131: Chapter 131: Desperate Situation

On the third floor of the hotpot restaurant, thick smoke billowed like ink, and visibility was nearly zero.

Su Han dragged the four unconscious young people into the only private room restroom that hadn't been swallowed by the fire; the cramped space was packed with people.

"Cough, cough..." Su Han coughed violently, the wound on his back stinging painfully in the high temperature.

He tore off the last piece of wet cloth, covered his nose and mouth, and squinted his smoke-reddened eyes to survey his surroundings.

The restroom window was sealed shut by a heavy security mesh, and the glass had long since cracked from the intense heat.

Su Han grabbed a fire extinguisher from the corner, sprayed it to put out a small fire nearby, then picked it up and smashed it hard against the window.

"Bang!"

The glass shattered at the impact, but the security mesh didn't budge.

The fire extinguisher hit the iron bars, making a piercing metallic clanging sound.

"Damn it!" Su Han cursed, dropping the now-deformed fire extinguisher.

He turned to check on the four unconscious people—their breathing was weak but steady, though the burned boy's condition wasn't good; the blisters on his arm had already begun to fester.

The sound of fire truck sirens came from outside, but they still sounded some distance away.

Su Han knew they couldn't wait that long.

"Wake up! Can you hear me?" Su Han patted the cheek of the only girl who still had some consciousness.

The girl opened her eyes weakly, her pupils dilated: "Help... help..."

"Hold on!" Su Han tore his T-shirt, soaked the fabric, and wrapped it around her nose and mouth. "I'll get you out of here right now!"

He looked around again, searching for any usable tools.

Suddenly, his gaze fell on the metal partition of the toilet stall—it was fixed with screws!

A glimmer of hope flashed in Su Han's eyes, and he immediately pulled out a small multi-functional army knife he carried with him.

This knife was a souvenir given to him by the War Eagle Squad, and at this moment, it became the key to saving their lives.

With a "click," the screwdriver head popped out.

Su Han knelt on the floor, quickly unscrewing the partition.

The high temperature made the metal terrifyingly hot; several blisters soon formed on his palms, but he couldn't afford to care.

A minute later, the entire metal partition was removed.

Su Han weighed it in his hands and nodded with satisfaction—it was sturdy enough!

"Everyone, move back!" he warned, though he knew the unconscious people couldn't hear him.

Taking two steps back, Su Han took a deep breath and lunged toward the window!

The metal partition pierced toward the security mesh like a javelin!

"Boom!"

Amidst the massive impact, the weld points of the security mesh finally loosened.

After three consecutive heavy blows, Su Han finally knocked the entire security mesh off the window frame!

"I did it!" He panted heavily, leaning out to observe.

From the height of the third floor, jumping directly would mean death or permanent disability.

Moreover, all these people were unconscious; if he just threw them down, they likely wouldn't survive.

"I need a rope..." Su Han murmured to himself, quickly scanning the restroom.

But where could he find a rope here? Even the towels had been used as makeshift smoke masks.

The fire was drawing closer; open flames were already visible outside the private room door.

The intense heat caused the water pipes in the restroom to heat up, and the water flowing from the tap was warm.

...

In the plaza outside the hotpot restaurant, everyone's eyes were fixed on the third-floor window swallowed by thick smoke, their hearts feeling as if they were being squeezed by an invisible hand.

"Why... why hasn't he come out yet?" a mother holding a child asked, her voice trembling as she covered her mouth.

"The fire has reached the third floor! The wall next to the window is already scorched!"

Xiao Nuan bit her lip hard, only snapping back to her senses when she tasted blood.

Her gaze was fixed on the third-floor window like a nail, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes, her nails digging deep into her flesh.

The moment Su Han had rushed into the fire earlier, she seemed to see the wound on his back bleeding in the firelight; that striking red mixed with soot became an indelible mark in her eyes.

"Brother will definitely be fine," she murmured to herself, more to encourage herself, but tears fell like broken pearls, hitting the ground and forming small, dark spots.

Heibao suddenly became restless. It barked furiously at the third floor, its amber eyes full of anxiety, its front paws digging deep furrows into the ground.

Fine beads of blood seeped from its singed back, but it remained oblivious, only tilting its head back to roar at the fire repeatedly, as if trying to use its voice to penetrate the thick smoke and find that familiar figure.

"Xiao Hei, stop barking..."

Xiao Budian tugged on the military dog's ears, tears streaming down her youthful face. "Great-grandfather will hear you, he'll come out..."

But her voice grew smaller and smaller, eventually turning into suppressed sobs.

Su Wu stood at the very front, his brow furrowed into a knot.

He knew Su Han's skills better than anyone, but facing the sea of fire that swallowed everything, even the greatest ability seemed insignificant.

Suddenly, someone pointed at the third floor and shouted, "Look! What's that?!"

Everyone looked up sharply, only to see the security mesh on the third-floor window suddenly fall with a "clatter" through the thick smoke, crashing heavily onto the awning below.

Immediately after, a blurry figure appeared by the window, laboriously dragging something out.

"It's him! He's still alive!" A burst of exclamations erupted from the crowd.

Xiao Nuan instantly held her breath and squeezed forward on her tiptoes, only letting out a huge sigh of relief once she clearly saw the soot-covered figure. Her legs went weak, and she nearly fell, but was supported by Lin Xiaoyu beside her.

"It's Brother Su Han!" Lin Xiaoyu's voice carried a sob, but she couldn't hide her excitement. "He's dismantling something!"

At the window, Su Han was propping the dismantled metal partition against the window frame.

The high temperature had turned the metal glowing red, and his palms were already blistered, but he just gritted his teeth and firmly wedged one end of the partition into the gap of the window frame while the other end hung in the air—

This was the closest thing to a "ladder" he could find.

"What is Great-grandfather doing?" Xiao Budian asked in confusion, rubbing her red-rimmed eyes.

Su Wu's pupils constricted as he instantly understood Su Han's intention. "He wants the people inside to climb down along the partition!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the plaza fell into a dead silence.

Climbing down from the third floor relying only on a temporarily propped-up metal partition?

One slight slip and they would fall straight down!

"Crazy! This is absolutely insane!" someone shouted in shock.

...

Update tomorrow around 6:00 PM.