novelraw Chapter 282 Backstab
Chapter 282 Backstab
This is a state of being completely detached from the logic of real society and fully immersed in a self-constructed world of fanatical faith.
More disturbing than mere violent resistance or deceitful cunning, it represents a radically distorted perception and potentially highly inflammatory and destructive ideology.
Where did this woman come from?
Where did she get this extreme mystical salvation theory from, absorb it, and internalize it?
How many believers like her are there in Zone C, or even Zone B?
Are they organized?
How did this idea spread?
Was last night's gunshot related to her or the group behind her?
A series of questions arose in Xu Xiaoyan's mind.
The two housekeepers were clearly more experienced in this type of situation.
They stopped trying to shut her up, but instead tightened their grip on her, quickened their pace, and almost dragged her away from the passageway.
The woman's unwilling "preaching" could still be faintly heard, mixed with muffled sounds of struggle.
The oppressive silence was only broken when the figure in the brown trench coat completely disappeared at the end of the corridor.
The tenants looked at each other, and whispers began to emerge like bubbles.
"Are you crazy?"
"That's terrifying! What kind of nonsense are you spouting..."
"She's quite pretty, what a pity..."
"Could it be... one of those 'dangerous elements' who infiltrated from D and E districts?" someone whispered, mentioning the recent rumors.
Xu Xiaoyan lowered her eyes. The scene just now made her feel more uncomfortable and vigilant than the gunshots last night.
The threat of firearms is physical, but this distorted, fanatical belief can trigger unpredictable collective behavior.
Before Xu Xiaoyan could even react, someone in the room called her name:
"Xu Xiaoyan"
She immediately composed herself, replied "Yes," and pushed open the slightly ajar door, going inside.
As soon as she stepped inside, Xu Xiaoyan keenly sensed the unusual atmosphere.
Besides the two staff members responsible for verification and the tall, thin administrator who followed cautiously behind, there was another person—Xiao Ling.
Xiaoling stood awkwardly in the corner near the door, her head bowed low and her hands nervously clasped together.
His face was even paler than when he was delivering the message, and he didn't even dare to look up at Xu Xiaoyan as she walked in.
The two staff members who were supposed to start checking the items did not touch the backpack and other items she had spread out on the berth.
The staff member in charge had his hands behind his back, scrutinizing every subtle movement and expression of Xu Xiaoyan as she walked in.
Xu Xiaoyan immediately felt a sense of unease, but her face revealed just the right amount of confusion and bewilderment at having her program interrupted.
She glanced at Xiaoling, then at the two staff members, and finally her gaze fell on her open backpack.
With a slightly questioning tone, he pointed to his capsule and said:
"Hello, this is where I live. Now... are we going to open my bags for inspection?" She acted very cooperatively, as if she was just confirming the procedure.
However, the staff member in charge did not respond to her words.
He took a small step forward, getting closer to Xu Xiaoyan, his gaze fixed on her eyes. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable penetrating power:
"Open the package for inspection, no rush, wait a bit."
He paused, seemingly observing Xu Xiaoyan's reaction to the answer, before continuing, "Answer a few other questions for me first."
Any other questions?
Isn't it about verifying the origin and identity of the items?
Xu Xiaoyan's doubts deepened.
She tried to remain calm, but the confusion on her face became even more apparent.
She even seemed a little bewildered by this sudden turn of events, her brows furrowing slightly as she met the other person's scrutinizing gaze, and asked cautiously:
"Other questions? Please ask."
She showed no resistance, but also did not speculate; she simply adopted a cooperative and waiting-to-be-asked attitude.
At the same time, he quickly glanced at Xiaoling in the corner out of the corner of his eye.
Xiaoling lowered her head even further, and her shoulders trembled slightly.
"She said you asked her about the food truck as soon as you arrived. Is that true?" Xu Xiaoyan nodded after hearing this. "Yes."
The staff member's expression didn't change much, but his gaze seemed to become more serious.
He then posed a second question, speaking calmly yet with a pressing, almost obsessive, sense of wanting to get to the bottom of things:
"Why are you suddenly asking about this? When did you first come up with the idea of running a food truck?"
Xu Xiaoyan lowered her eyes slightly. "When Dungeon C area first opened, I heard there was a huge blizzard outside, and many people were almost frozen when they came in."
Then I saw that the food truck with the number 086 was selling hot ginger tea. It was doing very well, with a long queue of people. Everyone wanted to have a hot drink to warm themselves up.
"I was thinking at the time," Xu Xiaoyan's eyes revealed a hint of envy:
"If... if I could be like that person, with my own food truck, I could provide hot food and drinks when people need them."
Wouldn't that help people and earn some points at the same time? With points, life would be a little easier.
She concluded, "So, from then on, I started looking into how to apply for one of these food trucks."
What conditions are required, and how does it work? After all, opportunity always favors the prepared, right?
After hearing her finish speaking, the lead staff member did not immediately express his opinion, but slowly turned his head to look at the young colleague next to him who had been holding a notepad.
The two exchanged a brief glance.
The young staff member nodded almost imperceptibly.
It seems that the key information mentioned by Xu Xiaoyan, such as "blizzard" and "086 dining car", matches with certain records, or at least there are no obvious flaws.
Just as Xu Xiaoyan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking the interrogation was over and was about to focus on checking the items,
The young staff member suddenly spoke up, "Wait, there's one more question."
Xu Xiaoyan felt a slight chill and looked up at him.
The young staff member took a half step forward, his gaze fixed intently on her eyes:
"When you answered the first question, you said, 'On the day of the blizzard, many people were freezing,' and you cited this as the direct reason why you came up with the idea of starting a food truck."
However, after the blizzard arrived, the people in Area C began to move into the underground city.
In other words, if you were an access officer in Zone C that day, you couldn't just "see" someone frozen.
You should have personally experienced, or at least witnessed, that kind of extreme cold and chaos.
Why does your description sound more like a… relatively safe bystander's perspective?
The air seemed to freeze at that moment.
Even the lead staff member turned his scrutinizing gaze back to Xu Xiaoyan, awaiting her explanation.
In a flash, several thoughts raced through her mind: denial?
To fabricate a more detailed account of being frozen?
But since the other party was able to accurately point out this time discrepancy.
They likely already have some access records or weather timelines, and any fabricated details are easily exposed, which would only confirm their guilty conscience.
After a moment of deliberation, a clear idea emerged—
The young staff member in front of you is probably not an ordinary inspector, but a professional closer to interrogation or intelligence analysis!
His keen attention to detail, his sensitivity to logical contradictions, and his calm and persistent demeanor all reveal qualities that set him apart from ordinary administrative staff.
Playing low-level rhetoric or trying to cover up a discovered loophole with more lies in front of such people is extremely risky.
Having figured this out, Xu Xiaoyan calmed down.
She met the young staff member's gaze and slowly nodded. "You are very observant. I did not personally experience the blizzard that occurred when Zone C was granted entry."
This frank admission caused the lead staff member to raise an eyebrow slightly, while the younger one stared intently at her, waiting for her to continue.
Xu Xiaoyan took a deep breath, as if she had made up her mind, and continued, "Because, I didn't enter Area C during the blizzard at all, in fact..."
She paused, her gaze sweeping over everyone in the room before finally settling on the questioner, and said, word by word, "I'm from Zone B."
"Area B?" the young staff member repeated, his tone unreadable.
"Yes, Area B," Xu Xiaoyan nodded firmly, her tone becoming increasingly frank.
"You can verify my identification number right now. That's why I'm in Zone C."
"It's because I ran into some trouble in Area B. I can't go into details, but I plan to go back in a few days."
The moment she finished speaking, a gasp, "Hiss—," came suddenly from the corner of the wall! The sound was filled with extreme shock and disbelief.
Needless to say, Xu Xiaoyan knew who the voice came from. Who else could it be but Xiaoling, who had just told the staff about her inquiring about the food truck?
Xiaoling's mind was in complete chaos at that moment.
She never dreamed that this person, who seemed to be struggling in Zone C just like her, would actually be a resident of the higher-level Zone B!
For most people in Zone C, Zone B represents a better life, a more stable environment, and a higher status.
The person she betrayed actually had such a background? This was completely beyond her comprehension and expectations, and the result caused her to lose her composure instantly.
Xu Xiaoyan didn't even glance at Xiaoling.
Her gaze remained calmly fixed on the two staff members, especially the young interrogator who had asked the pointed question, awaiting their response.
The atmosphere in the room became subtle and tense.
The two staff members looked at each other for a few seconds, and finally, the lead staff member looked at Xu Xiaoyan and said, "Now you can open the bag for inspection."
Xu Xiaoyan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but didn't show it on her face.
"Okay," she replied, then walked briskly to her capsule compartment and picked up the dark green hiking backpack.