A Tinderbox of Vengeance

Boom!A deafening blast swallowed every sound in the world. My eardrums felt as if a red-hot iron rod had been driven straight through them, sending a skull-splitting buzz reverberating through my head.But because of the order I'd issued beforehand, every member of my team had avoided the direct impact in those crucial seconds before the explosion. They protected themselves to the greatest extent possible, reducing the damage to a minimum.George and Lisa weren't nearly as lucky.The moment George flicked the lighter, completely unprepared, he didn't even have time to scream before a blue fireball surged forward and swallowed him whole.Standing so close to him, Lisa didn't escape either. The violent shockwave hurled her into the air and slammed her against a load-bearing wall with a sickening thud.The fire-resistant suit she wore blackened and carbonized under the terrifying heat, releasing thin curls of white smoke.A few seconds later, the fiercest wave of the blast finally

Just as I was about to pull out the recorder, my phone suddenly rang. Every head turned toward me at once.Before I could react, Lisa's father charged at me with a furious roar."He's trying to run! That call is from his accomplice—trying to help him escape responsibility!" Lisa screamed from the bed."What?! You bastard, you're still trying to run?"Her father didn't give me a single second to respond. He snatched my phone, hit "answer," and immediately turned on the speakerphone without even checking who was calling.He thought he'd catch some imaginary accomplice on the other end—something he could use to expose how I had "colluded" with others.But instead, my mother's panicked voice filled the hallway."Finn, come home quickly! Someone splashed paint all over our door—they're saying you caused the explosion as a firefighter and refused to save people!"Your father argued with them and… and they knocked him out!"A cold, bone-deep terror surged through me.Lisa. George. T

"I have something to report!"The words cracked through the room like a whip.Everyone froze.In the last row of the observers' seats, a young firefighter—Aaron Teager—shot to his feet."I can testify Captain Finn Decker is not lying!"Every gaze in the room zeroed in on the young man.Director Bollen's frown deepened. "And who are you? Is this your place to speak? Sit down.""Sir! I'm Firefighter No. 4, Aaron Teager, part of that rescue operation!"Aaron didn't sit. Instead, he stepped forward, his voice firm and unwavering. "I won't sit, because there are things I must say!"That chat screenshot is absolutely fake! From the moment we entered the scene until the explosion, Captain Decker's entire focus was on the environment and our safety. He never even touched his phone!"Through the video feed, Lisa shrieked, "Liar! You're definitely working with Finn! You planned this to frame me!"Aaron ignored her. He turned to the investigation leaders and continued, voice ringing wi

Director Bollen made the decision on the spot. "Get everything ready. We're holding an emergency press conference in thirty minutes. We're releasing the full unedited video to the public. I want to see who would still stab a hero in the back after watching this."The press conference was launched at record speed.The moment that unaltered video footage appeared on live broadcasts across major media platforms, the internet exploded.In the clip, my desperate shout—"Get down!"—and Lisa's snide, mocking "Go ahead and light it" were pulled out, placed side by side by netizens, and circulated wildly.One person was risking his life to save others.The other was practically courting death.#TextbookEvacuation##MostToxicGirlfriendOfTheYear##TheMostFoolishChildhoodSweethearts#One cutting hashtag after another shot straight to the top of trending searches.Under the posts that had previously vilified me, the comments section flooded with apologies and complete reversals.Public opin