In fact, James's strange actions earlier were simply because he was telling the story.
Marcus had thought that James was possessed by a ghost or had gotten into a fight with someone.
"Since Ryan's group has just arrived, should I retell the story from the beginning, or should I continue forward?" James asked.
The story that James was currently telling was none other than Night Hideout. It was a classic novel and was considered famous. Even in the family library, there were many copies of it.
This novel was a horror-type story. It was specially recommended to Marcus by Auntie Mela, and the novel was complete in just one book.
Hearing that James was going to tell the story, Ryan suddenly stood up and retorted, "Tell a story? You guys are actually in the mood to listen to a made-up story. We should be trying to find a way to escape this forest instead of wasting our time listening to the story that isn't real."
Ryan was furious this time. He could no longer suppress his anger. Even though he had heard from Lilian that there was a high chance the forest was only a test set up by the family, he was still worried about his life. In truth, he did not fully believe Lilian's words.
He knew very well that Lilian had lied to him to calm him and the others down. But he had no choice but to believe her. Knowing that the teleportation had gone wrong and sent him to an unfamiliar place, and that there was no trace of the professors, he began to break down and cry. This was only a normal reaction for a child who had not yet reached adulthood.
But as time passed, he began to get used to the forest. His thoughts slowly became clearer, and with the knowledge and training he had received in the family, he managed to calm himself down and tried to think of any solution to survive in this unknown and eerie forest.
But now hearing everyone carefree and didn't take the situation seriously, he becomes angry, since he can't survive alone in this forest, he has to work with others.
"We should try to though of the solution to live through these first night, and we also haven't any food to eat, we should..."
Just as he was about to continue, James suddenly cut him off, his voice sharp with frustration. "Do you think we haven't thought of any solution? We've been trying for half a day and found nothing! We even hoped your team would bring us some good news. But now… everything is wasted!"
His voice was calm like water, but every word that came out of his mouth was like a hammer slamming into one's own heart as he continued. "Listen carefully. Even though I told you about the story, this is all we have to survive, because we know nothing about living in this forest. The novel contains a survival method, and the bonfire you see comes from the story I read. Even if you never believed that a novel could reflect reality, you have to start believing it now, since this is the only option we can choose now."
Hearing James' words, Ryan was left speechless.
Seeing the situation was getting worse, Lilian quickly stood up and calmed down the situation, "You two don't argue, in this unknown situation, if we have external conflicts, we'll be in danger."
Ryan didn't know what to reply since he also couldn't think of any solution yet. His only choice now is to swallow his anger and sit down.
Marcus was also trying to calm James down when James turned to him, only to reveal a wide smile, before he turned back and continued telling the story.
"Don't worry about me, I won't blindly argue with foolish people," his mouth opened, but his eye darted towards Ryan.
Ryan's eyebrows are furrowed, anger clearly showing on his expression, but he can't do anything other than try to suppress his anger.
He turned to the other side, though quietly in his mind.
Just you wait, when we get out of this, I'm gonna report you to the professor.
Seeing the situation now turned better, Lilian sat back and said awkwardly, "Ahem, since we don't know what to do now, we should listen to James's story, who knows, we can think of any idea while listening to him."
All the time, no one says anything; they just sit and listen quietly, it was as though they enjoyed a show.
Now the situation turned better, did they finally vote out their thoughts, "Since we just arrived, I'd like to hear the story from the beginning."
The one who speaks is Pin, he sitting next to Marcus. Pin's height was almost the same as Marcus's.
All of Ryan's team heard Pin's suggestions they nodded their head slightly in agreement with his words.
Marcus didn't object either, since he was already reading Night Hideout. But he also nodded his head.
Waste no time, James finally started to tell the story in seriousness, "Once upon a time, there was a school trip to the capping..."
The bus was moving peacefully on the mountain road. Surrounded by tall trees and a quiet hill. A warm sunlight slipped through leaf casting a soft shadow across the street.
The sound of laughter and playing could be heard inside the bus, indicating that the bus carried the students in.
Everything is smooth and peaceful, when suddenly a wind drifts, at first it was just a normal wind, but as time passed, the wind started to grow stronger and stronger...
"Stop... What does that bus mean? It can even move on the road, is it a carriage ?" Unknownly, someone suddenly paused James' telling.
The one who asked was Pin. Unknownly, everyone's gaze shifted to him.
Everyone there is also curious about the foreign words like bus, but they can't bring themselves to ask.
But now someone suddenly asked this question, which made them very satisfied. In fact, aside from Marcus and James, almost none of them are reading novels. They mostly read the book about the mythicism.
James couldn't help but shift his gaze to Marcus. Noticing this, Marcus couldn't help but think slightly in his mind:
This guy sure knows how to give credit to others...
With that, though, he suddenly stood up and chuckled, "Ahem, James, he didn't know what that word meant, only I know about it."
He paused for a moment before explaining, "The word bus refers to something that moves automatically without using a horse.
It was like the carriage, but it was large and bigger than a carriage; it can carry humans up to 20 to 30. I don't know what it used to move, but I think it was magic."
Everyone was astonished when hearing such a thing. Especially Lilian, her mouth was wide open, it was as though she was hearing things that exceeded her imagination.
Ryan, who wasn't interested, suddenly became attracted to Marcus' words. He couldn't help but lean in closely to hear clearly.
"I wonder if such a magical thing exists in the world outside the family." Pin speaks in a low voice.
Lilian also nodded her head, expressing her desire to go outside the family.
After an explanation about the word bus, Marcus shifted his gaze to James, signing for him to continue.
James couldn't help but think quietly in his mind.
This guy sure knows how to show up.
After though of this, he suddenly chuckled, "Ahem, now let's resume our story."
Hearing his words, everyone quickly shut their mouths and carefully listened.
"Ahem, but as time passed, the wind started to grow stronger and stronger..."
The wind grew stronger and stronger, making all the students panic and feel afraid. Not only the students, but even the teacher in charge was also panicking. Still, she barely managed to suppress her fear and tried to calm the students down.
The one truly in trouble was the driver. He struggled to control the bus as the wind continued to grow stronger, and the bus was traveling along a narrow mountain road.
Suddenly, a huge rock slid down from the mountain. It was larger than the bus and moved at a frightening speed. It rolled down the cliff and was about to hit the bus.
Luckily, the driver noticed it in time and slammed on the brakes, bringing the bus to a sudden stop.
The students felt relieved after getting through that moment, but the danger wasn't over yet.
Even though the bus was not hit by the rock, the terrifying wind continued to rage around it. The powerful gusts slammed against the bus, shaking it from side to side and causing the wheels to lose their grip on the road. In an instant, the bus lost its balance. It collapsed and slid down the mountain slope, crashing through many trees before disappearing without a trace.