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

"Tick-tock...tick-tock...tick-tock..."

On the giant spherical bomb, bright red numbers danced relentlessly; the time was down to the last five minutes.

04: 59…

04: 58…

The cold, hard numbers are like the death knell tolled by the Grim Reaper; each tick means the city is one step closer to destruction.

Lin Chen stood in front of the bomb, his expression calm and undisturbed.

He activated [God-level Mechanical Mastery] and [God-level Materials Science Mastery], his sharp gaze like the highest-precision X-ray, instantly penetrating the bomb's thick alloy shell and revealing its intricate, spiderweb-like internal structure.

This is a killing machine that can be described as a work of art.

Designer Chen Yuan clearly poured all his heart and soul into his "work".

First, there is the core detonation device.

It is not a traditional single fuse, but an extremely complex composite structure.

The outermost layer is an electronic lock that requires a twelve-digit dynamic password.

The password is refreshed every thirty seconds. If the password is entered incorrectly three times or if a brute-force attack is attempted, the internal circuitry will self-destruct and instantly detonate the bomb.

Beneath the electronic lock lies an even more insidious design—a mercury balance tube.

Inside the bomb, a small tube of highly toxic mercury was contained in a sophisticated glass tube.

If the bomb is subjected to any vibration exceeding 0.2G, or tilted at an angle exceeding five degrees, the mercury will flow and touch the electrodes at both ends, thus detonating instantly.

This completely eliminates any possibility of moving or transporting the bomb.

Deep inside, connecting the main power supply and the detonator, are dozens of detonating wires of identical color, thickness, and material, tangled together like a chaotic mess. Only one of them is the actual detonator; the rest are traps. Cutting any one of them will have only one result—BOOM!

"Mercury balance, a tamper-proof combination lock, and a fake fuse game... Chen Yuan, is that all you've got?"

A cold, extremely contemptuous smile curled at the corner of Lin Chen's mouth.

To others, this might seem like an unsolvable dead end.

But in front of him, who possesses a god-like knowledge base, this is nothing more than a child's childish and laughable trick of showing off his toys.

He didn't even bother to follow the standard bomb disposal procedures.

Because what he was going to use was a kind of dimensional reduction attack that Chen Yuan could never understand.

He didn't touch the red-glowing keypad, nor did he examine the dazzling array of wires.

He simply and slowly pulled a small glass bottle, resembling a perfume bottle, from his pocket.

The bottle contained half a bottle of clear, slightly viscous liquid.

This was a special strong acid preparation that he had "borrowed" from Jiang Tingxue's laboratory at the forensic center. It was specially formulated by her and used to dissolve high-strength alloys.

Lin Chen unscrewed the bottle cap and activated [God-level Micro-expression Control] and [God-level Magic Hand Speed].

His hand was as steady as a rock weathered over millions of years.

He tilted the bottle, and a single, crystal-clear drop of strong acid landed precisely on an extremely inconspicuous seam of the bomb's combination lock.

"laugh--!"

A soft, roasting sound was heard, and a wisp of white smoke rose.

The hard outer shell, made of special titanium alloy and strong enough to withstand bullets, was quickly and silently corroded into a pinhole-sized hole the moment it came into contact with the drop of strong acid, just like ice meeting a hot iron!

Then came the second drop, the third drop...

Lin Chen's movements were unhurried and rhythmic.

Each drop of strong acid he dripped was precisely applied to the hole corroded by the previous drop, continuously deepening and widening it.

Throughout the entire process, not a single drop of excess liquid spilled out; the control was exquisite to the extreme!

Just thirty seconds later, a smooth, round hole the size of a fingernail appeared on the seemingly indestructible combination lock.

Through the hole, you can clearly see the complex motherboard inside, which is shimmering with a faint light.

Step one, done.

Then, Lin Chen took out a can from another pocket.

It was an ordinary-looking can of dry ice spray that you could buy at any computer store, used to cool down the CPU.

He picked up the spray can and aimed it at the precise location on the alloy casing, which he had already calculated using his [God-Level Physics Mastery], corresponding to the internal mercury balance tube.

Then, he pressed the nozzle.

"hiss--!"

A white mist, carrying an aura of extreme cold, shot out wildly!

Solid carbon dioxide at -78.5 degrees Celsius sublimated rapidly upon contact with the bomb's metal casing, carrying away a huge amount of heat!

A layer of white frost rapidly condensed and spread at the spray point at a speed visible to the naked eye!

"Click...click..."

The metal groaned under the extreme cold.

Inside the bomb, in the mercury balance tube that determined the lives of countless people, the liquid mercury, which had been swaying slightly with Lin Chen's movements, instantly slowed down and stopped its molecular movement upon contact with the extreme low temperature transmitted through the metal casing.

Just ten seconds.

The deadly liquid mercury solidified completely into a silvery-white solid that had lost all fluidity!

The mercury balance device has failed!

Step two, done.

After all this was done, the countdown on the LCD screen had reached the last three minutes.

03: 01…

03: 00…

Lin Chen glanced at the time, his face remaining completely expressionless.

He casually tossed the dry ice spray aside, and then did something that would give any bomb disposal expert a heart attack on the spot—a truly insane move.

He extended two fingers and inserted them directly into the hole corroded by the strong acid, precisely pinching the thickest wire on the motherboard that connected to the power supply.

Then, pull hard!

"Rip—!"

Accompanied by a piercing crackling sound of electric sparks!

He tore the main power line off with his bare hands in the most violent, direct, and unreasonable way!

Inside the bomb, a series of chaotic electrical sparks flashed for a moment, then it fell into eternal silence.

On the LCD screen, the bright red countdown number, frozen at "02:57", flashed twice before finally, unwillingly, going out completely.

The crisis is over.

The entire process was fluid and seamless, brimming with a hardcore, breathtaking scientific beauty.

This is hardly a bomb disposal operation.

This is clearly a magnificent solo performance jointly staged by chemistry and physics!

However, just as Lin Chen disarmed the bomb, the entire main valve room fell into a deathly silence.

A sinister, manic, and mocking laugh suddenly rang out from the loudspeaker in the corner, shattering the silence.

"Hahaha... Hahahaha! Lin Chen! I admit you're very strong! Stronger than I imagined! You even managed to unpack my first 'gift'!"

It's Chen Yuan's voice!

"But you've been fooled! You thought this was my main course? Wrong! Utterly wrong!"

"The real bomb, the most powerful one, and I'm waiting for you at the third detonation point!"

"Look at the time, you're too late! Soon, very soon you'll hear the city's most magnificent requiem for you! Hahahaha!"

Maniacal laughter echoed continuously in the empty underground pipes, filled with an apocalyptic despair.