Chapter 280 - 221: Your dad almost died!

The notice for the police to sweep this underground internet cafe was handled by Ye Jiahong.

Fang Huai, walking in the front, saw the panic-stricken face of the internet cafe owner who hadn’t even had time to plead with them; he knew the owner must be worried about more serious issues at hand.

An middle-aged man clutched Fang Huai tightly, pleading in a low voice filled with sobs and urgency:

"Save my little boy, save my little boy..."

Fang Huai hurried into the room with the others, and Fang Hongliang also followed close behind.

It was empty.

The owner entered the room and lowered his voice as he pointed at the window, saying:

"Outside, keep your voices down."

Fang Huai peered out the window.

A boy was lying on his side on a small overhang located halfway up the third floor. He didn’t look very old, around his teens, but his body nearly occupied the entire space of the overhang, with his lower legs hanging over the edge.

There was blood on his chin; he was injured.

Behind him, the owner briefed them:

"This kid ran over here after ten... to play, but then his dad found him. The boy panicked and climbed out of the window.

My window can’t stop anyone. When his dad arrived, the kid panicked, clinging to the windowsill. When his dad entered the private room, the boy couldn’t hold on and fell onto that platform.

Luckily, he landed on that exact spot, it seems he only knocked his chin and has been crying since. We quickly told him not to move, but then he looked down and just... must have fainted.

We now dare not wake him up, with his current position, the moment he wakes and moves, he’ll fall..."

Fang Huai cut in: "Is there anyone in the apartment below?"

"We just knocked for half a day, no one’s there!"

Only then did Fang Huai turn around and said to Fang Hongliang, "Squad leader, twenty-meter rope, D-type hook."

No time to waste, a cool breeze was blowing outside, and this child was just scared; he could wake at any moment.

The emergency rescue suit’s waistband unlike the firefighting combat suits, are not filled with auxiliary equipment, its main feature being its lightness; everything needed is taken from the vehicle.

Fang Hongliang understood what he meant, nodded, and went to fetch the items.

Fang Huai, now the Special Duty Squad leader, did not discuss with Fang Hongliang whether it was appropriate for him to go.

Ye Jiahong, standing at the door, quickly arranged for others to descend swiftly and circle around to the back of the building, ready to assist.

Soon, Deputy Rescue Squad Leader Hu Hongzhi and Fang Hongliang returned with the D-type hook and a twenty-meter rope. There wasn’t much in the room, so they decided to tie the rope to the leg of the computer desk as a safety measure, and then both men put on their gloves and grabbed the rope.

Fang Huai secured an Italian hitch to the D-type hook and attached it to the harness’s safety catch, then he stood on a chair and stepped onto the windowsill.

The boy’s father, seeing they hadn’t even spoken yet were ready to proceed, teared up in excitement:

"Thank you, thank you! Be careful!"

As he spoke, he moved to help with the rope.

Fang Hongliang pushed him away, cautioning sternly, "You have no gloves, don’t touch! It’s very dangerous!"

After all, if Fang Huai really fell, trying to grab the safety rope barehanded could strip off a layer of skin with its friction.

Fang Huai nodded downwards, indicating to the others to secure the rope, and then he jumped down holding onto it.

"Oh my..."

Upon landing, he immediately felt the difference from training.

The outer wall was brick, somewhat wet and slippery, hard to get a foothold on.

Fortunately, his arm strength was extraordinary, and he held on securely after jumping down.

After slipping once already, Fang Huai didn’t dare to jump anymore and slowly descended, reaching the boy in no time.

Upon approaching...

Wow...

Scared half to death, he had wet himself.

It was Fang Huai’s first time seeing someone literally scared to pee their pants; the boy wore light-colored sports trousers with a distinct semi-circular wet mark, blatantly obvious.

Damn, better take a leak before high-altitude operations next time, just to be safe.

With nowhere to set his feet near the boy, Fang Huai assessed the boy’s height and weight; roughly over 1.6 meters tall and looking about fourteen or fifteen,

He likely weighed less than a hundred pounds. After thinking for a while, he still decided to pat the boy’s face.

Then, he tightly grasped the boy’s arm, squeezing it firmly.

Once touched, the boy instantly started to stir.

And before even opening his eyes, he began to cry:

"Wuu..."

Continuing the nightmare from before.

As the boy opened his eyes, he saw his father above him looking down with concern; his hands hurriedly pushed aside, preparing to sit up, but pushed on nothing.

His body wobbled.

Fortunately, Fang Huai’s left hand was already holding onto his shoulder, pulling him inward, while his right hand yanked on the rope firmly, stepping onto a foothold swiftly, then shifted his grip and lifted the boy up in one motion.

Looking down from the third floor, the firefighters clad in white helmets, ready to catch someone with their bare hands, looked quite small.

The boy was now bewildered by the height before his eyes.

He dared not move recklessly, yet still shouted, "What are you doing? My dad’s up there!"

Fang Huai’s recent actions had given him no sense of security.

"Don’t move, I’m a firefighter uncle! You fell just now, I’m here to save you!"

Fang Huai had to free one hand to secure the boy, knowing that once both were hanging in the air, his other hand would have to bear the weight of over two hundred pounds, which was no joke.

The boy’s father from above also anxiously shouted, "Yangyang, don’t move! Don’t move!"

The boy then turned his head, trembling slightly, and after seeing the badge on Fang Huai’s helmet, he settled down.

"Hold on to me tight now!"

During the descent, Fang Huai, holding the boy, couldn’t hold onto the rope, so he grabbed onto the rope below him, slowly lowering them down.

The boy was at first tense, then surprised by the descent process, watching in awe as Fang Huai, holding the rope, brought him gently down.

Perhaps at that moment, the boy thought he looked like some kind of hero.

But upon landing, the boy fidgeted again.

Fang Huai understood what was going on and didn’t delay in front of his comrades; instead, he pulled the boy towards the front yard.

Looking around for a water hose and finding none,

He took two bottles of mineral water reserved in Car No.2, poured them over the boy’s trousers, and then kindly added:

"If anyone asks, you say you fell into a pond below, got it?"

For a teenage boy, wetting his pants was obviously a very embarrassing event.

At this age, boys are at the peak of their self-esteem, and if they can be protected, they should be.

The boy’s tears immediately gathered in his eyes, and his gaze toward Fang Huai was filled with admiration:

"Thank you, uncle..."

A few comrades not far away understood what was happening and chuckled softly:

"Did you see that? No wonder he can charm such a pretty girl, he’s so thoughtful!"

...

On the way back to the underground internet cafe with the boy, the boy’s father had already come downstairs. As they met in the corridor, the father started berating the boy:

"I spend so much money on your tuition! And you just take the money and run off to an underground internet cafe in the middle of the night! What would I do if something happened to you today? What about your mom? What do you have to say for yourself?"

Fang Huai waved his hand and said sternly, "Don’t disturb the rest of the residents! Let’s talk downstairs!"

The man heeded the call, stopped scolding the boy, and profusely thanked Fang Huai as they walked down together.

Once they reached the open space on the street outside the building, the man wanted to chastise the boy again.

But the boy, who could cowardly jump out of a window to avoid his strict father, suddenly felt emboldened by Fang Huai’s imposing figure and shouted back at his father’s public scolding, feeling a blow to his self-esteem:

"I’m fifteen! I’m already an adult! I don’t want to go to school! Why should I live life the way you want?"

This childish outburst left Fang Huai and the others who had rushed over at a loss for words.

But the father was furious:

"If you don’t study, once you enter society, what can you do? Pick up trash?"

Seeing Ye Jiahong approaching, wearing a camouflage uniform, the boy’s voice grew firm: "I’ll join the army in the future! You don’t need to worry about me!"

The soldiers present, including Fang Huai, all twitched.

Damn, joining the army is indeed the last resort of children and parents when they’re at an impasse.

Fang Huai couldn’t help but clear his throat, stepped forward, grabbed the boy’s head, and said:

"Not want your dad to worry about you? You almost didn’t have a dad today! Then you’d truly have no one to worry about you! Do you understand?"

After saying this, he turned to the man and sternly "rebuked" him:

"You’re not a professional rescuer. What were you thinking, trying to jump out? You wouldn’t have been able to save him by jumping! It’s very dangerous; you could have died! Do you understand that?"

The man looked bewildered.

I didn’t jump though!

And even if I did, what good would that have done? There’s nowhere to land!

But seeing Fang Huai, standing behind his son while making frantic eye gestures, the man quickly understood his well-intentioned lie. Swallowing hard, he went along with the lie:

"I... I’m his father! It’s my duty to protect him! Even if I died for it, if it made him see sense, it would be worth it!"

The boy was momentarily stunned.

His earlier bravado likewise dissipated, and he began crying again:

"I was wrong, I was wrong, dad..."

The man, feeling his son’s sincere concern for him, also stepped forward and patted his head, then turned away to wipe his eyes.

The soldiers around chuckled to themselves.

This dad sure can follow the script.

Fang Huai sighed quietly.

Just focus on your studies, kid. With your tendency to cry, you’re not cut out to be a soldier.

You’d desert within three days.

...

What followed was a scene of fatherly affection and filial piety.

The father held Fang Huai’s hand, expressing immense gratitude, and insisted on finding out Fang Huai’s unit, saying he would definitely come to present a banner.

The comrades were all envious, but they couldn’t help but admire Fang Huai’s actions that day.

That little brat who had charged into the B hole upstairs, however, didn’t receive a shred of Fang Huai’s human kindness.

Fang Huai handed him over to the police who had arrived and repeatedly instructed them that the boy had shouted and screamed, nearly causing a tragedy, so they must contact his parents.

Although the kid kept saying he was wrong and swearing he would never come to the underground internet cafe again, Fang Huai was unyielding.

Fang Huai’s actions were driven not only by the words the kid had said but also because the kid’s looks and manner of speaking were too damn similar to a bully named Zhu Hongbing from his junior high school days.

There was no way Fang Huai could let him off; he even wanted to wait for the police to notify the kid’s parents and then insult the boy a bit more, ensuring he got the beating of a lifetime when he got home.

But he also knew that such a brazen child, who dared to utter things like "It’s not my kid" at such a young age, probably had parents with poor discipline.

In fact, the kid might be better off joining the army, where only the brutal discipline and ideological education of the military might be able to set him straight.

This was another part of the military’s contribution, in addition to defending the country: turning countless kids like this back onto the right path.

...

Just as he got into the car.

The system sent a notification.

S-Level Police Evaluation, 8 military merit points.

And a message that for advising the kid, he received an additional bonus of 3 military merit points.

Fang Huai was thrilled.

This is awesome.

Why didn’t you say so earlier!

If he had known, he would have "reformed" the daughter-in-law of the man who had fallen into the water so much that she would have stared in bewilderment!

By the way, how is that old man doing now?

He should visit when he has the chance.

These people are the most significant part of being a firefighter, he thought, and resolved to visit them occasionally to stay true to his original mission.

In the future, there should be many more people like them, right?

People whose fates he would change.

As he was thinking.

Ye Jiahong’s mobile phone rang.

"Hello."

Ye Jiahong answered, listened for a while, raised his eyebrows, then said:

"Hmm, send it to my phone."

After hanging up, Ye Jiahong looked around to check the road conditions, then rubbed his eyes and said:

"Turn around, turn around, we’ve got more work to do."