Chapter 181: Was It an Accident?

“Huh?”

The middle-aged man froze for a moment, looked at the photo in Xiao Yu’s hand, furrowed his brow, and shook his head. “I don’t know her.”

He was not lying. 

Xiao Yu frowned.

Wait, wasn’t this man part of the management of the orphanage?

“Are you in charge of this children’s welfare institute?” Xiao Yu asked.

“Oh, I’m the head of the institute,” the middle-aged man replied with a smile. “Xiang Hui.”

“Good day, Director Xiang,” Xiao Yu nodded and smiled back. “Could you call in one of your longest-serving employees? I have some questions I’d like to ask.”

As management, Xiang Hui probably didn’t interact much with the children on a daily basis. He might not have been the director for that long, either. 

Don’t underestimate children’s welfare institutes. They were official, state-run facilities managed by local civil affairs departments. Switching directors every few years was not uncommon.

“No problem,” Xiang Hui agreed, nodding as he pulled out his phone to call someone.

Before long, an older employee arrived.

Xiao Yu studied the person for a moment. She looked to be in her fifties, and her uniform suggested she worked as a cleaner in the welfare institute.

“Hello,” Xiao Yu greeted her, showing the photo again. “Do you recognize this person?”

The older employee looked confused at first and glanced at the director.

Xiang Hui said, “This officer has some questions. Just answer truthfully.”

“Oh, okay.” The elderly woman nodded and finally looked at the photo. After one glance, she paused, then leaned in for a closer look. “Isn’t that… Xiao Yue?”

“Yes, her name is Guan Yue,” Xiao Yu smiled slightly, though his eyes carefully observed her reaction. “Ma’am, let’s go somewhere quiet where we can talk.”

The two of them stepped out of the welfare institute lobby.

***

“It must be six or seven years since I last saw Xiao Yue,” the old employee began, reminiscing. 

“I still remember, she was one of the few healthy kids in the orphanage. But Xiao Yue was always a bit mischievous. She liked to hang out with the boys a lot. They all adored her and treated her like a little sister.

“Oh yes, the old director back then really liked those kids. From time to time, he’d even take them to stay at his house. But some of the children left. Either due to accidents or because they got adopted. Gradually, the smiles on those kids’ faces faded.

“Sometimes, you’d see bruises or marks on them. If you asked what happened, they wouldn’t say a word. Then they grew up. By the time they turned eighteen, they were like young birds, flying out of the nest. They left the welfare home, and after that, we hardly ever saw them again. Just like Xiao Yue and the others… it’s been six or seven years since I last saw them.”

The old worker took a drag from the cigarette Xiao Yu had offered, sighing with a hint of nostalgia. 

She didn’t notice the subtle changes in Xiao Yu’s expression as he listened—how his eyes occasionally flickered with a cold gleam.

So, Guan Yue was fond of playing with a group of kids? How many of them were there?

And there had been an old director who liked them so much that he often took them home?

Some of the kids met with accidents or were adopted, and then left?

And the ones who stayed, like Guan Yue, often showed signs of injury?

Heh… Xiao Yu’s expression grew colder.

It seemed he was finally in the right place.

But then—wait.

An indescribable sense of danger, a sudden pang of anxiety, surged within Xiao Yu. His eyes snapped toward the entrance of the welfare institute.

Not far away, a child was riding a small bicycle.

The child was very young, probably around five years old. His small face was innocent and adorable, completely unaware of the danger. At that moment, the boy was hunched over, sitting on his little bike, holding something in his hand—a spark cracker.

A spark cracker was essentially a type of firecracker. It was similar to a match in that you ignite it by striking it against a surface. A few seconds later, it exploded like a regular firecracker.

Where was this feeling of dread and danger coming from?

It came from the child—from the spark cracker in his hand.

Xiao Yu’s eyes widened as he watched the child lean over and drop the firecracker into the sewer grate.

Immediately afterward, Xiao Yu’s gaze was drawn to his own feet.

What a coincidence.

He was standing right on top of a sewer grate.

Sewers were filled with wastewater, which over time accumulated microorganisms. When mixed with household waste, it could easily create methane gas. 

Everyone knows that methane is a combustible gas. When it mixes with air, it forms an explosive gas.

If the concentration of methane in the air reaches between 5.5% and 16%, any ignition source can trigger an explosion.

And what would happen when a spark cracker explodes?

A burst of heat and—worse—an open flame.

Damn!

At that moment, Xiao Yu felt like he was dancing with death. His heart pounded wildly as every hair on his body stood on end.

He instantly activated Leopard’s Speed, Bear’s Strength, and Civet’s Agility.

Civet’s Agility allowed his body to become more flexible. Leopard’s Speed gave him the speed of a cheetah. And Bear’s Strength granted him the sheer power of a bear in an instant.

The terrifying power combined with the speed of a cheetah created a whole new level of explosive force.

In an instant, Xiao Yu’s foot pressed against the elderly worker, pushing her away,. At the same time, his own body seemed to blur, moving so fast that it left behind an afterimage. No, it wasn’t an afterimage—the truth was, he was moving too quickly for the human eye to follow. 

He covered seven or eight meters in the blink of an eye.

In the next second, he was by the child’s side, scooping him up into his arms. The momentum from his dash caused Xiao Yu to roll forward several meters, protecting the child in his arms. 

And all of this happened in less than three seconds.

BOOM!

A massive explosion erupted like the ground splitting open beneath him. Xiao Yu’s gaze locked onto the sewer grate where he had just been standing. He watched in shock as the grate was blown to pieces, fire shooting into the sky. It looked as though a landmine had gone off beneath it. 

Could anyone survive such a blast?

Unclear.

The intense heat, shockwave, and flying debris struck Xiao Yu, hurling him two or three meters away. Even as he hit the ground, his arms remained wrapped tightly around the child, shielding him from harm.

But his heart felt like it had been plunged into ice. He was cold all over.

Was this really just an accident?!