"I really want to live another five hundred years—"

Another mobile phone ringtone echoes.

But at this moment, the passengers inside the carriage are already shrouded in an air of despair; no one cares whose phone it is.

"Hello? Is this the police? Ah yes, yes, it's me, I was the one who made the emergency call earlier! Please send someone to save me quickly! I pay a lot of taxes every year, I don't want to die!"

Soon, the passengers inside the carriage are drawn to the dialogue between this passenger and the police.

"What? The bomb disposal experts haven't detected the bomb yet and want us to keep waiting?! Hello, hello... Damn it!" The passenger angrily punches the wall of the carriage.

Luo Chao quietly observes all of this, his fingers unconsciously tapping lightly on the outer side of his thigh; he feels that things aren't as simple as they seem.

Meanwhile, the young girl sits in her seat with a melancholic expression, her eyes closed, seemingly drifting into sleep.

Luo Chao notices her complexion is off and instinctively reaches to touch her forehead.

Luo Chao discovers the girl's forehead is burning hot, and she doesn't react to his touch at all.

Clearly, this girl has suddenly developed a high fever and fallen into a coma.

"Late-stage malignant brain tumor. If she doesn't receive treatment soon, she may not survive the night," Luo Chao thinks to himself.

At this moment, a silver needle suddenly appears in Luo Chao's hand.

Pssh—

The silver needle is inserted by Luo Chao with lightning speed into the girl's head.

As the energy from Luo Chao's body flows in, the girl's body temperature drops instantly, and her complexion no longer looks as terrible as before.

However, Luo Chao understands that this life-saving acupuncture, although it can alleviate the girl's pain and prevent some aftereffects from the high fever, can only last for ten hours.

If, after ten hours, the brain tumor isn't removed, it will instead accelerate her condition's deterioration!

Just then, the onboard TV broadcasts a live press conference on the case's progress held by the police.

A reporter asks first, "Good afternoon, Director Wang, I'm a reporter from Sea City News Network. I would like to ask, was it true that the terrorists previously called the police with a bomb threat?"

"That's right." Director Wang nods.

Continuing the questioning, the reporter asks, "So, given the current police technology, locating the terrorists should be quite easy, right? Then why..."

However, the reporter's question is cut off by Director Wang's response.

"You're right, but this terrorist is exceptionally cunning and has a strong anti-detection ability. In fact, these two bomb threats were communicated to us by ordinary citizens, who were threatened by the terrorist."

This news instantly causes an uproar among the crowd.

Even in the subway carriage, many passengers watching the broadcast bitterly curse the terrorist's whole family.

"So, you're saying the terrorist has never directly contacted the police?" the reporter asks.

"No." Director Wang shakes his head regretfully.

Taking advantage of this pause, another reporter quickly asks, "It's been over an hour since the second threat call. Has the terrorist made any demands yet?"

"Sigh." Director Wang lets out a helpless sigh, "That's a great question. Actually, this is something that puzzles our police the most. This terrorist has not made any demands so far!"

Immediately, Director Wang speaks solemnly, "Therefore, I'd like to take this television broadcast opportunity to tell the terrorist, if you're watching, as long as you ensure the hostages are unharmed, our police will do our utmost to meet your demands! Please don't act impulsively!"

Buzz—

Just then, a mobile phone vibration rings out.

In the relatively quiet carriage, the passengers, who were watching intently, are disturbed by the sudden vibration, turning their heads in search of its source.

To everyone's surprise, the vibration comes from the TV!

On the TV screen, Director Wang, with a face full of surprise, takes out his mobile phone, and all the reporters at the scene stop asking questions and focus their attention on the phone on the table.

Even the camera lens zooms in, targeting the phone on the table.

The phone screen shows an incoming call from an unknown number, and everyone involuntarily swallows hard, knowing this call is most likely from the terrorist.

With trembling hands, Director Wang answers the call but after listening for a moment, his expression quickly turns to horror!

He grabs the microphone from the reporter's hand and shouts loudly, "The terrorist just said the bomb on the subway has a thermal sensing function. Once the carriage temperature gets too high, the bomb will automatically detonate, blowing the train in half!"

A bomb controlled by speed and temperature!

"Why don't we turn off the lights in the carriage? With the lights on, the temperature will increase rapidly, and the bomb could explode!" Suddenly, the young man who earlier tried to pry open the door suggests.

"Yes, yes, young man, you're right! Everyone, let's quickly turn off the lights in the carriage!" Another passenger agrees.

"No! It's so dark in the subway, if we turn off the lights, we won't be able to see anything! I'm terrified of the dark!" A female passenger objects.

"Come on, it's not the time to fear the dark; do you fear darkness more than death? Turn off the lights!" Another passenger supports the "turn off the lights" suggestion.

Snap!

The lights go out.

In this already desperate environment, humans are instinctively dependent on light.

But now, even this light representing hope has been taken away.

The threat of the bomb, a speeding train, pitch-black darkness.

The three factors overlap, intensifying people's fear and anxiety at this moment.

"Damn, I don't get it. With so many security personnel and facilities at the subway entrance, how can someone still bring a bomb onboard?" In the darkness, a passenger complains.

"Sigh, those security checks are just for show. Anyone brave enough to let their bag be scanned isn't afraid of the machine's detection, and those who don't let it be scanned, the security personnel just turn a blind eye and ignore!" Another passenger says helplessly.

Meanwhile, Luo Chao watches the televised broadcast and listens to these passengers' dialogues, falling deep into thought.

Preventing police from locating, making no demands, a speed and temperature-controlled bomb, ignoring subway security.

The various clues gradually link up clearly in Luo Chao's mind...

"Right, the terrorist said the bomb would blow the train in half. Does that mean the bomb is installed in the middle of the train?" A passenger suddenly realizes in the darkness.

"Yes, what you said makes sense. If we move towards the front or back of the train, even if the bomb explodes, we won't be killed instantly!"

"Good idea, let's quickly move to both ends of the subway!"

In an instant, the passengers in the carriage begin shifting towards both ends of the train.

But at that very moment, a shimmer of light on the subway window suddenly makes Luo Chao understand everything!

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