Chapter 466: Scared
The young man’s complexion drastically changed. He quickly pressed the switch on his wireless earphone and quickly reported, “Chief Liu, I just found something under seat #0466 in zone A1. Though I’m unable to determine what it is, the box the size of a cigarette pack was taped on the bottom of the chair by someone!”
“Wait for me!”
Liu Changxi had yet to arrive at the other spot Tang Xiu reported him when he suddenly heard the young man’s voice in his earphone. His complexion immediately changed and he half-ran toward the A1 zone. When he arrived at the young man’s side, he immediately knelt down and asked, “Have you checked it?”
The young man had already picked up the small black box from the bottom of the chair. Upon hearing Liu Changxi’s inquiry, a glint of disbelief flashed in his eyes as he muttered to himself, “There’s a small clicking sound and the smell of gunpowder. If my inference is right, this should be a bomb, and it’s very likely to be a time bomb!”
His expression drastically changing, Liu Changxi suddenly recalled Tang Xiu reporting more than ten locations. He quickly called out through his wireless earphone: “Bomb Disposal Squad, get to the A1 zone, seat #0466 at once. A suspicious explosive has been found here!”
Having said that, he carefully took the black small box from the young man’s hand. Smelling it, he nodded and said, “Your judgment shouldn’t be wrong. This is indeed a time bomb. Quickly go to the others spots Tang Xiu reported! If this is really a time bomb, and if all the other spots Tang Xiu reported are the same, then I’m afraid something major will surely happen!”
The young man’s expression turned solemn. He recalled all his words and questionings toward Tang Xiu; they were full of disdain and contempt. His heart beat like a drum.
In the case that this small box was really a time bomb, he would lose his face and the honor of his ancestors this time!
Quickly, more than a dozen of the Bomb Disposal Squad members arrived. After they conducted an inspection, they finally inferred that it was indeed a small time bomb. After these experts of the Bomb Disposal Squad disassembled the time bomb they found that this bomb was very powerful despite its small size. There were several types of explosive materials added to it, and they were extremely powerful.
“Chief Liu, if this small time bomb were to explode, everyone within a radius of 50 meters would have a very small chance to survive the blast. Whereas all people within a radius of 50 to 100 meters could be injured, be it minor or heavy injuries,” said an expert of the Bomb Disposal Squad seriously with a very ugly expression on his face.
A faint, ghastly expression was faintly visible on Liu Changxi’s face. At this point, he finally realized that these extremists had already made their move.
“Report, a suspicious object found under seat #1135 in zone A1…"
“Report, a suspicious object found under seat #3673 in zone A2…”
“Report, a suspicious object found under seat #1247 in zone B1 …”
“Report, a suspicious object found under seat #6940 in zone B2 …”
"..."
Various reports came through his earphone. Liu Changxi shivered and shouted, “Get all the objects you have found and immediately send them to the stage! Bomb Disposal Squad members, you are to immediately take them away from the concert venue! That’s right, there’s also one under the stage, so get there and find it!”
“Affirmative!”
Various police officers, members of Ministry of State Security, and members of the Bomb Disposal Squad were busily bustling about in the venue hall. They quickly found the time bombs and gathered them together into a box made of special materials.
After taking a deep breath, Liu Changxi dialed Tang Xiu’s mobile number.
“Tang Xiu, I must see you, now!”
“Gimme three minutes. I’ll see you at the stage!”
Tang Xiu replied and then hung up.
At this time, he was standing in front of a trash can while releasing his spiritual sense. He found several glass bottles with blood and half a box of pushpins inside. He still remembered finding some pins in the stadium. Although these pins were very covertly placed, the pins could pierce them easily if the audience were to sit on the seats heedlessly.
He didn’t care too much about them at first, since they wouldn’t hurt too much if they were to pierce a person. They would feel like an ant bit them at most, and the pain was minute.
Nevertheless, finding the blood in the glass bottle dumped along with half a box of pushpins, it made him think that something was off.
After returning to the stage, Tang Xiu gazed at the grim Liu Changxi and spoke, “Secretary Liu, have all those objects I mentioned to you been taken out?”
“Yeah, all of them have been taken out, but there were a few that weren’t sent here, though,” Liu Changxi silently nodded. “Tang Xiu, the experts from the Bomb Disposal Squad have identified them as time bombs. This time it’s really thanks to you. Had you not called me to report this, I’m afraid it would be very difficult for us to them in such a dense and crowded stadium. Furthermore, if we hadn’t found them and they exploded when Zhang Xinya’s concert is ongoing, it surely would become a hell on earth.”
“It’s great you’ve found them in advance. Also, I found several spots in the backstage with time bombs. The exact location is…” said Tang Xiu.
Liu Changxi immediately issued an order and sent people to check on them.
Immediately after, his gaze shifted to Tang Xiu. There was an inconceivable look there as he asked, “Tang Xiu, can you tell how you found these time bombs?”
When Tang Xiu informed him about the time bombs’ positions on the phone, he had already thought of an excuse, so he calmly answered, “To be honest, I have a very special ability. My hearing is ten times sharper than everyone else’s. Furthermore, my sense of distance and focus are also beyond what ordinary people can visualize. Hence, I can pinpoint the location of these objects from the pointers’ rotation in those small boxes.”
“That’s amazing!” Exclaimed Liu Changxi in shock.
“But, Secretary Liu, I hope you help me keep this secret,” said Tang Xiu with a faint smile.
Liu Changxi nodded repeatedly as a fiery look could be seen in his eyes. He looked at Tang Xiu and said, “Tang Xiu, would you be willing to join our Security Bureau? I guarantee you’ll have the best treatment if you’re willing to join our department. Additionally, I can also guarantee that you will definitely rise to the top in the future.”
“I’m really sorry, I’m not interested,” said Tang Xiu while shaking his head.
“Don’t hurry to refuse, Tang Xiu,” Liu Changxi quickly said. “Please consider first. Furthermore, I’ll also personally make a visit to Senior Tang. I hope he…”
Tang Xiu directly interrupted, “If you were to go to my grandfather because of this matter, I assure you that I will never join your security department. That’s 100% sure! Besides, I’m still a college student and I also have some small businesses to manage, so I definitely won’t have the time to deal with other things. If I were to join your department in the future, it must wait until I graduate from the university at least.”
“I’ll hold you to your words, then,” said Liu Changxi after a moment’s silence.
Unwilling to keep speaking about this topic, Tang Xiu slightly pondered and asked, “If anything, I just found a strange thing, Secretary Liu. But I don’t understand it. I wonder if you can help me cast away my doubt.”
“What problem is it?” Asked Liu Changxi, confused.
“When I was strolling around, I accidentally noticed that there was a slit in some of the seats. There seemed to be pushpins in them as well, and the pins’ needlepoints were pointing up. Though they couldn’t hurt anyone; however, when I was in a remote corner at the back corridor, I found a half-box of pushpins in a trash can along with several glass bottles with blood stains inside.”
Liu Changxi looked blank before his complexion turned ghastly. Amazement burst in his eyes as he exclaimed, “Tang Xiu, y-y-you… where exactly did you see them? Take me there quickly! Fucking damn! Those fucking lunatics are really using whatever despicable means available to create more damned trouble!”
“I can take you there, Secretary Liu. But you haven’t answered me yet. What is the situation, exactly?” Asked Tang Xiu curiously.
“A few years ago there was an explosion in a park. There were also many pins placed on the seats in that park on the same day. Those pins’ needlepoints were placed in a certain way so that only a small part of it was revealed. If someone were to sit on those chairs without moving around heedlessly, the chance of being pierced was very minute, but as long as they did so, it was very likely that they’d get tipped by its needlepoint.
“Two-hundred twenty-seven! This is a number I will never forget. After the investigation, the statistic showed that 227 visitors were pierced by the pins, and one of them was a famous medical professor in China. He was accompanying his grandson playing in the park that day.
“After he got pierced, he pulled out the pushpin from the crack on the bench and found it smeared with blood. At the time he didn’t take it seriously, but it wasn’t long before he fell into a serious illness -- AIDS!
“He was later diagnosed with AIDS, thus he associated it with the occasion when he got pierced by a pushpin in the park. Shortly after, he conducted an investigation and found that there were a lot of AIDS cases detected in the area where he lived. After careful inquiries, the 227 victims turned out to have visited that park on that very same day. Most of them went there to see the explosion scene.”
Tang Xiu was tongue-tied and dumbfounded after listening to Liu Changxi’s narration. Horror struck his heart. One must know that, through his spiritual sense, he had found at least a few thousands of pushpins in the audience seats.
In the case that… each pin was to pierce one person, didn’t it mean that thousands of people would be infected with HIV?
“Those damned extremists! They are fucking lunatic terrorists! They all deserve to die!” Tang Xiu took a deep breath, a strong killing intent erupting inside his heart.
His hatred was similarly shared by Liu Changxi when he replied, “Yes, they do indeed deserve to die! Tang Xiu, quickly tell me the locations where you found the pushpins. I’ll immediately send my people to clean them up at once. Otherwise, once tens of thousands of fans cme in, things will be unbearably dreadful!”
Tang Xiu looked at his watch and said, “It’s a little too late. There’s only half an hour until the fans start come in. It will be very difficult to clean up all the pushpins in the entire venue in half an hour.”
After taking a deep breath, Liu Changxi immediately ordered through his wireless earphone: “Everyone, pay attention! Contact the concert organizer and say that the concert time must be postponed for an hour; the time for the audience to enter the stadium must be delayed by an hour. Do pay attention to keep this confidential. Tell the staff to go outside and make an excuse to the fans!”