Pègre - Chapitre 28
It sounds like a long story, but in reality, from the time they discovered the fire to the time the fire truck arrived downstairs, only a short time passed.
It took seven minutes.
In those seven minutes, everything in the room had been reduced to ashes, and the walls were on the verge of collapse. The speed of the fire was...
The fire was so fast and so fierce that it was as if these things were made of paper.
---Magpie Bridge Fairy
Reply [45]: Lu Yang and the others watched in disbelief as a chair placed in the center of the room turned into a puff of smoke in just over ten seconds.
.
Nothing can burn that fast, not even when doused with gasoline.
.
When the fire trucks started spraying flames and the people in the building were evacuated, the only thing left that could burn in the room was...
The floor and walls.
This is yet another unusual place.
The room's walls were made of concrete and plastered with whitewash. The fire started in the walls—
This was what the students across from room 401 told Li Changge; when they rushed to 401, the entire room was already ablaze.
Compared to other materials, walls are undoubtedly much harder to burn; most fires start with flammable materials.
The walls are usually just blackened by smoke.
What Li Changge and the others saw was that the center and all sides of the room were engulfed in flames, and large plumes of smoke were clearly visible floating on the walls.
The flames were definitely not caused by the burning of other objects, because they resembled enormous, blooming flowers.
The petals opened towards the center of the room, and the roots spread along the walls.
The fire trucks couldn't do much anymore; the walls were so burned that the steel bars were exposed.
By the time the fire trucks started spraying water, Li Changge and the others had already been evacuated downstairs. To their surprise, the room...
There was nothing left to burn, yet the fire still burned fiercely. By the time Jiang Shichao and his team arrived, the fire trucks were already spraying water.
It lasted for 8 minutes.
What sustained the flames during those 8 minutes?
Hearing Li Changge's words, the other classmates around him nodded in agreement with his question. Jiang Shichao looked up...
Looking out the window of room 401, one could see flames crackling loudly; the window had already been burned away.
However, despite the rapid spread of the fire, it had no effect on the surrounding dormitories. In the dormitory next to 401, [the fire]...
Several pieces of clothing that students had hung out to dry on the windowsill were being blown towards the flames by the wind caused by the fire.
It never caught fire.
The fire seemed to be focused solely on burning in room 401.
The snow-white water dragons powerfully impacted the flames, creating a magnificent yet bizarre spectacle: on one side were three white ribbons, and on the other...
The edge was a huge, scattered spark, where water and fire mingled, clearly separated, and neither side would give way an inch.
Just as everyone was looking up to watch the battle between water and fire, the water in the fire trucks gradually ran out, and several water hoses became limp.
He got down and left the window.
Because the student who reported the fire described it as very serious, the fire department assumed the fire was large and dispatched three vehicles.
Upon arriving at the scene, I saw a small fire, with only one dormitory room on fire. Based on years of firefighting experience, such a fire only requires...
They believe that dispatching one fire truck is sufficient; they don't even need to open the fire hydrants, and can directly use the water stored in the fire truck.
That was enough. The fire was unexpectedly tenacious, showing no signs of abating even after the water ran out. The firefighters immediately...
He ran to the fire hydrant to connect the water pipe. Meanwhile, in the window of room 401, the fire raged triumphantly.
Just as the firefighters reconnected the hose and prepared to spray water again, what happened at the window left everyone speechless.
stay.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the fire stubbornly resisted the three water dragons, neither weakening nor spreading. Meanwhile, the water...
Shortly after the dragon withdrew, the fire suddenly went out.
Normally, such a fire extinguishes gradually, from strong to weak. However, this fire went out without any warning.
One second it was still blazing, seemingly burning endlessly; the next second, all the fire was extinguished.
The feeling is as if a huge basin of water has fallen from the sky, suddenly extinguishing the fire.
But no water fell from the sky, and the fire suddenly went out on its own, leaving not even a spark.
Down.
The room, which was ablaze just a moment ago, suddenly fell silent, leaving only the charred walls on display.
Before them. And the charred exterior wall gave off a very strange feeling.
Everyone watched silently for several minutes, even the firefighters stared blankly, completely forgetting that the hose in their hands was still gushing water...
Water is seeping out.
What exactly is strange about this place? Jiang Shichao stared at the odd window, desperately trying to pinpoint the source of that strange feeling.
Source. Others seemed to share the same thought, and the area around the fire suddenly became extremely quiet.
"Too neat and orderly." After a while, someone in the crowd suddenly uttered this very soft voice. Perhaps...
He was just talking to himself, but because the room was so quiet, everyone heard him. A collective gasp of realization swept through the crowd.
The sound started, and then a flurry of discussion ensued.
Yes, it's just too neat, which is why that charred wall gives off such a strange feeling.
Along the edge of the window of dormitory room 401, there were blackened marks from being burned—this was not surprising—what was strange was that the blackening...
The portion forms a neat rectangle around the window, as if a black border had been artificially painted around it.
The border. The wall outside this border still retains its original, slightly worn color. The frame holds a pen.
The lines are straight, as if measured with a ruler. If this can still be勉强 explained as a coincidence, then it is impossible...
This explains the four corners of the border.
The four corners of this frame are clearly standard 90-degree angles.
It is well known that such a standard geometric shape could not be formed by the forces of nature alone. Humans, in their exploration of the earth...
When extraterrestrial life emerges, the signals it sends into outer space contain geometric patterns, precisely because these patterns represent intelligent life.
The products of nature, no matter how ingenious, cannot reach the level of human creation.
Is fire intelligent life?
no.
But how do we explain the phenomenon we are seeing?
The window of room 401 stands out prominently within that black frame, clearly distinguishing it from other dorm rooms.
---Magpie Bridge Fairy
Reply [46]: This is a strange fire: it starts burning from the wall, burns extremely fast, and can burn even without any combustible material.
It can sustain a powerful fire, unaffected by water or fire extinguishing agents. Most remarkably, this fire seems to possess intelligence, knowing how to choose its target.
The target of the fire was clearly marked, indicating its territory: apart from dormitory 401, the other dormitories weren't even affected by the smoke.
The water was blackened by fire. First, it was the water of Luoyan Lake, then this strange fire. Could this be the "push" they've been pondering?
"The second inference?" Jiang Shichao and Lin Ding exchanged glances. If this was the second inference, then this inference meant...
What is it?
Duan Yun, however, stared at that window with a very strange look in his eyes.
"What's wrong?" Lin Ding noticed his strange gaze and asked. He jolted, seemingly snapping out of his thoughts.
Coming to his senses, he shook his head, his face a little pale: "It's nothing." Jiang Shichao also looked at him, but didn't say anything.
The principal had arrived sometime earlier and was standing near the fire truck, whispering something to the fire chief. Their expressions...
It was very serious. After speaking for a few minutes, the principal beckoned the head of the school's security department to his side and gave him some instructions. (The head of the security department...)
The school organized security personnel to seal off the entrance to a dormitory building, announcing that no one was allowed to enter. This occurred among the students.
A chorus of discontent arose.
The principal stood on the fire truck, holding a microphone, and shouted: "Students, you all saw what just happened."
The cause of the fire is currently unknown, and it's unclear whether there are any remaining fire hazards. To ensure the safety of every student...
For your safety, please cooperate with the security department and refrain from entering the dormitory building until the fire department has conducted an investigation.
To enter the building. If the investigation takes a long time, the school will do its best to ensure everyone's learning and living conditions are minimized.
We hope to remain undisturbed. This is something no one wants to happen, but since it has already occurred, please be understanding.
"Thank you!" The principal was highly respected at the Third Normal School. His words, though causing some discontent, were temporarily suppressed.
With the guidance and arrangement of some teachers and staff on site, students who were supposed to attend class continued to go back to their classes, and those who were not in class...
The students were all arranged to rest in the school auditorium. The students gradually dispersed.
Jiang Shichao and his group didn't leave. They made their way through the obstacles of water pipes and fire trucks to the principal. The principal looked...
Upon seeing them, a slight smile appeared on his lips. Since last Sunday night, everyone who knew about those strange events...
They developed a sense of camaraderie: in this campus of thousands, only a few of them shared a common feeling.