Blazing Armor

In the following days, Gong Yingxian didn’t contact Ren Yi again. The task Ren Yi had received was only to assist with the fire investigation, and this case was relatively straightforward. Everything was clear, from the time of the fire to its cause and process. The truly complicated part was determining responsibility, which was the job of the police. Ren Yi had essentially completed his task.

However, having been involved to this extent, he naturally remained concerned about the progress and outcome. But thinking of Gong Yingxian’s infuriating attitude, he didn’t want to be the one to initiate contact.

After wrestling with himself for a while, Ren Yi couldn’t resist and sent Gong Yingxian a message: *Any progress?*

He waited for a long time without receiving a reply.

Frustrated, Ren Yi called him directly. The call was cut off after just one ring, and Gong Yingxian texted back: *Later.*

Ren Yi let out a displeased “tsk.”

Just then, Ding Qing knocked on Ren Yi’s office door. “Captain Ren, the family of the woman we rescued on Bo’ai Road last time is here.”

“Oh, okay.” Ren Yi stood up and followed him downstairs.

In the reception room sat a family of three. The woman, still with white bandages on her arm, was the young mother who had been trapped under the motorcycle debris at the time. Her husband was holding their son.

As soon as Ren Yi and the others entered the room, the family stood up, their gratitude evident in their expressions.

The father, a bit emotional, said, “Are you Captain Ren? Thank you, thank you.”

Ren Yi extended his hand and shook his. “Hello, everyone.” He looked at the woman and asked, “You’ve been discharged already?” He felt quite relieved.

The young mother expressed her gratitude, “I was able to be discharged so quickly thanks to you all. I kept telling my husband we had to come thank you in person. Thank you for saving my life.”

Ren Yi smiled and said, “No need to be so formal, it’s our duty. In fact, the bystanders helped a lot too.”

“Yes, there were many kind people, but in critical moments, professional expertise is even more important. The doctor said that if someone had recklessly pulled out that bike frame at the time, my wife would have bled out and might not have made it to the hospital. Thank you, Captain Ren, and thank you to all the firefighters. You all are saviors to my family,” the young father spoke with tears welling up in his eyes.

The young mother tugged on her son’s little hand and said, “Baby, don’t you have a gift for the firefighter uncles?”

The boy hesitated for a moment, then shyly took out a card from behind his back and handed it to Ren Yi.

On the card was a childlike crayon drawing, depicting several people in rescue gear gathered around him and his mother.

Ren Yi smiled warmly, his heart full of affection. He gently pinched the boy’s cheek and said, “This is a great drawing, thank you.”

The couple expressed their thanks once again.

Sun Dingyi grinned and said, “Rescuing people is our duty, you really don’t need to be this polite. Seeing you all recover is the greatest comfort for us.”

Cui Yisheng added with a sigh, “Yes, it’s just unfortunate we can’t save everyone.” He and Ren Yi had been the ones closest to the scene, watching that young boy’s life slowly slip away. He could still vividly recall the thick, metallic smell of blood, and thinking back on it these past few days had left him feeling depressed.

“Who?” the young father asked, startled. “You’re not talking about that kid, are you? He deserved to die, what’s there to be sad about?”

Now it was Ren Yi and the others’ turn to be stunned.

The young father, gritting his teeth, continued, “Motorcycles aren’t allowed inside the Fifth Ring, and he snuck out on a relative’s bike and ran a red light. He didn’t just kill himself, he put so many others in danger. The whole internet is cursing him out. Someone like that dying early is doing society a favor.”

Ren Yi remained silent.

Cui Yisheng frowned and spoke with difficulty, “He was only fifteen. Yes, he made a mistake, but did he deserve to die for it?”

“He didn’t deserve to die?” The young father’s voice rose in anger. “So, the people who didn’t do anything wrong deserved it? What about my wife? What about the car driver? My son is only four years old. What would he do without his mother? People like that are a result of bad parenting, and they grow up to be a menace!”

Cui Yisheng was about to say something more, but Ren Yi stopped him with a glance.

The young mother gently nudged her husband and whispered, “That’s enough.”

The father, realizing his outburst, quieted down, leaving the room in an awkward silence.

Ren Yi spoke calmly, “I wish you a speedy recovery.”

The family of three took the hint and made their exit.

Cui Yisheng looked at Ren Yi, his tone heavy. “Captain Ren, did he deserve to die? He was just a kid. He made one mistake, but maybe he would have done many right things over the next few decades. But now, he’ll never have that chance.”

Ren Yi couldn’t answer that question. Some issues in the world simply couldn’t be resolved with a “yes” or “no.” He patted Cui Yisheng on the shoulder and said, “Whether he deserved to die isn’t for us to judge. But the victims’ families have their own perspective, and we need to understand that.”

Cui Yisheng lowered his head, disheartened. Sun Dingyi also sighed in response.

—–

That evening, after dinner, Gong Yingxian called back.

Ren Yi hadn’t expected him to return the call, so he was quite surprised when he answered, suspiciously asking, “Why are you returning my call? You must need me to do something for you again, right?”

There was a brief pause from Gong Yingxian. “…Then I’ll hang up.”

“Hey, wait a second,” Ren Yi huffed. “Just tell me already, what did you find?”

“The cybercrime division confirmed Zhou Chuan’s testimony. He was indeed running a livestream using a fake domain name assigned through the dark web.”

Ren Yi frowned and said, “Fake domain name? Even if the webpage was deactivated, there should still be traces, right? Can you trace that dark web?”

“We found the dark web, but its servers are located abroad and scattered globally. To ensure user safety and anonymity, this site assigns a random fake domain name for each live stream, which hops through multiple proxies worldwide, changing every minute. All transactions are done via untraceable virtual currencies. Anyone logging in has to go through a series of complicated steps, including modifying host settings, proxy IPs, dynamic web pages, and more. While we don’t have jurisdiction over foreign servers, we do have jurisdiction over those logging in domestically. If anyone in the live room feels unsafe, they can cancel everything with one click, and once the stream ends, it automatically cancels. After cancellation, all content disappears from the internet, leaving only traces on personal hosts.”

“So, what did you find on Zhou Chuan’s computer?”

“This website’s security is at the level of top-tier hackers. The decryption difficulty is immense. Without concrete evidence linking this site to the arson case, it’s impossible to justify the manpower needed to crack it. So, we had to rely on Zhou Chuan’s computer, where we found some conversations.”

“Conversations?”

“Mostly in English, though some were in Chinese.”

“Can’t you trace their IPs?”

“No, as I mentioned earlier, even during a live stream, the IP changes every minute. Pinpointing an individual IP during the stream is extremely difficult, and now that the fake domain is deactivated, it’s even less likely we can trace anything through Zhou Chuan’s computer—unless we can access the website’s data.”

“But cracking the site is even harder.”

“Yes, so for now, all we have are these conversations.”

“What were they about?”

“Mainly paying Zhou Chuan to shoot certain close-ups or perform specific actions. There’s nothing that reveals personal information. However, by analyzing the timeline and logic of the Chinese conversations, it seems at least three Chinese nationals were watching that stream.”

Ren Yi took a sharp breath. “Could they be the arsonists?”

“We don’t know. There’s no evidence to connect them yet,” Gong Yingxian’s voice was heavy. “Of the four leads in this case, two have already hit dead ends for now—one being Cai Wan and the other the bar owner’s competitor. We’ve made no substantial progress with Zhou Chuan and Cai Wan’s friend either. And… Zhou Chuan was only held in administrative detention for a few days; he’s already been released. It’ll be tough to interrogate him again.”

Ren Yi scratched his head and said, “It’s normal for cases to hit roadblocks; you don’t need to stress too much.”

Gong Yingxian let out a weary sigh.

“What kind of stuff is on that dark web?”

This time, Gong Yingxian remained silent for so long that Ren Yi thought the call had dropped. He couldn’t help but ask, “Are you still there?”

“You don’t want to know,” Gong Yingxian said softly.

Ren Yi’s heart skipped a beat. Even over the phone, he could clearly sense a tremble in Gong Yingxian’s voice. Was it fear? No, it felt more like anger, perhaps even… hatred.

Ren Yi furrowed his brow, his mood darkening. He had never ventured into the dark web, but he had heard about it. It’s a lawless, dark, and evil virtual world, teeming with crimes both imaginable and unimaginable. He asked, “What’s the site called?”

“Seraph,” Gong Yingxian replied. “From the Old Testament, Seraphim are the highest rank of six-winged angels, beings made of light and fire.”

After hanging up, Ren Yi barely slept that night.

Though he had officially been a firefighter for only eight years, he had been exposed to the field ever since he was a child, thanks to his father’s experiences and his own. Through them, he had seen a world different from most. Yet despite spending his life dealing with fire, his chances of encountering an arsonist were still extremely low.

An arsonist isn’t just someone who commits any crime involving fire. If someone unintentionally causes a fire, they aren’t an arsonist. If someone uses fire to harm others or destroy evidence, it only means that fire was their tool of choice. Only those who deliberately and premeditatedly use fire to endanger lives and property are true arsonists.

Among arsonists, an even smaller subset suffers from pyromania. Many arsonists use fire as a means to achieve a criminal goal, while pyromaniacs have only one objective: setting fires. The loss of life and property is simply a consequence of their obsession.

But the dark web Gong Yingxian had uncovered hinted that there might be many more potential arsonists lurking in the shadows, hidden in that darkness.