◎The Tanker Explosion◎
Zhong Yao sat in the library, biting the end of her pen, glaring at the spread-out advanced math textbook in front of her as if it had personally wronged her. Every character on the page had transformed into a little horned demon hovering above her head, dragging a scythe to reap the few hairs she still had every finals season.
She sighed. The less she understood, the less she wanted to look. She couldn’t help but pull out her phone and open that familiar app. Since the little sprite had been silenced after she threatened to smash the phone two days ago, it had gone quiet.
She opened the private chat interface with it and tapped the screen: “No prophecies these past couple of days?”
It replied instantly: “There are, but you should pass your math exam first before worrying about that.”
Zhong Yao raised an eyebrow, about to comment on how considerate this little sprite was, when it continued: “Considering how terrible you are at math, if you don’t review, you’ll fail.”
Slap.
Zhong Yao slammed the phone face down on the desk, her expression icy. So much for consideration, at its core, it was just a foul-mouthed brat.
Fortunately, wherever she struggled, Si Ning Qing was there to explain things, slightly relieving her stress.
When the advanced math exam ended, she gathered her stationery and left the exam room. Thinking about the past few days of grueling effort, lost hairs, and helplessness in front of the test, she gazed at the blue sky and muttered helplessly: “People really can do anything when pushed to the limit, except solve math problems.”
Her following exams were all subjects she was good at, so she didn’t need to spend much effort reviewing. Zhong Yao decided to give herself an early summer break and lounged lazily on her bed.
But a certain little sprite was not willing to follow her wishes. Seeing her sprawled on the bed like a limp noodle, it felt pained in the eyes and mischievously started chiming: ding-dong, ding-dong.
Zhong Yao picked up her phone and saw a video pushed by the Yu Yin app.
In the video, a gray-white sedan swerved erratically down a wide road, obviously the driver had been drinking heavily.
A nearby traffic officer waved, signaling him to stop. But instead, the car accelerated. Even when it approached a red light, it didn’t brake and rammed straight into a turning tanker truck.
Boom! The tanker exploded violently. Nearby vehicles were thrown by the blast of burning fuel. The white sedan at the epicenter instantly turned to ashes. Even the pursuing officer trying to stop the drunk driver was caught in the explosion, exposed skin charred into blackened coal, lying on the ground in uncertain peril.
The video was shot from a bird’s-eye view, showing the injuries of every victim. Zhong Yao scrambled upright, her eyes wide. Just counting roughly, dozens of people appeared in the frame.
If all of them perished…
The thought sent chills racing through her body.
When the video ended, the screen abruptly went black. A line of blood-red text slowly appeared:
“June 14th, 6:32 PM, due to a collision between a white sedan and a tanker truck on Jianzhuang Avenue, a terrifying explosion occurred, resulting in 5 deaths at the scene and 13 injuries.”
It was only 4:30 PM, obviously, this was another prophecy.
Unlike the previous predictions of the barbecue restaurant gas explosion and the falling billboard, this one would occur at evening rush hour, at the busiest intersection, where a collision between two vehicles would trigger a tanker explosion. The potential impact was not to be underestimated.
Zhong Yao hurriedly climbed out of bed. This incident was far too serious, no longer something she could handle by calling 119 or shoving someone out of the way. She had to seek outside help.
She changed her clothes and was about to leave the dorm when Si Ning Qing, just coming out of the bathroom, saw her rushing off and asked in confusion, “You’re going out? Didn’t we agree to watch a movie later?”
Only then did Zhong Yao remember their plans. Her small face scrunched up as guilt washed over her. She apologized, “Ah Qing, something suddenly came up. I can’t go to the movie with you anymore. I’ll bring you milk tea when I get back to make it up to you, okay?”
Si Ning Qing stopped in place and looked at her calmly. “Yao Yao, are you hiding something from me?”
They had grown up together, but since Si Ning Qing had always been more mature, she usually took on the role of the older sister, looking after Zhong Yao in everything. Zhong Yao relied on her deeply, and the two of them had always shared everything, yet now…
Zhong Yao felt even more guilty. The whole matter of her phone having come to life was just too absurd and had happened too suddenly, she still hadn’t figured out how to tell Si Ning Qing about it.
“Ah Qing, I’ll tell you everything when I get back.”
Si Ning Qing’s red lips moved slightly, as if she were about to say something, when a familiar soft chuckle suddenly sounded by her ear. Her expression changed, and she said, “In that case, go take care of your business first. We can watch the movie another day.”
Zhong Yao looked at her gratefully and turned to leave.
What she didn’t see was that after she left, a strange shadow suddenly appeared in the dormitory. It slid into a sunless corner, then slowly took on human form.
It was an extremely handsome man, with sword‑like brows and starry eyes, thin lips pressed lightly together, and a perfectly defined jawline. His cold, pale skin carried an unnatural bluish tint, and paired with the ancient-style robe of wide sleeves and crossed lapels he wore, he looked utterly out of place.
“Who would have thought you’d be such a hypocrite,” the man chuckled mockingly. “You hide so many things yourself, yet demand honesty from others.”
Si Ning Qing made no effort to hide her disgust. She frowned and sized him up. “Done talking? If you’re done, get out.”
He seemed completely unfazed by her attitude and replied lightly, “The more you want to drive me away, the more I’ll stay, just to disgust you.”
As he spoke, he even blinked, pressed a finger to his lips, and blew her a kiss.
He couldn’t have looked more flippant if he tried, so oily that Si Ning Qing’s face alternated between green and white. Furious yet unable to do anything about him, she ended up laughing instead. “If you’re going to follow me, then follow properly.”
She put on her sneakers and left the dorm, heading for the track. At midday, the sun was blazing, exaggeration aside, the track at that hour could practically fry an egg.
But Si Ning Qing deliberately chose this time to go running. She wanted to see whether that annoying guy would dare to follow.
The man stayed in the shadows, watching the sunlight that left him nowhere to hide. A trace of gloom flashed through his eyes, quickly concealed.
With no one else around, he brazenly wandered through the girls’ dorm, examining traces of Si Ning Qing’s life. With a flick of his finger, a gentle breeze lifted the closed pages of a book. On the first page, the three characters “Si Ning Qing” were written in bold, sweeping strokes.
With malicious amusement, he guided a pen to scribble crookedly beside them: “is a stupid pig.”
As soon as Zhong Yao exited the campus gate, she dialed 110. The cause of the tanker explosion was the white sedan’s drunk driving combined with running a red light. If that car could be stopped from getting on the road in the first place, the disaster might be avoided.
The call was quickly answered. She hurriedly stated her request: “I’d like to report the owner of this license plate for drunk driving.”
She recited the license plate number from memory, then paused before continuing: “Please handle this as soon as possible.”
The officer on the other end asked for some personal information, as usual, and then inquired, “Do you have any relationship with the car owner?”
Zhong Yao hesitated for a moment, then told the truth: “I have no relation to him.”
There was a brief pause on the line. The officer had expected the report to come from an acquaintance, but learning that wasn’t the case, he couldn’t help but wonder if this might be a false report for fun.
To be safe, he added, “Where are you now? We’ll send a car over. Please come to the police station.”
Zhong Yao gave her address. Not long after, a police car pulled up in front of her.
Inside, besides the driver, another slightly older officer sat in the passenger seat. When Zhong Yao got in, he greeted her kindly: “Miss, we’ve received your report. We just have one question, since you don’t know the car owner, how did you know he was driving under the influence?”
Facing the officer, Zhong Yao instinctively straightened her back and placed her hands obediently on her lap. She found the question tricky, she couldn’t exactly say that a conscious app on her phone had predicted it.
The middle-aged officer appeared kind, but his eyes were sharp and professional. It was clear he wouldn’t be easily fooled. Zhong Yao knew any lie would be quickly uncovered, so she stayed silent.
Fortunately, they arrived at the police station quickly, leaving no chance for further questioning.
After leading her inside and having her fill out a form, the officer asked again, “Is it inconvenient to say how you knew?”
Zhong Yao nodded. “It’s just… I really didn’t lie. Officer, please stop him. Don’t let him drive drunk, or there will be serious consequences.”
The officer studied her skeptically, then instructed officers to track the car’s current location across the city and contacted the nearest traffic police unit to keep a close watch.
Zhong Yao anxiously waited for news, watching the wall clock as each minute ticked by, her nerves growing.
About half an hour later, the middle-aged officer approached with a brisk step, a slight smile in his eyes. “The traffic police caught him on Jianzhuang Avenue. Good heavens, his blood alcohol level meets the drunk-driving standard. Fortunately, he was stopped as soon as he got on the road, otherwise, it could have been disastrous.”
“This time, it’s thanks to you, young lady, for reporting it promptly,” he said with a warm smile, praising her.
Zhong Yao finally exhaled in relief and smiled, “I was just doing what I should.”
She signed the report form and walked out of the police station with a spring in her step.
Nearby, a bus heading straight to her school arrived. Zhong Yao got on, rested her head against the window, and closed her eyes contentedly.
Although she might have been suspected of making a false report earlier, the outcome was good: the traffic police had successfully stopped the car. Without the chance to get on the road, it wouldn’t hit the tanker, and that tragic accident wouldn’t happen.
Satisfied with this deduction, she dozed off a little as the bus moved steadily forward. She hadn’t slept at noon and felt drowsy.
Just as she was drifting off, a sudden explosion in the distance jolted her fully awake.
Turning her head, she saw thick black smoke rising in the sky on one side of the city, apparently in the direction of Jianzhuang Avenue!
Hearing the explosion and seeing the smoke, a bad premonition immediately rose in her chest.