Chapter 7: The Madman's Methods
Chapter 7: The Madman's Methods
Ten five in the morning.
Luo Xi walked out of the men's locker room on the 24th floor, then quickly took his cup to the water room to get some water.
The washroom and toilet are at the end of the corridor, where there is also a lounge. There is a safety exit on each side of the corridor, with an aluminum alloy tempered glass door and an access control system. You need to swipe your card to enter, and you can press a switch to unlock it when you go out.
At this moment, Luo Xi was at the west exit, looking at the company promotional pictures on the wall. On one side was the access switch, and on the other side was the fire safety sign, which had a floor plan of this floor, safety tips, and rules to follow in case of emergencies.
Next to the sign is the manual alarm button.
It's a red square box with the operating instructions 'Press the alarm button in case of fire' written on it, and the button is a black dot protected by a small glass frame with the words 'Break the glass to report a fire' written on it.
He walked over and without hesitation, he used the stainless steel thermos in his hand to smash the access control switch with such force that the switch casing broke in two hits. He tried pressing it a few more times, but the access control would not open; it had lost its normal function.
Next, smash the glass cover and press the fire alarm button.
Instantly, a not-so-sharp alarm bell rang.
Luo Xi held his water cup, put his hands behind his back and walked towards the exit of the east corridor, crossing the work area.
When the alarm sounded, people in the work area were alerted.
All employees had received fire training before joining the company. They had learned some cases and self-rescue methods in emergency situations, the use of fire extinguishers, and how to evacuate quickly through escape routes.
Of all these contents, how to evacuate is the easiest to remember. In other words, it does not need to be taught at all. After all, escape is an instinct.
But having said that, the sound of an alarm alone would at most make everyone look around curiously. In reality, no one evacuated, and most people didn't even leave their seats, just doing what they were supposed to do.
I didn't take it seriously at all.
Because few people have actually experienced a fire, most have learned about it through training, television, and the Internet.
However, the situation took a 180-degree turn when thick smoke and a pungent smell of burning began to billow from the men’s locker room on the 24th floor.
“It’s really on fire.”
"Quick, quick, run first."
“I’m still working with clients.”
"Run, are you stupid? What's more important, customers or life?"
"Quick, emergency evacuation, everyone get up."
Looking at the messy work area, Luo Xi smiled with satisfaction.
He was standing at the east emergency exit and had opened the door in advance, like a doorman, as if he was waiting for something.
The sound of the alarm and the thick smoke coming out of the men's locker room immediately irritated people's nerves. When they really realized the crisis, everyone's reaction was to escape. Of course, some people went to find a fire extinguisher, but those who needed to evacuate had to evacuate first.
There is an exit on the east and west sides here. Luo Xi smashed the access switch on the west side and it can no longer be opened, so people can only evacuate from the east side. Luo Xi will say something to every person who comes over.
"It's ten o'clock, Brother Mao is down there!"
Most people looked at Luo Xi as if he were a lunatic and walked faster. Some people were puzzled and asked Luo Xi what he meant.
"Lao Luo, what do you mean? What happened to Brother Mao?"
"If you're not going to run, what are you doing here?"
"I just saw you smashing the switch of the west gate, Luo Xi, are you fucking sick?"
No matter what others said, Luo Xi only had one thing to say.
"It's ten o'clock, Brother Mao is down there!"
A female colleague heard Luo Xi's words at this time. She stopped immediately and looked at him with a strange look.
It was obvious that she was very surprised, and then she was in hesitation, not knowing whether to leave or stay.
Luo Xi looked back at her.
The female colleague's name is 'Zhang Yanan'. She is a very introverted person and has an average relationship with Luo Xi, just a polite greeting when they meet.
The smoke in the men's locker room began to grow thicker, and the people who had gone to look for fire extinguishers earlier were cursing because the fire extinguishers that were usually placed in the corridor were now gone.
"Luo Xi, I just saw you moving a fire extinguisher. Where did you put it?" Two male colleagues ran over and asked.
However, the response I got was still the same.
"Brother Mao? What do you mean? Damn, what are you doing?"
"Hurry, go first, the smoke is getting thicker, call the fire department."
Two male colleagues tried to pull Luo Xi away, but he broke free. When they tried to pull him back, they were immediately beaten with the cups in their hands.
"Are you fucking crazy?" The two men obviously noticed that Luo Xi was abnormal. At this time, Du Lei also ran over, his eyes were full of tears due to the smoke, and he kept coughing.
"What are you all doing here? Come downstairs quickly. I don't know which bastard broke the west door."
The two male colleagues immediately told Manager Du about Luo Xi's abnormal behavior.
"Xiao Luo, what's wrong with you?"
"It's ten o'clock, Brother Mao is down there!"
Still this sentence.
"." Du Lei was speechless for a while. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and said seriously: "Xiao Luo, do you know what you are doing? You are committing a crime. Is this sudden fire related to you? Let me ask you, what is going on?"
The smoke was already very thick at this time, and the people on the 24th floor had basically evacuated through the east gate.
Only a few people were left.
Luo Xi was naturally one of them. The female colleague Zhang Yanan had not left yet. She was very nervous, with confusion and hesitation in her eyes. It was obvious that she wanted to run, but something seemed to have scared her very much.
In addition, there is Du Lei and two male colleagues.
Five people in total.
"almost."
At this time, Luo Xi walked into the men's restroom next door, and came out with two fire extinguishers, one of which he handed to Du Lei.
Others noticed that the other person had a gas mask on his face at some point.
It is a disposable, hooded fire-fighting gas mask packed in a red box. This thing is actually called a 'filter-type fire-fighting self-rescue respirator'.
"I've checked the pressure gauge, it's normal. Pull out the safety pin, hold the nozzle tightly, and you can spray."
Luo Xi stepped into the men's locker room, and soon, the sound of a fire extinguisher being turned on was heard from inside.
Du Lei frowned, hesitated for a moment, picked up a fire gas mask on the table, and walked into the men's locker room.
He saw that the fire started from an open locker, but at this moment, all the lockers were burned, some were black and severely deformed, but there were no other flammable materials here, and the open fire was about to be extinguished. Du Lei stepped forward to help and used three fire extinguishers to put out the fire in the locker room. At this moment, the room was full of thick smoke. Luo Xi had already opened the window of the locker room.
"Did you set the fire?" Du Lei stared at Luo Xi and asked.
Luo Xi did not deny it.
He then walked to the fire hydrant in the corridor, took out the polyester fire hose inside, went to the west exit first, and used the fire hose to tie the handles on both sides of the door from the inside, tying a knot.
The other four people just looked at him, with different expressions.
"Hey, there's only one fire hose, it's not enough."
Luo Xi muttered at this time, then went to the bathroom, took the mop handle, and removed two legs from the chair at his workstation.
Walking to the east door, Luo Xi looked at the time.
Ten fifteen.
"Everyone, I'm going to seal this level. I'm giving you a chance to leave now, but let me be frank. If you leave, you'll lose this chance. No matter how many times you've saved your memories, you won't be able to clear the level. Whether you're killed by someone else or by Brother Mao, your memory cards will be cleared. Think carefully. Ten seconds, ten.nine."
"No, Luo Xi, what do you mean? What exactly are you going to do?" A male colleague was already a little impatient.
The others all had serious expressions and extremely complicated emotions as they stared at Luo Xi, trying to see something.
Luo Xi ignored the questioning, holding the metal stool leg in his hand and continued to count down: "Eighty-seven. Six."
"I" Zhang Yanan couldn't help but want to say something, but Luo Xi interrupted her directly: "I won't answer any questions now, stay, or leave May 4th."
"He's crazy, let's go down first." The male colleague who spoke at the beginning stepped out at this time, but what surprised him was that Du Lei and another male colleague did not move.
"Boss Du, you guys..."
"three"
"two"
"One"
Luo Xi closed the door, and the male colleague came back at the last moment with a cold and strange expression.
He used a mop handle, a stool leg, and some network cables to seal the door on the east side. Luo Xi clapped his hands and glanced at everyone.
"Now, no one will disturb us."
(End of this chapter)