Ren Yi returned to the shopping center and saw everyone searching for Gao Ge. He asked, “Are you sure there’s no one inside the equipment room?”
“No. We all looked.”
“Who was the last person to see him?”
Everyone exchanged glances.
Sun Dingyi said anxiously, “It might have been… us.”
“What about his alarm? Did his alarm go off?”
Every firefighter wore an alarm that could detect whether its wearer had fallen. If they remained down for more than twenty seconds, it would emit a high-pitched alarm. Although the environment was noisy, there was no way they could have failed to hear it.
“We didn’t hear anything.”
Ren Yi’s mind went blank for a moment. How could a grown man simply disappear into thin air?!
He took a deep breath. “Let’s go through it again. You, Gao Ge, and I were spraying water, and then the next team took over. Who was on the next team?”
“Us,” Liu Hui said. “The three of us.”
“When we came out, Gao Ge was behind us. Did anyone see where he went?”
Liu Hui and the others looked at each other.
“Seems like… we just didn’t see him.”
“How could you not see him?” Sun Dingyi shouted. “It’s such a small place, and there’s only one entrance. He’s not inside, and nobody saw him come out. Where could he have gone? Fallen into a rat hole?”
“Oh!” A middle-aged man nearby suddenly cried out.
The firefighters all turned toward him.
“There really is a hole in the equipment room!” he said anxiously. “It was left there so they could inspect the underground water and electrical equipment. It’s normally covered with a steel plate. The steel plate must have melted from the heat.”
“Where is it? How deep?” Ren Yi asked urgently.
The man described its approximate location. Several of them immediately rushed inside. To prevent anyone else from falling, they secured themselves with ropes and crouched low as they felt their way forward. The equipment room was filled with smoke and steam, and visibility was extremely poor.
The light on Ren Yi’s helmet swept across the floor, revealing a dark patch. He tugged on his rope and walked over.
Sure enough, there was a hole.
“Gao Ge! Gao Ge!”
There was no response from below, but they could make out a blurry human figure.
Ren Yi climbed down the ladder.
Smoke was lighter than air, so it rose upward, leaving the underground level relatively less smoky. Ren Yi saw that Gao Ge’s air cylinder was hanging from the ladder. Gao Ge was half-crouched, already unconscious. He had probably hit his head against the ladder when he fell.
Ren Yi checked Gao Ge’s pulse and breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at the remaining air in Gao Ge’s SCBA cylinder. The warning light was already flashing red, proving that his air supply was almost depleted.
Ren Yi secured the rope’s carabiner to Gao Ge’s belt and tugged on the rope. The men above hauled Gao Ge up.
Gao Ge was carried outside and his face mask was removed. His skin was unnaturally flushed, and he was soaked as if he had just been pulled out of a pool. Sweat covered his entire body, and his breathing was short and labored.
“Get his clothes off first. Has the ambulance arrived?” Ren Yi asked.
“It should be here any minute.”
They hurriedly stripped Gao Ge of his heavy turnout gear and propped up his neck to help him breathe as easily as possible. His skin was burning hot, so they used water to cool him down.
Before the ambulance arrived, Gao Ge regained a little consciousness and rasped that he wanted some water.
Ren Yi sat beside him and gave him a little water. Still shaken, he said, “Brother, you scared the hell out of me.”
If they had discovered him even a little later, the consequences could have been disastrous. How could Ren Yi not be shaken by that thought?
There were all kinds of unexpected accidents at a fire scene. No matter how careful they were, they could never eliminate every possible danger. It was truly helpless.
“The ambulance is here.”
After sending Gao Ge to the hospital, the firefighters hurried back and continued fighting the fire.
They worked nonstop from noon until evening. It took a full seven hours to finally put out the fire. During that time, they took turns going inside to spray water and took turns squatting by the roadside to eat boxed meals. Each firefighter had gone through at least three SCBA cylinders.
Once the fire was extinguished, the firefighters were so exhausted they could barely stand. On a late-autumn night when the temperature was below ten degrees Celsius, they lay on the ground without feeling the slightest bit cold. The intense heat and steam from the equipment room seemed to have seeped into every pore of their bodies and still hadn’t dissipated.
On the way back to the squad, Ren Yi had the fire truck make a detour and drop him and Sun Dingyi off at Hongwu Hospital.
Gao Ge had just finished his examinations and was resting in a hospital room. He was already awake. He had suffered a moderate concussion and burns of varying degrees, but none were serious. He still had to remain in the hospital for a few days for observation.
When they entered the room, Gao Ge was video-chatting with his wife and daughter. When he saw them, he turned the phone around.
“Sweetheart, these are Uncle Ren and Uncle Sun. Say hello.”
“Hello, uncles.” The little girl greeted them obediently.
Ren Yi and Sun Dingyi knew Gao Ge’s wife well. She and her daughter didn’t live in Beijing, but they had come to the squad twice to spend the New Year with everyone.
Gao Ge chatted with them for a couple more minutes before hanging up.
“Fire’s out?”
“If it weren’t, would we be here?” Sun Dingyi wiped his filthy face. “How does it feel sitting in an air-conditioned room?”
“Feels great.” Gao Ge made a face. “You guys should be jealous.”
Ren Yi laughed and cursed at him. “Cut it out. How are you feeling now?”
“My whole body hurts, and I’m still a little dizzy, but it’s nothing serious.” Gao Ge looked puzzled. “I still don’t know what exactly happened.”
Sun Dingyi explained, “There was actually an inspection hatch in the equipment room, with a ladder leading down to the level below. It was originally covered by a steel plate, but the steel plate melted from the heat.”
“Holy shit…” Gao Ge exclaimed. “You couldn’t see a damn thing in there.”
“Yeah. We searched for you forever. You were practically like you’d vanished into thin air. If that electrician hadn’t remembered…” Ren Yi said grimly, “Your SCBA was almost out of air at the time. It was fucking dangerous.”
Gao Ge deliberately laughed twice to reassure them. “If you survive a great disaster, you’re bound to have good fortune afterward.”
“We just came to check on you. Since you’re okay, we’ll head back. Get some rest for a few days, bring your wife and kid here, and spend some good time together.”
Gao Ge nodded. “My wife already bought tickets for tomorrow.”
The two of them walked out of the hospital room. When Ren Yi turned around, he suddenly felt a searing pain on his neck.
“Ah—” he hissed.
“What’s wrong?”
“Take a look at my neck here.”
Sun Dingyi pulled open Ren Yi’s collar and frowned. “You’ve got blisters from a burn. Didn’t you fasten your collar properly?”
Ren Yi remembered that while he had been outside, he’d opened his collar to let some heat escape. Later, when he heard that Gao Ge was missing, he’d rushed back inside without thinking. He hadn’t had the time to worry about his collar.
The collar area was one of the weaker points of their protective gear. Although they had taken extensive precautions, this was still where the gear connected to exposed skin. Everything above the neck could only be protected by the helmet’s protective flap. No matter what they did, it could never provide completely airtight protection, making the neck one of the areas exposed to the greatest amount of radiant heat.
Ren Yi’s collar hadn’t been properly sealed, so the high-temperature steam had naturally scalded his neck.
“Come on. Let’s get it treated.”
Ren Yi said, “I’ll go myself. You go back to the squad and get some rest.”
“It’ll only take a moment. Come on.”
The two of them found a nurse. Once Ren Yi took off his clothes, they saw several tender, bright-red blisters on his neck, each about the size of a quail egg. One of them had even been rubbed raw by his collar.
“You didn’t even feel this?” the nurse scolded. “It’s already broken open. It can get infected very easily.”
Ren Yi smiled bitterly. “I was burning up all over just now, and everything hurt. I really didn’t notice.”
The nurse began treating his wounds.
Sun Dingyi stood nearby, watching as the nurse made a small incision in one of the blisters. A large amount of tissue fluid flowed out. Ren Yi frowned tightly but didn’t make a sound.
Sun Dingyi couldn’t stand watching anymore. “I’ll go get your medicine.”
“Okay.”
After a while, Sun Dingyi returned with the medicine.
“Captain Ren, I saw Dr. Gong.”
Ren Yi’s head snapped up. “Where?”
The nurse accidentally stuck the needle into his back.
“Ow!”
“Don’t move around,” the nurse said, pressing him down.
Ren Yi looked at Sun Dingyi. “Where? Are you sure you didn’t mistake him?”
“With that celestial-face of his, how could I mistake him?” Sun Dingyi said. “He’s right outside. Looks like he’s escorting a prisoner. I’ll go get him.”
“Hey, don’t—”
Ren Yi tried to stop Sun Dingyi, but he’d already turned and walked out.
Although Ren Yi really wanted to see Gong Yingxian, he was filthy right now. This clearly wasn’t the best time to meet him.
Before long, Gong Yingxian entered with Sun Dingyi.
When he saw Ren Yi, he froze.
Ren Yi was wearing a blue shirt drenched in sweat, with the suspenders of his turnout pants still hanging from his shoulders. His face and body were covered in black soot, and there was a patch of red injury on his neck. His filthy appearance stood in stark contrast to the pure white examination room, and he was covered in the exhaustion and disheveledness of someone who had just survived a disaster.
Gong Yingxian felt as though his heart had been violently yanked.
He hurried over and asked anxiously, “You’re injured? What happened to your neck?”
Ren Yi said casually, “Just came back from a call. It’s nothing, just a little burn.”
Gong Yingxian stared at the blisters on Ren Yi’s neck, his brows tightly furrowed.
After a long moment, he said, “It must hurt.”
“It’s okay. The nurse is really gentle.” Ren Yi blinked. “They’re just blisters. They’ll go away in a few days.”
After finishing the treatment, the nurse instructed him, “Captain Ren, there’s nothing we can do about the one that’s already broken. But make sure you protect the skin over the other ones. Don’t rub them, and don’t get them wet. That way, the scars will fade faster.”
“Okay, thank you.”
Ren Yi stood up. “Why are you at the hospital? Zhou Chuan?”
Gong Yingxian nodded, his eyes still fixed on Ren Yi’s burns.
“Zhou Chuan is being discharged today.”
“That’s great. We can finally lock that bastard up.” Ren Yi asked, “How are the interrogations of the others going?”
“There’s been significant progress,” Gong Yingxian said. “I’ll take you back to the squad. I’ll tell you about it once you’re better.”
“It’s just a burn. It doesn’t affect anything.”
“Let’s go.”
Ren Yi hesitated. “We’re both filthy. How are we supposed to sit in your car like this?”
“I didn’t drive. I came in a police car.”
Sun Dingyi rubbed his hands together. “Wow, I’ve never ridden in a police car before.”
“Want the full experience?” Ren Yi teased. “He’s got handcuffs.”
“No thanks.”
Once they got into the car, Gong Yingxian and Ren Yi sat in the back seat. Ren Yi moved over to the side, afraid of brushing against Gong Yingxian.
Gong Yingxian shot him a sidelong glance.
“Stop hiding. Are you planning to sit on the roof?”
Ren Yi grinned. “I’m worried you’ll have an episode.”
“You…” Gong Yingxian said softly. “I can tolerate it.”
Ren Yi smiled knowingly.
The police car took them back to the squad. Ren Yi asked Gong Yingxian with a hint of anticipation, “Want to come in and sit for a while? If you’re not in a hurry to get back to the precinct…”
“All right.”
Once they entered the squad, the firefighters came over to ask about Gao Ge. After learning that he was fine, they all started asking about Ren Yi’s injury instead.
Ren Yi explained what had happened, then took Gong Yingxian to his dormitory.
At their squad, only the squad captain and political instructor had private rooms. Although the furnishings were quite simple, the room had everything he needed: a bedroom, bathroom, and office.
Gong Yingxian stood inside and looked around.
Although he’d been to the Phoenix Squad several times, this was his first time entering Ren Yi’s dormitory. Compared with Ren Yi’s home, which he hadn’t lived in for years, this place felt much more lived-in, more… filled with Ren Yi’s presence.
“Want some water?” Ren Yi suddenly felt a little nervous, like a teenage boy inviting a girl into his dorm room for the first time, afraid she’d find it messy.
“No.”
“Then sit for a while. I’m going to take a shower.”
Ren Yi remembered the injury on his neck. The nurse had just warned him not to get it wet, but he couldn’t even see the wound himself.
He clicked his tongue softly and muttered to himself, “How am I supposed to shower like this?”
“I’ll help you,” Gong Yingxian said.
Ren Yi’s eyes went wide.
He didn’t even dare turn his head.