Save the Documents!

The third update is here. Got any Recommendation Tickets left?

Dong Xuebin was afraid of death—very afraid of death.

In the past, even if someone had pointed a gun at him, he would never have rushed inside. That was playing with his life.

But Dong Xuebin was different now. He had the massive trump card of BACK. In other words, he had one more life than everyone else in the world. When he encountered danger, he could BACK without suffering any harm. With it, life was no longer the most important thing to Dong Xuebin. He had already died once, so what was the harm in dying again? It was not like he would really die. What he needed now was achievements, merit, and his superiors' trust. That was why Dong Xuebin charged into the sea of fire without hesitation.

Heat waves surged all around him. Fire was everywhere, before and behind, left and right.

Dong Xuebin could not make out anything inside. Black smoke and firelight filled the air. He coughed several times, hurriedly grabbed his soaking-wet shirt and covered his mouth with it, narrowed his stinging, tear-filled eyes, and felt his way deeper into the darkness through the smoke.

So hot. It felt like his skin was about to burn.

Dong Xuebin could barely endure it after only a few seconds inside. He avoided the burning piles beneath his feet and gritted his teeth through the pain.

Shouts continued behind him, all calling Dong Xuebin's name.

"Little Dong, don't do anything stupid!" That was Li Qing's voice. "If the documents are gone, they're gone! Don't get yourself hurt too!"

Zhou Changchun also shouted, "Little Dong, come back! That's an order! Come back!"

"Binzi, are you crazy? Get out here! The fire's getting worse!" His colleagues were calling out to him as well.

Dong Xuebin knew that the documents had most likely already burned to ashes. His purpose was not really to find them, but to put on a show of courage and fearlessness—to show that he could share his leaders' burdens at a critical moment. So he ignored everyone's shouts, quickly ran to the half-open door of the inner room, and kicked the burning wooden door open. Just as he was about to enter, a loud crash suddenly sounded behind him. Something heavy seemed to have hit the ground, and even the concrete floor beneath his feet shook. When he turned around, he saw that the bookcase by the entrance had fallen over, slanting across the doorway and completely sealing the exit.

Damn! Dong Xuebin jumped in fright.

"Oh no!"

"Binzi can't get out!"

"Save him! Hurry and save him!"

The people outside were frantic. Fire extinguishers sprayed at the burning bookcase while sticks pounded against it, hoping to open a path for Dong Xuebin. Otherwise, even if the fire did not burn him to death, the thick smoke would suffocate him.

Dong Xuebin clenched his teeth. After hesitating for a moment, he turned and rushed into the inner room.

Crash!

A table to his left suddenly fell apart. The tabletop and one of its legs slammed into Dong Xuebin's pants, instantly burning a hole through them and scalding several patches of skin beneath. Dong Xuebin cried out in agony as cold sweat immediately broke out all over him. Enduring the pain, he quickly slapped out the flames on his pants. This time, the ruthlessness in his heart rose up. His eyes widened, and he limped toward the thick smoke in the corner of the inner room—that was where the desk Li Qing had mentioned stood.

Bang!

The fluorescent light overhead exploded.

Shards flew everywhere. Two of them pierced the back of Dong Xuebin's neck and his hand, and blood immediately poured from the wounds.

Dong Xuebin cursed inwardly. Fighting through the dizziness from inhaling too much smoke, he struggled forward step by step.

As he got closer, the desk gradually came into view. Like everything else, it was already engulfed in flames. Yet what Dong Xuebin found unbelievable was that the row of drawers on the left seemed only half-burned and had not yet been completely swallowed by the fire. Dong Xuebin's head heated up. He anxiously reached for the second drawer, but cried out as his fingers were burned, sharp pain shooting through them. He simply used his foot to kick the locked drawer.

Thud! Thud!

One kick, then another.

With a crack, the burnt section of the drawer split open, revealing two Kraft Paper Bags inside.

The documents were actually still there!

Dong Xuebin was overjoyed. Ignoring the burns on his hands, he reached straight into the flames and snatched out the two Kraft Paper Bags, their corners already slightly charred. Then he coughed violently, covered his mouth against the smoke, lowered his body, and turned back toward the Outer Room. But the large bookcase blocking the doorway had only been shifted slightly by the people outside. The exit was still not fully open.

Hurry up! Let me out!

His head was getting heavier and heavier, more and more dizzy...

Dong Xuebin used all his strength to move toward the exit, but he had inhaled too much smoke. His mind and body were gradually no longer obeying him.

Dong Xuebin's vision blurred, and he collapsed to the floor with a thud.

The documents caught fire the moment they touched the ground. Dong Xuebin was also burned by the flammable debris on the floor, screaming in pain.

Dead.

He was going to die.

With the last of his strength, the utterly weakened Dong Xuebin shouted, "BACK!"

Everything was burning.

The two Kraft Paper Bags lay quietly inside the cracked drawer. It was the exact moment when Dong Xuebin had just kicked the drawer open.

Time had rewound.

Dong Xuebin's mind jolted, and feeling returned throughout his body. His head was still dizzy and heavy, but he was much clearer than he had been at the moment of death. He knew the smoke was poisonous. He did not have much time left. Even if he got the documents, he would not be able to walk out of the office alive.

Without daring to waste a second, Dong Xuebin grabbed the two sets of documents. This time, he did not choose that certain path to death. Instead, while he still had feeling in his body, he ran with all his strength toward the inner room's window. He casually picked up an unbroken porcelain teacup and smashed it hard against the glass.

Crack! It shattered into countless pieces.

This was the second floor. Jumping down carried some risk, but it was still better than being suffocated by smoke.

Dong Xuebin could feel that he was almost done for. At the window, he took a deep breath of air with a lower concentration of smoke. Glancing at the bicycle shed's awning below, he felt reassured. Hugging the documents to his chest, he unsteadily climbed out the window, pinched his temple with his fingernails to force himself awake, then pushed off hard with both legs and leapt straight down from the building.

Four meters...

Three meters...

Two meters...

Bang!

Pain shot through Dong Xuebin's left shoulder as his body slammed hard onto the blue translucent plastic canopy below. Rolling and rolling, he lost his balance and tumbled down from the high point. With another thud, his whole body hit the concrete beneath the bicycle shed, nearly getting jabbed by several bicycles.

The air he breathed in suddenly became fresh.

Dong Xuebin fought down the urge to vomit and looked up at the blue sky. Only then did his heart finally settle.

He was alive.

He had not died.

Three minutes later...

Sparse footsteps in the distance gradually drew closer.

It turned out that everyone involved in fighting the fire had gone around to the back of the building. The first to arrive were the leaders and staff from the General Office.

"Binzi! Binzi!"

"Little Dong, how are you? How are you?"

Dong Xuebin was covered in burns, scalds, and sprains. He could not stand at all, only managing a difficult smile.

Tan Limei, Zhuangzi, Chang Juan, and the others had already reached him. When they saw the blood-covered Dong Xuebin lying on the ground, all of them sucked in a breath. "Call an ambulance! An ambulance!" Zhuangzi had the best relationship with Dong Xuebin. After shouting in panic, he hurried over to support him.

Li Qing was deeply moved. "Little Dong, you... Sigh. You knew the documents had already burned up, and yet you still..."

Dong Xuebin let out a breath. "The documents didn't burn."

"What did you say?" Li Qing, Zhou Changchun, and the others all froze.

Wincing, Dong Xuebin twisted his body and pulled the two Kraft Paper Bags out from beneath him. "Are these what you were looking for?"

"You found them?" Li Qing and Zhou Changchun could hardly believe their eyes. For a moment, they nearly burst into tears. Li Qing excitedly stepped forward and gripped the bloodstained Kraft Paper Bags. "Yes! These are them! These are them!" Li Qing was so moved that he did not know what to say. "You... this... Little Dong, well done. Well done!"

Quite a few people were stunned. Was Little Dong really this fearless?

Guo Shunjie and Guo Panwei looked at each other, both finding it hard to believe. In that kind of dangerous situation, it would have been impressive enough for Dong Xuebin to escape alive. Who could have expected that not only had he survived, he had also rescued the documents?

Zhou Changchun glanced at the dumbfounded Guo Panwei and Guo Shunjie, and he had already formed his judgment. They had said Little Dong was impetuous and immature? Where had the two of them been at the critical moment? Had they kept far away the moment they saw the fire inside? When it truly mattered, Little Dong was the dependable one.

Director Yan, who had come up behind them, was also shaken. He looked at Dong Xuebin, then took the documents from Li Qing's hands and snorted. "You don't need to write that resignation letter for now. But you can't avoid punishment. Hand me your self-criticism when you get back."

"Yes, thank you, Director," Li Qing said.

"Thank you, Director Yan," Zhou Changchun said. Having escaped disaster, both men were especially relieved.

"Don't thank me." Director Yan looked at Dong Xuebin on the ground. "Thank him instead. You two have a fine subordinate."

Li Qing and Zhou Changchun nodded forcefully, fully agreeing.

Yes, there was probably not another subordinate in the Chengxi Branch Bureau who would risk his life for his leaders like this.

At that moment, everyone's impression of Dong Xuebin changed completely—this guy was the type who did not fear death.

The third update is here. Got any Recommendation Tickets left?

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