Their car was stopped outside the cordon. Gong Yingxian showed his credentials, then led Ren Yi toward the factory entrance at a run.
In the distance, they saw a large group of students and employees fleeing in panic.
“You go find the captain and get an update,” Gong Yingxian told Ren Yi. “I’ll look for Feilan.”
Ren Yi nodded and squeezed his hand firmly, hoping that this brief but powerful contact would give him some strength.
There were dedicated fire engine access lanes both inside and outside the factory. Nearly ten fire engines were already parked there, and more were undoubtedly on their way. Ren Yi found the team stationed farthest inside—which meant it had arrived earliest. It was Liang Wei’s fire station.
Ren Yi grabbed a firefighter. “Where’s Captain Liang?”
“He went inside a long time ago.”
“Have any brigade commanders arrived?”
“They’re inside too. Who are you…?” The firefighter studied Ren Yi closely. He seemed to recognize him, and his expression immediately turned strange.
Too anxious to notice the change, Ren Yi said, “Brother, lend me your radio. I need to contact your captain.”
The firefighter brusquely shook off his hand. “How could we possibly give our radio to an outsider?”
“I’m a firefighter too. I’m your captain’s—”
“I know who you are.” The firefighter turned away. “Don’t interfere with our work.”
Ren Yi froze for a moment. Then he grabbed the firefighter’s arm, his expression stern.
“Brother, I don’t care what you think of me. This is a serious situation, and I have to know what’s happening inside. If this fire was deliberately set, Wei-ge could be in danger.”
The firefighter was momentarily taken aback.
“Ren Yi.”
Hearing a familiar voice behind him, Ren Yi turned around.
Yan Jue, who had arrived at the scene at some point, beckoned him over. “Come over here.”
Ren Yi hurried toward him. Yan Jue handed him a radio with the frequency already adjusted. Ren Yi gave him a grateful look, then immediately pressed the radio to his ear.
“Wei-ge, Wei-ge, it’s Ren Yi. Can you hear me?”
A burst of crackling static came from the other end.
“Ren Yi? You’ve arrived at—”
“Wei-ge, what’s the situation inside?” Ren Yi asked anxiously. “Have all the students been evacuated? Have you located the source of the fire? Is anything unusual happening?”
“Ren… I’m inside… the cold storage…”
“What? Wei-ge, I can’t hear you clearly. Your signal is terrible.”
“I’m…” After a moment, Liang Wei seemed to move somewhere else, and the transmission finally became clearer. “Ren Yi, what did you just say? I couldn’t hear you.”
“Have all the students been evacuated?”
“Not yet. They brought an entire grade here, so there are a lot of students. Each class has been scheduled to tour at a different time and in a different order. One class was inside the cold-storage facility. We have more than two thousand employees and students to evacuate, and we’re seriously short-handed.”
“There’s still a class inside the cold storage? What’s the fire situation now?”
“We’ve spotted open flames. The fire is burning inside the wall cavities, making it extremely difficult to extinguish. We’re working out where to breach the walls.” Liang Wei’s voice was hurried. “I don’t have time to talk. Hurry up and look for your sister.”
Ren Yi looked up at the thick smoke in the distance, his heart clenched painfully.
Had Gong Feilan made it out? Even if she had, with so many people and so much chaos at the scene, finding her would hardly be quick or easy. Gong Yingxian must be frantic with worry.
Ren Yi knew worrying would accomplish nothing. The most urgent task was to put out the fire and prevent a larger disaster. Only then would there be a chance of getting everyone out safely.
Looking at Ren Yi’s expression, Yan Jue asked worriedly, “I didn’t even know you had a younger sister. Is she inside?”
“She’s Gong Yingxian’s cousin.” Ren Yi drew a deep breath. “I don’t know where she is right now, and I can’t get through to her on the phone. This was supposed to be an ordinary school trip, but there’s a male student from her school who has links to that cult case we investigated earlier. We’re worried he might be targeting her specifically.”
Yan Jue tried to reassure him. “Don’t panic yet. She might already be out. More than half the students have been evacuated. Show me a photo of her. I’ll keep an eye out once I go inside.”
“Take me in with you.”
Yan Jue frowned. “Ren Yi, you’ve been suspended.”
“Didn’t you hear Wei-ge? They’re short-handed in there. Who cares about my suspension right now? The most important thing is to evacuate everyone as quickly as possible.”
Yan Jue looked at him hesitantly for several seconds before calling over one of his firefighters.
“Get a set of equipment ready for Captain Ren immediately.”
“Yan Jue, thank you,” Ren Yi said earnestly.
Yan Jue adjusted his own equipment. “Hurry up. We’ll go in together.”
Ren Yi was getting his gear on when he saw Gong Yingxian running toward him, looking frantically from side to side. His face was as pale as paper, and his driver was following close behind.
“Yingxian!” Ren Yi shouted.
One look at Gong Yingxian’s expression told him that Feilan still hadn’t been found.
Gong Yingxian turned at the sound of his voice and ran toward him. His voice trembled as he spoke.
“I couldn’t find Feilan. I checked, and her entire class is still missing.”
Ren Yi cupped Gong Yingxian’s face in his hands.
“Don’t panic. Look into my eyes. You have to stay calm. They’re evacuating people in batches, so she might still be among those waiting to come out. I’m going in to look for her now.”
“Which class?” Yan Jue asked.
After what had happened between them last time, their meeting should have been awkward. But something far more important than their personal differences demanded their attention, leaving them no time to feel embarrassed.
“Class Three,” Gong Yingxian replied. “Let me go in with you.”
“No.” Yan Jue and Ren Yi spoke in unison.
Ren Yi explained, “Yingxian, you can’t go in. Even if we let you, you wouldn’t be allowed past the fire service cordon. You’d have to get authorization from the commanders first. Wait here for me. I’m going to find Feilan now. I promise—I absolutely promise—I’ll find her.”
Gong Yingxian bit his lower lip and stared at Ren Yi with an expression that was impossible to describe. The sight made Ren Yi’s heart ache.
Ren Yi nodded firmly at him, then followed Yan Jue’s team into the factory.
Everyone inside the factory was being evacuated. Thanks to the firefighters guiding them, there had been no major panic. But there were simply too many people, making the process inevitably slow. Just looking at the endless sea of heads was enough to make anyone anxious.
Ren Yi found Liang Wei in front of the cold-storage facility. Liang Wei and several other captains were discussing tactics with their brigade commander.
When Liang Wei saw him, he immediately asked, “Have you found your sister?”
Ren Yi shook his head. “She’s in Class Three, so she might still be—”
“Class Three is the one inside the cold-storage facility.” Liang Wei sighed. “Captain Guo has already sent two firefighting teams in to evacuate them, but the smoke is getting thicker. It’s becoming very easy to get lost in there. The kids inside are panicking and running around in every direction. Quite a few have been separated from their classmates.”
Ren Yi felt his vision darken. He knew how dangerous it was to become separated and lose one’s way inside a burning building.
He saw firefighters and students emerging from the cold-storage entrance and rushed over to grab one of the students.
“Have you seen Gong Feilan? Is she still inside?”
The student looked utterly terrified. He covered his mouth and nose, coughing incessantly from the smoke, and shook his head vigorously.
“N-no, I haven’t seen her.”
“How many people are still inside?”
“Maybe…” He coughed several times. “Twenty or thirty.”
The firefighter who had escorted him out shouted, “Captain Guo! Captain Liang! Visibility inside is getting worse and worse. We need to set up markers!”
Ren Yi desperately wanted to rush straight inside, but he managed to restrain himself in time. Forcing himself to calm down, he made himself think like the professional fire station captain he was. He knew that no one should enter recklessly under these conditions.
Cold-storage facilities presented a particularly unusual set of challenges. Many firefighting tactics that worked in ordinary buildings were ineffective here.
During the journey to the factory, Ren Yi had already learned the general layout of the cold-storage facility. It was a typical prefabricated cold-storage warehouse. Its main structure was not reinforced concrete, but rather assembled from metal panels, somewhat like a shipping container—though far more complex and robust.
To maintain a constant temperature, the walls contained multiple layers of insulation boards, with polystyrene foam sandwiched between them.
The cold-storage facility was 200 meters long, 77 meters wide, and 12 meters high. Its enormous span and floor area, combined with the many materials, shelving units, pieces of equipment, and several refrigeration workshops inside, made the layout extremely complicated.
To minimize heat loss, cold-storage facilities usually had only one or two exits. This one had just a single entrance and exit, and not even any windows.
Now, black smoke filled the interior. Visibility was so poor that anyone entering was almost certain to lose their way.
There had once been a real incident overseas in which a similar cold-storage facility caught fire. Six firefighters entered to conduct a search and rescue operation but became lost. They failed to find their way out before their air cylinders ran empty, and all six died.
That was why, in large buildings where it was easy to get lost, firefighters had to establish clear markers. They left spotlights or reflective markers along their route and connected themselves in groups using guide ropes to prevent anyone from becoming separated.
When the earlier teams had entered, the smoke had not yet become so thick, allowing them to find their way back out. Now, however, they had to work together as a team. No one could be allowed to act alone.
With that in mind, Ren Yi returned to Liang Wei and pleaded, “Captain Guo, Wei-ge, please let us go in. There are so many children still inside. My sister is in there too.”
Captain Guo of the Xicheng Brigade said, “I’m about to assign the tasks. Liang Wei, you’ll be responsible for smoke extraction and cooling the steel structure. Follow the plan we just discussed. One person will restore power to the ventilation system, two people will go up to the roof to open the smoke vents, and the rest will breach the wall on the leeward side. Deploy two hose lines from the north side. We must bring the temperature of the steel framework down.”
“The Shuangqiao Fire Station will be responsible for shutting off the valves and cutting off the flow of materials. Check for ammonia leaks in the pipelines, monitor the steel structure’s ability to withstand the heat, and assess the risks of explosion and collapse. You can organize your personnel yourselves.”
“Xiao Xu, your two teams will handle the water supply. Has the water company increased the pressure in the underground mains?” Captain Guo asked. “This operation will require an enormous amount of water.”
“They’ve already increased it. I’ll make sure the fireground has an uninterrupted water supply.”
“Good. Yan Jue, lead the search-and-rescue operation. Make sure the markers are properly set up. Under no circumstances is anyone allowed to act alone.”
Captain Guo looked around at everyone, his expression grave.
“I must remind you all again just how difficult and critical this mission is. The fire is releasing enormous quantities of toxic smoke. If the pipelines rupture and liquid ammonia leaks out, an explosion could occur at any moment. The steel framework may also collapse under the heat.
“And, more seriously, the refrigeration plant next to the cold-storage facility contains hundreds of tons of liquid ammonia. If we fail to contain the fire in the cold-storage facility, the entire factory complex could explode.”
The firefighters and commanders stared silently at Captain Guo.
“Can you complete the mission?”
Everyone shouted at the top of their lungs, “Yes!”
“Good. Let’s get to work!”