Real and Fake Bombs

Qin'an Elementary School.

The clear sound of children reading aloud drifted through the open windows. Their faces were full of youthful energy, innocent and unknowing. Some read diligently, some took the chance to chat quietly, and others slept behind upright books. It was peaceful and quiet, just like every other day before it.

Until a piercing announcement rang out.

"All students, report to the playground immediately. I repeat, all students, report to the playground immediately!!"

Bewildered looks appeared as the classroom door was flung open. The homeroom teacher stumbled in, her arms and legs somewhat weak, her voice fierce with urgency. "Hurry! Everyone out, now!"

There was no time to worry about causing a panic. The school building erupted into commotion, but everyone instinctively followed their homeroom teachers' orders and headed for the playground. Even so, evacuating so many people took time.

Let alone children in their teens.

Luo Ningsang strode inside with his people. Qin'an Elementary School was only two streets away from the commercial district, and they had driven so fast the car had practically taken flight. The criminal investigation team had arrived ahead of them and was at the place where the bomb had been discovered: the school's main auditorium.

To save money, the teaching building and auditorium had originally been built as one. The auditorium occupied the first floor and was used for various activities, with excellent soundproofing, while classrooms began on the second floor.

Feng Zijin stood at the entrance.

The bomb disposal expert had already put on his protective suit and gone inside. When she saw Luo Ningsang hurrying over, she had no interest in her usual small talk.

"Three minutes left."

She held up her watch.

The area around them was noisy, and the evacuating students were still racing against time to get out.

"There isn't enough time."

Luo Ningsang had already started putting on a protective suit. In the blink of an eye, he was wrapped up like a ball.

He stepped inside.

Lin Xinluo and the others joined in directing traffic.

Inside the auditorium, rows of empty seats faced a large stage covered by a red curtain. A black grand piano stood in the very center of the stage, and another figure wrapped tightly in protective gear was working around it, using a tool to pry open its lid.

Only when Luo Ningsang drew closer did he see that the piano was packed full of cylinders wrapped in oilpaper. A ticking countdown sat directly above them, tightly connected to the cylinders below.

He carefully pried open the cover on top.

Three intertwined wires—red, yellow, and blue—appeared before the three of them.

Luo Ningsang looked at Feng Zijin, who had come in without even wearing a protective suit, and the corner of his mouth twitched. "Do you want to be blown to pieces?"

Feng Zijin said, "I run the hundred meters in eighteen seconds, so I'll have to leave in one minute and fourteen seconds."

Luo Ningsang said, "..."

The bomb disposal expert was carefully figuring out which wire to cut to stop the bomb from exploding. With time running short, frantic footsteps outside, and concern for his own safety, the pressure was immense.

Luo Ningsang, however, studied the cylinders wrapped in oilpaper, then reached out and pried a small gap in one.

The bomb disposal expert went pale with fright. Forgetting that Luo Ningsang was his captain, he shouted angrily, "What are you doing?! ...What is this?"

But when he saw what was inside, his expression turned puzzled.

Feng Zijin stepped forward and rubbed a little between her fingers.

"...Coconut charcoal."

Luo Ningsang reached out and tore the whole thing open. Coconut charcoal powder scattered across the floor, with a number tag marked "one" mixed in.

As they stood in silence, the countdown reached zero.

Gears began to turn.

A little figure suddenly sprang up from one of the piano's white keys, displaying a meme of someone clutching their stomach and laughing. A familiar, punchable voice rang out.

"Dun-dun-dun—game rule number two: real and fake bombs."

"Now, please guess which bomb is real and which one is fake."

Luo Ningsang looked up at the camera with a glowing red dot on the right side of the auditorium, staring fixedly at it.

It was as if he were meeting the eyes of the person behind it.

Feng Zijin slapped the little figure away. "You're this much of a bastard? How badly is your life going that you came here to take revenge on society?"

A little figure popped up on the key, displaying a meme with an arrogant, condescending expression. A taunt followed. "Oh, did I get under your skin?"

Feng Zijin smashed it with one expressionless punch.

Luo Ningsang tried to stop her. "Don't pay him any attention."

The little figure was sad. "Brother Luo, that's not how you acted when you asked me for help before."

"Xiaoyuan, you know where I draw the line."

The little figure waved its arms and bared its teeth. "I don't!"

Luo Ningsang said nothing more and went outside to organize the school. The principal hurried over from a distance, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, and passed it off as a safety drill. The students, for their part, seemed rather excited. A change in an unvarying life was always thrilling.

Using the map and the locations, Luo Ningsang worked out the order of the bombs. The second was in an abandoned old building and was real; the third was in a small company, but no one was there because of a holiday, and it was real too; the fourth was in a shopping mall and was fake; the fifth was in a sports venue, but when they opened the explosive, it was real, and its number tag plainly read "thirteen."

Luo Ningsang eyed the marked map. The place that should have been "five" had been replaced by "thirteen"... No, it hadn't been replaced. "Five" hadn't been found!

He ordered a search of the especially busy places near the sports venue. Since the one at the venue was real, there had to be a fake nearby, and it had to be somewhere crowded enough to make it threatening.

But there was nothing.

After several rounds of searching, they hadn't found a trace.

"..."

Feng Zijin pointed to the landmark building in the center. "There's one more place we haven't checked."

The Jinglan Imperial Residence.

The venue for the Lu Family's acknowledgment banquet today.

All the prominent figures in Ancheng were gathered there.

Shen Yu was there too.

But was the bomb... really fake?

"Search it."

There were thirty minutes left before the acknowledgment banquet began.

That was also when the fifth bomb was due to explode.

Back when Shen Yu came out of Lu Xianchang's room, he used the system's permissions to slip from the top floor down to a lower one.

He had finished seeing Lu Xianchang too.

It was time to get on with his own business.

Bai Xiaofan.

He hadn't forgotten that scumbag pervert. It would be troublesome to kill him outright, but it wasn't impossible. That wouldn't be very interesting, though. What Shen Yu wanted was to destroy him completely, body and soul. Only that would be fitting for what he had done to him.

So he couldn't go to Luo Ningsang about this.

Instead, he planned to get some people of his own and make friends. A banquet like this was the perfect place.

He wasn't going to accept just anyone, though. People like He Lin, who looked like he had bad intentions, were out of the question.

Shen Yu arrived on the third floor, where the most people had gathered. Everyone wore a silver mask covering half their face, and men and women mingled and amused themselves. They glanced at the unfamiliar face, then looked away and returned their attention to the round table before them.

As soon as Shen Yu arrived, a server handed him a suitable mask. He put it on and walked forward.

The table was large, piled with colorful chips of every denomination, all heaped together like a small mountain. A man and a woman stood on opposite sides of the round table, facing off.

"All in. Do you dare call?"

The woman's voice was crisp and lively, with a wild, unrestrained edge.

"You think I'm afraid of you?"

The man refused to back down.

The chips clattered as they knocked together.

Shen Yu stepped closer and looked at the dice cups in front of them. His face twitched twice beyond his control, a thousand words stuck in his throat.

"..."

What are they playing? Don't tell me they're rolling dice to see who gets the higher number?