Wang Shen's hand, holding the teacup, trembled at the scream. The waitress standing nearby looked on in surprise towards the source of the sound. Wang Shen and Liang Zichen exchanged a glance, then stood up and walked towards the source of the sound. They hadn't taken two steps when the scene before them stunned everyone. Anyone with a weaker constitution would have screamed out loud.
Suddenly, a figure darted out of a nearby cubicle. No, to be precise, it couldn't be called a person anymore. All anyone could see was a humanoid flame. The Blaziken mentioned earlier had now transformed into a flame man?
Sharp screams echoed from the cubicles. These sounds must have come from the customers inside. The person engulfed in flames was also screaming in agony. No one could see his expression; everything about him, except his voice, was consumed by the flames. The person engulfed in flames stumbled around wildly. Since the restaurant was mostly constructed of wood, if this continued, the entire restaurant would be destroyed.
"Quick, put out the fire!" Wang Shen shouted to the stunned waitress standing to the side. Wang Shen and Liang Zichen also began searching for a fire extinguisher. Finally, Wang Shen found one in a corner. He kicked open the glass and pulled the extinguisher out. Wang Shen rushed to the burning man and sprayed it onto his body.
At this moment, the man in flames had stopped his headless, frantic wandering and instead lay quietly on the ground, letting the flames consume him. The flames on his body were so intense that it took Wang Shen quite a while to extinguish them with a fire extinguisher. The entire restaurant was in chaos, with diners rushing over to see what was happening. Han Lin, the restaurant manager Wang Shen had encountered before, also appeared.
Han Lin recognized Wang Shen and quickly greeted him before turning his attention to the employee lying on the ground. The person was twitching slightly, their eyes open, the whites of their eyes contrasting sharply with the charred black of their body. It was clear the person's body temperature was still very high; wisps of white steam could be seen rising from the charred flesh. Some parts of the skin and flesh were charred black. In some places, the charred flesh had even peeled off, revealing the bright red flesh beneath. More and more people gathered around, most frowning, covering their noses, and whispering amongst themselves while trying to block out the stench of burning flesh. Before the ambulance arrived, no one knew how to handle such an emergency. At that moment, a male employee came over with a bucket of cold water and gently poured it over the person lying on the ground.
"Did you call an ambulance?" Wang Shen asked Han Lin.
"Yes, yes, it called out," Han Lin replied hastily, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he answered.
"Manager Han, may I ask you a few questions before the ambulance arrives?" Wang Shen patted Han Lin on the shoulder, comforting him.
Han Lin turned his head in astonishment, looked at Wang Shen, and then nodded stiffly a few times.
Is this person an employee of your store?
Han Lin nodded twice more.
Wang Shen suddenly remembered something, shifted his gaze from Han Lin, walked around the person on the ground, and prepared to head towards the private room where the incident had occurred. "By the way, Manager Han, could you inquire about the situation for me? That should be fine, right?" Wang Shen stopped and turned to look at Liang Zichen. Liang Zichen nodded firmly upon hearing Wang Shen's words.
The customers in the private room were still huddled on one side of their chairs, staring in astonishment at the chicken lying on the floor. Wang Shen glanced at the chicken on the floor, then at the person lying outside, walked over to the customers, and took out his identification.
"Don't be nervous, I'm a police officer. I'd like to ask you some questions." After saying that, Wang Shen put away his identification and looked at the two women and one man in front of him.
The man was the first to respond. He swallowed and nodded at Wang Shen.
"Was the person on fire because of that chicken?" Wang Shen asked, pointing to the chicken on the ground.
"Yes." The man in front of me had regained some of his composure.
"Could you describe in detail how this happened?" Wang Shen's expression turned serious. As usual, he took out a notebook and pen from his pocket, waiting for the man to begin his explanation.
“It all started because of that dish.” The man pointed to the chicken on the ground, a hint of fear in his eyes. He took a deep breath, calming himself, and began to recall his terrifying experience. “We came to this restaurant specifically for this flamingo chicken. Friends who had been here recommended it, saying it was delicious and beautiful, especially beautiful. I ordered it on a whim. The whole setup when it arrived was quite a sight. We saw the waiter, wearing thick gloves, come in carrying a tray of chicken and a bottle of wine. He said he was in charge of the flamingo chicken roasting performance and told us to watch. Then, he began his performance. At first, everything went smoothly. He used his gloves to directly…” The chicken was lifted into the air, then the bottle of wine was opened, and the wine was slowly poured over the chicken. Next, the waiter found a tube, connected it to the chicken's beak, and poured some of the wine into its mouth. The waiter then took a bamboo skewer from the tray and pricked several holes in the chicken. We could clearly see the entire chicken soaked in wine. 'Now comes the main event,' he reminded us, and we all watched with wide, excited eyes. But then, something terrible happened.” At this point, the man's expression tensed again. He paused, trying to regain his composure.
"The waiter took off one glove and pulled a lighter from his pocket. He held the chicken by the neck with his gloved hand and lit the lighter with his other. Under our expectant gaze, we watched the flames leap from the chicken's feet up its body. We applauded in surprise, but the flames showed no sign of stopping. When the flames reached the chicken's neck, they suddenly veered and spread towards the waiter's hands. At first, the waiter wasn't panicked; he tried to extinguish the fire with his other hand. But when his other hand approached the flames, they seemed to leap uncontrollably up to his other hand as well. He panicked completely, dropped the chicken, and began shaking his hands wildly. Then, then…" The man paused again, his eyes somewhat vacant. "Then, the fire spread from his hands to his body, engulfing his feet. Finally, his hair. He was completely consumed by flames…"
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