Chapter 504: Chapter 504: Furnace (Nine)_1 Chapter 504: Chapter 504: Furnace (Nine)_1 Speaking of which, up to now, it seems that I really haven’t seen anyone using a mobile phone.
Including the man who died trapped in the storage room, if he still had the ability to move, logically, making a call for help would have been entirely possible to save his life.
Perhaps this world still doesn’t have such technology? Yet looking at the surroundings, it’s very hard to believe that.
Fu Qian placed his hand on his pulse, letting his thoughts drift.
Using heart rate to keep time was, honestly, a rather traditional method, and not hard to think of.
After all, there is a saying that advises doing things wholeheartedly.
And the reason I say Brother Vertical Saw hoped I would use this method is because he even hinted at it directly in the recording—your heartbeat is nothing more than a necessity to maintain thought, nothing more.
This statement can almost be considered an overt hint.
This also fits the style of redemptive killing; the Chainsaw Maniac always lays the path in front of you, what needs to be done is simply a choice.
To do or not to do, or to do this or do that?
In this respect, the imitator undoubtedly did well.
Fu Qian shook his head; at that moment there was another “ding” sound, signifying another minute had passed, and he began to silently count his own pulse.
Knowing the method is merely the first step.
The situation now seems simple, just needing to confirm the number of heartbeats between two dings and then use simple arithmetic to calculate the interval, which will directly determine how many heartbeats before the blade stops, using this as a scale to start taking action.
Although heartbeats won’t be as precise as a clock and will inevitably have some error, there was already an allowance calculated into the time given to me, and I only needed to take the safest three seconds within a five-second window.
However, this simplicity is only superficial.
Under normal circumstances, a person’s heartbeat is stable.
Stable enough to carve out more than three seconds of safe time in a minute.
But if these three seconds pertain to life and death, then maintaining stability becomes much less easy.
Anyone with a strong desire to live will inevitably have their heart racing.
Of course, a faster heartbeat isn’t strictly bad, as a quicker rate means a more finely divided timeline.
But without stability, even the finest division is useless.
Keep in mind, there’s only one chance.
According to the recording, just one touch by the blade to my hand would throw off the balance, then the mechanism would fail, the key would fall, and I would be completely trapped here.
At the same time, I am already poisoned, and I have only one hour before the toxin takes effect, and there are only sixty minutes in an hour.
I don’t have an infinite number of chances to regulate my heartbeat.
Zero margin for error combined with the looming threat of death, these two factors are testing my “calmness”; this is the core of the mechanism.
It is also the intent of Brother Vertical Saw.
66.
In the midst of contemplation, with a “ding”, Fu Qian confirmed his pulse rate per minute.
It’s a standard reading, it seems the toxin hasn’t affected my bodily functions yet.
Next, the calculation is simple, 66 beats per minute, so for 55 seconds, it would be between the 60th and 61st beats, which means if I aim for safety, I could act after the 61st beat and withdraw within four beats.
Fu Qian quickly calculated the data.
How difficult a task is, is relative.
The predicament before me would have indeed seemed overwhelmingly oppressive to a regular teenager with a hero complex.
Unfortunately, it is not that distressed green youth who stands before this door now.
Let alone the fact that I have gone through countless battles and seen myriad bloody scenes, the loss of limbs and lives is common.
Even in my actual high school days, I was confident that I could stabilize my heartbeat within minutes.
After all, at that time, I had come to view the concept of death with a degree of equanimity.
Ding!
Once again a sound indicates the end of another minute.
Very well!
Fu Qian nodded in satisfaction.
After the timing was done, he didn’t stop but instead immediately started the second countdown.
This time the pulse he measured was 65.
It was stable, and the safe range of 61 beats per minute was still valid.
Fu Qian placed his right hand on his own chest.
He wasn’t planning to count again; instead, he was preparing to take action.
He was very confident in the steadiness of his current state, under which circumstances it would actually be unwise to wait any longer.
Delaying for too long could not only cause damage to the bodily functions from the toxin but also impact concentration.
Fu Qian stretched his left hand through the circular hole, stopping at the limit of his line of sight.
This part could be confirmed as blade-free, and thus was a distance that could be saved.
Following another ‘ding’, Fu Qian started timing.
1, 2… 57, 58, 59, 60, 61—
At the very moment of the last heartbeat, Fu Qian’s hand firmly reached deeper inside.
The inside of the hole was quite smooth, clearly polished.
Even the curvature of the hole’s opening didn’t hinder the arm’s movements much.
The door appeared to be over 40 centimeters thick, with more than one crack running through it, making it impossible to determine from where the blades might emerge.
As soon as he touched the other side of the door, Fu Qian quickly made a series of judgments.
Taking into account from the recording that the key was on his right-hand side, Fu Qian used his left hand.
The smoothness of the process meant he didn’t play it safe by retracting his arm but instead quickly reached toward the right.
After three swift attempts, his fingertips finally touched a cold key.
Right when the 64th heartbeat sounded.
Fu Qian seized it and quickly withdrew his arm.
The gruesome sight of a severed limb didn’t occur; Fu Qian looked at the object he held in his hand.
It was a dark iron key, seemingly the perfect size for the lock on the door, and without any markings,
Fu Qian tried it out and directly inserted the key.
Twisting it, it wasn’t as heavy as he had imagined. With a click, it sounded like the lock on the door had opened.
He pushed harder, and although the door moved slowly and heavily, it definitely shifted slightly.
The facts proved that the content of the recording was truthful, and it seemed that the first challenge had been completed.
Of course, although he made it look easy, the predicament was actually very rigorous.
To solve this difficulty, one needed extreme calmness.
But experienced people know that some things are not so controllable.
Often, just the act of self-examination can be a powerful catalyst, not achieving the intended effect and instead creating a vicious emotional cycle.
Perhaps Brother Vertical Saw wanted to use this method to make people realize how ludicrous their so-called “calmness” typically is?
Of course, if you really can’t calm down, it doesn’t mean there’s no hope at all.
There’s another way, and that is to do the exact opposite, to physically drive the heart rate to its peak, like letting blood.
You must understand that the body’s heart rate spikes when losing blood rapidly.
Using this method to reduce the influence of emotions on the heart rate and maintain it within a relatively stable high frequency can also achieve the goal.
Moreover, behind him in the room were plenty of sharp long nails.
Considering the poisoning, those would be ideal for bleeding.
During his deliberation, Fu Qian had already pushed the door open enough for a person to get through, while the light simultaneously lit up behind the door.