The Flaming Heart Episode 8 Recap
> The Flaming Heart Recap
Huo Yan's firefighting team overcame significant obstacles to reach the earthquake disaster front, where search and rescue, demolition, and support teams quickly positioned themselves. After a commander instructed the teams to prioritize safety and granted team leaders provisional decision-making authority, a local approached, pleading for help to rescue a young man trapped in the local guest house. Huo Yan and Luo Jie were dispatched to the scene.
They located the trapped young man, Zhou Ying, whose legs were pinned under a collapsed load-bearing wall. A distressed civilian urged them to save Zhou Ying. Luo Jie informed Huo Yan that the entire weight of the second floor's load-bearing wall rested on Zhou Ying, making secondary collapse a constant threat.
Luo Jie argued that amputation by medical personnel was the safest and most practical solution, given the inability to bring heavy machinery to the site and the risk to all rescuers. Huo Yan, however, believed they could save Zhou Ying's leg by lifting the wall two centimeters, explaining that a fine-sliced section of the broken wall at a corner, supported by a beam and a bed underneath, could temporarily bear the weight if a secondary collapse occurred.
He acknowledged the risks but insisted on a full rescue, highlighting that saving the leg was for the doctors, while rescue was their mission. Despite reports of impending aftershocks (with an average interval of 23 minutes), Huo Yan convinced Luo Jie, who reluctantly agreed to his more ambitious plan. During the intense rescue operation, Zhou Ying, a recent university graduate, shared that he had broken up with his girlfriend to return to his hometown, fearing she would suffer with him.
He expressed regret, wishing he hadn't given up on her so easily. As aftershocks began, Zhou Ying, feeling like a burden, urged the firefighters to abandon him and save others. Huo Yan firmly refused, telling Zhou Ying to hold on and reminding him that the local community, for whom he was to be secretary, was counting on him. With incredible effort, Huo Yan and Luo Jie successfully freed Zhou Ying.
Meanwhile, Ji Yuan, on a mandated break to recover from the emotional toll of placing a "black bracelet" (signifying unrecoverable) on a previous patient, heard a boy's cries. He found a boy named Ma Si Le (Le Le) trapped in a classroom, who asked for a bottle of coke. Shortly after, Ma Si Le called out to Guan Tong Tong, realizing other children were also trapped nearby, and informed Ji Yuan that three children were caught near the classroom door.
Yan Lan arrived and cautioned Ji Yuan against hastily moving debris, fearing a secondary collapse and further injury to the trapped children. She returned to the command center to request professional rescue personnel. A distressed father, Ma Si Le's father, became agitated as aftershocks hit, attempting to rescue his son himself, but medical staff intervened. Huo Yan and his team then arrived at the school.
Huo Yan skillfully used a piece of debris as a makeshift slide to coax a terrified Ma Si Le out of the rubble. After rescuing all the trapped children, a large brick suddenly dislodged and fell toward Yan Lan. Huo Yan quickly pushed her to safety, shielding her with his own body and taking the full impact. Back at the medical station, Zhou Ying collapsed due to severe crush syndrome, suffering from electrolyte imbalance and rhabdomyolysis, leading to unconsciousness.
He urgently needed an ECMO machine, but the vital equipment was stuck on a mountain road blocked by landslides. Huo Yan, learning of the critical ten-minute golden window for treatment, immediately volunteered to retrieve the ECMO. Concurrently, the blood bank ran critically low on O-type blood. Knowing Huo Yan had a needle phobia, Luo Jie stepped forward to donate a significant amount of his blood.
Despite feeling lightheaded, Luo Jie attempted to rush back to the front lines, but Liu Xuan insisted he rest and eat some chocolate to stabilize his blood sugar. Huo Yan, along with other firefighters, drove to the landslide site. Upon finding the path completely blocked, they decided to manually carry the heavy ECMO machine over the debris. Ma Si Le's father, along with other villagers who had been rescued, appeared to help clear the path, significantly accelerating the transport.
Huo Yan and his team delivered the ECMO just in time for Zhou Ying's surgery. As the day's major search and rescue operations concluded, Huo Yan's team was granted a much-needed night's rest. Huo Yan brought warm food to Yan Lan, hoping to apologize for their previous argument, but she pretended not to remember any quarrel, leaving him disheartened. Meanwhile, Jiang Tong brought food to Wang Dayin, urging him not to live in the pain of losing his sister.
Wang Dayin, still deeply affected but outwardly stoic, refused to eat and remained silent. The next morning, Huo Yan was assigned to transport more supplies. Professor Ye arranged for Yan Lan to accompany him, ostensibly to conduct health checks for villagers along the way. Their vehicle soon broke down, forcing them to stop.
Yan Lan used this chance to check on Huo Yan's injury from the falling brick and thanked him for shielding her, reflecting that "it might be better to face it together than going alone." Simultaneously, Wang Dayin was seen alone, arranging stones into a crying face. Jiang Tong approached, changing it to a smiling face. They repeatedly altered the arrangement. Frustrated, Jiang Tong confronted him, asking why he wouldn't share his sadness with anyone, but Wang Dayin coldly reiterated that he was fine before walking away.
