunar tidal phase, but Mo had been too preoccupied with survival in the desert to think about homework.

So, upon the warm suggestion of Senior Su, Mo reluctantly brought the workbook along, following Yu Jiuchuan’s example, using knowledge to fill the idle moments of the winter camp trip.

The workbook was indeed heavy—was this the literal weight of knowledge?

As he worked through the problems, whenever Mo encountered something puzzling, he didn’t hesitate to lean forward and ask Senior Jiuchuan for help. Yu Jiuchuan was surprised that this junior was a kindred spirit and patiently explained various problem-solving techniques and underlying principles.

In the eyes of the studious Yu Jiuchuan, anyone who put effort into learning was worthy of respect and encouragement.

Ivanoti quickly became drawn to the whispered exchanges between the two. Driven by curiosity, she abandoned the scenery outside and scooted closer to Mo, eavesdropping on their discussion.

The knowledge for the second year of high school was still somewhat challenging for her, but seeing this little junior’s growing interest, Yu Jiuchuan switched to simpler, more understandable explanations.

Mo and Ivanoti sat side by side, listening attentively to Instructor Yu’s teachings.

Mo was motivated by Su Ziwen’s urging; Ivanoti was driven by curiosity about her companions; and Yu Jiuchuan was fueled by her passionate love for learning. For different reasons, the three had formed a temporary study group on this speeding bus heading towards Jing City, revising and previewing key points of second-year high school knowledge together.

It had to be said, Yu Jiuchuan truly had a talent for teaching—the way she explained things was more accessible and easier to understand than many veteran teachers.

The journey proceeded smoothly. By evening, Mo and the others could already see the brilliant lights of Anjie City in the distance.

The little classroom took a break as Yu Jiuchuan took bread from her backpack and handed it out as a makeshift dinner to stave off hunger. Mo put away his holiday assignments and began eating the bread.

Ivanoti held her bread but seemed disinterested, apparently tired of this kind of food.

Seeing that little Feng was indifferent to the bread, Mo remembered Old Feng’s earlier advice and rummaged through his bag, pulling out some spicy strips and crispy noodles to offer her.

Of course, Mo himself wouldn’t have carried such snacks. The backpack was stuffed with spicy strips, chicken feet, crispy noodles, and other foods that Mu Qing had unilaterally packed. Mo only prepared some cleaned fruits and vegetables for the journey.

Ivanoti’s attention was quickly drawn to these novel snacks. After handing her bread to Mo, she eagerly exchanged it for the snacks.

“This is called a snack; it can’t replace a meal, so you still have to eat the bread,” Mo coaxed, knowing she was still growing. He tore open the spicy strips and sprinkled them over the bread, coaxing Ivanoti to finish her dinner.

The little one bit into the spicy strip bread, the numbing, spicy, and savory flavors perfectly awakening her appetite. Ivanoti ate heartily, mouthful after mouthful.

Mo then took out an apple from the bag, slicing it up to provide the little one with vitamins.

Apparently, the two bowls of instant noodles from lunch hadn’t affected Ivanoti’s appetite at dinner; she tore open another bag of crispy noodles and happily ate with both hands.

Mo pulled out the fruit bag and handed an apple to Yu Jiuchuan, who accepted it without hesitation and even asked for a cucumber.

Yu Jiuchuan munched on the apple while gazing out the window at the majestic city drawing ever closer.

As one of the few “super-large Anjie Cities” within the Huaxia Domain, Jing City was naturally much larger than Qin City. Its vast expanse housed many more inhabitants. Towering skyscrapers sprawled densely, and even the outlying areas near the Anjie barrier were bustling and no less prosperous than the center of Qin City.

The city before their eyes resembled a giant beast asleep beneath the night sky. Lights flickered on one by one, announcing the arrival of Jing City’s evening.

“The first half of the night in Jing City is quite lively,” said the pair from Longting High School, now fully awake. Du Haiwei remained in his seat, while Yan Ruoting moved over and sat opposite Yu Jiuchuan.

“The first half of the night?” Mo looked puzzled. Though he had passed through here on missions several times, he wasn’t very familiar with the city.

“The night in the Four Nine City is divided into ‘first half’ and ‘second half,’” Yan Ruoting launched into an enthusiastic explanation as soon as he noticed Mo’s interest. Being quite talkative by nature, his so-called “flirting” was often just an expression of his endless chatter. Sometimes, Du Haiwei thought that if there were girls around, Yan would chatter with them; if not, he’d just talk to the guys. Except for sleeping, even during meals, he never stopped talking.

“In the first half of the night, the whole Jing City is incredibly lively, its prosperity incomparable to our Qin City,” Yan Ruoting said eagerly, rubbing his hands together as he looked up at the massive city looming nearby.