Blazing Armor

The fire at Wanyuan Community was extinguished at around 8 p.m.

When the body of Zhou Ying, a firefighter from the Aixin Bridge brigade, was carried out, the scene was filled with the sound of stifled sobs. The firefighters who had just finished battling the blaze lined both sides, their faces dirty and their bodies exhausted, watching their comrade being taken away.

Chen Xiaofei, the captain of the Hongwu Brigade, along with the political commissar, the deputy captain, and others, had all rushed to the scene.

Chen Xiaofei solemnly called out, “Salute!”

The firefighters raised their right hands in unison, and the nine fire trucks on-site sounded their sirens simultaneously, making the night feel even heavier with grief.

Chen Xiaofei ordered another team to clean up the fire scene, telling those who had been involved in the firefighting to go back and rest.

One fire truck after another left the scene, but Ren Yi didn’t rush to leave. Instead, he walked over to Chen Xiaofei. “Captain Chen.”

Chen Xiaofei nodded. “You did well.”

Ren Yi looked into Chen Xiaofei’s eyes. “Captain Chen, Commander Xu and Captain Qian’s directives were not an issue.”

Chen Xiaofei glanced off into the distance. “Qian Yue is in a bad state right now. You were there—what exactly happened?”

Ren Yi’s gaze turned bleak and sorrowful. “During the rescue, there was an older woman who insisted on going back to retrieve her belongings. She ignored all warnings and ran back into the fire. Zhou Ying went back to save her, and the floor… collapsed.”

Chen Xiaofei took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a moment, and spoke in a low voice. “Ren Yi, I know you’re worried about Qian Yue, but why did the floor collapse? Was the water pressure too high? Was there uneven weight distribution? There were clear signs of deformation in the steel beams—why didn’t the commander notice? These are all Qian Yue’s ‘problems.’”

Ren Yi bit his lip, feeling a mix of helplessness and anger in his heart.

He knew Chen Xiaofei was right. When there’s a loss of life, every detail needs to be thoroughly investigated, and the entire chain of command—from the bottom to the top—has to take responsibility, including Chen Xiaofei himself.

But that was a chaotic, life-and-death situation in a burning building. Who could guarantee that every directive was 100% correct? Did Qian Yue have responsibility? Yes, as the commander on-site, he did. But was he wrong?

Chen Xiaofei saw through Ren Yi’s thoughts. He patted Ren Yi’s shoulder and sighed, “I know what you’re thinking. No one wanted this to happen, but it did. We need to clarify every responsibility to warn those who come after us, to try and prevent something like this from happening again.”

Ren Yi nodded. “I understand.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of Qian Yue’s situation. You should go back and rest.”

—-

After returning to his team, Ren Yi took a shower and fell into a deep sleep, utterly exhausted.

Due to the incident, this year’s brigade competition was canceled. Based on the results from the first day, Phoenix Brigade still ranked first, but no one was paying attention to that.

In the Wanyuan Community fire, six people, including Zhou Ying, lost their lives. Thirty-two people were injured, five of them critically, and they have not yet been stabilized.

After dinner, Qu Yangbo gathered everyone for a meeting to provide psychological counseling, especially for the two squads involved in the rescue. The emotional toll in the short term would be significant.

After the meeting, Qu Yangbo said to Ren Yi, “Take a couple of days off.”

Ren Yi nodded. “I was planning to. I just called Commander Xu and asked to be involved in the fire investigation.”

“You volunteered to be part of the investigation?” Qu Yangbo thought for a moment. “Alright. Did he agree?”

“Yeah, the fire investigation team is always short of people, and I’ve worked with Gong Yingxian before,” Ren Yi sighed. “Let’s hope we get results soon.”

“They haven’t determined if it was an accident or arson yet, and you’re already teaming up with the police?”

“I’m just representing the fire investigation team. Gong Yingxian will definitely come along.”

“Why? The bar case was special, but a daytime residential fire is usually an accident. It hasn’t even reached the police’s jurisdiction yet, right?”

Ren Yi paused for a moment and then said in a low voice, “Gong Yingxian has a particular obsession with fire cases, and since he went to Wanyuan Community with me, he’ll definitely want to know as soon as possible if it was an accident.”

“Obsession?” Qu Yangbo frowned, puzzled.

“Yes, an obsession.” Ren Yi understood Gong Yingxian’s fixation—despite fearing and hating fire, he felt compelled to approach and challenge it.

“Alright, don’t worry about the team here. Gao Ge and I are holding things down. I’ll let you know if anything comes up.”

Ren Yi forced a smile. “Thanks, my capable ‘assistant.'”

Qu Yangbo laughed as well. “Get lost already.”

—

That evening, when Ren Yi returned home, his father was already asleep. His father was a light sleeper, so Ren Yi tiptoed inside, but unexpectedly, his phone rang loudly.

Ren Yi quickly answered, speaking in a low voice. “Hello?”

“Ren Yi, is it a good time to talk?” a pleasant male voice came from the other end of the line.

“Qi Xiao? Hold on.” Ren Yi went into his room, closed the door, and spoke at his normal volume. “Go ahead.”

“I saw you on TV—about the Wanyuan Community fire.”

“Oh,” Ren Yi replied casually, “I made it on TV, huh?”

“…Are you okay?”

Ren Yi paused for a moment. “I’m fine.”

Qi Xiao’s voice softened. “I saw that a firefighter died. I was really worried about you. You didn’t get hurt or anything, did you?”

Ren Yi smiled faintly. “Really, I’m fine. Don’t worry.”

“Do you have any time off soon?” Qi Xiao asked. “Let’s meet up. I miss you.”

Ren Yi hesitated. Usually, when Qi Xiao invited him and he happened to be on break, there wasn’t much reason to refuse. But this time, he hesitated. Still, he agreed. “Sure. I have some things to take care of, but I’ll come find you once I’m done.”

“I’ll be waiting,” Qi Xiao chuckled softly. “It’s the first time I’ve seen you in a firefighting uniform. You looked so handsome.”

Ren Yi laughed. “You can come visit the station. We wear them a lot during training.”

“Alright, I’ve been meaning to come see you there anyway.”

After hanging up, Ren Yi collapsed onto his bed, his mind replaying everything that had happened at Wanyuan Community. As sleep overtook him, the images blurred, but Gong Yingxian’s deep and calm eyes remained vividly clear in his thoughts.

—

Early the next morning, Ren Yi drove his father, Ren Xiangrong, to a small restaurant their family used to frequent for breakfast. Afterward, they went for a stroll in the park. Ren Xiangrong sat in his wheelchair, the sunlight gently illuminating his peaceful smile.

As Ren Yi pushed his father, he brought up the recent incident involving a firefighter’s death. After listening, Ren Xiangrong said, “Old Chen was right. Maybe the collapse really was related to excessive water pressure. Maybe the captain didn’t anticipate the steel structure’s deformation in time. Even if it wasn’t entirely his fault, the higher up you are, the more responsibility you have to bear.”

Ren Yi had been a captain for less than two years. In his firefighting career, he had only encountered one other instance where a fellow firefighter died. It was a wound he never wanted to reopen, but back then, he hadn’t been in command, so it wasn’t his responsibility. This time, however, he couldn’t help but put himself in Qian Yue’s shoes. Could he have done better if he were in that position?

As officers, they had one fundamental principle: if you wouldn’t go somewhere yourself, you couldn’t send your subordinates. If you led them into danger, you had to do everything in your power to bring them back out. But even with all the care in the world, unforeseen accidents could still happen. The thought of how Qian Yue must be feeling weighed heavily on Ren Yi.

Ren Xiangrong patted Ren Yi’s hand. “I know you’re scared. Who wouldn’t be? When we stormed Baosheng Chemical Factory back then, very few of us made it out alive. Who were we supposed to blame? Can you blame that woman who went back for her bracelet? She lost her life too. Blaming her serves no purpose.”

Ren Yi’s nose tingled, and he stayed silent.

“A true soldier is scared but doesn’t back down,” Ren Xiangrong said solemnly.

Ren Yi nodded bitterly. “Dad, I’ll never back down.”

“Ah, thinking about Baosheng Chemical Factory still makes me feel terrible.” Ren Xiangrong smiled wryly. “Back then, they wanted to award me the First-Class Medal. Getting that while alive is rare, you know? But I refused it. I’d only accept it if I were dead. How could I take the same honor as my comrades who sacrificed their lives?”

“The information about Baosheng Chemical Factory is hard to find online now. In the end, was it ruled a production accident?”

“Yes. The sentences were handed out, and fines were issued,” Ren Xiangrong sighed. “The chairman, in the end, committed suicide out of guilt. But what does it matter now? No one can come back.”

Ren Yi wanted to ask more, but he didn’t want to arouse suspicion from his father, and besides, he knew asking further wouldn’t change anything. He had already decided to act as if he knew nothing unless Gong Yingxian brought it up himself.

They strolled a bit longer and then went home.

After lunch, Ren Yi handed his father over to the caretaker and drove to Wanyuan Community, where he had arranged to meet Gong Yingxian to investigate the scene.

When Ren Yi arrived, someone was already there before him—it was Zhang Wen, the assistant from the fire investigation team who had been assigned to help him, the same person who had assisted with the bar case.

“Captain Ren,” Zhang Wen was taking pictures outside the building.

“Xiao Zhang,” Ren Yi nodded. “You’re here early.”

“Yeah, I wanted to take some environmental shots first.” Zhang Wen, who looked like he had just graduated from university, wore black-framed glasses. His bangs were a bit long, giving him a scholarly yet shy look. His slim frame made his clothes appear oversized and ill-fitting.

“Zhang Wen, with the fire investigation team being so short on staff, I hope you can develop quickly and handle investigations independently soon.”

Zhang Wen smiled. “Captain Ren, I’m just a contract worker. I’m not the same as you guys. It’d be nice to go full-time, but if not, I probably won’t be here long.”

“If you do your job well, there’s always the chance to go full-time, right?” Ren Yi patted Zhang Wen’s shoulder. “If you need to gain experience, I can arrange for you to intern with my squad. Doing fire investigations means you have to thoroughly understand a fire scene, whether before or after the fire.”

“I was actually thinking about that. I’ll apply to my supervisors. Thanks, Captain Ren.” Zhang Wen hesitated for a moment and then asked Ren Yi about the process of becoming full-time.

Ren Yi didn’t have much inside information, so he shared what little he knew.

They had only talked for a few minutes when Gong Yingxian arrived.

Gong Yingxian looked Ren Yi up and down. “Feeling better?”

Ren Yi smiled. “I’m fine. I should be asking you that. Did you get through last night without vomiting?”

“I’m working on overcoming it.”

“So today…” Ren Yi pointed upstairs with his thumb. “Should I go up first and let you know if I find anything?”

“No, we go up together,” Gong Yingxian said decisively.

Ren Yi couldn’t help but chuckle. “Are you sure? We’re climbing more than twenty floors. You’re a big guy, and if something happens to you, I won’t be able to carry you.”

“I don’t need anyone to carry me.” Gong Yingxian put on his mask and headed into the building without hesitation.

The elevator, of course, was out of order, so Ren Yi had to climb again. This time, however, without carrying equipment, it felt much easier.

Gong Yingxian led the way, showing little sign of exertion until the last few floors, where he started to breathe more heavily. Ren Yi, though exhausted, pretended to be just as composed until he could no longer keep up the act.

Gong Yingxian glanced back at him and sarcastically asked, “Do you need me to carry you?”

Ren Yi raised an eyebrow. “Yes, please, come on.” He even spread his arms in mock invitation.

“But I don’t want to carry you,” Gong Yingxian shot him a sidelong look and continued up.

Ren Yi just shook his head with a grin.

Compared to their stamina, Zhang Wen couldn’t keep up. He was lugging a huge tool case filled with equipment for fire scene investigations. By the time he made it to the 22nd floor, Ren Yi and Gong Yingxian had already located the fire’s origin and were examining it.

“This is the point of origin,” Ren Yi stood in front of the west-side apartment on the 22nd floor. The number plate on the door had melted, but judging by the remaining digits on adjacent doors, this apartment was likely 2209.

In front of 2209, there was a burnt shoe rack and a few pairs of shoes, along with other unidentifiable charred debris.

On the floor, there was an irregular mark distinctly different from the surrounding area. The tiles had discolored and were bulging.

Ren Yi pointed to the floor. “Just by looking at it, this appears to be the trace of a low-level fire caused by a flammable liquid. Thinking back, I believe I smelled gasoline while we were putting out the fire.”

Gong Yingxian squinted. “Gasoline arson?”

“The gasoline smell wasn’t strong, and the fire didn’t display the characteristics of a gasoline fire, so the gasoline was probably just an accelerant used to ignite something else.” Ren Yi surveyed the mess. “What could it have been? Shoes? It couldn’t have burned like this.”

Gong Yingxian crouched down and, wearing gloves, sifted through the charred debris on the floor. After a moment, he picked up a melted, deformed metal can. He looked up at Ren Yi. “What would you store in the hallway?”

“Uh, shoe rack, umbrella stand…” Ren Yi wracked his brain.

“Trash,” Gong Yingxian replied flatly.