The Wicked System: Path of the Devourer Chapter 1 Chance Encounter on the Mountain Road

Under the blazing summer sun, the violently jolting rural shuttle bus lacked any trace of air conditioning. The suffocating, stagnant heat was nauseating enough to make one faint.

What made it truly miserable was not an overabundance of passengers, but the suffocating piles of agricultural produce crammed into every inch of space. Sacks of melons and vegetables were one thing, but there were actually live, squawking chickens, ducks, and relentlessly squealing piglets.

The cabin reeked of a chaotic medley of odors, accompanied by a cacophony of animal cries. Paired with the bone-jarring turbulence of the mountain road, Zhang Wenbin felt his mind on the verge of imploding.

"Young man, pull your feet in a bit. Don't trample my ducklings to death."

A woman's voice suddenly speaking up right beside him gave Zhang Wenbin a genuine start. He had sequestered himself in the deepest corner of the rural shuttle bus precisely to avoid being disturbed, flanked by what looked like an insurmountable mountain of potato sacks. He hadn't even noticed someone was there.

Reflexively lifting his foot, a few fluffy, chirping ducklings scrambled merrily past.

Following the voice, he saw a middle-aged woman sitting right beside him out of nowhere—more accurately, a mature, alluring woman.

Her long, jet-black hair was coiled elegantly, projecting a dignified aura. Her melon-seed-shaped face featured arched, crescent-moon eyebrows that lacked any artificial grooming, yet were naturally thick and intensely striking.

Her large, liquid eyes seemed to harbor a perpetual, gentle smile. While her nose and rosy, supple lips were somewhat ordinary on their own, combined they exuded a remarkably tender allure—the very archetype of a traditional, virtuous wife and loving mother.

She was draped in a set of loose floral-patterned clothes. Despite the conservative cut, one could easily trace the astonishing, towering peaks undulating beneath the fabric, thrusting outward like two prominent mounds.

Though clearly a rural woman, her skin was flawlessly pale and delicate, entirely devoid of the weathered, bashful awkwardness one might expect.

From the front, the practically invisible driver roared, "Sister-in-law Lan, just force your way in! More people need to load their goods in a bit; there won't even be room to stand up front."

"Alright!" the beautiful mature woman replied, her voice crisp and melodious, akin to a mountain lark.

She glanced around with visible difficulty, biting her rosy lower lip before tentatively asking, "Little brother, could you scoot in just a bit? Make a tiny bit of space for me to sit?"

"Sure thing."

Zhang Wenbin promptly shifted inward. The woman known as Sister-in-law Lan offered a grateful, radiant smile. Exhausted as she was, she didn't think much of it and simply sat down.

The bus was claustrophobically packed. Her sitting down meant their bodies were practically pressed together.

The air was oppressively humid. As she drew near, Zhang Wenbin—unsure if it was merely an illusion—caught a faint, intoxicating waft of pure, unadulterated female scent. It wasn't the artificial stench of cosmetics or cheap perfume.

Instinctively, Zhang Wenbin turned his head, his predatory gaze furtively sizing up the mature beauty beside him.

Due to the sweltering heat, beads of sweat adorned her face and body. Damp strands of hair plastered against her snow-white skin, creating a stark contrast that birthed a uniquely seductive charm.

Her facial features might not be world-shattering, yet they radiated a tender, submissive beauty. Most importantly, viewed from the side, the sheer, precipitous curves of her chest were nothing short of majestic. Even cloaked in such plain garments, her assets were proudly, astonishingly defiant, igniting a primal urge within him to desecrate her modesty and uncover the exact magnitude of her dimensions.

"Young man, what are you staring at?" Sister-in-law Lan noticed the searing gaze beside her and giggled flirtatiously.

Seeing that she didn't seem repulsed, Zhang Wenbin chuckled darkly, "Nothing much. Just admiring how beautiful you are, Sister. I heard the driver call you Sister-in-law Lan, but looking at someone as young and gorgeous as you, you don't look like a married woman at all. You look like a young maiden."

"You city boys with your glib tongues. No wonder you're so good at deceiving little girls."

Sister-in-law Lan laughed, her body trembling like a blooming branch in the wind. She shot him a tender, bewitching glare. "What kind of 'Sister' am I? My daughter is almost as tall as I am."

"Calling you 'Sister' makes me afraid you'll get mad. Honestly, I should be calling you 'Little Sister'."

Squeezed together, the long mountain journey was dreadfully dull. Zhang Wenbin found himself devoid of any drowsiness, deploying every trick in the book to keep the alluring mature woman beside him giggling continuously.

She retained a hint of bashfulness and spoke sparsely, leaving Zhang Wenbin in complete dominance of the interaction. The wicked reward for his efforts was that every time she laughed, those monstrous breasts heaved and shuddered with massive, mesmerizing amplitude. The sheer fluidity of the motion made Zhang Wenbin begin to suspect she wasn't even wearing a bra underneath.

Screech— The rural shuttle bus lurched to a halt on the winding mountain road. The driver shouted back, "Squeeze in tighter! Got more goods to load, make some room!"

"Where the hell is there any room left?" Zhang Wenbin couldn't help but complain.

The only two living passengers in the back were Zhang Wenbin and Sister-in-law Lan; everything else was cargo. It was glaringly obvious who that shout was directed at.

Unable to see the front, they could only hear the thud of more items being hauled aboard. The crush of the new cargo threatened to topple the mountainous pile of potatoes beside them. Left with no choice, Zhang Wenbin hastily stood up to help stabilize the load, lest he suffer the utterly pathetic fate of being buried alive in a potato avalanche.

"No helping it. This is the only bus back to the village. Everyone's relying on him to haul their stuff."

"Mixing passengers and heavy cargo like this is a severe violation of transport laws," he muttered.

"We're lucky to even have a ride. Everyone bought supplies at the market a couple of days ago, and motorcycles can't carry everything. We just have to wait for him to haul it back."

As Sister-in-law Lan spoke, she bent down hurriedly to push the bamboo cage of ducklings further inward. If they didn't adjust, the tiny creatures would be flattened by the encroaching luggage.

Zhang Wenbin struggled to organize the chaotic pile. By the time he finished, the very last row was utterly besieged by goods. Supposedly a two-person seat, the remaining viable space was now barely a sliver.

Heaving a heavy breath, he looked down, and his eyes instantly locked onto a mesmerizing sight.

As Sister-in-law Lan bent over to organize the cargo, the collar of her loose floral shirt gaped open. Deep within the shadow of her clothing, he caught a tantalizing glimpse of a worn, flesh-colored bra. Straining against the faded fabric were two perfectly round, snow-white, massive tits. The cleavage plunging between them was an abyssal chasm, so profoundly deep one could comfortably imagine suffocating if they buried their face within.

Even more devastating was that, with her movements, those colossal globes began to sway and jiggle. The motion provoked an intoxicating fantasy of the sponge-like, yielding elasticity they must possess.

"Sister-in-law Lan, little brother, you'll have to suffer a bit. There's just too much stuff today."

The driver's voice echoed back before the shuttle bus groaned, rumbled to life, and began its slow, agonizing ascent up the winding mountain highway.

Sister-in-law Lan lifted her head, her gaze violently colliding with Zhang Wenbin's predatory stare. She instantly clutched her collar, covering herself as she shot him a fierce, admonishing glare. "What are you looking at blindly, little brat? Never had milk before?"

Zhang Wenbin merely offered a sinister, unapologetic smirk. He hastily secured the goods to ensure they wouldn't collapse, only to realize that as he tried to sit back down, the encroaching cargo had left them with only a single usable seat.

With Sister-in-law Lan seated, only a pitiful fraction of space remained. Perhaps feeling a twinge of guilt, she proactively shimmied sideways, biting her silver teeth as she offered, "You sit too. If we squeeze, we should be able to fit. It's still half an hour to the village. If you stand, the shaking will make you dizzy."