Chapter 148: The Remote Control

The film had not yet begun. This was the preparatory stage, and the steadily entering audience gradually filled the venue. Qiu Fengyu remained calm, while the bearded man sitting beside him seemed to make no extra movements. He just sat quietly, his eyes fixed immovably on the stage ahead.

Qiu Fengyu spoke in a low voice to the bearded man beside him, "Hey, listen. I don't know who you are, but I know what you do. The seat you are sitting in right now belongs to my friend. I want to know what her current situation is."

The bearded man finally turned his head in surprise to glance at Qiu Fengyu. It was merely a glance before he cast his eyes forward again, as if something over there held his attention.

At this moment, the host had walked to the front of the screening auditorium and stood in the center before the silver screen. He was a middle-aged man in his forties. As he took the stage, he smiled and said, "This is the most nerve-wracking moment of my life, because sitting right in the front row is Director Martin Wilson, a man I have deeply admired since I was a child. Yes, I've been his fan since I was very small. Just how small? I apologize... I was so small back then that I didn't even know my own age. You'll have to ask my mother about that; she's the one who told me."

The audience immediately burst into hearty laughter, including the great director Martin Wilson himself, who smiled and applauded. But the bearded man did not laugh, nor did he make any movement; he simply wore a slightly dazed expression.

"Tell me! If you don't speak, I'll find a way!" Qiu Fengyu issued a low warning.

"It's useless. Even if I speak, it's useless." The bearded man turned his head coldly to glance at Qiu Fengyu. "You have no idea why this is happening. My family is in their hands, and I have no choice but to accept this arrangement. Otherwise, my wife and children will die. This way, at least only I will die."

Qiu Fengyu immediately froze. This person was undoubtedly a human bomb. Enough was enough; how could he always run into such bad luck? He glared at the bearded man. The bearded man turned and glared back at him, "I have a bomb on me, and the detonator is in my hand. If I don't detonate it in the theater today, my wife and children will have their throats slit. Do you know what kind of people they are? No... they are not human; they are demons crawled straight out of hell."

A detonator? His eyes quickly swept across the man's body. Both of the man's hands were tucked into his sleeves. He was wearing a slightly oversized trench coat, which was more than enough to conceal the bomb and the detonator in his hand.

"Do you know where my friend went?" Qiu Fengyu decided to change the subject. He could not provoke this person's anxiety; otherwise, a mere twitch of a hand might cause him to be buried with this asshole.

"Your friend? I don't know. I don't know anything. They gave me an electronic card, and I came in. I don't know what happened to your friend. Was this electronic card his?" As expected, the bearded man's attention began to shift.

"Yes. If you still have a shred of mercy left in you, please tell me what the person who gave you the bomb looked like. You must know that in an occasion like this, it is impossible for them to appear masked. That would be far too conspicuous. Tell me... I will leave this place immediately, and I promise I won't call the police or say a word—I'll just quietly walk away."

"You want to escape from here alone?"

"No. I'm not afraid of death, but I cannot let my friend be in danger. A friend. Can you understand that?" Qiu Fengyu faced him, trying his best to make his words sound as earnest as possible.

"No. No, you cannot leave this place," the bearded man said stubbornly. "If you stand up, I will press the button. You know I came here with the resolve to die; I am no longer afraid of anything. For the sake of my family, I have no choice."

"If you put it that way... I really don't believe it." Qiu Fengyu suddenly changed his tune, looking at him with undisguised disdain. "My friend, you're just bluffing. I know... for someone who lives a life like yours, lacking all meaning and feeling despair day in and day out—forget about a wife and children, you're probably still single, aren't you? It's written all over your eyes... you're a habitual liar."

"Enough, damn it, everything I'm saying is the truth..." The bearded man abruptly stood up, lowering his voice in rage as he glared at Qiu Fengyu. "You have no right to doubt me, and even less right to doubt my courage..."

"Hey, you—I'm talking to you, you damned Arab! Sit down, you're disturbing me." The large, bulky man sitting directly behind Qiu Fengyu suddenly stared fiercely at the bearded man, speaking with an equally angry, lowered voice. "If you don't sit down right now, I'll give you a taste of pain. Damn it..."

"He has a bomb," Qiu Fengyu suddenly turned his head to say to the large man. "But I don't believe it. I think he's just talking big." He even let out a mocking chuckle.

This scoffing laugh drove the bearded man to a fury of humiliation. The large man also let out a cold, mocking laugh, "I know he's just a coward anyway. How could there possibly be... security is so strict here..." Well, the large man certainly knew how to lie with his eyes open. With security so rigorous, an electronic card had somehow still allowed someone to smuggle a bomb right into the theater.

"Look at this! See if it's real!" Suddenly, the bearded man whipped open his trench coat, revealing the explosives strapped to his body. It was high-explosive TATP. Qiu Fengyu recognized it at a glance; instructions for making this type of explosive could easily be found online, and many terrorist organizations used it.

After exposing the bomb, the bearded man raised one hand, holding the remote detonator, and roared loudly at the large man, "Take a good look, you damned fatty! You shouldn't have insulted me like that. If it weren't for my family... I wouldn't be doing this. Do you see it clearly now?"

The large man froze for barely a second before letting out a shriek that sounded like a startled woman: "A bomb... There's a bomb! God... Help me..."

This sudden, piercing scream cut through the air like a flash of lightning, instantly startling everyone in the theater. Then, more people caught sight of the explosives strapped to the bearded man's body and the remote control raised in his hand.

With a roar, the people in the theater scattered and fled in all directions like a flock of sheep pursued by a lion. Yet amidst the fleeing crowd, several people suddenly rushed in agilely from all sides, raising handguns and aiming directly at the bearded man. Leading them was Scott Ford, closely followed by Monica Roy.

"Drop the detonator!" Monica Roy's voice reached such a high pitch under extreme tension that it cracked. Her hands were shaking slightly, but she definitely did not dare to fire.

People in the theater were desperately scrambling toward the exits. In such chaotic circumstances, a stampede was inevitable. There were the screams and cries of women, the wails of lost children, the furious roars of men, and cries for help echoing one after another. Utter chaos reigned.

A few daring media reporters, as if smelling blood like sharks, swarmed forward. Before the police could even arrive to maintain order, these reporters had already flooded the scene.

"Don't press it, please!" Scott Ford suddenly shouted at the bearded man. "I don't know what your name is, but the moment you press that button, everyone left in this place will be blown to pieces."

"That is my goal! They forced me to do this; I have no choice, otherwise my wife and children will die..." Seeing that nearly half the people had already escaped, the bearded man seemed to grow anxious. Although he had mustered the courage to walk in, he was not a hardened, vicious terrorist at heart, so he hesitated just a fraction of a second before pressing it.

That single moment was enough.

Qiu Fengyu moved instantly. Because the bearded man was facing the large man, his side and back were completely exposed to Qiu Fengyu. Qiu Fengyu's two fingers struck out with the force and speed of iron rods.

"No—" At the very moment Qiu Fengyu moved, Scott Ford and Monica Roy cried out almost simultaneously in terror. Qiu Fengyu's reckless action would get everyone in the room killed. Both Scott Ford and Monica Roy knew all too well what kind of explosives were strapped to the bearded man.

If it detonated, everyone present would be buried with this bastard. Horror was plastered across their faces, and they almost turned the barrels of their guns toward Qiu Fengyu.

The fingers jabbed precisely beneath the shoulder of the bearded man's arm that was not holding the detonator. The bearded man turned his head in shock, only to discover at that exact instant that half of his body had gone completely numb. Specifically, the entire half of his body holding the remote control could no longer move. Panic washed over his face as he tried to reach for it with his other hand.

The remote control was suddenly snatched away from his grasp. Then, a heavy kick struck his chest, sending him crashing backward onto the floor, completely paralyzed. Scott Ford and Monica Roy pounced almost simultaneously, pinning the bearded man firmly to the ground. Several other agents rushed in to help, holding the bearded man down securely.

After making sure the bearded man posed no further threat, Scott Ford said to Monica, "Contact the police. Tell them to get in here immediately and restore order—damn it, their response is always so slow. And get the bomb disposal squad over here right now!"

Having given his orders, he turned to look at Qiu Fengyu, frowning as he said, "Do you know how risky that was just now? If you hadn't managed to grab the..."

"But I did grab it." Qiu Fengyu shrugged indifferently, tossed the remote control up and caught it, then slapped it into Scott Ford's hand. "Hold on to it tightly. Don't press it by accident, or you'll all be blown to pieces." With that, Qiu Fengyu turned and walked away.

"Hey, wait, Qiu, we still need to question you," Scott attempted to stop him.

"That's your job. I still have to go find my friend. I certainly don't want anything to happen to her!" Qiu Fengyu said, quickly walking away in a different direction and making a hand gesture ahead. From a corner up front, Ryoko Yonezawa, Davis, and Tim darted out to meet him.