"Alright."
Chen Hui had wanted to persuade Su Ming to eat something, but in the end, she still couldn't bring herself to say it. She had vaguely realized that the young master was trying to lose weight.
Su Ming immediately headed for the door, but just as he stepped over the threshold, he suddenly stopped.
"Young master, what's wrong?"
Chen Hui asked in confusion.
"Nothing. I forgot to take something."
Su Ming hurried upstairs.
Several minutes later, Su Ming hurried out of Su Yuan's room and then left the house.
On the street, Su Ming ran toward the air-rail station. He had originally planned to take a taxi to that club.
But then he remembered that it was almost rush hour. A taxi might get stuck in traffic, and it would be slower, so he decided to take the air rail instead.
Before long, Su Ming reached the entrance of the nearest air-rail station.
The entire air-rail station had been built underground. There were ten escalators leading up and down at the entrance, and quite a few people stood on each one. It was obvious that the station saw a heavy flow of passengers.
When he raised his head and looked ahead, he saw an extremely shocking sight: air-rail trains shot out from underground one after another and sped into the distance.
Su Ming took an escalator down and soon arrived in the spacious air-rail station hall. There were rows of manned ticket booths and self-service ticket machines.
Ever since the Old Federation had abandoned all highly intelligent facilities under the threat of the Mechanical Race, the convenience of everyday life had regressed by several levels. All forms of travel had become extremely cumbersome.
Su Ming walked toward an unused ticket machine. He tapped the screen, selected his destination—Light Valley Station—and then used his phone to purchase a standard ticket.
The ticket machine immediately dispensed a magnetic card.
Su Ming took the magnetic card and walked deeper into the station. After walking for more than fifty meters, he saw rows of manned security checkpoints ahead.
He glanced around and headed toward the special security checkpoint on the side.
Hardly anyone used this checkpoint. When Su Ming passed through the security gate, the machine beeped.
A middle-aged male security inspector, already rather old and wearing a work uniform, said to Su Ming,
"Show me your identification."
Su Ming handed his identity card to the inspector.
The inspector carefully checked the information on Su Ming's identity card, then returned it to him very politely.
"Everything's fine."
"Thank you."
Su Ming took back his identity card and walked farther inside.
He soon reached the boarding area. An air-rail train shaped like a caterpillar was stopped at the platform, all twelve doors open as crowds of passengers got off.
Seeing that most of the passengers had gotten off, Su Ming boarded the air-rail train.
After getting on, he turned his head and looked around. There were two rows of seats along both sides of the train, with transparent windows beside them through which the scenery outside could be seen clearly. Between the seats was an aisle lined with many hanging hand straps.
Rush hour was already approaching, and there were quite a lot of passengers on the train. Almost every seat was occupied.
Fortunately, Su Ming still managed to find an empty window seat. He immediately walked over and sat down.
"Dear passengers, the doors are about to close. Please remain safe!"
Beep beep~
The doors soon closed, and the air-rail train began accelerating. Since the technology was highly mature, the acceleration was extremely fast but caused almost no discomfort.
The air rail soon emerged from underground. Through the window, Su Ming clearly watched building after building flash past.
Immediately afterward, they reached midair and continued toward the next station at a constant speed.
Leaning against the window, Su Ming quietly looked down at the bustling Thirteenth District. His thoughts gradually drifted, and he murmured inwardly,
"Perhaps this isn't such a bad thing."
--
Several minutes later.
The air-rail train arrived at Mountain River Station, and the doors opened.
Many passengers boarded, making the entire train somewhat crowded. Quite a few people could only stand.
Su Ming glanced over absentmindedly and suddenly froze.
He saw Lin Chuyu standing in the aisle not far in front of the seats. She wore a blue knitted sweater, beige trousers, and a light-colored sleeveless windbreaker.
She stood there quietly and peacefully. It was impossible to imagine how fierce she had been when controlling the mecha earlier.
Su Ming didn't go over to greet her. A girl like Lin Chuyu was probably approached by people all the time and would be very resistant to strangers taking the initiative to greet her.
The train doors closed again, and it began speeding along.
Su Ming checked his phone. The next stop was Light Valley Station. The air rail was truly fast.
Just then, Su Ming suddenly noticed a young man wearing a baseball cap and keeping his head lowered deliberately squeezing into the space behind Lin Chuyu's left side.
The young man then took a small folding knife made of a special material from his pocket. With practiced movements, he cut open the bottom of the pocket on Lin Chuyu's coat.
Seeing this, Su Ming didn't step forward to stop him. Instead, he took out his phone and recorded the theft.
The young man quietly stole Lin Chuyu's phone and wallet, then turned around and squeezed toward the exit. The entire process was completed in one smooth motion. His technique was clearly highly polished, making it obvious that he was a habitual offender.
At that moment, the air-rail train arrived at Light Valley Station.
Su Ming immediately stood up and left his seat, preparing to call out to Lin Chuyu.
But Lin Chuyu walked straight off the train and quickly headed toward the exit.
Many people got off at this station. Su Ming was stuck on the train for more than ten seconds before he could get off, and by then Lin Chuyu was already fifty meters away.
Su Ming was somewhat helpless. He hadn't expected her to walk so quickly, so he could only hurry after her.
Unfortunately, Su Ming was still a step too late. Lin Chuyu had already reached the exit gates.
She reached into her pocket, only to discover that it had been cut open. Her wallet and phone were gone.
Lin Chuyu stood silently in front of the gates, looking slightly at a loss.
The passengers passing by couldn't help taking another look at her.
At that moment, a security guard patrolling nearby saw what was happening and walked over, asking politely,
"Miss, is something wrong?"
"I'm sorry. My transit card was in my wallet, and both my wallet and phone are gone. I can't get out now."
Lin Chuyu apologized to the security guard.
"This..."
The security guard found himself in a difficult position. It wasn't that he thought Lin Chuyu was trying to evade the fare. After all, she was extremely beautiful and dressed very well.
Quite a few passengers stopped to watch. Among them were no shortage of young men, who looked at Lin Chuyu and excitedly discussed her.
"What a beautiful woman."
Just then, Su Ming jogged over, breathing slightly heavily.
"I can prove what she said."
"Student Su Ming?"
Lin Chuyu looked at him with a hint of surprise.
Su Ming gave Lin Chuyu a faint smile, then took out his phone and played the video he had recorded of the pickpocketing.
The video clearly showed Lin Chuyu being robbed, as well as the thief's appearance.
"This video can prove it."
Before you continue