Chapter 585: What Right Do You Have to Blame Her?

Chapter 585: Chapter 600: What Right Do You Have to Blame Her?

As the rescue operation unfolded, media crews began to arrive. With cameras of all shapes and sizes, they snapped away nonstop, gathering fresh material for the news.

An Ning, clad in a form-fitting protective suit that concealed her features, was undoubtedly the best subject.

An Ning had secured the most dangerous position for herself. Her fearless armor, combined with her invincible spiritual power, allowed her to enter and exit the most hazardous areas of the fire time and time again, rescuing one person after another.

This scene was witnessed by many and, more importantly, noticed by the media.

Countless photographs were taken, and with them, the image of a mysterious hero was born.

An Ning was still unaware of this. Jiang Xia, however, who had just received first aid, noticed. He used his authority to suppress all photos of An Ning, forbidding their publication without her permission.

Meanwhile, many people in the crowd were shouting at An Ning and the firefighters.

“Hurry up and save them! What are you doing?! Get in there and save them!”

“My child—!”

“Please, I’m begging you! My wife is still in there!”

Pleas and curses from those who didn’t understand the rescue protocols rose and fell in waves. Firefighters continually tried to explain to them that the situation inside the blaze was complex; it wasn’t as simple as just rushing in to save people.

They would absolutely risk their lives and give their all to save people, but they had to do it strategically. It wasn’t about being reckless or trading one life for another.

Unfortunately, some people wouldn’t—or couldn’t—listen. They only saw firefighters standing by, seemingly doing nothing.

An Ning, who was repeatedly entering and exiting the blast site, became a beacon of hope for some.

An Ning moved as fast as she could, saving person after person. But sometimes, when her spiritual power scanned the area, she would find people who were already gone.

In those cases, she could only choose to rescue those who were still breathing.

But she couldn’t announce that someone was already dead. If she did, to the desperate families outside, she would seem cold-blooded for not attempting a rescue—or for not rescuing the specific person they were praying for.

BOOM—RUMBLE—

A third explosion!

As the blast wave erupted, An Ning sprinted out from inside, carrying a girl. She shielded the child with her own body and immediately handed her over to the nearest firefighter.

“My daughter! Xiao Yu!”

A barefoot woman rushed forward, trying to throw herself onto the little girl, but was held back by firefighters and paramedics.

Having made it out, An Ning turned to assess the extent of the new explosion, her spiritual power continuously scanning for any remaining signs of life.

“Agh! Why didn’t you save my child?! Why?!”

A woman charged at An Ning from behind. Caught off guard, An Ning was shoved so hard she staggered, nearly falling to the ground.

“Hey!”

Jiang Xia darted over, moving to steady An Ning while others restrained the woman.

“Why?! Why?! My child is still in there! Why didn’t you save him?! Why didn’t you save him?! He’s only three years old! Just three!”

The mention of a three-year-old child sent a pang of heartache through the onlookers.

An Ning straightened up. She knew which child the woman was talking about. But the three-year-old had stopped breathing long ago; that was why she hadn’t rescued him.

The woman collapsed to the ground, shrieking, her eyes glaring at An Ning with pure hatred.

In a flash, Jiang Xia moved to stand in front of An Ning, and he showed the woman no mercy.

“Has she stopped for even a single moment? Has she?”

“There have been multiple explosions, and she’s charged in every single time! She’s brought someone out every single time! Do you have any idea how dangerous it is in there?! Do you know she’s putting her own life on the line with every trip?!”

“She’s trading her life for theirs, so what right do you have to scream at her and curse her? Who the hell do you think you are?!”

Jiang Xia was genuinely furious, roaring with bloodshot eyes. It wasn’t that the woman on the ground didn’t understand; it was just that An Ning had been her child’s only hope.

Behind Jiang Xia, An Ning steadied herself. Without a word, she silently turned and went back inside.

The silence in that moment was deafening.

As An Ning went in, the firefighters moved as well. Every one of them was in a race against death, desperate to save even one more person—more desperate, even, than the people watching from the outside.

More than anyone, they hoped that when they found someone, they would still be alive.

The woman outside was helped to her feet. People wanted to comfort her, but what could they say? What hope was there for a three-year-old in a blast like this?

This time, An Ning again emerged with a survivor. But it still wasn’t the three-year-old boy.

‘So what if she hates me?’

An Ning didn’t really care.

All she cared about were the ones who were still alive.

She went back in, time and again. On her eighth trip out, An Ning was carrying a small figure.

She silently laid the child in a safe area, shook her head, and bowed deeply, before turning to go back inside.

“Aaaah—!”

The woman’s heart-wrenching wail faded from loud to soft, from a high-pitched scream to silence. In the end, she just held the child in her arms, rocking him numbly, as if trying to lull him to sleep.

With An Ning’s help, the rescue operation proceeded much faster than it otherwise would have.

Beneath the black night sky, beams of light crisscrossed—rays of hope rushing to save lives.

From dusk till dawn, and from dawn until the sun was high and bright in the sky, the rescue operation gradually wound down.

A field of ruins was all that remained.

An Ning had already slipped away from an unseen corner. Accompanied by Jiang Xia, she finally took off her armor.

“You saved seventy-eight people. They all made it.”

At Jiang Xia’s words, An Ning leaned her forehead against his shoulder. “Your ribs?” she asked softly.

“It’s fine. Nothing’s broken.”

“You—”

Before Jiang Xia could finish, he heard snoring from beside him.

An Ning had fallen asleep.

Jiang Xia didn’t dare move. He sat perfectly still, not saying a word, and let An Ning sleep.

She slept for a full two hours.

When An Ning awoke with a start, Jiang Xia’s voice was full of affection. “You’re awake? You must be hungry. I brought you some food.”

“Mhm. Are your legs asleep?”

“I’m fine. Eat first.”

Jiang Xia started to get up, but the intense pins and needles in his feet felt like he was stepping on a bed of nails, and he couldn’t figure out where to put his weight.

An Ning rolled her own stiff neck, and as she watched Jiang Xia hopping around and grimacing, the lingering sorrow from the rescue began to fade.

As Jiang Xia clowned around, he caught An Ning’s smile out of the corner of his eye, and his own grin widened.

“Food’s here!”

He picked up a food container from beside him and opened it with a flourish. “It’s your favorite,” he said conspiratorially, “braised pork over rice. It’s super flavorful!”

“It smells amazing—”

An Ning had barely finished the sentence when her stomach let out a loud RUMBLE in hungry protest.

Not far from the ruins, the two of them sat, each with a container of braised pork over rice, eating with hearty appetites until they were full.

In the sunset’s afterglow, Jiang Xia and An Ning finally ate the meal they were supposed to have had yesterday, their eyes on the site where many people were still hard at work.

“Jiang Xia, I think I might be bad luck for you.”

An Ning’s words made the hairs on Jiang Xia’s arms stand up. He immediately retorted, “Nonsense. If running into accidents means you’re bad luck for me, then I’ve got a long list of people who are bad luck for me. What’s one more?”