Chapter 42 Part 2

For everyone else in the hospital, it was a complete disaster out of nowhere. A small group had been evacuated, but many more remained trapped. All exits were guarded by the gangsters, who showed no regard for innocent bystanders—perhaps using the lives of others to force the coal tycoon into a quick decision was exactly their plan.

Liu Ran hadn’t stopped trying to contact Ming Siyu the whole way. But her phone was always off.

The sudden incident had roads blocked off. Cars ahead turned back regardless of lanes, with only a few vehicles bucking the flow. He Qiange cursed at the oncoming traffic while pushing forward relentlessly. Midway, she boldly drove across the grassy shoulder for a stretch. Liu Ran bounced in the passenger seat like she was on a bumper car. After a collision with another vehicle sent the side mirror flying, He Qiange finally stopped. She clutched her arm, hissing through gritted teeth. “My arm might be fractured.”

The two were forced to abandon the car. Fortunately, the scene was only a few hundred meters away. Liu Ran bolted ahead. He Qiange, with only one arm working properly, wasn’t sure whether to clutch her stomach or her arm. The pampered young lady of the He family had never endured such pain. She ran after Liu Ran in small steps, crying, cursing, and praying that Ming Siyu was safe.

Liu Ran arrived first. The scene was even more chaotic and terrifying than in the streams or posts. She grabbed a tall woman in a police uniform and asked about the situation. The police seemed utterly checked out on the matter—the gang refused to negotiate with them, so the cops could only provide peripheral support. It all hinged on the talks between the coal tycoon and the gang. But those talks clearly weren’t going well; a nurse had just been shot, her body thrown from the third floor.

The female officer leisurely lit a cigarette, shrugged, and said to Liu Ran, “The hospital’s oxygen pipes exploded five minutes ago. Looking for family or friends inside?”

Liu Ran stared blankly at the hospital. “No… my boss…”

“Oh, congrats! You should set off fireworks to celebrate. No need to even buy a lighter—there’s plenty of fire already.”

After her dark humor, the officer answered her radio and walked off to nominally maintain order. Liu Ran scanned the crowd for Ming Siyu but didn’t spot her. Instead, she found Ming Siyu’s car in the open parking lot. She pulled up the few photos of Ming Siyu online and stopped some people who looked like they’d escaped the hospital early, asking if they’d seen anyone matching the description. All answers were negative.

He Qiange arrived panting and desperately told Liu Ran that Ming Siyu was still inside.

On her way over, she’d received a text from Ming Siyu—sent twenty minutes ago, for some reason only just arriving. It was brief: Ming Siyu suspected it was a terrorist attack. She was hiding in the second-floor west-side restroom and urged He Qiange to contact the police and fire department for rescue.

He Qiange demanded the police and firefighters go in, but they refused. Their reasoning was solid—they were people too, and they could die. Entering before confirming the gang wouldn’t shoot would be seen as provocation, potentially causing more casualties. He Qiange offered money, but they didn’t budge. They even “generously” opened a gap in the blockade, saying if she was so eager, she could go herself. Some bodyguards had already sneaked in earlier, but none had come out.

Besides, that was twenty minutes ago in the second-floor restroom—who knew where Ming Siyu was now?

He Qiange shoved Liu Ran in frustration. “You go!”

Liu Ran jumped back instantly. “I’m not going!”

She wasn’t about to die for Ming Siyu!

“If my arm wasn’t broken, I’d go myself. You think your life will be easy if Si Si dies? Her relatives alone would skin you alive and pick your bones clean.” He Qiange yelled. “Country B’s security is such a joke—these cops are totally useless. If we drag this out, who knows what those murdering arsonists will do next. Si Si, she—”

Liu Ran’s heart filled with resentment and fear. He Qiange was right on every point, but Ming Siyu’s life mattered—didn’t hers? Inside were killers!

He Qiange grabbed Liu Ran’s collar with her good hand. “Si Si treats you better than her own family. She has the Group, the company, all those people depending on her for a living… Please, I’m begging you.”

“But I might not even get her out!”

“But if you don’t try, it’s definitely impossible! Si Si’s health is poor—she can’t make it out alone…”

Just then, two fully geared bodyguards skirted the police line, heading into the hospital to rescue someone. The police barriers were mainly for bystanders; several prominent figures from Country B were trapped inside. Until official negotiations or rescue plans were set, they couldn’t stop private bodyguards.

He Qiange seized the chance to ask about the situation. The gang was mostly concentrated above the fifth floor. The first and second floors had heavier fires but only a few guards. With basic protection, slipping in from the lower levels was feasible. Amid the chaos outside, a few people could sneak in from blind spots without notice. He Qiange suggested they grab Ming Siyu too—she’d pay any price. But the bodyguards’ eyes were only on their employer and refused.

He Qiange returned with the intel to beg Liu Ran again. “Five minutes. Just go in for five minutes. The second floor’s relatively safe. Follow the position Si Si sent, search, and come out after five minutes whether you find her or not. I’m begging you, Liu Ran!”

As if to prove the “five minutes,” He Qiange unclasped the limited-edition diamond watch from her wrist and fastened it on Liu Ran’s with her one good hand. Tears streaming, she said, “You’re really important to Si Si. Does she mean nothing to you?”

The watch felt cold and heavy on her wrist, the second hand ticking like a heartbeat, counting down the passage of life.

Liu Ran feared fire.

Beasts instinctively dreaded flames. The Ice Plains Wolf genes urged her to flee danger; her human genes did too—after her mother burned to a crisp in a fire, she’d been terrified of it.

The fear intensified with anything fire-related—fireworks, cigarettes—triggering unconscious aversion. Usually, she controlled it without losing composure.

Seeing pleas fail, He Qiange switched tactics. “Don’t bring trouble on yourself. Your life is tied to Si Si’s now. If you don’t save her, you won’t even board a flight back to A Country. You’ll just mysteriously disappear in Country B, chopped up and dumped in the sea!”

In a daze, Liu Ran barely heard. Like possessed, she nodded blankly, staring at the hospital windows. “Five minutes.”

She repeated, “Just five minutes.”

The turn of events elated He Qiange.

Liu Ran secured the watch, took off her jacket, wetted it nearby, and tied it around her waist. She trailed the two bodyguards, sneaking toward the hospital’s side.

She silently repeated: Second floor… second-floor restroom…

Every muscle and nerve tensed, her vision tunneling to only the second-floor window. The bodyguards assessed and chose the first floor.

Liu Ran didn’t follow. Like a high jumper warming up, she hopped in place twice, then exploded upward. Muscles unleashed tremendous power; at the peak, she kicked off the wall, grabbed the second-floor sill, pulled up, tucked her legs, and vanished inside lightly and powerfully.

The whole feat took 0.5 seconds. For a moment, Liu Ran truly felt like a wolf. The Ice Plains Wolf genes didn’t just alter her appearance—they enhanced her muscles and abilities: senses, night vision, pain tolerance.

The instant she entered the hospital corridor, her pores prickled. The temperature was at least ten degrees hotter than outside; her palms blistered white from the heat. The open flames blackened her vision; acrid fumes from burning alcohol and chemicals assaulted her nose. She steadied herself, covered mouth and nose with the wet cloth, took deep breaths, and her sight cleared slightly.

The fire wasn’t as raging as imagined—the gang hadn’t lost all reason. If it truly spiraled out of control, no one would escape.

But the bright, leaping flames sent waves of heat, making breaths ache and skin feel like it would split.

Her throat tightened like it was gripped by a hand. She gasped, eyes burning, vision whitening, mind fogging.

The scene merged with nightmares of her home ablaze. In the dreams, it was her mother trapped; no matter her efforts, she couldn’t save her. Now, she faced the inferno to find a woman she loved yet couldn’t fully love, hated yet couldn’t truly hate.

She hadn’t escaped memory’s blaze before plunging back in.

Liu Ran swallowed dryly, steadied her resolve, and crept along the wall toward the restroom Ming Siyu mentioned. It wasn’t on this side; she had to cross nearly a hundred meters of corridor.

She hugged the wall cautiously. Soon, muffled gunshots echoed from above, followed by panicked screams. She guessed the bodyguards had clashed with the gang upstairs. As she moved to continue, keen wolf ears caught footsteps ascending the stairs. She plastered against the wall, holding her breath. A sign fell from above—her hat lost earlier—scalding her wolf ear with embers before smashing her shoulder and clattering down.

Liu Ran darted into a nearby open exam room as it hit the floor. Since entering the second floor, she’d seen no one; doctors, nurses, patients who could flee had, the rest rounded up upstairs as hostages. She wondered how Ming Siyu had hidden. The footsteps at the stairwell were likely gang reinforcements hearing the shots.

Sure enough, they paused. A foreign-accented man said, “I heard something here.”

A bullet chambered. Footsteps neared.

Seconds later, they stopped. Another man said, “Just a plastic sign. Let’s head upstairs.”

Once the steps ascended, Liu Ran peeked out, confirmed clear, and hurried on.

Her breathing grew labored. The restroom sign loomed close. Less than two minutes left. Midway, regret hit—why had she agreed to He Qiange? One slip and she’d die. Now she just wanted out.

But she’d reached the spot; quitting felt wasteful. She whispered Ming Siyu’s name at the door—no reply. She checked stall by stall.

Even flipped the mop bucket. No one.

Had Ming Siyu been taken? Escaped? Died?

Liu Ran stood frozen amid the searing air, at a loss.

She checked the watch: ten seconds to five minutes. She’d tried; time to go. Jump from the entry window.

Ten, nine, eight, seven.

Down to six.

Suddenly, a faint, extremely subtle tapping sound pierced the ears that were already bleeding. It wasn’t coming from the restroom—it was from another direction, passing through walls, doors, and corridors, wading through the flames pooling on the floor, until it reached her and let her hear it.

Liu Ran instinctively knew it was Ming Siyu.

She subconsciously took a step toward the direction of the sound.

But only one step.

It felt like someone had punched her hard in the stomach, and she wanted to dry heave.

Don’t go, she told herself.

If Ming Siyu’s life ended here, it would be such a perfect accident. She would no longer have a master; she would finally regain the freedom she had been denied for so long. This was Ming Siyu’s retribution. When Ming Siyu had trampled her underfoot and humiliated her at will, had she ever imagined she would one day face this kind of karmic backlash?

Liu Ran desperately tried to recall Ming Siyu’s ugly face from those times of abuse.

But what appeared before her eyes was only the kiss that had landed on the bridge of her nose last night. She realized then that the kiss had been so light, so gentle, like a single snowflake. Now it had been baked away, melted and evaporated by the heat.

It reminded her of the smoke from Ming Siyu’s cigarette, scattered outside the car window and carried away by the wind.

Two completely unrelated things, yet in this moment, they strangely came to mind together. The watch’s minute hand had completed five full circles. Liu Ran gritted her teeth, her wolf ears precisely pinpointing that the sound was coming from behind a certain door. She pushed through the choking smoke and arrived in front of it.

The doorframe had warped slightly from the fire. Liu Ran rammed it hard before it finally gave way. She felt like she was on the verge of poisoning; she desperately needed fresh air to soothe her airways. The high temperature had scorched her nasal membranes, making them ache as if someone were pricking them with needles.

This time, she had truly lost her mind and gone all out. She never would have imagined that one day she would be standing in a burning building searching for Ming Siyu. She must have been driven crazy by the toxic fumes from the combustion, turning into an idiot. She was absolutely a model of repaying evil with kindness. Afterward, Ming Siyu owed her a commendation banner at the very least.

The room had only one ventilation window. By the faint light filtering through, Liu Ran spotted Ming Siyu huddled in the corner, hugging a bucket of bottled water and leaning against the wall.

Ming Siyu’s whole body trembled as she slowly made out the newcomer. “You came…”

Liu Ran didn’t know whether she should be relieved that Ming Siyu was dead or alive right now. Her legs went weak as she walked over and grabbed Ming Siyu’s hand. “Let’s go.”

Ming Siyu supported herself with the bucket to stand, but a sharp pain drilled through her ankle. She let out a short “Ah!” and plopped back down on her butt.

Her ankle was sprained.

Liu Ran quickly squatted down. “Can you walk?”

Ming Siyu tilted her head slightly, looking at the ash on Liu Ran’s face, and answered irrelevantly, “How did you come here?”