Chapter 582: A Daring Rescue

A wave of heat washed over her the moment she stepped inside. Thick, billowing smoke rushed into Melody Summers’s nose and mouth with every breath, choking her and sending her into a fit of coughing as she covered her mouth.

Certain that the bodyguards outside could no longer see her from this position, Melody Summers slipped into the Arcadian Space.

As she rummaged through her warehouse for a gas mask and put it on, she said to Albus, "White, can you help me find where Sophie Thorne is?"

Hearing this, Albus twitched his fluffy ears and instantly transformed into a wisp of white smoke, mingling with the black smoke from the fire as he drifted through the villa.

Melody Summers dove into the Arcadian Stream, rolled around to drench herself completely, and then put on a fire escape cloak she had previously stockpiled. Only then did she return to the villa.

The fire on the villa’s first floor wasn’t severe, but the smoke was thick, blurring Melody Summers’s vision.

As she felt her way through the rooms, searching for any sign of Sophie Thorne, she also manipulated the water from the Arcadian Stream to extinguish the flames.

Unfortunately, she searched the entire floor but found no trace of anyone.

Just as Melody Summers was wondering whether to go upstairs or to the basement first, Albus returned. He spoke in her mind:

[Host, I found her! She’s in the leftmost room on the second floor!]

When Melody Summers heard Albus’s words, her heart sank—the second floor... The fire on the second floor was much worse than the first!

Sophie Thorne’s situation was not looking good!

The more Melody Summers thought about it, the more anxious she became. She fumbled her way toward the second floor, manipulating the Arcadian Stream Water from her space to spray in all directions, doing her best to hold back the raging tongues of flame.

When Melody Summers painstakingly made her way to the last room on the second floor and reached out to turn the doorknob, she discovered something surprising—

The door was locked!

"Sophie Thorne! Are you in there?! Open the door!" Melody Summers shouted, pounding hard on the door. But perhaps the gas mask was muffling her voice. No matter what she tried, there was no response from inside.

Melody Summers was frantic. Time was running out. She couldn’t worry about being exposed anymore and directly absorbed the entire door into her space.

The moment the door was taken into her space, thick smoke billowed out. Melody Summers stayed low, feeling her way forward, and finally found Sophie Thorne in the corner bathroom—

She was slumped against the wall by the window, her face stained black by the smoke. Her eyes were shut tight, and she wasn’t moving.

Melody Summers was horrified. She rushed to Sophie Thorne’s side and felt for her pulse. When she felt the beat against her fingertips, the heart that had been caught in her throat finally dropped.

—’Thank God, she’s still alive!’

Melody Summers lightly slapped Sophie Thorne’s face, trying to wake her. "Sophie!... Sophie Thorne! Wake up! I’m getting you out of here!"

But no matter how loud Melody Summers yelled, Sophie Thorne didn’t react at all.

Melody Summers saw that Sophie’s mouth and nose were blackened; she must have passed out from inhaling too much smoke. ’This can’t go on,’ she thought frantically, ’I’m afraid she won’t make it to the hospital!’

So, Melody Summers pulled an "S Level Far Sea Secret Medicine" from her space. She struggled to pry open Sophie Thorne’s jaw and forced the pill in her hand into Sophie’s mouth.

Feeling the foreign object in her throat, the unconscious Sophie Thorne instinctively swallowed, taking down the pill.

Melody Summers breathed a sigh of relief. First, she took out a gas mask and put it on Sophie Thorne’s head. Then, she draped a fireproof blanket over her. Finally, Melody Summers summoned the water of the Arcadian Stream and drenched them both from head to toe.

Once all this was done, Melody Summers lifted Sophie Thorne onto her back and slowly started to feel her way out of the villa.

By now, the fire outside had grown even more ferocious. The raging flames were like an out-of-control beast, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws as it devoured everything and scorched the surrounding air until it was blistering hot. Thick smoke billowed everywhere. If Albus hadn’t been guiding her in her mind, Melody Summers would have had no idea which way to go.

Following Albus’s directions, she made her way out while summoning water from the Arcadian Space. The water gushed out, weaving itself into a giant net in the air to shield them from the madly rampaging tongues of fire.

Water and fire collided with a HISS. White steam and black smoke intertwined, making the air even thinner. Melody Summers found it hard to breathe, and her brain grew dizzy from the lack of oxygen.

She could only grit her teeth and push on, tightly gripping Sophie Thorne’s arms as she shuffled step by step toward the main entrance.

And so, after a desperate struggle, Melody Summers finally carried Sophie Thorne out of the villa.

However, the very moment she stepped out of the villa’s front door, there was a deafening BOOM—

The crystal chandelier, more than ten meters high in the center of the villa, came crashing down, taking the surrounding beams with it and smashing straight onto the ground!

Melody Summers felt a violent tremor beneath her feet and instantly lost her balance. In her panic, she stumbled forward a few steps before barely managing to steady herself, avoiding a fall to her knees.

She looked back at the wreckage behind her, a cold sweat breaking out on her skin—

’That was close...’

’If we’d been a step later...’

’We probably wouldn’t have made it out alive!’

Just then, Sophie Thorne stirred slightly on Melody Summers’s back.

Sophie Thorne slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a sea of ash from the raging fire, making it impossible for her to tell if she was in hell or the mortal world.

Feeling that she was being carried on someone’s back, she froze for a moment. Illuminated by the firelight, she saw Melody Summers’s profile.

Sophie Thorne was slightly taken aback. Just as she was about to say something, an excruciating pain shot from her throat, through her respiratory tract, and into her lungs. The needle-like agony instantly spread to every corner of her body.

She let out a few pained groans and passed out again.

Amidst the CRACKLE of the fire, Melody Summers didn’t hear Sophie Thorne’s groans. She strode steadily out of the villa, carrying her securely on her back.

The two bodyguards outside stared, dumbfounded, as Melody Summers emerged carrying Sophie Thorne. They never would have imagined that she could actually rescue someone from such a ferocious fire!

They had thought the woman who had inexplicably rushed in would have burned to death long ago!

After running out of the villa, Melody Summers didn’t linger in the yard. Instead, she headed for her SUV with Sophie Thorne on her back, planning to take her to the medical center.

Seeing this, the two bodyguards exchanged a look and moved in unison to block Melody Summers’s path.

As Melody Summers looked on in confusion, one of the bodyguards frowned and said, "...Thank you for saving the Young Miss. Now, please hand her over to us."

Melody Summers ripped the gas mask off her face. The searing heat and pressure of being surrounded by flames lingered in her mind. Combined with her recent brush with death, her thoughts were still a bit muddled.

Seeing the bodyguards blocking her, she gasped for a few breaths and said in a hoarse voice, "...I’m heading to the medical center anyway. I’ll take her!"

The two bodyguards exchanged another look. One of them moved closer to Melody Summers, reaching for Sophie Thorne on her back, while the other said, "There’s no need to trouble you. We’ll take the Young Miss."

Watching the bodyguard’s outstretched hand, Melody Summers suddenly felt that something was wrong.