"Zhou Wang, what’s going on? Why are we heading to the smelting factory?"
Night has fallen, and the Audi is driving along the desolate suburban road. Ding Yi, who was passively brought into the car, asked puzzled.
Just now, Zhou Wang suddenly looked very serious, pulling her away. Although Ding Yi was confused, she sensed Zhou Wang’s urgency. So, being clever as she was, she first cooperated by letting Uncle Li, the driver, bring the car over. Now she seized the opportunity to ask Zhou Wang.
"If we accidentally report a false fire alarm, will there be serious consequences?"
Zhou Wang asked at this moment.
Ding Yi paused, thought for a moment, and answered, "I’ve seen similar news before. If it’s not intentional, it should at most be a reprimand or education, there won’t be particularly serious legal consequences... Are you saying the factory might be on fire?"
"Hmm, I think I should report it to the police now."
Zhou Wang said as he pulled out his phone.
"Wait a minute."
Ding Yi stopped Zhou Wang. She frowned and said, "Zhou Wang, it’s not that I don’t want to believe you. Although what you’re saying is absurd and seems unfounded... this might be more than just a false fire alarm issue."
"What do you mean?"
"If it reaches the level of a fire alarm, that counts as a ’major incident.’ Do you understand the implications behind this?"
Ding Yi emphasized "major incident," "You might not understand, but this could have a significant impact on my parents’ careers..."
Zhou Wang was no longer naïve as before; with just this mention from Ding Yi, he already understood her meaning.
But from the scene overview, that fire definitely wasn’t small. If Nie Xiaoyun is truly trapped in the fire, then what could be more important than saving her and not worrying about careers?
Zhou Wang was about to say something, but just then, Uncle Li the driver said, "There’s the smelting factory ahead."
Only then did Zhou Wang remember that the neighborhood where Ding Yi’s family lived was not far from the smelting factory, causing both of them to look up simultaneously towards the car window.
Under the night sky, the vast smelting factory still had a few scattered lights, but from a distance, it looked quiet with no signs of fire or any noise.
Seeing this, Zhou Wang couldn’t help but frown, wondering if he had thought too much.
Or was it that the fire wouldn’t happen tonight?
"Zhou Wang, you see, there’s no sign of fire in the factory. But if you rashly report it to the police, it could unnecessarily escalate the issue..."
At this time, Ding Yi also spoke.
Zhou Wang heard this and nodded slightly. It was hard to insist on continuing with the report. Soon, the Audi arrived at the entrance of the factory building. Uncle Li rolled down the car window to inquire with the gate guard.
"Where’s President Nie?"
The guard recognized that this was the driver of President Nie’s family and quickly replied with a smile, "She went in with Mr. Zhao and should be heading towards the laboratory."
Uncle Li nodded, restarted the vehicle, and drove the two of them to the laboratory building.
Ahead stood a three-story building, the only brightly lit structure in the factory. There were quite a few vehicles parked below, and the silhouettes of some employees could be seen going in and out.
"Zhou Wang, if you’re still not at ease, I can call my mom and ask her to come down."
"Forget it, let’s not disturb Auntie’s work. Let’s head back..."
At this point, everything seemed normal, and Zhou Wang was beginning to believe he had misjudged the situation. He was about to ask Ding Yi to turn back when suddenly a "boom" sounded before the three could react. The entire car body suddenly shook violently.
Immediately afterward, the three heard the sound of glass breaking and faint screams coming from inside the small building, with a lot of glass debris falling onto the car, creating crisp collision sounds.
After a moment of confusion, Zhou Wang quickly raised his head to look outside the window. He saw fire blazing upward from a direction on the third floor of the building, with employees frantically running out from inside.
Before the three had any time to exchange words, another "boom" sounded, indicating a second explosion at the site of the fire. This time, panicked cries erupted from the entire building, with some people even jumping out from the second-floor windows in fear.
"It’s really caught fire!"
Driver Uncle Li was stunned, couldn’t help glancing at Zhou Wang through the rearview mirror, his eyes filled with shock and strangeness.
Ding Yi was also dazed for several seconds before quickly pulling out her phone to call her mother, Nie Xiaoyun, but the call couldn’t connect for a long time.
With a look of panic on Ding Yi’s face, she quickly got out of the car, followed closely by Zhou Wang and Uncle Li. Just then, a middle-aged man in a suit came running out of the corridor with the crowd. Uncle Li quickly stepped forward to stop him.
"Mr. Zhao, Mr. Zhao... Where’s President Nie?"
The man turned and saw Uncle Li and Ding Yi. Hearing this, he seemed to remember something, turned around to look, and his face turned pale.
"It’s over, President Nie hasn’t come out... She should still be in the office on the third floor."
"Was the explosion in the direction of the office?"
Ding Yi quickly asked.
"The explosion was in the laboratory; there are still several rooms between the office and the laboratory, but...."
"But what?"
Originally relieved, Ding Yi became tense again.
"The laboratory is right next to the office. You see the direction of the flames; it’s going straight towards the office... And both entry and exit stairways are on the other side of the laboratory."
Mr. Zhao said with a bitter face.
After hearing Mr. Zhao’s explanation, the group looked up again at the burning small half of the three-story building, all of them changing face.
Doesn’t this mean that even if Nie Xiaoyun escaped the explosion, the escape routes are blocked?