LRAB Chapter 347 Arson
Chapter 347 Arson
Upon hearing this, the surrounding tourists immediately stopped in their tracks and gathered around, pointing and whispering about the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man panicked and hurriedly waved his hands in protest, "I didn't! You fell down on your own!"
"You pushed me! I saw it clearly!" Leng Meng bit her lip, looking wronged and helpless. "I'm pregnant, how could you be so heartless!"
The crowd of onlookers erupted in discussion, with some accusing the man of being heartless and others trying to help Leng Meng up.
The staff responsible for overseeing the feeding station and maintaining order rushed over upon hearing the commotion. While comforting Leng Meng, they surrounded the middle-aged man to verify the situation. The two had conflicting accounts and argued endlessly.
Everyone's attention was completely drawn to the farce of the "pregnant woman being pushed," and no one noticed Xia Ning standing not far away.
Xia Ning seized the opportunity, and with a flash, she scurried along the edge of Tiger Roar Valley towards the logistics passage.
The feed depot is hidden in a corner on the west side of Tiger Roaring Valley. There is a conspicuous "No Entry for Tourists" sign at the entrance of the logistics passage. There are no guards around, only a surveillance camera facing the intersection.
Xia Ning didn't stop walking. With a slight lift of her fingertips, a wisp of black mist quietly wrapped around the lens, instantly obscuring the image.
Ignoring the warning signs, she sidestepped and rushed into the logistics passage.
They continued deeper into the territory, encountering no further obstacles.
Soon, the gray metal door of the feed warehouse came into view.
The door was ajar, with a two-finger-wide crack, through which dim light and the low hum of the refrigeration equipment could be seen.
Xia Ning stopped outside the door and listened carefully—there were no footsteps, no voices, only the regular vibrations of the cold storage compressor running.
She gently pulled open the metal door with her fingertips and slipped inside.
Inside the warehouse, a few energy-saving lamps cast a pale white light from the ceiling, illuminating rows of towering metal shelves.
Boxes of raw meat, bones, whole chickens, and whole rabbits were neatly stacked on the shelves.
Xia Ning's gaze quickly swept across the entire warehouse, soon locking onto her target—
In the corner, several open cardboard boxes were scattered about, filled with sawdust and dry straw used as bedding. They were fluffy and dry, making them excellent kindling.
She walked quickly over, stood in front of the cardboard box, raised her right hand, and slightly spread her five fingers.
A ball of flame materialized out of thin air, crimson with a hint of blue, dancing like a living thing in her palm.
With a gentle flick of her wrist, the flames fell.
"boom--"
The sawdust and hay were instantly ignited, flames shooting up half a meter high, greedily licking at the surrounding cardboard boxes.
Xia Ning didn't linger at all. She turned around and left the feed warehouse, closing the iron gate back to its original half-open position.
After walking a dozen meters, Xia Ning stopped when she passed an iron gate with a sign that read "Keeper's Exclusive Passage - Tiger Roar Valley Entrance".
The door was locked, and a fist-sized alloy padlock gleamed coldly in the sunlight.
She glanced at it, and without hesitation, reached out and grasped the lock.
Tighten your fingers and apply slight force.
"Click—!"
The alloy padlock snapped in two, and she casually tossed the broken lock into the nearby trash can. She opened the iron gate a crack and continued walking, her pace still unhurried.
Just then, thick smoke began to billow out of the ventilation ducts from the direction of the feed warehouse, swirling and rising into the sky.
The pungent smell of burning flesh drifted on the wind, over the walls, and seeped into every corner of Tiger Roar Valley.
The tigers paced back and forth in the exhibit, swishing their tails and letting out restless growls.
Several young tigers pounced on the reinforced glass curtain wall, slamming their front paws down with heavy thuds, startling tourists on the other side of the glass who quickly retreated.
In the chaos, a Bengal tiger inadvertently retreated to the iron gate reserved for the zookeeper.
It was just trying to avoid being hit by its companions when its hindquarters slammed into the cold iron gate.
The iron gate creaked open.
The tiger paused for a moment, turned its head to look outside the door, hesitated for a second, then raised its front paw and stepped out.
Seeing this, another tigress quickly followed.
........................
Xia Ning returned to the visitor passage, where the visitors were already starting to stir.
Several sharp-eyed people had already noticed the thick smoke rising in the distance, and exclamations of alarm rose and fell.
Seeing this, Leng Meng stopped bothering the male tourist from before.
Xia Ning walked over quickly and grabbed Leng Meng's hand.
Leng Meng turned her head to look at her, a slight smile playing on her lips, and lowered her voice: "Well done, let's get out of here!"
The words had barely left his mouth—
A piercing alarm suddenly tore through the air, and red warning lights flashed wildly throughout the predator enclosure.
Immediately afterwards, sharp shouts rang out from several directions simultaneously:
"Fire! The feed warehouse is on fire!!"
Several staff members took off running; some rushed towards the feed warehouse, some grabbed walkie-talkies and gave incoherent reports, and some frantically evacuated nearby tourists.
The tourists were initially looking around curiously, but when they saw the increasingly thick smoke and the increasingly panicked staff, they realized something was wrong and quickly retreated to safety.
Xia Ning suddenly shouted, "Oh no! Two tigers have escaped!"
At this point, the tourists finally panicked completely, screams erupted, and people pushed and shoved each other as they rushed toward the safe zone.
A child was pushed to the ground and cried loudly. His mother tried desperately to pick him up, but was jostled by the panicked crowd.
Xia Ning's gaze swept in that direction, and she was about to go over when she saw a young man rush over to protect the mother and child, using his body to block the flow of people, picking up the child and handing him back to the mother.
She breathed a slight sigh of relief and continued to evacuate towards the zoo exit with Leng Meng.
........................
While patrolling the park, Wasim heard a commotion in the distance, paused, and then quickly rushed toward the source of the sound.
Just as he turned a corner, he saw several tourists running frantically from the direction of Tiger Roaring Valley. As one of them brushed past him, he grabbed him.
"Hey bro, what's going on?" Vassim asked, frowning.
The tourist was panting heavily, his eyes still filled with fear.
"There's a fire in Tiger Roar Valley! Thick smoke is billowing out... and two tigers have escaped!"
"What?!" Wasim's pupils shrank sharply, and his expression changed instantly.
He released the tourist, his mind racing—this level of crisis was beyond the reach of a chosen one like himself.
Let's go to the nearest security booth first, to avoid getting into trouble.
He had just made up his mind and taken two steps when two women brushed past him.
Wasim didn't pay any attention, his gaze only subconsciously sweeping across the two people's faces.
The woman on the right, with her hair in a bun, happened to look up as she passed him, and their eyes met.
In just a moment, she looked away and continued walking calmly.
But in that instant, Wasim's heart tightened.
That gaze... cold and calm, carrying a sense of oppressive power that comes from years of experience, like an undercurrent beneath a deep pool, silent yet harboring deadly intent.
There's a strange sense of déjà vu about it!
........................
The piercing alarm was still blaring, and calls continued to come from the walkie-talkie:
"Fire in feed depot out of control! Requesting backup!"
"Two Bengal tigers escaped! Repeat, two Bengal tigers escaped!"
"Notify Captain Luo! Notify Captain Luo immediately!"
In less than three minutes, a team of fully armed security personnel arrived quickly.
The leader was a square-faced man with thick, sharp eyebrows; it was Luo Lei.
"Groups one and two, follow me to the feed warehouse to put out the fire!"
"Group Three, evacuate the tourists immediately and set up a cordon!"
"Team Four, pursue the escaped tiger and bring it back to Tiger Roar Valley as soon as possible!"