172.

"Damn it!"

I don't know how many times I bumped into the iron gate. Half of my body was almost numb and my head was filled with buzzing sounds from the impact.

Despite this, Morofu Jingguang did not break down the iron gate. He stopped his action tiredly and looked at the young girl next to him, trying to bring a different turn of events to the other party.

But, no.

Furutani Rei just kept dialing the number of a reckless bastard with a sullen face, but he was so angry at the repeated useless tones that he almost threw the phone away.

The usually calm and self-possessed blond young man was rarely furious. His eyes were full of bloodshot. He was breathing heavily and didn't know what to say for a moment.

Just start dialing the number again, over and over again.

"Chiyodani Toru." Morofushi Kagemitsu didn't know what to do for a moment. He clenched his fists, pressed against the iron gate, and muttered, "Open the door for me."

"You guys... do you know what you are doing?"

…

The brown-haired young man felt that his breathing was a little difficult. The last scene he saw in the elevator caught his eyes and made them bloodshot when he opened and closed his eyes.

The corner of the clothes of a classmate wearing a police academy uniform was blown up by the wind, and a very bright red stain was spread on his left arm, which slid down along the fair skin that they usually teased as "even girls would be jealous of" and splashed on the ground.

Not far from Chiyodani Toru, a man was sitting under the railing with a confused look on his face. The long black object flashing on his chest was exactly what the teacher had used as an example in their explosive ordnance disposal class.

The bomb was flashing, obviously entering the startup stage.

"Retreat! Come back here, you bastard!"

After a brief panic, Morobushi Keimitsu saw everything clearly and even forgot that he was still in the elevator.

He tried hard to rush over and pull back the figure that had become particularly ferocious after just being away for a while.

But there was no chance. What he touched was the cold elevator wall and what he saw was Chiyodani Toru's back as he closed the iron door mercilessly.

That guy seemed like a lone hero who never looked back.

Just a time difference of a few seconds resulted in this outcome.

Why was Chiyotani Toru injured and who hurt him? Why did the chairman of Ooi Department Store appear on the rooftop with a bomb tied to his body?

These issues have become unimportant at this moment.

After the elevator door opened, Morofushi Kagemitsu rushed over like a madman, banging against the iron gate with all his might, shouting Chiyodani Toru's name, but perhaps because the sound of the refrigerator on the rooftop was too loud, the person inside never responded to him.

——Or maybe I don’t want to be involved with him.

Morofushi Kagemitsu forgot how long he had been in the collision before he remembered to use his phone to contact others, but until Furuya Rei rushed over and Date Kou went to the administrator to ask for the key to the rooftop, there was no movement from inside.

"Time is almost up." Fūya Ling glanced at his phone and said irritably, "There are still three minutes left. The bomb of Huaxin Corporation has been dismantled, but Matsuda and his men can't come back now."

"There's nothing we can do." He exhaled slowly, "Neither you nor I know how to defuse a bomb. It's useless even if the door is opened."

Morobushi Kagemitsu gritted his teeth. He knew that Furuya Rei was telling the truth, but at this moment, he hated his own incompetence extremely.

If only he had been a step faster, if only he could have broken open the iron door, if only he could have defused the bomb...

A string of "ifs" are like false bubbles that can be burst at any time, and even he cannot fool himself.

Maybe Chiyodani Toru felt that they wouldn't be able to help even if they came, so in order to prevent others from getting hurt, he isolated himself from all dangers and took it all on himself?

That guy...is always the best at showing off.

"Zero, he'll be fine, right?"

"Yeah." Furiya Rei responded quietly, his purple-gray eyes looking through the thick iron gate, as if he could directly see the figure of his peers.

Chiyodani Toru's backpack has everything, including a lot of portable bomb disposal equipment. Logically, there should also be a bandage that he can wrap around himself if he gets injured.

In short, we are fully prepared.

He said: "Toru's ability to defuse bombs is no worse than Matsuda's. In fact, his patience and calculation ability are far beyond ordinary people."

It's hard to say these things when you're injured and bleeding.

Furiya Rei didn't say the second half of the sentence. What they needed now was not the facts.

Zhu Fu Jingguang said tiredly: "Now I actually hope that he is lying to us."

There were no bombs or crises at all. It was just a ten-minute shopping spree. Chiyotani Toru would carry the books he wanted to buy, and they would also hide the gifts they had prepared.

Then, Kenji Hagiwara would pretend to have won a prize and give the extra giant ice cream they prepared to Toru Chiyodani, and they could leave the building together holding the popsicles they bought.

At that time, Jinpei Matsuda would pretend to go to the repair shop to buy parts, and after arriving at the place, he would get on the taxi that had been booked in advance, and together they would "kidnap" Chiyodani Toru to the birthday celebration location.

In the end, this night will be spent in the black-haired young man's surprised expression. They may drink together, sing together, and it can even be said that Jinpei Matsuda is ready to have a "competition" between men with Toru Chiyogaya at the birthday party.

All these beautiful ideas were shattered by that neat and concise text message.

But if it had been before, Chiyodani Toru might not have even sent them a text message to inform them, but would have contacted the police himself and handled everything himself, right?

It's actually progress...

Morofu Jingguang felt like laughing for a moment.

Furiya Rei didn't have any thoughts, or rather, his anger and panic had become silent in the silent calls that no one answered. His emotions suddenly left his body, and he seemed to be moving through a layer of glass.

He simply quietly incorporated bomb disposal into his skill set and also added a lock picking skill.

Finally, he let go of his sweat-soaked phone, looked at the text message, and said to Zhu Fu Jingguang: "The squad leader has come up with the key."

"The stretcher couldn't get into the elevator, so the paramedics came from the stairs, but it only took two minutes."

"Everything will be fine."

Zhu Fu Jingguang took a step back and made room in front of the door.

"I can't let him play dumb and pitiful and get away with it this time." He rubbed the iron filings in his hands, clenched his slightly swollen palms into fists, and his blue-gray eyes were suppressed, like the sea before a storm. "He is just a - bastard."

173.

“Click.”

As the last correct wire was cut, the red-glowing bomb flashed and then completely extinguished. There was no loud movement or exciting sound effects, only a calm sigh.

Reality is not a comic book, the audience will not applaud this, but will be filled with aftertaste.

The black-haired young man only slightly hooked the small silver scissors with his slender index finger. The dust and blood on the scissors prevented the sun from reflecting any offensive light on them.

He raised his head with some difficulty, exposing his face hidden under the cap completely to the sunlight.

His face, which was so pale that it could no longer be described, now looked gray from excessive blood loss. Sweat was like dewdrops rolling on lotus leaves in the early morning, falling in unison with his movements, landing on his short-sleeved shirt that had already been soaked into dark black, without leaving any trace.

He knelt quietly in front of Oigawa Arata, the wound on his left arm seemed to have solidified, and it seemed that no more blood could flow out, appearing a deeper red. The red spread and formed strange shapes on the dusty concrete floor.

The calmness diluted the pain, and the silence replaced the excitement. The young man seemed to be sitting in the center of the ceremony, offering a sacrifice to the gods.

"Is it over...?" Oigawa Arata murmured in a daze. He was completely stiff at this moment, and the numbness brought by his sitting posture spread from his toes to his scalp, but he still dared not move.

As if he could sense what he was saying, the young man tried to give a soothing smile, but he didn't even have the strength to raise the corners of his mouth. His gentle eyes, which seemed to be soaked in a pool of spring water, were now blurred and he couldn't focus them no matter how hard he tried.

Yes, it's over.

Oigawa Arata saw his own numb and panicked figure in his eyes, and also saw the answer he gave.

But in this situation, he did not dare to act rashly.

So scary.

He was afraid that his careless actions would cause this police officer, who had burned his life in the sun, to fall to the ground, lifeless.

"Is there anyone..." he said tremblingly, "Is there anyone who can come in?"

At this moment, Oigawa Arata regretted deeply that he had smashed the phone to pieces, leaving him without even the chance to contact the outside world. However, the young man's phone had stopped vibrating at some point and was lying in the black backpack next to him, without any sound.

The person who called him persisted for so long, he must have been very worried about him, right?

He should be the classmate from the police academy that Chiyodani Toru mentioned, and the most important person to him.

For them, this should have been a risk-free shopping trip, not a life-and-death entanglement.

"Tetsu, Tetsu-kun, please hold on a little longer."

Oigawa Arata gritted his teeth, leaned sideways, and tried not to alarm the young man. He reached out to grab the backpack and took out the cell phone hanging next to it.

The screen of Chiyodani Toru's cell phone lit up when he touched it. The blood-red missed notifications on it were like death symbols, directly stinging his eyes.

Oigawa Arata directly dialed the number at the top, and the call was connected immediately after ringing once.

The other party seemed to have not expected the call to come in, and even uttered a few meaningless words in a panic after the call was connected. Finally, a shout that was almost like gnashing teeth came from inside: "Chiyodani Toru!"

"yes!"

As if startled by the familiar shout, the young man, who had almost closed his eyes, was suddenly startled and shouted in response subconsciously.

But this answer was only received by Oigawa Arata.

Although the former seemed to want to shout out loud as a conditioned reflex in response to his companion's greeting, only the people in front of him knew that the faint voice emitted by the black-haired young man was so soft that it seemed to be covered by the wind.

Oigawa Arata felt his throat was choked up, as if it was blocked by a ball of cotton, but he didn't even have time to swallow it. He just said in panic: "You are his classmate, right? He and I are on the rooftop now..."

"We know!" The voice on the other side interrupted his explanation quickly and loudly, "We are outside the rooftop door now, how is he doing?!"

"I'm fine..."

"I'm fine."

Although he could no longer hear the outside sounds, the young man still connected with the other party tacitly, like a babbling child, repeating these three words stubbornly.

Oigawa Arata almost cried out, "Come here quickly!"

"He's fine, he's really fine!"

"He will be alive and well... Please come quickly!"

"Come in quickly..."

In the pale sky, the distant screen suddenly lit up, and the sweet smiling face of a girl with a ponytail appeared on the screen, holding a large bunch of dazzling golden sunflowers in her hand.

Behind her was a lively scene. Balloons and streamers filled the room. The girl's favorite Doraemon doll was leaning quietly in the corner. Above her head was a red banner with large gold-plated characters on it.

——Happy 8th birthday to little Ooi Wei!

happy birthday……

"Bang--!"

The heavy iron door was still violently opened with the help of the key, and the noise instantly flooded into the rooftop. The chaotic footsteps and shouts of someone seemed to have directly moved the scene of the birthday party over.

The young man wearing the same school uniform as Chiyodani Toru fell to the ground in a panic, then quickly climbed up by pushing off the ground.

"Chiyodani Toru!" someone shouted loudly.

"Chiyodani Toru!" Someone rushed in front of them.

Oigawa Arata looked at the young men in front of him who were anxious and frightened. Each of them was sweating and dusty. They had obviously not experienced anything, but they looked more frightened than him.

Somehow, he remembered the black-haired young man's smiling complaint when he was defusing the bomb. Although he was expressing his worry that he might get beaten, there was still a gentle dependence in his eyes.

He subconsciously said: "Don't beat him..."

These words seemed so funny to be told at this moment, but they made everyone's noses sore that they almost burst into tears.

Zhu Fu Jingguang gritted his teeth and said, "Let him tell us himself!"

The scene was really a mess.

It was as if all the blood in the young man's body had been drained, and the ground they stepped on was all dark and light colors. The scorching sun took less than two minutes to drain all the moisture from the ground, leaving only iron-red fragments, which were then covered with new ones.

Layer upon layer, it is an oil painting blooming with life.

Furukaya Rei couldn't even remember how he walked to the young man's side, picked up his bag that was lying in a pool of blood, and carefully knelt on one knee in front of him.

Chiyodani Toru still looked up, and his usual dislike for the sunlight completely disappeared at this moment. He blinked with some effort and met the purple-gray eyes of Furukaya Rei.

It seemed like he wanted to laugh, but failed.

"Don't you dare close your fucking eyes, idiot!"

"No sleep!"

The expression on the blond young man's face had long since disappeared, turning into a blank. He was swearing nonsense, but his hands gently and slowly grabbed Chiyodani Toru's intact arm.

It's too cold.

The arm was as cold as if it had been pulled out of a freezer, and it was covered with slippery cold sweat. Fūya Rei slid down and felt that his fingers were trembling involuntarily.

He had lost so much blood that his body was like a machine about to be scrapped, issuing warnings recklessly.

For a moment, Fūya Reiichi felt like he was caressing a corpse.

He hurriedly dismissed this horrific association, put one hand on the back of the young man's neck, and with the other hand passed through his legs, he slowly picked up the man with the help of Morobushi Kagemitsu who was standing beside him.

The young man obediently let him do what he wanted, his eyelashes flickering in the sunlight, but he kept staring stubbornly.

He seemed to open his mouth to say something. Furiya Rei stared at him and after a while he managed to decipher that he was saying - it was so warm.

Isn't it warm? The sun is so bright, the temperature is so high, and he and Zhufu Jingguang both have hot and trembling hands.

But the person who said this was Chiyodani Toru.

A guy who is afraid of heat on weekdays and even looks disgusted when drinking warm water.

Morofushi Jingguang also tried hard to stare, as if he wanted to burn through the bastard in front of him who was wasting his life.

Only he himself knew that he was just trying to prevent the tears that had unknowingly accumulated in his eyes from falling.

How embarrassing...

The injured person did not cry, but as a bystander, I couldn't help my emotions.

Only after the black-haired young man was slowly placed on the stretcher did they blink at the same time and simultaneously stretched out their sleeves to wipe their faces roughly.

"Matsuda and the others are downstairs now. The whole building has been sealed off." Standing aside, Date Kou, who did not go up to cause trouble, helped Oigawa Arata, who was lying limp on the ground, and said to the two, "Toru will be fine."

The two of them simply responded and followed the cautious medical staff, gradually leaving the rooftop.

Date looked at Oigawa Arata, who was already in tears, patted his shoulder and consoled him: "Happy birthday to your daughter. Everything is over now."

"What on earth... did I do?" After a while, Oigawa Arata spoke hoarsely.

"I ruined his birthday."

174.

The seventh floor was really high. Even though the people upstairs wanted to run down quickly and the people below wanted to rush upstairs, the few minutes wasted in between were enough for them to calm down.

In the chaotic crowd, Furuya Rei and others met Hagiwara Kenji and others, and then watched Chiyodani Toru being carried into the ambulance.

The young man was still semi-conscious. When he was safely placed in the ambulance and began to receive a blood transfusion using a blood bag prepared in advance, he even had enough energy to tug at the corner of the clothes of a medical staff member next to him.

The paramedic paused and began to tend to his wounds.

After a while, other people came up.

The only ones who followed were Kenji Hagiwara, Rei Furuya, and Kagemitsu Morofushi. Jinpei Matsuda, a police officer from the Bomb Disposal Unit who was the main force in bomb disposal, was there for the second time, while Kou Date was there to help the police explain the situation.

But even though they didn't come, the concern for their companions and the targeted anger were inherited by the remaining three without any reservation.

"Fool!"

Seeing the blood-soaked figure lying on the hospital bed, Kenji Hagiwara blurted out the swear words that had been on his lips for a long time. He rushed to the side of Chiyodani Toru almost excitedly, and then stopped with some trembling.

The young man lying on the hospital bed still had dust on his cheeks, and his soft black eyes flickered under the overhead light, as if hiding little stars.

His cheeks were slightly red, perhaps because he had received a blood transfusion, or perhaps because the treatment nearby had caused him pain.

He just smiled at Kenji Hagiwara, but he didn't know what he was laughing at, and he didn't even have the strength to lip-sync.

"Stop swearing, this guy can't hear you now." Furuya Rei walked over and patted Hagiwara Kenji on the shoulder, signaling him to calm down, but he couldn't help but sigh, "This idiot..."

He had lost so much blood that even his five senses were blurred. Not to mention talking to them, he probably couldn't even register where he was.

But even so, Chiyodani Toru can still smile, and it is that kind of soothing smile that makes people from three years old to eighty years old feel at ease.

He was still immersed in the joy of saving a life, and even though he was almost unconscious, he still remembered to comfort the crowd.

Incredibly gentle.

Furiya Rei bit his lower lip tightly and leaned his head against the car wall. The emotions that had been blank for a long time seemed to return to his body belatedly, like a reservoir with the gate opened. The torrent swept into his brain and caused him to collapse for a moment.

What to do...

Will Chiyotani Toru have any sequelae from this? If so, can he continue to be a police officer?

We agreed to compete, but how can he compete in this state?

Even if he didn't consider what would happen in the future, he still couldn't let go of the worry at the moment.

Oigawa Arata didn't have a gun on him, so how did Chiyodani Toru get shot? Could this still be a conspiracy from the dark to take his life?

Suddenly, someone next to him pushed him mercilessly. When he came to his senses, he realized that he had bitten his lips and made them bleed.

"Zero." His childhood sweetheart glanced at him casually, seemingly unaware of his emotional fluctuations. "Get up."

He followed in a daze. The ambulance was driving smoothly without any bumps or collisions, but Fūya Rei's legs inexplicably felt weak.

The doctor who had been standing by the bed waved to them, his expression unclear behind the mask and glasses.

Fūya Rei's face turned pale for a moment. The opponent's pause made him feel as if he was waiting for the judgment of fate.

Morofushi Jingguang grasped his arm tightly, and the strength increased involuntarily.

"No way, doctor." Hagiwara Kenji said in a confused tone, "How could this be..."

The other party paused for a second and continued: "The patient seems to have regained some consciousness and seems to have something to say."

The three of them gasped suddenly, picked up the souls that were almost scared out of their bodies, and stuck them back to themselves.

After pulling aside the thin curtain, the three of them walked in side by side, and this time they really met Chiyodani Toru's eyes, which were turning around smartly.

Just like a sunflower with extremely strong vitality, even now he was trying hard to stay awake, and even looked at the three people in turn.

The quiet Chiyodani Toru makes people feel sorry for him, but as soon as he turns his eyes, the anger in some people's hearts soars high.

"What do you want to say?" Zhu Fu Jingguang took a deep breath, "Now don't talk, just lie down and rest, understand?"

The latter blinked his eyes in a flattering manner and mouthed with difficulty: "Can I close my eyes and go to sleep now?"

The scene was quiet for a moment.

Morofushi Kagemitsu: “……?”

Hagihara Kenji: "...?"

Furuya Rei: “.”

The blond young man opened and closed his lips twice but no words came out. Only then did he remember what he had said in anger on the rooftop just now.

This guy obviously wanted to survive so badly that he would not be beaten by them afterwards, so he was so well behaved that he even reported this.

Chiyodani Toru's unique skill of pretending to be pitiful and getting away with it.

But it didn't work this time.

It's a bit funny that I got angry.

"You bastard..." he cursed, "Go to sleep now, I'll settle the score with you when you wake up!"

The black-haired young man seemed to have noticed this as well. He pursed his lips a little aggrievedly, raised his right hand which was lying flat on the thin quilt slightly, waved it in front of the three people, and hooked his fingers.

Whenever they encountered a case, this guy would always clap his hands proudly after solving it, calling it cultivating tacit understanding among his companions.

What's the point of high-fiving nowadays?

The three of them all complained in their hearts at the same time, but they stretched out their hands with an upright attitude and lightly touched the pair of cold palms, which separated as soon as they touched.

"Operation success!"

Several people seemed to hear the young man's soft and joyful voice.

This time, those black eyes finally closed peacefully, and even the corners of his mouth revealed a childish yet smug smile.

Morofu Jingguang stuffed his hands into the quilt, and the three of them quietly lifted the curtain and left.

This time, he was still sitting on a chair waiting, but Furuya Rei felt as if he was in another world.

I don't know why, but the panic I felt disappeared in an instant.

He took out his cell phone stiffly and checked the time.

Sixteen twenty-eight.

There are still seven hours and thirty-two minutes until the end of today and until Chiyodani Toru's birthday.