After returning to the station, Ren Yi took several days to properly rest. There hadn’t been any particularly complicated calls during those days, and whenever something did come up, Gao Ge or Sun Dingyi, who was practically climbing the walls from having nothing to do, would lead the team.
There had been some progress in the Wanyuan Residential Complex case. Based on preliminary neighborhood interviews, investigations, and surveillance checks, almost every household on the 22nd floor was unlikely to have committed the crime. They either had an alibi or lacked the ability to carry out the crime. They had no choice but to expand the scope of the investigation, looking for other residents in the complex who had conflicts with the occupants of 2209. They also had to investigate whether the victim had made enemies at work.
At the same time, an unfamiliar person who had appeared on the surveillance footage before the fire had aroused their suspicion. The man was wearing a hood and sunglasses and kept his head lowered the entire time. He clearly knew where the cameras were, yet no one in the residential complex could recognize him.
As for the garbage burned in front of 2209, some of it indeed did not belong to 2209. They had located the owners of that garbage, who lived in several nearby buildings. All of those buildings had the same garbage disposal area—the mobile garbage bins behind the buildings. Clearly, the suspect had randomly taken several bags of garbage from there.
There were no surveillance cameras near the garbage bins, and they were currently looking for eyewitnesses.
After listening to Gong Yingxian’s explanation, Ren Yi asked in puzzlement, “Did the suspect think there wasn’t enough garbage piled up in front of 2209? Was he worried the fire wouldn’t burn big enough?”
“That’s possible. And he did achieve his objective.”
“It was broad daylight at the time. It shouldn’t be difficult to find witnesses, right?”
“The garbage bins are in an open area behind the buildings, and not many people go there. We’re still looking.”
Ren Yi sighed. “It was originally just a neighborhood dispute, but someone took out their anger in the heat of the moment and ended up killing so many people. Fucking hell……”
Gong Yingxian sighed as well.
“By the way, what about Zhou Chuan?”
“The burns on both his legs weren’t particularly serious to begin with, but his wounds became infected. He only came out of danger yesterday. The doctor won’t let us see him yet.”
Ren Yi gritted his teeth. “If it weren’t for the possibility that he might die and leave us without a witness, he really should’ve been left to roast a little longer.”
He was only venting. His mission was to save people’s lives and protect their property. Even if the person was a murderer who had committed every imaginable evil, he still had to save him.
“But all of his equipment has been taken over by our cybercrime unit. Because of this case, the higher-ups finally agreed to investigate the website ‘Archangel.’”
“That’s great! What about the bastard who got away?”
“We’re still looking for him. As long as Zhou Chuan is in our hands, it’s only a matter of time before we catch him.”
“You’ve been working yourself to death these past few days, haven’t you? Have you been getting enough rest?” Ren Yi couldn’t forget the sight of Gong Yingxian lying on the hospital bed. Thinking about how obsessed and desperate he was when dealing with arson cases, and knowing it was because of the tragedy he had experienced in childhood, made Ren Yi’s heart ache.
“I’m fine. I just want to find useful clues as quickly as possible. I won’t let any arsonist get away.” Gong Yingxian paused, his voice becoming deeper. “No matter how long it takes to track them down.”
Ren Yi opened his mouth, almost asking what exactly had happened eighteen years ago. But after hesitating, he held himself back.
Even if he wanted to ask, he should ask face-to-face. Something this heavy would feel too casual if discussed over the phone.
To lighten the mood, Ren Yi shared some good news.
“Do you remember that little black cat I rescued from the car?”
“Mm. Is it still alive?”
“Haha, it survived.” Ren Yi was genuinely delighted. “The veterinarian sends me videos every day. It can eat and drink normally now. I’ll go pick it up from the hospital in a couple of days.”
Gong Yingxian also chuckled softly. “Such a tiny cat, yet it has such strong vitality.”
“Yeah. Surviving a great disaster means there’s good fortune afterward.”
After hanging up, Ren Yi felt a little disappointed.
When would they finally be able to interrogate Zhou Chuan? Once they did, he could go to the substation.
He was lost in his thoughts when the alarm at the station suddenly blared.
Ren Yi quickly ran downstairs.
“Captain Ren, the storage racks at Guosi’s warehouse collapsed. Four workers are trapped underneath.”
Ren Yi immediately said, “Let’s go. I’ll lead the team.”
Guosi was a well-known domestic cosmetics retail e-commerce company. It had distribution warehouses in major cities across the country, with two alone in Tianqi—one in the east district and one in the west district.
On the way there, Ren Yi spoke with the person who had made the emergency call to understand the situation.
Apparently, a worker operating a forklift in the warehouse had suddenly suffered a stroke. The forklift went out of control and crashed into a row of storage racks.
The huge racks, loaded with several tons of merchandise, became a chain of dominoes and collapsed six rows at once.
According to the warehouse surveillance footage, four people had been buried.
After learning the height of the warehouse, Ren Yi requested that the main brigade send over a medium-sized excavator.
Their station also had a fire engine equipped with an excavator arm, but its operating capacity was limited and was far inferior to that of a dedicated excavator.
They arrived at the scene as quickly as possible.
The warehouse was a complete mess. Massive storage racks had toppled in rows, with merchandise scattered everywhere. Shattered bottles of liquid cosmetics had turned the floor into a muddy mess, and after mixing together, they gave off an extremely pungent fragrance.
Guosi had already organized every available employee and forklift to move the merchandise and rescue the trapped workers. Ambulances were already standing by.
Ren Yi called over the person in charge and asked for more details.
The person in charge showed Ren Yi the surveillance footage on a computer.
“Look here. Our four colleagues are in these three locations. We can already see one of them now.”
“Have your people stop moving things for now. Take me over there and let me see.”
Ren Yi followed the person in charge and climbed onto a pile of merchandise. Sure enough, beneath the collapsed racks they had cleared, the yellow uniform of a worker could be faintly seen.
“Gao Ge, come here.”
Gao Ge climbed up.
“You take First Squad and handle this person. Sun Dingyi, take Second Squad and handle this person here. The remaining two are together. Third Squad comes with me.”
“Yes.”
Ren Yi then said to the warehouse manager, “From this point onward, all of your people will follow our instructions. No one is allowed to act on their own, to prevent a secondary collapse or another accident.”
“Of course, of course.”
Their fire engine equipped with an excavator arm helped Gao Ge and Sun Dingyi clear the piles of merchandise from the three rows of racks on the east side. The excavator that arrived later helped Ren Yi clear the three rows of racks on the west side.
They weren’t using the excavator to dig the victims out. The excavator arm could not get close to injured people. Instead, they used the arm to clear the merchandise around the victims, preventing a secondary collapse that could injure both the victims and rescuers again. At the same time, they might need the excavator arm to pull the storage racks upright.
With the coordinated efforts of the station’s commanders, firefighters, and Guosi employees, they dug out the first injured worker half an hour later. The ambulance immediately rushed him to the hospital.
Another ten minutes passed before Ren Yi’s team dug out another person.
This young employee could be considered lucky despite his misfortune. He had also been operating a forklift at the time. When the merchandise collapsed, he was protected by the forklift’s frame and miraculously suffered only minor injuries.
When everyone carried him out, he was still conscious and kept saying, “Xiaowang is underneath. Xiaowang was right next to me……”
Li Sa gently reassured him. “Don’t worry. We’ll get him out.”
Based on the surveillance footage and the young employee’s description, they could basically determine Xiaowang’s location. Everyone continued moving and digging through the merchandise, sweating profusely.
Nearly twenty minutes later, Sun Dingyi’s team found the third injured worker.
But this victim was suffering from severe internal bleeding. By the time they pulled him out, he no longer had a pulse.
Meanwhile, Ren Yi’s team finally found the last injured worker.
He had been buried beneath a pile of beauty devices. Worse still, both of his legs were pinned beneath an extremely heavy metal storage rack.
He was lying on the ground, letting out painful groans.
“We found Xiaowang!” One of the Guosi employees was practically crying with joy. “He’s still alive!”
“Quick, quick, get him out!”
“Don’t rush. Don’t panic. First clear away the merchandise on top of him and around him.” Ren Yi stared at the pool of blood spreading across the floor, his brows tightly furrowed.
The person in charge wiped the sweat from his face. “Firefighter, this rack is too heavy. We have to pull it up.”
Ren Yi shook his head. “We need to do this carefully. The rack and its cargo weigh at least five or six tons. If we can’t pull it up properly, it’ll cause even greater injuries to the victim. Cui Yisheng, go to the truck and bring all the wooden blocks.”
“Yes.”
Everyone gradually cleared away the merchandise around Xiaowang. Emergency medic Shi Xiaoqian immediately started an IV for him.
Ren Yi led his team over to Xiaowang. He shouted to Liu Hui, who was operating the excavator, “Is the rope secured?”
“It’s secured.”
All the firefighters holding wooden blocks were also standing by. Once the excavator lifted the storage rack slightly, they would immediately wedge the wooden blocks underneath it one by one as supports. That way, they could pull the injured worker out.
Ren Yi looked at Xiaowang but still didn’t give the order.
The person in charge rasped anxiously, “What are you waiting for? He’s almost gone!”
Shi Xiaoqian continued administering the IV while placing ice over the part of Xiaowang’s thigh that wasn’t pinned down.
“Captain Ren, the victim has been trapped and compressed for nearly an hour. He may already have developed crush syndrome.”
Ren Yi nodded. He took off his rescue suit.
“I’m worried about that too. I’m going in to take a look.”
“Captain Ren, that’s not safe.”
The Guosi employees were frantic and began urging them to rescue the man, all talking over one another.
Ren Yi fastened his helmet, carefully crawled through the gaps between the storage racks, and made his way around to Xiaowang’s feet.
He pulled a multifunctional military knife from his pocket and cut open Xiaowang’s pants.
The bruising beneath his skin had already turned dark blue.
Ren Yi took a deep breath.
“Xiao Shi, I don’t think we can do it.”
He took out his phone and snapped a photo. Then he crawled back out and showed the picture to Shi Xiaoqian.
Shi Xiaoqian nodded, her expression solemn.
“I’ll call the hospital.”
“What exactly is happening?!” The person in charge said, about to rush over.
Gao Ge grabbed the agitated man and held him back.
“The victim has already developed crush syndrome. If we lift the rack right now, he’ll die immediately.”
Everyone was dumbfounded.
The person in charge stared at Gao Ge in disbelief.
“Wh-what? Then…… then what do we do?”
Gao Ge said in a low voice:
“We have to amputate on the spot.”