Last night, Beijing had been hit by a satisfying downpour. Overnight, it washed away the oppressive heat of late summer and early autumn, as if the entire world had finally opened up and breathed.
The weather after the rain was refreshingly cool. The entire company was conducting intensive training on the field, preparing for the annual competition.
In the past, Ren Yi would enter several team events as well as individual events in the annual competition. But ever since becoming company commander, he no longer had that much free time to train.
Besides, it was no longer appropriate for him to compete against a bunch of teenagers and people barely in their twenties.
Still, he and Qu Yangbo would participate in some team events to uphold their collective honor.
At that moment, the alarm suddenly sounded.
Ren Yi looked at the group of firefighters wearing turnout gear and carrying empty SCBA units as they practiced weighted runs.
He grinned.
“Let’s go. At least we don’t have to change clothes.”
The group quickly rushed into the garage.
The communications operator on duty ran over to Ren Yi and reported, “Captain Ren, poisoning during work inside a sewage well.”
Ren Yi shouted, “Change into rescue gear!”
The firefighters let out a shout and swiftly began changing clothes.
The two outfits they most commonly wore when responding to emergencies were the dark-blue fire suppression turnout gear with reflective strips that they were wearing now, which was heat-resistant, flame-retardant, loose, and heavy, and the orange-yellow rescue gear, which was suitable for non-fire rescues and considerably lighter and less bulky.
“Yes!”
After changing, Ren Yi drove the rescue truck while another firefighter drove the aerial ladder truck, and they headed toward the residential complex listed on the dispatch sheet.
At the same time, he called the person who had reported the incident.
“Hello. Who are you? Are you in charge of the residential complex?”
“I—I’m not. I’m a security guard.”
“Tell us what happened.”
“Our complex… whenever it rains heavily, it—it—it floods. So we sent people down to repair it. Three people went down and none of them came back up, and then…”
The security guard was so nervous that he kept stammering.
“We sent another three people down to rescue them, and they didn’t come back up either.”
“Do not send anyone else down!”
Ren Yi shouted.
“Before you sent people down to do repairs, did you drain the water? Did you ventilate the area? Did the people going down have any safety equipment?”
“I—I don’t know. It’s not my responsibility.”
“Then where’s the person in charge? The property management staff?”
“They’re nearby…”
“Wait there. Don’t do anything else!”
Ren Yi hung up and could not help cursing.
“Every year there are accidents, and every year they run safety campaigns.”
Gao Ge said helplessly, “Every year they run safety campaigns, and every year there are accidents.”
The rescue truck entered the residential complex.
A crowd had already gathered around the sewage well, while the property management staff and security guards were uselessly lowering ropes into it.
Ren Yi led his people over.
The stench rising from the sewage well was enough to make someone faint.
He looked down.
The well shaft was narrow, and sewage rippled below. There was no way to tell how deep it was.
He shouted, “Where’s the person in charge?!”
A middle-aged man came over, his face already pale with fear.
“I—I’m the manager.”
“You were the one who sent people down?”
Ren Yi glared at him viciously.
“You sent them down without draining the water?”
The manager trembled.
“The—the water wasn’t deep. The worker said it wasn’t deep when he went down.”
“Did you ventilate the area? Were they wearing masks?”
The manager shook his head.
“They had masks. And they had fire! The fire—the fire didn’t go out. There was oxygen!”
Ren Yi took a deep breath.
Long-enclosed sewage wells were usually oxygen-deficient, but the presence of air did not mean they were safe at all.
There could also be multiple toxic gases present—methane, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide.
Every one of them could kill.
Many people who went down into wells were migrant workers. They had little knowledge, little experience, and naturally no proper equipment.
If the people managing the site knew nothing either, then they were effectively sending people down there to die.
Every year, there were numerous accidents caused by violations of proper procedures during work inside wells.
Ren Yi crouched down and gestured toward the opening.
It was roughly seventy or eighty centimeters in diameter.
With an SCBA on, his build would make it difficult for him to get down.
He gave his orders.
“Sun Dingyi, Liu Hui, A-Wen, Xiao Tao, Xiao Quan. You five are the slimmest. Get the ropes ready.”
“Yes!”
Li Sa took out a camera and began filming.
Documenting the scene was part of the special operations team’s duties.
The firefighters helped the five men connect themselves to the rope system.
Sun Dingyi went first and prepared to descend.
Suddenly, Ren Yi stopped him.
He turned toward the manager, his gaze sharp.
“Did you shut off the upstream water supply?”
The manager went speechless.
“I…”
“You son of a—”
Ren Yi restrained the urge to hit him.
“Go shut the valve right now!”
The manager stumbled away.
Ren Yi shouted toward Li Sa.
“Have you called the police? Get Hongwu Precinct here to arrest him.”
“Okay.”
Ren Yi pressed a hand against Sun Dingyi’s shoulder and gave him a firm look.
“Be careful.”
Sun Dingyi blinked at Ren Yi and grinned.
“For a filthy, stinking job like this, if I don’t go, who will?”
He laughed.
“Look, this is what happens when you beat the boss at cards. There’s always a price to pay.”
Ren Yi laughed and cursed at him.
“You bastard. Get down there and come back quickly.”
The men put on their masks and climbed down the ladder.
Sun Dingyi reached the bottom first.
The sewage immediately rose to his thighs.
He shouted, “Captain Ren, the water is at least sixty centimeters deep. Just in case, send a drainage truck.”
“Okay. Keep reporting.”
Ren Yi pressed his radio.
“Headquarters, we need a pumping truck.”
“Copy.”
The security guard who had made the call said, “There’s a water pump in our underground parking garage.”
“Get it over here immediately.”
Sun Dingyi carefully made his way deeper inside.
The sewage pipes were pitch-black.
The depth beneath his feet varied constantly, and the light from the lamp on his helmet was like shining a flashlight into a black hole.
It was of very limited use.
Soon, they discovered a person wearing a security uniform.
He appeared to be one of the people who had gone down to rescue the others.
He was sitting in the well, already unconscious.
Sun Dingyi and Liu Hui lifted him up and handed him to A-Wen at the rear.
A-Wen carried the man back toward the well entrance, secured a rescue rope around him, and the firefighters above pulled him up.
They continued farther inside and found two more people.
One still had a pulse.
The other had collapsed unconscious into the water and no longer had a pulse.
Xiao Quan and A-Wen, who had returned, carried the man back.
Ren Yi looked at the body that had been brought up.
“How is it down there, Sun Dingyi?”
“We found the fourth person. He’s still alive.”
Sun Dingyi replied, “Liu Hui, Xiao Tao, we’ve come too far. The two of you take him back together.”
“No. It’s not safe for you to stay down there alone.”
“It’s fine, Captain Ren. I’ve got a safety rope attached to me.”
“We’ve already come dozens of meters in. It’s especially difficult to move around here. Carrying him alone would be too slow.”
Ren Yi hesitated.
“All right. Keep reporting.”
Suddenly, a scream came through the radio.
Everyone’s hearts sank.
It was Xiao Tao’s voice.
“What happened to Xiao Tao?!”
“Wh-what is this? Something has my leg stuck!”
Liu Hui crouched down and tried to feel around, but he could not put the unconscious person down.
He said anxiously, “The water’s too deep. I can’t see anything.”
Sun Dingyi asked, “Do you want me to come back?”
Ren Yi said, “No. Xiao Quan, A-Wen, go back and check.”
Xiao Tao said, “Don’t worry about me for now. Get this person out first. He’s about to die.”
They quickly pulled up the person Xiao Quan and A-Wen had rescued.
The two of them turned around once again to go help Xiao Tao.
Liu Hui said, “You two get this person upstairs first. Xiao Tao, don’t panic. I’ll feel around and see what’s holding you.”
Xiao Quan and A-Wen took the person from them and carried him toward the well entrance.
They had already carried people back and forth three times.
They were physically exhausted.
Ren Yi ordered the two of them to come back up and prepared to go down himself.
“Captain Ren, how are you going to get down there? It’s too narrow.”
Gao Ge frowned as he looked at the well opening.
“Gao Ge, you’re in command now.”
Ren Yi said, “I’ll go down first and hold my breath. Then lower the SCBA down to me.”
“You’re kidding!”
Gao Ge shouted.
“That’s too dangerous. No!”
“I said it’s fine, so it’s fine. Hurry.”
Ren Yi said, “No one else can go down.”
Li Sa ran over.
“Captain Ren, let me go down. I’m the thinnest.”
The firefighters present froze.
They all stared at Li Sa in astonishment.
Gao Ge frowned.
“Don’t mess around. This isn’t somewhere you can go down.”
Li Sa said anxiously, “Have I ever missed our regular training? Have I ever slacked off? My stamina is fine. Let me go down.”
Ren Yi was struggling with the decision when Sun Dingyi’s voice suddenly came through the radio.
“Captain Ren, I found the last two people. One of them is still alive.”
Ren Yi looked at Li Sa.
He said in a low voice, “Bring your equipment.”
Li Sa turned and ran back to the rescue truck.
She grabbed an SCBA unit, strapped it onto her back, and ran back.
Liu Hui’s voice also came through.
“Captain Ren, Xiao Tao’s leg seems to be caught in the pipe of an old lifting pump. We need to cut it.”
“I’ll bring it down.”
Ren Yi said, “I still have to go down. Li Sa alone isn’t enough.”
Gao Ge could not persuade him otherwise.
He could only say, “You go down first. I’ll lower the SCBA and chainsaw to you.”
Li Sa went down into the well first.
Ren Yi held his breath and quickly climbed down.
Even though he had already stopped breathing, he still could not block out the foul stench that seemed to penetrate everywhere.
His stomach churned violently, and he nearly vomited.
Gao Ge tied the mask and air cylinder to a rope and lowered them down.
Ren Yi quickly put on the equipment before finally taking a deep breath.
Holding the chainsaw, the two of them ventured deeper into the sewage well.
The pipes had not been cleaned in years.
They were filled with debris, sludge, and algae.
Every step sank into thick mud, with the depth constantly changing.
It was disgustingly difficult to walk through.
The walls of the pipes were covered with indescribably filthy grime.
As he walked, Ren Yi asked, “The three of you, report your remaining air.”
“Thirty-two percent,” Sun Dingyi said. “It should be enough for me to get this survivor out.”
“We’re both at thirty-nine percent,” Liu Hui said.
Ren Yi said, “Sun Dingyi, I’m sending Li Sa to support you. Until she gets there, stay where you are. Don’t waste any more oxygen.”
“But…”
“No buts. Stay where you are.”
The SCBA units they carried could theoretically provide enough air for forty-five minutes.
But that theoretical figure was affected by many factors, including body weight, temperature, emotional state, and physical exertion.
Oxygen was consumed particularly quickly during strenuous activity.
For safety reasons, they generally required firefighters to withdraw from the scene once they had only enough air for fifteen more minutes.
That was because most accident scenes had complicated environments and terrain, making it easy to get lost or trapped.
Keeping fifteen minutes of air in reserve gave them time to deal with emergencies.
The two found Xiao Tao and Liu Hui.
Li Sa continued farther ahead to support Sun Dingyi.
Ren Yi held the chainsaw while discussing with Liu Hui how they should cut through the obstruction.
Xiao Tao’s leg was trapped underwater.
They could not see anything.
Ren Yi felt around for a long time but still could not be certain of where to cut.
He asked, “Has the pump arrived?”
Gao Ge replied, “It’s here. The pumping truck is here too.”
“Start pumping immediately.”
Ren Yi said, “Xiao Tao, can you hold on? I can feel your bone. It seems fine.”
Xiao Tao said, “It hurts a little, but I’m okay. I can take it.”
Ren Yi nodded.
“I don’t dare cut it. I’m afraid of injuring your leg. To be safe, let’s pump the water out first.”
“Liu Hui, go back and replace your air cylinder, and bring another one for Xiao Tao.”
“Yes.”
Just after Liu Hui left, they heard a strange sound coming from deep inside the sewage well.
It sounded as if something had suddenly been drained dry.
Then came another tremendous roar of rushing water.
Ren Yi cursed under his breath.
“They’re releasing sewage from upstream!”
Sewage suddenly came rushing violently from deeper inside the well.
Li Sa had already spotted Sun Dingyi, but there was still some distance between them.
Sun Dingyi had not stayed where he was told.
He knew that every second of delay meant the person he was carrying had one less second of hope for survival.
Sun Dingyi pressed himself against the wall, resisting the force of the rushing sewage.
When the water slammed into the two of them, the maintenance worker who had been unconscious suddenly woke up.
He let out a terrified scream and violently grabbed Sun Dingyi.
Like a drowning person clutching at a piece of driftwood, he used every bit of strength left in his life to hold on to the person he was clinging to.
Caught off guard, Sun Dingyi was pulled down and dragged into the water.
His face slammed hard into something.
The impact shattered his face mask.
He watched cracks appear across it.
Then a rush of contaminated air poured inside.
He and the maintenance worker thrashed and struggled in the filthy, foul-smelling water.
He inhaled water and toxic gas.
His vision began spinning.
Li Sa shouted, “Platoon Leader Sun!”
She desperately ran toward Sun Dingyi, but by then the water had risen above her hips, making every step extremely difficult.
“What happened?”
Ren Yi asked anxiously.
“Platoon Leader Sun fell!”
“Sun Dingyi! Sun Dingyi! Answer me!”
Ren Yi shouted.
Sun Dingyi did not respond.
Ren Yi said, “Liu Hui, are you back?”
“I’ll be there in a moment. I’ll take care of Xiao Tao. Go check on Sun Dingyi.”
Ren Yi desperately ran toward the depths of the sewage well.
Li Sa finally reached Sun Dingyi.
The maintenance worker had passed out again and lay motionless in the water.
Li Sa first pulled Sun Dingyi upright.
His mask was broken, his eyes were clouded, and he was already half-conscious.
“Platoon Leader Sun!”
Li Sa held her breath, removed her own mask, and placed it over Sun Dingyi’s head.
Sun Dingyi coughed up water while struggling to breathe.
Li Sa struggled to pull the maintenance worker out of the water.
But he had already lost consciousness and could not even stand.
Li Sa had him sit in the water, lifted his chin, and kept his nose and mouth above the surface.
After Sun Dingyi had been breathing for a while, Li Sa took the mask back and put it over her own head.
She repeatedly looked back toward the way they had come, hoping that the man who could make everyone feel reassured would appear as quickly as possible.
Finally, a tiny light flickered in the darkness.
Then it gradually grew larger.
A figure came running toward them with all his strength.
Li Sa shouted, “Captain Ren!”
Ren Yi ran over.
When he saw Sun Dingyi’s condition, his face went deathly pale.
“What happened?!”
“Platoon Leader Sun’s mask broke.”
Li Sa said, “The maintenance worker still has a pulse.”
Ren Yi held his breath, removed his own mask, fastened it onto Sun Dingyi’s head, and forcefully shook him.
“Brother, hang in there…”
But Sun Dingyi could not hold on any longer.
He completely lost consciousness.