In the sultry afternoon, breathing was difficult. Shi Sheng’s neck was red, sweating while lying in bed. He felt his head was hot, the air he exhaled from his chest was hot too, and he felt nauseous, unable to summon any strength.

Someone was pulling his hand and pulling him out. He opened his eyes and saw Su Qi dragging him like dragging a corpse, with a blanket underneath him, being dragged downstairs.

His feet hurt, and so did his butt.

“Jie… can you be gentle.”

“Gentle my ass! I told you to go to the hospital early on. Now you can’t even stand up,” Su Qi kicked open the door, “That guy Lu Lin’s phone is also unreachable. I had to contact that kid Wu Nan er. Let me tell you, in this crucial moment…”

Su Qi’s voice gradually faded in Shi Sheng’s ears, as if two black dots were running far away. He heard Wu Nan er’s voice, then was pushed into a car.

Shi Sheng had the illusion that his own body was being stuffed into the trunk of the car.

“How did he get this fever? I knew he took two days off, but I didn’t expect the illness to be so severe,” Wu Nan er sat in the passenger seat, turned his head to look at him, worried, and raised his glasses, “Must be about 39 degrees.”

“39.2 degrees,” Su Qi glanced at the rearview mirror at the unfamiliar person behind, probably Shi Sheng’s colleague. She stepped on the gas pedal, turned the steering wheel, and drove out of the community gate.

The car sped down the road.

Junzi Yu came with Wu Nan er. He looked at Shi Sheng’s flushed face, the lingering hickeys on his neck, and then saw the bruises on his knees. His face suddenly turned ugly.

What kind of posture would leave such injuries, and what did he do to get a fever? These things were not hard to imagine. Junzi Yu hadn’t expected Shi Sheng to take two days off for this reason.

He clenched his fists and then released them, reaching out to support Shi Sheng’s head against his shoulder.

“Where’s Lu Lin?” Wu Nan er frowned.

Su Qi was about to mention the issue of not being able to contact Lu Lin, but she swallowed her words when she saw Junzi Yu, and casually said, “He’s busy firefighting. He’ll come over soon.”

The car stopped at the hospital entrance. Shi Sheng had an IV drip and took some medicine. Wu Nan er went to get the prescription, Junzi Yu helped with the payment, and Lu Yin was also called by Su Qi.

“I’m here in place of my brother.”

Covering up, so you guys won’t say my brother is bad to Shi Sheng.” Lu Yin snorted, took out concealer from her bag, and covered up the kiss marks and bruises on Shi Sheng’s skin.

Su Qi sat on the chair, cracking melon seeds. “You have your thoughtful moments.”

“Of course.” Lu Yin proudly lifted her chin.

Shi Sheng woke up groggily, and as he moved his ears, he heard their conversation. “What time is it?”

“It’s six thirty.”

“Lu Lin should be off work by now,” Shi Sheng squinted, wanting to reach for his phone. He was now a patient who needed care, and he wanted to hear Lu Lin’s voice.

Su Qi pushed his hand away. “Still can’t reach him.”

Upon hearing this, Shi Sheng felt a pang of worry.

---

In the fire scene, the flames were roaring.

“Hey, captain, what’s the situation over there? Report.”

The walkie-talkie emitted a fuzzy electric buzzing sound, while the sirens wailed, and the surrounding area was in chaos.

“Gas leakage caused the fire, and the explosion damaged nearby buildings. A bus at the scene was affected, resulting in three deaths. Our people are contacting the gas company to cut off the gas,” Lu Lin picked up the walkie-talkie, his firefighting suit almost entirely blackened, “The gas has been shut off for dilution, and we are preparing for an internal attack.”

“Be careful.”

“Understood.”

Outside the fire scene, five or six high-pressure water guns crossed each other, cutting off the fire. Lu Lin and several colleagues nodded at each other, tightened their cuffs and pant legs, put on their breathing apparatuses, and carried dry powder extinguishers as they went inside. Lu Lin glanced at the sky one last time. He wondered if Shi Sheng would worry at this hour.

As he entered the fire scene, he instructed his colleagues to be careful, and they dispersed to fight the fire. The combustible gas detector in his hand continuously detected, and dry powder sprayed all around, extinguishing the open flames. Lu Lin went further into the fire, and aside from the crackling of the flames, all he could hear was his own breathing.

Earlier, when shutting off the gas, his lower legs were already burnt. After changing into a new set of firefighting suits, the wounds were rubbing against each other, causing a dull pain. He glanced at the concentration on the detector, which read nineteen point one.

Suddenly, Lu Lin held his breath. Concentrations between twenty and thirty could lead to an explosion. Several colleagues came around from behind, but he stopped them.

“Wait, the gas concentration here is abnormal.”

The flames were still red, indicating temporary safety. He waved his hand, signaling the colleagues to evacuate first.

Several people retreated in an orderly manner until they reached the door. Lu Lin continued to watch the detector and walked at the back. Suddenly, the detector beeped.

Colleagues who had already left turned around abruptly.

“Lu Lin!”

“Quick, get out!”

With a bang, a circle of second explosion’s powerful shock wave emerged from the windows and doors, violently sweeping several people into the air. Outside, colleagues responsible for safety monitoring widened their pupils, and the second hand of the clock on the table ticked.

The next moment, the fire burst out loudly.

The sound of heavy objects falling came, and several people in firefighting suits fell heavily to the ground.

“Bang.”

“Quick, save them!”

Lu Lin struggled to turn his head, vaguely seeing several people hastily bringing stretchers over. A salty, rusty taste spread in his mouth, and darkness surged bit by bit.

---

In the hospital, Shi Sheng managed to reach the commissar on the phone and learned that Lu Lin hadn’t returned from the firefighting. He didn’t know why, but he felt a little uneasy. He got out of bed and gestured to the nurse to remove the needle.

“The drip is done. I want to go home.”

“Your fever hasn’t completely gone down yet. Can’t you stay in the hospital for one more night?” Wu Nan er stopped him.

“I want to go home.”

Su Qi grabbed him, “You want to go to the command center to wait for news from Lu Lin, don’t you? Neither you nor I know anything yet.”

“It’s normal to work overtime. My brother must be fine. I’ll go check. You stay here,” said Lu Yin.

Junzi Yu added, “It’s normal for him not to respond because he’s busy with work.”

Shi Sheng couldn’t resist the pressure from the four of them. After finishing the drip and removing the needle, he sat on the bed, hugging his knees. He felt weak and unable to exert any strength, so he said he wanted to walk around downstairs.

Thin and weak, with pale lips, Su Qi helped him walk around the hospital on the ground floor. When they reached the emergency department, several people came out of an ambulance. ShI Sheng froze when he saw them wearing firefighting suits.

Su Qi was also stunned.

“Oh my God, why does the guy lying down look so much like Lu Lin?”