At the laboratory entrance.
A strongly pungent odor assaulted everyone’s senses.
All couldn’t help but furrow their brows.
“This smell… could it be toxic?” one team member voiced.
The others’ expressions grew solemn.
“Captain, if the gas is poisonous, the people inside the laboratory will be in even greater danger,” another team member said, looking toward the man in the center.
Shen Xichuan’s brow tightened as he commanded, “Xiao Wu’s team and I will enter the laboratory first to rescue people. The rest of you focus on extinguishing the external fires.”
The flames outside raged fiercely.
Even if people were rescued, escaping might prove difficult.
Several voices responded, “Yes, Captain.”
Shen Xichuan swiftly moved into the laboratory, searching for trapped teachers and students.
Xiao Wu and his team members followed closely behind with practiced efficiency.
The laboratory was vast, divided into multiple sections.
“Captain, the situation appears more severe over there. That might be the explosion’s epicenter,” Xiao Wu indicated, pointing toward one area.
“Let’s check it out,” Shen Xichuan ordered.
“Understood.”
They cautiously approached the explosion site, surveying the surrounding debris and shattered walls, yet finding no traces of anyone.
Xiao Wu scanned the area, a sinking feeling growing within him.
The scale of the explosion was far from minor.
Anyone caught unprepared might have been utterly obliterated.
Beneath his gas mask, Shen Xichuan’s expression darkened further.
Regardless, they had to rescue any survivors.
Everyone intensified their efforts to locate trapped individuals.
Just then, faint sounds seemed to emerge from nearby.
“Captain,” Xiao Wu called out.
Shen Xichuan had heard it too.
He turned toward the source, straining to see through the flames and smoke until he discerned a door in the distance.
“Over there, quickly.”
They rushed toward it.
Shen Xichuan knocked forcefully on the door and tried the handle—locked. “Is anyone inside?”
Xiao Wu and others joined in knocking.
Responding sounds came from within.
The sealed door swung open.
“Thank goodness, it’s the firefighters!”
A dust-covered student exclaimed with relief.
Turning back, he announced, “Professor Xu, the firefighters are here to rescue us.”
As the words faded, Shen Xichuan and his team instinctively looked over.
Amid the group of students stood a young woman wearing a dust-covered lab coat, her hair slightly disheveled. Her cool, elegant features took on a fragile quality in the firelight.
She glanced toward them, her dark, profound eyes visible through the protective goggles.
Their gazes met unexpectedly through the lenses.
Shen Xichuan visibly stiffened for a moment.
Xu Jialan only felt those eyes seemed strangely familiar, but there was no time to ponder.
Holding a damp towel to her face, she spoke calmly, “No one here is injured currently. However, the gas that caused the external explosion contains toxic elements. Everyone must evacuate immediately.”
Shen Xichuan’s focus remained on her. Nodding after hearing her words, he responded, “Understood. We’re leaving now.”
He then directed other team members to assist with the evacuation.
Suddenly, a voice cried out.
“Professor Xu—”
Shen Xichuan instinctively turned.
He saw Xu Jialan’s beautiful eyes had closed unnoticed, her body collapsing unconscious toward the ground.
In that instant, an orange-red figure swiftly moved to her side, reaching out to catch her in his arms.
The moment she was embraced, the dazed Xu Jialan seemed to hear someone calling her.
“Xu Jialan, don’t fall asleep. Wake up.”
That voice was so familiar, so very familiar.
Xu Jialan struggled to open her eyes, meeting a pair of deep, intense eyes up close.
She visibly froze for a moment.
It was…
Shen Xichuan let out a slight sigh of relief. “Xu Jialan, whatever you do, don’t fall asleep. We’ll be out of here soon.”
Xu Jialan stared at him blankly, murmuring, “Shen Xichuan?”
“It’s me.”
Xu Jialan’s lips curled weakly, and then her eyes closed again.
How could it possibly be him?
This must be a dream.
That sacred orange-red figure, standing against the raging flames, was like a deity descending to save her from peril.
But sometimes, a dream is just a dream.
How could it ever come true?
How could a deity ever fall?
…
“Doctor, how is she doing now?”
“Professor Xu is fine. We’ve already given her oxygen. Once the toxic gas is cleared from her system, she’ll wake up.”
“Alright, thank you, Doctor.”
“Old Liang, you’re too kind.”
Faint voices drifted to her ears.
Xu Jialan’s brow twitched slightly as she slowly opened her eyelids. Seeing the snow-white ceiling and smelling the familiar, pungent scent of disinfectant, memories of what happened before she fainted gradually surfaced in her mind.
She stared blankly at the ceiling. This dream… why did it feel so real?
That embrace was so warm.
His voice sounded so genuine.
Noticing she was awake, Old Liang hurried to her bedside. “Xiao Lan, you’re awake? Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”
Hearing his voice, Xu Jialan snapped out of her daze and turned her head slightly to look at him.
“Master, why are you here?”
Old Liang was nearly frantic with worry. “You have the nerve to ask? You almost scared your master to death.”
At his words, a pang of guilt shot through Xu Jialan’s heart. “I’m sorry, Master.”
Old Liang glared at her. “What are you apologizing for? You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Xu Jialan forced a faint smile, then remembered something. “By the way, Master, what about my…”
“Don’t worry, all your students are fine. Thanks to their teacher protecting them, they’re all safe and sound,” Old Liang said with a mix of relief and exasperation.
Hearing this, Xu Jialan relaxed. “That’s good.”
Recalling the accident, Old Liang’s expression darkened. “Since you managed to get them to the isolation room in time, you must have figured out what caused the explosion. Was this incident intentional or an accident?”
Xu Jialan paused for a moment before replying, “It should have been an accident.”
“An accident?” Old Liang was taken aback. “This was nitrogen chloride. You were almost blown to bits. How could it possibly be an accident?”
Xu Jialan looked at Old Liang and explained slowly, “That bottle of nitrogen chloride was likely made secretly by someone and hidden in the laboratory. One of the students must have accidentally taken it.”
“You mean…”
As the president of the Medical Association, how could Old Liang not know the other uses of nitrogen chloride?
It was a component that could be used to treat cancer.
Xu Jialan lowered her head slightly and remained silent.
Old Liang sighed. “Just focus on recovering for now. Don’t worry about the university or the Bureau of Medicine. Your master will handle everything.”
Xu Jialan opened her mouth to speak. “Master…”
Old Liang patted her shoulder. “Zhiya thinks you’re doing this project for fame and fortune, but you’re your master’s disciple. How could I, as your master, not know what’s truly in your disciple’s heart?”
A trace of helplessness flashed in his eyes. “Your senior sister can be somewhat stubborn and competitive at times. She may not understand you, but your master does. Just do what you want to do, and leave the rest to your master.”