Billows of dark, toxic smoke swirled through the air, emitting a choking stench.
Gu Lili wore a mask and held a flashlight as she looked around inside, finding that the Dead Souls had already been taken away by the Underworld Messenger.
As she was about to leave, her gaze fell to the ground.
She bent down to pick up a family photo that had been burned in half and held onto it as she left the place.
By the time she reached the security duty room, Long Yubei was repeatedly reviewing the course of the accident.
Upon seeing her enter, he stood up, his gaze dark and piercing as he addressed the property management staff in front of him, "Our company contracted your property management to handle this residential development for this very reason—to prevent any delay in rescue operations in the event of such a serious incident. Is that understood?"
"Pre... President Long, as soon as we discovered the fire, we were ready to launch rescue operations, but the blaze was too fierce, and at this hour... again, the blaze was too big..."
"Making excuses?" Long Yubei said to Tang Qingli at his side, "Take the surveillance footage with us."
The property manager was scared out of his wits, "President Long... you can’t just take the surveillance..."
Long Yubei swept him a glance that silenced the manager, who watched them leave with a heart full of panic.
Once outside the security room, Long Yubei saw the Long Group’s executive approaching him, "I’ll have Qingli transfer the surveillance to you later. Release a press statement about the property company’s negligence and delay in rescue operations. Make it clear that there’s nothing wrong with our property’s escape routes. In addition, cooperate with the police investigation and try your utmost to minimize any negative impact."
"Yes, President Long."
"Also, set up a mourning hall for the victims and prepare for the funeral arrangements."
It was highly unusual for the head of a development company to personally arrive at a crisis site.
That Long Yubei had come here in the middle of the night was surprising to his subordinates.
But in the eyes of Long Yubei and Gu Lili, making a personal visit following such tragedy was simply a trifling matter.
After giving instructions to his subordinates, Long Yubei was about to leave with Gu Lili when a voice echoed from behind, "Mr. Long, Mrs. Long, wait!"
The two turned around to see the bald Director Ma Shijie, with a belly fit for a general, hurriedly approaching.
"Director Ma," Long Yubei said coolly, "I have given my orders to my staff already. Whatever cooperation you need from us, just say the word."
"Alright, but before you arrived, I had already obtained the surveillance from this compound. I’m afraid we’re going to need Mrs. Long’s assistance with this matter."
"Is there anything unusual?"
"Yes, we found in the surveillance that there haven’t been any outsiders visiting this household recently, only their family coming and going. After questioning their neighbors across the door, the neighbor said that their family has always been harmonious, with the lady of the house being particularly filial to her in-laws. We haven’t heard of any domestic conflicts or arguments, and the surrounding neighbors also reported no noise, so we’ve ruled out the possibility of a gas cylinder explosion. Hence, I’m suspecting that the perpetrator might not be human." ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel⦿fire.net
Gu Lili was just about to say something when she caught a glimpse of a figure standing with its back to her at a distance. She nodded, "I understand, take care of the victims’ affairs properly first. I’ll look into the perpetrator."
Hearing her say this, Ma Shijie felt relieved. If the culprit was human, the police could devote their full efforts to solving the case, but if it was a ghost, they wouldn’t stand a chance, no matter how hard they tried.
"Alright then, I’ll go take care of it now."
After he left, Gu Lili spoke softly to Long Yubei, "You wait for me in the helicopter, I’ll be back shortly."