The Beauty CEO's Personal Expert

Chapter 1530 - 1836: Fire Rescue (5)

"Let’s set that aside for now. Tell me, do you know Leng Feifei?"

"Are you talking about President Leng? Yes, I know her. I’m her personal assistant." Upon hearing this, Ling Chen felt a surge of joy and quickly asked, "Then where is she? You should know where she is."

"Well... I’m not exactly sure," the woman responded. "President Leng was chatting with the chairman of Hongyu Group in the office. After they finished talking, President Leng escorted Chairman Nanrong to the elevator. They went in together, while I stayed behind to help President Leng with some materials. So, I didn’t follow them. When I returned to the office, I suddenly heard a loud bang downstairs, and a fire rapidly spread. Hearing the screams outside, I was terrified and didn’t dare to go out, so I’ve been hiding in the office."

Upon hearing this, Ling Chen’s face changed suddenly, and he said sternly, "Are you saying that when the explosion happened, both President Leng and the others were inside the elevator?"

The woman nodded, "It should be. In such a short time, the elevator couldn’t have gone from the 36th floor to the ground floor. I think when the explosion happened, the elevator might have been around the 20th floor."

As soon as the woman finished speaking, Ling Chen immediately turned his gaze to the surroundings. He quickly stood up and rushed towards the elevator doors. At this moment, the elevator doors were tightly closed, and with the added heat from the fire, the doors were scalding hot. Ling Chen took out a knife from his tool bag, wedged it into the door gap, and forcefully pried the doors open. He was wearing thick insulated gloves, so they protected him from getting hurt.

As the elevator doors opened, a wave of heat rushed up from below, almost knocking Ling Chen off his feet. Fortunately, he managed to grab the elevator door in time and steady himself. Peering down, through the smoke and flames, Ling Chen vaguely saw an elevator stopped in the middle of the building. Judging by the height of the elevator, the woman’s judgment was correct; the elevator was roughly on the 25th floor.

However, he wasn’t sure if Nanrong Wanqing and Leng Feifei had escaped from the elevator.

He needed to find a way down. As the thought crossed his mind, Ling Chen made a quick decision. Looking at Chen Chong and the woman not far away, he started to approach but was suddenly interrupted by a loud ’boom’ from above, causing the entire ceiling to collapse and fall towards their heads. Seeing this, Ling Chen’s heart raced with fear. Without a second thought, he dashed towards Chen Chong and the woman, knocking them to the ground.

Boom!

Countless stones rained down from above, and the raging heatwave swept over them. In the blink of an eye, Ling Chen and the others were buried in the dust and debris.

"Hey! Ling Chen, can you hear me?"

Outside the building, inside a command vehicle, Xia Mutong held the radio, repeatedly calling out, her face full of anxiety. Another explosion erupted inside the building earlier, cutting off her communication with Ling Chen since. Her heart was full of worry, silently praying that Ling Chen was alright.

"Director Xia," a young man entered the command vehicle outside, saying, "Several high-ranking officials are here. They’re waiting for you to give a report on site."

"Alright, I understand." After dismissing her subordinate, Xia Mutong took a deep breath to calm her emotions, then left the command vehicle. Not far outside, several middle-aged men were pointing at the burning building, their faces filled with concern.

Xia Mutong quickly approached and saluted, asking, "Director Liu, why are you here?"

"Commander Xia, the top leadership is taking this incident very seriously, so we’re here to oversee the operation. We must rescue all trapped personnel and prevent the fire from spreading to surrounding areas, which could cause more damage. You’re the on-site commander for this operation, so the responsibility weighs heavily on you. We hope you won’t disappoint the trust we have in you."

"Please rest assured, leaders. I guarantee the task will be completed."

"Tell us, what’s the current situation? When can the rescue operation begin?"

"The situation is very complex at the moment. The fire inside the building is too intense, and frequent explosions are occurring, delaying our rescue efforts. I just discussed with the fire department personnel, and the environment inside the building is too dangerous. If we forcefully send people in now, not only will it be impossible to save anyone, but it could also expose the rescuers to great risk, making self-rescue difficult even."

"I heard on my way here you sent someone inside about twenty minutes ago. That person doesn’t seem to be one of ours; what’s the situation?"

Upon hearing the leader’s inquiry, Xia Mutong replied, "Some of his friends are trapped inside the fire, so he wanted to go in to rescue them."

"Absurd!" A middle-aged man said sternly, "You know the situation inside is dangerous, so why let an amateur go in? Are you sending him to his death?"

"Please don’t worry, leaders. He’s not an amateur. He’s a retired special forces soldier with very strong capabilities, no less than professional rescuers."

"Is that so? What’s his name?"

"Ling Chen," Xia Mutong uttered the name.

"It’s him?" Director Liu’s expression changed slightly. Noticing the change, Xia Mutong became curious and couldn’t help asking, "Director Liu, do you know him?"

"Sort of, we’ve met once. I have some connections with his former superior. If it’s Ling Chen, then I trust his capabilities. Tell him that as long as he can rescue the survivors inside the building, no matter what he needs, we will support him unconditionally. Alright, you go ahead with your tasks." Watching Xia Mutong walk away, Director Liu took out his phone and dialed a number.

Cough, cough!

On the 36th floor of the building, Ling Chen shook his head and slowly climbed up from the ground. Feeling the heatwave around him, Ling Chen glanced around and saw Chen Chong and the woman lying on the ground, seemingly unconscious. A large stone was pressing on Chen Chong’s legs, and Ling Chen could vaguely see the blood on the floor.

"Chen, Chen," Ling Chen called his name, quickly removing the stone. Suddenly, he saw Chen Chong’s right leg crushed under the stone, with the bones jutting out.

Despite Ling Chen’s shouts, Chen Chong remained unresponsive. Instead, the woman beside him came to. Upon seeing Chen Chong’s injury, she was taken aback. "Help me lift him up."

The woman nodded, assisting Ling Chen to set Chen Chong’s body upright. Then, Ling Chen took off Chen Chong’s belt, tying it above the injured leg to prevent excessive bleeding. After tending to Chen Chong, Ling Chen picked up an oxygen mask, took several deep breaths, and felt much more comfortable.

"Mr. Ling, what do we do now?"

"Don’t panic, let me think of a plan." Saying this, Ling Chen pulled out a radio, intending to inform Xia Mutong about their situation. However, he quickly realized that he had accidentally broken the radio while dodging earlier. Besides some static noise, nothing else could be heard.