The only ones completely uninvolved in the whole scene were the waitstaff and the crew responsible for the ship's safe operation.
They stood in their uniforms in corners, by the corridors.
The gunmen's gazes automatically slid past them.
When the earlier incident occurred, Shen Yi had been in her cabin memorizing the ship's layout.
So she wasn't entirely sure what had happened.
This time, she witnessed everything firsthand.
Shen Yi stood by the side entrance of the banquet hall, holding a tray, watching people transform from elegant and composed to disheveled and panicked.
Many tore at each other to flee, screaming, pearl necklaces snapping and scattering across the floor.
All dignity was lost.
The gunmen aimed their weapons at numerous people, staging a chase across this massive ocean liner.
"Can't you hear? Get to the deck!"
A tall gunman slammed the butt of his rifle into a gentleman's back.
The man stumbled forward a step before steadying himself.
"Move it if you don't want to die!"
Shen Yi marveled again.
Being a waiter really was a decent cover.
Not a single gunman cast even a glance her way.
Shen Yi leisurely looked around for opportunities to catch a gunman alone.
The young woman walked through the corridors with her tray, naturally sidestepping the running crowds like a real server.
However, one drawback was that this outfit made her an easy target for the panicked elites to order around.
A sweaty, blond-haired man rushed up to Shen Yi.
In a tone that brooked no argument, he blurted out English while yanking at her sleeve, tugging her toward himself:
"Quick, help me—you, servant—help me!"
Shen Yi eyed his twisted, terrified face.
Expressionless, she turned around and kicked this ill-mannered elite squarely to the ground.
Her sole pressed against the side of his waist.
The blond man let out an "ah" as he hit the carpet, his expensive suit scuffed with dust.
"You wicked woman!" he cursed, scrambling up and continuing his escape.
As a gunman approached, noticing the foreign man, Shen Yi reacted instantly. She pulled out her gun, and as the blond man ran past her flank, she squeezed the trigger toward the area behind him.
The bullet flew precisely across the corridor's end, striking the gunman between the eyes just as he was about to take aim in their direction.
BANG
He crumpled to the ground.
His gun slid across the metal floor.
The blond man spun around at the sound of the gunshot and saw the fallen gunman.
In that moment, his eyes widened.
"Oh!" He gaped, scrambling for words of praise, "You are a truly good woman!"
Shen Yi was momentarily silent at his praise.
"Are you my bodyguard? Yes?" he stared intently at her, as if already convincing himself, "I knew my family wouldn't leave me to face this threat alone."
"Wrong," Shen Yi slapped his shoulder, sending him back to the carpet, with a nasty edge:
"Get lost."
She stashed her gun and turned to leave.
For this operation, Shen Yi played it by ear. Whenever a gunman was isolated, she'd silently pick him off from the shadows.
Shen Yi made it a habit to pause for half a second at every corner to assess her surroundings.
This feeling of them being exposed while she stayed hidden was exhilarating.
Shen Yi could clearly see every gunman's position.
That group had no idea there was another armed person roaming the ship.
The result of killing from the shadows was that Shen Yi saved several groups of people in succession.
And each person she rescued naturally assumed she was a mercenary or bodyguard hired by their family.
"Please, you must protect my safety."
"Save me, get me off this ship now."
—Conversations like these were endless.
Gunman bodies kept falling.
One, two, three... new corpses kept turning up at corridor corners, stairwells, cabin doorways.
Even the dullest person would realize an assassin had entered the scene.
The gunmen began calling each other, hushed voices in their channels reporting in.
Someone picked up a fallen comrade's dropped communicator and said into it: "We've got a situation here—"
"Looks like a waiter fired a shot."
"Which faction?" the channel asked.
"Not sure yet."
"Did the surveillance catch it?" the voice asked again.
"We're checking—Hold on. Yes. Look, it's this waiter."
Shen Yi knew it was only a matter of time before the killings were discovered.
So the moment her clothes got stained with blood, she quickly changed into a fresh set.
Shen Yi hurried into a crew restroom.
She barged in boldly.
The crew member didn't notice something was wrong at first—until he turned around and saw the blood on Shen Yi's clothes.
His expression froze, mouth agape, and the walkie-talkie in his hand nearly slipped and fell.
"You—" was all he managed to say.
Shen Yi gave him a smile, then struck him with a knife-hand to the side of his neck, precisely cutting off his consciousness.
She was kind enough not to kill him, even catching his shoulder as he fell to prevent him from hitting his head on the floor.
The crew uniform was a bit oversized.
She quickly changed into it, rolling up the pants in two folds and folding the sleeves to a suitable length.
Standing in front of the mirror, she tucked her hair into the hat.
Perfect.
After finishing all of this,
Shen Yi tugged her hat low and made an appearance as a seasoned seaman.
Nobody gave her a second glance.
A crew member walking on deck was the most normal thing in the world.
Shen Yi raised her hand, shooting out a few troublesome surveillance cameras. Using her uniform as cover, she nonchalantly walked past two gunmen who were checking rooms.
The two gunmen had their backs to the corridor, bending over to inspect an open cabin door, completely focused inside, unaware of anyone passing behind them.
Shen Yi approached and stabbed them both through the back with a pair of knives.
After finishing that,
recalling how her father used to act during missions, she adjusted her expression. With the look of an innocent bystander in panic, she bit her lip and hurried away from the scene with a trembling, fearful gait.
The odds of running into an acquaintance on this ship were low.
But not zero.
At one point, Shen Yi casually blended into a fleeing crowd, moving neither too fast nor too slow, head down, her hat pulled low.
Her gaze swept over the panicked faces.
Then, in an instant, it froze.
Sui Ning.
Sui Ning was desperately fleeing, his eyes darting over the crowd without stopping.
But he knew Shen Yi too well.
Even though they had already passed each other, his steps seemed caught by something, and he instinctively turned back.
Stunned, the words caught in his throat, turning into bewilderment:
"Shen... Shen Yi?!"
That young woman, in a standard crew uniform, with half her face hidden under a cap, was walking calmly in the opposite direction against the current of fleeing people—shockingly conspicuous.
