Driving down at such speed and in such spirals, it was as if human lives meant nothing. If anything went wrong, they would be doomed with no hope of return.

Inside the bus sat more than twenty children, the youngest around seven or eight, the oldest barely in their early teens. They looked outside in terror—some shivering, some pouting and crying outright.

In the very front row of the bus, a man and a woman in military uniform sat side by side, facing the children. They kept their eyes on a laptop in front of them, occasionally jotting notes in a folder.

On the computer screen were twenty-four dynamic video feeds, each in its own frame, each frame showing a close-up of a child’s face. There were twenty-four children on the bus, each corresponding to one of the frames.

The children displayed a range of facial expressions, but most were fearful. Only a few stared calmly out the window—startled, but not afraid.

The female officer glanced up, her gaze landing on a delicate little girl. She couldn’t help but smile, and wrote a line in her folder: Baby Duke, A+.

“Give me all your Want Want rice crackers! Or I’ll beat you up!” The girl put her left hand on her hip, raised her right fist, and threatened the boy sitting next to her.

Edward Baldwin, who was sitting there nibbling on his Want Want rice crackers, blinked his tear-filled eyes and obediently handed the crackers to the little girl.

“Hehe, that’s more like it.” The little girl snatched the crackers, patted Edward Baldwin twice on the head like a little grown-up, and said, “My name is Baby Duke. From now on, you’ll follow me. If anyone bullies you, just tell them my name.”

Edward Baldwin nodded woodenly and wiped away his tears.

“So shameless, a boy crying.” Munching on the stolen rice crackers, Baby Duke pouted and scolded, “Crybaby. I already told you my name, so why won’t you tell me yours? The teacher said kids should be polite, understand?”

Edward Baldwin nodded again, tears streaming down even harder.

Seeing Edward Baldwin like this, the female officer frowned and wrote another line: Edward Baldwin, E.

“Why are you still crying?” Baby Duke wrinkled her cute little nose, grabbed both of Edward Baldwin’s ears and pulled hard, giggling as she said, “Crybaby, scaredy-cat, if it’s not your arm that breaks, it’ll be your leg, hee hee hee... Tell big sis, what’s your name? If you don’t, I’ll pull you into Pigsy.”

With a “whoosh,” Edward Baldwin shot to his feet and burst into loud sobs toward the officers at the front: “Teacher, wuwuwu... I want to go home, I want to go home, wuwuwu...”

Although the other children in the bus were very scared, they had more or less gotten used to it along the way. None of them had cried out to go home like Edward Baldwin.

The female officer opened her eyes and looked at Edward Baldwin for a long while, pen hovering over his name, considering whether to cross it out.

“Edward Baldwin, why do you want to go home? Are you scared?” The male officer stopped her and asked.

Edward Baldwin shook his head, but then immediately nodded.

“So are you scared or not?” the male officer asked in a deep voice, his sharp eyes fixed on Edward Baldwin’s.

Under the officer’s gaze, Edward Baldwin wiped his tears and said, “Teacher, please take me home, wuwuwu... If I don’t go home, my dad will beat me to death, wuwuwu...”

The other children burst out laughing at Edward Baldwin’s words, all eyes turning to him. The fear of the cliff outside the window vanished in an instant.

That’s just how children are—their attention, actions, and emotions can be easily shifted by something unexpected.

Next to him, Baby Duke pouted, her chubby little face full of disdain. She scooted away from him, tossing all her Want Want rice crackers back to Edward Baldwin with a haughty look.

“You’re really scared of your dad?” the male officer asked.

“If I don’t go home, my dad will beat me to death.” Edward Baldwin wiped his face hard, pleading, “Teacher, I want to go home. I don’t want to play hide-and-seek with you anymore. If you see Uncle Samuel, please tell him I’ve already dug the hole really big. I invite him to my house to play hide-and-seek.”

“Hehehe...” The male officer chuckled. “Don’t worry, your dad will never hit you again. Once you truly walk out of here, no one will ever dare hit you.”

Edward Baldwin stood there dumbly for a long time, then timidly asked, “Really?”

“Really!” the male officer nodded firmly.

“Are you and Uncle Samuel good friends?” Edward Baldwin pressed.

“Of course. Not just good friends, but good comrades, good brothers.”

Hearing this, Edward Baldwin plopped down, wiped his tear-streaked face, and stared blankly out at the cliff.

Watching Edward Baldwin in a daze, the male officer softly said to the female officer, “He’s only afraid of his father.”

A strange look flashed in the female officer’s eyes. She glanced at Edward Baldwin a few times, then drew a thick red line under his name.

After Edward Baldwin’s outburst, the children in the bus suddenly became lively, chattering nonstop as they munched on all kinds of snacks.