Futile Devices Scans

Xie Chun Ye knew nothing about what Song Zang was experiencing, but he had indeed set an excellent example.

Many travelers gradually lined up behind their group, and the queue slowly became orderly.

However, far too many people needed to reach Terminal 4. Most of the platform remained chaotic, filled with crying children, laughing couples, and office workers taking one work call after another…

At that moment, the security guard’s patience reached its limit.

He began waving his baton and shouting mechanically over and over, “Line up before boarding! Line up before boarding! Line up before boarding!”

Immediately afterward, the attendant dressed in a dark-blue uniform abruptly raised her head.

As though someone had activated a switch inside her, she strode away from the subway doors and into the crowd, repeatedly uttering the exact same words as the security guard.

“Line up before boarding! Line up before boarding! Line up before boarding!”

Her professional smile was perfectly standard and friendly, but she walked with eerie speed. Although she continued shouting loudly, the upper half of her face barely moved at all. Upon closer inspection, it looked somewhat stiff, while her cries gradually became increasingly frantic and hysterical.

The longer one listened, the more chilling it became.

Her bizarre behavior proved surprisingly effective. The noise inside the subway station diminished considerably, and everyone obediently began lining up. However, some people still refused to tolerate being controlled.

A bald man wearing a thick gold chain snorted. “What the hell do you mean by that, you little bitch? Huh? Are you looking down on me?”

“Exactly!”

His companions immediately chimed in, their tones malicious.

The attendant did not answer him directly.

She accepted the baton from the grim-faced security guard, turned toward the bald man, and smiled warmly. “Sir, please maintain order and line up before boarding. Keep your belongings secure and take proper care of any elderly people or children traveling with you.”

Her exceptionally rigid and mechanical words were interpreted as a provocation. The bald man’s brows shot upward, and he sneered before hurling several obscenities at her. Tossing aside his backpack, he relied on his physical advantage and reached for the electric baton in her hand.

But in the next instant, the seemingly gentle attendant raised the baton high and brought it down viciously upon his bald head.

Splurt—

Crack—

The tremendous sound of his skull shattering rang with horrifying clarity through the subway station, which had abruptly fallen silent.

Before the bald man could even resist, his skull was split open with swift and brutal force.

His heavy body toppled backward, and his already bisected head broke apart even further.

Pinkish-white brain matter mixed with blood splattered across the floor, but the attendant did not stop beating him.

Still smiling gently, she raised the electric baton and repeatedly swung her arm.

Once, twice, three times.

The heavy impacts were deafening. Deep cracks spread across the polished marble floor, and blood seeped into them in thick, vivid-red streams.

Everyone was stunned into silence by her frenzied actions, including the security guard.

After an unknown length of time, the attendant finally seemed to regain her senses. She tossed aside the baton, rose to her feet, and said in her usual gentle voice, “Thank you, passengers, for your patience and cooperation.”

Seeing that the situation had settled, the security guard opened his radio with a dark expression and issued several instructions. More black-clad security guards soon arrived.

Three of them worked together to carry away the already cold, headless corpse, while the others handled the repairs. They pried up the shattered section of marble flooring on the spot and replaced it with a brand-new tile, moving with extraordinary familiarity, as though this were far from the first time such an incident had occurred.

A cleaning woman silently pushed her cart through the crowd, swiftly and efficiently removed the remaining bloodstains, then left without saying a word.

Only the increasingly intense stench of blood remained suspended in the air, mingling with the harsh smell of cleaning chemicals and assaulting the senses in overlapping waves. Some people had to cover their noses and mouths with wet wipes to suppress their nausea.

Xie Chun Ye showed little reaction from beginning to end. He knew that obeying the rules would keep them safe, so he merely covered Ning Si Si’s eyes with one hand.

Qiu Shuang, however, was badly frightened. She wanted to flee but did not dare leave the yellow line, so she clung tightly to Lin Wen Jing for comfort, trembling uncontrollably.

To her, this kind of sudden, violent assault was even more terrifying than encountering ghosts on the midnight bus.

After all, seeing ghosts might merely be a hallucination or part of the game’s design, while a violent subway incident could occur in reality at any time.

Fortunately, the attendant had subdued the bald man who caused trouble. Had she merely beaten him severely instead of splitting open his skull, Qiu Shuang might even have applauded.

Of course, no matter how frightened Qiu Shuang was, she could not compare with how “frightened” Song Zang appeared.

Shimmering tears had already gathered in Song Zang’s eyes. His cool fingertips clutched tightly around his wrist, rubbing it repeatedly with unease.

He had been frightened to tears. The corners of his eyes were faintly red, and his curled, raven-feather lashes were gradually dampened by teardrops. Yet he did not dare cry aloud in front of the deranged attendant. He could only lower his head, hide his delicate, pale face behind someone else, and do his best to conceal his wet eyes.

【Special Title: Mask (36/100)】

Watching one entertaining spectacle had earned him more than twenty experience points. A tremendous profit.

Seeing Song Zang trembling in fear, Xie Chun Ye sighed helplessly and could not resist remarking, “…Even my little sister doesn’t cry as much as you do.”

Song Zang closed his eyes as though struggling to force back his tears and hurriedly apologized in a quiet voice. “I’ll find a way to change.”

The moment he finished speaking, the burning sensation around his left wrist abruptly intensified, as though someone had angrily bitten him several times.

What was this? Did that indecent creature even intend to interfere with him acting pitiful and clinging to his powerful protector?

Song Zang felt like laughing, but a hazy layer of moisture instantly gathered within his black eyes.

Ignoring the pain, he continued pitifully asking Xie Chun Ye for help, his voice growing softer and softer. “Brother Xie, the real reason I wanted to cry earlier was because my left hand suddenly started hurting. I think it might be… a lingering effect from nearly being sacrificed to that monster. The teeth inside that enormous mouth had already touched me. They were icy and cold… I’m a little scared. Could you examine it again?”

The indecent creature that had been inexplicably tormenting him immediately fell quiet and stopped causing him the slightest pain.

It insisted on making him do this before sparing him. How strange.

“Of course.”

Xie Chun Ye adjusted his glasses, his attitude extremely serious.

No matter how seriously he examined Song Zang, he naturally could not discover anything. Nevertheless, Song Zang extended his arm and allowed Xie Chun Ye to hold his slender, cold-white wrist, repeatedly inspecting it.

“One area of your wrist is still red. It may bruise over the next few days, but it’s nothing serious. Medicated safflower oil should take care of it.” After contemplating for a moment, Xie Chun Ye finally gave his diagnosis.

“Really? That’s good.”

Noticing the lingering unease in Song Zang’s eyes, Xie Chun Ye thought briefly, then pushed his seemingly ordinary black-framed glasses higher on his nose. His tone became slightly meaningful. “Really. At the very least, I can’t see anything unclean attached to you.”

That statement was practically an explicit admission that Xie Chun Ye possessed some ability or item capable of revealing certain dangerous “unclean things” inside the instance.

No wonder he had kept such a close watch on the driver throughout the bus journey while treating Ning Si Si with considerable gentleness.

However, his ability undoubtedly had certain limitations. Otherwise, Wang Shu would not have lost all the flesh from his left arm before Xie Chun Ye suddenly noticed something was wrong.

Naturally, it was even less likely that Xie Chun Ye could easily detect the creature secretly hiding on Song Zang.

Song Zang touched his wrist, appearing only partially to understand. At the same time, he displayed completely unguarded trust and said happily, “That’s wonderful. Since Brother Xie says so, I can stop worrying.”

“Mm. So cry less.”

“…I’ll try.”

Their friendly exchange caused the sinister, pale blue flames to grow increasingly restless.

Song Zang did not understand why they were behaving this way, so he merely curved his lips faintly and pretended not to notice.

Meanwhile, the frightened travelers who had scattered earlier were forced to gather their courage, step across the newly replaced marble tile, and obediently line up.

The attendant was considerably more intimidating than the security guard. Smiling, she moved through the crowd and guided passengers with a gentle attitude, her back perfectly straight and every movement measured and proper. Compared with her earlier frenzy, her current behavior seemed even more eerie and chilling.

Qiu Shuang turned and poked Lin Wen Jing, leaning close to whisper in her ear. “Jing Jing, I don’t think that attendant is a bad person. Look, everything is fine as long as people obey the rules. It’s so simple. She’s pretty and gentle, and she didn’t hit us.”

Lin Wen Jing appeared long accustomed to Qiu Shuang’s remarkably unconventional values. Playing along, she adopted a thoughtful expression. “Then why did she suddenly lose control?”

Why had she reacted so violently toward those who violated the rules?

Perhaps there was a reason worth investigating.

Never one to hesitate once she decided upon something, Qiu Shuang took advantage of the train’s delayed arrival and waved at the attendant. She asked politely, “Hello, Big Sister. This is our first time taking the airport subway, so we don’t really understand the process. Could you tell us which station we should get off at?”

The attendant approached with light footsteps, accepted the boarding pass, and examined it. Then she answered with gentle patience, “Terminal 4. The journey takes approximately ten minutes, and an announcement will notify you upon arrival. Exit through Gate G and continue straight to the end. That will bring you to your flight’s boarding gate. You still have one hour before boarding, so there is no need to rush. Please take proper care of your luggage, remain aware of your safety, and maintain order.”

Qiu Shuang’s cheeks reddened. “Thank you, Big Sister. You’re so kind.”

Xie Chun Ye ignored the interaction and allowed Qiu Shuang to do as she pleased with an expressionless face. Even if the attendant lost control again, he could handle the consequences. Song Zang, however, became thoughtful.

He realized that all three women possessed unusually high psychological endurance.

First, Wang Shu’s arm had been devoured. Then the bald man’s skull had been split open. Such bloody and violent scenes should have caused an ordinary person both fear and physical discomfort.

Yet Lin Wen Jing’s expression had barely changed, while Qiu Shuang could still blush upon seeing a beautiful attendant…

Xiao Li Li, who had the weakest presence among them, was even more astonishing.

The others might not have noticed, but Song Zang had seen everything clearly. While the bald man was being beaten to death, Xiao Li Li had actually taken the escalator back to the fast-food restaurant.

Indeed, she had returned to the first floor and bought a chocolate sundae.

She was now standing in line with a plastic spoon, narrowing her eyes as she enjoyed the sundae.

The little boy standing behind her wanted some as well. When Xiao Li Li refused to share, he tipped back his head and burst into loud tears.

The boy’s grandmother could no longer tolerate it and rushed forward to comfort her precious grandson. But the instant her foot crossed outside the yellow line and she attempted to shove Xiao Li Li, the attendant also split her skull open with the baton.

This time, the attendant’s reaction was not as intense as before. After killing the woman quickly and efficiently, she put away her weapon, used her radio to summon the cleaners, and resumed standing nearby with a smile, ready to assist more passengers at any time.

Xiao Li Li shifted aside to avoid the splattering blood. She remained extraordinarily calm and did not even pause while eating her sundae.

As she continued eating, she muttered, “She was still fairly gentle with the old woman and didn’t excessively mutilate her. Could it be related to gender? Did this attendant experience something terrible in the past?”

“That makes sense.” Xie Chun Ye heard her and turned toward Qiu Shuang. “Lend me your phone.”

Qiu Shuang raised an eyebrow and readily handed it over. “Sure. Don’t secretly look through my photo album.”

Xie Chun Ye gave a speechless “Mm” and wasted no more words. He immediately opened the browser and searched for news about Tianhai Airport.

The search engine looked identical to the one in reality, but it produced many news records that did not exist in the real world. Xie Chun Ye carefully opened and read them one by one, soon discovering an exceptionally prominent report.

【Tianhai Airport Subway Rape Case—Cracking Down on Local Criminal Forces Is an Urgent Priority】

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