Chapter 445 406: Life Detector
The moment Zhao Rong lit the fuse, the matchstick detonator exploded. To his surprise, the explosion was incredibly effective. The entire concrete wall was completely pulverized, collapsing into a pile of dust on the floor. After hearing the deafening blast, he immediately led Lili, Yu Lan, Xuelian, the assistant, and Wang Guihua down to the basement entrance. When Zhao Rong saw that the extraordinarily tough concrete door had been so effortlessly blasted open, he was utterly stunned.
Good heavens, the explosive power of this matchstick detonator is unbelievable! It pulverized a concrete wall harder than granite. This means if I ever run into a tough wall or boulder again, I can just buy more of these from the Paradise Shopping Cart and blast through any obstacle in my way.
With that, Zhao Rong and his group walked into the basement.
As they stepped inside, an overpowering stench immediately hit them. Wrinkling his nose, Zhao Rong couldn't help but comment, "Jeez, what's that smell? It's like… rotting meat…"
The assistant pinched his nose, his voice laced with worry. "Oh god, don't tell me… Have all those students the Rainy Night Killer kidnapped died in here? Are their bodies rotting?"
Lili shoved him. "You jinx! Can't you say something positive for once?"
Yu Lan also glared at the assistant, adding, "I have faith. All the students kidnapped by the Rainy Night Killer are still alive."
Just then, an idea struck Zhao Rong. He turned to the others and said, "If we want to know if there's anyone alive in here, why don't we just buy a life detector?"
Hearing this, Principal Wang Guihua's interest was piqued. "Zhao Rong, what's a life detector?"
Drawing on his imagination, Zhao Rong explained, "I think it's a miraculous piece of black technology that can detect whether there's life in this basement and, if so, how many."
Wang Guihua shook his head, skeptical that such a magical device could be found online. "Zhao Rong, I think it's one thing to imagine a machine like that, but to actually buy one on the internet… I find that a bit unlikely."
Zhao Rong smiled, pulling his phone from his pocket. "Principal Wang, there's something you don't know. I have a magical app on my phone called Paradise Shopping Cart. Anything I can think of, I can buy on there."
Lili chimed in, "On Paradise Shopping Cart, a website where only immortals can shop, it's said there's nothing you can't buy, only things you can't imagine."
Hearing this, Wang Guihua's thoughts immediately turned to a new problem: logistics. He looked at Zhao Rong with a furrowed brow. "Zhao Rong, even if you can buy this magical item from Paradise Shopping Cart, we're in a basement right now. How would the seller even deliver this high-tech product to you?"
Zhao Rong stepped forward to reassure him. "Principal Wang, when it comes to delivery methods on the Paradise Shopping Cart website, the sellers are incredibly creative. There's no method you can't imagine and no place they can't deliver to."
Wang Guihua scratched the back of his head, now doubtful about the delivery time. He looked at Zhao Rong with a worried expression. "Zhao Rong, even if the seller could send the item to our basement by express delivery, we need to find signs of life from these students right now. Time is of the essence. If the seller delivers this life detector in three days, or even a week, won't we have missed the best window for a rescue?"
Before Wang Guihua could even finish his sentence, Zhao Rong had already purchased the life detector online. He then showed Wang Guihua the chat log with the seller on his phone.
When Wang Guihua saw the conversation, he was dumbfounded. The seller had guaranteed delivery to Zhao Rong within five minutes. Inevitably, Wang Guihua doubted the seller's promise.
Just as he was thinking it was impossible for the seller to deliver the device in five minutes, a mouse suddenly scurried out of a hole in the ground. It was carrying a small package on its back. "Hello, may I ask if you are Mr. Zhao Rong?" the mouse said.
When Zhao Rong saw the enormous mouse, he immediately figured it must be a courier. He nodded at the talking creature. "Hello, I'm Zhao Rong. Are you the special courier from the Paradise Shopping Cart website?"
The black mouse grinned, flashing two large buck teeth. "You guessed right. Our company is the exclusive logistics partner for Paradise Shopping Cart, and I'm Jerry, the mouse courier." With that, the mouse gestured to his companion. "This little cat next to me is my apprentice, also a courier. His name is Tom."
When Wang Guihua saw that the mouse could talk—and that Tom and Jerry were delivering the package together—he couldn't help but exclaim, "My god, this is incredible! Zhao Rong, your delivery guys are Tom and Jerry! You mean *the* Tom and Jerry?"
In stark contrast to the astonished Wang Guihua, Lili commented as if it were perfectly normal, "The merchants on Paradise Shopping Cart always have such novel and refreshing delivery methods."
Yu Lan looked at the talking mouse with curiosity. "Mr. Mouse," she asked, "your delivery method is certainly a surprise! I don't think any of us have ever seen a courier crawl out of a hole in the ground before."
The mouse explained, "Dear customers, there's a reason for it. To speed things up, our logistics company uses an 'Express Cannon' to fire the package to a location near my burrow. Then, they use an ultrasonic signal to let me know it's arrived. I just pick it up and follow my tunnels to find you."
Hearing this, Yu Lan immediately gave the mouse courier a thumbs-up. "Even though you're mice living in the sewers, Paradise Shopping Cart is lucky to have such dedicated couriers like you."
Wang Guihua, however, was still curious. "Right, but how does that so-called Express Cannon know your exact location? And how does it know that you, this specific mouse, are the closest to Zhao Rong's group?"
The mouse courier patiently continued his explanation. "Customer, you may not know this, but before shipping, our logistics company uses an advanced positioning device to find the customer's exact location. Once that's locked in, they perform a precision drop. Then, the system contacts the nearest animal courier to the package's landing spot. Whichever animal is closest gets the honor of making the delivery. Since I'm a mouse and I'm always moving around in these sewers, I had the honor of being the courier for your order today."
Listening to the mouse's explanation, Wang Guihua was left completely speechless. He slapped his forehead, marveling.
This is amazing! It's completely shattered my perception of reality.
He turned to Zhao Rong and gave him a thumbs-up. "Zhao Rong, you really are a remarkable man. Whether it's working with you, dating you, or just hanging out, there's always something new, exciting, and surprising happening."
As he said this, Wang Guihua thought to himself, No wonder so many beautiful girls are into him. He has a kind of charm that ordinary men just don't possess...
Just then, Zhao Rong took the package and tore it open. He turned to the courier and said, "Thank you, Jerry. You've really worked hard."
As the mouse courier led his feline friend Tom away, he called back, "Remember to give our delivery method a five-star rating, okay?"
When Wang Guihua heard the mouse asking for a five-star review, he was so shocked he stumbled and fell to the ground.
At that moment, Zhao Rong opened the parcel, revealing an object that resembled a TV remote control. Holding it in his hand, he studied the instruction manual and announced to the group, "This remote-like thing is the life detector. It's an incredibly user-friendly device with AI voice prompts and foolproof operation, and its results are extremely precise. Now, let me use this magical gadget to see if there's any life in this basement… and how many."
After quickly reading the instructions, Zhao Rong began to use the life detector, scanning the area. When he aimed it into the seemingly bottomless darkness in the depths of the basement, a voice prompt immediately sounded: "Life activity detected. Number of individuals: 103."
The moment Zhao Rong heard that there were indeed signs of life—103 living people—he exclaimed with excitement, "The missing students are really alive! This is fantastic! Let's go save them right now!"
Saying that, Zhao Rong led the others, charging into the depths of the basement.