Ren Yi immediately caught him. Sun Dingyi, carrying an SCBA unit, weighed at least 170 or 180 pounds, and the moment Ren Yi caught him, he nearly sank down with him. He switched the mask back onto his own head and struggled to remove Sun Dingyi’s equipment as he shouted, “Gao Ge, send three people down to support us. Bring an SCBA set. Hurry!”
Gao Ge was covered in sweat. He ordered, “Cui Yisheng, take the two of them down the shaft. Get the people down first and hold your breath. We’ll send the equipment down afterward.”
“Yes!”
Ren Yi helped Sun Dingyi up and trudged forward with difficulty through the deep water, occasionally switching the mask with Sun Dingyi. Li Sa was also supporting the maintenance worker behind them. Fortunately, the maintenance worker was petite; otherwise, in an environment like this, she probably wouldn’t have been able to move even an inch.
They had not gone far when Liu Hui came running over first.
Ren Yi cursed, “I fucking told you to watch Xiaotao.”
“Xiaotao told me to come.” Liu Hui reached out to take Sun Dingyi.
“You go help Li Sa. I can handle him myself.”
Liu Hui took the maintenance worker from him. “Li Sa, go help Captain Ren. I can manage by myself.”
Li Sa ran over. “Captain Ren, Captain Sun is unconscious and can’t control his breathing anymore. I’ll give him the mask. The two of us can share one.”
Ren Yi took off his own SCBA mask and put it over Sun Dingyi’s head, then gave Li Sa an OK sign.
Li Sa nodded. The two of them supported Sun Dingyi from either side, constantly switching the mask between them until the rescue team sent by Gao Ge arrived.
The pumps continuously drained the water from the sewage well. The farther they went, the shallower the water became, until they successfully carried Sun Dingyi and the maintenance worker out. Xiaotao was also rescued.
Ren Yi placed Sun Dingyi onto a stretcher and stared at the paramedic with bloodshot eyes. His lips trembled, but for a moment, he could not say anything.
The paramedic said, “Captain Ren, you need to move aside and let us work.” She lifted Sun Dingyi’s eyelids to check them, then pried open his mouth and told her colleague, “Prepare for intubation.”
Ren Yi said hoarsely, “Will he be okay?”
All the firefighters stood to one side, anxiously and helplessly watching the unconscious Sun Dingyi.
The paramedic said calmly, “We’ll do everything we can.”
The injured were loaded onto the ambulances one by one.
Xiaotao refused to get onto the stretcher. “My leg’s just twisted. It’s nothing serious. I don’t need to go to the hospital.”
“To be safe, you should get an X-ray,” the paramedic said.
“I really don’t—”
“Go to the hospital!” Ren Yi glared at him and growled.
Xiaotao lowered his head.
Ren Yi suddenly felt his heart flutter violently, and his breathing became rapid. His body swayed.
“Captain Ren!” Gao Ge caught him.
Li Sa and Liu Hui also slowly crouched down, their faces unnaturally pale.
Gao Ge shouted, “They took off their masks down in the well!”
The paramedic pressed the radio. “Dispatch, we need two more ambulances here. First, take off their outer clothing and have them lie flat on the ground. Spread everyone out and keep their airways clear.”
“Captain Ren! Captain Ren!” Gao Ge stripped off Ren Yi’s equipment, undid his outer clothing, and slowly lowered him onto the ground.
More than eighty percent of the balconies throughout the residential complex were filled with people. The area around the sewage well was also surrounded by a crowd. Fire trucks, ambulances, and police cars had completely blocked the entrance to the residential complex.
But Ren Yi gradually stopped hearing the surrounding voices, shouting, and camera shutters. He felt a little dizzy, but he did not want to pass out, so he desperately held onto his consciousness, forcing his eyelids to stay open.
Suddenly, a face appeared in his field of vision—a pale, delicate, impossibly beautiful face looking down at him. The lips opened and closed, calling his name.
Gong Yingxian? What was he doing here?
Oh. He was a police officer.
Gong Yingxian’s voice was like an arrow, passing through mountains and rivers, piercing layers of thick fog, and finally stabbing through his eardrums. With that single call of “Ren Yi,” his hearing returned.
Ren Yi forced his eyes open and looked weakly at Gong Yingxian. “You…”
Gong Yingxian crouched down beside him and said in a deep voice, “Don’t talk. The ambulance will be here soon.”
Ren Yi forced a crooked smile. “I… I smell like a latrine. Aren’t you afraid?”
“Stop talking.” Gong Yingxian took a snow-white handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the grime mixed with sweat and sewage from Ren Yi’s face.
Ren Yi took a deep breath, but still felt that he could not breathe properly. His lungs felt like a deflated balloon, and oxygen had become scarce.
“Li Sa and Liu Hui…”
“They’re fine. They’re both waiting for the ambulance.”
Finally, the additional ambulance arrived. Ren Yi was lifted onto a stretcher and fitted with an oxygen mask. He slowly blinked as he waited to be carried into the ambulance. It seemed there was no need to keep pretending anymore, so he finally relaxed his tightly wound nerves and sank into unconsciousness.
——
When Ren Yi woke up, he found himself lying in a hospital, just as expected.
His entire body felt terrible—dizzy, weak, nauseous, as though he still had a high fever.
“Ren Yi.” Qu Yangbo leaned over when he saw Ren Yi wake up. “How do you feel?”
Ren Yi’s consciousness was blank for a brief moment, but he quickly came fully awake. He hurriedly asked, “What about Sun Dingyi? How is he?” He tried to sit up as he spoke.
“He’s fine. He’s out of danger.” Qu Yangbo held his shoulders and slowly pressed him back onto the bed.
Ren Yi let out a heavy breath. The tip of his nose stung, and he almost burst into tears. “What about everyone else?” he asked hoarsely.
“They’re all fine. So are you. The three of you inhaled relatively little, so you don’t need lung lavage, but you still need to stay in the hospital for a few days of observation.”
Ren Yi nodded. “What about the people we rescued?”
Qu Yangbo sighed. “Two died at the scene. One died after arriving at the hospital despite resuscitation efforts. The other three are all in intensive care, and their conditions aren’t very optimistic.”
Ren Yi clenched his weak fist. “Yangbo, do you know what the hardest part of this job is?”
Qu Yangbo said nothing.
Ren Yi stared blankly ahead. “It’s knowing that ‘some tragedies never should have happened in the first place.’”
Qu Yangbo said heavily, “Several people responsible for the property management company have been detained.”
“Yeah, they’ve been detained. Tomorrow, the news will go crazy reporting how their negligence caused so many deaths. Every year, there are endless stories like this, one after another, one after another!” His lips trembled. “But they still can’t be prevented.”
“We can only do our best at our jobs and hope everyone else does their jobs properly too, so we can minimize the occurrence of these accidents.” Qu Yangbo patted Ren Yi on the shoulder. “Don’t think about it too much. You need to rest right now.”
At that moment, there was a knock on the door.
“Come in.”
The hospital room door opened, and Gong Yingxian walked in—with a mask on.
Ren Yi froze. He lowered his head slightly and secretly smelled himself. His clothes had been changed and he had been bathed while unconscious, so it seemed he no longer smelled. But that stench seemed to have temporarily taken up residence in his memory. He could recall it perfectly.
“You’re awake.” Gong Yingxian nodded at Qu Yangbo.
Qu Yangbo said, “Dr. Gong, do you want to question him?”
“Can you?” Gong Yingxian looked at Ren Yi.
Ren Yi spread his hands and deliberately said casually, “I’m fine now. I’m in great shape.”
“Then you two talk. I’ll get you something to eat. Si Huo, what do you want?”
“The higher the calories, the better. Fried chicken, barbecue, skewers—anything. I’m starving to death.”
Qu Yangbo gave him a cold laugh. “Dream on. Your throat hasn’t finished swelling yet. You can only have plain rice porridge.”
“Then why the hell did you ask?”
“You can choose some pickles.”
“Whatever you say.” Ren Yi waved him off.
After Qu Yangbo left, Gong Yingxian stood beside the hospital bed and stared at Ren Yi without blinking.
Ren Yi felt a little creeped out by his stare. “What are you doing?”
“Determining whether you’re currently fit to talk.”
“You can tell just by staring at me?”
“I think so. You look pretty energetic.” Gong Yingxian said, “You…”
“Can you take off the mask?” Ren Yi frowned. “This is a hospital, I’m lying in a hospital bed, and you’re standing there looking at me with a mask on. It’s really ominous.”
Gong Yingxian hesitated for a moment before pulling down the mask and letting it rest against his sharp, narrow chin.
Ren Yi could not help asking, “Do you hate hospitals?”
“Of course. Does anyone like hospitals?”
“What I mean is, do you hate hospitals to the point that… you hate them like you hate fire? Do you throw up?”
“…”
Gong Yingxian was silent for a moment. “I’ll try my best to hold it in.”
“Then why did you insist on coming?”
“I need to question you about the sewage-well accident.”
Ren Yi blinked and smiled faintly. “You came to see me, didn’t you?”
Gong Yingxian froze slightly.
Ren Yi laughed loudly. “If you came to visit me, just say so. What’s there to be embarrassed about? The accident was that simple, everyone involved has already been arrested, and there are tons of eyewitnesses. You weren’t so desperate to come to the hospital and question me immediately, were you? Right? You came to see me, didn’t you?”
Gong Yingxian crossed his arms. “How you choose to think about it is your freedom. It has nothing to do with me. I’m only here to ask for your assistance with the police investigation. Can you cooperate now?”
“Sure.” Ren Yi suddenly remembered something. “Hey, are you a little girl or something? You even carry a handkerchief around with you. Do you have it on you now?”
Gong Yingxian narrowed his eyes. “It’s a handkerchief, not a hankie.”
Ren Yi suppressed a laugh. “What’s the difference?”
“After wiping your face with it, there really isn’t any difference anymore.” Gong Yingxian said, “They’re both classified as recoverable garbage.”
Ren Yi curled his lips. “Want me to buy you another one?”
Gong Yingxian took out his notebook and recorder. “Enough nonsense. Describe what you heard and saw when you arrived at the scene.”
Ren Yi described the entire rescue operation. Their emergency responses often involved criminal offenses, and rescue operations would inevitably cause some damage to the scene. Providing the police with firsthand information about the accident site was something he often did. Although this accident was not a malicious criminal case, the consequences and impact it caused were extremely severe.
After finishing, Ren Yi stretched lazily. Gong Yingxian put away his notebook, looked at Ren Yi, and asked an utterly unexpected question.
“What did it feel like?”
“What?”
“…Rescue.” Gong Yingxian lowered his eyes, his long eyelashes casting fan-shaped shadows over his eye sockets. “Especially when fighting fires.”
Ren Yi thought for a moment. “Very tense, very frightening. You just hope everything will be over as soon as possible.”
“Have you ever thought that you might die?” Gong Yingxian’s eyes were somewhat unfocused.
“Of course. I go in and out of dangerous places every day.” Ren Yi shrugged. “But thinking about it doesn’t help. After doing this job for so long, I’ve learned a principle—a principle everyone knows, but very few people can truly understand.”
“What principle?”
Ren Yi pointed upward. “Everyone has their own fate.”
Gong Yingxian said nothing.
“I’ve seen countless accidents. Some accidents… are so unexpected that you couldn’t even make them up. It’s like being on a battlefield. Maybe you hide really well but still get hit by a stray bullet, or maybe you charge into battle and come out without a single scratch. Who knows why? So, people…” Ren Yi smiled faintly. “First, don’t go looking for death. Then, when something happens, do your best to save yourself. Everything else is fate. If I’m not supposed to die, then I’m not supposed to die.”
Gong Yingxian murmured softly, “Then who decides whether someone is supposed to die?”
“What?”
“Why were you given this name?”
Ren Yi laughed. “When I was born, some master said my Five Elements were lacking fire, so I had to make up for it through my name. My dad searched through the dictionary and found this lousy character for me. Damn, he really overdid it.”
“Such an ugly name.” Gong Yingxian said without the slightest bit of tact.
“It’s not like I chose it. I’ve always wanted to change my name too. I’m just too lazy.” Ren Yi gave Gong Yingxian a sidelong glance. “What, is your prejudice against me because of my name?”
Gong Yingxian neither confirmed nor denied it. “Get some rest. I should go.”
“Wait. Any progress with Cai Wan?”
“Yes. I’ve sorted out the social connections, interpersonal network, and communications of this father and daughter. My colleagues in the Narcotics Squad also gave me a lot of information about Tao Zhen. I’m certain they took far more than three hundred thousand yuan from Tao Zhen. There’s one lead now, pointing toward someone who may know where the money went.”
“Who?”
“It’s a little complicated. I’ll tell you after you’re discharged.”
Ren Yi nodded. “I’ll come find you at the precinct later.”
Gong Yingxian put his mask back on and turned to leave. When he reached the door, he paused and looked back.
“Send me the time and location of the martial arts tournament on my phone.”
As Ren Yi stared at him in stunned silence, Gong Yingxian opened the door and left.
Ren Yi came back to himself, and a huge smile spread across his face.