85: Chapter 85 Fire Scene Extremes: Two Choices

The crying grew fainter.

Oxygen deprivation, or perhaps inhalation of excessive toxic gas.

There was no time.

Li Li had been crawling on the floor for less than five seconds, but he had already mapped out the general layout of the apartment.

The spot where he jumped in was the living room, which connected to an open kitchen.

The kitchen was the source of the fire; the range hood duct had burned through, and the flames were spreading along the overhead cabinets to the back wall, with the entire cupboard engulfed in raging fire.

There was a bedroom directly ahead.

Another bedroom to the right.

On the side of the living room near the main door, the sofa and TV cabinet were already ignited, and flames were spreading horizontally along the ceiling.

The main door was impassable.

That sheet-metal door was now like an oven door; touching it would peel off a layer of skin.

The only retreat was the balcony he had come from.

The conclusion was clear: save the person, retreat the way he came.

The fire in the kitchen could not be extinguished.

The flames above the stove had already reached the ceiling; at that temperature, throwing a basin of water on it would only explode into lethal, extremely high-temperature steam.

No fire extinguisher, no fire hose, no Firefighter suit.

He only had a wet towel and a soaked white T-shirt.

Enough to save one person.

Li Li bent over and felt his way to the right.

Three steps.

His hand touched a door panel.

A wooden door, loose hinges, the bottom already scorching hot.

He raised his fist and pounded it hard twice.

"Is anyone there! Can you hear me!"

No response.

The child's crying grew even weaker, leaking intermittently from beneath the door crack.

Li Li pushed himself up from the floor and stood straight.

Thick smoke rolled at a height of over 1.5 meters, stinging his eyes shut.

He pulled the wet towel on his face up, covering his entire face, leaving only a small slit.

He stepped back half a pace.

He pushed off with his right foot and delivered a side kick with his left.

Boom—

The entire door, along with its hinges, fell off and slammed heavily onto the floor, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The medium-density fiberboard interior door of the old building was no match for the explosive power of his legs, which had been enhanced by the system.

Smoke surged into the room.

But the concentration of dense smoke in the room was actually lower than in the living room.

The window was intact, and the door had been kept closed; this bedroom had been shielded from most of the smoke by the door panel, but the temperature had already risen extremely high, and the oxygen content was dropping rapidly.

A small pink bed with a plush rabbit hanging on the railing.

A little girl was curled up on the bed.

About three years old, with two little pigtails, her face covered in soot, and her lips purple.

She had stopped crying.

Her chest still had a faint rise and fall.

Li Li took a few quick strides to the bedside and reached out to touch the little girl's neck.

Her pulse was still beating.

Very weak.

He picked the child up with one hand.

Weighing only a few kilograms, she felt light as a feather.

He ripped off the pink floral bed sheet.

Operating with one hand, he bit one corner with his teeth, tore out a long strip, wrapped it around his back, bundled the little girl against his chest, and tied a tight knot behind his back.

An improvised baby carrier.

Ugly, but sturdy.

The little girl's head rested in the hollow of his collarbone, her faint breath puffing against his neck.

His hands were free.

He turned and walked out.

The moment he stepped out of the bedroom, a muffled sound came from the direction of the living room.

A large piece of the plaster ceiling fell, shattering into powder on the floor, and flames took the opportunity to pour down through the gap in the ceiling.

The visibility in the entire living room had dropped to less than a meter.

Li Li bent over, keeping his body below the smoke layer, and glanced at the bedroom directly ahead.

The old lady downstairs had shouted that her daughter and Yaya were still in the house.

Yaya was on his chest.

That daughter might be in that room.

But the door to that bedroom had already been swallowed by flames.

Not only was the door burning, but the walls on both sides of the door were also burning.

The fire had spread from the kitchen, forming a wall of fire along the ceiling and walls, completely sealing that door off.

To rush over, he would have to pass through an entire corridor of flames.

He had no protective suit.

He had a three-year-old child strapped to his chest.

If he charged in, the child would surely die.

Li Li stood in the smoke.

He habitually twisted his left wrist half a turn.

Within two seconds, he made one of the hardest decisions of his life.

Retreat.

It wasn't that he didn't want to save her, it was that he couldn't.

Charging through the wall of fire while holding the child meant both would die.

Put the child down and then rush over?

How much longer would the oxygen in this bedroom last?

Leave the child in a room that could run out of oxygen at any moment, and rush into another room full of fire?

That's just throwing one's life away.

Based on the time he rushed in, the Fire Department still had more than three minutes until they arrived.

Leave professional matters to the professionals.

He tightened the knot of the bed sheet on his chest, bent down, dove into the smoke layer, and retreated toward the balcony.

The living room floor was covered with broken vase shards, remote controls, and the pole of a fallen floor lamp.

He stepped over this debris and felt his way to the sliding balcony door.

The glass door had long shattered.

He stepped onto the balcony.

Heat waves were gushing out from the interior, but fortunately, there was wind.

He inhaled a breath of fresh air into his lungs, coughed violently twice, and ripped off the half-dry towel from his face.

He stood up straight.

"Someone! Someone has come out on the sixth-floor balcony!!"

"He has a child in his arms!"

"Oh my god, look!"

The entire alley was packed with people.

Nearby residents had all run out, and people in the distance were rushing over on shared bikes.

Over two hundred people tilted their necks to look up, their phone cameras flashing everywhere.

The short auntie downstairs was being supported by two neighbors; her legs were weak, and she couldn't stand at all.

"Yaya! Where is Yaya! My Yaya!"

Li Li looked down at his chest.

One of the little girl's pigtails was crooked, and her soot-covered face was buried in his chest.

Her breathing was a bit stronger than before.

"The child is alive!"

He roared down to the crowd below.

Cries and cheers erupted from the ground simultaneously.

No time for sentiment.

The temperature on the balcony was skyrocketing, and the flames from the living room behind him could lick out at any moment.

The balcony of 601 was right on the right.

A gap of 1.2 meters.

He had jumped over when he came, so he just needed to jump back the same way.

But when he came, he didn't have a thirty-jin load strapped to his chest.

Li Li climbed over the railing of the 602 balcony and stepped onto the outer concrete ledge.

The width was barely enough for one foot.

Eighteen meters in the air.

He didn't look down.

His right hand gripped the 602 railing tightly, and he leaned out.

He stepped his left foot toward the top of the 601 balcony railing.

His toe caught the edge.

He shifted his center of gravity from left to right.

He released his right hand from the 602 railing.

His left foot planted firmly.

Crack.

The iron pipe snapped at the base.

The old building from the nineties—the iron railings had been rusting in the wind and sun for over twenty years.

It had been at its limit just bearing his weight when he came.

Now, going back, there was an extra thirty jin.

The railing broke completely under his feet, and the entire iron pipe tilted downward.

A feeling of weightlessness rushed from the soles of his feet straight to the back of his head.

Over two hundred people below screamed simultaneously.

The short auntie rolled her eyes back and collapsed backward.

In the split second of falling.

Li Li shot his left hand out violently.

His five fingers dug into the concrete edge of the 601 balcony.

At a height of eighteen meters, his weight of over 160 jin plus the child's weight was all concentrated on the five fingers of his left hand.

His fingertips scraped against the rough concrete, and a layer of skin was instantly ground off.

His body hung in the air between the two balconies.

The little girl on his chest was awakened by the violent shaking and let out a short cry.

The screams below were chaotic.

Li Li gritted his teeth.

His right hand quickly reached for the balcony edge.

With both hands gripping the concrete surface, he hung on the outside of the 601 balcony.

Pull-up.

His physical fitness, enhanced by the system, was far beyond that of an ordinary person, but at this moment, soaked through and having inhaled a bellyful of smoke, his stamina was severely depleted.

What was worse, a sharp, stabbing pain shot from his left wrist.

The place he habitually twisted.

He couldn't worry about it now.

He tightened his abs and exerted force with his arms.

One, two!

He forcibly pulled himself onto the 601 balcony.

He climbed over the railing, and his feet landed on the tiled floor.

His legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed; he braced himself against the wall with one hand for two seconds.

The little girl on his chest cried again.

The sound was faint.

Crying was a good sign.

Li Li crossed the living room of 601, pulled open the entrance door, and rushed into the stairwell.

Smoke was still surging upward, but there was a crosswind in the stairwell, and the situation was much better than inside.

He covered the child's nose and mouth with the hem of his T-shirt and rushed down two steps at a time.

Fifth floor. Fourth floor. Third floor.

The stairwell had been cleared; the old security guard had long since evacuated the residents.

Second floor. First floor.

The light and wind from the stairwell entrance hit his face.

He stumbled out of the unit door.

"Yaya!!"

The short auntie broke free from the crowd and stumbled forward.

Li Li squatted down, untied the knot behind his back, and handed the child over.

The little girl's face was soot-covered, her lips had regained a bit of color, and she was bawling, every cry solid and strong.

The auntie took the child, collapsed on the ground, and hugged Yaya, wailing loudly.

The people around surged forward; some handed over water, some shouted to make space for air, and others were frantically filming with their phones.

In the distance, the siren of a fire truck turned into the alley.

Red flashing lights swept across the mottled walls.

The professionals had arrived.

There was still one person inside.

Li Li retreated to the stairwell entrance and shouted to the captain who had just jumped off the fire truck.

"Sixth floor, 602! There might still be an entrapped person in the front bedroom! The kitchen is on fire, the living room has burned through, you can enter from the balcony direction!"

The information was precise and concise.

The captain paused for a second; there was no time for questions, so he immediately directed two Firefighters carrying air respirators to rush into the stairwell.

Li Li retreated outside the police cordon.

He leaned against a crooked locust tree and slowly slid down.

His soaked white T-shirt rubbed against the rough bark.

Once he relaxed, all the fatigue and pain flooded in.

His throat burned with pain, his lungs felt like bellows, and he didn't know where he had scraped his knee, but it was oozing blood.

The worst part was his left wrist.

He looked down at his left hand.

The moment his five fingers had gripped the concrete edge, all the weight and impact force had pressed onto his wrist.

He reached out with his right hand and squeezed his left wrist.

The bones inside creaked.

It was a piercing pain.

No, this wasn't a new injury from just now; this was a chronic, deep-seated pain that reached into the marrow.

Even though the system had started transforming his body, this hidden injury was still etched into his bones.

Li Li had previously wondered why he liked to twist his wrist, and now he guessed it was because of an old injury.

But he hadn't received any memories; it seemed the predecessor didn't remember or had chosen to forget this memory.