Chapter 54 The First Player

I didn't expect Cointreau to have such hobbies, like eating marshmallows, riding the Ferris wheel, etc... These are obviously very girly hobbies.

How weird.

The look in Miyano Shiho's eyes when she looked at Saikai Haruto became a little strange.

Saikai Haruto glanced at her casually, neither denying nor acknowledging it, but simply said, "This Ferris wheel is the largest in Japan. Do you want to take a spin? The view from up there should be pretty good."

The tone was like that of the wolf who seduced Little Red Riding Hood.

He added casually, "I guess you didn't have much time to go out and have fun when you were in America, didn't you?"

Shiho Miyano studied in the United States, earning a bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree simultaneously. Even though she was a genius among geniuses, if she wanted to complete her studies in just a few years, she would have no free time to rest, let alone play.

When Miyano Akemi heard this, she naturally thought of this. She looked at Miyano Shiho with a look of heartache and continued to follow Saikai Haruto's words in a considerate manner.

"Shiho, let's go ride the Ferris wheel together. I haven't been out with Shiho for a long time."

"Okay, I'll sit with my sister." Miyano Shiho surrendered instantly.

It was easy to reject the proposal from Cointreau, but Miyano Shiho refused to move because of her sister's concern, and was soon taken onto the Ferris wheel by Miyano Akemi.

"...Do you want to sit in the same cabin with us?"

However, even though she said she wanted to ride the Ferris wheel, there was obvious reluctance and rejection in Miyano Shiho's eyes when she looked at Saikai Haruto.

It's nice to ride the Ferris wheel with my sister, but if there's a Cointreau in the mix...it's not so nice.

"Hey, Shirley, are you inviting me to sit with you?"

Xi Haiqingdou raised an eyebrow, and seeing that Miyano Shiho frowned and pursed her lips in displeasure, he stopped teasing her, and a barely perceptible smile flashed across his eyes: "I won't disturb you two sisters' time and act like a third wheel. Don't worry, I'll sit in the back alone."

11:32 p.m.

Haruto Nishimi sent Miyano Akemi and Miyano Shiho to cabin 67 of the Ferris wheel.

As an "outsider", he was naturally separated from the Miyano sisters and chose to sit in another cabin behind them.

This is of course reasonable.

11:34.

With a marshmallow in his mouth, Cointreau passed by a man in black clothes and a duckbill cap. Then he paused and casually stepped into the 72nd cabin of the Ferris wheel.

There was no one else in cabin No. 72 except him - this was understandable. Given Cointreau's character, he would certainly not choose to share a cabin with others.

The cabin door closed, and Xi Haiqing Dou sat on the chair. He pretended to pose for a few seconds, and then as expected, he saw a "little thing" under the seat on the other side that shouldn't be there.

Stable.

Xihai Qingdou calmed himself down.

He had checked in advance and found out that it actually takes about fifteen minutes for the Ferris wheel in the Beihu Shopping Mall to complete one rotation. In the original work, the bomb in the Ferris wheel exploded at twelve o'clock, and cabin No. 72 stopped in mid-air about five minutes before the explosion. That means that Jinpei Matsuda boarded the Ferris wheel between 11:45 and 11:55.

He wanted to get on the Ferris wheel before Matsuda Jinpei, and it would be best if he could get on the wheel ahead of him - after all, even Saikai Haruto couldn't be sure when the criminal who placed the bomb in the Ferris wheel had put it there. If he arrived too early, and if there was no bomb in cabin No. 72, would he have to sit there and wait foolishly?

If he came too late, it would be too late, and he would only be able to get a "spectator" seat - that would not be in line with the original intention of Xi Haiqing Dou coming here. What's the point of him coming for one or two shots in the "spectator seat"? Maybe he would be "cut out" by the cruel manga.

So he had to ensure that Cointreau played an irreplaceable role in this bombing.

While distracted, Saikai Haruto began his own performance—

As if his attention was attracted by something, Cointreau stood up from his seat, then took a step forward, squatted down and looked under the seat opposite him.

Pulling out something like a steel wire from the pocket of his black coat, Xi Haiqing Dou patiently removed the screws on the outermost baffle one by one, and then removed the baffle, and the time bomb inside was immediately exposed to his eyes.

The countdown time on the bomb was clearly displayed - 25:46, which meant that the bomb would explode in twenty-five minutes.

"Who on earth is so lacking in public morality that they put small toys on the Ferris wheel... They even blew up the Ferris wheel, how outrageous."

"Noon, this time is not a good choice... Fireworks should be viewed at night. Not only does this show lack of public morality, but also lacks taste."

Xi Haiqing Dou pretended to sigh, but there was no sign of nervousness in his words and actions, and there was a bit of interest in his eyes - after all, for "Cointreau", he had seen countless bombs like this in the organization, and he had made and dismantled countless of them himself. In his hands, the bombs were no different from toys.

Xi Haiqingdou moved the bomb casually, and simply removed the outer shell. Then he raised his eyebrows, and this time there was a hint of surprise in his eyes——

There was a small, hidden mark inside the bomb that was difficult to detect, but Xi Haiqing Dou recognized it at a glance - after all, the mark was left by him.

As the person who single-handedly helped the boss set up the equipment group and became the leader of the equipment group, Cointreau has created countless values ​​for the organization. Improving guns and manufacturing ammunition are like daily routine for him. Over the years, the things he has manufactured and spread from the organization to the outside are countless.

Coincidentally... the time bomb in front of him was also one of the bombs he made and sold to the outside world. The mark on it was exactly one of the little quirks of "Cointreau" - everything that passed through his hands, in order to make it easier for him to recognize it, he would put a special mark of "Cointreau" on it.

Seeing "his" things here, Xi Haiqing Dou's eyes naturally became a little subtle.

[System, do you think this bomb is the "butterfly effect" brought about by "Cointreau"? ]

The system answered him honestly, "No": [Because even if the bomb was made by Cointreau, it wouldn't change anything.]

If Saikai Haruto hadn't boarded the cabin, the bomb would have exploded anyway, regardless of whether it was made by Cointreau or not, and would not have caused any "difference"... and the definition of the butterfly effect is "causing variables", which is naturally not the case.

[That's right.] Saikai Haruto was relieved, [But since I showed up, let's just leave it at that now.]

"This mark, this line... looks familiar... Ah, is he still my customer? It seems he has made some modifications of his own?"

The white-haired young man couldn't help laughing when he saw the bomb in front of him. He apologized to the "customer" he didn't remember in a very careless manner: "Oh, I wanted to dismantle it directly... After all, installing a bomb on a Ferris wheel is really unethical. I haven't had enough fun yet, and it would be bad if it scared the children. But since you are my customer... I'd better give you some face."

"But the modification you made makes me a little angry... My craftsmanship is already perfect, and adding some messy things to it is just superfluous."

He easily cut the wires inside the bomb and then reassembled them. His movements were extremely fast, without any hesitation, as if he was putting together a toy.

If there were other people who knew how to defuse bombs at this scene, they might be so frightened by his actions that their hearts would jump out of their chests. Even the most experienced bomb defuse experts would carefully observe the bombs before defusing them. How could he just do it without even looking carefully? It makes people worry that the bomb will explode in the next second.

However, Cointreau was confident in this way - after all, no one in the world was more familiar with this bomb than the maker himself. Even the person who "modified" this bomb was the same in front of him.

The red countdown on the timer on the bomb stopped for only two seconds and then started again.

"Okay, that's it, perfect. I'm such a good person."

Haruto Nishimi reinstalled the bombs and the baffles under the seats one by one, then clapped his hands, stood up again, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"In that case, I wonder if something interesting will happen when the countdown ends?"

I don't know what he was thinking about, but the young man with white hair and golden eyes narrowed his eyes and chuckled softly. His voice was gentle and soft, and his expression was happy, but for no reason... it made people feel creepy and cold to the bone.

A typical villain look.

It makes people subconsciously feel that...the "interesting things" he mentioned must not be good things.

But in reality——

[Host, your hair just fell on the ground and there is still dust on it that has not been wiped clean.]

The system suddenly spoke in Xi Haiqing Dou's mind.

Xi Haiqing Dou kept a smile on his face, calmly raised his head slightly, and naturally turned his body to pretend to appreciate the scenery in the air outside the Ferris wheel; at the same time, the strand of "dusty" hair mentioned by the system naturally slid behind him and was strictly blocked by his back and the Ferris wheel cabin.

[So, was it blocked? ]

【Blocked.】

Xi Hai Qing Dou breathed a sigh of relief.

He just didn't believe it. He had acted so hard, so his appearance in the comics should be stable this time, right? !

He maintained an elegant and dignified yet a little nonchalant demeanor, quietly looking at the scenery outside the cabin window, motionless, patiently waiting for time to pass bit by bit.

When the time came to 11:45, the Ferris wheel was still slowly descending, and suddenly, a loud "bang" sound came from the ground -

Xi Haiqingdou stood up and looked down from the Ferris wheel. He saw only black smoke and flames rising from the control panel of the Ferris wheel and then gradually dissipating in the air.

The control console was blown up...the Ferris wheel could no longer be stopped by normal means.

“Is the show about to begin?” The young man smiled as if he was about to enjoy an interesting drama.