Chapter 181: Chapter 181: An Accident?

Chapter 181: An Accident?

“Huh?”

The middle-aged man paused, glancing at the photo in Xiao Yu’s hand. He frowned and shook his head. “I don’t recognize her.”

Not lying… Xiao Yu frowned.

Wait, isn’t the other party from the management team of the orphanage?

“Excuse me, are you from this Children’s Welfare Institute?” Xiao Yu inquired.

“Oh, I’m the director of the institute,” came the reply.

The middle-aged man smiled and said, “Xiang Hui.”

“Good day, Director Xiang.”

Xiao Yu nodded with a smile. “Could you call over your longest-serving employee? I have a few questions.”

Since the management rarely interacts with the children on a day-to-day basis…

And it’s likely he hasn’t been the director for long either.

Don’t underestimate the Children’s Welfare Institute.

It’s an official state-run unit, managed by the local civil affairs bureau.

Changing directors every few years isn’t uncommon.

“Not a trouble at all.”

Xiang Hui nodded, pulled out his phone, and made a call.

Soon, a long-time employee of the institute arrived.

Xiao Yu scrutinized the man.

He was quite old, in his fifties, and his work uniform marked him clearly as a cleaner at the institute.

“Hello.”

Xiao Yu picked up the photo again. “Do you recognize her?”

The seasoned worker looked puzzled for a moment and then glanced at the director.

Xiang Hui said, “This is a police officer. Just answer whatever he asks.”

“Oh.”

The employee nodded before turning his eyes to the photo.

After one look, he paused and then examined it more closely. “This is… Xiao Yue?”

“Yes, her name is Guan Yue.”

Though Xiao Yu smiled, his gaze scrutinized the elderly man. “Sir, let’s find a place to talk privately.”

The two stepped out of the institute’s lobby…

……

“You know, it’s been six or seven years since I last saw Xiao Yue.”

“I remember—she was one of the few healthy kids at the institute.”

“But Xiao Yue was quite mischievous, always playing with a group of boys.”

“And those boys loved her too, treating her like a little sister.”

“Oh yes, the former director loved them dearly. He would often invite them over to his home.”

“However, some children left either due to accidents or because they were adopted, and the smiling faces of that group gradually faded.”

“Sometimes you could even see signs of injury on them, and when asked, they wouldn’t reveal how it happened.”

“Later on, as they grew up and turned eighteen, these kids spread out like fledgling birds leaving the nest. You rarely see them after that.”

“Take Xiao Yue and the others—I haven’t seen them in six or seven years…”

The veteran employee exhaled deeply while taking a drag from the cigarette Xiao Yu offered, his expression filled with wistful regret.

Yet, he failed to notice the subtle changes in Xiao Yu’s expression.

Fleeting glints of cold light and something akin to a steely resolve flashed in his eyes…

Guan Yue was so fond of playing with a group of children?

How many kids were in that group?

Was it true that a former director used to love them so much that he’d often take them home?

And that some children left after accidents or being adopted?

While Guan Yue’s group occasionally suffered injuries?

Heh… Xiao Yu’s expression grew noticeably colder.

He knew he’d come to the right place!

But then… huh?

An indescribable danger and a sudden pang of anxiety surged within him.

Instantly, his gaze shifted towards the entrance of the institute, where a child was riding a small bicycle.

The child looked very young, no more than five years old.

With a face so innocent and cute,

he sat confidently on the tiny bike.

Bending his little waist, he held something in his hand… a firecracker!

What is a firecracker? It’s a type of small explosive.

Yet, this one was activated like a matchstick—

a single scratch along its box was enough to ignite it.

Within seconds, it would burst like a firecracker…

Where did that sense of impending danger and anxiety come from?

It emanated from the child and the firecracker in his hand.

Xiao Yu watched in disbelief as the child bent over and tossed the firecracker into a nearby storm drain cover…

Moments later,

Xiao Yu’s eyes involuntarily fell to his own feet.

What a coincidence—

Right at his feet lay another storm drain cover…

A storm drain carries wastewater and is teeming with microbes.

When mixed with household trash and blocked, it can form combustible gas…

Everyone knows that biogas is a flammable mixture.

When mixed with air, it can form an explosive mixture.

If the biogas concentration in air reaches between 5.5% and 16%,

and there’s an open flame, an explosion can occur.

What happens when the firecracker explodes?

Instantaneous heat, a blast, and… an open flame!

Damn it!

At that moment, Xiao Yu felt as though he were dancing with death.

His heart pounded wildly, and every hair on his body stood on end.

Cheetah Speed, Bear Force, Spirit of the Raccoon Cat… all activated in an instant!

Spirit of the Raccoon Cat granted Xiao Yu an extraordinary agility.

Cheetah Speed made his running pace as swift as a cheetah’s.

Bear Force endowed him with the strength of a bear in a heartbeat.

Imagine combining such terrifying power with cheetah-like speed.

It would be a transformational surge of strength and velocity!

In that split-second,

Xiao Yu’s foot struck the veteran employee by accident.

Meanwhile, his body seemed to vanish in a blur.

No, it wasn’t a mere afterimage.

It was simply that Xiao Yu’s speed had become beyond the grasp of human eyes.

So rapid that in one second he leaped seven or eight meters.

In the very next moment,

he had already reached the child’s side and scooped the kid up.

The momentum of his forward charge sent Xiao Yu tumbling about 3.8 meters.

And all of this happened in less than three seconds…

Boom!

A terrifying explosion shattered everything, akin to a collapsing mountain and splitting earth!

Floating in mid-air, Xiao Yu watched as the storm drain cover where he had just been was blown to pieces, flames soaring into the void.

It was as if a landmine had been triggered beneath his feet.

Could someone survive such a catastrophic blast?

Unknown!

The scorching heat, fierce force, and shards of debris hurled Xiao Yu two to three meters away.

Even as he hit the ground, he shielded the child tightly in his arms.

But in that moment, both his body and spirit plunged into a freezing abyss.

Was this an accident?!