With a clang, the iron door, made of the same steel as the behemoth, seemed to crumble before it. Only then did everyone get a clear view of the internet café's interior, and a cry of alarm went up.
It turned out this internet café had been converted from a grain and oil store. While the ground floor still sold grain and oil, the second floor had been rented out to someone to operate an internet café.
The second and first floors were connected only by a staircase. The carpet laid on the stairs had completely ignited, and a pungent smell of gasoline filled the air. It was clear that someone had poured gasoline on the carpet and set it ablaze.
The only fortunate thing was that the grain and oil store on the first floor had already closed, and the stock had been moved out. Otherwise, if the flour and cooking oil had caught fire, it would have been more than just a fire; it would have been a violent explosion.
"Help! Help!" At this moment, the screams for help from upstairs could be heard. The gamers on the second floor had clearly noticed the fire and were shouting for help.
Some had also opened the windows on the second floor to cry for help. Unfortunately, all the windows were firmly sealed by security bars. Otherwise, these people could have escaped by jumping directly from the building. Since it was only two stories high, they wouldn't have been killed by the fall.
"You guys come down the stairs, rush over quickly, it won't catch fire!" Huang He reversed his car and shouted to the players on the second floor.
"No, the boss locked the iron door, we can't get out!" the players on the second floor shouted in despair. It turned out there was an iron door between the first and second floors, sealing off the escape route for all the players on the second floor.
Some might wonder why the boss would lock everyone's escape route.
In fact, it was a difficult decision for the boss. The entire internet café was run by only the boss and the manager. The manager was responsible for the cashier, while the boss himself handled cleaning and other tasks.
However, the boss was getting old and couldn't stay up late at night, so the manager was the only one on duty at night.
Later, it became common for someone to distract the manager while their accomplices dismantled parts from the internet café's host computers, such as graphics cards, hard drives, and drives, causing significant losses to the internet café.
Ultimately, the internet café owner decided to lock the iron door during the overnight hours and open it the next morning at 6 AM. All windows were also sealed with security bars to prevent theft of host computer equipment at night.
Who could have predicted that this second iron door would become the unbreachable door of death for over twenty overnight users upstairs?
"What do we do?" Several nearby residents, seeing the situation, anxiously asked Huang He.
Since Huang He had powerfully crashed through the iron door with his car earlier, everyone regarded him as their leader. In the absence of firefighters, they asked for his opinion.
"Does anyone here have a quilt? I hope you can contribute, the more the better!" Huang He said, "Don't worry, I'll buy all the quilts. 100 yuan... no, 200 yuan per quilt. I guarantee you won't lose out!"
"Nonsense! What do you take us upstanding gentlemen of the capital for? Do you think we'd take your money at a time like this? Don't underestimate us!" several burly men cursed. Then, their young wives immediately carried out quilt after quilt.
From the messy appearance of these quilts, and the fact that many people were only wearing pajamas, it was clear these were quilts they had just been using.
At the same time, it was fortunate that the surrounding area hadn't undergone extensive renovations yet. Most of the buildings were small two-story houses, with people living on the first floor. Thus, the quilts were delivered quickly.
Some people, unable to wait with their quilts, threw them directly from the second-floor balconies.
Then, Huang He found an outdoor faucet nearby... In the era of bungalows and two-story buildings, most houses had an exposed faucet outside for convenience, such as washing vegetables, clothes, or cars.
Of course, people often added locks to these faucets to prevent them from being used by others.
This household quickly opened the faucet's cover and turned the water on full blast. Huang He directly threw a quilt under the faucet, quickly soaking the entire quilt. He then struggled to pull it up and rushed into the internet café with it.
"Let me help you!" A thin old man grabbed the other end of the quilt. With their combined effort, the quilt was quickly transported into the burning internet café. Huang He then aimed it at the burning carpet and covered it.
Since the fire hadn't fully spread yet, the flames on the carpet were immediately smothered.
The other residents saw this and immediately followed suit, soaking their quilts. Some even found hoses and connected them, speeding up the soaking process.
Then, quilt after quilt was placed over the burning staircase, effectively covering the flames.
However, this was only a temporary solution, as quilts themselves were flammable. Some quilts were not thoroughly soaked, and if these caught fire, the danger would be even greater.
But Huang He couldn't worry about that. He opened the trunk of his car and took out a fire axe and two fire extinguishers.
He handed the fire extinguishers to two nearby individuals, instructing them to guard the staircase on the first floor. If they saw any flames breaking through the quilts, they were to spray them immediately.
Meanwhile, Huang He, holding the fire axe, began to hack at the chains on the second-floor door. As an axe specifically designed for fire rescue to clear obstacles, it was meant for chopping through anything blocking the way.
After over a dozen chops, the chain was cut directly. Huang He forcefully pulled open the iron door, and the players on the second floor surged out, rapidly escaping the inferno.
A few minutes later, the firefighters arrived and looked with disbelief at the scene where the emergency rescue had already been completed. They then began to extinguish the fire quickly.
***
"Internet Café Catches Fire, Nearby Residents Bravely Rescue Themselves, Over Thirty Successfully Escape. Who is the Mysterious Hero?" The next day, such a report immediately swept across Beijing. Almost everyone learned about the tragic fire that had occurred the previous night.
This news report essentially narrated the entire process of the previous night's events and heavily emphasized the miraculous rescue of over 30 people by a mysterious hero who drove a small car to break through the iron door and led the rescue efforts.
Later, they interviewed relevant officials, who stated that the fire was extremely urgent. If the rescue had not been timely, there would have been over ten, or even twenty, casualties.
However, they also mentioned that yesterday's rescue was very dangerous, as both crashing through the door with a car and covering the fire with soaked quilts were actions that could easily lead to other risks.
Fortunately, the fire was discovered promptly, and rescue efforts began within one to two minutes of the fire starting. Furthermore, the command was highly effective, and the surrounding residents worked together cohesively, making almost no mistakes, which ultimately led to everyone being saved before the fire could spread.
As for whether the fire was deliberately set or an accidental ignition, no definitive answer would be given without a detailed investigation report.
Subsequently, several media outlets and television stations in Beijing followed up on the report. After another day, the news truly exploded nationwide.
After all, just reading the text made the story seem incredibly sensational.
What truly ignited the nationwide buzz, however, was a special program on Beijing TV the following day.
As the local broadcaster, Beijing TV had access to all sorts of related intelligence and news, as well as the opportunity to interview local residents.
While CCTV had similar advantages, its various programs required more approval stages and were far slower than Beijing TV. Therefore, Beijing TV's related program was released on the evening of the next day.
On television, through interviews with nearby residents, Beijing TV essentially pieced together the entire process and depicted the heroic figure who saved over twenty people from the fire.
Whether it was crashing through the door with his car, directing the use of soaked quilts to extinguish the fire, or miraculously producing two fire extinguishers and a fire axe to break through the door and rescue everyone trapped inside, he even personally went into the second floor and searched every room to ensure no one was left behind, before finally leading out a 14-year-old boy and being the last to leave the two-story building.
Beijing TV also found some on-site photos taken by nearby residents with their cameras. The last photo, in particular, showing a man covered in soot and ash carrying a frightened, unconscious boy, was truly iconic.
Beijing TV's report also described the extreme danger of this fire in greater detail.
The internet café had two entrances, but both were locked. Furthermore, all the windows on the second floor were also secured by anti-theft bars. There were no other connecting passages between the floors.
The fire had started on the carpet, which directly connected to the second floor, where the internet café was located.
The second floor of this building was originally a storage room for the grain and oil store's goods. It was later renovated when it was converted into an internet café.
The materials used in the renovation of this internet café were almost all highly flammable. Once the fire spread through the staircase to the second floor, the entire second floor would have been engulfed in flames in a short period.
According to firefighters' estimates, it would have taken just over twenty minutes for all the customers on the second floor to be trapped and killed by the fire. Even if they weren't killed by the flames, they would have been suffocated by the toxic smoke generated by the fire, leading to a devastating outcome that would have shocked the entire nation.
Fortunately, a hero emerged, leading all the dear and lovely gentlemen from the neighborhood to rescue these unfortunate children.
"Who is this man?" This was the question on everyone's mind across the country after Beijing TV's news broadcast. After all, his rescue experience was so legendary, it was comparable to many movie stories.
However, no media outlet could report on the man's true identity.