8:00 AM [Morning News]
A fire broke out this morning in the Xiantao District of Ancheng, starting at a warehouse in the center of the old town. The warehouse is surrounded by crowded places such as hospitals, markets and schools. Up to now, the fire has not been extinguished, and the details of the fire are still being investigated.
12:00 PM [Midday News]
Firefighters have arrived at the fire time in Xiantao District immediately to rescue, and have cordoned off the scene. People in the hazardous area have also been promptly transferred and evacuated.
As of the time of the report, the fire has been extinguished and the property damage caused by the fire is initially estimated to exceed 40 million yuan. Up to now, there are no reports of trapped people or casualties. The cause of the fire is still under further investigation.
* * *
12:30 PM, the scene of the fire accident in Xiantao District.
Although the warehouse fire was extinguished and the personnel were evacuated, the air was still filled with a choking smell. Traces of burning can be seen everywhere. Many areas were directly burnt into ruins. Even now, one can imagine the scene of flames shooting up to the sky at that time.
The fire department has set up a cordon and quarantine. There were still media hovering around the periphery, attempting to obtain more first-hand information about the scene.
"Hello, I am Zhang Min, the head of the External Personnel Department of the Special Immigration Bureau. We has some work to carry out here. Here is my work permit." Zhang Min has become very proficient in cooperating with other departments to handle such incidents.
The staff of the fire station took a look at his licence of "Special Immigration Bureau", then took the work permit he handed over. While checking, he briefly glanced at Zhang Min and his team for a few moments. Finally, he turned around and whispered to the other end of the walkie-talkie.
Soon, the staff cooperated to pulled back one end of the cordon. "This way."
"Thank you! You've done me a great favor." Zhang Min shook the staff's hand affectionately, his voice sinsere.
Although the work of the Special Immigration Bureau has always been unimpeded, there are just too many departments to deal with. Whether working in the office or on the front line, being polite to others would leave a good impression and make things easier for them.
Seeing Zhang Min and his team entering the cordon area, a journalist immediately raised his camera to take pictures. Staff of the fire station stopped him and said: "Special department is on duty. Please delete the photos."
The journalist hesitantly put down the camera.
"Please delete the photos." The fire department staff reminded again.
The journalist responded vaguely, lowered his head and pretended to delete the photos. But he immediately discovered something wrong. Why are all of the photos disappeared? !
All disappeared? !
What's going on?
In a panic, he desperately pressed the return button. But all the photos in the camera has been inexplicably deleted. He stood there in astonishment, looking confused. The only thing he could recall was that a leaf had fallen on the camera screen just now.
Not far away, Zhang Min whispered, "We are just making a living."
It means why make things difficult for others?
"He didn't delete them. The photos are all in the memory card." Old Teng concisely said.
Zhang Min: "..."
It's not Old Teng's fault.
After the fire, the accident scene has to be thoroughly investigated, and the cordon area was filled with inspection personnel. They were also here to investigate.
But everyone has their own area of expertise.
Bereau Chen was away. Zhang's leading the team today. The External Personnel Department in the Special Immigration Bureau is like a brick, which is moved wherever it is needed - for short - a backman.
"Come here." Tong Qian took off the peaked cap on his head and put on the headsets taken out from his backpack. After a brief adjustment of the handheld scanner, the instrument began to work. Instantly, a series of waveform current sounds came from the headphone. The screen of Tong Qian's left-hand watch also began to display the corresponding detection data and information.
This is the warehouse ruin in the core area of the fire. Zhang Min took a cursory look at the floor and the walls first. The roof has completely been burnt out. Moreover, the smell is too heavy, and the dust fills the area, making the view not clear.
Zhang Min reached out to fan in front of his nose, trying to dispel the smell, but still choked and coughed a few times. Looking at the nearly ruined scene around him, Zhang Min couldn't help but frown. The fire was so big that he had no idea how it managed to deal with it...
"What is the value of apt? "Zhang Min casually asked. The incident happened so suddenly that he casually grabbed Old Teng and Tong Qian and came. At that time, they were the only two of them in the Investigation Department and the Technical Department. The specific background of the fire is still unclear. It is only known that the apt value at the accident site seriously exceeded the standard, and it is necessary to go to the scene in person to have a look. This kind of matter is under the jurisdiction of the Special Immigration Bureau.
The apt value is a deviation parameter of the monster's mental and behavioral power, and is mainly used to assess the impact of the monster's activities in a certain area.
If the apt value seriously exceeds the standard, it indicates that an exceptionally powerful activity of monster's mental and behavioral power that deviates significantly from the standard range has occurred here not long ago.
Once such a matter is brought into the fire, it becomes an event that comes into the public eye, which is enough to give the Special Immigration Bureau a headache.
"The average apt value is 2000, with local peaks over 5000. Still detecting."
Tong Fei was concentrating on comparing and correcting the data on the watch's dashboard and the sound wave data coming from the headset, his tone surprisingly calm.
Machines have errors, and so do humans. Double-checking by both machines and humans can reduce error deviations. But both Zhang Min and Old Teng thought the data was extremely outrageous.
The average value is 2000, and the local peak exceeds 5000?
Good grief!
How many years haven't they seen such a value!
Zhang Min increasingly felt that this matter would become very tricky. Things being tricky means having to write a report. Things being very tricky means having to write a large number of investigation reports and explanations!
The key point is that such investigation reports are all issued by the External Personnel Department.
Zhang Min thought to himself: "There's no need! There's really no need to make such a big fuss!"
"Old Teng, do you have any further information?" Zhang Min found a piece of debris contaminated by apt in a corner of the ground. It looked somewhat like...
Zhang Min frowned. Iron filings on the fire hydrant?
Zhang Min turned around and just saw Old Teng holding a pad with both hands, looking down. There are several rattans sticking out from behind his trench coat tapping smoothly on the virtual keyboard without any crackling sound, but at a speed fast enough.
"Got it," Old Teng said in a deep voice, "It's an old and dilapidated fire hydrant in the Baoguo Road Fire Station."
It's really a fire hydrant!
"Wait," Zhang Min looked at Old Teng in surprise and asked, "How could an old and dilapidated fire hydrant be here?"
Old Teng said calmly: "Fire hydrants have a service life. Those that are old and deteriorated will be replaced. The same batch of replaced hydrants in Xiantao District were all placed in this warehouse waiting for transit and subsequent processing, and then they encountered the big fire this morning. Probably, it went to put out the fire..."
What a coincidence!
If it weren't for it, who knows how much trouble would have occurred here in Ancheng today.
Old Teng continued, "There are hospitals, schools and markets beside the warehouse. It's a planning problem for the old urban area. Before the firefighters arrived at the fire scene, it controlled the spread of the fire and isolated the dangerous area. Otherwise, it would surely have been a huge fire accident with casualties."
Zhang Min did see schools, hospitals and markets along the way. What Old Teng said is correct.
This guy is a good fire hydrant...
Zhang Min put the debris into a specially made collection bag and then put it in his pocket.
"Before this fire hydrant was scrapped, it was located in a section between the fire station's drill ground and the dormitory. It usually sees firefighters training, as well as the race against time when responding to emergencies."
Old Teng looks at the tablet while sifting through the information. "It should be that after years, the apt value has been generated imperceptibly. When the fire broke out, it felt like a member of the fire station and was determined to fight against the fire. Because of its professional skills, quick response, strong safety awareness, and relatively less fear of high temperature, the spread of the fire was stopped in time by it..."
"Well, what about the fire hydrant? Where is it?" Zhang Min asked.
Old Teng raised his head and looked at him, speaking in a low voice, "It's completely burned beyond recognition."
Zhang Min sighed in his heart. It's not surprising. After all, the roof of the warehouse was completely burned out, and the surrounding area was all reduced to ruins. In the Special Immigration Bureau, he has encountered many monsters who are stubbornly determined to become human. he has also seen cases where the monsters were denied a visa and couldn't help to endanger the society. Such a case is truly rare.
"No way!" Zhang Min suddenly realized and turned to ask Old Teng, "This guy has an expiration date. How could there be such a high apt value in such a short period of time?"
This is obviously unreasonable!
Old Teng's information has been almost checked. The rattans behind his trench coat gradually retracted. "There was a firefighter named Qu Juoming at the Baoguo Road Fire Station before. He was an orphan. During festivals and holidays, other staff of the station took turns going home for family reunion, only Qu was alone. He often tied his scarf to this fire hydrant and put his hat on it. When he was alone, he would chat with it. In Qu's heart, this fire hydrant was his concrete representation of family. The other staff at the fire station all knew that they were good friends."
Oh, Qu is hanging out with a fire hydrant. This guy seems to have something on him too.
But the topic changed abruptly, "Later, at one of the emergency responses, Qu sacrificed his life..."
Zhang Min's eyes narrowed in surprise.
Old Teng took a deep breath and said, "That was a few years ago. After Qu sacrificed himself, the firefighters in the station took over his job to chat with this fire hydrant every day. They would wrap a scarf around it in winter and put a hat on it in summer. This habit has never changed."
Furthermore, "During that fire, Qu saved many people. The families of those who were rescued insisted on expressing their gratitude to Qu's family. The firefighters also stuck to their point of view, saying that although Qu was an orphan, this fire hydrant is his family. These rescued families also insisted that since Qu regarded it as a family member, they also should believe that it was his family member."
Zhang Min seemed to somewhat understand it.
"These families come to express their gratitude to it every year. Otherwise, it should have reached the retirement age."
That is to say, this fire hydrant has been watching, listening, and absorbing everything around it. It has carried the beliefs of Qu and the firefighters of the fire station, the gratitude of the rescued families, as well as the remembrance of the firefighters for their comrades...
Qu is dead, but this fire hydrant has imprinted Qu's mark onto itself. So at the moment the fire broke out, it realized that it was itself the firefighter. It is the awakening of the inherent nature.
Because of the professional training, as soon as the fire broke out, it effectively utilized all the available resources around the warehouse and raced against the fire before the fire fighting truck has arrived. It gave the firefighters time to act later.
Even if its face was completely burned beyond recognition...
Zhang Min remained silent with mixed emotions.
After a long while, Zhang Min finally asked: "What did the Medical Department say?"
"Severe burns, no recognizable features. When sent to the Medical Department, it was already unconscious and kept repeating the word 'put out the fire'. The apt value is so high that according to the regulations, it should be repatriated. Since bureau Chen is not here, the Medical Department is asking if a special application is needed for this case?"
Old Teng's words caught Zhang Min off guard. Their eyes met, and both of them, without any prior communication, fell into a moment of silence.
The affairs of the Special Migration Bureau are absolutely nothing easy!
"Your darling is calling! Your darling is calling!" Zhang Min's phone rang at an inappropriate time. Old Teng looked disgusted.
Zhang Min consciously walked away, took a deep breath, and then suddenly switched into the smiling mode. With a warm smile, he picked up the phone: "Hey, yes I am... Oh dear! See how I forgot all about this! There was an emergency assignment this morning, and our team is out there. Has she arrived? Alright, alright, I know...It's ok, let her wait a moment. We'll be back soon."
After hanging up the phone, Zhang Min couldn't help sighing. "I was so busy that I forgot it. A new recruit will come to the bureau for registration today."