201: Chapter 201 The gift left by the pervert was also perverted.

"Where are we going?"

Su Wantang's voice was tight.

Li Li pressed both his hands over the back of her hands, keeping the wooden box steady in mid-air.

Beneath the glass lid, the small silver ball rested in the center.

It was behaving.

But Li Li knew that this thing couldn't stay well-behaved forever.

"Outside."

"As far as we can."

Su Wantang's face went pale.

"Didn't you just say we couldn't move?"

"That was then."

Li Li scanned the private room.

There were drag marks on the floor.

Wax drippings in the corner.

A tangled mess of wires under the chair.

That pervert with the Japanese accent didn't just put the device here to blow people up.

He wanted to watch people sit and wait for death.

Li Li hated this kind of design.

It was too much of a waste of time.

"There's a high probability of explosives under this room."

"The further we get from it, the higher our chances of survival."

Su Wantang stared at him.

"But what if it explodes the moment we move?"

Li Li paused for half a second.

"Then it just means our luck isn't great."

Su Wantang nearly broke down.

"Li Li!"

"Don't shout."

Li Li lowered his voice.

"Shouting will just make you shake."

She forced the rest of her words back down.

The red numbers on the LED screen kept jumping.

19:58. 19:57. 19:56.

Li Li took half a step back.

"I'll back up, you walk."

"Slowly."

"Don't drag your feet."

"Don't exert force with your hands; I'll control the box."

Su Wantang gritted her teeth and stood up from the chair.

The two ropes tied to her wrists moved along with her.

The wooden box tilted by half an inch.

The small silver ball rolled to the left.

Su Wantang froze instantly.

Li Li pressed two fingers against the right side.

The ball stopped.

In the room, only the ticking of the countdown remained.

19:43. 19:42.

"Continue."

Su Wantang took the first step.

Her high heels stepped onto the carpet.

Very lightly.

But her whole body was trembling.

Li Li faced her, walking backward.

Both his hands wrapped around the back of her hands, his palms pressing against the edge of the wooden box.

One step. Two steps. Three steps.

The private room wasn't large.

The door was right in front.

But these ten meters were more troublesome than flying a helicopter across two buildings just now.

Helicopters don't cry.

Nor do they threaten to go down with you.

The ropes on Su Wantang's wrists gradually pulled taut.

Just as she reached the middle of the room, the ropes started pulling back.

"My hands are being pulled."

"Ignore it."

"But it's pulling me!"

"Let it pull."

Li Li increased the pressure on his hands.

The bottom of the wooden box made a soft sound.

The small silver ball wobbled twice beneath the glass lid.

Su Wantang's voice went out of tune with anxiety.

"The ball moved!"

"It hasn't touched yet."

"It's about to touch!"

"If you keep making noise, it really will touch."

Su Wantang shut her mouth.

Her forehead was covered in sweat.

She shifted her right foot forward a bit more.

The recoil of the ropes increased.

Her entire arm started to shake.

Not from fear.

It was a muscle reaction to being pulled to the limit.

Li Li could feel the vibration coming from the back of her hands.

The frequency was getting higher and higher.

The amplitude was also growing.

Damn.

This pervert was truly inhumane.

With nineteen minutes left on the countdown, he insisted on designing something that would make a person unable to hold on after three minutes.

"Last two meters."

Li Li backed to the doorway.

"Don't look at the ball."

"Look at your feet."

Su Wantang's voice was hoarse.

"I don't dare."

"Then close your eyes and walk."

"Are you sick?"

"The fact that you still have time to judge me means you're in good shape."

Su Wantang was so angry she nearly shook again.

Li Li immediately pressed down on the box.

"Don't add to my workload."

She gritted her teeth.

Another step.

The ropes were pulled very straight.

The threshold of the private room was right at her feet.

Li Li backed out first.

The moment his feet touched the corridor carpet, he immediately turned his head to scan the area.

The corridor was empty.

The direction of the banquet hall was also empty.

Most of the hostages had already been evacuated.

The nearest cover was the long tables in the banquet hall.

The sturdiest ones were the solid wood banquet tables against the wall.

The distance was sufficient.

If the blast point was only in the private room, they could survive in this position.

If the whole floor exploded, then everyone would be reincarnated together tonight.

"Come out."

Su Wantang lifted her foot and stepped over the threshold.

The wooden box also crossed the door frame.

Beep, beep, beep—

An electronic sound suddenly rang out from the bottom of the box.

Both of them stopped simultaneously.

Beside the LED screen, a small speaker lit up with a red light.

A voice came from inside.

Japanese accent.

Airy and light.

"Hehehe!"

"Moshi moshi!"

"Scared, aren't you?"

The blood drained completely from Su Wantang's face.

Li Li stared at that speaker.

It was that pervert who jumped off the building.

"Actually, if the ball touches the electrode, it won't explode."

"If your hands leave the box, it won't explode either."

"And if the ropes break, it definitely won't explode."

Su Wantang stood stunned.

"It's fake?"

Li Li didn't let go.

He didn't believe for a second that this person would be so kind.

Laughter came from the speaker again.

"As long as the box stays in the room, it's very safe."

"Very safe."

"Extremely safe."

Su Wantang let out half a breath of relief.

"So it won't explode?"

Li Li's expression darkened further.

"Shut up."

The voice in the speaker paused for two seconds.

Then it continued.

"But."

"As soon as you go out the door, it will explode."

Li Li released his hand, cursing the pervert a hundred and eighty times in his heart.

"Countdown starting."

"5."

Li Li turned and ran.

Not a word of nonsense.

His soles hit the carpet, and he charged straight toward the banquet hall.

"4."

Su Wantang was still standing at the door.

She watched Li Li's back quickly receding.

He didn't even look back.

Not a hint of hesitation.

Her mind went blank.

Four years of dating.

She had seen Li Li stay up late to edit videos for her.

Seen him brave the rain to deliver medicine to her.

Seen him gnaw on cold steamed buns outside the subway station to save twenty yuan.

But she had never seen him run this fast.

"3."

Su Wantang finally snapped back to reality.

She slammed the wooden box onto the floor and turned to run.

The rope on her left hand was dragged to its limit.

Snap.

The end of the rope snapped away from under the chair.

She rushed out two steps.

"2."

The rope on her right hand suddenly pulled taut.

Su Wantang was dragged backward, her knees slamming hard into the carpet.

Her elbow grazed the corner of the wall.

She nearly screamed in pain.

At the end of the corridor, Li Li had already vaulted over two long tables.

He kicked over three chairs, pulled a thick tabletop over his head, and curled up behind the tables and chairs.

His movements were so clean it was despairing.

He really didn't look back.

"1."

Su Wantang lay on the floor, her right hand still being pulled by the rope.

She couldn't move.

Her tears fell.

Fear of death.

Unwillingness.

And a bit of absurdity.

When she broke up with Li Li back then, she also ran very fast.

Now it was his turn.

He ran even faster than she did.

Boom!

A white light exploded from the direction of the private room.

The shockwave rushed out from the doorway, sending door panels, food carts, and broken glass in the corridor flying.

Su Wantang was pushed sliding forward for two meters, her back hitting the wall.

Dust rained down.

Only a buzzing sound remained in her ears.

In the corner of the banquet hall.

Li Li was curled up behind the tables and chairs.

The outermost chair was blown away.

The tabletop cracked.

A piece of wood debris hit his shoulder.

It hurt.

But he could still move.

He waited for two seconds, confirmed there was no secondary explosion, and crawled out from under the tabletop.

He was covered in dust.

The smoke in the corridor was heavy.

A wall had collapsed in the direction of the private room.

Pieces of the ceiling had fallen.

The floor slab hadn't collapsed yet.

Li Li brushed the wood debris off his shoulder and walked forward a few steps.

Su Wantang was sitting against the wall.

Her hair was half-disheveled.

Her face was covered in dust.

A broken piece of rope was still hanging from her right wrist.

She was still breathing.

She was alive.

Li Li stood a few meters away.

"See?"

Su Wantang looked up.

Li Li brushed off his trouser legs.

"Running fast really can save your life."

Su Wantang opened her mouth.

But didn't curse.

Because she was still alive.

And she also knew.

If Li Li hadn't dragged her out of the private room, she would have been sitting right on top of the blast point.

Now, not even dust would be left.

The walkie-talkie on Li Li's waist crackled to life.

"Li Li!"

Deputy Commissioner Li Wenbin's voice was cracking from shouting.

"The southeast corner from the fifth to the twenty-fifth floor has all exploded!"

"What's your situation over there!"

Li Li pressed the talk button.

"Small scene."

"Nobody's hurt."

He released the button.

Just as he was about to head to the helipad, a slight vibration suddenly came from under his feet.

Once. Twice.

It wasn't a secondary explosion.

It was structural deformation.

Li Li stopped.

A chill ran down his back.

Fifth to twenty-fifth floor.

Southeast corner.

All exploded.

He turned abruptly and looked at the wall behind Su Wantang.

A crack opened on the wall.

The crack was climbing up from the baseboard.

The door frame made a harsh, warping sound.

Inside the ceiling, there was the sound of steel bars being pulled.

Su Wantang was still leaning against the wall, her brain dazed from the explosion, not realizing at all that the floor under her feet was sinking.

Li Li's expression changed.

His former architect brain fully came online at this moment.

"Don't tell me they blew up all the load-bearing walls?"

As soon as he finished speaking.

The floor tiles beside Su Wantang sank downward.

Li Li shouted at her.

"Run!"