Sun Dingyi took out a rescue rope. “Captain Ren, let’s tie ourselves together.”
“Okay.”
Ren Yi secured the two of them to the same rope, with the other end in Sun Dingyi’s hands.
“Give us all the fire extinguishers you’re carrying.”
They had only brought portable extinguishers, but at a critical moment, having them was certainly better than having nothing.
Ren Yi stared into the depths of the rubble.
He was a little apprehensive too.
There was a risk of a secondary collapse at any moment. Every step they took forward could bring them one step closer to death.
Knowing it was dangerous and still moving forward without hesitation—
That was what it meant to be a firefighter.
Ren Yi looked at Gong Yingxian.
“Let’s go.”
Gong Yingxian returned his gaze with a calm, fearless look.
Ren Yi turned and crawled forward.
The distance from here to the explosion point was only a dozen or so meters. Under normal circumstances, it would have taken only a few steps to reach it.
Now, every step was incredibly difficult.
They had to constantly search for the next place to put their feet amid the uneven piles of rubble, while also keeping an eye on whether the supporting structures overhead were still stable.
As he crawled, Ren Yi kept calling out,
“Anyone here? Fire department! Anyone here? Answer me! Fire department—”
The farther forward they crawled, the brighter the fire became.
Ren Yi could already hear the familiar crackling of flames, and the temperature of the air was clearly rising.
“Anyone here? Fire—”
“Shh.”
Gong Yingxian suddenly spoke.
“Quiet.”
The two fell silent and held their breath, listening.
A faint cry for help reached their ears.
“Over here.”
Following the sound, Ren Yi struggled forward and found two people huddled together beneath the wall.
They appeared to be a married couple.
“H-Help…”
The husband’s face was covered in dust, with two dried, dirty tear tracks beneath his eyes.
Ren Yi discovered that the husband had only suffered minor injuries and wasn’t trapped.
But the woman in his arms had half her body pinned beneath the rubble.
“How is she?”
Ren Yi moved over to the two of them.
The wife was still conscious, but her lips were deathly pale, clearly indicating severe blood loss.
Worse yet, Ren Yi noticed that her lower abdomen was swollen.
“Her legs are trapped. Please save my wife. She’s pregnant.”
The husband sobbed.
“I can’t move the stone.”
Ren Yi soothed him in a calm voice.
“Don’t panic. Let me take a look.”
Gong Yingxian grabbed the woman’s wrist and checked her pulse.
It was already extremely weak.
He quietly shook his head at Ren Yi.
Ren Yi looked at the rubble pressing down on the woman.
It would take at least five or six grown men to move it, and the problem wasn’t simply its weight.
The end of the slab was also supporting part of a beam.
If they moved it, there was no telling what would happen.
Ren Yi wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“Sir, this stone is too heavy. The few of us can’t move it. And even if we could, it would be extremely dangerous. We might cause the whole thing to collapse on top of us.”
“You should come out with us first, and then…”
“No.”
The husband hugged his wife tighter.
“I can’t leave her here alone.”
His wife whispered, “Honey, go. I… I can’t make it.”
“I’m not leaving.”
The husband shook his head, choking back sobs.
“I’m not leaving. She… she’s afraid of the dark. I can’t leave her here. And she still has our child.”
Ren Yi said heavily, “Brother, there’s a fire ahead. It may spread here soon, and the air will become thinner and thinner.”
“If you stay here, you’ll be in serious danger. Not only will you be unable to help your wife, you’ll also put your own life at risk.”
“I’m not leaving.”
The husband continued shaking his head.
“She’s afraid of the dark. I can’t leave. If we have to die, then our whole family will die together.”
“You go…”
His wife began to cry.
“Honey, go. I’m not afraid anymore. I… I can’t do this anymore. Don’t stay here and die with me. Please, hurry and go.”
No matter how they tried to persuade him, the husband refused to leave.
The couple held each other and wept, their anguish heartbreaking.
Ren Yi sighed and carefully surveyed his surroundings, thinking of a way to rescue them.
He pressed his radio.
“I’ve found a trapped couple. The rubble pinning them down can’t be moved. One, it’s too heavy. Two, moving it could trigger a secondary collapse.”
Chen Xiaofei asked, “Is it possible to cut through it?”
“The vibrations from cutting would be too strong. They could also cause a collapse.”
Chen Xiaofei was silent for a moment.
“What about amputation?”
“She’s pregnant. She won’t survive it. Right now, the only thing we can try is an inflatable lifting bag.”
“An inflatable lifting bag could also trigger a collapse.”
Wang Meng said, “The second floor is bearing the weight of the two floors above, and there’s already a fire. Whatever you do, don’t disturb the structure.”
“If we’re careful during the lifting process, we might be able to rescue them without disturbing the structure.”
Ren Yi gritted his teeth.
“Captain Chen, she’s dying. We have to try.”
Chen Xiaofei made the decision immediately.
“Arrange the rescue now.”
Ren Yi pulled a packet of compressed biscuits and some water from his pocket.
“Give your wife something to eat and help her conserve her strength. Don’t let her fall asleep. Someone will be here to rescue you soon.”
“We still have to keep going forward and take a look.”
“Th-Thank you.”
Ren Yi turned to Gong Yingxian.
“Let’s keep going.”
The two crawled forward with all their strength.
Gong Yingxian said, “Do you feel like it’s getting hotter and hotter?”
“Yeah. The fire is spreading. Soon, breathing may become difficult too.”
Ren Yi said, “This gas mask can filter toxic smoke, but it can’t provide oxygen. We can’t stay here for long.”
Looking at the increasingly bright fire ahead, Gong Yingxian sucked in a breath.
He didn’t know whether it was his fear of the fire making him anxious or the decreasing oxygen concentration in the air, but he had already begun to feel tightness in his chest and shortness of breath.
When Ren Yi crawled to the second-to-last hospital room, the air temperature had already reached an unbearable level.
Sweat poured from his body.
He finally saw the source of the fire.
“Captain Chen, we’re in the room next to the explosion point. The fire was started by an electric heater.”
“Maybe the old building didn’t have enough heating, so a patient brought in their own heater.”
“Because everything around it is reinforced concrete, the fire hasn’t spread much. But the heat radiation is too intense. We may not be able to get through.”
“Then don’t go any deeper.”
“From outside, we can clearly see that the fire is getting larger. We can’t spray water right now either. Keep an eye on the oxygen levels.”
“Did the room where the explosion occurred completely collapse?”
Gong Yingxian asked.
“From the outside, it looks like it.”
Ren Yi said, “From inside… I can’t see clearly, but it should be completely blocked.”
“I want to get a little closer.”
Gong Yingxian raised his hand.
“Look. I found something.”
“What is it?”
Gong Yingxian struggled over to Ren Yi.
The two squeezed together in the narrow space, their shoulders bumping against each other.
“Give me some water.”
“You have some in your pocket. I gave mine to that couple.”
“Where was it again?”
Ren Yi reached toward Gong Yingxian’s waist.
With a tiny bit of ulterior motive, he took the opportunity to give Gong Yingxian’s butt a quick squeeze before pulling a bottle of water from his pocket.
Gong Yingxian poured a little water into his palm and sprinkled the white crystals into it.
They dissolved quickly.
“What is this stuff?”
“Soluble in water…”
Gong Yingxian said, “It’s definitely an ammonium salt.”
“What’s an ammonium salt?”
Gong Yingxian brought the white crystals close to Ren Yi’s nose.
A foul stench rushed into Ren Yi’s nostrils.
He immediately gagged.
“What the hell is this? It smells like shit.”
“Ammonium salts can release ammonia gas when heated.”
Gong Yingxian murmured, “Mixing ammonium salts and urea with sodium dichloroisocyanurate can produce nitrogen trichloride. It explodes when heated.”
“Get Captain Qiu on the radio.”
Ren Yi pressed his radio.
“Captain Chen, connect Captain Qiu to this channel.”
Gong Yingxian said to Qiu Yan, “Sis Yan, the bomb used by the perpetrator contained chlorine, ammonia, and other chemicals with strong irritating odors.”
“That smell won’t dissipate anytime soon. Have the police dogs search for it.”
“Also, check recent records of transactions involving related chemicals. Ammonium salts aren’t permitted to be sold at retail.”
“Got it. I’ll check immediately.”
Qiu Yan sounded worried.
“When are you two coming out? I saw several firefighters carrying something inside. They said there’s a pregnant woman in there.”
“Yes, we’ll be out soon. Don’t worry.”
“Stay safe.”
“Did the perpetrator make a timed bomb? A remote-controlled bomb?”
Ren Yi thought aloud.
“I don’t know much about the principles behind chemical bombs, but we learned the basics of conventional explosives.”
“With conventional explosives, it’s difficult to control them remotely through heat. To make a conventional bomb detonate on a timer or by remote control, you need an electrically controlled detonator.”
“That isn’t a problem.”
“A chemical bomb only needs a reaction. Some reactions take time. Others require a combination of pressure, temperature, and humidity.”
“Using nitrogen trichloride as the explosive, I can think of at least four ways to make it detonate with a delay.”
Ren Yi clicked his tongue twice.
“You’re kind of dangerous.”
Gong Yingxian gave a soft laugh.
“Yeah. So don’t make me angry.”
“Like I’d dare.”
Gong Yingxian really wanted to tell Ren Yi that if he stopped being friends with that guy named Qi Xiao, he wouldn’t have to get angry.
But he couldn’t say it.
For one thing, it really was childish.
For another, this wasn’t the time.
He put the water bottle away.
“Let’s go a little farther and take a look.”
Ren Yi hesitated.
“Yingxian, if we go any farther, you’ll be able to see the fire. The entire room is burning.”
In the darkness, Gong Yingxian gazed at Ren Yi’s bright eyes.
“I know.”
“And it’s very hot. You’ve never been trained for this. You might not be able to withstand the heat.”
“I know. I’m not going back.”
Gong Yingxian’s gaze was resolute.
“Besides, aren’t you a firefighter? With you here…”
His eyelashes trembled slightly as he said softly,
“Fire doesn’t seem so frightening.”
Ren Yi’s heart surged.
There was nothing more motivating than the trust of the person you loved.
He grinned.
“Right. I’m a firefighter. With me here, the fire will never hurt you.”
Gong Yingxian smiled too.
It wasn’t that he wasn’t afraid.
Even from a distance, he could already feel the heat of the fire, and he was trembling.
But Ren Yi’s presence gave him tremendous courage to face it.
All his life, he had wanted to overcome this nightmare.
And he had discovered that only Ren Yi could help him do it.
Ren Yi took out the portable fire extinguishers and pulled the safety pins.
As he crawled forward, he sprayed them toward the nearest flames.
Although such a small amount of extinguishing agent couldn’t stop the fire, it could lower the temperature around them.
Radiant heat scorched their skin.
The searing pain made every instinct tell them to retreat.
Their bodies felt as though they were being roasted until they might melt, and they could barely keep their eyes open.
Ren Yi had been trained and could tolerate heat far better than an ordinary person.
Gong Yingxian, meanwhile, was being roasted so badly that he could barely lift his head.
First, he didn’t dare expose his face.
Second, he didn’t dare look directly at the flames.
Ren Yi shielded Gong Yingxian with his body and emptied all the fire extinguishers in one breath.
Only after the temperature dropped slightly were they able to keep crawling forward.
The searing pain and fear filled every cell in Gong Yingxian’s body.
Every second felt like an eternity.
He forcibly suppressed the urge to retreat, gritted his teeth, and searched for suspicious objects nearby.
They were close to the center of the explosion, and he found quite a lot of residue.
The fire had consumed a massive amount of oxygen.
Ren Yi found it increasingly difficult to breathe.
He said quietly, “Yingxian, we should head back. The oxygen is getting thinner.”
“…Okay.”
Gong Yingxian was reaching his limit too.
Because the space was so narrow, they couldn’t turn around.
They could only back out by crawling backward.
From far behind them, they heard people talking.
It was probably the rescue team going to help the couple.
Because of the many limitations, Ren Yi had proposed using an inflatable lifting bag for the rescue.
The deflated air bag would be inserted into the gap, then hydraulically inflated.
As it expanded, it could lift the load and replace the space occupied by the trapped person.
That way, they could rescue the victim while minimizing disturbance to the structure above.
Of course, that was the ideal scenario.
Reality was different.
They had only just moved away from the fire when they heard a strange sound from above.
Dust and small stones began raining down.
Ren Yi’s heart went cold.
“Get out! Now!”
The two used every ounce of strength they had and quickly crawled backward.
But they hadn’t gone very far when the entire area began shaking violently.
Chunks of stone of all sizes came crashing down.
Gong Yingxian suddenly threw himself onto Ren Yi, wrapped his arms around him, and rolled toward the corner of the wall, pinning Ren Yi beneath him.
“Yingxian!”
Ren Yi struggled to get up, but Gong Yingxian used the weight of his body to hold him firmly down, shielding him underneath.
A falling chunk of rubble slammed into Gong Yingxian’s back.
He let out a muffled groan.
Pain blurred his vision, but he didn’t move an inch.
In a low, hoarse voice, he whispered into Ren Yi’s ear,
“Don’t be afraid.”
Pinned beneath Gong Yingxian, Ren Yi couldn’t move.
Despair filled his heart, and tears burst from his eyes.
Were they going to die here?
No.
He was the one who had brought Gong Yingxian inside.
If someone had to die, it should be him.
Gong Yingxian could not die here!