PD -Chapter 58 I Was Afraid

I asked Liu Xiaopeng to turn the EMF detector’s volume to maximum. The device’s own electrical hum immediately filled our ears…

But the reading was extremely stable, indicating there was nothing at the tail section of the aircraft interfering with the detector.

It wasn’t until we reached the middle of the plane that the readings began to fluctuate slightly.

By then, we were already close to the emergency escape door, which had been deformed by the crash and fire.

I gave Liu Xiaopeng a glance, signaling him to bring the detector closer to the escape hatch. The device immediately let out a piercing alarm, and the readings spiked straight into the red.

I frowned and leaned in to inspect the warped hatch. On the handle, there was a layer of white granular substance. Amid the charred, fire-scorched debris from the crash, it wasn’t easy to notice—but it was clear the previous investigators had overlooked this detail.

I took out a tissue, scraped some of the white particles off the handle, and brought them close to my nose.

“What is this?” Xiao Hu asked, leaning in.

Rubbing the grains between my fingers, I replied, “Salt.”

“Why would there be salt on the door handle?” Liu Xiaopeng asked.

I didn’t answer directly. Instead, I led them further toward the nose of the aircraft. After carefully checking the entire area, we found nothing else unusual, so we left the hangar.

“This salt is unusual—it looks like it came from evaporated human sweat,” I said on the way back to the office, looking up at the blazing sun in the sky.

The white granular residue looked exactly like the salt stains left on basketball jerseys after a summer game, once soaked with sweat and dried.

But for human sweat to crystallize on a metal emergency door handle—and in that amount—how much sweat would it take?

Xiao Hu and Liu Xiaopeng both looked confused, not understanding what I meant.

Halfway through walking, I stopped again, looked up at the sun overhead, sighed, and turned to Xiao Hu.

“I’m afraid I can’t continue this investigation.”

“Why!” Xiao Hu frowned and shouted.

I shook my head. “Some things are destined by fate. They’re not something we can interfere with.”

“We’ve investigated this for so long—wasn’t it to uncover the truth and stop whatever evil is behind this from harming more people? And now you’re telling me you’re quitting?” Xiao Hu couldn’t accept it. He rushed up and grabbed my collar. “Are you scared?”

“Fine, if you’re scared, I’ll investigate it myself!” Xiao Hu snorted. He seemed to remember I was only helping voluntarily and not obligated to see this through. He sighed, released my collar, and turned to leave.

“Xiao Hu!” I hesitated for a moment before calling him back.

“This really isn’t something we mortals can interfere with. You don’t even understand what you’re dealing with!”

I patted his shoulder, trying to persuade him.

“Inform the airport. Try not to let the surviving flight attendant get back on a plane. She’s probably already been targeted… If she flies again, she may bring disaster to all the passengers.” I sighed.

Xiao Hu’s back stiffened. He suddenly turned around.

“What do you mean? She’s already on duty!”

I froze. “What do you mean she’s on duty?”

Xiao Hu checked his watch. “She should be waiting for boarding. The plane is about to take off.”

“Stop her. Call her. She must not fly!” I shouted immediately.

Though Xiao Hu was panicked, he quickly pulled out his phone and tried calling the flight attendant.

“No answer. It’s off. She’s probably already preparing for takeoff!” he said, shaking his head.

My mind exploded.

“Which flight?” I asked urgently.

“GH408… come with me!” Xiao Hu shouted, already running.

The airport was enormous. The abandoned warehouse was at the far outer edge, while the boarding gates were at the core of the airport. Even at full speed, it would take at least ten minutes to reach them—by then, the plane would likely already be in the air.

In desperation, I had no other choice but to call Tang Shanshan, who was still at the airport office, and ask her to find a way to delay takeoff at the boarding gate.

I quickly explained the situation. Though she sounded confused, she agreed and took Zhu Zhu with her to the gate.

After hanging up, I ran with Xiao Hu. Fortunately, a cargo truck passed by, and we stopped it, using it to get to the inner airport area as quickly as possible.

By the time we finally arrived at the boarding gate, we were out of breath. The gate area was packed with people, all crowding around to see something.

When we pushed closer, we saw Tang Shanshan and Zhu Zhu at the center. Tang Shanshan was lying on the ground, and Zhu Zhu was holding her and crying loudly. My heart tightened—I had no idea what had happened to her.

But at that moment of panic, I saw Tang Shanshan secretly open her eyes and give me a signal.

Only then did I realize she was faking it to delay the departure.

“Are you okay? Call an ambulance!” A flight attendant in uniform looked anxious as she crouched down to check on her.

“She’s the surviving flight purser,” Xiao Hu told me.

“Can you convince her not to board?” I asked.

Before Xiao Hu could respond, the purser was called away by a colleague and entered the boarding area.

“It’s too late!” Xiao Hu shook his head.

I sighed and looked at the gate, which now showed boarding closed.

“Can you help us get on that plane?” I asked Xiao Hu.

He lowered his head, hesitating.

“Don’t think about it! If you’re even a second late, hundreds of lives will be lost on that flight! She, the captain, and even Xiao Li with the limp… they were all supposed to die in the original crash. But they’re still alive now—they’ve become bugs in whatever that thing’s mission is. It will fix these errors one by one and restore what was supposed to happen…”

My thoughts were in chaos as I said everything I could to him.

“Mission? That thing?” Xiao Hu frowned at me, as if about to ask more.

But he also knew time was running out. He glanced at the boarding gate again, gritted his teeth, and said:

“Follow me!”