Unfortunately, both times he went there, Liu Xiaofei was in closed training at the police academy, which is why he missed it both times.
Now that Liu Xiaofei has finally arrived in Tengchong, Gu Dongfeng says that Liu Xiaofei seems to have some romantic entanglement with a man named Zhou Ziwei, but Gu Dongfeng doesn't elaborate on the specifics.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Jie was filled with resentment. He had long considered Zhou Ziwei his rival in love. Seeing Zhou Ziwei preparing to defuse the bomb for Liu Xiaofei, he naturally felt resistant and blurted out such a stupid thing.
Zhou Ziwei snorted and said, "Fine... since you're so sure the bomb is fake, then you can help Officer Liu defuse it. I'm not really confident about it yet!"
"I...I..."
Zhang Jie didn't have the guts. He hurriedly and instinctively took two steps back and said, "I'm not a bomb disposal expert, I... how would I know how to disarm it!"
Zhou Ziwei sneered, "Didn't you say this bomb was fake? If it's fake, we can just tear it off and be done with it. Why would we need a bomb disposal expert? If you don't have the guts, then get lost. I need to concentrate on defusing the bomb for Officer Liu. If you flies keep chattering and disturbing me... then I'll just carry Officer Liu over to you and defuse it. If the bomb explodes then, we'll all be dead!"
"I...I didn't mean that..."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Jie's face turned red and then pale. Just as he was about to continue to argue, Gu Dongfeng slapped him hard across the face.
Others might not know about the complicated relationship between Zhou Ziwei and Liu Xiaofei, but how could Gu Dongfeng not know? It's clearly his cousin's daughter who fell in love with Zhou Ziwei, but Zhou Ziwei doesn't seem to have any feelings for Liu Xiaofei. If Zhou Ziwei really wanted to win Liu Xiaofei's heart, it seems like he could have just snapped his fingers and done it. Was it really necessary to go through all this trouble and create a time bomb to move Liu Xiaofei?
Therefore, Zhang Jie's entire statement was nonsense. Saying these things only disturbed Zhou Ziwei and put Liu Xiaofei in an even more dangerous situation.
"Get out... If you dare say another word and cause Xiaofei's death, I... I'll strangle you right now!"
Gu Dongfeng slapped Zhang Jie aside, then said to Captain Zhang and the others, "Everyone, put down your guns! I believe Mr. Zhou is indeed saving people. Please be quiet and don't disturb him..."
Captain Zhang was speechless upon hearing this. After all, they were police officers. Although the distance was still a bit far, the bomb didn't look fake, so they believed Zhou Ziwei's words.
Captain Zhang immediately waved his hand, signaling his men to put down their guns.
However, although they lowered the muzzle of their guns, they did not put them back into their holsters, but kept them in their hands in case of an accident.
After all, there were still several guns scattered around the entrance of the lumber warehouse, so they dared not be completely unprepared.
Seeing that the people had finally calmed down, Zhou Ziwei didn't dare to delay any longer. He first closed his eyes and took three deep breaths to calm his excited emotions a little, and then immediately stretched out his finger and placed it on the time bomb again...
"Tch... I told you he was just putting on an act... Who defuses a bomb like that?"
Seeing this, Zhang Jie couldn't help but mutter to himself again, but his voice was so low that only the two policemen next to him could probably hear him. Gu Dongfeng was old and his hearing had never been very good. At this moment, he was far away from Zhang Jie and could only vaguely hear something, but he couldn't be sure. So he just turned around and glared at Zhang Jie, but didn't say anything more.
Zhou Ziwei focused his mind and calmly sent his soul power out of his fingertips at a peculiar vibration frequency. However, after two attempts, the vibration frequency was slightly altered when it reached the insect's surface because of the thin metal skin between the insect and his finger. He was bounced off both times.
Fortunately, his soul power was only ejected, which made Zhou Ziwei feel very fortunate.
Because during the experiment on the mountaintop that night, Zhou Ziwei had caught some undesirable insects. As a result, out of ten failures, only six times was his soul power repelled, while the remaining four times... although his soul power entered the insect's body, it directly caused the insect's death...
Normally, Zhou Ziwei doesn't care much when doing experiments. Even if he kills a thousand or ten thousand insects, he won't blink. After all, he's not a monk. Killing a few insects is nothing to him, so he won't feel any psychological burden.
But this time is different... If the little bugs inside are killed... there is a 99% chance that the bomb will explode immediately!
Therefore, after two failed experiments, Zhou Ziwei couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
Although Zhou Ziwei had already died once, he was no longer as ignorant about what happened after death as ordinary people. Moreover, he estimated that even if he died again, as long as his soul did not dissipate, he would still have a chance to be resurrected. The only difference would be that he would be in a different body.
However, he still felt a deep fear whenever he thought about the boundless loneliness he would experience as a soul after death.
When the third attempt failed again, only one minute and forty-one seconds remained...
Time is running out!
After three consecutive failures and three near-death experiences, Zhou Ziwei's fingers trembled slightly when he raised them for the fourth time.
It was incredibly lucky that these three failures didn't kill the bugs inside the bomb.
He didn't know how long his good fortune would last, but he was very clear that if this "luck" continued until the timer reached zero, then the final misfortune would still come!
Zhou Ziwei sighed inwardly, thinking that he could only do his best and leave the rest to fate. If God really wanted to play tricks on him, there was nothing he could do about it!
So be it! The sooner you die, the sooner you'll be reincarnated! Sigh... I was too kind this time. I'll be more careful next time. I promise I'll never be a good person again in my next life... Yes... I promise I'll never be a good person again!
Volume 1, Rebirth of a Prodigy, Chapter 121: Life and Death in a Second
"sudden--"
When Zhou Ziwei's soul power penetrated the thin metal shell with a unique vibration frequency, it trembled slightly as it broke free from the adhesion of the metal particles. The frequency changed again, and it paused slightly when it crashed into the body of the small insect inside.
"Whoosh—"
Zhou Ziwei's vest was instantly soaked with cold sweat.
Even though it has already failed, if the soul power is not immediately deflected, then the consequences will be quite terrible...
Fortunately... things weren't so bad that they were beyond repair. After that wisp of soul power touched the little bug's body, it paused slightly. It was neither bounced back nor directly entered the little bug's body. Instead, it suddenly disappeared into thin air and then immediately reappeared in the space fifteen meters away from him.
Although there was a blank space of more than ten meters between them, that wisp of soul power miraculously maintained a continuous connection with Zhou Ziwei's soul, as if it were being remotely controlled.
Wow... I didn't even know it could be like this!
If I had known that soul power could be transmitted over long distances in this way, why would I have bothered to put on such a show? I could have just sat in the car and remotely controlled all the thugs' weapons. Wouldn't they have been completely at my mercy then?
When Zhou Ziwei felt a surge of excitement, he forgot to maintain the vibration frequency of the soul power emanating from his finger. As a result, he lost control and immediately lost contact with the soul power in the distance. The remaining part of his fingertip also quickly withered away and completely disappeared from his body.
Zhou Ziwei was stunned for a moment, then realized that he didn't seem to remember very clearly the vibration frequency of that wisp of soul power after it was blocked by the metal plate! This meant that... he had only gotten that effect by sheer luck, and if he were to do it again now, it probably wouldn't be so easy!
However, now was clearly not the time to study special applications of soul power. Zhou Ziwei was only slightly taken aback before immediately putting the matter out of his mind. He then looked at the timer and saw that there was one minute and eighteen seconds left.
One minute and eighteen seconds—how many more times could he try? And in those few attempts, would he be able to continue his good luck from before?
Zhou Ziwei sighed inwardly. He knew that if he continued to try like this, the chance of success was probably less than 10%. However, the possibility of him detonating the bomb drum before the timer reached zero was much higher.
After gritting his teeth, Zhou Ziwei decided to take the risk of removing the metal plate hidden on the left side of the timer and covering the small insect before proceeding to the next step.
Removing the metal pieces from this little bug would obviously be no less risky than smashing the bomb's controller with a hammer.
Based on Zhou Ziwei's experience, the genius bomb expert was obviously using the insect's unique vibration and dormancy characteristics to control the bomb. As long as the insect could always sense Liu Xiaofei's heartbeat, it would remain soundly asleep. Once this specific environment was interrupted, the insect would immediately wake up and instinctively emit a strange bioelectricity.
Although this bioelectricity is very weak, after being amplified by a special device, it will become the fuse to detonate the bomb...
Of course, if someone thinks that killing the little bug directly will solve the problem... then the result will definitely be a more miserable death. The designer of this bomb is not that stupid. It is estimated that if the little bug really dies, it will release all the bioelectric current in its body at the moment of death. In any case, it will definitely not let people solve this problem so easily.
Zhou Ziwei had originally considered directly controlling the detonators that made up the time bomb, which were filled with explosives, to prevent the explosion. However, he quickly realized that this was simply not feasible.
Because the detonators on this time bomb don't have ignition devices, even if he controls all the detonators, it won't make a difference.
This is like if Zhou Ziwei controlled a faucet, he could naturally make the faucet shut off or let water flow at will. But if he only controlled a water pipe... then what would be the point? No matter how obedient a water pipe is, can it shut off by itself and stop the water from flowing out?
In fact, although Liu Xiaofei's heartbeat is the main factor affecting the little bug's deep sleep, if the little bug senses a sudden change in the external environment, it is also very likely to be suddenly awakened.
This is like someone who is usually woken up by an alarm clock every morning, but in reality, even without an alarm clock, they will still wake up naturally after a certain amount of time.
If someone suddenly pushes him while he's sound asleep, he'll be 100% guaranteed to wake up.
For the little bug inside the bomb, the sound of Liu Xiaofei's heartbeat, once it's far away, is like an alarm clock that wakes it up. And now that Zhou Ziwei is going to remove the metal plate covering the little bug, it's like suddenly pulling off a blanket, and the possibility of the little bug being suddenly awakened is definitely not small.
If Zhou Ziwei hadn't failed four times in a row, and if there wasn't so little time left, he would never have tried such a dangerous method. But now... he really had no other choice!
With a "whoosh," Zhou Ziwei, as if by magic, pulled out a thin steel wire from somewhere on his body.
Ever since he discovered that he had inherited the skills of a master thief, Zhou Ziwei has always carried this thing with him.
He didn't expect to make a living by breaking and entering; he just wanted to keep this tool for emergencies.
The metal plate on the little insect is connected to the base by two delicate hooks and five welding points.
There wasn't a single tiny screw on the entire metal sheet. Basically, the only way to remove it was to break the five welded joints by force.
If this metal plate is forced open, the outcome is predictable...
After Zhou Ziwei pulled out the wire, he first straightened it with two fingers, then rubbed it back and forth in his mouth to evenly coat it with saliva, which served as a lubricant.
Then Zhou Ziwei took a deep breath, and at the same time he inhaled, he directly mobilized his soul power to flow into the nervous system of his hands, which instantly increased the sensitivity of his hands by about three times.
Because the following actions will not allow Zhou Ziwei to make the slightest mistake, increasing his sensitivity will help him with subtle operations and reduce the possibility of errors.
With a "whoosh," Zhou Ziwei, without any hesitation, made a slight movement and pierced the thin steel wire through the barely perceptible gap between the two welding points. Then, Zhou Ziwei gripped one end of the wire with each hand and quickly pulled it back and forth.
It turned out that he actually intended to use a thin steel wire as a saw blade to cut open the five weld points...
"Hey... do you even know how to defuse a bomb? You're just faking it like this, it's so fake... uh... in movies, when people defuse bombs, they always choose to cut the red wire or the blue wire. As long as they cut the right one, the bomb won't explode. If they cut the wrong one, it will explode with a 'boom', right?"
Zhang Jie stood at a distance and watched for a long time, but he was completely baffled. He saw Zhou Ziwei occasionally and carefully poking at the time bomb with his finger, and then quickly moving his finger away as if he had touched a red-hot iron. After doing this several times, he actually took out a wire and started pulling the large saw.
The more Zhang Jie watched, the more convinced he became that Zhou Ziwei was just making a fool of himself. So, ignoring Gu Dongfeng's warning, he couldn't help but shout loudly.
In fact, Gu Dongfeng was also wondering about this to himself, but being older, he was more cautious and wouldn't voice his suspicions. Instead, he glared at Zhang Jie, signaling him to shut up, then leaned closer to Captain Zhang and whispered, "Captain Zhang, what is he doing? This... he doesn't seem like he's defusing a bomb! Why doesn't he use scissors to defuse it?"
Captain Zhang gave a wry smile upon hearing this and said, "Well... I really don't know. But... I have heard that there are many special types of bombs that require very special methods to disarm. Generally... like the kind that Mr. Zhang just mentioned, where you can just use a pair of scissors to randomly select a red or blue wire and cut it, and there's a 50% chance of disarming it... those kinds of bombs basically don't exist anymore! Criminals aren't exactly stupid, are they? Those kinds of stupid bombs probably only existed ten years ago!"
"Oh... I see... I understand..."
Upon hearing this, Gu Dongfeng realized he had made the same mistake as Zhang Jie, believing that those melodramatic plots in movies and TV shows were real! Indeed… if criminals go to great lengths to create a bomb, and if a simple cut with scissors could guarantee a 50% chance of successfully defusing it… then the criminals' intelligence couldn't be that high!
In fact, Captain Zhang couldn't understand what Zhou Ziwei was doing at all. However, he knew that he absolutely could not make any rash moves until the timer's display reached zero.
"brush--"
It took Zhou Ziwei about sixteen seconds to finally cut the first weld point silently, with just one minute left in the time limit.
There are still four weld points on the metal sheet that need to be cut. If each weld point takes more than ten seconds to cut, then Zhou Ziwei may not be able to open the metal sheet until the timer reaches zero!
Despite the tight schedule, Zhou Ziwei did not immediately cut the second welding point. Instead, he calmly put the steel wire in his mouth again and slid it around, lubricating it with saliva and allowing the temperature generated by friction to drop rapidly.
Only after completing these steps did Zhou Ziwei gently thread the steel wire into the second welding point and begin rapidly pulling it back and forth...
Zhou Ziwei sawed off the second weld point in fourteen seconds, and the third in twelve seconds...
When Zhou Ziwei finally sawed off the last weld point and carefully lifted the metal sheet, the timer showed that there were still eighteen seconds left!
In eighteen seconds, Zhou Ziwei had to create two different independent soul entities within the time limit of the insect and the timer, and he also had to make these two newly created independent soul entities take the lead and be perfectly controlled... This was truly a considerable challenge!
Zhou Ziwei knew he only had one chance and absolutely could not afford to fail again.
So he decisively placed his index finger gently under the lifted metal plate and touched that fleshy area.
Although the metal plate covering the insect was lifted, less than a third of the insect was actually visible. Looking through this tiny hole, the insect's entire appearance was completely obscured. Therefore, it was absolutely impossible to simply lift the metal plate and pull the insect out.
Zhou Ziwei impatiently placed his finger on it, and then immediately began to circulate the soul power within his body. With a unique vibrational frequency, it vibrated slightly and continuously, like a drill, deeply piercing into the small insect's body...
No rejection! This time, the soul power entered the insect's body without being rejected by any soul power!
Zhou Ziwei was overjoyed. He then felt his soul power merge into the insect's body, immediately forming a strange vortex. Instantly, the soul power within him was like a flood bursting its banks, flowing through his body into his fingers and then rushing straight in, extending all the way into the tiny insect's body...
In less than ten seconds, Zhou Ziwei's soul power weakened drastically. He consumed the equivalent of about 150 remnant souls' soul power in the vortex before finally creating an independent soul body...
The rapid depletion of his energy made Zhou Ziwei feel as if his soul was about to be drained. He was slightly dazed for a second before regaining his senses. Within that second, the newly generated independent soul had successfully suppressed the weak soul that was still dormant inside the little bug.