While Beijing TV seized the advantage with speed, CCTV soon showed everyone who was the boss.
The day after Beijing TV's program aired, CCTV's famous program "Focus Interview" broadcast a preview of the investigation into the Beijing internet cafe fire.
In the preview, a mysterious man appeared. Although he was on screen for less than two seconds in total, he quickly aroused the curiosity of the entire nation.
As a result, a day later, "Focus Interview" once again reached a high viewership rating across the country.
The last time the ratings were this high was when they reported on two men in an online romance.
Amidst great anticipation, this episode of "Focus Interview" aired as scheduled. However, the man who had piqued the nation's curiosity did not appear at the beginning. Instead, the program began by recounting the events of that night.
Although the story of that night had been repeatedly reported by hundreds of national television media and thousands of other media outlets, CCTV, being the "dad" of all, produced a 3D animated demonstration to showcase what happened.
First, a 3D diagram of the internet cafe was shown, detailing the entire layout of the establishment and illustrating the dire situation on the second floor, where all exits were tightly locked by two iron doors.
"In the history of our Chinese nation, in times of extreme crisis, heroes always step forward. This time is no exception. Facing the danger to over twenty precious lives, someone stepped forward!" These were the host's exact words. Being called a hero by CCTV, this hero was indeed confirmed.
Just as viewers expected the program to continue its dry verbal narration of events, the TV screen suddenly shifted, revealing a world of darkness illuminated by firelight.
Under the glow of the flames, a massive iron door was visible, though the camera angle was peculiar.
The footage seemed to be confined within a frame, and the image quality was very poor, resembling that of over a decade ago.
Indeed, "over a decade ago" from 2002, one could imagine the quality.
As everyone wondered about this footage, the screen suddenly lurched forward, as if in a speeding car, charging towards the fire-lit iron door. The screen then shook violently from a powerful impact. When the image stabilized, the iron door was completely smashed open, revealing burning stairs within.
"This is footage captured by a car's dashcam!" the host explained as the image froze. "If this car hadn't been equipped with a dashcam, which is quite rare in China, we might not have been able to see so clearly what happened that night."
After the host finished speaking, the footage continued. The car that had crashed through the door retreated back to the road. Then, the sounds of doors opening and closing were heard, and a young man rushed into the burning scene he had just breached.
The image froze again at this moment.
"Who is this man? Is he the hero we are looking for?" As the host's question hung in the air, the screen cut to a white background. A seemingly young man, with only his eyes visible, sat somewhat awkwardly in front of the camera.
"Hello, can you tell us what made you think of crashing through the door with your car?" the reporter asked.
"I don't know what I was thinking. I just felt I had to get the door open as quickly as possible. My car was parked by the roadside, so I decided to ram the door," the man replied.
"Did you consider that crashing the door is a very dangerous act, and you might get hurt?" the reporter inquired further.
"I didn't think about it. The situation was so critical, how could I think about such things!" the man responded with a bashful smile.
"And how did you come up with the idea of using wet cotton quilts to cover the fire?" the reporter asked.
"Because when I rushed in, I saw the fire was mostly burning on the carpet. I thought if I could extinguish the fire on the carpet, it should be enough. Although I had two fire extinguishers in my trunk, they didn't seem sufficient to put out the entire blaze."
"It just so happened that I remembered our company invited the fire department for fire safety training before. They mentioned that if one is trapped in a sea of fire, using wet quilts to cover oneself would allow for a safer escape."
"So I thought, why not do the opposite? Cover the carpet with wet quilts, and perhaps that would extinguish the fire too! It's like covering a fire with sand, isn't it?" he chuckled.
"But do you know that the firefighters later said your method was very wrong, because wetting the cotton quilts and then placing them on the carpet could consume a significant amount of time? By then, the fire would have spread throughout the entire building," the reporter added.
"I know!" the young man nodded. "The firefighters educated me about this later, so I want to tell everyone here that this is not the right way. If you encounter a similar situation, you shouldn't do as I did!"
"However, fortunately, there were many residents nearby. After being awakened, they were very enthusiastic in offering their help, voluntarily contributing their used cotton quilts. I remember there were about 30 to 40 quilts in total, all of which were directly thrown on the ground and soaked."
"In fact, we only used about 5 cotton quilts, but all 30-odd quilts were soaked and became unusable. The entire process took less than three minutes, which is why I was lucky enough to control the fire with these quilts!" As he spoke, the young man became emotional and wiped away tears. "I am truly moved. This was not my achievement alone; it was the achievement of all the residents nearby. They contributed their possessions and their strength, and I was just an insignificant part of it. They should be the ones being interviewed today, not me!"
"They are the greatest people in the world! And the most manliest people in Beijing!"
"Clap clap clap clap!" The viewers in front of their televisions couldn't help but applaud. Especially many residents near the fire, who were deeply touched by this segment.
Oh my goodness, this person is too good, too kind, and he didn't forget them. So touching! Someone finally remembered their contributions!
Recently, the whole of China had been reporting on the fire, but all eyes were focused on the so-called hero, which made these residents, who had also contributed money and effort, somewhat displeased and resentful of the hero.
Now, with his genuine emotions displayed on television, all misunderstandings vanished, and their affection for the young man soared. They were eager to invite him for drinks.
"According to the fire department's investigation, another crucial reason the fire was controlled was that you discovered it almost immediately after the flames appeared and initiated the rescue as quickly as possible. Otherwise, delaying for another minute or two would have made the fire unmanageable. How did you discover the fire?" the host asked.
"Actually, that night I was suffering from insomnia and couldn't sleep. I happened to glance at the street view outside my window and saw a few people going in and out of the internet cafe's door."
"Later, I vaguely saw what appeared to be firelight inside. Then, these people locked the main door. I became concerned and took a closer look. The firelight was still there, so I rushed out of the hotel and found the security guards and staff to check through the iron door. It did look like there was firelight inside."
"So, someone intentionally set this fire?" the reporter revealed a sensational piece of news that excited the nation.
"I'm not sure. My statement doesn't count for much; it's better to wait for the relevant authorities to announce the more accurate investigation results!" the man replied very cautiously.
Subsequently, the reporter asked many more questions about the rescue scene and conditions. The young man answered each one, and with some footage captured by the dashcam, he provided a complete account of the entire fire rescue operation.
————————
"How could it be him?" That night, sitting in the company-provided dormitory, Ke Xue Dong, who had just turned on the TV, became furious upon seeing the man on the screen.
This fellow was none other than the boss of the people who had beaten him up... Although Ke Xue Dong didn't know the man's real name yet, he knew this person must be a high-ranking executive, or even the boss, of Jiangnan Group. Otherwise, Liu Xiang Jiang wouldn't have beaten him up simply for calling him a dog.
Therefore, this person was undoubtedly one of his enemies, and he vowed to take revenge. But the question was, how did this man appear on "Focus Interview"?
Ke Xue Dong had lived in mainland China for several years and was well aware of the program's status. The fact that this man appeared on "Focus Interview" meant he was in trouble.
It could be good or bad, but given "Focus Interview's" style, it was usually bad news.
It must have been Jiangnan Group doing something like passing off inferior goods as quality products, bullying customers, or damaging the environment. Otherwise, the boss of such a company wouldn't be featured on "Focus Interview"!
Ke Xue Dong thought gleefully. Once a company was featured on "Focus Interview," its future in mainland China was essentially ruined, and his revenge would be complete.
However, as Ke Xue Dong continued to watch the program, his expression grew more and more grim, eventually turning into outright rage.
This fellow had actually become a national hero!