The Beginning

Chapter 27: The Nineteenth Cycle of Time (III)

Boy and Li Shiqing needed help, and the most important choice before them was who to ask for it.

In an era where taxi apps are all the rage, those who still take the bus are either old ladies or youngsters with little money.

Those who can help must be strong enough to subdue others, courageous enough to step forward and, most importantly, reliable enough not to fall off the wagon at the last minute.

If the above three criteria were applied, there would be very few people to choose from, after all, in every cycle of time there are always people who panic, people who look away, and people who shout the loudest and do the least.

For example, the uncle with a bunch of keys around his waist, who shouted the loudest and ducked the furthest each time, and who led the clamour to get off during the last time round.

If we had asked him for help, he would have told us that there was a bomb in the car, and he would have shouted about it to the whole car.

In the end, Li Shiqing and Boy chose the hunky uncle and the masked Boy, with the hunky uncle being the first choice and the masked Boy the second.

So Boy wrote a note and Li Shiqing went straight to the back and asked for help separately.

Boy is sitting in the front of the room, so it is easiest to use "words" and "language" in order to avoid being overheard.

He chose the most remote seat in the last row of the bus, where there was already a lot of ambient noise and no one could hear him if he lowered his voice.

Compared to Xiao Heyun's 'gentle and polite' approach, Li Shiqing is much more 'dry'.

"Handsome, let me ask you a favor ......"

Li Shiqing, who is also a young man, chose to go straight for the jugular with the masked man.

Boy, who can save stray cats, should be a good person with a lot of love, right?

"What?"

The masked man looked at the girl who had somehow come up and shouted "handsome" with a wary look on his face as he clutched his bag.

He's wrapped up so tightly and he's still being called handsome?

Nothing is adulterous!

"Did you see the older woman in the flowery dress up ahead? She has very dangerous anti-social tendencies and not only does she carry a pressure cooker with a bomb in it, she also has a pocket knife hidden on her body ......"

Li Shiqing continued against the masked man's contemptuous gaze, "We're going to subdue her later, but we don't have enough men, so I hope you'll do us a favour, handsome, and hold the older woman down together then."

"Have you had too much to drink?"

The masked man subconsciously sized up the girl.

If you're not drunk, why are you full of crazy talk?

"I know you won't believe this, but it's true. After we learned there was a bomb in this car, we lined up almost everyone who had any suspicions, including you ......"

Li Shiqing does not say directly that she is a "plainclothes policeman", but explains it in a vague but forceful tone.

"The bag you're covering now contains a small kitten, orange and white, wrapped in an army green jacket. The cat is about a month old, with dirty fur and large eyes, and not much spirit from malnutrition."

She said the "secret" of the masked man's bag, but there is no expression on his face, "you know that the bus does not give pets on board, worried that people on the bus found you with a cat to let you down, so the cat is hidden in the backpack, a car to find the last row to sit down, so as not to be found. "

Li Shiqing's words are so firm that he doesn't mean to "bluff" anyone, and the masked man's eyes are widening.

"You investigated me?"

The masked man, a young man, was first concerned that he had been "offended" and complained with an unhappy look in his eyes, "You're invading the privacy of citizens!"

"We also do it for public safety."

Li Shiqing didn't explain the problem directly, but just continued to persuade, "What we said was true, the pressure cooker in that old lady's plastic bag would explode, and she was carrying a knife. If we can't subdue her, a whole busload of people will be finished! We need your help!"

If Li Shiqing hadn't specified exactly what was in her bag, the masked man might have dismissed her as a liar or a lunatic, but she sounded so sure of the cat in his bag, so sure that she knew exactly what was going on in his mind at the time, that there was something "sinister" about it.

He carefully looked out at the "target mission" and was slightly relieved to see that the older woman was quite thin and did not look threatening.

If it had been a couple of tough guys in the car, he probably would have been more scared.

"May I?"

Li Shiqing pulls out her phone and checks the time, noticing that another two minutes have passed and she sounds a little anxious.

"How did you guys know what we were carrying? Are they superpowers?"

Young people are more receptive to new things than older people, and when this "unexpected event" occurred, the masked man's initial fear and surprise passed, and he even vaguely felt a bit of excitement, asking Li Shiqing about it instead.

"Could it be that what is written on the internet is true and that there are still some 'superpower' forces in our country?"

"...... This handsome man, the bomb is about to be dropped on his face, can you please be serious?"

Li Shiqing's breath was barely lifted.

"Okay then, okay ......"

Having been told his "secret", the masked man's hand relaxed unconsciously as he held the cat's bag, looked up and asked, "What do you want me to do? I'll say up front, I'm too much of a scum to do anything too hard!"

Battle scum?

Li Shiqing recalls how he beat the snot out of Boy and can't help but gag.

You are too kind!

"You're too modest! Here's our plan ......"

She said hastily talking to the masked man about the plan she and Boy had set up and added, "...... Your task is simple, once the situation is chaotic, you will see what you can do, if my companion and I do not get the older woman under control, I will ask you to help hold her down together and not let her touch the pressure cooker. If my companion has the older woman under control, please keep an eye on the pressure cooker and don't let anyone touch it until we throw the pressure cooker off the bridge."

The masked man's eyes jumped when he heard that he might have to wrestle with the knife-wielding woman and even look after the pressure cooker that would explode.

"My mother has always told me to keep my nose out of other people's business and to be careful of getting into trouble."

The masked man touched his own mask, his tone was a bit hesitant, "I am so tightly wrapped, the criminals should not recognize me, right? I don't think I'll run into my accomplices afterwards, right? I've heard that this kind of thing is usually not done alone, in case there are accomplices, you have to keep me safe ......"

"Wouldn't recognise you."

Li Shiqing was completely convinced, how could she have thought this masked man was still a bit cool before?

"You just have to help control the situation."

While she was communicating with the masked man, her attention was also kept on her companion who was communicating with the older man in front of her.

Boy took his wallet out of his pocket, counted out a wad of money and gave it to the older man, then stood up and gave himself an 'OK' sign in the back row.

Convinced so quickly?

Is it possible that the money was used to hire help?

In any case, it's good to find reliable help.

Three people, that should also be enough.

"So did you say yes?"

She asked again.

This time, not only did she ask the question in an unusually serious tone, but her whole body also carried an aura of "I'm going to fight soon", which made the masked man's mind to ask more questions.

He shook his head after a moment of serious thought, leaving his mind in a jumble of thoughts.

"It's too dangerous, I can't agree to it."

The masked man looked at the older woman again, "You said 'we', so you're not the only one, right? I see that the older woman is quite thin, a few people should be enough to subdue her."

How bad would it be if the culprit was subdued and only had a few more holes in himself?

Probably thinking that seemed too wimpy, he thought for a moment and added, "Otherwise, I'll keep an eye on the pressure cooker for you, and I'll never let anyone else touch it."

Li Shiqing had lost all hope that the other party would agree to look at the pressure cooker, and thanked him for his "cough", which was the signal for the action to begin.

When she had finished her instructions, she looked out of the car window and was about to reach that tanker junction, so she hurried to the front of the car again.

As she brushed past her companion, she gave a quiet "OK" sign.

Boy's face lit up with joy.

"Uncle driver, watch out for the motorbikes on the right, they're going to run the red light!"

After reminding the uncle of the "risk factors", Li Shiqing did not walk away again.

"That was close!"

At Li Shiqing's prompting, the driver once again avoided a crash and let out a long breath of relief, turning his head to look at Li Shiqing, "You're quite responsive, you little girl, I didn't even notice."

"I know a lot of things."

Seeing the car driving smoothly on the road to the approach bridge, Li Shiqing put on a smile, pretended to be interested in driving, stood next to the driver, bent down and said softly.

"For example, I also know there was a bomb in the car."

Hearing clearly what the young girl said, the driver's hand, which had been gripping the steering wheel tightly, shook and turned his head to look at her incredulously.

"Uncle driver, don't look at me, watch the road."

Li Shiqing understands the shock in the uncle's heart right now, because when they first learned there was a bomb in the car, they were much more frightened than the driver's uncle is showing now.

"Oh, oh ......"

The older man seemed to be in a trance, gripping the steering wheel in a mental trance, unable to turn back.

"Uncle, don't look back, be careful of being spotted."

Li Shiqing's phone vibrated, a reminder from Boy that it was time for her to do something.

Li Shiqing was in a hurry and could only give the driver a general "heads up".

"Uncle, I know I'm saying this as a bit of a surprise, but there really is a bomb in the car, it's in the pressure cooker that the lady in the fancy dress in the back has with her. A few of us will subdue the older woman later, but it's not safe to keep that bomb, I need you to drive the car up to the bridge and find a deserted place to stop so we can drop the bomb into the river."

"When I shout later, Uncle, you stop and open the door and let everyone out, okay?"

"Drive to the bridge and stop?"

The driver's uncle repeated Li Shiqing's request with a pale face.

"Are you sure?"

"Well, it might be a bit chaotic later on, so the driver uncle should be careful of the passengers. Don't stop until the car is on the bridge, otherwise the bomb might detonate early if the older lady finds out ......"

Li Shiqing said hastily.

"OK? Please, I ride in your car a lot, I'm not some weirdo, just trust me for once?"

The driver's uncle clutched the steering wheel tightly and gave her a look.

Presumably Li Shiqing's expression was too grave, and he nodded despite his hesitant look.

Great!

Li Shiqing's spirits were shaken and he coughed heavily.

Everything is ready for the action to begin!

Author's Note: A little theater.

Author (holds up microphone): Boy, people are surprised that you have a thousand dollars with you and think you are an invisible rich man, are they right in their guess?

Boy: (Pushes his glasses up) Because I've only been in the city a short time and it's a good idea to keep some cash on me.

Author: (raises microphone) What do you think about the fact that the masked man thinks you guys have superpowers?

Boy: (looks expressionlessly at the empty wallet) He's probably talking about bill capacity ......, right?