Even though I knew an open flame at a gas leak was a death sentence, I, a firefighter, still let my girlfriend’s childhood friend light a cigarette on-site, supposedly “to calm his nerves.” Just like in my previous life. At a party, a gas leak suddenly happened, and my girlfriend’s childhood friend insisted on lighting a cigarette to steady his nerves. I slapped the lighter out of his hand, yelling at him that he was trying to kill everyone. His ego was badly bruised, and ignoring all warnings, he stormed out, only to be crushed to death by a billboard hurled by the blast. Later, when I was dangling in mid-air after saving a child from a fall, my girlfriend, who was my second-in-command, deliberately severed my safety rope. She looked at my lifeless body and said, “If you hadn’t publicly humiliated him, he wouldn’t have died!” When I opened my eyes again, I was back in that room, thick with the smell of gas. “Caleb, what are you staring at?” Chloe’s annoyed voice dragged me back from the bloody memories. I… I had been reborn. I looked at her, then at Jax, who stood beside her, clutching a lighter and muttering curses. I clenched my fists, forcing myself to calm down through the pain. I couldn’t make the same mistake again. Rushing over to stop Jax would only enrage him, making him repeat the past. But this time, if I let him light that lighter, all of us would die here. I couldn’t die, and my crew, standing behind me, were innocent. Taking a deep breath, I put on an urgent expression and sharply ordered Jax: “Jax! What are you doing! Put that lighter down! This is a gas leak!” Jax flinched at my shout, almost dropping the lighter. However, before he could react, Chloe instantly blew up. She stepped in front of Jax, glaring at me with her chin defiantly raised. “Caleb, what are you yelling for! Look how you scared him! He’s just nervous and wants a cigarette; do you have to be such a jerk?” Her self-righteous tone made it sound like I was the unreasonable one. What a dramatic show, “the damsel defending her doltish hero.” Too bad I wasn’t the same fool who only knew how to give in my last life. “Chloe! Snap out of it! This isn’t a joke!” I stared at Chloe, who was shielding Jax, a cold smirk forming in my heart, but on my face, I forced a desperate, conflicted expression. “Chloe! Snap out of it! This isn’t a joke!” “Our monitors are screaming – the gas concentration is at a critical explosion point! Forget an open flame, even a static spark could ignite everything and take us all down with it!” While I pleaded desperately, I subtly positioned my body to block their view, my finger lightly pressing the record button on the camera clipped to my chest pocket. Seeing Chloe defend him so fiercely, Jax’s courage instantly returned. He peeked half his head from behind Chloe, challenging me with a brazen smirk, “Seriously, Captain? You’re overreacting. Exaggerate much? It’s just a cigarette. What’s the big deal?” “Besides, Chloe said it’s fine. Can’t you, a grown man, just calm down and stop being so uptight?” The old me might have been provoked, but now, I just found it pathetic. Realizing words were useless, I quietly gave an inconspicuous tactical hand signal to my crew behind me. —Prepare to evacuate, find cover, stay alert. Mike, an experienced firefighter standing behind me, his pupils contracted sharply, but his face remained impassive. He understood immediately. He shifted his body to block Chloe and Jax’s view, giving me a subtle nod, then inconspicuously stepped back half a pace, bumping the two other firefighters next to him. Almost simultaneously, the three of them silently moved towards the kitchen door, ready to retreat at a moment’s notice. Everything was in place. I feigned helplessness and turned to Chloe, a hint of desperation in my voice. “Chloe, please, I’m begging you, talk some sense into him! This is genuinely about all our lives! You’re a firefighter too, you should understand!” However, Chloe showed no sympathy. She even seemed to enjoy my pleading, believing it made her look good in front of Jax. She turned to soothe Jax, and then, she said something that sealed everyone’s fate. “Don’t worry, Jax, I’ve got you. Just light it, nothing will happen.” I watched their intimate display, as if they were on the same side, and used every ounce of strength to roar at my crew: “Get down!” That yell was my command to the brothers who trusted me. The instant my shout left my lips, Jax pressed the button on his lighter.
BOOM—! A deafening roar instantly swallowed all other sounds in the world. It felt like a red-hot iron rod had been violently shoved through my eardrums, shaking my entire skull with a ringing vibration. But because of my pre-emptive command, all my crew members had taken cover in the seconds before the explosion, minimizing the direct impact and reducing injuries. Jax and Chloe weren’t so lucky. Completely unprepared, Jax didn’t even have time to scream as he ignited the lighter. The blue fireball engulfed him instantly. Chloe, standing beside him, couldn’t escape either. She was violently thrown back by the furious blast, her back slamming against a load-bearing wall with a sickening thud. Her orange fire-resistant suit rapidly charred and carbonized under the terrifying heat, emitting plumes of white smoke. A few seconds later, the first, most violent wave of the explosion passed. I fought back the ringing in my ears and the internal tremors, scrambling to my feet immediately, and yelled, “Roll call!” “One!” “Two!” “Three!” “Captain, all accounted for, no major injuries!” Mike’s voice echoed through the smoke, filled with the relief of surviving. After confirming that all my crew had only suffered shock and minor scrapes, I immediately gave orders: “Team One, with me, put out the fire! Contain the blaze! Team Two, prepare for search and rescue!” I grabbed a fire extinguisher and rushed towards the burning gas canister. Soon, we had the remaining fires under control. When I reached Chloe, she was unconscious, her cheeks and neck covered in large, horrific burn blisters. Jax, beside her, was completely unrecognizable, charred black, with only a faint, shallow rise and fall in his chest. I admit, for a moment, my heart felt numb. All the past entanglements and hatred flashed through my mind like a silent film. But they were quickly suppressed by my ingrained professional instincts. The next second, they were just victims in need of urgent rescue. This was my duty, regardless of love or hate. My movements were swift and precise as I calmly directed the rescue. Downstairs, I handed the injured over to the waiting medical personnel. The accident investigation team and police had also arrived at the scene. Director Hayes, who was leading the team, walked over and patted my shoulder. “Caleb, tough job. What’s the situation inside?” I stood at attention, giving him a crisp salute. “Director Hayes, fire is out, critically injured individuals have been transported to the hospital.”
Inside the hospital, the mix of disinfectant and burn cream created an oppressive, suffocating atmosphere. Jax was rushed to the ICU upon arrival, with over 90% third-degree burns. Doctors had issued multiple critical condition notices; his life hung by a thread. Chloe survived, but her face, neck, and hands were severely burned. For a woman who valued her appearance more than her life, this was worse than death. I had just reached the door of Chloe’s hospital room when I heard heart-wrenching screams from inside. “It’s all Caleb! All him!” Chloe shrieked, her voice hoarse and venomous. “He did it on purpose, he yelled at Jax like a mad dog just to provoke him, to humiliate him. He wanted to drive Jax to his death!” Twisting the truth, confusing facts. What a masterstroke of playing the victim. But what she said next chilled me to the bone. “And… he threatened me!” Chloe’s crying took on a hint of fear. “Before the explosion, he sent me a SnapChat message, saying… saying he’d always hated Jax and wished he would die! I have screenshots, I have proof!” The hospital room door was yanked open from the inside. Jax’s mother, her hair disheveled and her eyes bloodshot like a banshee, saw me immediately. “You! You murderer!” Chloe shrieked, her nails frantically clawing towards my face. “Give me back my son! You despicable monster, why did you plot to kill him!” Then, a middle-aged man with an imposing air of authority, Chloe’s father, stormed out. He pulled Jax’s mother away, his face livid, and pointed a finger at my nose. “Caleb, you animal! My Chloe was so good to you, and you ruined her face! You just wait, I’m telling you, this isn’t over! I’ll make sure you rot in jail!” Patients and family members around us pointed and whispered. “Is that him? He looks decent, but his heart is so twisted?” “These young people nowadays, hurting others over a little relationship drama, it’s terrifying.” A middle-aged woman even spat on the floor near my feet, her face full of disdain. “And you’re wearing that uniform! Firefighters are supposed to save people, but you, you specialize in harming them! Do you even deserve to be a firefighter?” “Exactly! How did such a psychopath get into the fire department? He didn’t learn how to save lives, but he’s got a whole playbook on how to harm people! Take off that uniform and get out! Don’t you dare tarnish the word ‘hero’!” “Is our taxpayer money going to feed a scumbag in a uniform like you?!” Insults and murmurs buzzed around my ears like a swarm of flies. Yet, Chloe seemed to think it wasn’t enough. Her body began to tremble violently, her bandaged fingers pointing at me erratically: “Ah—! Don’t come near me! Stay away! Murderer!” “Dad! Mom! Make him leave! I’m scared! He hurt Jax! He’s trying to hurt me too!” She recoiled into the corner of the bed as if she had been severely traumatized, crying and shrinking away, her performance full of emotion. Jax’s mother, seeing her son’s beloved woman so terrified, was consumed by rage. “You monster, you’re still trying to scare her! I’ll fight you!” Chloe’s father was also trembling with anger. He turned to the surrounding crowd and shouted, “Everyone, look! This is your so-called hero! Today, I’m going to get justice for my daughter, and for Jax, who is still fighting for his life in the ICU!” The crowd’s emotions were fully ignited; the insults and accusations grew fiercer. Watching this farce, clearly orchestrated to destroy me, I understood instantly. Chloe wanted to pin all the blame on me, to utterly destroy my reputation. Fine. Chloe, you’re ruthless. My last shred of affection for her vanished completely. “Chloe,” I locked my gaze on her twisted face on the hospital bed, “this act has gone on long enough. It’s time for a curtain call.” The noisy hallway fell into an eerie silence for a moment. I saw panic flicker in Chloe’s eyes. The next second, I pulled out the recorder from my chest pocket. “Funny thing, I also… have something here that I’d like everyone to hear.” The moment I was about to pull out the recorder, my phone rang, and everyone’s eyes zeroed in on me. Before I could react, Chloe’s father roared and lunged at me. “He’s trying to run! That’s his accomplice calling! Trying to help him get awa
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