Chapter 506: This Is No Aviation Bomb—It's a Disaster

"If the school is gone, does that mean we don't have to attend classes?"

"Oh, that's great—finally we can go traveling!"

"Do you love me or not? If you love me, why am I in danger now? You didn't appear before me riding a rainbow cloud; that clearly shows you don't love me. Break up!"

"Come on, sisters, let's take a photo together; I want to post an ultra‑cool status!"

In the evening, the gym was packed with people, chattering and bustling noisily.

Some were discussing where to travel.

Some were on the phone, cooing with their boyfriends and saying they were scared.

A few girl friends gathered, tucked their heads, pursed their lips, and took photos at a forty‑five‑degree angle to post online.

You could see no trace of nervousness; instead, they were especially excited about the bomb being dug up on campus.

On the steps at the gym entrance, a few subject teachers gathered to smoke, while others used their phones to farm crops and watch text‑based live football.

"What if the school really gets blown up, what do we do?"

"What can we do, just chill."

"We're just writing; the salary comes from the finance department. If the school disappears, we can just move elsewhere and keep teaching, they won't let us starve, right?"

"That's true, what about the third parties?"

While saying that, someone turned their gaze toward a few relatively young teaching assistants in the distance; they were all contract workers.

Liu Laoshi unscrewed his insulated cup, took a sip, spat out tea dregs, shook his head and sighed, "If the school is gone, they'll have to find new jobs; but the hardest part will be the principal."

"That big black pot, he can't escape now; he meant well, but things didn't go his way, sigh..."

All the teachers looked up toward the distant greenbelt.

The principal was seen with his head down, being berated face‑to‑face by a middle‑aged man in a shirt with a slanted cap.

"Tell me, what exactly are you thinking?"

"The little garden was fine there; why did you touch it, why dig it up?"

"Now look, you keep digging, you dug up a Landmine, injured several workers, and then produced some Heavy Aviation Bomb! You, you, you really are driving me crazy!"

The principal slumped, "Leader, this bomb is a relic left by the Japanese soldiers from the war; I didn't place it there."

The slanted‑cap middle‑aged man glared at him, "If you hadn't dug it up, could it have exploded, injured people, and caused such massive social panic and harm?"

"But didn't I also want to expand enrollment and increase teaching space?"

"You think, you think, when will it be my turn to think?"

The middle‑aged man paced back and forth, clapped loudly, "Now the media are all here, everyone knows a bomb was dug up at the school; if it later detonates, the whole nation will know!"

"When that happens, they'll have to trace back the source—why was a Landmine buried in this ground, why wasn't it found during the school's expansion, isn't that a serious dereliction of duty?"

"I still had two years left before I could retire peacefully, and now you're giving me this?"

"This isn't eye drops you're giving me; you're clearly pouring chili oil into my eyes!"

Principal: "These things, if we don't encounter them now, we'll eventually have to; changing the approach is also a way to preempt danger and save the students' lives."

The middle‑aged man glared, "You say this, you teach that, I don't know? Let me tell you, if the bomb detonates and causes severe damage, you, principal, must voluntarily take responsibility and resign!"

The principal widened his eyes—wasn't this just passing the buck?

It was clearly a historical leftover, how did it become his own problem?

Moreover, exposing the issue early and snuffing out the danger at its bud invisibly saved many students' lives; even if it failed, it shouldn't be blamed.

How does he now push himself forward to take the blame, who did he offend?

"Leader..."

"You don't need to say anything!"

The middle‑aged man raised his hand to stop them, "What you need to do now is treat this Heavy Aviation Bomb as a dud; if it doesn't explode, the impact can stay within controllable limits, but if it does, even I will share the misfortune with you!"

The principal was on the verge of tears with none left; this wasn't any bomb at all, it was the greatest calamity of his life.

They say, when the cannon roars, gold rains down; if this one sounds, his career will be completely over.

Meanwhile, Section Chief Li of the local police substation was also being sternly held accountable by higher‑ups.

The reason is that the area has continuously carried out special training activities for bomb disposal, de‑explosion, and eliminating safety hazards.

During the start of the operation, substations in each district acted proactively, spreading relevant professional knowledge.

They discovered, to varying degrees, some hazardous items, or collected homemade grenades and discarded mortar shell fragments handed in by local residents and villages.

At that time, the jurisdiction where Section Chief Li served had once received an advanced honor for its proactive response and cooperation.

Now, however, a huge device was unearthed in his jurisdiction—a literal slap in the face.

"During the special activity, why wasn't there a thorough investigation and careful visits?"

"All the battles, big and small, during the Guangxi‑Guangdong campaign are recorded in the county annals!"

"If you truly can't find it, ask the nearby elders, make more visits; it shouldn't result in such a huge oversight!"

"Now that it's been unearthed, at least we can try to pre‑detonate it and keep the damage within controllable limits; what if there was no construction, no discovery, and it detonated suddenly after ten or twenty years?"

Section Chief Li honestly admitted his mistake, "Leader, this incident occurred within my jurisdiction, and I bear undeniable responsibility. I have already mobilized all available forces to minimize the hazard."

"People from construction, fire safety, and urban planning departments have arrived; by then, surely..."

Deputy Director Zhao raised his hand to interrupt, sighed, "Pre‑detonation is a last‑resort measure; go to the command room and see if there are any other options."

"Or perhaps we could lift it with a helicopter and detonate it over an open area; after all, this school has a century‑long history and is the only technical college in the area."

"So many students are still waiting to return to class and continue their studies."

Section Chief Li nodded, "Yes, Leader, I'll go talk to them again."

On his way to the command room, he habitually glanced that way.

He saw Lu Yang leading his team, distributing water and food to the police officers stationed on site.

Section Chief Li didn't think much of it, assuming they just wanted to stay and help; the scene was chaotic and indeed needed extra hands to maintain order.

In the classroom, several people were discussing the earlier third plan, 'fight explosion with explosion,' and the concrete scheme and operational approach for reducing the blast's power.

'Is there really no other way? Could we use a helicopter to lift the aerial bomb, fly it out to the wilderness, and detonate it there?'

'That won't work; we've already considered that method before, and it's still not feasible.'

'What about burying it directly in soil and then detonating it underneath?'

'The danger would be greater; all the underground pipes and drainage systems around would be paralyzed, and the kinetic energy transmitted underground would also cause cracks in the foundations of these buildings.'

'Section Chief Li, I know you want to minimize the impact as much as possible, but so far this is the safest, most effective, and most direct method.'

'Alright, alright, you're the experts; let's go with your plan.'

'Hmm.'

At the scene, technical personnel from the fields of architecture, geology, and engineering had gathered.

They gathered together and jointly devised a plan with higher feasibility.

But then a new problem arose: during construction, there could also be danger, possibly causing the bomb to detonate prematurely.

Stacking sandbags is still manageable, but pouring concrete requires a concrete mixer truck; who among regular workers would dare to operate it under such great risk?

Who will lead the team has become the main issue, because any slight mistake in the process could leave no corpses.