Free Web NovelChapter 152: Chapter 129: First Entry into the Nuclear Facility
Chu Bamboo walked out of the Police Chief Bureau, looked up at the Sun slowly rising on the horizon, and took a deep breath.
"What a life!"
After closing his eyes in thought for a moment, Chu Bamboo made his decision. He spun around, planted his feet, and shot off like an arrow loosed from a bow.
...
「Third District, Industrial Development Bank.」
Chu Bamboo gazed at the people coming and going from the bank’s entrance, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes. ’I’m back again,’ he thought.
He reached into his coat and pulled out a fox mask, fastening it over his face. Then, he set down the case he was carrying, opened it, and quickly assembled a gun.
He chambered a round and strode toward the bank’s entrance.
"Sir, you—!" The moment the bank guard saw Chu Bamboo, his body tensed instinctively. After all, it wasn’t long ago that they’d been robbed by a masked man... and this guy was holding something that looked an awful lot like a gun...
BANG!
A single, crisp gunshot rang out.
The guard froze. Fear washed over his face as he slowly turned his head, just in time to see the tempered glass shatter from the bullet’s impact.
’No way, is that a real gun? Wait, are we getting robbed again? How is this possible...’
’What the hell is happening? Is this place I’m in still Jinghai City, supposedly one of the safest cities in the country?!’
"You... I...!" Before the guard could say more, Chu Bamboo was on him, knocking him out cold with a single karate chop.
"Damn it!" Another guard had just frantically drawn his weapon when Chu Bamboo shot it right out of his hand. Bank guards were indeed issued firearms, but the regulations were extremely strict. Normally, they just went on duty with a baton because requisitioning a gun was too much of a hassle.
The only reason he had his gun this time was because of the robbery a few days ago. But he never imagined they’d actually be hit a second time so soon. That’s why he hadn’t reacted and opened fire the instant he saw the masked, gun-wielding Chu Bamboo.
"You!" The guard’s wrist hung limp, his body twitching occasionally. Cold sweat poured down his forehead; he suspected his hand was dislocated.
Swallowing hard, he looked up to find Chu Bamboo standing before him and managed to squeeze out an awkward smile.
The next moment, he too collapsed to the ground.
"Everyone, on the ground! Now!" Chu Bamboo strode into the bank, his voice urgent but his words clear. He fired several shots into the ceiling.
The customers, who had already sensed something was wrong, were now trembling in panic. Many even dropped to their knees.
"You, the fat pig over there! Yeah, you! What are you looking at?" Chu Bamboo smashed the teller window, vaulted over, and in a few steps, caught the portly bank manager who was trying to flee. A leg sweep brought the manager down, and Chu Bamboo pinned him to the floor with a sneer. "I believe I warned you before."
"How may I be of service?" the manager asked after a brief silence, forcing a friendly smile. He had chosen to be a wise man who yields to circumstances.
「A moment later.」
Chu Bamboo deftly opened the black box and took out a key and a map. A single chop to the manager’s neck knocked him unconscious.
Then, as was his custom, Chu Bamboo rushed to a certain conference room, kicked open a ventilation fan, and climbed inside—
With his Extraordinary Perception, he could hear the chaotic, panicked footsteps from the main hall, along with cries and shouts...
Evidently, since Chu Bamboo was alone and no one was watching the hostages—and because he was "merciful" enough not to use a bomb to blow them all up...
Everyone inside the bank had escaped!
Of course, that was something Chu Bamboo hadn’t expected.
Leaping down from a second-floor window, Chu Bamboo sped away, thinking calmly. ’From the looks of it, since everyone in the bank escaped, there are no hostages... and Miss Lu isn’t here either! The Police Chief Bureau should have far fewer reservations... Does that mean I have much less time than Big A and the others?’
’But it doesn’t matter!’
Chu Bamboo walked into an alley, took off the mask, threw it on the ground, and crushed it underfoot.
’I’ve concealed some things! Though, if Li Kang really wants to investigate, he’ll definitely be able to trace it back to me...’
After all, the bank has way too many cameras.
But...
"It’ll be impressive if they can figure it out in half a day," Chu Bamboo sneered. He was a Transcendent, so he didn’t need to worry about being flagged by Nuwa for noticing certain secrets.
Feeling the key in his pocket, Chu Bamboo vaulted over the alley wall and landed on the street on the other side.
And then, he saw a familiar person speeding away on a dirt bike.
’What a coincidence!’
...
"Sir, please stop right there." Chu Bamboo placed a hand on Guo Hairui’s shoulder with a beaming smile.
Guo Hairui: "????"
Just like last time, Guo Hairui turned his head stiffly, his expression bordering on horrified as he stared at Chu Bamboo.
As was routine, he forced Guo Hairui to stop and told him to wait at the Police Chief Bureau. Then, Chu Bamboo swung himself onto the dirt bike and sped off toward the nuclear facility out in the wilds.
「Half an hour later.」
Chu Bamboo gazed at the familiar mountain peak before him, took a deep breath, and began to climb. After fumbling around for a moment, he found the entrance, compared it briefly, and successfully inserted the key into a well-hidden keyhole.
In the next instant, the cracks in the rock around the key began to glow with an azure light.
A familiar voice spoke from within.
"Key detected! Commencing decryption... Decryption successful!"
With the sound of grinding stone, a large door slowly swung open.
And then...
’...How the hell do I close this door?!’ Chu Bamboo wondered after a moment, breaking into a cold sweat.
’Based on what I saw from a distance with the binoculars, shouldn’t pulling out the key close it?’
However, as Chu Bamboo now discovered firsthand, the key was impossible to remove once the door opened. At the same time, he did a quick sweep of the inside and couldn’t find any keyhole!
’In other words, even if I did manage to pull out the key and go inside... I probably wouldn’t be able to get back out?’
’But B2’s attitude at the time didn’t suggest there’d be this kind of problem!’
Chu Bamboo’s brow furrowed. He mulled it over and could only give a wry smile.
When it came down to it, the simple fact was that he was too unfamiliar with this place. Even if there was some hidden trick, he didn’t have time to figure it out now.
"Right!" A sudden thought lit up Chu Bamboo’s eyes. "Artificial intelligence, are you there? Can you eject the key and close the door? When I want to leave later, I’ll call you to open it again?"
However, there was no response.
"!!!" Chu Bamboo fell into deep thought. ’Is it because I didn’t use the wake-up name? Just like I have to call Nuwa ’Nuwa No. 17’!’
’But the problem is, what wake-up name am I supposed to use now?’
’Nukey? Nuclear Facility Admin? Little White? Little Black? No...’
Chu Bamboo’s expression shifted several times before he finally gave up the struggle.
’I’ll just go in and take a look! If the door’s open, it’s open. If the Captain’s Office reacts and actually corners me here, I can just kill myself. I still have six chances today!’
’Besides, if time is really too tight and I have to close this door to succeed in my Cultivation... I’ll just find B2 and torture him a bit in the next reset!’
Slapping his cheeks, Chu Bamboo psyched himself up and strode inside.
