You went on a blind date and presented an A-level wanted criminal as a meeting gift?

"Glug! Glug! Glug!"

Lin Chen tilted his head back, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, and withstood the murderous gazes of the two stunning beauties as he forced down the large bucket of scalding hot chicken soup.

"ha--!"

Lin Chen exhaled a long breath of hot air, casually stuffed the empty thermos back into his mother Shen Manyun's hands, and wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth.

"Mom, this soup is really good, cooked just right."

"I used up a lot of energy catching the thief, but I've recovered completely now."

Lin Chen spoke nonsense with a straight face, trying to forcibly shift the suffocating atmosphere of the chaotic scene.

Shen Manyun was completely stunned as she held the empty bucket.

She glanced at Su Ke'er, who was puffing up with anger and had slightly red eyes, then at Su Qingge, who was as cold as ice and seemed ready to draw her gun at any moment, and finally glared fiercely at her good-for-nothing son.

Is this brat's head filled with nothing but wood?!

With such a great opportunity, if you just share a bowl with that young girl, you'll have her as your wife!

You actually did it all by yourself?!

Even Pigsy eating ginseng fruit wasn't this impatient!

"You...you brat! You're going to be the death of me!"

Shen Manyun raised her hand as if to hit her.

Seeing this, Su Ke'er immediately grabbed Shen Manyun's arm with heartache and acted coquettishly in a soft voice.

"Auntie, please don't hit Brother Lin Chen. He must be exhausted from saving us."

"It's okay if Ke'er doesn't drink it, as long as Brother Lin Chen is safe and sound."

These words, so full of cunning yet incredibly sincere, instantly melted Shen Manyun's heart.

"Oh, my Ke'er is so sensible! Come on, Auntie will take you to get something delicious. Ignore this blockhead!"

Shen Manyun held Su Ke'er's hand, acting as affectionately as a mother and daughter.

Watching this scene, Su Qingge's beautiful face was still frosty, but deep in her beautiful eyes, a trace of bitterness and loss that she herself did not notice flashed.

She bit her red lips, forcibly shifting her gaze away from Lin Chen, and resumed her aloof demeanor as the head of the Iron-Blooded Major Crimes Unit.

"Lin Chen, don't be too happy yet."

Su Qingge spoke coldly, her voice as cold as ancient ice.

"That teacher, Mr. Gao, has been taken back to the station for a surprise interrogation."

"But he was just a brainwashed fanatic; the real mastermind, Jack, is still at large."

"I know."

Lin Chen dropped his nonchalant smile, a chilling glint flashing in his deep, dark eyes.

"This is just a farce to lure the tiger away from the mountain."

"Jack went to all this trouble, even risking exposing a perfect undercover agent, definitely not just to watch me defuse a fake bomb."

"He must be plotting something bigger."

Lin Chen had just finished speaking.

An unexpected change has occurred!

"Zzzzzzz—!!!"

The campus, which had just returned to peace, was suddenly filled with an extremely piercing electrical microphone howl again!

But this is just the beginning!

"Holy crap! Why is my phone screen black?!"

"Mine too! What happened? Did we get a virus?"

"Look outside! What's wrong with the big screen?!"

Outside the cordon, the crowd of onlookers suddenly erupted in terrified screams!

Lin Chen and Su Qingge turned their heads sharply to look.

Outside the gate of Jiangcheng No. 1 Middle School, on that bustling commercial street, all the large outdoor LED signs, the giant TV screens on the exterior walls of shopping malls, and even the electronic signs at the roadside bus stops...

At the same time, they all turned into extremely eerie black and white snowflakes!

Not only that!

All the smartphones belonging to the police officers, students, and onlookers present lost control and were forced to display the same static screen!

"Buzz—!"

With a low electronic buzz, the static on hundreds of thousands of screens across the city vanished instantly.

Instead, there is an extremely dark basement background filled with medieval Gothic style.

In the center of the screen stands a man.

He was dressed in an extremely sophisticated and perfectly tailored black tailcoat, with a tall black top hat on his head, and a ghastly white clown mask on his face with a mouth that stretched to his ears!

Magician, Jack!

Good evening, beautiful yet foolish city.

Jack bowed with impeccable grace, giving the camera a perfectly gentlemanly bow.

His voice had been processed with a special voice changer, making it hoarse and distorted, with a terrifying quality that seemed to be able to scrape the human soul directly with a fingernail.

"Mr. Lin Chen, I know you're watching me right now."

Even through the screen, Jack's eyes, hidden behind the mask, seemed to meet Lin Chen's gaze directly.

"The little game we played at school just now was just a minor warm-up."

"Seeing you solve my puzzle so easily, I'm really...very, very happy!"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Jack suddenly burst into a maniacal laugh, opening his arms as if embracing the whole world.

"Therefore, to express my respect for you, I have decided to elevate this performance to the highest level!"

"Mr. Lin Chen, and all the lambs trembling in front of your screens, listen up."

Jack's voice suddenly became extremely soft, yet it carried a chilling aura of death.

"I planted three real 'Big Tsar Bomba' high-explosive bombs in three corners of this city, each powerful enough to level an entire building."

"This is neither a drill nor a counterfeit product."

"Countdown: Three hours."

Jack raised his hand and snapped his fingers crisply.

A bright red countdown timer suddenly appeared in the bottom right corner of the screen: [02:59:59]!

"As for the location of these three bombs..."

Jack's split, clown-like lips seemed to curl into an extremely mocking smile.

"I've already put the clue on the internal network of your Jiangcheng City Police Department."

"Come find me, Lin Chen."

"Run, struggle, and despair to your heart's content in this death maze I've meticulously crafted for you!"

"Good luck, my nemesis."

"Ha ha ha ha--!!!"

"Sizzle!"

The image on the screen instantly cut off, and all the outdoor screens and mobile phones returned to normal.

However, after a brief period of silence, the entire city of Jiangcheng was in complete uproar!

"Bombs?! The whole city is bombed?!"

"Run! Get out of the city! Drive away!"

"Help! Where are the police?! What are the police doing?!"

Panic spread wildly in every corner of Jiangcheng City at an alarming rate!

On the street, the originally orderly flow of traffic instantly turned into a frenzy of bumper cars.

In an attempt to escape the city center, countless drivers frantically honked their horns, ran red lights, and drove against traffic, resulting in continuous chain-reaction car accidents at various intersections!

The city's traffic came to a complete standstill in just three minutes!

"Beep beep beep beep—!"

The police communicator on Su Qingge's waist started ringing frantically.

"Captain Su! The city police command center's phones are ringing off the hook!"

"Hundreds of stampedes and traffic accidents have occurred throughout the city!"

"Director Lu has issued the top-level order: all personnel must immediately return to the city bureau!"

"The network surveillance department has taken full control of the internal network and is working diligently to decipher the clues left by Jack!"

The voice of the on-duty police officer came through the communicator, hoarse and desperate.

Su Qingge's pretty face was extremely pale.

Three high-explosive bombs!

Three hours!

If the suspect cannot be found within the stipulated time, this city with millions of inhabitants will face an unprecedented disaster!

"Lin Chen..."

Su Qingge turned her head, her voice even trembling slightly.

However, when she looked at Lin Chen, she was stunned.

At this moment, Lin Chen showed no panic or fear whatsoever.

He stood tall and straight, his hands in his suit trouser pockets.

Those deep, dark eyes gleamed with absolute rationality and the extreme excitement of a hunter eyeing its prey!

"Want to play with me in the online world?"

A chilling, arrogant smile slowly curved Lin Chen's lips.

His long, slender, fair fingers crossed and moved their joints with remarkable agility in the air, producing a chilling "crackling" sound.

"Jack, you've chosen the wrong battlefield."

"Qingge, get in the car! Back to the Municipal Bureau!"

Lin Chen flung open the door of the Audi RS7, waited for Su Qingge to get in, and then sped off towards the Municipal Bureau.