Chapter 118 The Duties of Soldiers
At least fifty or sixty people had not managed to escape the bar, which had turned into complete ruins. How many people would die in there?
Ye Qing stared blankly at the bar behind him. Although he had harbored a murderous intent that night and had shown no mercy, he had not intended to kill so many people.
That man with a few bombs had managed to kill dozens in one go. Compared to him, Ye Qing was merciful!
Outside the ruins, many people were crying and screaming for their parents. Some were thrown by the blast and fell to the ground with bloodied heads. Others were burned by the flames, suffering severe burns all over their bodies, looking extremely tragic.
Even though the screams were deafening, no one dared to look back or venture closer to help them. No one knew if there were still bombs in the ruins, or if there would be another explosion, and no one dared to approach the ruins.
Those who were fortunate to be uninjured were now too panicked to care about the friends who had come with them and ran far away, not daring to get close to the ruins of the bar. Even those with minor injuries were almost crawling away.
Only those severely injured, who had no strength left, were left screaming and crying outside the bar.
Ye Qing saw it clearly; a girl dressed in glamorous clothes, engulfed by flames, writhed and screamed on the ground like a torch. But the flames were too strong; she could not extinguish them, and eventually, her rolling ceased and her cries weakened until she could no longer make a sound.
There was also a young man, his legs crushed under a slab of concrete, both legs broken. He struggled to push the slab away but could not. The flames quickly reached him, and he watched as the fire engulfed him, turning him into a torch like the girl before.
Such scenes continued non-stop around the bar's ruins, which had become a sea of fire, with countless people already buried within. Clearly, those injured around the bar, if they did not crawl away soon, would also likely be consumed by the flames.
Ye Qing frowned and fell silent for a long time. He turned around, helped Black Bear to a roundabout to sit down, then took big strides toward the vicinity of the bar.
"What are you doing?" Li Lianshan had just caught up and was surprised to see him act so rashly, "Don't go over there, there might still be unexploded bombs inside!"
"Saving people!" Ye Qing said just two words before rushing toward the bar, grabbing a girl who was close to the bar, and carrying her about twenty meters away from the bar.
This distance was far enough to be safe from the flames.
The girl was crying when suddenly being rescued brought her great joy. But, when she saw who had saved her, she was stunned.
She had been among those who attacked Ye Qing just moments before. Although it was her first time meeting Ye Qing, she had subconsciously regarded him as an enemy. She never expected that the very man she considered a major enemy and had attacked just moments ago would save her.
Meanwhile, her boyfriend, who had been affectionately with her just before, had watched her nearly perish in the flames without lifting a finger to save her. The goodness and evil of humanity were fully demonstrated by these two men.
Ye Qing paid no heed to the girl's astonished gaze, turned around, and ran back outside the bar, continuously rescuing the most endangered people one by one.
This process was not easy, as occasional explosions still erupted from within the ruins, creating a terrifying scene. Ye Qing was knocked down several times by the explosions and, if not for his robust physique, he probably could not have continued.
Moreover, the closer he got to the bar, the higher the temperature of the flames, making it unbearable. Ye Qing's lips were all cracked, yet he still rushed in to rescue people without hesitation.
"Boss, does this guy have something wrong with his brain?" Scarred Yang couldn't help saying, "Just now, these people were yelling to kill him, and now he's actually saving them. Isn't that crazy?"
Li Lianshan frowned tightly. He also disagreed with Ye Qing's actions. This was linked to his experiences over the years, knowing too well the logic of kicking someone down the well. At such times, even if one does not kick someone further down, there is no need to risk one's life to save them!
Black Bear sat on the roundabout, still with traces of blood at the corner of his mouth, but his eyes were increasingly bright. Need character sheets and glossaries? Visit MV^LEM^PYR.
Seeing Black Bear like this, Scarred Yang couldn't help saying, "Hey, buddy, you're still smiling. Advise your friend not to do stupid things. Why save these people?"
"No one can persuade him once the captain has made up his mind!" Black Bear paused, then said, "These people are in a dangerous situation. We are soldiers, saving them is our duty!"
Scarred Yang protested, "What duty? Weren't you guys just trying to kill these people? Let me tell you, this is simply foolish!"
"It's different," Black Bear shook his head and said, "The captain wanted to kill them because they were utterly ruthless and treated human lives like dirt. But, saving their lives in this situation is a soldier's principle. For instance, you definitely execute a murderer once you catch him. But if he is in such a situation before being executed, should the police not save him?"
Scarred Yang was dumbfounded, opened his mouth, and waved his hand, "Damn, luckily I'm not a cop. Who needs all those principles? To me, not kicking them into the fire pit is already the greatest kindness!"
Black Bear glanced at Scarred Yang and said, "I like your idea a lot, but unfortunately, I am a soldier, and soldiers have principles!"
"Principles, no principles, you're just stuck in your old ways!" Scarred Yang scoffed.
Suddenly, the always silent Li Lianshan spoke up, "Scarface, go help!"
"What?" Scarface looked at Li Lianshan, thinking he had misheard, "Eldest Brother, help... help with what?"
"Help rescue people!" Li Lianshan said.
"Damn, Eldest Brother, are you kidding me!" Scarred Yang's eyes widened, "We're neither cops nor soldiers, what's this talk about principles?"
"I don't talk about principles!" Li Lianshan looked at Scarred Yang, "I admire his principles, it's not about rescuing people, I want you guys to help him!"
Scarred Yang glanced at Ye Qing, then back at Li Lianshan. Although Li Lianshan's words were twisted, he understood them. In fact, he too admired Ye Qing and Black Bear.
"Damn it, you guys, come with me to rescue people!" Scarred Yang led some of his followers, grumbling, "I've been in this business for so many years, done plenty of hurting people, but rescuing? That's a damn first for me."
A bunch of hoodlums ran to help Ye Qing, whereas those well-known, high-status merchants and either beautiful, charming young women still in school or just graduated were frantically escaping for their lives. In this flurry of flames, the contrast between social status and human nature was starkly evident!
With Scarred Yang leading the help, it didn't take long to evacuate the people around the bar. At that moment, a shrill alarm could be heard in the distance.
Normally, no matter how big an incident here, the police wouldn't show up. Because everyone here was basically well-off, and the police's presence would just be an annoyance.
However, if some of these privileged kids died, the situation would be different. Tonight, the situation was nothing short of shocking.
About a dozen police cars arrived screaming, led by the North District Division Chief Nian Hongcai. Seeing the situation at the scene, Nian Hongcai's vision darkened, nearly passing out.
The Qianwan Bar was completely gone, and seeing the top-level luxury cars burning around, it wasn't hard to guess how many people had died inside. Not to mention the backgrounds of these people, even if they were just ordinary people dying here, the incident was enough to shock the world!
A police officer rushed over, urgently saying, "Director, Director, Deputy Director Deng called to inquire about the situation here."
Nian Hongcai almost vomited blood, took the phone, and stuttered, "Deng... Director Deng, hello, I... I've arrived at the scene, have gotten control of the situation, the... the exact number of casualties is still... still unknown, but... but I'm afraid it's not few...
ah, yes... yes, yes!"
Nian Hongcai was nodding and bowing over the phone, and barely managed to hang up, feeling almost drained.
"What on earth happened!" Nian Hongcai roared furiously, as resolving this matter poorly could mean he wouldn't remain chief anymore.
A police officer who had earlier gone to gather information came over to report immediately. After hearing the officer, Nian Hongcai's expression froze; he knew trouble was brewing at Beihuan Qianwan Bar sooner or later, but he never dared to intervene. Who could have imagined such a massive incident would erupt?
Nian Hongcai took a deep breath and said gravely, "Who was fighting earlier!"
The officer said, "It was a man named Ye Qing and one of his subordinates."
"Arrest those two first!" Nian Hongcai waved and shouted, even though he was not sure if the explosion was related to them. But he needed someone to pin this disaster on, and Ye Qing and Black Bear were his chosen scapegoats.
Just as Ye Qing had rescued the people outside the bar and sat down next to Black Bear, even his robust body was gasping for breath. Before he could settle down, several police officers ran up, pulling out handcuffs to cuff him.
"What the hell!" Li Lianshan stood up first, even more agitated than Ye Qing. After tonight, he was thoroughly impressed by Ye Qing!
The police recognized Li Lianshan, glanced at him, and said, "Boss Li, we suspect him in connection with tonight's explosion and want to take him in for investigation!"
Li Lianshan angrily said, "I can testify that he has nothing to do with this!"
"Sorry, but we need to investigate before deciding. It's the chief's orders!" The officer didn't give Li Lianshan any face and directly clamped the handcuffs on Ye Qing's wrists.