After several hours of interrogation, they could no longer get anything useful out of Zhou Chuan for the time being, and they were exhausted as well.
After leaving the interrogation room, Ren Yi limped along behind Gong Yingxian and complained, “I’m so thirsty. You’re carrying a water bottle yourself, and you can’t even remember to pour me a cup of water?”
Gong Yingxian continued looking through the documents as he walked. He casually pointed in a direction. “Water dispenser.”
Ren Yi said indignantly, “Who do you think is responsible for my ankle being this badly sprained? Who made me go investigate in the middle of the night? Who tripped me?”
Gong Yingxian looked up at him. Perhaps his conscience had finally kicked in. “Wait here.”
Ren Yi sat down on the sofa in the reception area. He glanced over the office area in front of him. Although there were several rows of identical desks, he could immediately tell which one belonged to Gong Yingxian.
It was naturally the cleanest and most perfectly organized one.
He watched Gong Yingxian walk toward the water dispenser against the wall, take a paper cup, and bend down to fill it with his side facing Ren Yi.
The movement of bending at the waist pulled Gong Yingxian’s suit trousers taut, accentuating his firm buttocks and long legs even more, while the raised trouser leg faintly revealed the gun holster strapped around his ankle.
Seductive and dangerous.
Ren Yi couldn’t help quietly whistling. He secretly took out his phone and snapped a picture.
When Gong Yingxian straightened up, those broad shoulders, narrow waist, firm buttocks, and long legs were still there, all set upon his exceptional height, as though God had carefully carved him into perfection.
Ren Yi snapped another picture, then casually lowered his head to play with his phone the instant Gong Yingxian turned around.
Gong Yingxian walked over and handed Ren Yi the cup of water.
Ren Yi took it and drank a mouthful. “What are you planning to do next?”
“There are several leads to pursue. Zhou Chuan, the bar owner and his competitor, Cai Wan and the other three people in the private room.” Gong Yingxian rubbed his brow. “Go back to your station. If I need your assistance with anything, I’ll notify you.”
“‘Notify’ me?” Ren Yi said unhappily. “Am I your subordinate? Do you pay my salary? The proper term is ‘ask for your advice.’”
Gong Yingxian said, “Phrase it however you want.”
“You…” Ren Yi was burning with irritation inside. He had worked for nothing all this time and even gotten injured, yet from beginning to end, Gong Yingxian hadn’t said a single word of thanks. Ren Yi was usually pretty easygoing, but this was the first time he realized just how tolerant he could be. If it had been someone else, he probably would have fallen out with them long ago. “I really don’t know how someone with your EQ has managed to make it this far. Haven’t you been ostracized here?”
“I’m here to work, not to make friends.”
“How could someone like you possibly make any friends?”
Gong Yingxian was silent for a moment before calmly saying, “You’re right.”
Ren Yi turned and left.
All the way back, Ren Yi kept reassuring himself. A real man should be broad-minded. Why get worked up over a young, spoiled rich second-generation? At least Gong Yingxian was a competent criminal investigator. As long as they could successfully complete the work, everything else was secondary.
Fortunately, he really was a big-hearted person, and he soon calmed down. He remembered the photos he had secretly taken and pulled out his phone to examine them carefully. The more he looked, the more he felt it was a pity. What a waste to have such a handsome face and body when his personality was so damn annoying.
He closed the photo album and opened the front-facing camera on his phone, flashing a huge grin.
Yeah, the guy in the camera really was handsome and likable.
Suddenly, the taxi driver slammed on the brakes. Ren Yi’s nose hit the screen directly, and tears nearly sprang into his eyes.
“Bro, what the hell was that? My nose is worth tens of thousands!”
“Sorry, sorry. The car in front braked suddenly. Damn, looks like there’s been an accident.”
Ren Yi looked ahead through the windshield. There was chaos at the intersection up ahead, with everyone around them staring in that direction. Some people had even deliberately turned back to take a look.
Ren Yi tossed out, “End the fare here,” then got out of the taxi and headed toward the intersection.
The moment he arrived at the scene, his heart jolted and his scalp went numb.
A sedan and a motorcycle had collided head-on. The motorcycle rider’s body had been thrown straight through and become lodged in the sedan’s front windshield. Glass had pierced into his abdomen, and blood was pouring out as if the victim were being bled in a slaughterhouse. The scene was horrifying.
The condition of the sedan driver couldn’t be seen clearly from outside, but it didn’t look good. The accident had also caused two vehicles behind them to rear-end each other, while the wreckage of the motorcycle had been thrown onto a pedestrian, pinning them underneath.
Nearby, a young boy was sitting on the ground crying hysterically. Two young women were there—one blocking his view of the scene, while the other tried to calm him down with a toy.
At that moment, several people were trying to lift the motorcycle wreckage to rescue the person underneath.
Ren Yi didn’t even have time to worry about his ankle. He ran over, took one look, and shouted, “Don’t move!”
The people froze.
“Have you called 120?”
“Y-yes.”
“Did you describe the situation?”
“Yes, we did.”
Normally, as long as the caller clearly described the situation, 120 would coordinate with 119 to dispatch emergency services. But to be safe, Ren Yi called Gao Ge while crouching on the ground and carefully examining the victim.
The injured person was a young mother. The motorcycle wreckage wasn’t merely pressing down on her—the frame had also pierced through her arm. She was still conscious, but having difficulty breathing.
Ren Yi had received basic first-aid training. He could see that the frame had pierced her arm at a point directly between the carotid artery and the brachial artery. If it were moved, it would cause massive bleeding.
The call connected at just that moment.
Ren Yi asked, “Have you received the dispatch for Bo’ai Road?”
“Traffic accident. Yes, we got it.”
“Bring the aerial ladder truck. Hurry.” Ren Yi hung up, then said to the helpful bystanders, “I’m a firefighter. Listen to my instructions for now. Miss, both of you, please take her son over to the side. Once the traffic police arrive, hand him over to them. You three, lift the vehicle gently. Do not touch her arm under any circumstances. Keep holding it up, and switch out when you get tired.”
Ren Yi directed the three men to lift the motorcycle wreckage, reducing the pressure on the woman’s organs. After repeatedly reminding them not to touch the frame embedded in her arm, he turned and ran toward the sedan involved in the crash.
The driver of the third car that had rear-ended the others had already gotten out and appeared uninjured. The second car remained motionless.
Ren Yi ran to the sedan and leaned against the window to look inside. The driver was unconscious.
He then looked at the motorcycle rider hanging from the windshield. Although his face was covered in blood, Ren Yi could vaguely make out that he was only a boy in his early teens.
Ren Yi gently took hold of the boy’s dangling wrist.
There was still a faint pulse.
Barely.
At that moment, he heard sirens. He looked up and saw the rescue vehicle from his station approaching in the distance.
The ambulance arrived almost at the same time.
Gao Ge was the first to jump out.
Ren Yi shouted, “Gao Ge, bring the aerial ladder truck around to the front and get the ropes ready. We’re going to lift the victim out. Sun Dingyi, get the hydraulic cutters. Cui Yisheng, take the chainsaw over there. And get one more person to check the driver of the second rear-ended car!”
The firefighters of Phoenix Station immediately began working together with practiced coordination.
On one side, Sun Dingyi used the hydraulic cutters to pry open the badly deformed driver’s-side door. They helped the emergency medical personnel pull out the driver, who was unconscious with a head injury, and placed him onto a stretcher.
On the other side, Cui Yisheng carefully used the chainsaw to cut through the motorcycle frame, freeing the young mother from beneath the wreckage.
The medical personnel immediately began treating her and controlling the bleeding, but the metal frame that had pierced an artery would have to be removed by a surgeon at the hospital.
The driver of the second rear-ended vehicle was also rescued. She had only briefly lost consciousness after being struck by the airbag and had suffered minor injuries that were not serious.
The most difficult victim to deal with was the motorcycle rider.
The emergency medical personnel were administering an IV while shouting, “Captain Ren, he’s in shock!”
Ren Yi said, “Gao Ge, are you ready?”
“Ready.”
Gao Ge maneuvered the aerial ladder until it was positioned above the sedan. One firefighter climbed onto the ladder and lowered a rescue rope from above.
Several people fitted a rescue harness around the boy’s hips, connected the buckle on the harness to the rope, and adjusted the length.
Two people held the boy’s legs from outside the car while Ren Yi climbed inside and supported his shoulders.
The boy was tall and heavily built. Without the rope securing him, they couldn’t be certain they could keep his body stable from that position and angle. There were still deadly shards of laminated glass embedded in his body. Any incorrect movement could take his life instantly.
Suddenly, the boy moved.
He actually opened his eyes slightly.
His youthful face was as pale as paper, covered in wounds. Blood streamed down his face, even dripping from the ends of his hair and eyelashes. His eyes were unfocused, and his trembling lips moved as he whispered weakly,
“…help… me…”
Blood dripped onto Ren Yi’s face and body.
“Hang in there,” Ren Yi said steadily. “We’re going to get you out right now. You have to hold on.”
Cui Yisheng stood nearby with the chainsaw. He took a deep breath.
“Ready?” he asked nervously, looking at Ren Yi.
Ren Yi nodded.
Sweat had gathered at the corners of Cui Yisheng’s eyes. He blinked hard, switched on the chainsaw, and began cutting through the windshield, cutting away the entire section of glass embedded in the boy’s abdomen along its lower edge.
The moment the glass came free, Ren Yi ordered Gao Ge to raise the aerial ladder slightly. The rope stabilized the boy’s body, and with people supporting both his head and feet, they successfully lifted him out.
They then carefully turned him over and placed him onto the stretcher.
A row of glass shards was still embedded across the front of the boy’s abdomen, forming an almost horizontal wound, with his internal organs clearly visible.
“He’s not breathing!”
Two emergency medical workers immediately applied a tourniquet, injected epinephrine, and began CPR.
The firefighters stood to the side, watching as the medical personnel attached a defibrillator and began delivering shocks.
Once.
Twice.
Three times…
His ECG was like a perfectly still lake, no longer capable of producing even the slightest ripple.
The emergency medical worker sighed.
“Time of death, 2:26 p.m…”
Ren Yi closed his eyes.
Before him appeared the boy’s dying gaze—the desperate will to survive still struggling deep within his soul.
The firefighters who had participated in the rescue all lowered their heads.
A person could go from existing to being gone in less time, and with less effort, than it took for a flower to wither.
When they returned to the station, Ren Yi changed out of his clothes. He stared at the mottled bloodstains covering them for two silent seconds before suddenly flinging the clothes hard onto the floor.
———
During the weekly meeting that evening, Ren Yi noticed that the firefighters were all looking dejected. He comforted them for a while before having each squad take turns reporting on their work.
After the reports were finished, Ren Yi had the three new members each give a summary of their first week in the station.
In the past, newly enlisted firefighters weren’t allowed to enter fire scenes or other dangerous areas during their first year. The first year was dedicated to basic study and training. They also had to ride bicycles around every inch of their jurisdiction until they were completely familiar with it—where the key facilities were, where the firefighting equipment was, which buildings were high-rises, where the roads were narrow, where the terrain was complicated. Everyone had to know it all by heart and draw up a map.
Since the full-time firefighters being recruited nowadays already had experience, they could go directly to the front line when necessary. But becoming familiar with their jurisdiction was still essential.
So throughout this week, the three of them had been walking all over the streets every day, getting considerably tanner in the process.
All three had done impeccable work, and they had integrated into the team smoothly.
Ren Yi was very pleased. After all, he had often been away from the station during this period, yet everything at the station had remained stable as usual.
After the meeting ended, only Ren Yi and Qu Yangbo remained in the conference room.
Qu Yangbo asked about the investigation into the bar fire.
Ren Yi gave him a general overview of the progress and, while he was at it, complained about Gong Yingxian.
“This case is getting a lot of pressure from above. The police are probably under a lot of pressure.”
“But right now there isn’t enough evidence to prove it was arson. According to procedure, if the fire investigation hasn’t determined that it was arson, the case shouldn’t be handed over to the police. Now everything is completely backwards. How can they just ignore procedure because of public pressure?”
“This accident caused serious casualties. The public needs an explanation, so there isn’t much choice. Besides, there are so many suspicious points coming up now. I’m afraid even you wouldn’t believe it if someone said it wasn’t arson.”
Ren Yi sighed. “I don’t dare make a premature judgment. But I hope it isn’t. One less inhuman bastard out there is one less threat to everyone. Besides, working with that guy surnamed Gong… I swear, I feel like punching him eight times a day.”
“You’re working, not making friends. Put up with it. Besides, you should think about other people’s good qualities. Take Doctor Gong, for example. Think about it—what good qualities does he have?”
Ren Yi stroked his chin and thought for a long while before answering seriously,
“His ass is really perky.”
Qu Yangbo laughed and cursed, “Get lost.”
“Hey, wait. Why did you say the exact same thing he did?”
“What same thing?”
“The whole ‘work isn’t about making friends’ thing. Don’t we meet people through work and then become friends? Aren’t all our brothers people we met through work?”
“Tsk. Why are you arguing over semantics?” Qu Yangbo said. “I’m trying to talk some sense into you.”
Ren Yi gave a soft snort. “Should’ve had the chief of staff send you instead.”
Qu Yangbo smiled and patted him on the shoulder.