"Damn it! He's deliberately wasting our time!" Xia Hou grumbled, resuming his work. I stood by, observing, and inadvertently picked up some pointers, but I was still far from being able to defuse anything.
This was something that took considerable time to learn in school. If both of us had been working on it, we would have had ample time to finish. But with only Xia Hou, I was filled with anxiety, unable to help. Du Qitai, as if watching a monkey, gloated, "Haha, Detective He, aren't you usually the smartest? How come you don't know how to defuse a bomb now? Looks like you're nothing special after all!"
Though angry, I couldn't do anything. If we couldn't disarm them, we were finished. At this moment, Xia Hou reassured me, "Don't worry, I can do it!"
With a few crisp clicks, three bombs were dealt with. In the final minute, Xia Hou's movements became even faster. However, the last bomb seemed to present a new problem. He examined it, unsure how to proceed. By then, I saw that less than twenty seconds remained.
The last bomb was likely TNT. Its explosive power was immense. TNT usually refers to trinitrotoluene. Trinitrotoluene (TNT) is an organic compound with the chemical formula C₇H₅N₃O₆. It appears as white or yellow needle-like crystals, odorless and hygroscopic. It is a relatively safe explosive, resistant to impact and friction, but any sudden heating can cause it to detonate. It has medium toxicity.
If made into a bomb, one ton of its power would be enough to completely obliterate this ancient castle.
I swallowed hard, afraid to urge him on. Du Qitai, however, deliberately taunted us, "No more time, you're doomed! Ahaha, don't struggle pointlessly. Don't worry! I'll give you a proper burial!"
"Boss Du, you underestimate me!"
*Click!* Xia Hou snipped a diode, and the bomb ceased its operation. The clock stopped at the last second.
I truly wondered if Xia Hou was doing this on purpose, if he enjoyed the thrill.
With ten seconds still left, he deliberately waited until the very last second to act. But we had survived.
Du Qitai seemed unable to recover from his shock, remaining silent for a long time. However, the locked door finally opened for us.
We ignored him and walked out. As we passed through the corridor, Du Qitai's voice echoed again, "I underestimated you this time. I thought the game would end here. But that's fine, we can move on to the next round of challenges!"
"I don't have the patience to continue. Du Qitai, can't you just do something decisive for once?" Xia Hou said disdainfully.
"If you want decisive, I can poison you right now!"
I pulled Xia Hou, urging him not to provoke Du Qitai. He had no choice but to follow me back to the lottery area.
Seeing that we were safe, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Mentioning the recent danger, He Xin gasped, "If that TNT bomb had truly detonated, we wouldn't have even known how we died!"
"Indeed, a close call. We probably have to endure more," I said.
"Don't worry, I will find Du Qitai's location as soon as possible. Everyone rest assured!" He Xin replied, clenching her fist with confidence.
"Good luck!" As we chatted, Du Qitai's voice urged us again, "Stop whispering behind my back. In this place, no matter how clever a plan you devise, it's useless. This is my territory, and no one can escape!"
"Yes, you're the most powerful. Alright? So, do we have to draw lots again?" He Xin pretended to cooperate.
Du Qitai said, "Of course. It's your turn this time, Xiao Yuande. I know you're the highest-ranking among them. You're from the Provincial Public Security Department, right?"
"Oh? Boss Du, it seems you know us quite well!"
"Hmph, otherwise how could I have planned so meticulously? Now, stop the nonsense and draw!"
Xiao Yuande walked a few steps forward with a sniff, but his movements were slow. Of course, this was all a deliberate delay tactic.
Reaching the machine, he pressed the switch. With the whirring sound of the mechanism, an orange glass ball descended. Xiao Yuande held it tightly, finding it bore the number 8.
Upon seeing the number, Du Qitai praised again, "Good, excellent luck! This time it's door number 8. Xiao Yuande, you and Detective He will face this challenge together!"
"I'm feeling a bit tired. Can I rest for a while?" Xiao Yuande asked.
"Rest is possible. I guarantee that after you pass this stage, I'll approve your rest!"
I could tell Du Qitai wasn't trying to deceive us. I nudged Xiao Yuande, and he immediately understood, following me towards the long corridor.
As we approached door number 8, we noticed it was oval-shaped. Upon entering, I discovered a female corpse hidden inside a wooden barrel. Only her head was visible, with the rest of her body encased in the barrel. Blood flowed on the floor, and the room was filthy. Behind us was a shattered glass window. On the wall hung a stopped clock. Below it was an elegant television cabinet, and next to it, a set-top box.
There were no footprints at the scene, but the floor was covered in a thick layer of dust. If anyone had been here, they would have left tracks.
Just then, Du Qitai's voice rang out, "Detective He, I recall your strong deductive abilities. Let's play a crime-solving game now. There's a woman before you. Tell me, when did she die, how did the killer escape after committing the murder, and what was her cause of death?"
As soon as Du Qitai finished speaking, a hoarse voice came from behind us. I knew the door had been shut again.
"What kind of reasoning game is this!" I cursed, moving to the wooden barrel. I nudged the board on top and found the barrel was extremely sturdy. Looking down from above, I couldn't see the woman's body. I crouched to try and lift it, but it was too heavy. Besides the corpse, there seemed to be something heavy hidden within the barrel.
Xiao Yuande looked around and discovered the set-top box had been turned off at 9 PM last night. I pressed the deceased's skin to check her pupils. I didn't have any forensic tools, but an experienced medical examiner could discern much information with their eyes alone. I traced along the dead woman's head to her neck, as if I could pierce through her body and soul, establishing a bridge of communication to her inner depths. This was a special corpse examination technique of our He family morticians, called soul-probing.
I had never used it before, and frankly, I had always approached it with skepticism. But this time, there was no other way. Unable to move anything at the scene and without any tools, I could only take a gamble.