The four people looked towards the terrace at the end of the fifth-floor corridor; the sound was coming from there.
Du Jun led the way, pushed open the door to the terrace, and there was a tropical-style swimming pool on the deck.
Each deck has a different style of pool, the fifth deck is the most ordinary. There are a few lonely coconut trees on the beach, with parasols and lounge chairs with dry towels under the trees.
Several slender figures sat on the beach and on the lounge chairs, craning their necks to look towards the pool.
Cheng Shuang looked over and saw that the center of the pool was completely red.
Three humans floated with their backs to the blood, their fate unknown.
A lifeguard stood on a high observation platform, blowing his whistle and gesturing wildly as he shouted, "Come on up! You three guests, come on up! A shark is coming! Get ashore quickly!"
The pool on this floor wasn't large, so if there were any sharks, they would be clearly visible. But no matter how hard Cheng Shuang searched, she couldn't find another species in the water.
The lifeguards on the black line shouted with great seriousness, while the black line thrashed wildly, whistling sharply and piercingly. As the ripples in the water became denser, the red pool water gradually thickened.
Unaware of what was happening, the three people were being tossed and torn by an invisible force, their bodies gradually disappearing into the crimson pool. Judging from the constant ripples in the water, it seemed as if sharks were indeed searching for prey.
The line figures sitting on the shore all exclaimed in unison, "My God! Why don't they come ashore?"
"They swam too far, so they probably didn't hear the lifeguard's warning!"
"How terrifying! There was more than one shark!"
Clearly, the world as seen by the Line People is different from that seen by the Protectors.
Perhaps they really saw sharks in the pool, or perhaps they were just tools used to lure the maintainers.
In just a few minutes, not even the last limbs of the three people in the pool remained.
Lie Fu observed the little girl's every move again, worried that she might have the naive idea of saving people.
Unexpectedly, the child remained calm, only his large eyes darting left and right, seemingly searching for something.
Lie Fu was completely relieved. Even if the temporary team members were useless, they were still better than those who were naive and overly compassionate.
Here, simply surviving is a blessing; anything else is a luxury.
Cheng Shuang was unaware of Lie Fu's scrutinizing gaze. She found it strange because apart from a lifeguard, there were no other service personnel, which was not the configuration of a normal swimming pool.
Finally, her gaze settled on the entrance.
The little girl tugged at Du Jun's clothes and asked, "Is that a bath towel?"
Du Jun turned around and, following the direction she pointed, saw a white cloth covering something next to the water filter pool at the entrance of the terrace.
He walked over, picked up the wet towel, and lifted up the sign that was underneath it. The sign had words on the front that said "Pool Instructions".
—Tropical-themed swimming pool opening hours: 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM, 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM, and 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM.
—Wild sharks occasionally pass by the tropical-themed swimming pool. Guests should not panic. Please strictly follow the lifeguard's instructions and get out of the water on time. Otherwise, you will be responsible for the consequences.
—The pool is circulated and filtered every two hours, taking ten minutes. Do not enter the water during this time, or you will be responsible for the consequences.
"That's my bath towel, kid. What are you doing with my bath towel?" Suddenly, a slender guest got up from the recliner, his eyes narrowed as he looked at Du Jun with the eyes of a thief, and walked towards them menacingly.
"Brother, why don't you carry your bath towel close to your body?" Hei Zishan asked in an unfriendly tone.
The line figure paused, then shouted menacingly, "None of your business!"
Cheng Shuang hid behind Du Jun and poked her head out. "Uncle, why did you knock the sign over? It made those three guests not see the pool sign and they didn't even know they encountered a shark! Uncle, what you did was wrong!"
"What does this have to do with me!" Perhaps feeling guilty, the line-like figure's shouting subsided. It looked down and saw it was a child, and immediately became arrogant again. "They insisted on going into the water during the circulation filter and ignored the lifeguard's warnings. You kids, stop causing trouble. Go, go, go, give me a towel!"
“Uncle, look up there!” The little girl pointed to the surveillance camera hanging on the balcony porch. “It’s a security camera! You’ve blocked the public information sign, which is why those three people carelessly went into the water at the wrong time. Uncle, the cruise ship has security personnel, right? Ask them to check the surveillance footage and they’ll know who’s responsible.”
"Uncle, is this considered murder?"
The line-like customer's eyes began to dart around rapidly, beads of sweat materializing and falling as it stammered, "What nonsense are you talking about? The sign was upside down when I arrived, it has nothing to do with me!"
"So you mean it's the pool attendant's responsibility?" Lie Fu asked rhetorically, glancing at the pool water. There was no one in the pool now, only the thick, dark red water.
"Yes, that's right, it's their problem." It straightened up and started to leave the pool. "You guys go find the waiter, I have other things to do!"
The boys immediately surrounded the line figure to prevent it from escaping.
Just then, two waiters ran over carrying an empty bamboo bucket with the words "Recycle Wet Bath Towels" written on it.
Cheng Shuang's doubts were answered: the pool attendant had gone to replace the old tubs with new ones, which caused the brief gap in the pool area.
They seemed to have rushed over, stopping beside the guests who were arguing, panting as they reminded them, "Distinguished guests, please do not quarrel or fight in public areas. Any problems can be resolved through negotiation!"
Kuroko Fan cooperated fully and quickly explained the situation. Faced with a pool of blood-red water, the two waiters looked at each other, speechless for a moment.
Does that mean they should admit that they deliberately didn't put up the sign in order to cheat people?
"If it's the fault of your staff, you're being far too careless and irresponsible in endangering our lives!" Du Jun said coldly.
The waiter forced a standard smile and said, "Sir, you're overthinking it. We're very responsible and such a mistake wouldn't happen."
"If it's not your responsibility, whose is it? Is it our responsibility as guests?" Lie Fu sneered.
"You should pay more attention. We are all adults and should understand that there are things we can and cannot do!" The waiter's tone was calm and his smile remained unchanged, yet it sent a chill down one's spine.
"Uncle, did you hear that?" Cheng Shuang smiled sweetly at the customer and repeated every word, "The waiter uncle said that some things are permissible and some things are not!"
The customer, already feeling guilty, raised its fist in dissatisfaction, and then, thinking the waiter was shirking responsibility, it flew into a rage, yelling at the waiter, "You didn't even keep an eye on the signs, and now you've made me take the blame! Is this what you call being responsible? That's bullshit! Why should we be the ones to observe more? What's permissible? What's not? It's ridiculous! We're here to enjoy ourselves, not to listen to your lectures!"
"How dare you come up with such an outrageous excuse? I'm filing a complaint! I want to file a complaint!"
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