Ming You took off his backpack and placed it on the edge of the sidewalk opposite the parking lot fence. From the backpack, he took out a chocolate bar and put it in his pocket, while holding a bottle of gasoline in his right hand.
He entered the parking lot and slowly approached Kai Rin Wu's car. When he reached it, he positioned himself between Kai Rin Wu's car and the neighboring one, but he was closer to the neighboring car.
Ming You opened the bottle cap, turned his back to the cameras, and pressed the bottle to his lips through his mask, pretending to drink water. Although drops of gasoline dripped onto his clothes and left a stain on his mask, it wasn't a problem for him.
After a couple of seconds, he abruptly lowered the bottle, and gasoline began to pour out, forming a slightly iridescent puddle. With one hand, he took the chocolate bar from his pocket and stopped pouring the gasoline. He placed the bottle next to the wheel of Kai Rin Wu's car and simply opened the chocolate bar.
He slightly lowered his mask and began to eat it. His face wasn't visible on the cameras, and it wasn't fully visible anyway. When he finished eating, he pulled the mask back up and crumpled the wrapper, putting it in his pocket.
Ming You took a sharp step toward Kai Rin Wu's car and "accidentally" tripped over the bottle of "water," spilling everything. He bent down, picked up the empty bottle, and carried it in his right hand.
After wiping his mouth with his hand, he turned the bottle upside down and headed toward the exit of the parking lot.
Stopping near the fence, he folded the empty bottle and the wrapper into his backpack, then put it on and waited for the right moment:
"Now all that's left is to wait for the necessary victim. And no, not Kai Rin Wu, but someone who would stand opposite his car. This way, I'll get rid of unnecessary attention and my problem with Kai Rin Wu."
Ming You sat down on the curb and pretended to look at his phone, occasionally glancing at the parking lot:
"Best of all, if the victim also has a bottle of water. That way, I can throw the firecracker in their direction, and the plan will go as I need."
About thirty minutes passed, and Ming You noticed someone. A middle-aged man entered the parking lot, walking slowly past the cars. It seemed like he would stop near the blue sedan, but he walked past it. The man stopped near a gray Mustang, which was about ten meters away from Kai Rin Wu's car.
Ming You watched him closely, and when the man took out a cigarette and lit it, Ming You unconsciously smirked:
"Don't tell me you'll do the job for me. I hope you don't miss with your cigarette butt. It's hard to believe, but I don't even trust my teammates to make a successful throw as much as I trust a stranger."
Ming You continued to wait and occasionally kept an eye on the man, but he decided to get up from the curb and move a bit further away from the parking lot to avoid suspicion.
When the man finished smoking, he threw the cigarette butt near the wheel of his car and completely extinguished it. Then he opened the door of his Mustang and started the car.
Ming You had moved quite far from the parking lot and waited another five minutes:
"No incidents. It seems I was just hoping for luck in vain. I'll have to wait a bit longer, but if Kai Rin Wu and his parents decide to leave by then, I'll have to take an even greater risk."
He started heading back toward the parking lot and watched the departing Mustang. He sat back down on the curb, took out his phone, and waited.
Minutes passed. Many people were on the parking lot, and many cars had already left. About an hour and a half passed before a young woman in her twenties appeared.
She walked straight toward Kai Rin Wu's car and stopped near a green Matiz, which was parked right behind the blue sedan. The woman began rummaging through her purse and eventually pulled out a bottle of water.
Ming You, sitting on the curb behind the parking lot fence, wanted to laugh with satisfaction at how his plan was working, but he kept his emotions completely under control and only mentally smirked as he began opening the package of firecrackers in his backpack.
The woman, unaware of anything, simply drank her water. But after two minutes…
Ming You lit the firecracker and, like a baseball pitcher, took a swing. The firecracker, sparkling, arced through the air and landed right in the puddle of gasoline under the wheel of the blue sedan.
"Bang!" — a deafening explosion rang out.
The gasoline ignited, and a light breeze instantly spread the flames. The fire crawled across the asphalt, first engulfing one car, then the second — Kai Rin Wu's car.
"AAAAH!!!" — the woman screamed as she saw the flames approaching her car.
In fear, she staggered and dropped her water bottle. The liquid spilled onto the asphalt, but it was far too little to stop the fire.
The flames, fanned by the wind, were already licking her hair. She panicked, waving her hands to try to put out the fire, but it only grew stronger.
"AAAAH!!! Fuck, fuck, fuck!!! Why!?" — her screams echoed across the parking lot.
She started running, but the flames had already caught her clothes. In desperation, she fell to the ground, rolling on the asphalt, trying to extinguish the fire and screaming in agony:
"AAAAH!!! Help!!!"
Meanwhile, the flames reached the fuel tank of the blue sedan. A dull thud echoed — the tank couldn't withstand the pressure. A fiery flash momentarily illuminated the entire parking lot, and the car was completely engulfed in flames. The fire, as if in a chain reaction, began to spread to neighboring cars.
Several people on the parking lot scattered in panic. Some called the fire department, while others shouted for everyone to move away. Smoke and the smell of burning filled the air, and the crackling of burning plastic and metal sounded like a death rattle.
Ming You, on the other hand, simply walked away from the parking lot and the supermarket with a smirk on his face. When he confirmed that Kai Rin Wu's car was now on fire, he began to wait for his exit:
"It's time for you to rest in peace, Kai Rin Wu."
Meanwhile, inside the supermarket.
The security guards were the first to react to the situation. One of them, seeing the flames, grabbed a fire extinguisher and rushed to the scene of the fire, but quickly realized that his efforts were useless against such a large blaze. He retreated, shouting into his radio:
"This is fucked up! Fire in the parking lot! Call the fire department immediately! Evacuate everyone from this fucking building!"
Inside the supermarket, the fire alarm sounded.
"What's all the noise?" asked Kai Rin Wu's mother, sitting with him and his father at a table in the food court.
"I'm sure some idiot pressed the fire alarm button…" Kai Rin Wu replied with disdain.
"What if it's not? We can't always assume that idiots, who make us unable to distinguish serious situations, are only increasing," added his father.
Before they could leisurely gather their things, a supermarket administrator approached them:
"Please, exit immediately! The situation is serious! There's a fire in the parking lot, and the flames could reach the supermarket!"
"So it's true!? Damn it, our car is there!!!" exclaimed Kai Rin Wu's mother, jumping up from her chair and grabbing her purse and shopping bags.
Kai Rin Wu and his father quickly stood up and headed for the exit.
The staff began guiding customers through the emergency exits to avoid a stampede. Some people on the parking lot panicked, dropping their purchases and running to safety. Others tried to help those closer to the fire, but the heat and smoke forced them to retreat.
The woman whose clothes and hair had caught fire rolled on the asphalt, trying to extinguish the flames. Her screams attracted the attention of several people. One of them, a man in a leather jacket, took off his coat and covered her, trying to smother the fire. Another ran over with a bottle of water, but it was far too little.
"Hold on!" the man shouted, helping her up. "Run to the fountain!"
They rushed to the decorative fountain at the entrance of the supermarket. The woman jumped into the water, and the flames on her clothes began to die down. She was in shock, her hands trembling, but she was alive.
A few minutes later, fire trucks arrived at the parking lot with sirens blaring. The firefighters, dressed in protective gear, quickly assessed the situation. The fire had already engulfed several cars and was threatening to spread to the supermarket building.
"Water won't help, use foam!" commanded the brigade leader.
The firefighters deployed hoses and began extinguishing the flames with special foam, which suppressed the fire and prevented its spread. At the same time, another group of firefighters began evacuating the remaining people and checking for casualties.
"Are there any casualties?" asked one of the firefighters, running over to the fountain where the woman was.
"She's burned, but alive," replied the man in the leather jacket. "We need an ambulance!"
The firefighter nodded and relayed the information over the radio. A couple of minutes later, an ambulance arrived. The medics examined the woman: the burns on her body and face were serious but not life-threatening. They wrapped her in a special blanket and placed her on a stretcher.
"You'll be okay," one of the medics reassured her. "We'll take you to the hospital now."
The woman, still in shock, simply nodded. Her eyes were filled with tears, but there was a hint of relief in them — she had survived.
The firefighters continued their work. The fire, which had begun to approach the supermarket building, was brought under control. The cars engulfed in flames gradually turned into piles of burnt metal. The smoke cleared, and the extent of the damage to the parking lot became visible.
"Everything's under control," one of the firefighters reported to the commander. "The fire is out, and there's no threat to the building."
The commander nodded and approached the group of witnesses gathered near the supermarket entrance.
"Does anyone know how this started?" he asked.
People glanced at each other. No one could say for sure what had caused the fire. Some suggested it might have been a careless cigarette, while others mentioned a possible malfunction in one of the cars.
Ming You, meanwhile, stood to the side, watching the situation with a sly smirk:
"Now all that's left is to find you, Kai Rin Wu," he thought to himself, scanning the crowds near the supermarket.
A couple of minutes later, Ming You saw them exiting the supermarket, carrying shopping bags. His mother was saying something, and his father was nodding along. But their calm was further disrupted when they saw the barricades and fire trucks.
"What happened here?" asked Kai Rin Wu, stopping and looking into the distance.
His gaze fell on the burnt cars, and his heart sank. He immediately noticed the blue sedan, which looked like their car. But he couldn't believe it was theirs.
"This... This can't be our car," he whispered, but his voice already betrayed his anxiety.
His mother, noticing his gaze, abruptly stopped. Her face turned pale.
"No, no, no..." she dropped her bags and stepped forward, but a security guard blocked her path.
"Please, don't go any closer. The area isn't safe yet," he said, raising his hand.
"But that's our car!" she almost screamed, her voice trembling. "We have to check!"
Her father, who had been silent until now, approached the guard. His face was stern, but tension was evident in his eyes.
"We understand that the area is dangerous, but we need to know what happened to our car. It's a blue sedan," he pointed toward the charred vehicle. "Can we at least take a look from a distance?"
The guard, seeing their condition, nodded.
"Alright, but just don't get too close. The firefighters are still checking the area."
Kai Rin Wu and his parents approached the cordon. From there, they could see what remained of their car. The blue sedan they had cherished was now just a charred shell. The wheels had melted, the windows were shattered, and the interior was completely destroyed by fire.
"No..." the mother clutched her head, her voice breaking. "That's our car... How could this happen?"
The father remained silent, but his face expressed shock. He clenched his fists, trying to hold back his emotions. His gaze wandered over the burnt vehicle as if he hoped it was a mistake, that it wasn't their car. But the license plate, though charred, confirmed the worst.
"Everything... Everything is burnt," he finally said, his voice sounding dull. "How did this even happen?"
Kai Rin Wu stood motionless, staring at what was left of their car. His face showed a mix of shock and anger. He remembered how they had bought that car a few years ago, how proud he was when he first got behind the wheel. And now... there was nothing left.
"Does anyone know what happened?" he asked sharply to the guard.
"The fire started due to a gasoline ignition," the guard replied. "It's still unclear what exactly caused it. The police and firefighters are investigating."
Kai Rin Wu gritted his teeth. He felt helpless. The car was not just a means of transportation; it was a part of their family, their history. And now it was gone.
Kai Rin Wu's mother sat down on the curb, covering her face with her hands. She tried not to show her tears, but her shoulders trembled slightly.
"How are we going to get home now?" she whispered. "And what about the documents? They were in the car..."
The father, still standing next to the cordon, sighed and approached her.
"Calm down," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "The main thing is that we are alive. We can buy a new car. And the documents... well, we'll have to get them replaced."
His voice sounded calm, but exhaustion was evident in his eyes. He understood that this was not just a loss of property; it also meant a lot of hassle that lay ahead.
Kai Rin Wu took out his phone and was about to dial a number.
Ming You had been watching them closely the whole time, and his mind was already working at full speed:
"You have only two steps left: either a taxi or friends with a car. Whatever you do, I will always be one step ahead of you."
"I need a taxi to the supermarket on Central Street," Kai Rin Wu said clearly, trying to sound confident. "We're in the parking lot, near the main entrance."
— …
"Thank you," Kai Rin Wu said shortly and hung up.
He turned to his parents, who stood nearby, still in shock from what they had seen.
"The taxi will be here in ten minutes," he said, trying to sound calm. "A white car, number ...244."
His mother, sitting on the curb, nodded, but her gaze was empty. She still couldn't come to terms with what she had seen. The father, standing nearby, sighed and placed a hand on his son's shoulder.
"Good thing you acted quickly," he said, trying to sound calm. "We need to get home somehow."
Kai Rin Wu nodded, but inside he was still boiling.
Ming You, standing at a distance, intentionally widened his already sinister grin, continuing to follow his plans:
"When people are very upset or in shock, they tend to speak much louder, especially on the phone. Based on where the taxi is supposed to arrive, it won't be hard to intercept the car and neutralize the driver."
Ming You reached the edge of the main road and noticed another entrance to the main entrance, which had far fewer people.
After about ten minutes of waiting, the required car began to approach, and Ming You started waving his arms at the taxi driver.
"Over here!" he shouted with a smile, after which the car stopped.
He got into the back seat, which was behind the driver's seat, closed the door behind him, and before the driver could ask where they were going, Ming You placed a utility knife to his throat:
"Let's not do anything stupid. Right now, you're going to drive a little further into that alley, just three hundred meters from here."
"Okay, okay… Do you need a car? Money? I'll give you everything, just don't..."
"Shut up." Ming You made a small cut on his throat, causing the taxi driver to panic even more.
As the car entered the alley and came to a stop, Ming You calmly instructed the driver:
"Now you're going to raise your hands and slowly get out of the car with me. If you understand, slowly open the door; if not, I'll slit your throat."
The taxi driver's pupils dilated, and he slowly opened the door. Ming You also opened the door and abruptly stood up from the seat, forcefully throwing the driver out of the car, causing him to collapse onto the asphalt.
"Please, I beg you, don't hurt me, just take the car..."
"Get on your knees and put your hands on your head." Ming You said in a threatening tone, and the driver complied.
Ming You stood behind him and struck him sharply on the carotid artery, causing the driver to fall to the ground.
First, he opened the trunk, then he grabbed the driver by the legs and dragged him toward the car. Ming You lifted him, stuffed him into the trunk, and closed it.