Chapter 3

Those words were like a key, suddenly unlocking my sealed memories.

Seven years ago, I was trapped at home. The fire was too fierce to escape. When I thought I was going to die, an orange figure broke through the wall of flames, and powerful arms lifted me up.

"Don't be scared, little girl!" A steady voice came from behind the face mask.

When he handed my dying body to the team members waiting outside, I desperately clutched his sleeve, which was blistered from the fire.

"Sir, it's too dangerous inside. Please don't go back in."

He patted my head. "Don't worry. I'm the fire captain. The fire will go around me."

So the person who saved me was Captain Lee.

I crouched down, trembling all over, and hugged this child who had lost her father seven years ago, choking up.

"I promise you, I'll make sure your dad comes home with dignity, and let everyone know—he was a real hero!"

Just then, sparrows perched on the swing frame chirped away.

"I remember now! Captain Lee was already safe that day, but he rushed back in when he heard crying from the nursery!"

The old crow on the wall flapped its wings.

"That's right! Before the second explosion, Captain Lee even pushed Glasses Man out the window!"

I jerked my head up: "The man with glasses?"

The calico cat emerged from the bushes, gracefully swishing its tail.

"That's the uncle who picked her up from school yesterday. He looked so pathetic then—his pants were torn by an iron hook. The hero even tied his own safety rope to him and rescued him."

In other words, he owed his life to Captain Lee, and clearly knew Captain Lee was still rescuing people before he died, yet he called Captain Lee a deserter.

I was so angry my teeth itched.

I got a hair sample from the little girl and was about to take it to the hospital myself for DNA comparison when the officer who took my first call found me instead.

He hadn't believed there were remains under the ruins before, but now that they'd been dug up, he looked at me with new respect.

"Although the claim about understanding animal voices is too absurd to believe, it's possible the remains belong to Captain Lee. I'll apply with the captain in charge of the skeletal case to match the DNA. At the earliest, we should have results tomorrow."

The next day, before the results came in, news arrived that Kevin was proposing to the forensic examiner.

Sparrows hopped around on the windowsill.

"The hero is so pitiful. He's been dead for so many years, and no one believed he was good. Now his wife is being deceived by a bad man. She's getting all dressed up to meet him..."

Kevin was proposing to the hero's wife on the very day of the hero's death anniversary?

How shameless!

My expression changed, and I immediately logged into a livestream platform and created a room.

After thinking for a moment about the stream title, I solemnly typed:

"【Finding the Lost Truth】—The Fire Captain Who Disappeared Seven Years Ago Was Not a Deserter, But a Hero!"

I pointed the camera at myself with the familiar ruins in the background.

Taking a deep breath, I began my story.

"Everyone, friends, seven years ago there was a fire captain named Liam who was labeled a 'deserter' who caused many deaths. Everyone wanted him punished."

"But recently, guided by animals, his remains were found in the ruins in a protective posture over a child."

"The facts prove he wasn't a deserter, but a hero who died seven years ago!"

"Today, I'm going to show you the truth that's been buried for seven years!"

The stream had just started with few viewers, and occasional mocking comments floated by: "Nice script, streamer," "Guided by animals? Escaped from a mental hospital?"

I ignored them and said to the camera: "Now, my guide is here."