Hearing this, Gong Yingxian became so embarrassed and angry that he snapped, “What nonsense are you talking about!”
Ren Yi couldn’t stop smiling. “I was just casually introducing you. We work together, after all, so of course you’re my friend.” He thought Gong Yingxian could be particularly irritating at times, but at other times he was as innocent as a child. It was rather cute.
“Who cares about being friends or whatever.” Gong Yingxian felt his cheeks growing hot. “You were the one who brought it up first. I always see things through once I start them. I’m simply following my principles and keeping my word.”
“Yes, yes, you have principles.” Ren Yi soothed him. “My mistake. Next time I introduce you to someone, I’ll be more careful with my wording.”
Gong Yingxian glared at Ren Yi with a huff, then turned his face toward the window.
Ren Yi secretly glanced at Gong Yingxian. The afternoon sunlight passed through his hair, skin, and earlobe, making the ends of his hair look light and airy, his skin porcelain-white, and the tips of his ears flushed red. Ren Yi’s heart involuntarily thumped twice, and he hurriedly lowered his head and stuffed a large piece of meat into his mouth, hiding the smile that he couldn’t suppress.
Maybe he’s Gong Yingxian’s first friend?
After they finished eating, Gong Yingxian still wouldn’t speak to Ren Yi, and the atmosphere inside the car became somewhat awkward.
Ren Yi was thinking that, as the bigger person, he should take the initiative and coax him a little when he suddenly saw a familiar person walk out of the apartment building they had been watching.
Both of them straightened up. They used the binoculars to confirm it, and sure enough, it was Zhou Chuan. Zhou Chuan’s hair had grown a little longer, and he still had that same haggard, poorly nourished appearance. A backpack was slung over his shoulders as he lowered his head and walked toward the entrance of the residential complex.
Ren Yi started the car, puzzled. “Even if he’s going somewhere, shouldn’t he go at night? Why is he heading out so early?”
“We’ll know if we follow him.”
When Zhou Chuan reached the entrance of the complex, he waited for a while before a ride-hailing car arrived. Gong Yingxian made a phone call and had his colleagues obtain the surveillance footage and audio from the ride-hailing company for that vehicle.
They followed him for a while. Zhou Chuan entered a shopping mall. Since parking nearby was difficult, Gong Yingxian got out and followed Zhou Chuan, while Ren Yi stayed parked by the roadside. Unexpectedly, he ended up waiting for more than three hours.
It wasn’t until after eight that evening that Gong Yingxian hurried back to the car, while Ren Yi saw Zhou Chuan standing at a bus stop across the street.
“Why did it take so long?”
Gong Yingxian said, “He stayed inside a digital-products store the whole time. I waited until he left before going in to ask. Apparently, some equipment had a problem and was being repaired.”
“That idiot… Ah, he’s getting on.” Ren Yi started the car and followed the bus.
It was rush hour, and they were stuck in traffic behind the bus for more than an hour. The farther the bus went, the more remote the area became. The two of them looked at the bus route map but had no idea where Zhou Chuan was actually going. Obviously, it wasn’t Wanyuan Residential Complex.
They speculated that Zhou Chuan might be planning to wait until midnight before making his move, just like during the Fourth View incident. But what was he planning to do at this hour? Whatever it was, they had to follow him to the end.
Zhou Chuan got off the bus and began walking, so the two of them had no choice but to get out and follow him. They were already beyond the Fifth Ring Road. Although the area wasn’t particularly remote, the new district was more spacious than the city center, and there were fewer pedestrians. They didn’t dare follow too closely.
Finally, Zhou Chuan turned into a construction site, and both of them immediately became alert.
No one knew how long this construction site had been shut down. It had already been turned into a temporary parking lot. There were several residential complexes nearby, and at least nearly a hundred cars were parked there. An old man guarded the only entrance and collected parking fees. Judging from the location, most of the cars were probably parked there overnight.
Zhou Chuan didn’t enter through the main entrance. Instead, he circled around the outside of the construction site. Cars couldn’t get through that way, but people could walk in.
The two became increasingly suspicious, unable to figure out exactly what Zhou Chuan was planning. But it was most likely related to his “business,” so they quietly followed him inside. When they saw Zhou Chuan find a secluded corner, sit down, and begin adjusting his equipment, they hid in the grass.
Occasionally, a few cars came and went through the parking lot. The later it got, the fewer there were.
Although autumn nights were somewhat cool, the mosquitoes in the grass showed no mercy. Gong Yingxian was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and was well protected, but Ren Yi wasn’t so lucky. Both his arms were covered in bites. He kept scratching them while quietly cursing.
Gong Yingxian gave him a cold glance. “Serves you right. You chose to wear short sleeves.”
“It wasn’t cold during the day,” Ren Yi muttered. “What exactly did that kid come all the way out here to do?”
“He’s probably waiting for the parking attendant to get off work.”
“Let’s hope so. I’ve fed this many mosquitoes already. If we get nothing out of this, I’ll have lost big.”
They waited until nearly eleven. In the distance, they saw the old parking attendant pick up his chair and teacup and leave. Only then did Zhou Chuan stand up from his hiding place and leisurely wander around the parking lot, looking as though he were searching for or sizing up something.
Another hour passed. Both of Ren Yi’s legs had gone numb. He sighed. “Do you really watch suspects like this? Being a cop isn’t easy either.”
“It’s only been a few hours.” Gong Yingxian watched Zhou Chuan through the binoculars. “He should be about to make his move.”
Zhou Chuan was holding a phone in one hand and a gimbal camera in the other. He stopped in front of a car. It was a bright yellow Kia, obviously a woman’s car. It was parked in a relatively open spot, with no other vehicles nearby.
At exactly midnight, Zhou Chuan walked toward the entrance of the parking lot. Not long afterward, he returned, accompanied by another man.
The two held their breath and quietly shifted through the grass, wanting to get a little closer. Ren Yi pointed at a nearby trash can, signaling that they should hide behind it.
Gong Yingxian glared at Ren Yi. Ren Yi innocently shrugged. Gong Yingxian put on a mask and resigned himself to moving toward the trash can.
Although the area beside the trash can offered excellent cover, the stench was unbearable. Ren Yi pinched his nose, pointed at Gong Yingxian’s mask, then at his pocket, and finally pointed at himself. He knew Gong Yingxian had more than one set of equipment on him.
Sure enough, Gong Yingxian produced another mask from his pocket. Ren Yi brightened and was just about to reach out for it when Gong Yingxian unfolded the mask, put it on himself, and then looked at Ren Yi with schadenfreude.
Ren Yi glared fiercely at him.
The man who had arrived later was dressed entirely in black, wearing a baseball cap and a mask that completely covered his face. He was carrying two woven bags. At this distance, they couldn’t hear what the two were saying, but they could see them gathered around the yellow Kia, apparently discussing something.
Then Zhou Chuan set up a tripod on the ground and placed his computer on it, with the camera pointed directly at the car.
The man in black walked into the construction site and picked up a stone. He looked around and hesitated for a long time. He even went to the parking lot entrance to check the surroundings. Only after confirming that there was no one around at this hour did he return and use the stone to smash the driver’s-side window.
His movements were clumsy and hesitant. It was obvious that this was his first time doing something like this.
Zhou Chuan held the gimbal in one hand and operated the computer with the other, continuing to converse with the man from time to time.
By this point, the two finally confirmed that they were preparing to do a livestream. Zhou Chuan really hadn’t changed his ways. He simply hadn’t dared to go to Wanyuan Residential Complex this time, choosing instead this secluded place that he believed was safe.
“When do we arrest them?” Ren Yi whispered.
“Wait for evidence,” Gong Yingxian replied.
They had already been recording with their phones for quite a while, but something minor like smashing a car wasn’t nearly enough evidence. They also didn’t want Zhou Chuan to spend another forty-eight hours in detention only to swagger out of the precinct afterward.
Then the man in black opened one of the woven bags and took out a white plastic bucket. He poured the contents all over the car. Even from a considerable distance, they could smell gasoline drifting through the air.
“Fuck, they’re really going to burn the car.” Ren Yi cursed. “These psychopaths.”
Gong Yingxian removed the pistol from the holster strapped to his ankle. “We have enough evidence. Can you control Zhou Chuan?”
“You’re kidding. Look at how skinny he is.” Ren Yi clenched his fist. He hoped Zhou Chuan would put up a good fight later. If he didn’t beat this bastard up, he might as well change his surname.
“Go.”
The two crouched low, using cars as cover as they approached.
Suddenly, Zhou Chuan excitedly shouted at the computer screen, “Add another ten thousand?”
The man in black made a “shh” gesture, then opened the other woven bag, grabbed something from inside, and threw it into the car. Finally, he used the woven bag to block the broken window.
Gong Yingxian and Ren Yi couldn’t see what they had stuffed inside the car, but they knew they were about to set it on fire.
Zhou Chuan picked up the laptop and camera, walked carefully around the car while recording it from every angle, and then returned to the tripod.
“Let’s start,” he said to the man in black.
Gong Yingxian suddenly jumped out from behind the car, raised his gun, and shouted, “Don’t move!”
Zhou Chuan and the man in black both jolted in fright. When Zhou Chuan turned his head and saw the two of them, he looked as though he had seen a ghost and instinctively tried to run.
“Try running!” Ren Yi pointed at Zhou Chuan and shouted. “You want to get shot?”
The man in black’s legs were trembling. Suddenly, he moved one hand behind his back, and in the darkness, a flash of fire appeared.
“Stop—!” Gong Yingxian shouted and rushed forward.
The man in black threw the lit lighter. The flame hit the ground, instantly igniting the gasoline. The flames erupted like flowers blooming in an instant, and the entire car was engulfed.
Gong Yingxian and Ren Yi were staggered by the wave of heat, but Zhou Chuan, who had been closest to the car, wasn’t so lucky. Gasoline had splashed onto his feet while he was filming around the car. The flames immediately raced up his body, and he screamed as he threw himself to the ground.
At the same time, faint meowing came from inside the car—more than one cat.
The man in black turned and ran.
Ren Yi rushed over and dragged Zhou Chuan aside. He stripped off his shirt and used it to beat out the flames on Zhou Chuan while shouting, “Roll! Roll! Hurry!”
Zhou Chuan screamed as he rolled across the ground. At the same time, he shouted, “There are fire extinguishers in the bags! In the bags!”
Gong Yingxian looked at the fleeing man in black, then at Zhou Chuan and the burning car. His face went deathly pale, and his heart raced as though it were about to burst through his chest.
This blinding brightness, this scorching heat—it was fire. Real fire.
“Gong Yingxian!” Ren Yi shouted.
Gong Yingxian seemed to awaken from a dream. He gave up chasing the man and ran toward the woven bags, finding a dry-powder fire extinguisher and two portable aerosol fire extinguishers inside.
Gong Yingxian grabbed the dry-powder extinguisher and ran over. With several bursts, he put out the flames on Zhou Chuan’s body. He was about to put out the car fire as well when Ren Yi stopped him.
“Dry powder will suffocate the cats. Remember, only spray it outside.” Ren Yi wiped the sweat from his forehead. He picked up one aerosol extinguisher in each hand and pulled down the safety levers. “You spray the outside. I’ll spray the inside.”
Gong Yingxian nodded forcefully and sprayed toward the driver’s side. After the dry-powder extinguisher was emptied, Ren Yi aimed both aerosol extinguishers at the car windows and emptied them in one go.
The extinguishers weren’t enough to put out the entire car fire. Ren Yi ordered, “Call 119!”
He wrapped the ragged remains of his T-shirt around his hand, reached it through the car window, felt around for the door handle, and opened the door.
Standing behind Ren Yi, Gong Yingxian watched him lean his bare upper body into the still-burning car. It felt as though all the blood in his body had frozen.
The blazing red flames were like a man-eating demon, viciously, violently, and recklessly devouring everything in their path. The images buried deep in his memories—images that had tormented him his entire life—came crashing over him along with overwhelming fear, drowning him.
He couldn’t breathe. He didn’t even know whether it was the fear threatening to drown him or the air wrapped in searing heat that was burning his throat raw.
A cat whose fur had caught fire jumped out of the car. It howled and ran wildly across the ground. That rapidly moving patch of flame was the despair of a life reaching its end. Very soon, it collapsed onto the ground.
Silently.
Endlessly enduring the intense heat, Ren Yi finally pulled a kitten out from beneath one of the seats. He picked it up and ran outside. One side of the kitten’s body was on fire, and it struggled and screamed desperately.
Ren Yi wrapped the T-shirt around the kitten, then grabbed sand and dirt from the ground and covered it with them. Since there wasn’t much fire, cutting off the air gradually extinguished the flames.
Ren Yi turned his head and saw Gong Yingxian standing rigidly nearby, his eyes wide with terror as he stared at the fire. A string of sweat hung from his chin, dripping down one drop after another.
Ren Yi had no choice but to drag Gong Yingxian aside. He tossed his phone to Zhou Chuan, who was lying on the ground groaning.
“Call 119.”
Then he approached the burning car again. There were still several cats inside, all of them only two or three months old. They were obviously from the same litter.
Ren Yi avoided the flames and struggled to feel around beneath the car seats.
Gong Yingxian seemed to snap out of a nightmare. He immediately spotted gasoline dripping beneath the fuel tank and called hoarsely, “Ren Yi, there’s a fuel leak! Get back here!”
“I see it,” Ren Yi replied. “Right away.”
The intense pressure caused by the fire had cracked the fuel line, which was the main cause of a flash fire or even an explosion after a vehicle caught fire. There was no way Ren Yi could fail to notice it.
“Ren Yi!” Gong Yingxian’s eyes reddened with anxiety.
Ren Yi finally reached in and grabbed a kitten, but his hand was severely burned, forcing him to let go. He had no choice but to reach in again.
“Ren Yi!”
Gong Yingxian watched as the fire spread toward the leaking fuel. He took one step forward, but his leg seemed to have taken root in the ground, unable to take another.
He was afraid of fire.
It was the thing in this world that frightened him most. Even from this distance, every inch of his flesh seemed to be pricked by needles. The flames seemed to be opening their enormous, blood-red mouths, ready to tear him completely to pieces the moment he came any closer.
He bit down hard on his own tongue. At last, the strength returned to his body. He lowered his head and charged forward, grabbed Ren Yi around the waist, and forcibly dragged him back.
Ren Yi was clutching a scorching-hot kitten that was already completely unresponsive.
Gong Yingxian dragged Ren Yi a long distance away before finally losing his strength. The two of them collapsed onto the ground together.
Ren Yi looked at the kitten in his hands, which had long since stopped breathing. His nose stung, and even his breathing trembled.
Then he realized that it wasn’t him who was trembling.
It was the person holding him.