“This one is for lighting. This one is for calling for help. There’s a rescue rope here, a first-aid kit here, and this pocket has some small tools for forcible entry. You absolutely cannot take off your helmet at any point.”
Ren Yi put the helmet on Gong Yingxian’s head and adjusted the chin strap for him.
Gong Yingxian looked at Ren Yi’s serious expression, feeling deeply pleased.
He couldn’t help thinking back to how he had felt after their argument last night. That desire for Ren Yi to look only at him, focus only on him, belong only to him had left him so frustrated that he hadn’t slept well all night.
If only things could always be like this.
With only his own face reflected in Ren Yi’s pupils.
“Is it too tight?” Ren Yi asked.
“Just right.”
The corners of Gong Yingxian’s lips lifted slightly.
“But the clothes are a little tight.”
Ren Yi clicked his tongue.
“Stop showing off. Ah, you were the one who insisted on wearing my underwear, and you were the one who insisted on wearing my clothes. If you’ve got the guts, take them off.”
“What, did I hurt your pride?” Gong Yingxian teased.
Ren Yi tugged on his collar.
“How old are you, still comparing sizes? I call you a grade-schooler and you still won’t admit it.”
“I’m not comparing anything. I’m merely stating a fact.”
Gong Yingxian said it with complete composure.
Ren Yi remembered what had happened in the bathroom that day. When he had collapsed onto Gong Yingxian, he had indeed gotten a very thorough firsthand impression of Gong Yingxian’s intimidating size.
He had no desire to continue this conversation.
“Enough, enough. Let’s go.”
Ren Yi took Sun Dingyi and Liu Hui with him, while Wang Meng and Lin Shaoping each took their own men. They all carried tools such as support timbers, crowbars, and portable fire extinguishers.
The remaining firefighters formed two lines and began passing rubble out in relay, clearing the debris from outside as quickly as possible.
They approached the collapsed building.
On the first floor, there was a section of open space in the corridor connecting the lobby to the western wards that they could squeeze through.
The headlamps on their helmets shone inside.
Visibility was only a few meters.
It was pitch-black within, filled with overturned and scattered chunks of stone, and the sight sent a chill through them.
Wang Meng said, “We’ll go this way. Shaoping, you guys climb in through the windows at the back of the building.”
“OK. Stay in touch.”
Ren Yi said, “Let’s go. We’re heading to the second floor.”
“The second floor may be on fire. Be careful.”
“Don’t worry.”
The four of them climbed over the rubble onto the second floor.
As the floor where the explosion had occurred, the second floor was no less damaged than the first.
A strange smell permeated the air.
Gong Yingxian wrinkled his nose, a puzzled expression appearing on his face.
Ren Yi led the way, carefully moving forward along the wall.
“Anyone here? Fire department!”
He spotted the nearest hospital room and turned into the warped doorway.
“Anyone here?”
The light moved with Ren Yi’s head.
He saw that most of the ceiling inside had collapsed. The hospital bed had been completely crushed, and a large pool of blood spread across the floor.
But there was no sign of anyone.
Ren Yi’s heart sank.
Although he had little hope, he still decided to go over and check.
The closer he got to the outside, the more precarious the floor became.
Ren Yi carefully edged forward, then lay flat on the ground and looked through the gaps between the fallen ceiling.
“Anyone there?”
As the light shifted deeper inside, half of a crushed head suddenly appeared in his line of sight.
Ren Yi sucked in a horrified breath and struggled backward several times.
“Captain Ren, what’s wrong?” Sun Dingyi asked nervously.
“N-Nothing…”
The shattered skull and bulging eyes refused to leave Ren Yi’s mind.
He took a deep breath, struggling to steady his heartbeat, but he couldn’t suppress the grief and pity rising inside him.
Though he had only caught a fleeting glimpse, it was clearly a young woman.
His voice was heavy.
“There are no survivors in this room.”
Gong Yingxian reached out to pull Ren Yi up, but the instant he took his hand, he felt the trembling.
So Gong Yingxian crouched down and looked at that pale face in the darkness.
His chest felt as though it had been pierced by needles.
“Are you okay?”
Ren Yi nodded, unable to speak for a moment.
He clasped Gong Yingxian’s hand in return and held it tightly.
Gong Yingxian said quietly, “It’s a chemical bomb, not a conventional explosive.”
“You know what kind of explosive it is?”
“I have a theory, but I’m not certain. We need to find more residue.”
Gong Yingxian explained, “There’s no smell of gunpowder at the scene, only the smell of chemicals. Actually, I suspected from the beginning that it was a chemical explosive.”
“A conventional bomb powerful enough to blow a building apart like this wouldn’t be small. It would be conspicuous in a hospital with people constantly coming and going, especially with police stationed at the entrance.”
“But chemicals can produce a huge reaction even in very small quantities.”
“Could it be poisonous?”
“The trapped people we rescued earlier showed no signs of poisoning, which means the perpetrator probably didn’t use toxic chemicals. Of course, once different chemicals react, it’s difficult to guarantee that the resulting substances are completely harmless. As long as the dose isn’t high, though, it should be fine.”
“There’s someone here!” Liu Hui shouted. “He’s alive!”
Gong Yingxian stood up and, in the same motion, pulled Ren Yi to his feet.
They followed the voice.
In the corner of another hospital room, Liu Hui found a man.
He was buried beneath chunks of stone, but the triangular space formed by the corner of the walls had caught part of the rubble, preventing it from being completely compressed.
“Sir, wake up.”
Sun Dingyi gently patted the man’s cheek.
His eyes were covered in blood.
His eyelids trembled several times before finally opening halfway, and he gave only the faintest breaths.
“Let’s try lifting the rubble.”
The four of them attempted to raise the reinforced-concrete section of the ceiling.
They used every ounce of strength they had, but could barely move it at all.
Reluctantly, they lowered it again.
“No, this won’t work.”
Ren Yi placed several support timbers beside his feet.
“We’ll lift this side together. Get the timber underneath first.”
“Okay.”
“One, two, three!”
The four men pushed with all their strength.
At last, they managed to raise the slab slightly.
Ren Yi immediately used the tip of his boot to push a support timber into the gap.
With the first piece of timber supporting it, they shoved several more underneath.
The crushing weight on the man was finally relieved.
Ren Yi dropped his equipment, squeezed through the gap beneath the raised corner of the wall, grabbed the man’s arm, and shouted,
“Pull!”
The other three grabbed Ren Yi by the belt and legs and dragged him and the man outward.
Fortunately, neither Ren Yi nor the man was heavy, and they were eventually pulled free.
The man’s head and face were covered in blood, and he appeared to have suffered internal-organ injuries as well.
His condition looked extremely dangerous.
Ren Yi was so exhausted that he collapsed onto the floor and couldn’t get back up for a moment.
Gong Yingxian hurried over.
“Are you hurt?”
Ren Yi smiled and gave him a thumbs-up.
“Liu Hui, Sun Dingyi, take him downstairs.”
Then he spoke into the radio.
“Ding Qing, have someone receive them downstairs.”
“Yes, sir.”
After the two men left, Ren Yi climbed back to his feet.
He uselessly brushed the dust off his clothes, then nodded toward the pitch-black area ahead, filled with broken walls and rubble.
“The explosion point is at the end of the corridor. According to the blueprints, there are still three hospital rooms between us and it.”
Gong Yingxian nodded.
“The smell of chlorine is getting stronger.”
“What is that?”
Ren Yi could smell it too.
The odor was becoming increasingly pungent.
“Chlorine. I suspect the explosive was nitrogen trichloride. I just don’t know how it was synthesized or how it was detonated.”
“Nitrogen trichloride is a strong oxidizer and highly flammable.”
“Looks like there really is a fire inside.”
Ren Yi said, “But the building is already in this state. There probably isn’t much combustible material left, so it shouldn’t result in a large-scale fire.”
“Even a small fire is dangerous.”
“The farther we go, the more irritating the smell will become. The gas is also corrosive. It isn’t highly corrosive, and covered skin should be fine, but the eyes and nasal membranes may not be able to tolerate it.”
Ren Yi spoke into the radio.
“Sun Dingyi, bring a few gas masks when you come back.”
“Got it.”
“How does this nitrogen trichloride explode?”
“There are several ways. Pressurizing it or heating it in a sealed container can cause an explosion. Mixing it with certain chemicals can also cause an explosion.”
“Even excessive powder in the air can cause a dust explosion if exposed to an open flame or high temperatures. It can also burn when exposed to moisture or heat, or react explosively with other unstable substances.”
“That stuff is way too easy to blow up.”
“Mm. Several chlorine compounds are commonly used as explosives.”
“Common in your field, maybe. I’ve never encountered them before.”
“Not encountering them is a good thing.”
Gong Yingxian’s voice was unusually cold.
“It proves that Red Flame himself, or someone around him, has a background in chemistry.”
“Compared to ordinary arson, biological and chemical weapons are much more frightening.”
Ren Yi’s heart sank.
“You’re right. If they were deliberately trying to manufacture a biological or chemical weapon this time, using a densely populated place like a hospital… I don’t even want to think about how many casualties it could cause.”
“It’s terrifying.”
Just thinking about the possibilities that hadn’t happened yet but posed such serious hidden risks made a chill run down Ren Yi’s spine.
Sun Dingyi and Liu Hui soon returned with the gas masks.
They put them on and continued deeper inside.
The farther they went, the closer they came to the center of the explosion.
The more severe the collapse became.
The path ahead was heavily blocked, and they could only crawl through.
Xu Jin suddenly spoke.
“Station captains, report your situations.”
Wang Meng and Lin Shaoping were still searching for trapped people on the first floor.
Ren Yi replied, “We’re relatively close to the explosion point, but it’s difficult to get through here. We… huh? I see fire.”
Among layer upon layer of rubble and broken stone, a beam of light flickered in the darkness.
It was almost like a will-o’-the-wisp drifting through an endless abyss, sending chills through anyone who saw it.
“Is the fire large? What caused it?” Chen Xiaofei asked.
“We can see it from outside too.”
“It doesn’t seem large. We’re not sure what caused it, but it may be blocking our path to the explosion point.”
“Confirm the situation before taking action. If there’s no safe way forward, come back.”
“Yes, sir.”
Ren Yi said, “I’ll crawl in first and see whether the fire is blocking our path.”
“I’m coming with you.”
Gong Yingxian said, “If the fire is blocking the path, then that’s the closest point we can reach to the explosion site. What I’m looking for can only be searched for around there.”
Ren Yi looked directly at Gong Yingxian.
“Are you sure? That’s fire.”
Gong Yingxian took a deep breath.
“I told you. I’m afraid, but I won’t back down.”
“And besides… you’re here.”
Those words—you’re here—made Ren Yi’s heart soar instantly.
He desperately tried to conceal the change in his expression.
“O-Okay, fine. Stay behind me.”
Sun Dingyi blinked.
His eyes shifted back and forth between the two of them, as if he had noticed something.
Ren Yi added, “Let me give you a warning first. The clothes we’re wearing right now aren’t firefighting turnout gear, so they don’t have heat-insulating or flame-resistant properties.”
“It’s going to get extremely, extremely hot near the fire source. If you can’t take it, get out. Don’t force yourself.”
“Got it. Let’s go.”