Power and Wealth

Dong Xuebing was afraid of dying. He was terrified of dying.

If it were in the past, he would never rush in even if a gun was pointing at his head. It was dangerous.

But now, Dong Xuebing was different. He has the special ability, BACK, as his trump card. He has an extra life compared to everyone else in the world. He could use BACK to return to the time where he was unhurt if he encountered some dangerous situation. With this power, his wellbeing was not his top priority. He had died once before, what’s wrong with dying again? Anyway, he will not really die. What matter the most to him was to gain credit and accomplish some achievement to gain the trust of his higher-ups. This was the reason why Dong Xuebing rushes into the burning office without second thoughts.

The fire was burning everywhere around Dong Xuebing.

The thick smoke blocked Dong Xuebing’s vision, and he could not see a thing in the office. He choked on the smoke and coughed a few times before covering his mouth with his wet sleeves. Tears were flowing from his eyes, and he quickly walks forward in the darkness.

Hot. He could feel his skin burning.

Dong Xuebing could not stand it after entering the office for a few seconds. He avoided something burning on the floor and gritted his teeth.

There were shouts and screams behind him. Everyone was calling him to get out of the office.

“Xiao Dong!” It was Li Qing’s hoarse voice. “Come out! Don’t care about the documents. Your life is more important!”

Zhou Changchun also shouted: “Xiao Bing, get out of the office immediately! This is an order!”

“Bing Zhi, are you mad? The fire is getting bigger! Come out now!” Dong Xuebing’s colleagues were all calling for him.

Dong Xuebing also thought that the documents should be burned to ashes by now. But his purpose was not to find the documents. He wants to show that he was fearless and could help the higher-ups in critical times. He ignored all their cries and move quickly to a half-opened door in the office. He kicked the burning door open and entered the room. Crash! It was the sound of something heavy crashing down. He could feel the floor shook. He turned around and saw a bookcase had collapsed, blocking the main door. His exit was blocked!

Dong Xuebing got a fright from the loud sound. Damn!

“Oh no!”

“Ah…… Bing Zhi cannot come out now!”

“Hurry and save him!”

Everyone outside was panicking. They used the fire extinguisher on the burning bookcase, hoping to clear an exit path for Dong Xuebing. If the fire on the bookshelf was not extinguished, Dong Xuebing would have no escape route and will either be burned to death or suffocated from the smoke.

Dong Xuebing hesitated for a while. But he still entered the smaller room in the office.

Crash!

A desk on his left had crashed down, and the table top and legs hit Dong Xuebing’s pants. It immediately burned a hole in his pants and parts of his leg was burned. He screamed out in pain. Cold sweat was dripping down his back. He endured the pain and extinguished the fire on his pants with his hand. The pain made him more determined. He strained his eyes to see through the thick smoke and limped towards a burning pile by the side of the room. It was Li Qing’s desk.

Crash!

The fluorescent lights above exploded from the high heat.

The glass pieces fell on Dong Xuebing, and some cut his back, neck, and hands. Blood was flowing out from his wounds.

Dong Xuebing cursed and limped forward. He was trying his best to keep his conscious.

He got closer, and he could see the burning desk clearer. Dong Xuebing was overjoyed to see that the drawers on the left were only burning slightly. It was not engulfed in flames entirely. He immediately reached out for the second drawer without thinking. Ah!!!! His fingers were burned when he touched the drawer. It was excruciating. He quickly uses his leg to kick the locked drawer.

Bang! Bang!

Two kicks.

Cracked! The scorched parts of the drawer cracked, and there was a big opening. Dong Xuebing could see 2 brown envelopes in the drawer!

The documents were still around!

Dong Xuebing was very excited. He ignored the pain on his hands and reached into the drawer to grab the envelopes. The envelopes were slightly burned on the edges. Dong Xuebing was coughing heavily from the thick smoke. He covered his nose and mouth and lowered his body. He tried to make his way back out of the office. But the collapsed bookcase was blocking the main exit. He could not escape from there. The people outside were still trying to put out the fire and remove the debris of the bookcase.

Hurry up and let me escape!

Dong Xuebing could feel his head getting heavier and giddier…….

He wanted to use all his strength to move nearer to the exit, but he had inhaled too much smoke. His brains and body were not listening to him!

Dong Xuebing’s vision slowly became blurred. Bang! He fell onto the floor.

The moment the documents touched the floor, it started burning. Dong Xuebing was also screaming in pain as the fire engulfs his whole body.

Dead……

Dong Xuebing knew he was dying.

He used his final strength to shout out: “BACK!”

……

Everywhere around Dong Xuebing was still burning.

The 2 envelopes were still in the drawer and could be seen from the cracked opening.

Time had returned to 1 minute before.

Dong Xuebing could feel his mind shook. He could feel his body again, but he was still feeling giddy. No matter what, it was still better than the few seconds before he was about to die earlier. He knew that the thick smoke was toxic, and he does not have much time. Even if he could get the documents, he still could not get out of the office alive.

Dong Xuebing could not afford to waste time. He grabbed the two envelopes again, and this time, he did not pick the earlier path which led to his death. He ran towards the window panels of the office and picked up a porcelain teacup along the way. He threw the cup at the window panel with all his strength, smashing the windows.

This office was located on the second floor. Although it was dangerous to jump out of the window, it was better than suffocating to death by the thick smoke.

Dong Xuebing could feel he was at his limits. He took in some fresh air near the windows and at the awning below. The awning was to shelter the parked bicycles below. Dong Xuebing felt slightly relieved when he saw the plastic canopy. He hugged the documents and slowly climb out of the window. He used his fingernails to press hard on his temples to clear his mind, before using the last of his strength to jump down.

4 meters……

3 meters……

2 meters……

Crash!!!

Dong Xuebing could feel the pain on his left shoulders, and his body hit on the blue translucent plastic shelter. He landed on the awning and lost his balance and rolled down the sides. Bang! He fell from the canopy onto the concrete ground, barely missing a few parked bicycles.

He was gasping for fresh air.

Dong Xuebing resisted the urged to vomit and looked at the blue skies. He was finally safe.

He was alive!

He did not die!

3 minutes later……

Footsteps could be heard coming closer to him.

It was the people who were trying to put out the fire. All of them had run to the back of the building. Among them, it was the Chief of the General Affairs Office and Dong Xuebing’s colleagues.

“Bing Zhi! Bing Zhi!”

“Xiao Dong, how are you feeling?! Are you okay?!”

Dong Xuebing’s body was covered with burns and bruises. He could not stand up. He tried his best to give them a smile.

Tan Limei, Zhuang Zhi, Changjuan and the rest got closer to him and saw Dong Xuebing covered in blood and burns lying on the ground. All of them were shocked: “Call the ambulance! Quick!” Zhuang Zhi was the closest to Dong Xuebing. He shouted and move forward to try to help him up.

Li Qing was deeply touched. “Xiao Dong…… you…… Sighed. You know that the documents were burned and yet you still…….”

Dong Xuebing was still panting and said: “The documents are not burned.”

“What did you say?” Li Qing, Zhou Changchun and everyone at the scene were shocked.

Dong Xuebing turned his body painfully to his sides and took out 2 envelopes under him. “Are these the documents?”

“You found it?” Li Qing and Zhou Changchun could not believe their eyes. They're almost cried on the spot and quickly walk forward to pick up the bloody brown envelopes. “Yes! Yes! These are the documents!” Li Qing was so ecstatic until he did not know what to say. “You…… This…… Xiao Dong…… Good job! Terrific!”

Everyone was stunned by Dong Xuebing.

Guo Panwei and Guo Shunjie looked at each other. They could not believe what had happened. Earlier when Dong Xuebing rushed into the burning office, no one expects him to come out alive. Let alone escaping with the documents.

Zhou Changchun looked at Guo Panwei and Guo Shunjie who were staring at Dong Xuebing in disbelieved. His opinion of Dong Xuebing had changed. Guo Panwei and Guo Shunjie had still claimed that Xiao Dong was impulsive and immature. But what did the both of them do just now? They were hiding away from the fire. Dong Xuebing was much more dependable than them.

Director Yan had also arrived and was shocked by Dong Xuebing’s actions. He looked at Dong Xuebing and took the documents from Li Qing. “You don’t need to write your resignation letter, but you will still be punished. Go back and write a report for me.”

Li Qing replied. “Yes, Sir. Thank you, Director Yan.”

Zhou Changchun also said: “Thank you, Sir.” Both of them were overjoyed for not need to resign.

“Don’t need to thank me.” Director Yan looked at Dong Xuebing who was still sitting on the floor. “If you two want to thank someone, you should thank him. Both of you are really lucky to have such a good subordinate.”

Li Qing and Zhou Changchun nodded.

That’s right. Which leader will also feel the same for having a subordinate who was willing to risk his life for his leaders. At least, there was no one else like Dong Xuebing in the Western District Branch Bureau.

At this moment, everyone’s impression of Dong Xuebing changed. This person was crazy and was willing to risk his life…….