The Beginning

Chapter 28: The Nineteenth Cycle of Time (IV)

From the beginning, the biggest enemy before Li Shiqing and Xiao Heyun was not the thugs or the bombs, but time.

Each time loop, from the first few minutes to the final thirty minutes when the clock stops rewinding, gives the two young men more time to move, but too little time to adapt.

Not to mention the many opportunities for time cycling that preceded it, even if they were outright wasted.

From the moment they realised that something had to be done to fix it, they had to reflect on their last 'mistake' almost as soon as they opened their eyes, and then correct and adapt their responses to their last mistake, and make new plans.

All their experience and solutions are based on every mistake, which often leaves little time for reflection, let alone implementation.

There were times when they regretted it afterwards, but in retrospect, given the urgency of the situation, there was no other option but to do what they had done at the time.

If they had waited to think about the pros and cons and weigh up the best options before doing so, the car would have exploded.

Before that, they had time cycled eighteen times and died a dozen times, each time in a short process, but these time cycles and deaths were not entirely meaningless.

It was these numerous failures that led to the most detailed and well thought out plan of the two young men.

With the fear of not knowing if each time loop is the last, Li Shiqing and Xiao Heyun's psychological situation is at its most precarious edge, and now only a good outcome can provide them with solace.

As Li Shiqing communicated with the driver, Xiao Heyun, who had already convinced the older man, was poised like an athlete waiting for the starting pistol, and with a cough, he immediately rose to his feet.

As he stood up, he could even feel the muscles in his arms vaguely raw - he had been clenching his fists so hard from so much tension that his arm muscles had stiffened.

The older man, who had been watching Boy closely, subconsciously touched the banknotes he had placed in his inside pocket when he stood up, and after making sure that the money would not fall out, he too stood up.

One of them was at the front of the car and the other at the back, and no one noticed that both got up at the same time except the masked man sitting in the last row, until they both pounced on the same target in unison ......

Auntie Flower Cloth!

This is the same person who has caused so many deaths, so many beatings, so much suffering, that even Boy, who is the mildest of temperament, is full of negative emotions when confronted with her, not to mention the possibility of "mercy", but the most ferocious force to tear her out.

This older woman's reaction was not a bad one, the moment she was just touched by Boy, she tried to reach her plastic bag, only that everyone knew what was in that plastic bag and was on guard against her, not letting her touch anything or even make a move.

So when she was pulled out cold, she didn't even have time to cry out in pain before another pair of large hands grabbed her wrists in a death grip.

Robust uncle strikes!

The only thing he had to worry about was the knife she was carrying.

At the thought that she still had the knife on her, the older man's grip on her wrist became harder.

"Ah!"

Feeling her arm immobilised by an iron grip and a sharp pain in her wrist, the older woman's eyes lit up with fury and she kicked the fit man in front of her like a madman.

With such fierce resistance, the older man was unable to control her well, so he simply dragged her to the front of the carriage and kicked her hard in the calf, just like he did with Boy before, and pinned her to the ground.

The commotion was so great that everyone in the carriage was stunned, plus the stocky uncle looked so fierce with his looks and muscles that some people subconsciously pulled out their mobile phones and prepared to call the police.

Li Shiqing is a girl and has been psychologically scarred by the painful lesson she learned from the older woman, so for her physical and psychological safety, Xiao Heyun is not prepared to involve her directly in the process of subduing her.

She was assigned the task of calming the passengers in the car as well as communicating with the driver's uncle at all times to facilitate the strategy.

In their plan, if the driver's uncle was willing to cooperate, they could even avoid the process of breaking the window with a safety hammer, and as soon as the car stopped, they could just run out of the car with the pot and throw it into the river, one less process, and countless less variables.

"Don't be afraid when the police are on the case!"

As soon as Li Shiqing noticed the change in mood of the passenger, she quickly shouted, "This person is mentally ill, carrying a knife and has dangerous tendencies, you should not go near her."

As she spoke, she had crouched down beside the older woman, reached out and searched her body in detail, and did manage to find an open-bladed knife in the large pocket of her jacket.

When the knife was searched in front of everyone, even the most nosy passengers were silenced and didn't dare to say another word, they all stayed honestly in their seats, not looking as frightened and scurrying around as they did last time.

The older woman, who was pinned to the ground, had a desperate look on her face the moment she heard the words "police" and became even more frantic when the knife was recovered.

Not only did she struggle against the pressure exerted on her by the older man, but a hysterical hiss came out of her mouth.

" Wang Xingde, you son of a bitch! I will not spare you even if you die!"

As she cursed, she tried to grab anything she could get her hands on and attacked, and a terrible whistling sound came out of her mouth, making her look less like a human being and more like an infected person in a movie who is being zombified, as if something terrible would happen if she touched her.

When they saw the woman being pinned down by the "police" going crazy, the passengers who had been silenced before were convinced of the reason for Li Shiqing's shouting, and some of them, seeing that the "madman" was under control, relaxed their original nervousness and actually watched the fun. Some of the passengers were relaxed when they saw that the "madman" was under control, and they even watched the fun, not only pointing at the woman on the ground, but also taking out their mobile phones from their pockets and snapping pictures of them.

By this time, Li Shiqing and the others were not bothered about what the passengers were doing and were looking nervously out of the car.

"Uncle driver, go faster!"

When the car was found to have driven smoothly onto the bridge and was heading towards the widest section of the river, Li Shiqing shouted anxiously, "The people are under control, you can wait and see where there are fewer people and stop quickly!"

At Li Shiqing's words, the older woman, who was struggling frantically on the floor, looked up at her with a deadly glare that could have eaten her, a glare of hatred so overwhelming that it could be felt by anyone who was blind.

Under such a hateful gaze, Li Shiqing, who was still calmly controlling the emotions of the passengers, took a chill down her back and subconsciously took a half step backwards, stroking her neck.

"Come and help, I can't hold it down!"

With the older woman's almost self-inflicted resistance, the older man soon felt the pressure and began to seek help, "She was struggling too much!"

Seeing the older woman begin to resist and struggle violently, Boy, who had been carefully guarding the pressure cooker, hastened to call out to the muzzled man.

The masked man was relieved to see that the situation was under control and thought he could watch the show, but when he heard the man in the glasses shout "The one in the mask is here to help", he could only put down the bag in his hand in fear and tremblingly took the pressure cooker.

He didn't dare to carry the pressure cooker either, but just put it on the floor and kept his eyes firmly on it, as if the pot could grow legs and run away on its own.

No one on the whole bus, apart from the four of them, knew what was in the pressure cooker, and naturally it caused no panic.

The bus picked up speed at Li Shiqing's urging and drove smoothly towards the middle of the bridge, everything going smoothly and methodically as planned.

"Uncle, stop the car, it's blocked just ahead, get off here!"

Li Shiqing saw the traffic ahead start to build up and hastened to start warning again.

Hearing her urging, the driver slammed on the brakes and the car slowed down.

" Xiao Heyun, something I went down to throw!"

Li Shiqing ran over to the masked man and picked up the pressure cooker from the floor.

"Your help with this would be appreciated."

Afraid of what the older woman might get up to again and of dragging one more innocent person into the time loop, she decided to let herself off alone.

As soon as Xiao Heyun heard Li Shiqing's words, he understood what she was worried about and subconsciously felt a little uneasy.

Because it went so well, he was worried that it wouldn't end so easily, and deliberately reminded his companion one more time: "Be careful when you get out of the car, be careful not to get hit by a passing car!"

No sooner had he said the word "hmm" than the older woman, who was pinned to the ground, suddenly let out a harsh howl as if she had been stimulated by something.

The howl was so horrible that it didn't even sound like a human being making it.

Li Shiqing had by now reached the rear door with her pressure cooker and was so shocked by the sound that she almost lost her grip on the handle.

She bit her lower lip hard, using the pain to force herself to distract herself from the older woman.

By this time, the car had come to a complete stop.

"Uncle driver, open the door!"

After settling down, Li Shiqing took a deep breath and shouted at the older man.

The older woman, who was pinned to the ground in a death grip, stopped howling and started bawling.

The cries were full of pathos and pain, as if they contained the greatest sorrow and suffering in the world, and they made everyone's heart feel terrified and uncomfortable.

Many of the passengers who were still snapping away were so taken by this sadness that they put down their phones with complicated eyes and stopped continuing to point at the man on the ground.

Li Shiqing is the only one who is unmoved, staring intently at the pressure cooker in his hand.

"Uncle, open the door!"

Once again she made a prodding noise.

The car was parked, but the door was not open.

At this point, several of the men pressing the older woman began to sense that something was wrong.

"Uncle driver, open the door!"

Boy shouted emotionally.

"What's going on, didn't you guys discuss it? Holy shit!"

Knowing what was in that pressure cooker, the masked man rushed to the door in a panic and pulled up hard on the back door.

"Uncle?!"

Li Shiqing is carrying the heavy pressure cooker and even her arms are starting to get sore.

An incredible suspicion suddenly flashed through her mind and she turned her head suddenly to look at the driver.

The driver, who had stopped the car, took his hands off the steering wheel and fell back in his seat to the sound of the older woman's sorrowful cries, letting out a long breath of relief.

" Xiao Heyun, do something!"

Li Shiqing's tears were so intense that the only person she could rely on was her companion.

"You're holding her down!"

No need for Li Shiqing to ask for help, Boy had already let go of the older woman's hand, stood up and rushed to the nearest safety hammer.

The other passengers in the car didn't understand what was happening and looked at each other, not daring to speak.

Just then, the familiar Canons bell rang at first once again.

They hadn't heard the dreaded bell for so many times that they had subconsciously ignored it. But the bell was like a spell, and when it rang again, it rekindled the deepest fears in Li Shiqing and Xiao Heyun's hearts.

Li Shiqing's scalp went numb and her whole body was as cold as if she had fallen into the ice cave of the ninth day.

"No!"

That familiar pain, in a way she least expects ......

Once again descending.