Chapter 368: We've Been Played Again!

Meanwhile.

Manhattan Freight Distribution Center.

Henry stood beside the dark box truck, hands on his hips, his gaze fixed on the black mobile phone on the passenger seat.

Because just a moment ago, the red countdown numbers that had stopped ticking had started moving again!

One minute and twenty-three seconds!

One minute and twenty-two seconds!

One minute and twenty-one seconds!

Henry felt his own heartbeat had completely synchronized with those numbers.

Every tick of the countdown felt like a muffled hammer blow against the inner wall of his chest.

The bomb squad had not arrived yet.

The closest team was on the other end of the beltway, stuck in traffic due to a pile-up, and would need at least eight more minutes.

And the bomb in the truck in front of him would explode in less than a minute and a half.

"Everyone, retreat behind the shipping containers!"

Henry's voice echoed through the empty distribution center.

The agents scattered.

Some hid behind the base of the gantry crane, some crouched by the side of the truck, and some ran toward the nearest row of shipping containers.

Li Changyu was pulled behind an SUV by Chen Zijin.

Liu Xuemin lay prone on the hood of another vehicle, his eyes narrowed to slits behind his silver-rimmed glasses, keeping his gaze fixed on the movements of the box truck.

At this moment, there was less than a minute left until the explosion.

The red numbers seemed to be ticking faster and faster!

To minimize the damage from the explosion, Henry didn't even think; he jumped into the driver's seat, preparing to drive the vehicle to an open area outside.

"Henry, get down, it's too dangerous!"

"Trust me, Hank, there's still enough time!"

Just as Henry finished saying this, he slammed on the gas and sped off.

"Boom!"

Dust and smoke rose everywhere.

The countdown on the phone was still continuing.

While driving, Henry kept his eyes on the numbers on the phone screen.

Thirty-five!

Thirty-four!

Thirty-three!

The next second.

When the numbers ticked to thirty-two, the countdown suddenly accelerated and then instantly hit zero!

Seeing this, cold sweat broke out on Henry, and he immediately prepared to abandon the driving and jump from the vehicle!

But just then, the phone screen suddenly lit up again, and the laughter of the Chainsaw Clown rang out!

"Hahahaha!"

"Hahahahahaha!"

"Hahahaha!"

"Hahahahahahaha!"

The sudden laughter gave Henry a start.

He stared at the phone for a full three seconds before slowly exhaling and relaxing.

Seeing him stop the car.

The Expert Group and the agents also walked out from behind their cover.

Henry walked off the truck with the phone and waved at them, signaling that everyone was safe.

Reaching the group, he handed the phone to Hank:

"The bomb is fake; we've been played by this guy again. Tell the bomb squad they don't need to come. Take this phone back for evidence analysis and have that truck towed back to the precinct."

Just as Henry finished speaking, the comments in the live stream began to scroll wildly.

【Holy crap, the bomb is fake?】

【I feel bad for these experts, played by Chu Chen again!】

【The bomb squad made a wasted trip, the FBI was nervous for nothing, yet Chu Chen is playing a Costume Change game on the other side. Too surreal!】

【Don't be surprised, that's Chu Chen's usual tactic!】

【Henry's expression just now cracked me up; a dignified FBI Director scared into almost jumping out of a moving car by a ringtone.】

【That was the Chainsaw Clown's laughter, okay! Who wouldn't be scared!】

【The laughter is so classic!】

【Chu Chen is really too good at this, he even considered such details!】

It wasn't until Henry returned to the Command Center that he learned Chu Chen had been there earlier.

The surveillance in the detention center hallway and inside the cell had captured the entire process of his infiltration!

This series of surveillance footage was checked frame by frame by technicians, slowed down, zoomed in, and had its contrast enhanced.

But in the end, nothing was found.

Aside from that fake uniform, Chu Chen had left no traces behind.

On Pinkman's side, he was also unable to provide them with any clues that could be followed.

Outside the interrogation room door.

Liu Xuemin and Li Changyu stood side by side in front of the corridor window.

The pale fluorescent lights hummed above their heads, like a swarm of insects trapped in glass tubes.

From the distance came the crackle of walkie-talkies and the sound of footsteps, blurred and far away.

"Pinkman must have been framed," Liu Xuemin's voice was deep. "He doesn't know anything. His lawyer is on the way, and Wesley is also communicating with the authorities; I estimate there shouldn't be any major problems..."

Li Changyu did not respond.

"I just received news," Liu Xuemin took a hard drag of his cigarette. "It was sent by the Program Team. The second stage of the Simulated Crime competition ends in less than three days. If we can't catch Chu Chen within these three days, we will once again end this stage of the competition in failure."

Li Changyu took a deep breath, the cigarette held to his lips never being smoked.

Liu Xuemin's gaze shifted from Li Changyu's face and landed on the row of fluorescent tubes on the ceiling.

After those tubes had been working for who knows how many hours, the ends of several had already begun to blacken.

"We have done our best," Liu Xuemin continued. "Blockades, manhunts, surveillance, interrogations, monitoring, analysis, deduction, setting traps. Every step has followed standard procedure, and every step has been executed to the limit. Yet, every single time, he manages to find our loopholes and slip through them."

The barrage of comments in the livestream slowed down a bit when the scene cut to the corridor.

【Liu Xuemin's words are so heavy!】

【He really has done his best, I can feel it!】

【From the British Museum to the Metropolitan Opera House, from London to New York, the Expert Group hasn't missed a step, but they are always a beat behind!】

【It's not a beat behind, it's that God Chu is several beats ahead of them!】

【Liu Lao needs a cigarette, and I need one too!】

【Watching this show makes me feel exhausted, but I can't stop! It's too addictive!】

Li Changyu slowly turned his head.

"Xuemin, have you ever thought about a question? We have chased criminals our whole lives, and our toolbox is filled with every known method. Fingerprints, DNA, surveillance, tracking, interrogation, psychological profiling. Every method has been tested in countless real-world scenarios, and every method has its success rate and scope of application. But Chu Chen is not within the scope of this toolbox. He is not the kind of criminal we have chased before; he is not the kind of person who will stop just because you corner him in an alley."

【Li Changyu is truly a criminal investigation expert; his words are really hitting the nail on the head!】

【His "toolbox" analogy is so apt; the methods the FBI has used for hundreds of years are indeed useless in front of Chu Chen!】

【It's not that the methods don't work, it's that the target has changed!】

【Chu Chen is no ordinary criminal!】