Chapter 34: Biological Weapons

A young man in oversized sunglasses was driving a convertible Maserati, a cigarette dangling from his lips, with a beautiful long-legged girl seated beside him in the passenger seat. Every time they stopped at a red light, the young man would rest his hand, rather indiscreetly, on the girl's thigh—what a life, what a feeling… Chang Yu watched the scene unfold clearly from his seat on the bus.

“Well, aren’t you bold,” Chang Yu muttered, forcing his gaze away from someone else’s car and someone else’s girlfriend.

Because his morning training had gone awry, he was feeling unwell today and had to forgo his beloved walks in favor of taking the bus to work. Little did he expect, the moment he stepped out the door, to be greeted by such a brash display.

Truly, people have lost all sense of decency and shame; to act so brazenly in broad daylight! Chang Yu rolled his eyes and turned his head away.

But just because he chose to ignore the arrogant young man didn’t mean everyone else did. At least, the guy sitting directly in front of Chang Yu was already shouting curses: “Bastard! Doing such things out in the open!”

Then, changing his tone, the man added, “Sigh, if I were the one driving that car, I’d do even worse!”

Chang Yu couldn’t help but laugh; this fellow was quite entertaining.

He looked ahead and saw a typical muscle-bound brute—arms like steel beams, biceps chiseled as if sculpted, his physique so perfect even top bodybuilders might not compare. From his angle, Chang Yu could only see the man’s dark, tough profile and an ape-like protruding jaw. There was something oddly underdeveloped about his facial features.

Even without seeing the man’s face directly, Chang Yu could already imagine how ugly he must be.

“Hey, you think you’re pretty tough, huh?” The muscleman rolled down the bus window and shouted down at the cocky young man below.

Apparently, gossiping behind someone’s back no longer satisfied his mischief—he was ready to openly provoke.

The young man in the Maserati was startled by the shout, his hand jerking away from his girlfriend’s thigh. When he turned and saw such a hideous figure taunting him, he felt his dignity was truly insulted.

In this day and age, even the most grotesque can challenge him? Someone who looks like that dares to ride the bus in public? This was intolerable!

“Hey, freak, you talking to me?” the young man retorted, his words striking straight at the muscleman’s pride, instantly infuriating him.

“You little—who are you calling a freak?” The muscleman, incensed, did something that left Chang Yu utterly dumbfounded.

First, he took off his shoes, then his socks. Instantly, an overwhelming stench spread through the entire bus.

It was as if the smell of stinky tofu aged for over a decade had been mixed with fermented sour pickles from twenty years past—a pungent, suffocating miasma. It was like the combined stench of a hundred cesspools, lingering, inescapable. One whiff was enough to make a person question the meaning of existence.

Seated right behind the muscleman, Chang Yu was the first to suffer. He retched violently, struggling for breath, his head spinning as if he were a fish out of water, drained of all strength. The acrid stench made his eyes water uncontrollably.

The other passengers fared no better, clutching their noses, covering their mouths, all protesting at once:

“How long has it been since you washed your feet? You smell like a sewer and still have the nerve to take off your shoes?”

“Exactly, young man, what’s wrong with you? Put your shoes back on, you’re going to kill us with that smell!”

“Whoa! This is worse than a public toilet pit—you’re really something special!”

“Mommy, I’m scared! Ugh, ugh…” A little girl, perhaps eight or nine, reacted even more strongly—she started crying and vomiting at the same time, sobbing and retching until she’d made a mess of herself and the floor.

The muscleman ignored the outrage, nonchalantly rolling his sock into a ball. Seizing his moment, he hurled it out the window.

“Take this!” he shouted.

Whoosh—smack! The foul sock arced perfectly through the air and landed squarely on the young man’s face.

“Oh God, what is that smell!” The young man was instantly overwhelmed, sneezing and coughing, unable to grip the steering wheel.

At that moment, the traffic light turned green. As the bus slowly pulled away, Chang Yu’s seat passed right by the Maserati.

The muscleman’s timing was impeccable—just as the light changed, making any thoughts of revenge difficult for the young man. By the time he realized the humiliation he’d suffered, it was too late to chase the bus.

As the bus passed, Chang Yu glanced back at the Maserati. The last thing he saw was the cocky young man doubled over, vomiting uncontrollably by the car door, while the beautiful long-legged girl had fainted, white foam at her lips.

Behind them, a line of cars was held up at the intersection, horns blaring impatiently…

There was no time to dwell on the wretched fate of the young man and his girlfriend. Chang Yu, moving with lightning speed, rolled down his window and stuck his head out, gulping down fresh air, his face gradually returning to a healthier color.

“Finally, I’m alive again,” he sighed with relief, as if he’d been reborn.

Though it was only a thirty-second red light, to Chang Yu it felt like a lifetime.

For someone desperately in need of salvation, every moment is an eternity. Those thirty seconds waiting for the light might as well have been thirty years.

Looking back at the culprit, Chang Yu saw the muscleman flash a wicked, triumphant grin.

That must be the smile of victory, Chang Yu thought.

After winning his little war, the muscleman calmly put his shoes back on, and the noxious smell ceased to spread.

Many passengers near the windows followed Chang Yu’s lead, opening them wide and greedily inhaling the fresh air.

Having escaped the jaws of death, the passengers all stared at the muscleman, their gazes sharp enough to devour him alive.

Though everyone wanted to curse his ancestors, no one dared to be the first to speak up. They were all truly frightened by him.

This man’s behavior and words were so out of place, so at odds with the rest of society.

It was a woman in her forties who finally broke the silence. She stood up and scolded him fiercely:

“How can you be so uncivilized? Do you think you can just take off your shoes wherever you want? Are you trying to kill us?”

“Come with me to the police station! I’m going to sue you for attempted murder! You’d better compensate me for emotional damages!”

Her scolding reignited the passengers’ courage. They remembered their own cowardice and contrasted it with her bravery, feeling ashamed. To prove themselves, they all shouted in unison:

“That’s right! You owe us compensation for emotional distress!”

Buoyed by their support, the woman continued, “If you don’t pay, we won’t let you off this bus!”

Again, the passengers chorused, “Right! You can’t get off until you pay up!”

Chang Yu was left speechless.

Never before had he witnessed such a scene—a bus full of strangers united so completely, their outrage and purpose perfectly aligned, their spirits high. To an outsider, it might have looked like a public trial.

The muscleman, unfazed, crossed his legs and ignored the threats. Leisurely, he addressed the woman:

“You know, no one’s ever tried to reason with me before.”

“Because anyone who tries ends up suffocating from my smell!”

“Remember, I still have one sock left. Don’t push me.”

As he spoke, he hiked up his pant leg, revealing a dark ankle still clad in a sock—a clear warning.

He needed say no more; everyone understood.

“Don’t—you stay back!”

“This is a civilized society now, you can’t just take off your socks and shoes in public! That’s so uncivilized!”

“Put it away, quickly, please! Don’t take off your sock!”

“Mister—no, sir! Please, don’t take off your sock on this bus!”

Seeing this, the woman panicked and hurried back to her seat, while the other passengers lowered their heads, not daring to challenge the muscleman’s authority.

Time passed slowly; though the stench lingered, no one dared bring up the incident again.

When his stop finally arrived, Chang Yu fled the bus as if escaping death itself.

The moment his feet touched the ground, he truly understood what it meant to have one foot in heaven and one in hell.

The journey from his apartment to the office was only two bus stops, but it felt like a lifetime’s parting.

Watching the bus pull away, Chang Yu took a deep breath, pulled out his phone, and dialed 110:

“Hello, 110? I’d like to report something—someone is carrying a biochemical weapon in a public place, do you handle that sort of thing?”

“Yes, exactly—the gas bomb type. I just saw someone with one on the bus. I suspect he’s involved in bacterial research. You should send someone to arrest him right away. The bus’s license plate ends in XXXX.”