He Gu froze for a moment, and the instant he came back to himself, he took off running toward the door.
Ren Yi reacted quickly and blocked his path. “Engineer He, Engineer He, calm down first.”
He Gu roared, “Let go of me!” Even at the most tense moments, he had always displayed extraordinary composure, but at this moment, there was nothing left in his eyes but panic and fear.
“Engineer He!” Ren Yi shouted. “You’ve already helped us find five bombs. We need you to think with your head, not act impulsively.”
How could He Gu listen at a time like this? He shoved Ren Yi hard. Unable to push him away, Ren Yi grimaced in pain. Gong Yingsheng strode forward, grabbed He Gu by the shoulders, dragged him back, and forced him down into a chair.
He Gu gasped for breath, and his eyes gradually regained their clarity.
Gong Yingsheng stared directly at He Gu. “Engineer He, everyone is looking for that bomb right now. The chances of him getting close to the stage are very low. You have to calm down in order to protect the person you want to protect.”
He Gu lowered his head, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles cracked.
Captain Zhang said, “We’ve been watching the surveillance the entire time and haven’t seen any trace of this person at all. There are also a lot of police officers and security guards around the stage. The moment he appeared, we’d be able to recognize him. The only possibility is that he’s hidden somewhere and hasn’t moved at all during this period.”
Qiu Yan nodded. “He must be hiding somewhere. Once he starts moving, he becomes a moving bomb. Even if he can’t get close to the stage, detonating it anywhere with a dense crowd would cause irreversible consequences.”
He Gu pulled out his phone. “I’ll tell Juhan to leave the stage. No, the stage might actually be safer…” He gripped his phone, at a loss for what to do, sweat pouring down his forehead.
“If we make Song Juhan stop performing, first, it will alert the enemy, and second, it will cause panic among the audience. As long as we ensure that the perpetrator can’t get close to the stage, Song Juhan is safe…” Gong Yingsheng frowned. “Wait. This Wang Rui person is responsible for setting up the stage. He had the opportunity to plant the bomb during the construction.”
Ren Yi said urgently, “Right. At the beginning, we ruled out the audience area and the stage because we thought Purple Flame was targeting the audience. The stage wasn’t a suitable location. But Purple Flame’s ultimate target is Song Juhan, and this man is responsible for setting up the stage!”
He Gu said in horror, “Where exactly is the last bomb? On the stage, or on Wang Rui?”
“We have to assume there are bombs both on the stage and on Wang Rui. We can’t overlook a single threat.”
Qiu Yan said, “But the stage is performing right now. Our equipment can’t locate a bomb with that many sources of interference. And there are so many spectators watching. If the bomb is somewhere relatively conspicuous, then…”
“I have a way!” He Gu said. “As long as we make the stage stop performing for a period of time, that’ll work, right?”
“One minute is enough.”
He Gu picked up his phone. “I have a way. We can cut off the power around the stage. That way, none of the equipment will have any interference, and the audience won’t be able to see anything either.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“Xiao Song.” He Gu connected the call. “Tell Juhan to change the final song to ‘Long Night.’ We need one minute. We have to cut off all the power… Don’t ask why. He’ll understand what I mean. Go, quickly!”
Qiu Yan glanced at the time. “Only five minutes left. We’ll split into two groups. I’ll go to the stage. Yingsheng, you go find Wang Rui.”
He Gu immediately started to leave, but Ren Yi grabbed his arm. “Engineer He, stay with Captain Qiu, but you can’t act alone.”
He Gu said angrily, “You have no right to stop me from deciding how I act.”
“I promised Mr. Song that I would return you to him safe and sound. Nothing will happen to him, and nothing can happen to you either.”
He Gu looked into Ren Yi’s frank and resolute eyes and took a deep breath. “I won’t act impulsively.”
Only then did Ren Yi let He Gu leave with Qiu Yan.
Tan Haochun thought for a moment. “Where would Wang Rui hide? He can’t be too far away. He should have anticipated that his identity might be exposed. How can he ensure that he’ll be able to complete the mission Purple Flame gave him at the final moment?”
Gong Yingsheng said, “Planting a bomb on the stage is an insurance measure. If that fails, he still has a moving bomb. I think that even if he hides, he won’t be too far from the stage.”
“He should have been found by now no matter where he’s hiding,” Captain Zhang said in confusion. “The area around the stage and backstage have both been thoroughly searched by the police. He can’t possibly escape.”
Those words, he can’t possibly escape, caused several people to freeze at the same time.
Gong Yingsheng slowly raised his head and stared at the ceiling.
“Above.”
“On the roof beams!” Ren Yi said quickly. “There’s both a ring-shaped steel-frame glass canopy and a movable rain shelter on the roof beams. It would be too easy to hide a person there!”
They immediately ran toward the nearest maintenance access.
Because the roof beams were “woven” from steel frames, they provided places to climb. They could be reached through maintenance access from inside. Someone who didn’t care about dying could even climb up along the structural columns from outside.
At this moment, the music and cheers shook the entire venue. Far away, beneath the glittering starlight of the stage, someone was singing. Surrounded by tens of thousands of people, he was merely a tiny figure, yet he radiated enough heat to ignite the entire venue.
A person like this truly had “fire” within him.
He was the fire that Purple Flame referred to as spreading across the land.
It was easy to imagine how terrifying the social impact would be if something happened to Song Juhan during the highly anticipated New Year’s Eve concert. This was exactly what Purple Flame wanted. He wanted to create enormous “fear” in order to establish his position as one man beneath God and above everyone else.
A group of people climbed onto the roof beams through the maintenance access. The entire venue came into view beneath their feet. The densely packed crowds and dazzling lights filled the scene with a dreamlike quality.
Because the roof beams had a curved, undulating design, they could only see the crests. The troughs sank outside their field of vision. The section of roof beam closest to the main stage happened to be in a trough.
The straight-line distance from the roof beam to the main stage was more than a hundred meters. But because the height difference was great enough, even if throwing the bomb didn’t hit Song Juhan, destroying the stage setup weighing several tons, or throwing it into the crowd, would create a horrifying scene no one dared imagine.
Although it was possible to walk along the roof beams, it was extremely dangerous. One careless step could send someone falling from the height of eight floors. Workers performing maintenance wore protective equipment, but they had no time to put on any safety gear.
“Wang Rui!”
Gong Yingsheng pulled out his gun and shouted the perpetrator’s name as he moved forward. Several police officers followed closely behind, fully prepared for anything. Ren Yi followed as well.
“Wang Rui, you’re surrounded.”
A figure flashed past in a low-lying section.
Gong Yingsheng signaled to several people, telling them to circle around from the side and surround him.
“Wang Rui, come out. I can see you.”
Gong Yingsheng held his gun up and walked forward step by step.
A man stood at the edge of the roof beam, holding a bomb in his hand. His face was twisted with savagery.
“Don’t come any closer!”
Gong Yingsheng said coldly, “Wang Rui, put down the bomb, or I’ll shoot.”
“My name isn’t Wang Rui. I’m Red Flame.”
“Red Flame already died in the hospital.”
“There isn’t only one Red Flame. Anyone can become the fireworks of glory.”
“Whoever you are, you’re surrounded.”
“I can detonate it at any time. Don’t come over. Stay right there.” Wang Rui shouted. “I’ll throw it into the crowd. There are people everywhere below.”
“Why doesn’t Purple Flame come carry out the mission himself? Are you really so willing to be his cannon fodder?”
Several police officers had already circled around Wang Rui, while Ren Yi was behind him.
“Purple Flame has a more exalted mission, while my mission is here.”
There was no fear in Wang Rui’s eyes, only a sick excitement.
“All these people who have received the fire of God yet have no reverence for God need to be purified by fire.”
Gong Yingsheng glanced at the time.
There was only a little over a minute left.
At this moment, even the passing of a single second was enough to make their hearts pound.
Then the music suddenly stopped.
Song Juhan’s voice rang through the amplifiers, filling every corner of the venue.
“Friends, in another ninety seconds, we’ll welcome the New Year together. I’ve prepared a gift for everyone, a surprise. It’s a song I wrote recently, and so far, only one person has heard it.”
Laughter and excited heckling came from beneath the stage.
“I originally wanted to revise it a little more before letting everyone hear it, but I suddenly feel that this song is very appropriate for tonight. Its name is ‘Long Night.’”
Song Juhan smiled lightly.
“Everyone has experienced the night. Some nights seem so long that it feels as though dawn will never come. We endure the darkness and nightmares in this long night, praying for the dawn to arrive.”
“Maybe you really have been waiting for a long time, so long that you’re almost in despair and want to give up. I hope this song can give you the courage to keep going, because the long night will definitely end, and dawn will definitely come.”
“Next, I want to accompany every person here through this long night.”
The next instant, all the lights in the venue went out.
Ren Yi, who had already been prepared, turned on his phone’s flashlight the moment the lights went out and shone it toward Wang Rui.
Without hesitation, Gong Yingsheng fired.
The silenced handgun made a soft pew.
The bullet struck Wang Rui in the shoulder.
Wang Rui was knocked to the ground by the impact of the gunshot, and the bomb slipped from his hand and fell to the ground.
Several people rushed forward together, but the ground beneath their feet was covered with crisscrossing steel beams and glass. It was difficult to walk even when there was light. Now that everything around them was pitch-black, stumbling and tripping was unavoidable.
Ren Yi kept his phone light on the entire time. He was the only one who neither stumbled nor fell. He ran over as quickly as he could, and just as Wang Rui grabbed the bomb, Ren Yi threw himself onto him. The two wrestled on the tempered glass.
Ren Yi locked an arm around Wang Rui’s throat with one hand and reached for the bomb with the other. Wang Rui struggled desperately, driving his elbow hard into Ren Yi’s waist and abdomen.
Gong Yingsheng also lunged forward and slammed a heavy punch into the diaphragm just below Wang Rui’s sternum.
Wang Rui let out a miserable howl as though his throat had been strangled, his entire body going limp from the pain.
Ren Yi seized the opportunity to snatch the bomb away.
The countdown displayed on the bomb was—
10 seconds.
The two looked at each other.
Gong Yingsheng reached out to grab it, but Ren Yi rolled over and got up from the ground.
Seeing the determination in Ren Yi’s eyes, Gong Yingsheng said in a trembling voice, “Don’t move…”
Ren Yi grabbed the bomb and ran toward the outer edge of the roof beam.
“Ren Yi!”
Without thinking, Gong Yingsheng chased after him with all his strength.
In the final three seconds before the bomb’s countdown reached zero, Ren Yi gathered all his strength and hurled the bomb high into the air.
At the same time, his foot slipped, and he rolled off the roof beam.
Gong Yingsheng launched himself forward. Just as Ren Yi was about to fall from the roof beam more than twenty meters above the ground, he grabbed Ren Yi’s hand.
His entire body was pulled downward by Ren Yi. Using both his hands and feet, he barely managed to hook himself against a steel frame that protruded slightly above the glass.
The two hung dangerously in midair.
The bomb exploded.
The shock wave was like an invisible heavy fist, slamming viciously into the two of them. Several surrounding panes of tempered glass cracked with a sharp sound.
Gong Yingsheng was shaken so badly he almost vomited blood, but he held tightly onto Ren Yi and refused to let go.
At the same time, the New Year’s bells rang.
Countless fireworks shot into the sky above the venue like meteors, blooming brilliantly in the darkness.
After the one-minute-long “Long Night,” the lights on the stage came back on, and the music began again.
The darkness and silence of the entire world transformed into light and noise in an instant.
Even the sound and flash of the bomb exploding had been cleverly concealed.
Ren Yi looked up at Gong Yingsheng. He had countless things he wanted to say, yet he didn’t know where to begin.
Gong Yingsheng looked at Ren Yi too. He also wanted to say something, but the pain was so severe that he couldn’t speak.
His internal organs were in excruciating pain, and he was still holding an adult man with one hand. His entire body felt as though it were being torn apart from both the inside and outside.
He could only force out three words:
“Hang in there.”
The others ran over. One after another, they grabbed Gong Yingsheng and Ren Yi and slowly pulled them back until they reached a safe area.
Gong Yingsheng never let go.
After they escaped danger, he fiercely pulled Ren Yi into his arms, holding him with such force that it was as though he wanted to embed Ren Yi into his own body.
He choked out an angry curse beside Ren Yi’s ear.
“Are you fucking trying to get yourself killed?!”
Thinking of Ren Yi’s body falling downward, he had been terrified to the point of feeling as though his heart and gallbladder had been torn apart.
If he lost Ren Yi…
No.
This was someone he absolutely could not lose!
Ren Yi’s nose stung. He could only feel how broad and warm Gong Yingsheng’s body was, as though it could shield him from all the wind and rain in the world.
How many times had Gong Yingsheng saved him?
Only Gong Yingsheng could give him this sense of security, this feeling of being protected by an overwhelming strength.
No matter how strong a person was, no one could resist this kind of comfort that came from the depths of the soul.
But just as the urge to hug him back arose in Ren Yi’s heart, the words Gong Yingsheng had said with such disgust appeared in his mind.
“Don’t touch me.”
His heart hurt.
In an instant, he lost all his strength and went limp in Gong Yingsheng’s arms.
Looking at the fireworks blooming across the sky, he imagined that, at this very moment, he and Gong Yingsheng were still continuing their date.
Listening to the concert together.
Welcoming the New Year together.
Admiring the romantic fireworks together.
Even if it was only a date he had unilaterally defined as one.
If only none of this had happened.
Captain Zhang took the others to handcuff Wang Rui and carry him down for medical treatment.
After gradually recovering, the two awkwardly separated and sat up on the glass.
They looked at each other in silence.
After a long while, Ren Yi said, “It’s over.”
Gong Yingsheng remained silent.
“We did an incredible job this time.” Ren Yi smiled. “Luckily, not a single innocent person was injured.”
“…Mm.”
Through the glass, Ren Yi looked at the people below who were celebrating the New Year. They were immersed in an atmosphere of joy, completely unaware of the heart-stopping events that had taken place over the past hour.
He gave a self-mocking smile.
“I originally wanted to ask you to come listen to the concert with me. I never thought it would turn into this.”
Gong Yingsheng also looked down and said softly, “The concert isn’t over yet.”
This night had originally belonged to him and Ren Yi.
But first it had been ruined by Qi Xiao, and then by…
No.
From the moment Qi Xiao appeared, this night had already ended.
He secretly clenched his fists, his heart still filled with jealousy and anger.
Ren Yi unconsciously hugged his knees, slightly curling up his body.
He said quietly, “Can we… talk?”
“…Talk about what?”
“Can you…” Ren Yi said with difficulty. “Can you pretend that none of this ever happened? We can still be each other’s best friends.”
Gong Yingsheng’s face darkened, and he said nothing.
“I won’t have any more… inappropriate words or actions. I promise.” The more Ren Yi spoke, the quieter his voice became. “And I won’t touch you.”
Gong Yingsheng was so angry that his entire heart ached.
He shot to his feet and walked away without looking back.
Ren Yi stared blankly at Gong Yingsheng’s retreating back and closed his eyes in sorrow.