The rubber tires on the bicycle had totally sacrificed themselves with honor and glory after crossing the sea of fire twice, but this did not affect Chen Yeliang's speed.
To prevent the fire engine from ramming into his bicycle from behind, Chen Yeliang had to determine in the shortest time possible the most optimal route with the lowest temperature to allow the highest speed.
The two vehicles arrived at the entrance of Warehouse 8 one after the other within five minutes.
At this point, the thick black smoke had already seeped inside the building. Chen Yeliang flung his bicycle aside and ran inside. Wu Zhuo followed closely behind.
"We have to get back to the main gate before the water in the truck evaporates," he said as he ran.
Wu Zhuo was like a loyal follower. "Understood!"
Chen Yeliang ran up to the group of trapped personnel and said anxiously, "Those who can move, help to carry those who can't. Get into the truck immediately and we'll bring you guys out!"
Then, with Chen Yeliang and Wu Zhuo helping to support and carry some of the casualties, the dozen or so people got onto the back of the fire truck within three minutes!
The two of them seemed to have a tacit understanding. When Chen Yeliang got into the driver's seat, Wu Zhuo was already seated in the front passenger seat.
When he saw his idol starting the fire engine, he gripped his seatbelt and asked excitedly, "Is the live stream still ongoing?"
"Of course." Chen Yeliang answered as he dexterously turned the truck around.
"Then if I follow you into the fire site, wouldn't that make me a hero too?" He looked at the flames in front of him and became talkative. "I've always dreamed of being a hero since I was young, the kind that never looks back at explosions!"
Chen Yeliang smiled confidently and said, "All firefighters are heroes to begin with!"
In the face of such a dangerous fire site, besides himself who could defy death, the only other people who would rush in there were the firefighters.
Doesn't this make them heroes?
Chen Yeliang then stepped up the gear and said more seriously, "There's no one clearing the path now, we're going to make a dash for it!"
"Let's go for it!"
Wu Zhuo gripped the seatbelt tightly with both hands. With Chen Yeliang by his side, he could feel courage surging through him!
Chen Yeliang floored the accelerator!
The fire truck retraced its route and burst through the thick smoke and wall of fire !
Unbearably hot flames surrounded the truck, as if trying to trap them in place. No matter how tightly the vehicle windows were closed, they could not shut out the sizzling sound of the smoke, which was emitted by the liquid rapidly evaporating under the high temperature.
Wu Zhuo closed his eyes in trepidation and re-opened them again. He was both shocked and afraid as he stared ahead with wide open eyes.
He would know in the next second, whether he would meet the God of Death or see Chief's familiar face!
Each and every passing minute and second felt like a very long half-century to the people on the truck.
At last! The fire engine broke free of the blaze and returned to the main gate with its whole body steaming!
"I knew it, Chen Yeliang really lives up to his own reputation!"
"Is he even human? He's simply divine!"
"How did he do it? To be able to cross the sea of fire… Is he really not a professional stuntman?"
The live streaming comments were all cheering for Chen Yeliang!
The way the viewers expressed their excitement was to either flood the comments screen with comments or send gifts like crazy. So many yachts were sent!
Chen Yeliang hopped off the truck and pointed to the back of the truck. "There are 13 trapped personnel here and 5 of them are injured. They need to be sent to the hospital immediately."
There was no need for Lu Ruijin to give any further instructions. The firefighters rushed forward and carried or supported the injured people off the truck.
Chen Yeliang heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that the trapped personnel had been properly taken care of. Then, the system's voice rang out in his ears.
[Congratulations to the Host for completing the mission and successfully rescuing the workers trapped in the chemical plant.]
[Obtained system reward: 1. Date of death delayed by one week.]
[I hope the host will work harder and wish the host a long life!]
At that moment, the double sirens of an ambulance and a fire engine could be heard in the distance. Above them, a helicopter with the logo of the Xilin City TV station circled the fire site.
Xilin City Television Station's ace reporter Ni Yu was half hanging outside the cabin, holding a microphone and doing live reporting.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are now reporting live from the Hanghe industrial district, just above the chemical plant where the fire disaster is located!"
"As you can see from the live footage, two-thirds of the chemical plant has turned into a sea of fire!"
"Currently, the firefighters have already arrived at the scene. Regarding the number of casualties, we will confirm with the relevant personnel as soon as possible!"
With that, she lowered the roll-up ladder and descended, landing together with the cameraman near the fire site.
Ni Yu couldn't bring herself to disrupt the firefighters who were busy moving the injured out of the compound, so she aimed the microphone at the other uniformed personnel, which was Officer Zhao.
When Ni Yu saw Officer Zhao's face, she was caught by surprise. She thought he looked very familiar, as if she had seen his face somewhere before.
Her professional training as a reporter rapidly connected the dots — he was the officer who handled the case of the parkour murder attempt!
Contestant Number 18 had survived a malicious attempt on his life during the competition. This news had caused quite a stir in the afternoon, but by night time, it was overshadowed by the chemical plant explosion.
Hence, she didn't have the time to follow up on the earlier incident. She didn't expect to meet the police officer who was handling that incident here.
"Hello Officer, I'm a reporter from Xilin TV Station! May I know who you are…"
Without waiting for her to finish, Officer Zhao interrupted her with a raised hand.
"I'm too busy. The hero is standing there. Go interview him."
As he spoke, he pointed at Chen Yeliang and offloaded Ni Yu to him.
"Hello Hero, I'm a reporter from Xilin TV Station. This rescue mission… You're not a firefighter, right?" Ni Yu asked with a puzzled look.
The other firefighters thought to themselves what a stupid question this was!
Chen Yeliang was dressed in ordinary sports attire, so it was blatantly obvious that he was a student.
Furthermore, if Ni Yu had looked closely, she would have realized that he was the main character of the parkour incident. Although his face was blackened from the smoke, his dashing looks were still clearly evident.
Ni Yu took a closer look. Then her reporters' radar detected something incredible!
She became even more excited and held the microphone even closer to him. "Hero, you…"
"If there's any problem, we can talk about it after the fire has been put out." Chen Yeliang interrupted.
Ni Yu was stunned. Chen Yeliang was clearly not a firefighter, yet after successfully rescuing people and becoming a hero, he still intended to carry out more high-risk tasks!
As she stood there lost in thought, the backup fire engines and ambulances arrived at the main gate of the chemical plant.
Lu Ruijin was overjoyed. He was about to go up and deploy the staff when he saw a tall and muscular figure getting off the truck.
"May… Mayor?"
The explosion of Hanghe chemical plant did not just affect the factories along the Hanghe River.
If the toxic waste leaked into the water, it would have serious repercussions for the residents on the other side of the river. Half of Xilin City would be paralyzed!
The extremely urgent situation alarmed the political upper echelons. Not only was the commander-in-chief of the fire brigade present, the Mayor was also present, not to mention the company directors of the plant.
There was a crowd, and there was also a very inconspicuous middle-aged man. He was wearing a white coat and had a hunched back. His hands seemed to be in his pockets as he got out of the car with the company director.
People from all walks of life did not even have the chance to make small talk with the man in white. He headed straight for Lu Ruijin.
"Is something the matter?" Lu Ruijin asked irritably when yet another face showed up to disrupt his work.
The man in white adjusted his glasses and said, "I'm the engineer of this chemical plant. I came here just to tell you one thing."
"The fire must not reach the natural gas zone behind Warehouse 8!"
"The natural gas production area behind Warehouse 8 is responsible for the gas supply to half of the Lin An area."
"If there's an explosion there, it can raze the entire industrial district to the ground in seconds!"
"Not to mention all of us standing here, even the whole Hanghe River bank will suffer the consequences!"
The engineer in white coat adjusted his glasses and described the worst possible scenario in the calmest voice possible!
Chen Yeliang's live streaming was still live and Xilin TV Station's camera was also on the side recording. The engineer's words were broadcast to the entire Xilin City's audience without missing a single word!
Everyone knew now how terrifying this disaster would be! Having heard the engineer's honest explanation, the entire Xilin would be unable to sleep!
The city's political leaders were as anxious as ants on a hot pan. Their immaculate white shirts were soaked in perspiration and stuck to their bodies, making them look very pathetic.
The chief commander of the fire department made his way to the engineer's side and said, "There should be a valve in the natural gas production area. Otherwise, with the size of the blaze in the chemical plant, even if the entire fire department in the city were deployed here, we still can't guarantee the fire could be put out!"
Moreover, even if it could be extinguished, the production area might have already exploded during the process of deploying the personnel.
The chief commander looked at the few fire engines behind him with misgivings. Had he known how dire the situation was he would have brought more reinforcement here!
The engineer was feeling the effects of the extreme heat. He grabbed a corner of his white coat and wiped the perspiration pouring down his face.
As he wiped, he said, "There is a valve, but it is located in the deepest part of the facility. I'm afraid no one can reach there!"
"Can we circumvent the fire?" Wu Zhuo suggested, "I think Warehouse 8 is at the edge of the production area!"
Normally, he wouldn't have dared to raise an opinion when the Big Boss was speaking.
But now, as one of only two persons who had been to Warehouse 8, he felt obliged to report the situation inside that building!
"I'm afraid… this won't be possible…" The chief commander dismissed the suggestion.
Not taking into account the immense size of the chemical plant, in order to go around the outer edge of the facility, passing through the burning zone was unavoidable.
How long would it take to circumvent it?
How long would it take if going by foot? Would the motorcycle be able to pass through?
More importantly, the black smoke had already blanketed the natural gas production area. Would anyone who entered that zone be able to determine the direction?
These unanswered questions made the firefighters balk at the idea of re-entering the fire site!
"Put out the fire first!" said the commander somberly.
Apart from controlling the spread of the fire, he didn't know what else to do.
Although the city mayor was present, he was a layman when it came to extinguishing fires. He could only stand at the side and stomp his feet anxiously.
Having run out of options, the mayor helplessly took out his phone and made a call with a heavy heart.
"Hello, it's me. Immediately evacuate the residents on both sides of the Hanghe River! Relocate them to the center of the city!"
"In particular the residents near the facility. That's right! I want to see a bus full of evacuees cross the bridge within twenty minutes!"
"No buts. What is more important now, lives or money? For those who refused, implement forced relocation! Otherwise, what's the point of employing you guys?"
Immediately after saying that, the mayor hung up in a huff. Holding the phone with the blank screen in his hand, he sighed heavily.
Both the mayor and the fire department's chief commander were mentally prepared for the worst.
Regardless of whether the facility could be salvaged or not, first and foremost they had to evacuate the population and reduce the potential loss of lives.
At the moment, this was the best and the only way!
Chen Yeliang was also standing beside them. He listened to their conversation impassively for a long time and watched them settle for the least viable solution.
He understood the onerous burden of the lives of half the city, comprising millions of people, weighing on their shoulders, and the helplessness the various leaders felt.
It was precisely because of this that he had to step forward!
Chen Yeliang covered his mouth with his fist and coughed lightly. "Well… Chief Commander, get me a helicopter. I can infiltrate the production area."
Upon hearing this, the chief commander's face crumpled up. He dug his ears with his fingers for a while and looked around, pretending that he was hearing things.
He continued giving instructions on follow-up procedures to Lu Ruijin, with his hand on his hips.
However, Lu Ruijin was totally dumbfounded. His hands holding the map were suspended in midair as he stared blankly at Chen Yeliang.
Chen Yeliang understood his shock and repeated patiently, "I need a helicopter to take me to the production area to turn off the valve."
This time, the chief commander finally realized that he wasn't hearing things. Not surprisingly, his first reaction was, "Are you crazy?!"
Chen Yeliang said calmly, "Right now, the chemical plant is completely surrounded by either flames or thick smoke. Only a descent from the air can penetrate deep into the facility. I know that my actions might seem crazy in your eyes, but I'm not joking."
"Just like what happened earlier on… two of us went in and out of the blaze to rescue the trapped workers."
He turned around and looked at the ambulance personnel busy at work. The wounded workers had already been carried up onto the ambulance. Those who were conscious noticed Chen Yeliang's gaze and waved at him with tears in their eyes.
"What did you say? Two of you went in and out?" The chief commander could feel his head spinning.
He glared sternly at Lu Ruijin and thought to himself, "What the heck were you thinking! How can you allow a student to run amok like that!"
Lu Ruijin knew that there was no way for him to defend himself. He lowered his head and kept mum.
Chen Yeliang smiled and continued saying, "Don't blame Chief Lu, I was the one who forced my way in, they couldn't stop me."
"But if you think about it, if I hadn't been so insistent, perhaps no one would have been able to confirm the number of people trapped up till now, let alone watch them get into the ambulance one by one. Don't you think so?"
"Maybe you still think that I'm crazy, but the reality is that only Wu Zhuo and I entered Warehouse 8, and only I alone have the ability to enter the fire site."
After Chen Yeliang said so much, the chief commander was left speechless. He could only stare at Lu Ruijun, who was repeatedly nodding his head like a chick pecking at grains.
It seemed like he agreed with every word that Chen Yeliang said.
"Where the f*ck were you!" The chief commander roared out.
Despite getting yelled at through no fault of his own, Lu Ruijin immediately stood at attention, with his hands flat by the side of his pants.
However, he had watched Chen Yeliang dashed in and out of the scene of the fire with his own eyes. Although these actions could be construed as sheer insanity, reckless to the point of complete disregard for his own life, they did bring about a miraculous outcome!
He really wanted to muster up the courage to say to the chief commander, "Chen Yeliang is really awesome! He didn't even get any light burns when he went in! Let him go for it!"
Chen Yeliang noticed Lu Ruijin's expression and knew that he was already on his side.
He continued to do the thinking for the chief commander.
"You are the chief commander and possess the best professional qualification here. You should know the consequences of a gas explosion better than anyone else."
"The longer we delay, the greater the danger this fire will pose to those people around us, or even the residents on the other side of the river! Do you think I'm right?"
The chief commander had no counter argument. Although his clenched fists indicated that he agreed in-principle with Chen Yeliang, he still did not want this student standing before him to undertake such risks.
Chen Yeliang smiled and said, "Actually, if the smoke had been a little less dense, I could have simply driven the truck in, just like before."
"Unfortunately, the current situation has already progressed beyond that point leaving me with no choice but this measure. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Chief Commander, what are you hesitating for!?"
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