Chapter 280 - 273: Saving People
Jiang Li and Wu Ming exchanged a glance, then started up the mountain. They encountered quite a few volunteers along the way.
"Excuse me, have you seen my husband?"
"Honey, have you seen my husband?"
"Officer, have you seen my husband?"
"Aunt Cai, it’s dangerous here. You should go back. We’ll let you know the moment we have any news about your husband."
"No, I’m not leaving! I have to wait for my old man! Something’s happened to him, hasn’t it!"
This was the scene Jiang Li and Wu Ming walked into. Cai He was grabbing anyone she could find and asking if they had seen her husband.
The people around her were often too busy, and if they weren’t careful, she would bump right into them.
A young man carrying a case of mineral water was heading up. "Make way, everyone, make way."
Seeing he was about to collide with Cai He from the side, Jiang Li darted forward and pulled her away, preventing her from being knocked over.
Cai He felt for her hand before speaking. "Honey, have you seen my old man? It’s been a whole day. Why isn’t he back yet? The food at home has all gone cold."
"Ma’am, you’re getting in everyone’s way. Why don’t we sit over here and wait, okay?"
"I... I’m sorry. I’m just a blind old woman. I’m just so worried about my husband. I’m so sorry, so sorry for causing you all trouble."
Cai He apologized as she backed away, nearly stumbling again.
Jiang Li grabbed her arm. "Ma’am, let’s just sit and wait. The firefighters are already putting out the fire."
As she spoke, Jiang Li glanced worriedly up the mountain. The wildfire hadn’t been extinguished yet. If this kept up, there would be casualties.
As for the old man from last night... he was probably...
"Wu Ming, you stay here and watch Aunt Cai. I’m going to ask about the current situation."
Jiang Li saw a police officer nearby and went to ask about the situation.
"Hello, have you caught the arsonists?"
Xu Chengfu turned to look at her. "It’s still under investigation."
There were no surveillance cameras in the mountains, and after a full day of fire, any clues were likely destroyed. This made their job incredibly difficult.
"There were three arsonists. One was heavy-set, about five-foot-five. Another was thin, around five-foot-seven. I don’t have much on the third one. Have you spotted them on any surveillance cameras in the surrounding areas?"
Hearing this, Xu Chengfu turned back to her. "Are you an eyewitness?"
"Yes and no. Hello, my name is Jiang Li."
"Jiang Li?" Xu Chengfu frowned. ’That name sounds a little familiar.’
"Oh no! The fire’s getting stronger!"
A sudden cry of alarm shattered Xu Chengfu’s train of thought.
"Everyone get down the mountain! Now! The wind has shifted this way!"
The fire captain shouted at the top of his lungs.
Jiang Li watched the fire on the mountain. The wind was blowing toward them, and the firefighters hadn’t finished creating the firebreak yet.
"You guys fall back first! We’re almost done!"
Jiang Li looked at the firefighters behind her who were refusing to yield an inch, then instructed Wu Ming, "Wu Ming, take Aunt Cai and get down the mountain first."
As Xu Chengfu was evacuating the crowd, he turned around just in time to see Jiang Li rush in.
"Who are you? Who told you to come here?" The three firefighters handling the rear were stunned to see a woman rush up behind them.
Jiang Li didn’t say a word. She grabbed a nearby machete and started chopping, while a firefighter next to her beat back the encroaching flames.
"It’s no use! The fire’s too strong! You guys go first!"
"No way! If we go, we go together!"
Jiang Li’s machete moved with lightning speed. ’Could it be any harder than bone?’
The men beside her were still trying to send each other away.
After one final chop, Jiang Li shoved one of them, then grabbed the other two and pulled them back.
The one who’d been pushed snapped out of it, got up, and helped grab the others. The group half-crawled, half-stumbled down the mountain.
Down below, people watched as the firefighters failed to emerge, and many began to silently wipe away tears. The live stream chat was filled with grief.
"The fire seems to have stopped."
Someone noticed that the wildfire above didn’t seem as fierce as before.
Seeing this, the other firefighters set out again. Everyone’s confidence was instantly restored, and through their combined efforts, the blaze grew smaller and smaller.
"Everyone, quick! There are people over here!"
Four unconscious people were lying in a ditch.
Hearing the commotion, Wu Ming ran over and helped Jiang Li up.
"Jiang Li! Jiang Li!" Wu Ming patted her damp face and wiped the soot away. Noticing the streamer approaching from behind, she immediately blocked his view.
"Excuse me, could you please go somewhere else? My friend doesn’t want to be on camera."
Wu Ming felt she had been more than polite.
Chang Fei glanced at his live stream, muted his mic, and scowled at her. "Doesn’t want to be on camera? Anyone would think your friend’s some kind of celebrity."
"Do you have any idea how many followers I have? I’m an influencer with over a million fans. Do you know how many people are in my stream right now? You should be thrilled to get some screen time."
He couldn’t believe someone could be so ungrateful.
"I don’t care how many people you have. Get lost!"
Wu Ming stood up and gave him a shove, then helped Jiang Li leave with the others.
Chang Fei stumbled from the push and fell into a mud puddle. Annoyed, he aimed his camera at the two of them.
Since his mic had been muted, the chat was now full of people asking what had happened.
"It’s nothing. I just kindly went over to help, but they weren’t grateful and even..." Chang Fei paused. "Forget it, forget it. Let’s not talk about it. We should focus on the disaster.
The fire has been brought under control, and the firefighters from earlier have been taken to the hospital."
Wu Ming brought Jiang Li to a safe area. Just as she was about to take her to the hospital, Jiang Li woke up.
She opened her eyes, her head still aching a little. She had been too exhausted to run any further, but thankfully, a firefighter had spotted the nearby ditch, and they had all jumped in.
"Are the three firefighters okay?"
"They’re fine, just unconscious." Wu Ming twisted the cap off a bottle of water and handed it to her.
Jiang Li took it and drank a few mouthfuls, leaning against something to recover. Her gaze fell upon the unusually quiet Aunt Cai nearby.
The old woman sat dazedly on a rock, looking utterly dejected.
"What’s wrong?" Jiang Li looked back at Wu Ming.
"Someone ran their mouth. Told Aunt Cai that with a fire this big, forget a person, even the bones would be burned to ash."
Thinking of the look on Aunt Cai’s face when she heard the news, Wu Ming wished she could have smacked the guy a couple of times.
Jiang Li pressed her lips together and finally sighed helplessly.
Meanwhile, on the internet, the clip of Wu Ming shoving someone into a mud puddle had already gone viral.
[WTF, is this woman crazy? Feifei was just trying to help, and not only was she ungrateful, she got violent!]
Wu Ming and Jiang Li were completely unaware of this.
On their way back, they were inexplicably blocked on the road.
"You’re the one who pushed our Feifei, right?"
The person in the lead glared aggressively at Wu Ming.
Jiang Li stepped in front of Wu Ming. "What’s this about?"
"Feifei who? I don’t know who you’re talking about." Wu Ming was just as baffled.
"Still not admitting it? The video is right here. What’s there to deny?"
The person held out their phone, showing the clip of Wu Ming pushing someone.
Wu Ming rolled her eyes, speechless. These people really had too much time on their hands, making a big deal out of anything.