Chapter 66: Li Gang’s Life-or-Death Crisis

What Li Yi didn’t know was that while he and his wife were sharing tender moments and bonding, Li Gang was facing a life-or-death crisis.

After seeing Li Yi off that afternoon, Li Gang couldn’t shake a sense of unease.

Although he wasn’t a superstitious person—and had previously scoffed at fortune-tellers and palm readers, dismissing them as charlatans—

But Li Yi was simply too extraordinary—so extraordinary that it made Li Gang question the education he had received.

Whenever he thought of Li Yi’s prediction that he was a “short-lived ghost,” Li Gang couldn’t help but feel a twinge of worry.

He came from a very good family; both his parents were civil servants holding fairly high-ranking positions.

He also had a good job; although the work in the criminal investigation unit was grueling and exhausting, it was, after all, a role that ensured local safety and earned him respect.

And as a deputy captain, his future looked bright.

More importantly, he was only 26 years old—unmarried and without even an heir to leave his family. He didn’t want to die young!

So, remembering Li Yi’s warning, Li Gang secretly resolved to stay away from fire from now on.

To that end, he had even resolved to quit smoking!

Today was Li Gang’s mother’s birthday, so he decided to stop by the supply and marketing cooperative after work to buy her a dress as a birthday gift. He also planned to treat his parents to a nice meal at the state-run restaurant to show his filial piety.

But as he rode his bike past a courtyard, he suddenly saw thick smoke billowing from inside, accompanied by constant cries and screams, along with people shouting, “Fire!”

Driven by a public security officer’s sense of justice, Li Gang immediately abandoned his bicycle and rushed straight into the courtyard.

It was a large courtyard compound. After rushing in, Li Gang headed straight for the main house, where the cries were coming from.

Fighting the suffocating smoke, Li Gang saw an elderly man lying on the floor. Without hesitation, he picked the man up, intending to carry him to safety.

However, with his last ounce of strength, the old man pointed toward the inner room and said, “Save… save the child first…”

Li Gang immediately realized there were others inside and rushed toward the inner room.

At the foot of the bed in the inner room, two children, about three or four years old, were clinging tightly to each other and crying. The younger one appeared to have already lost consciousness.

Without a second thought, Li Gang grabbed one in each arm, tucking them under his armpits, and carried them out of the room.

As he passed the old man, Li Gang gritted his teeth, set the children down on the ground, hoisted the old man onto his shoulders, and, clutching the children once more, ran out into the courtyard.

By now, flames were leaping everywhere in the courtyard, and fierce waves of fire had turned the surroundings a glowing red.

The oxygen in the fire zone was being rapidly depleted. With every step Li Gang took, he felt a searing pain in his chest, and his throat felt constricted, making it difficult to breathe.

Fortunately, a crowd of onlookers outside had already gathered with buckets of water to help put out the fire. Upon seeing Li Gang, they all began splashing water in his direction.

Finally, with everyone’s help, Li Gang broke out of the fire.

After placing the elderly man and the child in a safe area, Li Gang prepared to rush back into the fire. Moments earlier, he had faintly heard cries for help coming from the side room to the west.

As a guardian of the people, he could not stand by and watch anyone burn to death right before his eyes.

But just as he was about to step into the fire, Li Yi’s words suddenly came to mind—stay away from the fire!

At that thought, Li Gang hesitated, and his outstretched leg stopped involuntarily.

Yet, in that very moment of hesitation, the wooden gatehouse of the courtyard suddenly collapsed.

In an instant, smoke and dust billowed everywhere, causing Li Gang and the bystanders trying to put out the fire to scramble backward in panic.

But what was even more unexpected was that, just as they had retreated several dozen meters, the courtyard that had been on fire moments earlier suddenly erupted in a violent explosion.

The rumbling explosions lasted for over ten seconds, hurling gravel and wood from the courtyard in all directions, striking many bystanders.

When the explosion finally subsided, the crowd looked on in horror as the courtyard was completely leveled, as if it had been hit by a precision artillery strike.

Seeing this, Li Gang couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat!

Fortunately, he had hesitated for just that split second; otherwise, he would likely be nothing but a pile of bones by now.

No one could have survived such a violent explosion—not even someone wearing a bulletproof vest.

Not to mention the raging inferno inside—even if the blast didn’t kill you, the fire would have reduced you to a charred husk.

It could be said that his momentary hesitation had literally saved his life.

And the reason he didn’t charge in recklessly like he had before was precisely because he remembered Li Yi’s warning—which meant, in effect, that Li Yi had saved his life.

Thinking of this, Li Gang really couldn’t help but want to kowtow to Li Yi!

Just as Li Gang was reeling from the shock of his narrow escape, the nearby fire brigade arrived.

Li Gang didn’t greet his colleagues; instead, he silently pushed his bicycle away.

He didn’t go to the supply and marketing cooperative, nor did he go home; instead, he headed straight back to his workplace.

…….

At the county bureau’s criminal investigation team, Wang Anguo was organizing case files!

Though his eyes were bloodshot and he looked exhausted, his gaze was filled with excitement.

Prompted by Li Yi, he had conducted an in-depth investigation into the backgrounds of those human traffickers, and his efforts had indeed uncovered several major cases.

Among the arrested human traffickers, there were cases involving homicides alone, with as many as 11 victims.

Two of these cases were major, high-priority cases that had been under long-term supervision by the Ministry of Public Security. Moreover, it had been a full seven years since these two major cases occurred, and there had been no leads whatsoever—they were essentially cold cases.

Yet, unexpectedly, such critical cases were actually solved by a small county-level public security bureau.

Consequently, once the case was reported to higher authorities, the central government immediately issued a directive: a special task force would be dispatched to take over the case, which would be consolidated with several other high-profile cases for joint investigation.

The higher authorities instructed the Qingshan County Criminal Investigation Team to immediately seal all case files and await the arrival of the special task force to take over.

Although they would no longer be responsible for investigating the case, Wang Anguo knew that, for them, it was still a major achievement.

The county bureau leadership had already announced today that they were petitioning the higher authorities for recognition of their achievements. A conservative estimate suggested at least a collective Second-Class Merit Award, and a First-Class Merit Award was even a possibility.

Furthermore, the officers involved would receive individual awards—especially Wang Anguo, who not only stepped up to the challenge in a crisis but also voluntarily pledged to solve the case, ultimately succeeding.

Not only had he rescued more than a dozen abducted children, but he had also uncovered so many major cases—a Second-Class Merit Award for him personally was a certainty.

So, even though he’s been exhausted to the point of collapse these past few days, Wang Anguo is still thrilled.

Just as Wang Anguo was about to seal the final case file, the office door burst open!