Chapter 68: Ripple Effect
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
In the Managing Director’s office, the leader of the Big Circle Boys, Yang Dawei, was staring at his stopwatch and holding a walkie-talkie in his other hand. He grit his teeth at the screams and commotion filtering through its speaker.
“The motherf*ckers! They killed Old Eight!”
A man soaked from the rain suddenly burst in. One hand gripped a sniper rifle, the leather glove of his other hand soaked red with the blood that was flowing from his shoulder.
“Boss!” he panted, “the cops know about this place! We need to clear out!” The man, Old Seven, had rushed back to their base as quickly as possible, after his run-in with the police force at the bamboo forest. Though he had managed to stall them quite a bit, it had quickly beco a evident to him that a change of plan was necessary.
Yang Dawei cursed again. “The cops know too?!” His brows were heavy. “Let our n know! Hurry up and bring those three university students here; we have to get the h*ll out.” He had planned on handling this calmly, but the cops had arrived earlier than anticipated. If they didn’t run now, they’d be sitting ducks.
“I’ll go now!” Old Third, who was keeping watch at the Managing Director’s office with Yang Dawei, picked up his gun and ordered his n to move out. He took a peek inside the main conference room as he passed by. They locked the door from the outside and barricaded it with a tal rod. If the Managing Director woke up, he wouldn’t give them trouble so long as he was was locked away.
…
In Qingfeng Garden, Gu Nianzhi had been waiting for almost half an hour, but Brother Li still hadn’t returned. Her heart was beating faster by the second. i Xiawen crossed his arms and stood before the window as he looked at the rain; his eyes behind the gold rimd fras were somber.
Strongman was hiding in the back of Qingfeng Garden, keeping a watch on the outside. Through a crack in the door, he saw two people carrying guns rush by on the path outside. He stiffened, scared that he would be discovered by them. After he waited for the two to move farther away, he finally let out his breath and said to i Xiawen in a hushed voice, “Class Rep, two people went towards Mingyue Court. I saw them carrying guns!”
“God, are they gonna do it? What will we do? Are we just sitting ducks?!” Little Temptress clutched her hand to her head as she shook it desperately. “No way, no way! I haven’t lived long enough! I can’t just die like this!”
“Of course not! We’re not alone.” Gu Nianzhi also stood in front of the window. She turned around, her eyes scanning the faces of everyone in the room. Gu Nianzhi’s flashed them a smile. Her face had no trace of anxiety or fear; she was confident in their survival. Her expression encouraged everyone else.
“What do you plan on doing?” i Xiawen looked over, his eyes drawn to her. It was this expression of hers, this kind and resolute face, that always invaded his heart.
Gu Nianzhi selected a disposable raincoat from the pile that he resort staff had arranged in their room. She looked up at the bright, palace-style lanterns above their heads with a smile. “I’ll trip the circuit breaker.” With the cover of darkness, it’d be much easier for them to confuse the criminals. This would reduce the criminals’ advantage and also alert the people who lived near the resort. Gu Nianzhi was certain that the thugs didn’t have the ti or incentive to murder everyone in whole villa, otherwise they wouldn’t have spiked the food of the students in Mingyue Court. Her friends caught on to her train of thought and began to launch a plan.
i Xiawen quickly volunteered. “I’ll go, since I know where the circuit breaker is.”
“Then you can co with . I’m familiar with tripping breakers.” Gu Nianzhi winked at i Xiawen.
For all her assurance, there was another feeling that surged through her. She noticed that her palms were sweaty and realized with a start that she was actually excited.
Just knowing the location of main circuit breaker was no good in this situation; cutting off the power was necessary. Modern circuitry was a lot more complicated than the older models that had been used. It had more security features and intricate wiring systems. Without training, it would take too much ti to the cut the power in a place as large as Dufeng Mountain Resort Villa in just one go. However, Gu Nianzhi had lived on the Special Operations Forces base for two years, and had closely watched the soldiers train, itching to try it herself too. Tripping circuit breakers or hacking into a security system; these had been just so of the things they had teased her with and trained her in for fun.
i Xiawen hesitated. “Ok.” He put on a raincoat and rushed into the heavy rain with Gu Nianzhi. i Xiawen had visited the villa many tis before and had traveled there once with his family as VIP guests of the Managing Director Fu. Director Fu had guided them through the villa himself and i Xiawen rembered how they’d passed by a place that the Director identified as the electrical room. The electrical room contained inside the main circuit breaker for the entire resort. Although it had been a year or two ago, this incident was still fresh in his mory. He followed the directions he rembered and took Gu Nianzhi to the electrical room. The heavy rain and the pitch black night made it hard to navigate. They held hands and stumbled to the steps of the electrical room. The door was shut tightly and light from the inside leaked through the door’s cracks. i Xiawen inched closer to them and exclaid in surprise, “There’s no one inside!”
Normally, the electrical room would be manned 24 hours a day. Gu Nianzhi’s eyes flashed in excitent as she gently pushed past him. “Let try.”
She held a normal looking keychain attached to her keys and covered the keyhole as she inserted it in. This, however, was actually a lock opener that Yin Shixiong had once gifted her for her birthday. She felt for the bolt inside the keyhole and then gently turned it a few tis until the door finally opened with a soft click.
i Xiawen stared from Gu Nianzhi to the open door, and then back at her. “How did you do that?!”
“That’s a secret.” Gu Nianzhi winked at him. Her playful expression made him catch his breath.
For so ti now, i Xiawen had felt that sothing was different about Gu Nianzhi. She was usually so gentle and quiet: a studious girl who minded her own business. The biggest cause for attention to her—aside from her brilliance—was also her incredible beauty, and yet she wasn’t one to revel in that spotlight. The Gu Nianzhi before him though, was electrifying. There was a raw energy emanating her; she was confident and eager, and apparently skilled in espionage and military tactics from the looks of things. i Xiawen fell further in love with her.
He stared at Gu Nianzhi’s face and listened to her purring voice as he kept watch by the door in a stupor. In that mont, he would have consented to anything she requested of him, no matter how extre.
Gu Nianzhi found it strange that i Xiawen was suddenly so obedient, but had no ti to reflect on it as she slipped inside. The electrical room had a vast array of switches, switchboards, and various circuit breakers. The truth was, if i Xiawen had co alone he would’ve never found the main circuit breaker; carelessly tripping breakers would only alert the criminals. Gu Nianzhi scanned the electrical room and quickly locked on a dium-sized glass case on the north wall. From the circuitry, it appeared to encase the main circuit breaker. Gu Nianzhi rapidly strode over to examine it. The glass case was secured with a large lock and, upon closer inspection, she realized that using her lock opener would be useless: the lock was connected to a wire, that she couldn’t use a lock opener on. However, the glass encasing the main circuit breaker switchboard wasn’t connected to any circuits. Gu Nianzhi stared at it for a mont and then searched around the electrical room. She made up her mind and picked up a hamr from the toolbox in the room and fiercely lobbed it at the center of the glass case.
Bang!
It shattered imdiately, revealing the main circuit breaker’s switchboard. Just like every other electronic or technological device: tough to build and all too easy to destroy Gu Nianzhi thought amusedly. She found a conductive pen in the toolbox to stab the switchboard with; sparks imdiately flew from it as it sputtered loudly several tis. The bulb in the electrical room flickered rapidly before going out. The lights rippled out in waves from the electrical room and total darkness spread throughout the entire resort.
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