146: Chapter 146 He's the bait!

"Run!" Li Li shouted, and Qi Fei was the first to move.

He raised his arm and shoved the Firefighter next to him.

"Retreat! Everyone, evacuate the corridor!"

Zhong Ji still had the fire hose on his shoulder; he slipped and almost fell to the ground.

"Damn! Does this drill come with DLC?"

Li Li didn't reply.

He grabbed the oxygen tank strap on Zhong Ji's back with his right hand and dragged him toward the stairwell.

The red numbers on the black box screen were still counting down.

00:06.

00:05.

The fire hose was dragged and whipped against the corner, the nozzle hitting with a dull thud.

Qi Fei shouted as he retreated.

"Close the door! Isolate it!"

Li Li was the last to retreat to the fire door.

He kicked the bottom of the door.

It was still a palm's width from closing.

00:02.

Li Li slammed his right shoulder against the door panel.

Click.

The fire door locked shut.

The next second.

Bang!

An explosion detonated inside.

The shockwave slammed against the fire door, and black ash sprayed from the door gap.

Li Li was knocked back two steps.

Zhong Ji reached out to steady him.

"Brother Li!"

"Basic move, I'm not dead."

Zhong Ji choked on his words.

"Does your life system not have a fear module installed?"

Qi Fei had already lunged to the door, testing the temperature of the panel through his gloves.

"Fire behind the door!"

Li Li scanned the stairwell.

"Don't open the door. Use the water gun to press against the door gap and cool it down first. Let the smoke escape through the broken window; enter only after the smoke extraction stabilizes."

Qi Fei paused for a beat.

He was a Level 4 commander, yet he wasn't as calm as Li Li.

He could tell that these weren't just random shouts.

Close the door, isolate, cool down, extract smoke.

Every step was spot on for the situation.

Qi Fei didn't hesitate anymore.

"Do as he says! Connect the second hose! Cool the door gap!"

Command area downstairs.

Station Chief Chen Tao grabbed the radio.

"Real fire on the 34th Floor! Activate the high-rise fire response plan!"

"Drone team, continue reconnaissance! Break the windows and extinguish the fire!"

"Public security, seal off the building exits!"

Zhang Yu stared at the monitor, tapping his fingers on the desk twice.

Then, he picked up the radio.

"34th Floor, Li Li's assessment is correct. Qi Fei, coordinate with him temporarily."

There was silence on the channel for half a second.

This meant handing over on-site command authority to a guest.

The live stream had long since switched to the camera outside the building.

The audience could only see black smoke pouring from the 34th Floor windows.

The chat was exploding.

[Holy crap! It actually exploded!]

[Li Li shouted to run just now, how many people did he save?]

[This isn't a variety show, this is an anti-terrorism and firefighting joint response scene, right?]

[Production Team: I just wanted to film Brave Blue Friends, you guys are turning up the intensity on me?]

[The squid spy's stern father is on the clock again.]

In the broadcasting van.

The executive director's hand hovered over the switcher.

"Director Pei Zhao, are we still broadcasting?"

Director Pei Zhao pressed his hand down.

"Broadcast the outside of the building! Do not show the injured! Do not show equipment details!"

"But the ratings..."

"Forget the ratings!"

Director Pei Zhao almost threw the script at him.

"Whoever cuts the feed randomly today will be kneeling in front of the legal department tomorrow, reciting the platform guidelines!"

34th Floor stairwell.

Li Li covered the camera on his chest and pressed the radio.

"Station Chief Chen, the explosion is small-scale; the goal should be to create secondary fire spots and smoke. The ventilation equipment might be connected to the air dampers; don't let the smoke backflow into the refuge area."

Station Chief Chen Tao replied immediately.

"Technical team, check the status of the air dampers on the 34th Floor!"

Cheng Songyan's voice cut into the channel.

"Li Li, are you hurt?"

"No."

"Tell the truth."

"My left hand wasn't re-injured, but I bumped my right shoulder."

There was a pause on the other end.

"Don't be a hero."

Li Li brushed the black ash off his shoulder.

Two Firefighters had already forced water mist into the door gap.

The fire behind the door was sealed in the corridor and hadn't rushed into the stairwell.

The external drone sent back a report.

"Temperature outside the east window on the 34th Floor is dropping."

"Smoke extraction is normal."

"No signs of trapped personnel."

Li Li glanced at his oxygen tank pressure.

"Captain Qi, suppress it within ten minutes; don't let it drag on into a major fire."

Qi Fei nodded.

"I'll arrange it."

He raised his hand and pointed to two people.

"Xie Tao, seal off from the 35th Floor downwards. Liu Liyang, take the smoke extraction team to the outside. Keep the water hose running, open the door thirty centimeters, suppress the ceiling first, then the corners."

Li Li stepped aside from the door.

"I'll go in to check the equipment box and the fire source, I won't touch the debris."

Qi Fei immediately stopped him.

"No, the bomb disposal unit hasn't arrived."

"I'm not dismantling it, just checking for a secondary device."

"You aren't bomb disposal."

"I've seen these people's dirty work."

Qi Fei was stuck.

This wasn't easy to refute.

He had been targeted by them before.

Qi Fei gritted his teeth.

"Thirty seconds. I'll take two people in with you; we retreat if we exceed the time."

"Fine."

The fire door was pulled open a crack.

Half of the black smoke had already been carried away by the external window.

The water gun probed inside first.

White steam billowed out.

Li Li lowered his body, holding an axe in his right hand, and advanced along the right wall.

He stopped every two steps.

He kicked away debris with his toes, used the axe handle to push aside clutter by the door, and checked the corners, door frame, and air vents.

The doorway of the equipment room was charred black.

The black box had shattered.

The casing was cracked into several pieces, the circuit board was stuck against the wall base, and the red light had already gone out.

A small patch of the cardboard box in the corner ignited again, but was extinguished by the Firefighter with a precise shot.

Li Li didn't touch the debris.

He squatted down and used the axe handle to lift a piece of tape nearby.

Underneath the tape, half a magnetic base was revealed.

"This wasn't placed here temporarily."

Qi Fei immediately stepped closer.

"What do you mean?"

"Someone scouted the location in advance, knew the position of the vents, knew the drill procedures, and also knew that surveillance here is poor."

Zhong Ji chimed in from the doorway.

"This is a pre-planned strategy."

Li Li stood up.

"The strategy was average, the amount of explosives wasn't large; it should be homemade explosives."

Qi Fei felt a chill down his back.

Just now, everyone had been focused on the explosion.

On the channel, Station Chief Chen Tao gave direct orders.

"Broadcast to the whole building: all refuge areas are to wait in place, do not evacuate on your own!"

"Firefighters below the 25th Floor, guide the evacuation!"

"Public security, focus on checking the cleaning, maintenance, and temporary staff passages!"

Outside the building.

Police cars blocked the building entrances and exits.

Captain Qiu Xiaofeng got out of the car, still clutching the set of documents from the morning.

He looked up at the 34th Floor.

"These people really don't pick their times."

Deputy Captain Chen Zhuo followed behind.

"Boss, Li Li is up there."

Captain Qiu Xiaofeng stopped in his tracks.

"Of course I know."

Deputy Captain Chen Zhuo flipped through his tablet.

"Currently, he has saved people again, identified the explosive device again, and participated in the first wave of response again."

Captain Qiu Xiaofeng turned his head.

"Can you not use the word 'again'?"

Deputy Captain Chen Zhuo said very seriously.

"The fact is, it is 'again'."

Captain Qiu Xiaofeng tucked the folder under his arm.

"Seal the building; don't let a single fly out."

34th Floor.

Li Li exited the equipment room and clipped the camera back onto his chest, but the lens was still pointed at the ground.

Director Pei Zhao probed in the earpiece.

"Can we turn the feed back on?"

"No, this place is full of evidence."

"Then can you say a few words to the audience to reassure them?"

Li Li looked down at the ash on his combat suit.

"Friends in the audience, the fire drill has escalated into a real emergency. Don't copy this, don't get close, don't gather around. Also, the Production Team has no script; a script wouldn't dare to write this."

The chat paused for a beat, then went wild.

[Official roasting is the most lethal]

[Script: Don't cue me, I don't have the guts]

[Li Li said don't copy, I'm already lying flat]

[Firefighters suppressed it in ten minutes, awesome]

Ten minutes later, the fire point on the 34th Floor was locked down.

Drones extracted smoke, indoor water guns fired precisely, stairwells were isolated, and the refuge area was stabilized.

Li Li stood to one side of the corridor, watching Captain Qi Fei lead his men in a check for remaining fires.

The other side had chosen the wrong place this time.

Causing trouble at a Shenzhen Level-1 Fire Station drill meant the response time would be kept to a minimum.

After the 34th Floor was initially cleared, Li Li followed Captain Qi Fei downstairs.

When they reached the 29th Floor landing, Cheng Songyan was standing there, his waist bandage pulled very tight.

He reached out to stop Li Li.

"Left hand."

Li Li raised it slightly.

"It's fine."

Cheng Songyan stared at the ash on his combat suit, holding back for a long time.

"If you dare to get close to explosives alone again, I will write reports until you're dead."

Li Li nodded.

"I've already thought of the title: 'Situation Report Regarding a Certain Guest Suspected of Recording a Firefighting Variety Show as an Anti-Terrorism Documentary'."

Zhong Ji poked his head out from behind.

"Subtitle: 'If You Run Too Slow, Your Year-End Bonus Is Gone'."

Cheng Songyan raised his hand and pointed at him.

"He's a guest, but you're a real Firefighter; you're writing one too when we get back."

Zhong Ji immediately shut his mouth.

Temporary command area downstairs.

Captain Qiu Xiaofeng had already taken over the investigation.

Public security, fire department, and property management were gathered around the floor plan.

Li Li had just taken off his mask when Captain Qiu Xiaofeng walked over.

"You ran into it again."

"Captain Qiu, that word 'again' is very hurtful."

Captain Qiu Xiaofeng didn't banter with him.

"The suspect hasn't been found. The exits were sealed quickly, but there are too many people in the cleaning passages, the underground garage, and the freight elevator entrances."

"They are all staff members who need to go up to check the floor situation after the firefighting drill."

Li Li took off his gloves and rubbed his shoulder with his right hand.

"Find that property maintenance worker I rescued."

Captain Qiu Xiaofeng paused.

"Why?"

"He provided the suspect's characteristics; you should have protected and questioned him immediately."

"He was sent to the hospital."

"Which one?"

Deputy Captain Chen Zhuo immediately flipped through the records.

"Shenzhen Second Hospital, the ambulance sent him off twelve minutes ago."

Li Li unscrewed a bottle of mineral water and took a sip.

"Contact the hospital."

Captain Qiu Xiaofeng dialed immediately.

"Shenzhen Second Hospital Emergency, check for a smoke inhalation casualty sent from the China Resources Building, male, property maintenance worker, leg contusion."

The other end of the line spoke for a few moments.

Captain Qiu Xiaofeng's hand holding the phone froze.

"He didn't arrive?"

Deputy Captain Chen Zhuo immediately intervened in the ambulance dispatch.

Two minutes later, the result came back.

The ambulance was grazed by a private car halfway there and stopped for three minutes.

The injured man said he was much better and wanted to get out of the car to contact his family.

The ambulance staff tried to stop him, but couldn't.

The man went into the restroom of a roadside mall.

He didn't come out.

The command area went silent.

Cheng Songyan felt a chill down his back.

"Wait, wasn't he the person who was rescued?"

Li Li screwed the cap back on the bottle.

"He is the person who was rescued."

Captain Qiu Xiaofeng stared at him.

"You suspect him?"

"It's no longer just suspicion."

Li Li raised his hand and pointed at the 34th Floor floor plan.

"The door to the equipment room was locked from the outside, he was pinned by a cabinet, his injuries weren't serious, and he didn't inhale much smoke. The black box countdown was triggered exactly after I went in."

"Now I don't believe the timing was that precise by coincidence."

Deputy Captain Chen Zhuo recorded quickly.

"You mean, he was responsible for luring you into the equipment room?"

"Yes."

Li Li pointed at the air vent again.

"The characteristics he gave were too standard: wearing a hat, cleaning clothes, broken Mandarin. These terms are suitable for spreading in a live stream, and also suitable for misleading the direction of the investigation."

Captain Qiu Xiaofeng's face darkened.

"Using himself as a piece on the board."

Li Li nodded.

"He is the bait."

Now the injured man had become a suspect.

Deputy Captain Chen Zhuo handed over the tablet.

"The ambulance surveillance captured half his face."

In the footage, that "property maintenance worker" was bowing his head, his mask half removed, with very faint glue marks on the side of his face.

Li Li took one look.

"He's wearing makeup."

Captain Qiu Xiaofeng spoke immediately.

"Chen Zhuo, pull up the mall surveillance."

He shoved the tablet back.

"Li Li, come with me."