Chapter 198: True Disguise, Pure Performance!

At that moment—

As the two locked eyes, time and space seemed to freeze. The noisy crowd of passengers around them felt faintly sealed away, unable to disturb or penetrate the tension between them.

Just as the atmosphere grew increasingly taut and frigid, on the verge of snapping—

Su Ming calmly averted his gaze. Looking up at the seat markers above, he clasped his backpack in front of him and walked slowly deeper into the train car, as if nothing had happened.

Without a doubt—

From that single eye contact, combined with the formal business suit and the specific seat he was in, Su Ming was already one hundred percent certain…

That middle-aged man he’d just briefly looked at was none other than the butcher responsible for dozens of deaths.

That kind of cold, ruthless gaze—one that treated human lives like livestock—wasn’t something an ordinary office worker doing routine tasks day after day could possess or develop.

And with that single glance—

Su Ming had grasped the overall situation. Just as he’d speculated earlier, the butcher chose the middle seat so he could more easily take a hostage in an emergency—creating a chance to escape.

Or… to drag more people down with him, adding to the blood on his hands.

But regardless of his reasons, Su Ming had already come to a crystal-clear conclusion: right now, there were absolutely no conditions for a capture. There was also no possibility of subduing the butcher in a short time.

Because in this particular car, the entire fifth row was already full. To the butcher’s left, near the window, sat a young woman resting with her eyes closed. Judging by her light blue uniform, she was likely an office worker from one of the skyscrapers in the Modu Capital—a coffee-loving white-collar worker.

To his right was a bespectacled young man in a plaid shirt, obviously a programmer from some tech company. He had pulled down the tray table in front of him to support a backpack carrying a laptop.

With a person and a tray table between them, there was no feasible angle of approach. He had no choice but to wait for a better opportunity.

…

At the same time as he evaluated the capture conditions—

Su Ming had already keenly sensed that the butcher was still watching him from the corner of his eye—clearly still harboring some suspicion and wariness.

Given the butcher’s exceptional counter-surveillance instincts, suddenly seeing someone rush to board the train at the last minute—regardless of the reason—would certainly raise red flags. Even if Su Ming didn’t look anything like law enforcement, the butcher’s cautious nature and ever-present sense of paranoia would inevitably heighten his alertness.

This would make any future attempt at capture far more difficult—and could even lead to unexpected complications.

Thinking this—

Su Ming walked straight ahead, eyes fixed ahead, and stopped beside seat 6D, already occupied by an office worker. He carefully checked the seat marker above, then glanced down at his phone.

Then, with the bashfulness unique to a fresh college graduate, he lightly tapped the shoulder of the man resting there and spoke in a slightly embarrassed voice:

“Excuse me, bro… I think you might be in the wrong seat?”

“This… this 6D seat should be mine, right?”

Hearing that—

The office worker, who had just closed his eyes to rest, opened them with obvious annoyance. He fished his phone from his pocket, pulled up a screenshot of his train ticket, and snapped:

“I really can’t stand people like you. Don’t even bother checking your own ticket and just start pestering others. Happens every other day.”

“Here—look closely.”

“6D? If that’s your seat, then what is this? A fake ticket?”

Clearly irritated from being woken during his morning commute, the man shoved his phone in Su Ming’s face without a shred of politeness.

That scene—

Made Su Ming, dressed up as a fresh-faced college graduate, appear thoroughly embarrassed. He even looked around nervously as if worried about being judged by the other passengers.

But he didn’t back down. Instead, like someone young and naive, he carefully examined the phone screen the office worker handed him.

Then—

After confirming the seat in the image, he showed genuine shock. Pulling out his own phone, he insisted earnestly:

“No way.”

“My seat is 6D—but yours is 6D too? Something’s definitely off. Here, look at mine. My ticket clearly says…”

As he extended his phone, about to show the screen to the office worker, he suddenly paused mid-motion, withdrew it, and squinted at it like he had just realized something.

A second later—

Su Ming’s face turned apologetic. Scratching his head, he flushed slightly as he hurriedly said:

“Sorry, bro. My bad…”

“My seat’s actually 9D, not 6D. I must’ve misread it. Sorry to disturb your rest—really, I’m so sorry.”

All the while, his tone, demeanor, and embarrassment perfectly embodied the image of a polite, freshly graduated student.

Seeing how courteous Su Ming was, the grumpy commuter simply waved him off without another word.

At the same time—

The butcher, who had been observing Su Ming out of the corner of his eye, finally withdrew his gaze, returning to a blank, unreadable expression.

His previously tense hands, clenched slightly on either side of his body, slowly relaxed.

Though his eyes were shut as if resting, he remained alert—especially toward the patrolling attendants and railway police. They stayed firmly in his peripheral vision.

…

Now seated at 9D—

Su Ming pulled down the tray table in front of him and placed his anime-accessorized backpack on top. He exhaled a long, heavy breath.

Then—

He cast another subtle glance at the butcher’s seat. Confirming that the other man was no longer watching him, Su Ming’s eyes grew colder, and the innocence and awkwardness on his face disappeared entirely.

Just moments ago, when he sensed the butcher’s deep suspicion and watchfulness—

Su Ming had immediately used the excuse of a mistaken seat to deliberately cause a stir, drawing attention to himself, and followed it with a string of actions and dialogue to reinforce his disguise as a recent graduate.

In conventional logic, police in disguise always try to minimize their presence—concealing their identity as plainclothes officers.

But Su Ming did the opposite. He wanted the butcher to notice him more.

Because in the butcher’s eyes… Su Ming was now nothing more than an innocent, slightly clumsy graduate. From the way he spoke, moved, and expressed himself, he was in no way a police officer.

And with that—

The butcher would fully let down his guard, treating Su Ming just like any other passenger in the car.

This was true disguise.

Blending so completely into the environment that even criminals instinctively overlooked him.

Even if he walked right up to them later—

They would never suspect a thing.

…

After sitting quietly for a few seconds—

The train had already started to move. Su Ming took out his phone once again from his pocket.

If the butcher had been watching him then—

He would’ve noticed something immediately.

On the current phone screen, there wasn’t a trace of any ticket information at all—everything just now had been pure acting…