Chapter 207 Human Abnormality
Xia Lili suddenly came to her senses and found that her nails had dug deeply into her palms, leaving four bloody marks.
"Sister Xia, why did you suddenly freeze?"
Niuniu stood on tiptoe and gently tugged at Xia Lili's sleeve. Seeing that Xia Lili didn't react, she suddenly opened her arms and hugged Xia Lili's waist, raised her paint-stained face and said seriously, "Don't be afraid, sister, that rumbling sound just now was just thunder!"
Seeing this, the other children immediately gathered around.
The little girl with pigtails pulled out her "amulet"—a rainbow-colored glass bead—and solemnly placed it in Xia Lili's hand. The little boy with glasses stood in front of Xia Lili in a formal manner, arms outstretched in a protective gesture. The youngest, Doudou, even imitated the adults, patting Xia Lili's back with his chubby little hands: "Be good, sister, don't be afraid..."
Xia Lili's eyes suddenly felt hot.
She squatted down and gathered the children into her arms: "Thank you, little warriors, for giving me courage."
Xia Lili tried hard to control her voice and said, "I'm going to help the firefighters save people now. Can you guys wait here for me?"
Looking at the children's innocent smiling faces and thinking of their frightened eyes in the news footage, Xia Lili's heart seemed to be tightened.
She took a deep breath and walked quickly towards Du Weifeng and Captain Fang who were studying the construction drawings.
"Mr. Du," she said, getting straight to the point, her voice low. "When was the last time you tested underground methane concentrations? Can I see the report?"
Du Weifeng frowned upon hearing this and looked at Xia Lili in confusion. "Miss Xia, with all due respect, as an accompanying staff member of the welfare home, why are you suddenly concerned about this?"
Captain Fang, standing by, suddenly became alert upon hearing this. He pressed the intercom hard, "If there really is methane accumulation underground..." He turned to Du Weifeng and said in a sudden serious tone, "The metal sparks generated by the drilling operation could easily cause an explosion!"
Methane is a flammable and explosive gas. Even on rainy days, it will not affect the accumulation and explosion of methane underground.
Du Weifeng pointed at the screen with confidence: "Captain Fang, look, all the indicators meet the standards."
As he spoke, he quickly clicked his mouse, calling up an electronic inspection report and projecting it onto the large screen. "This is the official report issued by Xincheng Safety Inspection Company. They conducted a comprehensive review last month, and all the data is within the safe range."
The densely packed data and professional charts in the report do look very formal.
Captain Fang leaned in closer to the screen and took a closer look. The report clearly displayed various test data:
"Methane concentration 0.1%... Carbon monoxide..."
He quickly glanced at it and nodded: "The data is all within the safety threshold."
He turned around and was about to walk out: "I'll have the team start drilling for rescue."
"Wait!" Xia Lili suddenly stopped him, "This report is fake!"
She showed her police ID and said, "I received a report that the test data has never been measured on the spot."
Du Weifeng's face suddenly changed: "This is impossible! Are you kidding me?"
Captain Fang paused, his hand already on the intercom, caught in a dilemma.
——"We, the police, would never joke about this kind of thing."
A low and cold voice suddenly came from the door.
Xia Lili looked in the direction of the voice and saw Li Qihan's tall figure standing at the door frame.
He was wearing a neatly tailored long black wool coat, and his shoulders were still covered with fine raindrops, which shimmered in the light.
"Listen to her." Li Qihan gave a brief order, his voice was not loud but carried unquestionable majesty.
Captain Fang's eyes lit up. He was obviously acquainted with Li Qihan. He asked in surprise, "Captain Li?"
Xia Lili was also surprised. From the time the hallucination occurred until now, she had no time to inform Li Qihan, so she just wanted to stop the fire department from drilling.
"Captain Li, why are you here?"
"Just passing by." Li Qihan remained calm, brushing off the water droplets on his coat with his fingers. "I remembered you said you were coming to this construction site this morning."
He paused, "I didn't expect something to happen right after arriving."
Turning to Fang Jun, Li Qihan's eyes instantly sharpened: "Captain Fang, besides drilling, are there any other rescue plans?"
Fang Jun's brows were furrowed so tightly that they could kill a fly. "There are other options, but one of the six people underground is bleeding. Drilling a well is the fastest way to rescue them."
He gripped the intercom tightly, his knuckles turning white. "Another method is to manually clear the obstruction in the passage and then use high-pressure airbags to push open the deformed steel frame. While it's a safe method, it will delay the process by at least two hours."
Li Qihan said firmly: "Let's follow the safe plan."
Fang Jun was still worried: "The police said the test report was fake. Do they have solid evidence?"
Xia Lili stepped forward and said, "First, organize some people to clear the passage. We will be able to provide evidence within ten minutes."
She checked the time on her phone and said, "I understand the situation of the injured, but if we rashly use a drilling rig to cause an explosion, the consequences will be disastrous."
Fang Jun's eyes flickered between the two officers, and he finally took a deep breath. "Okay, I'll arrange for manual rescue right away. But please provide proof as soon as possible."
He turned and began to deploy into the intercom, his voice still hesitant.
Li Qihan turned to Du Weifeng, his black coat drawing a sharp arc as he moved: "Send me the electronic test report."
"Okay, okay!" Du Weifeng operated the phone in a hurry, with beads of sweat oozing from his forehead.
Li Qihan's slender fingers slid across the screen quickly, then he dialed a number. A moment later, his sharp gaze pierced Du Weifeng like a knife. "The signature on this report clearly doesn't match the inspector's previous reports."
Xia Lili's eyes lit up - she almost forgot that Li Qihan had studied professional handwriting identification under Professor Qiao.
Du Weifeng's face turned pale instantly: "You mean... the signature is forged?"
His voice trembled, "This is impossible!"
Li Qihan took a step forward, exuding an intimidating aura. "Are you aware of this?"
"How could I!"
Du Weifeng stumbled back, his back colliding with the control console. "This is the construction site I contracted. I live and eat with the workers! If anything goes wrong, I'll be the first to suffer!"
He pointed at the surveillance screen with red eyes, "Old Zhou and the others are still down there waiting for help. I'm more anxious than anyone else!"
Xia Lili took a step forward and slowed down her voice: "Mr. Du, we are not suspicious of you."
She handed over a bottle of water. "The most important thing now is to find out what the problem is. Think carefully about this test report. From the time it was submitted to the time it was issued, were there any abnormalities?"
Du Weifeng felt as if all his strength had been drained from him, his tall frame slumping heavily into a chair. His trembling fingers tangled in his hair, and his helmet slid to the ground with a clang.
"I...let me think..."
At this moment, the firefighter's voice suddenly came from the intercom of Fire Brigade Captain Fang Jun: "Captain, we found something unusual while clearing the obstacles blocking the entrance!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com