Chapter 37 14

Chapter 37, Page 14

On a cold autumn night, a bright moon hung high in the inky sky.

As night deepened, Wu Yingying slowly raised her head, gazing at the small window on the warehouse roof. A sliver of moonlight squeezed through, casting a meager glow on the wall—the sole illumination in the oppressive darkness.

The previous afternoon, they had excitedly hailed a taxi to this remote location, embarking on what felt like a treasure hunt. Following the address meticulously researched on their phones, they navigated their way to the far end of the warehouse.

They heard the voices of the two individuals, feeling an irresistible pull forward.

The children eagerly ventured into the darkness, discussing their impending "victory" and even devising plans to prank and mock the two. Yet, when they lifted the cloth covering the object on the table, they found only a small voice recorder hidden beneath a pile of clutter.

At that very moment, the heavy iron door slammed shut behind them, severing all four from the outside world.

Their nightmare had finally begun.

Trapped for a full day and night, every second felt like an eternity.

By now, Wen Shang lay weakly beside Wu Yingying, while Zhang Yan and Li Weiyang sat slumped in despair at the opposite end of the room.

Here, their phones were useless, devoid of signal. They had struggled, shouted, meticulously searched every nook and cranny, and attempted to pry open every door and window; their fingers were raw and bleeding, but all their efforts proved futile.

They had concealed their plans from parents and teachers, believing this would be an exhilarating adventure, only to find themselves ensnared.

In the darkness, Li Weiyang began to curse again, clenching his fists, his eyes blazing with fury: "Damn those little brats! They actually played us! When did they set this trap?"

Zhang Yan scoffed: "Wasn't it you who insisted on coming here? I was against it from the start."

Li Weiyang glared at him, seething: "You agreed to come too!"

"Why are we blaming each other now?" Wu Yingying rose to her feet. "Those scumbags shouldn't even be in the same school as us. Once we get out, we'll find the best lawyer and have them locked up!"

Even in their predicament, they showed no remorse, instead deeming the two children the true culprits.

"I think I hear something..." Wen Shang, who had been lying down, suddenly sat up, tilting her head slightly toward the window.

Everyone held their breath, waiting, searching for that faint glimmer of hope. But outside, an absolute silence reigned, and their fragile hope shattered once more. Disappointed, they eventually returned to their positions.

Wen Shang lowered her head, despair clouding her eyes: "We're not... going to die here, are we?"

A heavy silence fell upon them. In the darkness, only their labored breathing could be heard.

The children had no water and hadn't eaten for over a day; everyone was famished. Their phones had died, leaving them stranded in utter darkness.

"Don't say that." Wu Yingying suddenly remembered something. "Zhang Yan, do you have any cigarettes?"

Zhang Yan snorted irritably, licking his parched lips: "No, if I did, I would've smoked them by now."

As class monitor, he secretly smoked—a fact many students were unaware of, and those who knew dared not report him to the teachers due to his position.

But Wu Yingying had known all along.

The girl said: "I meant, do you have a lighter? I want to check if there’s anything else in this room—anything to eat or anything that might help us escape."

Her voice was laced with urgency and hope, desperately seeking a lifeline in their dire situation.

Among them, Wu Yingying was the most proactive, as she had been the one to propose this idea initially, and Yu Wanying was her chosen target.

"Why would they be kind enough to leave food for us?" Zhang Yan questioned, yet he still opened his backpack, pulled out a lighter, and tossed it to her.

In one corner of the warehouse, several boxes were stacked. Wu Yingying had only glanced at the top ones yesterday—they contained unfamiliar items, resembling reagents. Now, she intended to search more thoroughly.

Wu Yingying approached with the lighter, her fingers trembling as she pressed down lightly.

In the darkness, a soft click echoed, piercingly clear in the silence.

The next moment, a loud explosion ripped through the air. The lighter in her hand instantly transformed into a fireball, hurtling toward her face.

The dark warehouse was abruptly illuminated by flames. The others looked up in horror.

Wu Yingying felt a searing pain across her face and let out a piercing scream. The lighter fell from her hand, and the flames rapidly spread.

In an instant, several boxes stacked against the wall ignited.

No one knew what was inside those boxes, but they crackled and popped as they burned fiercely. The fire spread quickly, soon engulfing half the warehouse.

Only then did they realize that something—like an accelerant—had been smeared along the base of every wall. The fire grew fiercer and fiercer.

Not only that, the walls themselves were lined with flammable material.

The other three children stared in stunned disbelief, their minds blank. Li Weiyang was the first to react, lunging forward to drag the injured Wu Yingying back and attempting to extinguish the flames on her.

Wu Yingying’s face was charred, her skin horribly burned and blistering. She screamed in agony as the flames licked at the others.

Wen Shang felt something catch in her throat and dropped to her knees, coughing uncontrollably.

Zhang Yan’s hand was engulfed in flames, his entire right hand wrapped in fire.

Soon, Li Weiyang’s back was also caught in the flames.

The temperature in the warehouse rose rapidly, waves of blistering heat washing over them, thick smoke choking them.

Only now did they truly feel fear—Chen Zhuo had never intended for them to survive!

They frantically slapped at the flames on each other’s bodies, crowding toward the door, pounding desperately on the heavy iron door!

The children screamed with hoarse voices.

"Help!"

"Help!!"

Heart-wrenching, desperate cries pierced the cold night air, tearing through the darkness.

.

Several police cars sped to the main entrance of the warehouse. The place had long been abandoned, secured by several large gates, with only a small door for workers to enter—no vehicle could pass through.

The officers streamed into the massive, maze-like warehouse, where numerous storage units stood in the darkness. To guard against any deception regarding the warehouse number Chen Zhuo had provided, twice the usual number of officers had been dispatched to that area.

The warehouse layout was somewhat complex. As they moved inward, they heard cries for help.

Several officers followed the sound, hurrying deeper into the warehouse. He Lin and Jin Tingrui were the fastest. By the time they reached the door, the cries for help had already grown faint.

Thick smoke billowed out from the windows and door cracks, filling the air with an acrid smell.

"Stay away from the door!" He Lin roared. He quickly drew his gun, firing two shots that shattered the iron latch, then kicked the door open.

Thick smoke gushed out, instantly enveloping everything around.

The fire raged. They could see the situation behind the door: two girls lay unconscious near the entrance, and the boys were severely burned, moaning in pain.

He Lin and Jin Tingrui didn't hesitate. He Lin hoisted Wen Shang onto his back, while Jin Tingrui carried the other girl. Li Weiyang helped Zhang Yan up, and they all followed the police officers as they rushed out.

It was unclear what arrangements Chen Zhuo had made here, but once that warehouse caught fire, the flames spread rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, the entire warehouse area was engulfed in flames, with waves of blistering heat rolling through.

Thick smoke and raging flames churned around them, tongues of fire licking at everything in their path, and the dense smoke made it impossible to discern any sense of direction.

Lost in the chaos, the group could no longer tell east from west and could only rely on memory to retrace their steps.

Moreover, the warehouse had long fallen into disrepair. Some of the pillars, burned and weakened, lost their supporting strength. The high ceiling began to creak ominously, and from time to time, large panels crashed down with deafening roars, sending up clouds of dust and sparks.

The fire raged on.

Just as they rounded a corner, they were suddenly blocked by roaring flames ahead.

Behind them was also a wall of fire, making retreat impossible.

In an instant, they were completely surrounded by the inferno, trapped in a desperate situation.

Jin Tingrui’s eyes were bloodshot as he let out a despairing roar, "Goddamn it, there’s no way out…"

Beside him, Li Weiyang took in the hellish scene before him, his legs giving way as he collapsed to the ground, breaking down in sobs.

Zhang Yan was too terrified to make a sound, trembling uncontrollably as tears carved two clear trails through the soot-blackened grime on his face.

He Lin was forced to stop, gently setting down Wen Shang, whom he had been carrying on his back.

Gasping for air, he was drenched in sweat from the intense heat, his chest heaving. The fire had consumed much of the oxygen, making it difficult to breathe.

The ceiling groaned and creaked like the approaching footsteps of death, the entire space threatening to collapse at any moment.

Just as they were trapped, a dull thud came from behind a large partition wall to one side, causing it to tremble.

Clearly, someone was kicking at the partition.

Then came another, more violent impact—bang!

It sounded as though someone had thrown their full weight against it, and several nuts on the partition loosened under the tremendous force.

He Lin snapped into action, lunging forward like a leopard, gripping the screws with his bare hands and prying off the loosened ones.

Jin Tingrui also set the girl he was carrying on the ground and began clearing away debris blocking the partition.

The person on the other side did not relent, delivering another fierce kick.

With a deafening crash, the large partition finally gave way, slamming down onto the shuddering ground.

He Lin glanced sideways and, through the smoke and flames, saw a slender figure retract its leg.

As the dust gradually settled, he stared in disbelief at Li Shang, who stood not far from him.

In this dire situation, Li Shang had forcibly carved out a path to survival for them from the outside.

Flames danced at his side, illuminating his handsome features like a deity descending from the heavens to rescue mortals.

A wave of cool air rushed in, battling back the scorching heat.

He Lin watched as Li Shang reached out to them, making a beckoning gesture. His calm voice cut through the chaos: "Follow me!"

Almost instinctively, He Lin hoisted Wen Shang onto his back and followed that figure as they dashed out.

Li Shang turned, his movements agile as he sprinted swiftly ahead.

Holding a walkie-talkie, he spoke with clarity and steadiness: "Survivors located. Risk of explosion on-site. All other personnel evacuate. Attempt to breach the main gate for extraction. Ambulance and fire crews, prepare to enter."

Finding their way in had been relatively easy by following the sounds, but now, getting out proved far more challenging.

With the paths altered, the area had become a labyrinth.

In this fire-ravaged space, a single wrong turn could trap them inside, leaving them at the mercy of the relentless flames.

Unburdened by any load and tasked with leading the way, Li Shang stayed at the front throughout.

He seemed intimately familiar with the layout, frequently glancing back to give firm, clear directions.

"Turn left."

"Obstacle ahead, be careful!"

"Exit 20 meters ahead on the right."

Just as Li Shang uttered these words, a ceiling panel above emitted a sharp creak, the sound piercing through the tense atmosphere. The panel looked ready to fall, and He Lin, carrying Wen Shang on his back just behind him, had no time to evade.

With a loud crash, the panel plummeted downward.

The suddenness of the incident sent a chill down He Lin’s spine, and he instinctively raised his arms to shield himself.

At that critical moment, Li Shang suddenly halted, turned without hesitation, and thrust his arms upward to brace the falling panel. Though his arms were not particularly muscular, they unleashed astonishing strength in that instant, supporting the dozens of pounds of weight before he gritted his teeth and shoved it aside.

Accompanied by another thunderous crash, the panel tilted to the side, successfully clearing a path.

A thin layer of sweat beaded on Li Shang’s forehead, his face pale as paper from the exertion. He didn’t forget to turn and urge the stunned He Lin: "Hurry, go!"

Guided by Li Shang, the group burst out of the warehouse area. Once outside, fresh air washed over them, and the thick smoke dissipated. They sprinted all the way to the safety zone, reuniting with the other officers.

.

Li Shang came to a stop at the edge of the fire scene.

Chaos and noise surrounded them—the roaring blaze crackled loudly, and even from a distance, they could feel the heat scorching their cheeks.

Rescue workers hurried back and forth, their footsteps and shouts intertwining in the frantic scene.

Earlier, in the heart of the fire, it was as if some self-preservation mechanism had kicked in, numbing him to the pain. But now that he had stopped, every part of his body ached.

He had already been feeling unwell; after a day of intense work, his body was already exhausted.

In the fire, he had recklessly used his body to break through the partition, aggravating old injuries. Then, after leading the way and supporting the falling ceiling panel…

After all that.

For a moment, he couldn’t even tell which pain was worse.

Perhaps it was his abdomen—the suppressed stomach pain had flared into spasms, each breath making him feel as though his organs were twisting within his abdomen. The painkillers he’d taken earlier in the evening hadn’t taken effect yet; instead, they had irritated his stomach, making the cramps even more severe.

At the same time, the old injury in his lower back was also throbbing. A sharp, stabbing pain radiated from between his vertebrae, spreading along his spinal nerves throughout his body, as if it might tear him in half at any second.

Li Shang’s abdomen and lower back trembled with pain, his forehead glistening with sweat, and his vision flickered with bouts of darkness.

His instinct was to curl up, attempting to ease the abdominal pain, but the stabbing pain in his waist made it impossible for him to bend over, leaving him standing stiffly in place for a moment.

Oxygen deprivation from the strenuous activity made his breathing increasingly labored.

The surroundings remained chaotic, with people coming and going and the flames roaring fiercely.

Yet he felt as though he were in another world—a world where only pain existed.

Li Shang bit down tightly on his lip as he struggled to endure.

His eyes were shut tight, and cold sweat beaded on his skin, soaking through his thin clothes.

In an attempt to alleviate the intense pain, his hands instinctively gripped his waist, fingers pressing into his sides. The slender waist was taut against the fabric, as if tightening it could somehow lessen the agony within.

"Li Shang?" He suddenly heard someone call his name.

Li Shang forced his eyes open with effort and noticed that He Lin had come to his side at some point.

"We really relied on you back there." Perhaps alarmed by his pale complexion and the cold sweat on his forehead, He Lin asked urgently, "Are you feeling unwell?"

The pain made it difficult for Li Shang to speak. He covered his mouth with one hand and coughed twice, fighting back nausea. The excruciating pain surged through his body—his abdomen burned as if a knife were twisting inside relentlessly. He was afraid his legs would buckle and send him kneeling to the ground.

Fortunately, He Lin noticed his distress and reached out to steady him, preventing him from collapsing outright.

Catching his breath, Li Shang tried to keep his voice calm: "Maybe... I ran too hard just now, and I got a side stitch..."

He didn’t want He Lin to worry too much.

He Lin seemed doubtful but didn’t press further. "Let me help you to the car then. You can rest for a bit."

Li Shang gave a weak, slight nod and took He Lin's warm, supporting hand. "Okay," he said.