Chapter 155: What comes after hope is desperation
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Lin Fan followed closely behind the young mother, who was already so scared that she almost went insane.
Since the elevator was already on the first floor, it was only natural to take the elevator. If it was only four or five floors, climbing up the stairs would definitely have been faster than taking the elevator, however, it was twenty-eight floors, and since the elevator rose at a steady pace, taking the elevator was the quickest.
At the twenty-sixth floor.
There were a number of people standing in the corridor.
Policemen, doctors.
They just stood there, eyes wide and staring.
The young mother grabbed one of the policemen, and asked with red, teary eyes, "Has everything been settled?"
The policeman replied, "Soon, soon."
"Master w.a.n.g, has the door been unlocked?"
Squatting in front of the door was a man. He was a professional locksmith, a master who was once the champion of a lockpicking compet.i.tion, with a reputation for being able to unlock any entrance door.
Master w.a.n.g was sweating profusely. This wasn"t an ordinary lockpicking case where he could take his time, but rather, he was trying to save someone"s life and every second was precious.
To the young mother, every second was a second of suffering. She grabbed the policeman"s sleeve, with both legs firmly planted into the ground, "Is it done yet..."
The young mother proceeded to push the policeman away, then she started to bang on the door, leaving no s.p.a.ce for the locksmith to do his job. The policeman immediately dragged her away, "Calm down, let Master w.a.n.g unlock the door, there will definitely be enough time."
"Master w.a.n.g, no matter what, you must unlock the door within the next minute." The policemen were more worried than anyone else. The situation demanded immediate action, and hence they could understand the young mother"s anxiety.
However, the only people who could arrive on time were the technicians. If the fire truck was able to reach the place in time, there wouldn"t have been a problem.
They could break the door down immediately using the electric saw, but at that moment, the fire truck was blocked on the road, and if they waited for it to come, the child might already be dead.
Lin Fan said, "Let me try."
However, Lin Fan was ignored. The policemen scanned the surroundings, "Those with no business here, please make s.p.a.ce to allow for sufficient light."
The seconds ticked by.
Lin Fan, like the other residents, was pushed to one side.
"Master w.a.n.g, are you done?" the policeman urged. If he wasn"t done, they were afraid the young mother might just collapse.
Master w.a.n.g wiped the perspiration off his forehead, "This is a Yue Ma Lock, it requires some time..."
The moment the policemen heard the words Yue Ma Lock, their hearts skipped a beat. As policemen, they knew a little bit about locks since every locksmith had to file reports at the police station.
There was a particular type of lock which they come across the most.
"Yue Ma Lock"
To that date, this was the country"s toughest lock to unlock, earning various nationwide patents. In order to unlock the lock, one had to align all the pins in the cylinder of the lock in a certain pattern. In any case without the key, to unlock this type of lock was not just a question of time, but also of skill. This was certainly harder to unlock than B-Type locks.
The policemen had anxious expressions, "How much more time do you need?"
Master w.a.n.g had genuine talent and had unlocked such a lock before, however, he spent 300 minutes to do so. The state of affairs was very dire, and it was hard to maintain a calm state of mind. To pick the lock under such conditions was extremely difficult.
Master w.a.n.g hesitated, then turned towards the policeman, "I need 300 minutes."
What?"
The policemen were stunned. 300 minutes? By the time he was done, it would already be too late.
The young mother stomped her feet, crying and jumping like a maniac, "My child... my child...."
"Move out of the way..." Lin Fan said without hesitation, pus.h.i.+ng aside the policeman in his way. "300 minutes? The child would be long gone. Let me do it."
Lin Fan didn"t even bat an eye at the policemen"s obstruction and pushed Master w.a.n.g to one side. He looked at the equipment in Master w.a.n.g"s bag and took out eight pieces of iron wire, twisting them into four pieces.
Master w.a.n.g, being pushed aside, had an expression of anger on his face. "What are you doing? This isn"t the time to be messing around! Using iron wires to unlock this door is completely useless. This isn"t like any other type of door. This is a Yue Ma Lock! The use of iron wires to unlock the door is already out of the question, don"t you understand?"
"Shut up," Lin Fan reb.u.t.ted. One by one, he proceeded to slot each piece of iron wire into the keyhole, getting a feel of the grooves. To Lin Fan, getting a feel of the insides of the lock was similar to getting an impression of the mind, every bit and facet had to be taken into consideration. After which, he took out another few pieces of iron wire from the tool bag and twisted them into a ring. Again, he slotted it into the keyhole.
Ten seconds later, the keyhole was stuffed full of iron wires. He grabbed the ends of the wires, twisting them into one entire piece. He then violently turned the wires and lifted it upwards.
Kacha!
To a professional like Master w.a.n.g, that sound was all too familiar. It was the sound of the door unlocking.
Master w.a.n.g looked at the youngster in front of him with shock and amazement, even to a point of fear. Is he even human? This is a Yue Ma Lock, which surpa.s.ses a Type-B Lock.
It only took 20 seconds from the beginning until the end.
Even though Yue Ma Locks were not reputed as being unbreakable, for it to be unlocked in a short span of a mere 20 seconds was practically a dream, and for Master w.a.n.g to see it with his own eyes left him speechless.
Master w.a.n.g excitedly exclaimed, "It"s unlocked!"
The policemen were so excited that they were also left speechless. They also knew that Yue Ma Locks were the most difficult locks to unlock, yet what had they seen that day? A youngster, given such a short period of time, actually managed to unlock the lock. This was terribly frightful.
The young mother, who was originally buried deep in the darkness of her palms, saw a glimmer of hope.
The surrounding residents started applauding.
"Amazing."
"It really is amazing."
Lin Fan stood up, clearing the way for a path, and was ready to leave. The rest of the situation was up to the police to handle. He had already given his utmost effort.
At this moment, a sound came from the policeman"s walkie-talkie.
"Has the door been unlocked? The child is still stuck inside. He doesn"t seem to be moving, and he"s quickly running out of air."
The policeman replied, "It"s unlocked. We"re going in now."
The policeman grabbed the door handle and opened the door.
Lin Fan smiled. It felt good to not leave his name after doing a good deed. It was time for him to make a move. However, the moment he turned his back, there was a blood-curdling scream.
The scream was from the young mother. Hadn"t the door already been unlocked? Why would she still be so sad?
Lin Fan turned his head to take a look. Despite just catching a glimpse, Lin Fan was completely stunned.
"D*mn it! How much treasure is there in this house that they require not one, but two doors?"
Not only was Lin Fan stunned, but the surrounding policemen and Master w.a.n.g were also lost for words.
Master w.a.n.g examined the lock on the second door and his face turned pale. "This is an electronic fingerprint door. Not only that, this is the type that has no remote control or pa.s.scode capabilities, and it requires the owner to be here for it to be unlocked."
The policeman said, "How long do you need to unlock this type of lock?"
Master w.a.n.g answered, "Unless we use brute force, it cannot be unlocked. However, this door is made of copper, and without the correct tools, it is impossible to break it down."
A deep sense of desperation engulfed the area.
The policeman grabbed hold of Lin Fan, seemingly pinning all hope on him.
Master w.a.n.g was filled with admiration for Lin Fan, but facing such an electronic fingerprint door, it was not a question of skill anymore. It was not even possible.
From a master locksmith"s point of view, as long as the door had a keyhole, there wasn"t any door they would not be able to unlock. But the situation then was such that the door didn"t even have a keyhole. Even if one had terrific abilities, it would still be pointless.
When the young mother heard this, she immediately collapsed onto the ground, paralyzed.
Initially, after unlocking the first door, there was hope. However, after seeing the second door, all hope was lost.