Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

Smoke—Yang Ce was startled. From one corner of the company building, thick black smoke was rising. In the night sky, one would not notice it without looking carefully, but Yang Juehuan's eyesight was extraordinary, and he spotted the anomaly at a glance.

Someone had set a fire. Yang Puqi thought at once of what he had seen earlier, and his heart seized with alarm. The office had already closed for the day, but that girl Lin Yanhe was surely still there, still inside studying.

If the flames spread, the consequences did not bear thinking about. Yang Ce ran toward the building, searching the surroundings as he went—especially that alley he had seen before. Sure enough, a bald man stood in the alley, a large black mole on his face: the very man he had seen earlier.

What was going on here? Could he really foresee things now? Even as Yang Ce wondered, he did not dare delay for an instant. Fire was not something that waited; in the blink of an eye it could set the whole company building ablaze.

Much as Yang Ce wanted to go seize that bald man first, he did not dare take the risk. He had to get Lin Yanhe out of the building before doing anything else.

It might well let the bald man slip away, but there was no help for it—Yang Yongjin would never gamble with Lin Yanhe's life. He had already memorized the man's face anyway; the monk might flee, but the temple would not. Yang Ce could always go catch him afterward.

With that thought, Yang Ce dashed toward the building. The security guard on duty was still baffled, and asked in puzzlement, "Brother Yang, what's the rush? What's got you in such a hurry?"

"Call the fire department, now!" Yang Ce had no time to explain. Every second counted. The fire had not spread yet, but who could say what the next moment would bring? If the wind shifted, this place would become a sea of flames in an instant.

"The fire department?" The guard on duty blinked.

"Yes—a corner outside the building is on fire. Call them right now, then evacuate fast!" Yang Ce ordered as he ran.

"Ah!" The guard finally came to his senses and shouted toward the security office, "Everybody out, quick! Grab the extinguishers!"

These guards had all been professionally trained, and their caliber was naturally far above that of ordinary thugs. At the guard's shout, four men burst out of the security office—all of them guards on duty here. Two carried fire extinguishers; the other two came charging over with mops and the like.

The guard on duty, meanwhile, snatched up the phone and dialed the fire department's number.

Yang Ce nodded to himself. These men handled emergencies well—no panic, everything in order. But he had no time to keep watching them; he raced up the stairs.

To be continued.

967. Tracking the Arsonist

"Zhiyun!" Yang Ce called Lin Yanhe's name at the top of his voice. "Where are you?"

Lin Yanhe had just made herself a bowl of instant noodles for dinner. She had downloaded a great many case studies on company management that day, meaning to study them properly, and if it got too late she would simply stay the night at the office.

She was just about to eat when she heard Yang Juehuan's voice. At first Lin Yanhe thought she had misheard. After all, at this hour it was unlikely Yang Ce would come to the office, and Yang Ce had never been one to shout like that.

But then Yang Ce pushed through the glass door and rushed in, and only then did Lin Yanhe look up in astonishment. "Yang Ce? What are you doing here?"

"Zhiyun, come with me, quick!" Yang Ce stepped forward, seized Lin Yanhe's hand, and pulled her outside.

"Yang Ce, what on earth is going on? I just made noodles—they'll be ruined in a minute." Lin Yanhe, dragged along by Yang Ce, was utterly bewildered.

What was wrong with Yang Ce today? First that inexplicable phone call, and now he showed up and dragged her off without a word.

"Fire! The building's on fire!" Yang Ce pulled Lin Yanhe quickly down the stairs, speaking as they ran.

"Ah!" Lin Yanhe was startled. "What? The building's on fire?"

"That's right—otherwise would I be in such a hurry?" Yang Ce said. "Thank goodness you're all right."

Hand in hand, the two of them ran out the company's front doors, and only then did Yang Ce breathe a sigh of relief.

To the right of the building, waves of firelight were already flickering, and several guards were fighting the flames with all their might—though clearly to little effect. Gasoline had been poured on this fire; two extinguishers and a few mops were utterly useless against it.

"Did you call the fire department?" Yang Minlan shouted to the guards.

"Brother Yang, it's done—the fire brigade says they'll be here any minute," the guard on duty answered hurriedly.

Yang Yu nodded and let out a breath. Clearly, thank goodness he had found it early and the alarm had been raised early; this time the damage should not be too great.

Lin Yanhe watched the flames leaping and roaring upward, fear in her heart, and clutched Yang Juehuan's arm tightly. "Yang Ce, what do we do? How did this catch fire?"

"It's all right—the fire brigade will be here soon," Yang Ce comforted her. "We've already gotten out, haven't we?"

"Oh no!" Lin Yanhe suddenly cried out. "Yang Ce, this is bad!"

"What? What's bad?" Yang Ce asked in surprise.

Lin Yanhe lifted her head anxiously and looked toward the second floor of the building. "The company's accounts and some cash are still upstairs. What do we do? Is there still time if I run up and get them now?"

"Accounts? Cash?" Yang Xu could not help but laugh and cry at once at her words. "As long as you're safe, that's all that matters. What are you worrying about that stuff for? If it burns, it burns—it doesn't matter."

"But—" Lin Yanhe was still reluctant to let it go. After all, if the company's accounts were lost, it would badly affect the company's operations.

"No buts." Yang Ce cupped her small face in his hands. "Little Yun, be a good girl and listen to me. Your husband has plenty of money—burn it down ten or eight more times and it's still a drop in the bucket to me. You being safe, that's what matters most."

Lin Yanhe nodded obediently, her heart brimming with sweetness, and gave up the idea of going upstairs for the account books.

Out of the corner of his eye, Yang Juehuan caught sight of the alley not far from the building, and suddenly spotted a familiar figure—it was the bald arsonist. The bald man was looking this way, a vicious look on his face; clearly he was annoyed that the people inside had discovered the fire so quickly. Cursing under his breath, he turned and strode quickly away.

"Zhiyun, you stay here at the office and handle things on site with the guards. I have something to take care of. Be sure to keep yourself safe!" Yang Ce instructed.

"Okay, go on. I'll be fine on my own," Lin Yanhe said with a nod.

Yang Ce was somewhat uneasy about leaving Lin Yanhe here alone, but he had something more important to do now: find out who that bald man really was, and why he had come to burn down his company.

Still, as he gave chase, Yang Ce called Bao Lin and told him to get to the jewelry company at once—to protect Lin Yanhe and help handle things on site.

When Bao Lin heard the jewelry company was on fire, he abandoned his meal half-eaten and rushed over at top speed, and Hou Lin came hurrying along with him. Hou Lin might have felt somewhat awkward with Lin Yanhe before, but he was now serving Yang Ce with complete devotion, so Lin Yanhe naturally had nothing to say about it.

Yang Ce followed the bald man carefully. He could have taken the man down right there, but he wanted to see where the fellow was headed and what he meant to do.

He had never imagined that what he had seen earlier, like a film racing past his eyes, would actually come true—he had even seen the arsonist clearly. Could this really be his new ability?