The firefighters looked at the overwhelming flames in front of them and instinctively turned their gaze towards their captain, their eyes complex with confusion, doubt, and resentment, among other emotions.
Not having received a direct phone call from their superior leader, they thought the surrounding residents’ comments weren’t without reason.
Of course, it wasn’t just them who had heard the surrounding residents’ discussions.
Captain Li Bin also heard everything clearly. Feeling the weight of the two heavy bags that Lin Beichen had entrusted to him, his heart felt equally heavy.
Immense pressure!
Li Bin, a veteran firefighter for many years, could analyze the current fire situation better than anyone and understand its impending development.
"If this continues, we’re going to face big trouble!"
At this moment, Li Bin no longer expected the teams he sent out to rescue Team Three and the trapped residents, but only hoped they could return safely to avoid further casualties.
As for Lin Beichen...
He had never held any expectations for him from the beginning, and now it was no different.
Li Bin took out the radio.
Just as he was about to contact Team One and Team Two to have them evacuate the fire scene and abandon the rescue.
Suddenly!
A series of explosions blasted out.
"Boom—!!"
"Bang—!!"
"... "
Flames erupted from different windows.
Another chain of explosions occurred!
The firefighters’ reports immediately came from all directions.
"Captain, the fire is out of control!"
"Captain, the water in the fire truck is almost running out!"
"... "
Simultaneously with their reporting.
The crowd also erupted in chaos.
"Oh my god, another explosion!"
"What’s going on? Another gas tank? It doesn’t seem possible there are this many gas tanks exploding!"
"We’re doomed, this explosion feels even more dangerous than the previous one, is everything over now?"
"I hope those firefighters are okay."
"I don’t mean to sound pessimistic, but explosions from the first to the sixth floor, it’s nearly impossible to get out from inside, right?"
"Didn’t the firefighters say the fire is uncontrollable? If the fire keeps growing, even if people inside aren’t killed by the explosions, they probably won’t make it out?"
"If the fire can’t be controlled, will it spread to nearby buildings, even endanger the entire community?"
"... "
The more they talked, the more anxious they became.
Even though nothing had happened yet...
They already seemed to see their homes burning down.
Li Bin was not affected by the surrounding chaos. Though he felt extremely anxious and uneasy, his mind was clear. He knew clearly that it wasn’t a gas tank explosion, but naturally occurring explosions due to the intense heat of the fire.
And such explosions were not the end, but just the beginning!
There would be more to come!
"This is bad!"
Li Bin thought inwardly, then quickly started to direct the other firefighters to work, quickly implementing countermeasures.
After making all the arrangements.
He immediately shouted into the radio, "Team One, Team Two, evacuate immediately, respond if you hear!"
"... "
Silence.
No response from the radio.
Li Bin’s heart sank, an even stronger feeling of foreboding than before swept over him.
"Team One, Team Two, can you hear me?!"
"Respond if you hear!"
"... "
His shouts became more urgent and his voice more anxious.
Paired with the increasingly uncontrollable fire...
It made everyone feel particularly anxious and chaotic.
He shouted for half a minute.
With each shout, his heart sank a little deeper.
Just as his heart was about to hit rock bottom, he vaguely heard a voice from within the fire scene.
"One... Two... Hear... Answer!!"
The voice was recognizable as his, yet mixed heavily with static noise.
Upon hearing that, Li Bin instantly looked up at the stairway entrance but found the flames surging, with no visible movement.
Immediately, he scanned the other people and found that they were still discussing endlessly, with no one looking toward the stairway entrance.
As if...
What he heard was just his own auditory hallucination.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
Li Bin believed his mental strength was solid and didn’t think he would have hallucinations due to excessive pressure. He trusted what he heard.
Moreover...
Given the current situation, he could only believe what he heard.
Without hesitation.
Li Bin continued shouting into the radio, his voice unleashed.
"One... Two, hear... Please answer!"
"Team One, Team Two... Please answer!"
"... "
His voice became increasingly clear, emanating from the fiery stairwell entrance, and permeated through the crackling sound of burning flames, gradually reaching everyone’s ears.
"Someone is coming out from inside?!"
This thought spontaneously emerged in everyone’s mind, and simultaneously, they all focused on the stairway entrance, their eyes filled with hope, eagerly looking forward to seeing everyone come out from that place.
"... "
Silence.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Everyone concentrated on the stairway entrance. Soon, they were surprised to see many shadows suddenly appear in the blazing yellow light of the fire.
The shadows, distorted by the high temperature, appeared as vertical lines with indistinct contours.
"It’s humans!"
"Many people!"
No one was foolish; shadows moving from the fire scene could only be human silhouettes and nothing else.
They didn’t dare to blink, fearing missing something.
Under their watchful eyes.
Soon, the distorted shadows became more solid, and their shapes clearer, unmistakably showing human figures.
All of them showed expressions of "I knew it," but within seconds, their ecstatic looks froze, replaced by shock in their eyes.
At the stairway entrance.
Lin Beichen emerged first from the fiery barrier, wearing a smile as refreshing as a spring breeze and looking spotless.
Following him.
One by one, the firefighters and the three trapped residents squeezed out one after another.
Those who walked out from the fire scene appeared relaxed, as if casually strolling out to throw away some trash from their building.
For a moment, the scene fell into deeper silence.
Of course, such silence lasted only for an instant.
The next moment, more heated discussions than ever broke out.
"Is it an illusion? How come those coming out from the fire don’t look like they came from a fire scene at all?"
"No way, compared to those firefighters emerging from the fire, why is this young guy coming out first completely free of dust?"
"If I’m not mistaken, did everyone who went into the fire come out? No one left behind?"
"So many people came out without anyone dying, and judging by their looks, none of them were injured?! This is truly remarkable!"
"... "
They freely expressed their thoughts.
But the firefighters within the safety perimeter had strict discipline; they couldn’t casually speak out, although their thoughts were no less numerous than those of the onlookers.
Among them...
The one with the most active mind was Captain Li Bin.
Li Bin looked in disbelief at the scene before him. In his view, given such flames, it would already be miraculous if Team One and Team Two could make it out. Yet, everyone came out, including the trapped residents, and they all looked in excellent condition, as if they hadn’t just gone through a massive fire!
"This... "
Li Bin’s gaze couldn’t help but lock onto Lin Beichen walking towards him again. Though he hadn’t asked yet, somehow, he felt that all of this was because of him.
"How did he manage this?!"