014. Misjudged Prediction

"Uh~"
Lin Mi rubbed her swollen belly, having lost control and eaten far too much.
One had to admit, star-rated hotels truly spared no expense with their buffets—the dishes were plentiful, and the ingredients generous and fresh.
After her hearty meal, Lin Mi lounged by the floor-to-ceiling window, sipping tea in leisure, intending to rest and digest for a while. The matter was resolved; all she had to do now was wait for confirmation of the outcome.
Suddenly, Lin Mi sat bolt upright and set her cup down slowly on the table.
A realization dawned on her belatedly.
Wasn’t the cause of the fire, as reported in the system’s trending news, a gas leak?
The question arose: was the accident triggered by a fault in the gas stove wiring, or was the real danger lurking in the kitchen’s gas pipeline?
Or perhaps both?
Could it be that negligence in the stove’s wiring caused the fire, and a simultaneous leak in the gas pipeline compounded the disaster, resulting in the deadly explosion?
…
The thought made Lin Mi’s heart race with anxiety!
She glanced at the time: 1:50 p.m.
There were a little over twenty minutes left before the fire was due to break out!
Was she overthinking, or had her earlier prediction been wrong?
Despite the hotel’s tranquil atmosphere—guests moving to and fro, staff busily attending to their duties, not a hint of impending disaster—the weight of foreknowledge pressed upon her, making it hard to breathe.
If her approach had been wrong, wouldn’t the fire still happen as foretold?
A wave of panic and unease swept through Lin Mi’s heart.
“No, I have to check again!”
She sprang to her feet, determined to head back to the third-floor kitchen area. She needed to see for herself that all hazards had been eliminated.
Feigning a phone call, she rambled nonsense into her handset while discreetly scanning her surroundings, slowly approaching the corridor near the third-floor kitchen.
Wait!
Lin Mi suddenly stopped, terror written across her face as she lowered her hand, forgetting entirely her pretense of a phone call.
Something was off about the atmosphere.
The air carried the faint aroma of food—expected this close to the kitchen—but her sharp senses caught another scent.
A pungent, nauseating chemical odor—like… gas!
Her pupils contracted; alarm bells rang in her mind.

She knew the smell all too well—it was unmistakably gas leaking!
She was still two or three meters from the kitchen, yet could smell it already. That meant the concentration inside must be high.
Her previous judgment was wrong!
The wiring issue was only the spark; the real threat was the gas leak!
How could this be?
Was the kitchen empty? How could such a strong, acrid smell go unnoticed by everyone?
If the hazard remained, wouldn’t the fire still unfold as predicted?
The thought brought a crushing sense of helplessness.
She’d believed her preparations could alter the future, yet now events seemed to march inexorably toward disaster.
Lin Mi began to doubt herself—could she really change fate’s track? Could she save these innocent lives?
She clenched her phone tightly.
Wait… her phone?
Yes!
She had the system!
If the future predicted by the trending news couldn’t be altered, the system wouldn’t offer rewards or penalties.
Since rewards were possible, the trending events could be changed by human intervention.
This realization tore through her fear and confusion like lightning.
She’d almost trapped herself in a dead end.
Lin Mi snapped back to alertness, forcing herself to stay calm.
Time was running out!
She couldn’t afford any more delay.
She rushed to the kitchen door, only to find it chained shut; evidently, the staff had gone off to rest after meal service.
“Is anyone inside?”
She knocked hard, uncertain if there were other entrances or if anyone was on duty inside, but she had to try.
The kitchen was eerily silent, no sign of life.
Lin Mi immediately called the hotel’s front desk, pressing close to the kitchen door, where the acrid smell was even stronger.
“Hello! Please send someone to the third-floor kitchen immediately—there’s a strong, pungent smell in the corridor, likely a gas leak! It’s extremely dangerous, notify security and maintenance at once!”

Lin Mi spoke rapidly, hanging up as soon as she finished, then swiftly dialed the fire department, briefly reporting the urgent gas leak in the third-floor kitchen of Starlight International Hotel.
She had barely hung up when several staff members hurried over.
“Open the door quickly and check!”
The situation was grave; none of them bothered to question Lin Mi, instead they rushed to unlock the kitchen.
Inside, the staff seemed to notice the unusual odor in the air, their faces growing tense.
One man, apparently the floor manager, frowned.
“What’s going on? Is there a gas leak?”
He sniffed near the stove, his expression easing slightly before turning to Lin Mi. “It’s not that serious, just a bit of a smell. We’ll ventilate and air out the place, it'll be fine. Shouting like this will only cause panic.”
After all, most believed that a gas leak wouldn’t immediately lead to an explosion or fire; as long as the area was ventilated to dilute the gas, the risk could be avoided.
Moreover, without an ignition source, even a leak wouldn’t instantly trigger an accident.
“Just a bit of a smell?! The concentration is already dangerously high—can’t you smell it? If you delay any longer, an explosion could happen at any moment! You’d better check again, especially the gas pipes!”
Lin Mi was nearly breathless with frustration; she hadn’t expected the hotel to send such an unreliable person to handle the crisis.
Every second was precious, yet they remained unconcerned?
With time ticking away, she realized that arguing with them would only waste lives.
She ignored them, turned, and dashed out of the kitchen.
“Attention everyone! There’s an emergency in the third-floor kitchen! Evacuate the hotel immediately!”
Lin Mi shouted with all her might, waving frantically at guests and staff in the corridor, urging them to leave at once.
Her voice was raw with urgency and anger.
The people in the corridor stared at her, bewildered, seemingly unaware of the looming danger and even watching with a hint of curiosity.
Just as Lin Mi was about to warn them again, a sudden roar erupted from the kitchen behind her, as if flames had erupted violently.
!!
Lin Mi’s throat tightened.
There was no time!
Fire had broken out in the kitchen!
Her eyes scanned the surroundings, quickly locking onto a red emergency alarm button installed in a nearby corner.
Without hesitation, Lin Mi rushed forward and yanked down the alarm!