The plummeting stock price of the United States United Super Vacuum Pipeline Railway Company did not bring the expected satisfaction but instead fueled greater anger across the nation. This was because over 40% of the company's shares were in the hands of retail investors, and due to its previous frenzied surge, it had been listed as a top investment by almost all financial institutions.
Both investment institutions and retail investors had bought shares in the United States United Super Vacuum Pipeline Railway Company, especially the American middle class, who were almost universally invested.
According to incomplete statistics, the American middle class had allocated 2.1% of their total assets to purchasing shares of the United States United Super Vacuum Pipeline Railway Company. When the company's stock began to plummet, it was equivalent to all American middle-class individuals losing 2.1% of their total assets.
Some might consider 4.1% an insignificant figure, but this was calculated against total assets, which included various fixed and intangible assets.
According to research reports from relevant institutions, for an average American middle-class person with $2 million in assets, 60% of that, or $1.2 million, was their home.
Another 12% of their assets, approximately $240,000, was their car. This meant that while this $1.44 million in assets existed, it was not readily accessible.
Additionally, there were about $200,000 in assets such as jewelry and other valuables. Therefore, on average, a typical American middle-class individual only had about $360,000 in assets that were easily convertible into cash, such as stocks, bonds, and funds.
And 4.1% of their total assets amounted to $82,000.
In other words, a middle-class individual who could see $360,000 in cash in their account, which represented their entire perceived assets, suddenly discovered that overnight they had lost $82,000, equivalent to a quarter of their wealth. One could only imagine the sentiment of these American middle-class individuals.
In reality, this was just an average; some lost less, while others lost their entire fortunes.
According to later incomplete statistics, 18.2% of American middle-class individuals lost more than 80% of their assets in this plunge, with 10% losing everything.
Among this 10%, 30% had leveraged their stock trading with debt. Consequently, their losses not only wiped out their cash but also their fixed assets, leading to genuine ruin.
The middle class is the stable foundation of a nation. If the middle class faces catastrophic losses, the entire country will be plunged into devastating turmoil, and the United States was clearly sliding into such an abyss.
Suddenly, angry shouts echoed throughout the United States. Everyone looked at their heavily depleted accounts while vowing to punish those responsible.
This outrage was not confined to the internet but had truly spread across the entire nation. Various large-scale demonstrations and protests began to erupt nationwide. Countless people took to the streets, quickly spreading to almost all cities in the United States, with a scale almost matching the financial crisis outbreak a few years prior.
At this point, the authorities could no longer afford to be complacent. An investigation team was announced that very evening, four days earlier than originally planned, and the entire investigation team was to be directly led by the Vice President, indicating the highest level of urgency.
However, this did not seem to extinguish the public's fury. On the morning of September 20, 2013, angry citizens gradually gathered outside the headquarters of the United States United Super Vacuum Pipeline Railway Company, demanding that the company's senior management collectively explain where the money had gone and why the pipeline project had not commenced for three years.
Naturally, the senior management dared not come out to explain. As a result, the crowd grew larger, and by the afternoon, over 200,000 people had gathered.
Then, a scene destined to be written into the entire history of the United States unfolded. Under the fury of 200,000 people, the police and security personnel guarding the entrance could no longer hold back.
Eventually, someone pushed, a company security guard fell to the ground, and the defense line crumbled. Security personnel and police vanished from the crowd almost instantly, and these 200,000 people stormed directly into the United States United Super Vacuum Pipeline Railway Company building.
The few employees in the first-floor lobby of the United States United Super Vacuum Pipeline Railway Company were terrified and immediately fled to the upper floors via elevator. The entire first floor was instantly occupied.
The enraged crowd first smashed everything they could see, and anything they couldn't smash, they pocketed.
Then, these people climbed floor by floor, smashing or pocketing everything on each level. Although the United States United Super Vacuum Pipeline Railway Company building was 17 stories high, it seemed insufficient for 200,000 people. Soon, all 17 floors were occupied, and even the chairman's office was broken into, with everything inside looted.
Some employees inside the company collectively retreated to the top floor and, with the help of a rescue helicopter, escaped the building, a classic moment captured by reporters outside.
At this point, it seemed the incident would conclude, as the entire building had been occupied.
However, the tragedy was just beginning. For reasons of venting their anger, someone inside the United States United Super Vacuum Pipeline Railway Company set a fire.
The fire, which might have started with a small lighter, spread throughout the building at an incredibly rapid pace. By the time most people inside realized the building was on fire, it was too late.
The fire originated on the 11th floor. As is well known, fire spreads upwards, so unless one escaped downwards immediately, those on the 11th floor and above had virtually no chance of survival.
This was indeed the case, as those with higher positions in the company occupied the higher floors, where valuable items were typically kept, meaning more people were present on those floors.
When the fire became irreversible, at least over 3,000 people were trapped on the 11th floor and above.
Fortunately, the chaos had been ongoing for several hours, and police had been arriving at the scene. Thus, as soon as the fire broke out, it was immediately discovered, saving valuable reporting time, and the fire department could be dispatched promptly.
However, even with the fire department arriving quickly, it was difficult to save those on the 11th floor and above, given the extreme height.
In fact, upon the firefighters' arrival, they refused to enter the building directly for rescue. Only a small number of firefighters entered the first floor to guide people to safety; not a single firefighter ventured upwards.
This was not because the firefighters in the United States were cowardly, but rather the consequence of a disaster 12 years prior.
In the disaster of September 11, 2001, the Twin Towers did not collapse immediately; in fact, they remained standing for about an hour.
Firefighters at the time rushed in to rescue people. However, due to the uncontrollable fire, both buildings eventually collapsed, and a large number of firefighters died in that disaster, leaving an indelible scar on the entire industry.
The vast majority of the deceased firefighters were those who had ascended to the upper floors to rescue people and ultimately perished with the building's collapse. Since then, firefighters have been extremely reluctant to enter burning buildings for rescue, fearing a repeat of the building collapse tragedy.
However, this was only one aspect; another reason was the most significant.
Post-disaster statistics revealed that over 3,000 firefighters suffered from severe lung-related illnesses and other serious mental health issues during this disaster.
When these firefighters later sought compensation from the government, their claims were outright rejected. On average, each firefighter received only a few hundred dollars in compensation. All injured or ill firefighters ultimately received no compensation and were dismissed from their jobs due to their medical conditions. They eventually died miserably on sickbeds, with their numbers exceeding those who perished in the buildings at the time.
This incident deeply shocked and educated all firefighters in the United States. While it did not lead to a shortage of personnel in the fire service, a consensus and unwritten rule was established among firefighters across the United States.
That is, they would absolutely refuse to enter burning high-rise buildings and would only undertake rescue operations after ensuring their absolute safety and without any risk to themselves; otherwise, they would reject all risky rescue actions.
This is not fictional; it is a fact proven by countless real disasters.
On June 24, 2021, another world-shocking disaster occurred in the United States: the collapse of a building with over a hundred residential units, resulting in the deaths of 97 people.
However, what shocked the world was not the disaster itself, but the rescue efforts afterward.
In numerous videos filmed at the scene, although there were many rescue personnel, there were no large-scale rescue equipment. They relied entirely on human hands to move debris and rescue survivors trapped beneath it. A famous photograph captured 16 rescuers forming a human conveyor belt, transferring five broken bricks in one minute.
The entire rescue operation lasted seven days and ultimately rescued no survivors. The only accomplishment was a small pile of brick fragments, less than a person's height, which was everything removed from the building's debris. However, it was reported that a small cat buried in the rubble was rescued, although some claim this cat was a stray that happened to wander by during the rescue and became the sole rescued entity.
The evidence supporting this claim is that the cat sustained no injuries, and there are photographs of it wandering in a nearby park after the building's collapse.