I became the King of Ryukyu

Lead-gray rain clouds hung low over the mountaintops, and large raindrops pounded against the bus windows, as dense as an unyielding curtain of water.

The mountain road leading to Bianshan Village was already filled with muddy puddles. When the old bus drove over the puddles, the bus would always sway a couple of times, like a small boat floating in the wind and waves.

"Seriously, of all days, it has to be a downpour on Saturday..." Yuki peeked out the car window, her high ponytail askew from the window. "If we keep dawdling, we won't make it for lunch. I should have taken an earlier bus, even though it meant changing trains."

"Tomorrow is the anniversary of my wife Rugu's death." Ishikawa Aya reached out to smooth the messy hair on her forehead that she had gotten from beating her younger brother that morning. "She was such a gentle and beautiful woman."

Zheng Yi leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes to rest, his black coat draped over his knees, and his hands occasionally covering various parts of his body.

In the secret realm, he was stabbed to death by Han Kuangsi's spear more than ten times, which increased his experience and physical strength.

Cheye, the chubby boy, was happily eating a large bag of discounted puffed snacks from the supermarket.

On such days, even the usually strict Yugi would not stop him.

"Hey, don't you think we might encounter a landslide? The town notices said last week that the rainfall in this mountainous area was excessive..."

"Don't overthink it, we'll be at the village entrance in just two kilometers."

A middle-aged couple sitting next to me, heading to another village, were whispering to each other.

Zheng Yi opened his eyes, suppressed his killing intent, and glanced at the wet, dark green mountain wall outside the window, his brows furrowing slightly.

The more you worry about bad things happening, the more likely bad things are to happen to you—that's Murphy's Law.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a muffled thud came from the roof of the car, as if gravel had rolled down the slope.

The experienced driver's expression suddenly tightened.

In Japan, "old driver" isn't just a term of respect; it refers to someone who is truly an extremely experienced driver.

Many of the full-time employees in Japan's bus industry are between sixty and seventy years old.

Many people are rehired even after the age of seventy.

The bus driver had a full head of silver hair; he was one of those who had been rehired.

Although he was in relatively good spirits, his reaction speed was far from comparable to that of young people.

That old, skinny leg, which was as thin as a stick, was a beat too late in releasing the accelerator and slowing down!

A muffled rumble came from the mountain wall overhead, like muffled thunder rolling up from the ground.

"Oh no! It's a landslide!"

Screams instantly filled the entire carriage.

Yellow mud and gravel mixed with rainwater poured down the slope, and a boulder the size of a millstone rolled straight toward the front of the vehicle.

The experienced driver frantically swerved the steering wheel, but the flooded road offered no grip, causing the bus wheels to skid violently and the bus to tilt sharply to the side. Beyond the guardrail lay a bottomless valley.

Yuki gripped the armrest of the seat tightly and lurched forward half a step. In the blurry rain, she could even see the white mist churning below the cliff.

She didn't have a driver's license and knew nothing about driving. Even with her brave and decisive personality, she could only leave her life and death to fate.

Looking back, wanting to give her last words to her younger brother, Yuki subconsciously felt that his fat body gave him a better chance of surviving the accident.

But just as the car was about to flip over, three dark figures darted past along the aisle.

The first to set off was Ishikawa Aya.

The most outstanding young police inspector in Okinawa, she is not a typical office worker; her skills in jujitsu, shooting, kendo, and driving are all among the top three in Okinawa.

However, someone was faster than her.

Tetsuya leaned to the left with a powerful shoulder strike, knocking aside the obstructive and excellent police officer, Ishikawa Aya, leaving his good older brother with a free pass.

A low, deep shout rang out, and Zheng Yi stepped past the two men, his hands already firmly gripping the slipping steering wheel. His forearm muscles tensed, his knuckles turning bluish-white, as he forcefully turned the steering wheel back half a turn from where it was about to go all the way, his voice steady without a trace of panic: "Accelerate first, then brake."

The silver-haired old man had no time to react, repeatedly saying "Oh no," "Oh no."

[Teresa! Move that old thing away!] Zheng Yi gave him the order in the game.

The chubby boy lurched to the right again, knocking the old driver in the right-hand drive seat a body length away.

"Tetsuya-kun, you need to be polite to girls and the elderly!" Zheng Yi shouted at him, while stepping on the gas pedal to avoid several rolling boulders. Then, just as the car was about to plunge into the cliff, he slammed on the brakes.

The tires screeched as they rubbed against the road, mixing with mud and gravel. The bus swerved forward for more than ten meters before finally coming to a heavy stop with a thud.

The front of the car was pressed against the broken guardrail, less than half a meter away from the edge of the cliff.

The carriage was deathly quiet, with only the patter of raindrops hitting the metal and the sounds of heavy breathing.

After a long while, someone finally cried out in fear. Several female passengers clutched their chests, their faces pale. The experienced driver slumped over the steering wheel, his hands shaking so badly he couldn't even pull the key out.

I don't know if it was from being frightened or from being hit.

Yu Ji slowly sat back down, her heart still pounding in her chest. Staring at the tall, imposing figure behind the car, she opened her mouth, but only managed to utter, "...Your driving skills are outrageous!"

Zheng Yi slowly reversed the car, bringing it back to a safe distance, and turned to look at her: "I told you, I'm a genius."

"Smug!" Yugi rolled her eyes at him. "But he's handsome!"

"Is this cool? You haven't seen my donkey cart navigating the drainage ditch. That's what you call cool."

"Idiot, can you please not suddenly go crazy when you're at your most handsome!" Yugi rolled her eyes at him, a beautiful smile playing on her lips.

Ishikawa Aya stood up, supporting her back. She couldn't believe that she, who could usually take down two or three male police officers, had been knocked away by an elementary school student.

It must be the high heels' fault!

She glanced at Zheng Yi, the boy who had kicked open the gate of the Shuri Koban with his tongue out. He was not a hot-blooded brute, but such a calm person.

At this moment, the survivors applauded. However, before the atmosphere of shock on the bus could dissipate, a scream, tinged with sobs, suddenly pierced the oppressive atmosphere in the back of the bus.

"Bone, bone! There's bone inside the stone!"

All eyes immediately turned to that direction.

On the slope washed away by rocks, mixed among the yellow mud and gravel, were several pieces of human bones, their white color starkly visible.

Skulls, ribs, and leg bones were scattered and embedded in the soil, glistening from the rain. There were more than one or two skeletons buried in the soil, layer upon layer, as if they had been there for decades.

The murky rainwater trickled down the bone crevices, leaving pale brown watermarks along the roadbed.

Yu Ji glanced at him briefly before abruptly turning her face away, shrinking closer to Zheng Yi, her fingertips gripping his sleeve tightly: "Fukuzumi, I'm scared!"