Chapter 32 Fire
On Sunday morning, Rongyuan finished his run, had breakfast, put his keys, gel pens and change in his pocket, and went to school to participate in this year's Mathematical Olympiad.
Rong Yuan enjoyed all the conveniences and privileges given by the school, so he naturally had to make corresponding contributions. Except for the final year's exam, he never let the school down in all the usual exams, always far ahead of the runner-up candidates in the city. He even signed up for the Mathematics, Chemistry, and Physics Olympiads because he could learn them easily. The school recommended that other students only specialize in one subject. He had already taken the Chemistry exam before, and although the results were not out yet, Rong Yuan was quite confident. Mathematics was the second subject today.
Putting his scanning glasses aside and his pea-brand earphones in his pants pocket, Rong Yuan did not rely on these external forces, and he pushed through the questions one by one, so smoothly that he seemed to have no time to think. Only the last question stumped him for a few minutes, but he finally answered it smoothly. He checked it again and found no omissions. Seeing that there were only about 40 minutes left before the end of the exam, he handed in the paper and left the examination room.
It was early December now, and it hadn't snowed in City A for several years. But in this coastal area, it was even colder when it wasn't snowing than when it was. The air was filled with chill everywhere, and if the air conditioner wasn't on, even in the house one couldn't feel any warmth.
Rong Yuan put his hands in his thin pants pockets, feeling his fingers were frozen. He zipped up his school uniform jacket to the top, rubbed his stiff fingers, and decided to go to the nearby mall to buy something.
Meihao Mall is one of the oldest comprehensive shopping centers in City A. It sells everything from vegetables and fruits to hardware supplies to furniture and home appliances, and there is also an eight-story clothing mall that covers a large area. The management is also very strict. Once counterfeit or inferior products are found, the punishment for the merchants is very severe. Therefore, the products in Meihao Mall are synonymous with genuine products for the citizens of City A, and the business is very good. Because it is close to home, Rongyuan will come here to buy whatever he needs.
As soon as he walked in through the revolving door, he felt a gust of hot air blowing in his face. The mall's heating and air conditioning were turned on very high. Rong Yuan moved his frozen fingers while pulling a shopping cart and walked towards the promotional discount area on the basement floor with a clear goal.
The middle of the Meihao Mall is hollow from the first floor onwards. A huge crystal chandelier hangs from the ceiling, reflecting the light and looking magnificent. There are four elevators and a staircase surrounding this hollow area. Standing on the first floor, customers can see the goods on the eighth floor as soon as they look up, and when they look down, they can see the promotion area on the first floor. The goods in the promotion area include toys, books, clothes, cosmetics, etc., which are changed every few days. People who seem to have nothing to do often come here to shop, and sometimes they can buy very good and cheap things at very cheap prices.
In this season, the promotion area is full of warm clothing. Rong Yuan pushes the shopping cart and puts in whatever he sees suitable: gloves, hats, scarves, thick sweaters, fleece pants, down jackets... He has grown fast in the past two years, and all the clothes he wore last winter are now much shorter, so he has to buy new ones. The goods in the promotion area are basically last year's overstocked inventory, so the styles are naturally outdated. But Rong Yuan never cares about these. He has almost no perception of popular beauty, so he doesn't care about the time of the model.
After buying a set of clothes, Rong Yuan thought that the toilet paper at home was almost used up and it was time to replace the toothbrush with a new one, so he was about to turn to the daily necessities area when he suddenly felt a violent vibration in his trouser pocket.
——Is there a phone call?
Rong Yuan suddenly remembered that he left his cell phone at home when he went out in the morning to take an exam, and now in his pocket was... Pea!
Rong Yuan hurriedly took out the Pea brand earphones from his pocket and put them into his ears. Then he heard Pea's urgent voice: "Dodge! Five meters to the left! Quick!"
Rong Yuan pushed the shopping cart to the right without thinking, and with the reverse force, he fell to the left. In the emergency, he only had time to protect his head with his arms, and his body fell heavily to the ground, knocking down a nearby shelf, and dozens of autumn clothes hanging on the shelf fell to the ground.
"boom!"
After a loud bang, he could hardly hear anything. There was a buzzing sound in his ears and head, and the world seemed to be shaking. Pea was shouting something in his ears, but Rong Yuan couldn't hear it at all. He could only rely on his little safety common sense and stumble to a nearby corner with his head protected. The triangular wall structure can provide more stable support. In the event of a collapse, this is also an area with a higher survival rate.
The buzzing sound lasted for an unknown amount of time before Rong Yuan finally came to his senses. He felt a dull pain in several places on his body, probably from being hit or scratched.
Putting down his arms and supporting his dizzy head, Rong Yuan looked up and saw a scene of hell on earth.
An explosion occurred in a shop on the fifth floor. The scene was horrific. The raging fire spread quickly, and thick smoke was already coming out of the adjacent shops. The chandelier in the center of the mall broke and fell down. Some places in the promotion area also caught fire. At first, there were only a few scattered points, but soon the flames jumped up and instantly became a whole.
That day is Sunday.
There were many people shopping in the mall on this day.
Rong Yuan closed his eyes, not looking at the bodies that fell from the upper partitions in the shove, not looking at the people who fell down in the stairs and elevators, not looking at the people who were rolling on the ground with flames all over their bodies, not looking at the people who fell to the ground with blood all over the ground, not listening to the wailing, screaming, and crying, and not listening to Wandou's screaming in his ears: "It is recommended that the contractors leave as soon as possible! It is recommended that the contractors leave as soon as possible! Keeping your own safety as the first priority, it is recommended that the contractors leave as soon as possible!"
"Pea!" Rong Yuan growled.
"Yes!" Pea responded immediately.
"If you can't provide me with effective support, shut up!" Rong Yuan said to Wandou in a rare stern tone.
"……yes."
Rong Yuan stood up with the help of the wall and leaned his head against it. The relatively cool temperature of the wall helped him calm his mind and slightly relieved the feeling of nausea and dizziness.
——He was on the underground floor, and the passages leading up were all crowded with people eager to escape. Trying to squeeze out would undoubtedly greatly limit his mobility, and he would probably die faster. There was no way to escape, and there was no effective way to isolate the fire and smoke. The crazy crowd was probably more dangerous than the fire.
——So...stay away from crowded places, be prepared to be trapped here for a long time, stay calm, have access to water sources, take smoke prevention measures, find ways to control the fire, and don't expect others to rescue you, you can only find ways to save yourself first.
After sorting out his thoughts, Rong Yuan acted very quickly. He immediately ran to the nearest fire hydrant in his memory, opened the glass door, pressed the fire alarm button, connected the hose to the gun head and the valve mouth as quickly as possible, pulled off the hose, and turned it counterclockwise to open the valve. Rong Yuan stepped on the gun head, first pressed a piece of autumn clothes that he had just grabbed to the gun muzzle to soak his mouth and nose, then pointed the gun muzzle upwards to soak his whole body, and then held the water gun head to the fire source and started spraying.
…
Jin Bai had just returned from a meeting out of town. When he arrived, the fire had been basically under control and firefighters were putting out sporadic fire spots.
The once bustling shopping center has turned into a charred mess. Fire brigade captain Jiang Yonglong stands in the scorched earth, his face covered in black ash and his clothes wrinkled. Jiang Yonglong sees Jin Bai coming over and gives a bitter smile: "Old Jin, I'm done this time."
Jin Bai pressed his shoulder and asked in a deep voice, "What are the casualties?"
"We are still searching and rescuing people," Jiang Yonglong said. "So far, 37 people have been confirmed dead and more than 100 injured. They have all been sent to the hospital. But there are several people with severe burns who may not survive."
"Is there any conclusion as to the cause of the fire?" Jin Bai asked.
"The criminal investigation team found signs of arson. Ouyang and others are investigating the scene," said Jiang Yonglong.
Just as Jin Bai was about to continue asking questions, he suddenly saw a familiar figure and blurted out, "Why is that child here?" Seeing the blood on his body, he asked, "Why wasn't he taken to the hospital?"
From a distance, he saw Rong Yuan sitting on a platform beside the flowerbed, drinking a bottle of water. He was covered in black ash and blood, and his face was not clear. If he hadn't seen photos of him and his son at home every day, Jin Bai would have almost failed to recognize him.
Strangely, the many firefighters and medical staff passing by turned a blind eye to the blood on his body, and some even looked at him with respect.
"Oh, you mean that kid." Jiang Yonglong looked over following his gesture, his tone filled with admiration, "He wasn't injured, the blood on his body was all from saving people. It is said that he was also the first person to take decisive measures to put out the fire. If he hadn't organized people to put out the fire in the clothing area on the first floor of the basement, I'm afraid the casualties would be even more serious. Later, the kid helped to carry and rescue seven or eight injured people. He must be tired and resting now."
…
Rong Yuan was indeed very tired. He was exhausted and felt that all his strength had been drained out. Among the people he had rescued, a child gave him two pieces of chocolate, which he stuffed into his mouth. The sweet milk chocolate slowly melted on his tongue, and he felt that his body's energy was replenished bit by bit.
There were several bottles of water beside his legs. He couldn't remember who put them there for him, but he had already drunk most of them. He sat there to rest, feeling weak physically and empty-stomached, but mentally satisfied.
"Xiaoyuan!" A somewhat familiar voice called him nearby. Rong Yuan looked up and immediately stood up.
“Uncle Jin!”
The person who came was Jin Yang's father, Jin Bai, the director of the Public Security Bureau of City A.
Jin Bai looked him up and down and asked, "How do you feel? Are you hurt?"
Rong Yuan shook his head and said, "No. I'm fine."
Jin Bai touched his head and said, "You are a good boy. But we are here, so we don't need your help now. I'll ask Yang Yang to come over and accompany you to the hospital for a checkup."
"Chief." someone shouted from behind.
Jin Bai and Rong Yuan looked over together and saw Ouyang Rui striding towards them. His steps were so hurried that they seemed to be able to stir up a gust of wind.
Ouyang Rui, who came over to report on his work, glanced and met a pair of light brown eyes. They were cold and clear, with a bit of familiarity and scrutiny.
