Fire Truck Borrowing Road

That day, the sun was shining brightly, so much so that Li Ming, stuck in traffic, felt a little cheerful. He was driving his newly bought red car, slowly crawling along in the traffic flow. Suddenly, a piercing siren grew louder, and Li Ming looked up to see a fire truck stuck behind him, flashing its urgent red and blue lights.

Li Ming frowned, thinking, "These days, fire trucks are really becoming more and more uncivilized, making such a loud siren, disturbing people."

He glanced at the vehicles next to him, everyone was obediently queuing, and no one seemed to be yielding. Li Ming also followed everyone, firmly keeping his car in his place. He mocked himself inwardly, saying that everyone in China likes to watch the show, but when it comes to crunch time, no one dares to stick their neck out.

The fire truck’s siren grew more and more urgent, and Li Ming became somewhat impatient. He lowered his window and shouted to the fire truck behind him, “What's the rush? Can't you see the traffic jam ahead? You fly over it!”

A young firefighter got out of the fire truck and ran to Li Ming's window, saying with a serious expression, "Sir, there's a fire ahead, the situation is urgent, please yield the way."

Li Ming curled his lip in disdain and said, "A fire? What does a fire have to do with me? I still have to go to work. Yield? If I move, who will reimburse my gas money!"

The firefighter was stunned for a moment, seemingly not expecting someone to say such a thing, but he still patiently explained, "Saving lives is like rescuing people from a fire. The time you delay could affect many people's lives."

Li Ming laughed, turned up the car stereo volume, and said, "Don't give me that big speech, I just know that I am driving according to the rules, I haven't violated any traffic regulations." As he spoke, he pulled out his phone and turned on the navigation, which still showed that the estimated arrival time would be delayed due to the traffic jam.

The fire truck behind him honked its horn even louder, and Li Ming became more agitated. He directly raised the window, completely ignoring the firefighter. He closed his eyes, planning to take a short nap.

Suddenly, there was a loud "bang," and Li Ming abruptly opened his eyes, realizing that the car had shaken violently. He was startled and quickly opened the window to find that the fire truck had directly crashed into the vehicles in front of him, forcefully opening up a path. The firefighter was yelling at him, "If you don't yield, I'll crash into your car!"

Li Ming was completely dumbfounded. He pointed at the firefighter, stammering, "You...you...how dare you crash into my car, I'm going to report you!"

The firefighter ignored him, got back in the fire truck, and the fire truck roared away. Li Ming looked at the damaged front of his car, trembling with rage. He picked up his phone, preparing to dial the complaint hotline.

At this moment, he heard people gossiping, "I didn't expect that the firefighters these days are so lawless that they crash into cars."

Li Ming immediately perked up. He stepped forward and indignantly said, "Yes, yes, they are just a bunch of bandits. They could have spoken properly, but they had to resort to violence."

In the crowd, someone pointed at him and said, "You still have the nerve to talk? You were the one blocking the fire truck just now, weren't you? Do you know how much time you wasted!"

Li Ming was stunned. He looked around, and everyone was looking at him with strange expressions. He suddenly felt like a clown, being watched by everyone.

He tried to justify himself, "I...I didn't...I was just driving according to the rules."

An old man shook his head and sighed, "Young people these days, where did they learn the rules? They don't even know that saving lives is of the utmost importance, alas!"

Li Ming was completely silent. He lowered his head, looked at his damaged car, and suddenly felt that he was truly wrong.

At this moment, he saw that in the direction where the fire truck had gone, thick smoke was rising into the sky. A smell of burning assaulted his nostrils. Li Ming's heart suddenly clenched.

He pulled out his phone, just about to call the insurance company. A new news notification popped up on the screen:

"A fire broke out in XX residential area. The fire truck was unable to arrive in time due to road congestion, resulting in significant losses!"

Li Ming’s hand froze.

He recalled the firefighter's words: "Saving lives is like rescuing people from a fire. The time you delay could affect many people's lives."

He finally understood how absurd the "rules" he had been following were.

Suddenly, his phone vibrated again, and a new message popped up.

"Hello, due to your violation of traffic regulations by obstructing a fire truck performing its duty, we have deducted 12 points from your driver's license and imposed a fine of 500 yuan."

Li Ming looked at the message, feeling an unspeakable sense of absurdity. The rules he had followed had punished him, and the rules he had broken had let him off. What exactly is this world coming to?