Tick. Tick.
The crimson digits on the liquid crystal display counted down with precision and finality.
Li Ang lay sprawled on the bus floor. His left arm was fractured, his muscles slackened by a potent relaxant, his vision blinded by the flashbang, and his ears ringing incessantly as if a drill was boring into his skull.
He had only 20 seconds to save himself.
The tear gas canisters hissed, spewing thick smoke that stung his skin like fire. His throat burned as if molten lava had been poured into it, and each breath felt like inhaling shards of glass.
Sightless, deafened, and immobilized, with one arm broken and his body flooded with sedatives, Li Ang's world was a cacophony of relentless torment. The steady beeping of the bomb's countdown was the death knell of a grim symphony.
"The barbiturates he injected into me are central nervous system depressants. They suppress the reticular formation in the brainstem, hyperpolarize the postsynaptic membrane, and reduce neural excitability."
Li Ang's mind, a library of meticulously organized knowledge, combed through his stored information with mechanical efficiency, retrieving every detail he'd ever learned about the drug.
"In other words, barbiturates block impulses to the cerebral cortex, inducing rapid loss of consciousness..."
The sedative began to take hold. Li Ang felt his awareness slipping away, his soul rising like a kite severed from its string. A comforting warmth enveloped him, lulling him into a serene void where nothing mattered—no thoughts, no struggle, no pain.
For a fleeting moment, he was tempted to surrender to the darkness, to abandon his quest for immortality and let the void consume him.
"Absurd! Even in my past life, I could banish heart-devouring demons during a lightning tribulation. A mere chemical concoction is nothing to me!"
With a furious mental roar, Li Ang channeled his remaining spiritual energy into his meridians, forcing his body into action.
He recalled an ancient cultivation manual he had once studied: The Human Immortal Aperture Refinement Method. Its author was long lost to history, but the text outlined a path to enlightenment through unlocking the body's hundreds of acupoints with spiritual energy.
When fully mastered, this technique could transform the practitioner's body into an invincible vessel, capable of wielding boundless power. It promised the potential to ascend beyond the mundane, to cross the void as a true Immortal.
Though Li Ang had never focused on this method during his past life, favoring lightning techniques instead, he now had no choice. Pouring all his hastily cultivated spiritual energy into his acupoints, he managed to activate the technique's first stage.
It was enough. His body trembled as if powered by countless tiny engines. Muscles contracted and relaxed against the sedative's effects, lifting him to his feet like a marionette on taut strings.
"Ten seconds left."
Li Ang murmured the countdown to himself, staggering through the smoke. He groped blindly for the unconscious girl with the bomb strapped to her chest.
Tear gas streamed through the air, its capsaicin and bromine vapors searing his eyes, nose, and throat. Tears, mucus, and saliva drenched both his and the girl's faces, leaving them disheveled and pitiful.
Gritting his teeth, he fumbled to rip the bomb from her chest, but his fingers, numbed by the muscle relaxant, refused to obey.
Seven seconds.
Li Ang shook his head violently, forcing himself to stay awake. His hand reached out, searching the floor until it found the hatch handle.
Outside, SWAT officers in gas masks and tactical gear had already breached the bus. They communicated silently with hand signals as they climbed aboard, using breaching tools to smash through windows and doors.
Unable to see through the smoke, Li Ang relied on the vibrations of the metal floor to sense their movements.
"Out of my way!"
With a kick, Li Ang sent a SWAT officer flying into the steel wall at the back of the bus.
"I've been attacked! I repeat, I've been attacked! I can't see the assailant!"
Another officer stumbled back to his feet, only for Li Ang to grab his helmet and hurl him into his colleagues, toppling them like bowling pins.
Li Ang had no intention of fighting the police, but with no voice to explain himself and mere seconds left on the clock, he had no choice.
Four seconds.
His claw-like hand hooked onto the hatch ring and yanked it open, revealing a dark hole leading into the sewer below.
With bloodshot eyes, Li Ang dragged the unconscious girl with him, tumbling down onto the slimy, moss-covered steps of the sewer.
Compared to the suffocating tear gas, the sewer's putrid stench was almost a relief. Leaning against the wall, Li Ang tore at the duct tape securing the bomb with his teeth.
Two seconds.
With the last of his strength, he flung the bomb through the air and shielded the girl behind a stone pillar.
The timer hit zero.
The explosion roared like a drumbeat in a symphony of destruction. Flames illuminated the narrow sewer, while the shockwave sent a torrent of filthy water surging through the tunnels.
Solid walls crumbled, and debris rained down like a storm, sealing off any exit to the surface.
Li Ang pressed himself and the girl against the pillar as shards of stone tore into his back, carving deep gashes that oozed blood.
Breathing heavily, he slumped against the wall, exhaustion overtaking him. The world faded to black as unconsciousness claimed him.