Lantern Sister is still very capable.

Chapter 31 Rescue

Hua Zhongli, Bai Xinxin, and Li Shengtian passed through the first and second floors, which were belching black smoke, without any hindrance. As soon as they opened the door to the emergency exit on the second floor, they were forced back several steps by the sweltering heat.

Even wearing protective clothing, Li Shengtian could still feel the scorching heat. Despite being a level two fire-type ability user, he was completely unable to resist the high temperature.

Sweat poured down his forehead, and he couldn't help but feel the urge to back out.

"You two wait here, I'll go scout ahead." Hua Zhongli didn't even turn her head, just shouted that, and rushed into the dazzling firelight.

Bai Xinxin turned to Li Shengtian and said, "You wait here, I'll go in and meet Captain Hua." Then she rushed in.

Left alone in the thick black smoke, Li Shengtian was dumbfounded, but he didn't dare to go in recklessly like Bai Xinxin did, so he could only grit his teeth and wait at the entrance of the emergency exit.

third floor.

Hua Zhongli was caught up by Bai Xinxin and angrily said, "Who told you to disobey orders and come in without permission! When we get back, I'm going to report this to Director Wu and have you punished!"

"Captain, I am a survivor of the Fire Butterfly case." Bai Xinxin's words completely extinguished Hua Zhongli's anger.

Hua Zhongli gazed deeply into those stubborn eyes, then suddenly felt a surge of emotion welling up in her own eyes. She turned and said, "Follow my instructions in a moment."

Hanashiri quickly surveyed the condition of each dwelling, glancing past the lifeless bodies, carefully searching for any hope hidden amidst the black smoke and flames.

The water that blocked the heat on her body was gradually boiling from the surface inwards. Hua Zhongli kept changing her water clothes and even helped Bai Xinxin block the flames that burst out when she opened the door several times.

"Captain, don't worry about me!" Bai Xinxin choked up. "I can handle it. I'm not here to hold you back!!"

"Enough with the nonsense, I'm the captain!" Hua Zhongli replied to Bai Xinxin without letting her guard down, quickly catching a woman who had fainted on the ground and was about to be pinned down by a burning cabinet.

With a loud crash, the burning wooden cabinet fell to the ground, sending up a cloud of debris and dust.

"Wake up!" Hua Zhongli quickly shook the woman awake, while Bai Xinxin used a wet towel to wipe the dust off the woman's face and put a spare protective mask on her.

The woman slowly opened her eyes, but in the next moment she was filled with strength. With tears in her eyes and her voice choked with sobs, she said, "My sister and her family! And my niece! They...they are in room 1359 at the end of the corridor. Please, please save them!!"

"Don't worry, we will definitely be able to rescue them." Hua Zhongli smiled reassuringly and said to Bai Xinxin, "You move this lady down first, I'll go check on 1359."

"Yes!" Bai Xinxin replied.

"Based on the direction of the fire, the end is where the fire originated. We're currently in room 1340. I'll search from back to front. After you move this lady, take Li Shengtian and search from room 40 onwards. We need to hurry, we still have to go to the fourth floor." After giving her instructions, Hua Zhongli rushed into the corridor without waiting for Bai Xinxin's reply, running away like the wind.

Bai Xinxin picked up the woman and ran; every second of delay was a waste of the woman's last chance to live.

After handing the woman over to Li Shengtian, who had been waiting for a long time, Li Shengtian darted forward, hoisted the woman onto his shoulder, and ran a few steps. In less than 20 seconds, he delivered her back to the third floor. Before he could catch his breath, Bai Xinxin grabbed him by the collar and dragged him into the fire that terrified him.

"What? You're a grown man, but you're less courageous than a woman?" Bai Xinxin said coldly.

“What men and women! Anyone can be a coward!” Li Shengtian retorted, then turned and grabbed Bai Xinxin’s sleeve, running much faster than her.

Bai Xinxin didn't mind his offense and quickly explained the situation: "After the 40th, you and I will each go to one household to search and check the carotid artery to determine if anyone is still alive."

After saying that, Bai Xinxin slammed on the brakes, kicked open the door to room 41, dodged the sudden burst of flames, and slipped into the room.

Li Shengtian shook the sweat off his brow, unable to wipe it off because of the protective mask, and turned to kick open the door to room 42.

The two men searched for survivors on one side of the field. As time passed, their expressions grew increasingly grave. Some had choked to death, some had burned to death, and others had stopped breathing in their sleep.

Three minutes later, the two found room 50. Just as they stepped out of the room, filled with grief, they heard a familiar voice, "You two! Come here!!!"

The two rushed over and saw Hua Zhongli covered in sweat, laughing and crying like a madwoman, shouting, "Damn! That lady didn't mention that there's also her brother-in-law at number 59!!! Her brother-in-law awakened a water-based superpower, and even though he was unconscious, he still managed to protect several families nearby. He's really something!!"

Only then did the two realize that Hua Zhongli was carrying a woman on her shoulder, holding a man in each of her hands, and another man tied to her back with a rope. The men holding the women were also tightly gripping the backs of two children's collars. She was truly a man covered in burly men.

"I've moved all the surviving people from the other rooms to room 54. There are still five people left!" After arranging for the two people, Hua Zhongli left with all the people in her party.

The two, equally bewildered, entered room 1354, where three men and two women lay unconscious on the floor, their faces blackened by smoke.

Bai Xinxin brought two women with her, while Li Shengtian followed Hua Zhongli's example, carrying one on his back and tucking the other two under his armpits, not caring whether they would be bothered by the sweat under his armpits.

The two people hurriedly dragged the person to the first floor, took a breath, took off their masks and drank some water, and then followed Hua Zhongli to the fourth floor.

As soon as they opened the emergency exit door on the fourth floor, flames rushed out like a terrifying beast and engulfed the three of them. Hua Zhongli quickly covered the three of them with water, but in less than three seconds, she had to give up the resistance and retreat to the third floor and a half, because the fireproof water had turned into boiling water, which was a completely different kind of harm to them!

"There can't be any living person in here!" Li Shengtian said decisively. Even they, as level two fire elementals, found it difficult to adapt to this flame, let alone ordinary people!

Bai Xinxin didn't reply, she just looked at Hua Zhongli.

"Captain Hua, Hu Lian, a wind-type ability user, said he heard two people crying on the fourth floor..."

The message in the earpiece made Hua Zhongli make up her mind. She turned to Li Shengtian and Bai Xinxin and said, "Give me one of the protective masks. You two retreat first."

Bai Xinxin handed Hua Zhongli a spare protective mask, saying, "Just in case, Captain Hua, please be careful."

This fire was extremely unusual. Bai Xinxin only knew that it was caused by a fire-type ability user again, but even a level two fire-type user would have difficulty dealing with it, and an awakened user would have to be at least level three.

She had no right to interfere with Hua Zhongli's decisions; all she could do was not hold her back.

Li Shengtian watched from the sidelines, and only after Hua Zhongli left did he mutter, "Why is Captain Hua working so hard?"

This was completely different from the advanced superhuman he had imagined. He had heard that Hua Zhongli had awakened at a young age and was now at the peak of the third level of water ability at the age of 26. Shouldn't she be sitting comfortably in the base and dominating the world?

"Because she is a survivor of the '3.12 China Massive Fire Case' in 2055 and participated in the rescue efforts for the '6.6 Gas Station Explosion Incident' in 2058." Given Li Shengtian's previous behavior, Bai Xinxin kindly explained, seeing his bewildered and ignorant expression, "Fire elementalists have always been unpopular in the base because they are prone to causing disasters after awakening, and this time is no exception."

Li Shengtian seemed to understand but not quite, "But when I awakened, it was just a spark..."

After Li Shengtian finished speaking, he realized that he had been so anxious that he was almost going crazy. The spark could not be extinguished with ordinary water. Instead, it burned along everything that could be ignited. In the end, it was only because of his strong will that he was able to put it back.

After the smoke alarm at home was triggered, the people who came to investigate asked him to cooperate with the investigation and return to the base. After a series of examinations, it was confirmed that he was a level one fire-type ability user, and he was promoted to level two in less than three days.

As the two talked, they went downstairs. Suddenly, they heard a loud bang, and the whole building began to shake. Bai Xinxin looked up and saw that all the glass windows on the fourth floor had shattered. Raging flames burst out of the building like outstretched branches, painting a bloody picture in the air.

Before her brain could even process it, tears welled up in her eyes. Bai Xinxin realized Hua Zhongli's predicament and looked incredulously at the door of the first floor of the Jinshui Community residential building.

A burning figure, hunched over, staggered out and collapsed to the ground with a thud, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"No!!!"

Bai Xinxin rushed over and saw that Hua Zhongli was charred all over, her skin and flesh covered in burn marks from the flames. She was covered in blood and was tightly holding a baby with weak breathing in her arms.

When Hana Chongli saw her, her voice trembled as she said, "...It's Fire Butterfly—"

The next second, she completely lost consciousness.