"Buzz buzz buzz..."
The shrill sound of a fire alarm blared from every loudspeaker inside the terminal. After a moment of stunned silence, the crowd erupted into chaos. Airport security, police, and other staff quickly reacted, moving to calm passengers and begin investigating the incident's cause.
Amidst the turmoil, a yellow figure seemed entirely unaffected.
His purpose was crystal clear; his legs moved with the speed of a meteor, like a nimble leopard. On the escalators of the airport atrium, he maneuvered left and right like a pendulum, swiftly reaching the second floor.
1 minute and 8 seconds remained.
Gu Ji glanced at the countdown on his wrist. Once the timer hit zero, the familiar screech of tires braking would sound at the airport's first-floor entrance, marking the start of the impending massacre.
In other words,
he had only one minute to prepare.
In this single minute, he had to deal with the problem of "Sam" and coordinate all armed airport police while also trying to evacuate the passengers inside the terminal.
Could this be done?
Clearly not.
So, Gu Ji had an unconventional idea and smashed the fire alarm, hoping to use the airport alarm sound to alert the mob. This group must be poised to act on some road outside the airport.
Hopefully buying more time!
He quickly scanned the international travelers on the second floor of the airport, noticing an array of bloodshot lines in the whites of his eyes, which appeared somewhat red in the airport's pale lighting, giving him a wild and disordered look.
But in fact, Gu Ji's mind was as calm as ever.
Orderly, systematic, comprehensive, detailed, objective, thorough, leaving nothing out, not repeating;
He silently recited all the practical observation points he had learned in his reconnaissance class, as if he were a precise laser scanner. From the check-in area, to the shops, to the lounge chairs, and finally to the customs checkpoint, he "scanned" every figure in each second-floor area one by one.
All thanks to that eye-catching wine-red hoodie.
In less than four seconds, Gu Ji found Sam.
The other was standing by the wall, holding a phone, speaking about who knows what. Maybe because the airport fire alarm was too loud, he glanced around and turned to walk into the restroom near the restaurant.
Watching all this, a near-grim smile slowly spread across Gu Ji's face, and he quickly followed. As his arms swung, a flash of silver appeared in his right hand—a dining fork!
Indeed.
In his first round of choices, instead of opting for the seemingly superior [Strength Enhancement (Small)], he had chosen the fork made of aviation-grade steel.
The same phrase: the optimal solution!
Strength was useful, but its enhancement was limited in the crisis Gu Ji currently faced. A sharp metal object proved more advantageous.
He entered the restroom.
He casually picked up a yellow sign that read "Cleaning in Progress" and placed it at the door.
"I don't know what happened; I haven't noticed. Okay... Let's not talk about it now; I should pass through security later."
At the far end of the restroom, Sam was on the phone. Perhaps hearing the sound of footsteps behind him, he hastily hung up, turned, and found Gu Ji walking slowly toward him.
Maybe it was Gu Ji's yellow skin and black hair that attracted him.
Sam's eyebrows knit together, seemingly comparing him to some data in his mind.
At the precise moment their bodies crossed paths, the previously calm Gu Ji erupted suddenly. He swung his right hand, the silver metal fork dazzling with a cold white light, thrusting swiftly sideways towards Sam's throat!
Pfft!
The fork struck home. Sam's body stiffened instantly, his eyes bulged, and his face flushed red as he desperately flailed to retrieve it.
Zip! Gu Ji swiftly pulled out the fork, blood spurted like an arrow. He sidestepped around Sam's back, and with his left hand in a tiger claw, he fiercely clasped Sam's neck.
But Sam, being an operative among the mobsters, wouldn't be lacking in tactical skills.
Bracing his leg, twisting his hips, leaning his waist, turning back—in one smooth motion, he was about to break free.
Gu Ji anchored his legs, snakelike, his knees clamping his ankle, calf muscles contracting quickly, clutching the opponent's waist tightly.
Seeing that he couldn't escape, Sam kicked hard at the urinal, using the recoil to slam Gu Ji violently against the stall door behind him.
In mid-air, Gu Ji swung the fork madly, phht phht phht phht!
He stabbed multiple times in quick succession, each strike unceasing, the sharp metal prongs reducing the flesh on Sam's right neck to a shredded pulp like soft tofu.
With the momentary spout of blood, there was a loud bang as Gu Ji crashed backward into a flimsy composite door panel, falling hard onto the squat toilet. His ponytail fell apart with a clatter.
The pain shooting from his hips wasn't enough to make him let go; instead, it drove him to stab even deeper.
This fork made Sam truly feel the death approaching, struggling with his legs with all his might, "Urgh..."
But Gu Ji's five fingers on his left hand tightened with fury, the muscles in his legs coiled like a python crushing its prey, leaving Sam no chance to break free. At the same time, he twisted vigorously with his right hand, driving the steel fork deeper, his eyes blazing with ferocity, his teeth bared as he articulated word by word, "Sam, I told you, I'd personally cut you down, see you in hell!"
Pfft!
His strength echoed with his voice, the fork's blade completely severing the carotid artery. Blood, like a fountain, mixed with crushed tank water, sprayed across the opposite urinal.
Soon, Sam lost all resistance, his body going limp, utterly dead on the floor!
"Hoo... Ha..."
After he could no longer feel Sam's pulse, Gu Ji gradually loosened his muscles, his breathing ragged and erratic.
He withdrew the fork and shoved the body aside.
He walked to the sink.
In the mirror, Gu Ji's hair hung loose, his eyelids drooped halfway, and his eyes were veined with blood, turning a dark, deep red. His cheeks and stubbled beard, half-gray half-black, were spattered with blood. Luckily, because he had attacked from the back, not much red had splashed onto his shirt. His thighs, torso, arms, every inch of muscle trembled and twitched uncontrollably, like the famished tiger which had just drunk its fill of blood.
This might have been his first time actively killing someone.
Before, it had all been passive retaliation against aggressors. The game's intense realism made it easy to get immersed, but thinking of what Sam had done to him, and those horrible photos in Jiang Songyuan's camera, left him with little room for compassion.
"Mercy towards enemies is cruelty to the people..."
Gu Ji washed his face in front of the mirror, rinsing off the blood on his hands, feeling considerably calmer.
Turning around.
He walked alongside the corpse; Sam's wide eyes remained filled with terror and resentment, which Gu Ji ignored. He bent to retrieve a phone from the pocket, unlocked it with his thumb, and gained the information he needed. Just as he prepared to stand up, his peripheral vision caught sight of a blood-stained leather cord in the adjacent pool of blood. He picked it up on impulse, tied it back into a ponytail, and stepped out of the restroom, his gaze icy cold.