Jiang Wantang lay limp on the ground, her entire body covered in blood, her consciousness long since scattered completely.
Memories of the past flashed before her eyes like a revolving lantern, her mother's reminders from earlier that day still echoing in her ears.
Her body grew lighter and lighter.
Suddenly, a solemn, indistinct voice drew closer from afar.
Something wrapped tightly around her body.
The next moment.
Jiang Wantang's eyes flew open.
She looked straight into gray eyes holding flecks of light.
There was no intense emotion in them, only calm and gentleness, mixed with an indescribable sense of safety, as though they were gazing at a newborn child.
"Don't be afraid. It's all right now," he said.
Her heart pounded wildly in her chest.
Jiang Wantang stared blankly for several seconds and took a few deep breaths before bursting into loud sobs, as though waking from a dream.
The fear and anger of being attacked by a madman, the despair of hovering on the brink of death, the relief of escaping with her life.
Too many, far too many emotions she could neither explain nor put into words poured out from deep inside, turning into uncontrollable sobs.
Footsteps drew closer, and a group of police officers arrived.
People emerged one after another from nearby or downstairs.
The scene before them sent chills through them all.
The unconscious man slowly came to. At the sight of the police coming up, he got up and tried to run.
Several officers were about to restrain him when the middle-aged man stumbled and fell beside the stairs. Black mist wound into his eyes, and before he could even cry out.
He seemed to lose his footing and tumbled straight down the stairs.
Wen Yanyu glanced sideways, not yet having registered what had happened.
A tremendous impact rang out, the sound of a watermelon splitting mingling with the crack of breaking bones.
Screams rose from downstairs.
Blood splattered across the floor.
"Wen Yanyu!" Lu Mingxu snapped out of his shock and hurried over to them. "Are you all right?"
The group took the injured downstairs.
Wen Yanyu followed everyone down the stairs. His gaze swept over the corpse on the floor, paused briefly, then moved away indifferently.
Song Nianyao and Jiang Wantang held each other's hands as the medical staff lifted them onto stretchers.
The stabbing at Lixin Mall shot onto the trending searches.
#Man attacks people with knife at Lixin Mall#
#Lixin#
Post 1:
I just got back from Lixin. Oh my god, I was scared to death.
Post 13:
I just watched the footage from the scene. That guy was a fucking lunatic. How did he get such a huge knife inside? How could security at a mall that big not check properly?
Post 46:
Waaah, I went to see a movie with my older sister and got scared to death. We almost reached the floor that lunatic was on. Thank god my sister noticed something was wrong up there and dragged me away.
Post 58:
I was watching a variety show livestream just now when someone suddenly said a guy was slashing people in the mall. I thought it was scripted.
Post 89:
Was he taking revenge on society? That's terrifying.
Post 102:
That guy only went after women. Nothing but a bully who picked on the weak and feared the strong.
Post 126:
I saw a video someone took from upstairs. Two girls were trapped there getting slashed by him. There was so much blood on the floor. It didn't look good for them.
Post 136:
Did they catch that guy? That footage made me so fucking angry.
Post 142:
No, but he fell to his death. The police arrived in a little over ten minutes. Apparently he got scared, missed a step, and fell to his death.
Post 146:
His head hit the steps on the first floor when he fell and split right open. There was no saving him. Serves him right.
Post 147:
Aaaaaah, is Lu okay? Help, what happened to my show? Wen Yanyu rushed back when he saw something had happened, and Lu was worried and followed him inside. They shut off the livestream over there, so we don't know anything about what happened afterward.
Post 162:
What good would going inside do when it was such a mess in there?
Post 172:
Waaah, I watched the video and I'm so worried about those two girls. Are they okay now?
All kinds of voices continued online until another video was pushed to the top of the thread.
[My friend and I were hiding upstairs. On the floor below, two injured girls were pinned down by that guy and couldn't move. This incredibly badass girl ran up and kicked him down. We were scared to death. By the time we came to our senses, that girl had him pinned to the floor and was beating him up.]
The shaky footage began with several voices talking in panic.
"Holy shit!"
Several startled cries rang out.
Then a blurry figure whose face was hard to make out rushed forward, and the knife-wielding man was swiftly subdued on the floor. His furious curses and every filthy word were all captured in the video.
Then the figure grabbed the man's head and turned him over, raining down punches and slaps one after another. Much of the video was pixelated, leaving only the blood covering the floor visible.
The video ended on the moment the man screamed.
"Justice from above."
"Waaah, that girl is so kind and brave. I would've run ages ago. When that guy swung such a huge knife at her, I nearly died of fright."
"She's got some serious moves. Watching that got my blood pumping."
"Wait... that person isn't a girl. Those clothes-that's Wen Yanyu!"
"? Holy shit, I think you're right."
The video spread like wildfire online. Many viewers who had been watching the livestream compared screenshots from the stream with screenshots from the video, confirming who the person in it was.
The police announcement that followed sent the video straight onto the trending searches.
[On August 16, 2024, a vicious knife attack occurred at Lixin Mall in Gaochuan City. Following an in-depth police investigation, the relevant details are reported as follows:
At approximately 12:30 a.m. that day, a male assailant suspected of being mentally unstable suddenly attacked innocent members of the public with a knife inside the mall, injuring seven people.
Upon receiving the report, police mobilized swiftly and rushed to the scene, arriving at 12:45 p.m. Before officers arrived, Mr. Wen Yanyu, a public-spirited citizen who was participating in a television recording, courageously stepped forward and stopped the assailant's violent actions, preventing him from inflicting further harm.
After being subdued, the assailant lost mental control, missed his footing on the stairs, and died at the scene. Following the hospital's intensive efforts to treat them, the other seven injured individuals are all out of danger.
The police hereby express high praise and sincere gratitude for Mr. Wen Yanyu's courageous actions. We will also continue strengthening public security measures to safeguard citizens' lives and property.
We remind all members of the public that, in the event of a sudden emergency, they should promptly contact the police and take appropriate measures while ensuring their own safety.]
As soon as the statement was released.
Several trending topics exploded at once.
#Wen Yanyu's courageous intervention#
#Bunny wife with off-the-charts combat skills#
#Courageous intervention at Lixin Mall#
"Damn, I've followed him for ages, and I've figured it out. When something happens, this guy Wen Yanyu really does step up."
"That video had my heart in my throat. When that long knife swung at him, I felt like my heart was going to stop, but he just dodged it effortlessly."
"Same, same. And that guy had a hidden dagger too. Scared the hell out of me. My wife-pfft, husband-is such a badass."
"Waaah, I was there, and I only just found out who this guy was. After knocking out the man with the knife, he immediately ran over to comfort the two injured girls. Watching from upstairs, I was nearly scared to death."
"Also! I don't know if you noticed, but Wen Yanyu made this stabbing motion in the video. It looked like he drove the knife into the floor..."
"? Surely not..."
"I was passing through the scene and just went to take a look. It really is stuck in the floor. Half the blade went in, and they still haven't pulled it out."
"No joke, watching him grab that guy by the hair and slap him was so satisfying. What an utter animal. The police said he had a record and a mental illness. Good thing he fell to his death, or he wouldn't have gotten many years."
"Now I'm just curious about one thing. Who trained Wen Yanyu? Those moves blew me away."
"M-my sweet, adorable bunny wife turned into a special forces soldier?"
Headlines about "Wen Yanyu's courageous intervention" and the "Lixin knife attack" were pushed to the top of the rankings online.
The production crew hurried to the police station to pick them up and let out a sudden sigh of relief at the sight of the two of them safe and sound.
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