Chapter 14: Emergency

“I only know it’s on a high floor, but I don’t know which building or which floor exactly.”

“She’s pregnant and has a habit of locking the door when she sleeps. I worry that if there’s a fire, she won’t be able to escape quickly.”

“Send as many people as you can. Fires on high floors can have serious consequences. If you spot smoke on any floor, please notify 119 immediately.”

At first, she wanted Zhao Quan to pull up Chen Yongzhi’s household registration to quickly find out where he lived and pinpoint his location.

But since nothing had happened yet, and every citizen has a right to privacy, Zhao Quan definitely wouldn’t agree — and wouldn’t dare to.

Explaining this would waste precious time, so it was better to stick to her current excuse.

If she guessed wrong and Chen Yongzhi hadn’t acted, she was prepared to accept the blame and criticism.

Zhao Quan was about to ask more when Yan Ningxi suddenly hung up.

All the officers were speechless.

“Shouldn’t she have asked relatives or friends to check first in such a case?”

“Yeah, does she think we have nothing better to do?”

Zhao Quan shouted, “Move out immediately.”

“Yes, sir.”

Several officers ran toward the parking lot at once.

Whenever someone called the police, they would respond.

Yan Ningxi quickly returned to her desk, passing by Chen Yongzhi, and calmly gave him a steady glance.

At that moment, Chen Yongzhi wasn’t working; his expression was completely different from before.

His eyes fixed on the time at the bottom right corner of his computer screen, a clear excitement visible on his face.

After some thought, Yan Ningxi went to the security office.

It seemed her guess was almost certainly correct.

---

Xiangzhou Coast

Liu Xiaoyu was asleep in bed but woke suddenly from the heat, sitting up with heavy breaths.

Just as she grabbed her phone, a burning smell filled the air.

Her pupils contracted; she quickly looked around and saw that the balcony of her bedroom was on fire.

Until four in the afternoon, her room stayed cool whenever she opened the balcony’s sliding door, so she hadn’t turned on the air conditioning.

---

Now the fire had spread from the balcony into the room, igniting the curtains.

A few days ago, she had packed some old clothes she no longer wore into cardboard boxes on the balcony, waiting for a recycling pickup.

She grabbed a blanket from the bed, hoping to smother the flames, but it was useless — the fire grew larger and had already caught the bedsheets.

Realizing she couldn’t control the fire with clothes, she ran to the bathroom to get water.

But when she turned on the tap, no water came out.

“Why is there no water?” Liu Xiaoyu’s eyes filled with tears. “Oh right, the property management had notified us about a scheduled water outage this afternoon.”

“Forget it.” She had to abandon putting out the fire and rushed to the door to escape.

But inexplicably, the lock wouldn’t open.

Liu Xiaoyu panicked, banging on the bedroom door and shouting, “Is anyone there? Help! The bedroom is on fire! Somebody, please!”

As if on cue, sharp pains shot through her belly.

Her sudden movements must have startled the child inside.

She felt her strength drain away; her blows weakened.

“Cough… cough… Help… someone…”

Smoke choked her; her consciousness blurred as she slid down the wall onto the floor.

My poor child, you haven’t even been born to see this world.

I’m sorry, I can’t protect you anymore.

---

Elsewhere

Zhao Quan and his colleagues arrived at the entrance of Xiangzhou Coast at top speed, showing their IDs and gaining quick access.

After getting out of the car, Liu Zhen glanced at the clusters of tall buildings ahead and scratched his head irritably. “With so many buildings, how are we supposed to find it?”

Zhao Quan carefully surveyed the surroundings and noticed the dense surveillance cameras, even on the first floor aimed upwards.

“You all patrol the area, focusing on spotting any smoke coming from the upper floors. Liu Zhen, you come with me to the monitoring room.”

“Yes, sir.”

They quickly dispersed.

Before Zhao Quan reached the monitoring room, a police officer suddenly informed him, “Team Leader Zhao, I found a balcony with smoke on Building One, just to the left as you enter. The smoke just started, and it’s clearly visible from the ground floor. I’ve called 119. We’re heading up now; please come quickly.”

“All right.”

Zhao Quan turned and ran toward Building One.

Because the smoke had just appeared, residents hadn’t noticed the fire and weren’t panicking or fleeing, so the officers ascended smoothly.

---

They split up: some evacuated residents, others went to knock on Chen Yongzhi’s door.

“Is anyone there? Anyone?”

Of course, no one could answer.

Thankfully, Yan Ningxi had warned them that the pregnant woman tended to lock her door.

They had brought a locksmith along.

They could have forced the door open but didn’t want to risk harming her, uncertain how close she was to the door.

After calling out twice more, they stopped wasting time and had the locksmith pick the lock.

The entrance door and then the firmly shut bedroom door were successfully opened.

They saw Liu Xiaoyu collapsed at the doorstep, her face contorted in pain, with a small pool of blood on the floor.

Zhao Quan scooped her up and ran downstairs.

Other officers grabbed nearby fire extinguishers to fight the blaze, but the fire was too intense.

Their throats burned from the smoke; their eyes stung, forcing them to retreat temporarily.

By the time Liu Xiaoyu was carried downstairs, an ambulance had arrived.

As the medics examined her, she suddenly opened her eyes.

Seeing the doctor nearby, she sat up abruptly, gripping the doctor’s coat, anxiously asking, “Am I saved? What about my baby?”

The doctor replied, “You are safe. Preliminary checks show you and your child are stable for now, but you need to go to the hospital for a thorough examination. You must stay calm and rest.”

Relieved, Liu Xiaoyu asked for a glass of water, drank, and then inquired, “Who saved me?”

Zhao Quan, standing by the ambulance, spoke up, “We, the police.”

Liu Xiaoyu was grateful. “Thank you so much. You came just in time.”

She didn’t think much about it, simply assuming someone had noticed the fire and called for help.

---

Yan Ningxi returned from the monitoring room and went straight back to her desk.

Chi Xiaoxuan saw her still looking pale and concerned, “Ningxi, why don’t you take a leave? Your health is the most important.”

“I’m fine. I’m still in my probation period. I don’t want to take leave. I can manage.”

“Alright, then. Is your brother okay?”

“Nothing serious. Same as always.”