Chapter 3 Saving Someone From The Fire

• After carefully placing the diamond ring into his jacket pocket, Enrique hopped onto his damaged food bike and headed home.
• Salinsburgh wasn't particularly cold for this time of year, but it was still quite chilly, especially since it was around two in the morning. Despite the cool temperature, Enrique could feel his undergarments becoming damp with sweat beneath his jacket. His belongings had filled up the food bike, making it as heavy as a small truck.
• Enrique continued to push his food bike, humming an unfamiliar tune. A cigarette dangled from his lips, and he moved with a nonchalant air. He was well aware of the exhaustion this nightly routine brought.
• Every night, after closing up shop, he would follow this path, spending over an hour riding his food bike back to his house. His grill stand was located behind the university, but his home was quite a distance away in a shared rental house in a less-than-desirable neighborhood in the city.
• At just past two o'clock in the morning, the once bustling and vibrant city had now fallen into silence. Enrique continued his journey, passing through various residential complexes, each of them shrouded in darkness as everyone had retired to their beds. This familiarity was second nature to him. He could even pinpoint which residential complex, which building, and which floor had residents who stayed awake until three in the morning every day.
• As he continued to make his way forward, he suddenly spotted an old residential area, that he passed by every day, engulfed in flames. The fire had consumed the second, third, and fourth floors of a seven-story building, and it appeared to be spreading downward.
• "Damn it, a fire!" Enrique exclaimed in shock as he hastily parked his food bike at the entrance of the residential area. A small crowd had gathered there, and people were pointing at the building. However, due to the late hour, there weren't many onlookers.
• As Enrique approached, he overheard someone shouting, "Did you see that? There's someone trapped on the third floor!"
• Enrique quickly followed the direction indicated by the onlooker's finger. On the balcony of the third floor, where the flames were closing in, a person was waving what seemed to be a piece of clothing or a bedsheet, clearly signaling for help. However, this figure only remained visible for a brief moment before being engulfed by the advancing flames.
• Enrique shouted at the bystanders, "Hey! Why isn't anyone going up to rescue that person?"
• "Idiot. If you are willing to risk your life, go ahead and save them!" the crowd mocked.
• "Yeah, that isn't our job. The firefighters will be here soon."
• "Unbelievable! How heartless!" Enrique muttered to himself angrily. He quickly surveyed the area, then dashed back to his food bike. He grabbed his jacket and soaked it with two bottles of water, then put it over his head. With firm resolve, he confirmed the figure's location before running into the burning building and starting his ascent up the stairs.
• The fire was fierce, and the heat was intense, accompanied by thick smoke. Thankfully, the fire hadn't spread too far. Enrique covered his nose with his soaked sleeves and raced up to the third floor. Once there, he located the apartment where the trapped person was, and with all his strength, he began kicking the door. The door, weakened by the fire and the heat, gave way relatively easily.
• As he kicked the door open, a searing wave of heat hit him, momentarily forcing him to step back. However, Enrique's determination outweighed the instinct to retreat. He had come this far and couldn't leave without attempting to rescue the trapped person. Gritting his teeth, he braved the heat and smoke, pushing forward into the burning house. He approached the balcony, doing his best to see through the thick smoke. Eventually, he spotted a figure on the balcony.
• "Hey, wake up! Can you move?" Enrique bent down and shook the person lying on the ground, trying to rouse them.
• However, the person remained unresponsive.
• There was no time to waste, so Enrique quickly bent down, wrapped them in his drenched jacket, and carried them as he hurried down the stairs. His sole focus was on getting out of the burning building as quickly as possible, determined not to meet his end in this inferno.
• Enrique finally escaped the building, and as he stepped out of the inferno, he let out a long sigh of relief, thankful for his survival.
• When he rushed out with the trapped person, the firefighters had already arrived on the scene, ready to combat the blaze. Ambulances and police cars were also in attendance. The area had been cordoned off with police tape, and a crowd of onlookers had gathered outside the perimeter. Many people were using their smartphones to capture photos and videos of Enrique emerging from the building.
• As soon as Enrique rushed out, two firefighters ran over and took the trapped person from him. While handing over the person to the firefighters and paramedics, Enrique casually removed his soaked jacket and then turned around, heading toward the police tape. He was exhausted and just wanted to get home and have a good sleep.
• Enrique silently walked away from the scene of flames and the bustling chaos, riding his own food bike as he made his way back. With a cheap cigarette hanging from his lips, he continued to hum the same unfamiliar tune as if the dramatic events that had unfolded earlier hadn't happened.
• Unbeknownst to Enrique, when he had covered himself with his jacket to go save the victim, he forgot that there was a diamond ring inside the pocket. It was the ring the BMW woman had left as collateral. What he also didn't know was that as he took his jacket and left, the diamond ring quietly slipped out of his jacket pocket, falling precisely into the coat of the person he had saved. Enrique remained unaware of these events.
• Enrique returned to the tenement building where he lived. It was a three-story building, and it looked quite dilapidated. Dust covered the walls, and the red bricks on the surface had turned into a powdery residue. The whole place appeared rundown, and the hygiene conditions were very poor. Moreover, the residents were a diverse mix of people.
• The courtyard had three such buildings, each with three stories, housing over a hundred households, illustrating just how crowded it was.
• Everyone thought this place was undesirable, but Enrique found it quite suitable because it was incredibly affordable. A thirty-square-meter single room cost only five hundred per month. In Salinsburgh, where every inch of land was valuable, such a deal was almost unheard of.
• Enrique resided on the ground floor, where the drain in front of his door was filled with garbage, emitting a repugnant odor. Nevertheless, he paid no mind to it, having long grown accustomed to the situation. He maneuvered his food cart directly to the window of his rented room and parked it there. Retrieving his keys, he unlocked the door to his room. After a brief interval, he reemerged with a bucket and proceeded to the faucet located at the end of the hallway. He filled the bucket with water and positioned it in front of his room, as the ground floor only had this solitary faucet. Shortly thereafter, clad in nothing but shorts, he commenced his showering ritual, armed with a towel. Taking a cold shower in this weather required courage, but Enrique was accustomed to it due to his daily grilling and barbecue work.