Survival Manual of the Science Fiction World

"Conan, have the bomb squad lower the bomb disposal equipment down from the elevator shaft above using a sling, and then have someone direct me to defuse the bomb." Chu Ming's fingertips traced the bomb wires, showing no fear despite his complete lack of knowledge about bomb disposal.

After all, Gin had remotely instructed him to defuse bombs before, so he could be considered to know how to do it.

Amuro Tooru's eyes widened, and he asked in a low voice, "You can defuse bombs?"

Chu Mingli, though lacking confidence, boasted shamelessly, "I don't know how, but the bomb disposal team will teach me later. I just need to cut the wires according to their instructions. Isn't that something anyone can do?"

"..." Amuro Tooru's eyes were full of doubt. He had genuinely learned bomb disposal from Matsuda and Hagiwara. Chu Ming's every word and action clearly showed that he was a novice. He couldn't help but volunteer, "How about I do it?"

Chu Ming was directing the police officers with tools hanging above to slowly lower the rope when he heard this. He turned to look at Amuro Tooru, his face full of shock: "You can do this too? Isn't your range of expertise a bit too broad?"

Amuro Tooru smiled innocently: "I've learned a little before. After all, I need to take on part-time jobs everywhere, so knowing more makes it easier to get orders."

Chu Ming looked at Amuro Tooru, who was blatantly lying, and stepped aside to reach out and take him slowly. After all, even the slightest vibration could cause the mercury in the bomb to lose its balance.

“Okay, if you can do it, then you do it.” Chu Ming didn’t waste any words. After Amuro Tooru squatted down beside him with light steps, he opened the tool bag he had just put down, put the earphones on Amuro Tooru’s ears, and handed him the pliers. “I’ll help you.”

Amuro Tooru skillfully put on the infrared device and deftly disassembled the bomb's casing, his hands remaining exceptionally steady throughout.

Just then, the bomb disposal officer's cautious voice came through the phone: "We'll turn off the elevator lights in a bit. Remember to wear your infrared goggles. Don't worry, this bomb isn't difficult to defuse. We've defused it before; it's very simple. So please don't be nervous and don't touch the mercury column outside..."

"Mmm, don't worry... okay, okay... mmm... yes..."

While giving perfunctory replies, Chu Ming watched Amuro Tooru calmly and steadily cut the bomb wires one by one. He couldn't help but rest his chin on his hand and look at the listening device hidden next to the bomb.

"...Okay, that leaves only a few wires. You guys did a fantastic job, I—"

"No, you can't cut it anymore." Amuro Tooru suddenly stopped, his usually steady hand now trembling slightly. "I can't cut it anymore."

"What's going on!" the officer directing remotely shouted anxiously. "Why can't we cut them? We only need to cut the last few wires. Once we cut the yellow wire connecting the LCD screen, the white wire connecting the mercury column, and the black wire that the perpetrators are using for remote control, the bomb will be defused! You've completed all those complicated prerequisites, so why did you stop when there were only three wires left?!"

Chu Ming looked at the words that appeared on the LCD screen and chuckled: "Because the criminals left a few words saying that they had planted another bomb. This bomb will display information about the next location three seconds before it explodes. If we cut the bomb now, we will not get the information about the other bomb."

"What—" Hearing Chu Ming's words, the people around him were speechless. "But how can we let you sacrifice yourselves just for news of the criminals..."

"Alright, I'll hang up now to conserve battery. I'll call you back with bomb information when it's about to explode." Chu Ming decisively hung up the phone with Conan.

Conan was so anxious that sweat started to bead on his forehead. He quickly unfolded the warning message sent by the bomber and frantically racked his brains, trying to find clues so that Chu Ming could disarm the bomb and escape.

I must have overlooked something. I need to think quickly and figure out what it is.

Chapter 348 Are you talking nonsense?

In the elevator lobby, Chu Ming, under Amuro Tooru's questioning gaze, was quietly affixing a speaker sticker next to the listening device.

Seeing Amuro Tooru's surprised expression, Chu Ming gestured, indicating that he could chat with him about anything.

Then, as if pulling out a treasure bag, he took out a palm-sized monitor from beside him and installed it on the elevator shaft next to him.

Although Amuro Tooru and Chu Ming didn't have much chemistry, he knew that with the listening devices on, Chu Ming's actions couldn't be known to the criminals, so he could only make small talk.

"Are you afraid?"

While busy with his work, Chu Ming casually replied, "Of course I'm scared. I'm only a freshman, not even an adult yet. How could I not be afraid of death? But there's a Chinese saying that I think is very true: 'Death is inevitable for everyone, but some deaths are heavier than Mount Tai, while others are lighter than a feather.' If I die a glorious death like this, I can barely be considered a hero, right?"

In the narrow, dimly lit elevator, where no one could clearly see his expression, a sadness slowly crept onto Amuro Tooru's face: "A hero—"

I wonder if people like Hagiwara and Matsuda can be called heroes.

If they knew they were being called heroes, who knows how smug those two bastards would be?

"I've noticed Mr. Amuro often takes on part-time jobs; he must be having some financial difficulties," Chu Ming said, trying to make conversation. "You could have safely evacuated with everyone else, so why did you come in here with me? It's just another person dying. Do you think life is too hard and meaningless?"

"..." Amuro Tooru's sadness was instantly shattered by Chu Ming. Does he even know how to talk? What kind of nonsense is this?!

Chu Ming tugged at the rope that the police had used to tie the backpack down earlier; it was quite sturdy. He then handed Amuro Tooru a miniature microphone, indicating that he should use it to speak.

Amuro Tooru watched as Chu Ming made a series of preparations. The miniature microphone paired with the amplification sticker would prevent the bomber listening in from noticing that the two were escaping. Similarly, the installed surveillance cameras could clearly show what the warning was given three seconds before the bomb exploded.

Furthermore, with the bomb about to explode, no one was lingering near Tokyo Tower at the moment. Chu Ming and Amuro Tooru's skills were more than enough for them to escape without leaving a trace. So no one would know that the fearless hero they spoke of had already nimbly climbed out of the elevator shaft using a rope and was now safely waiting for the bomb to explode at the bottom of Tokyo Tower.

Time ticked by, and those outside grew increasingly anxious, while the two inside chatted idly into the microphones, patiently watching the small monitor screens in their hands.

With ten seconds left, to repay Conan for the emotional points he had contributed, Chu Ming mischievously continued the call: "Conan, remember to turn on speakerphone. Okay, here's the prompt: it's the letters E, V, I, T, C, E, T, E, D—"

"boom--"

The moment the explosion rang out, Chu Ming hung up the phone, feeling his emotions surge wildly. The ground beneath his feet shook violently; the bomb was so powerful that the entire upper part of Tokyo Tower was blown apart. Fortunately, the elevator was stuck at a relatively high point, and the base of the tower was relatively safe. Apart from occasional falling debris, there was no real danger.

Chu Ming stuffed the microphone and monitor back into his pocket: "The police will probably come in to search later, but the TV station will definitely have reporters following us. If they report that we are not dead, it may enrage the criminals and cause them to detonate another bomb prematurely. So we should not meet with them and sneak away from behind. They haven't reacted yet."

Amuro Tooru's gaze swept over Chu Ming's pockets. He was very curious about how a freshman could have all these strange gadgets. Putting aside the megaphone stickers, the palm-sized surveillance device alone didn't seem like something an ordinary person could produce.

Aren't most surveillance cameras on the market large and bulky?

Even within the public security system, there isn't such a convenient and compact surveillance system.

Amuro Tooru felt that Chu Ming's identity was now shrouded in mystery. He couldn't ask while he was being monitored, but now that he could, he couldn't help but try to get information out of him.

"Mr. Chu Ming's props—they look very interesting. Were they custom-made?"

Chu Ming made no attempt to hide it, casually pulling a monitor from his pocket: "This is the one you're talking about? It's a defective product my company just developed. The R&D team originally wanted to make a battery-powered device for remote monitoring, but current battery technology only lasts for half an hour, and it can only monitor in real time, not store footage. This one next to me is a defective product they were planning to discard, but I personally think even the worst product has its uses, so I kept it. See, it's coming in handy now."

After hearing Chu Ming explain the drawbacks of this defective product, Amuro Tooru also realized that what he considered a divine artifact actually seemed quite useless.

However, because of this, he discovered that Chu Ming's mind was indeed very quick. It just so happened that this explosion occurred in this hidden elevator room where it was impossible to see. The criminals could only rely on eavesdropping to determine whether people were still in the same place, and could not monitor what was happening here in real time. This allowed people to take advantage of the situation.

"Your company?" Amuro Tooru was a little puzzled. The information he received did not mention that Chu Ming had a company... This must be a breakthrough point!

“Yes, it’s my family’s company. It was a gift from my elders.” Chu Ming unceremoniously treated the company that Karasuma Renya had temporarily entrusted to him as his own. Since he was currently taking all the profits, how could it not be his? “Although it’s not registered under my name, it’s practically mine.”

"..." Amuro Tooru's lips twitched. He was wondering why he couldn't find the information. Do your elders know how shameless you are?

“I already know where the second bomb is.” Chu Ming didn’t want to keep getting information from Amuro Tooru, so he changed the subject. “Those letters, when reversed, spell ‘detective.’ He reversed the letters to mean he wanted to read ‘detective’ backwards, which is—Teitan.”

"There are schools named Teitan High School, ranging from kindergarten, elementary school, junior high school, high school to university. However, Ran said a few days ago that today is the day of their school's national mock exam. In addition, Ran is usually incredibly lucky and can't possibly miss a bad time like this. I think the culprit must have planted the bomb at Teitan High School."

As Amuro listened to the preceding reasoning, he felt a sense of sudden enlightenment, but when he heard the particularly idealistic reasoning that followed, he couldn't help but be filled with questions.

What does something this big have to do with a person's physical condition?

Or are you just making this up?

Chapter 349 This is Granbury!!

Chu Ming could see Amuro Tooru's distrust and couldn't help but hook his arm around his shoulder: "Don't disbelieve me, I'm serious. How about we sneak into Teitan High School and take a look?"

Amuro Tooru stood there, stunned, for a long time without saying a word.

"Mr. Amuro?" Chu Ming couldn't help but shake him.

Amuro Tooru quickly composed himself: "Ah, oh, okay, um, alright."

???

Chu Ming looked at Amuro Tooru, who had suddenly become strange, with suspicion on his face.

Amuro Tooru looked down at Chu Ming's hand on his shoulder, his heart filled with turmoil.

This feeling—

That natural ease, that feeling of casually putting my arm around his shoulder—

That's Grenbury, isn't it?!

His intuition is absolutely, positively correct!

A person can disguise themselves, change their voice, and change their body shape, but once you get close, this mysterious feeling tells him that it is exactly the same as the feeling when Granbury put his hand on his shoulder before!

You bastard Granbury, you toyed with my feelings! I thought you were some kind of good person through your disguise!

However, since it is Chu Ming, it is Granbury—

Does that mean he's seen everything I've done these past few days? What will he think? Will he find my behavior suspicious?

However, as a professional undercover agent, even in the most turbulent times, one cannot remain superficial.

He suppressed all his suspicions and secretly ran out from behind with Chu Ming.

"You said you'd take me in, but you just wanted to climb the wall with me?" Amuro Tooru looked at Chu Ming, who was clearly not very reliable, with a pained expression.

"Then how do you plan to get in?" Chu Ming glared at him irritably. "It's because you look old. Look at my face, I could definitely sneak in through the gatehouse, but you definitely can't. You look like a middle-aged or elderly person who has been worn out by work."

? ? ? ?

Amuro Tooru had nothing to say, since he had always presented himself as a diligent working man the previous times he had met Chu Ming.

He's not that old, even though.

Two furtive figures climbed over the wall of the playground. At this time, most students in the school were taking exams, and the campus was deserted with almost no one around.

This made it easier for Chu Ming and Amuro Tooru, who had sneaked in, to proceed without any obstacles or interference.

Following the small map, Chu Ming seemingly unintentionally led Amuro Tooru to the Teitan High School gymnasium. The moment Amuro Tooru saw the five large tanks inside, his expression changed.

Chu Ming pointed to the listening device next to the bomb, signaling Amuro Tooru to be careful and not let the bomber notice anything amiss. The last bomb hadn't killed him, and now he was the one who had delivered himself to the bomber's doorstep.

Amuro Tooru pulled out the bomb disposal tool he had just used. Luckily, he remembered to bring it with him when he was escaping, which made defusing the bomb much easier.

The two quietly disarmed the bomb before strolling out the door.

“If I were this prisoner, I would definitely hide in a place where I can see this spectacular fireworks display and admire my masterpiece.” Chu Ming looked around and pointed to the overpass opposite Teitan High School. “That’s a good spot, a perfect place to enjoy the view. Why don’t we go and ambush them beforehand?”

The thought that this criminal was the culprit who caused him to lose two close friends caused Amuro Tooru's demeanor to instantly shift to Bourbon's state, and the intense killing intent made Chu Ming's hair stand on end.

What's going on? Why did Amuro Tooru suddenly stop pretending?

Amuro Tooru was so angry that he wanted to kill, but there was also an element of intent involved. After all, he knew that Chu Ming was Gran Birch from the organization. Although he didn't look like him at all, the combination of Gran Birch's troublemaking personality with his current face was surprisingly seamless.