Wade leaned back in his seat, pinched the bridge of his nose, and put on the appearance of someone who had not woken up properly that morning. He rested against the cabin wall with his eyes closed, avoiding any conversation with the passenger beside him.
At the moment, he had slightly casual short black hair and maintained an average build. The collar of his worn Oxford shirt hung open, revealing wheat-colored skin.
Neither his height nor his appearance stood out. Every trait that might have drawn attention had been cleverly concealed beneath an utterly ordinary exterior.
Economy class gradually filled with passengers. From a distance, Wade heard a particularly loud voice:
"I'm telling you, that death flight that came back from New York last week—yeah, the one struck by lightning and burned to ashes! I was on it!"
The people around him immediately challenged him without mercy. "Oh, give it a rest! Stop bragging! I've already heard three people today claim they were on that plane!"
"It's absolutely true!" the man said in an unusually booming voice. "I still have my ticket stub at home! Shame about the new game console I bought—it went up in flames with the plane!"
Hearing that he had a ticket stub, the other passengers found him somewhat more believable. Someone could not help leaning over to ask:
"What exactly happened on that plane? I heard the passengers only survived by the skin of their teeth?"
However, the man who had just been talking so animatedly immediately lost most of his momentum at the simple question. He stammered:
"Uh... well... actually, I fell asleep... By the time I woke up, the plane had already landed, and there were police cars and ambulances everywhere outside..."
"Boo—"
The cabin instantly erupted with jeers and laughter, and a