Under the tense gazes of Zhang Weili, Zhao Xiaodao, and the little assistant, red light flashed over the several Black men who had surrounded them. Then clusters of golden-red flames burst into life on their bodies.
Before those men could react—before they could even scream—they were burned into nothingness by the flames, turning into wisps of smoke that drifted away.
Their flesh, hair, bones, and blood vanished without a trace. Not even a speck of black ash remained.
Yet the clothes and items pressed against their bodies were completely unaffected. They abruptly hung suspended in midair, then fell to the ground.
"Clang, clang, clatter..." rang out in a jumble.
All of it happened right in front of them, in the blink of an eye.
At the same time, across Greater Los Angeles, transformations just like the one at this Chinese restaurant were playing out one after another.
In a convenience store, a little girl stared in terror at the wooden stick raised above her head. The next moment, the young white man standing before her suddenly burst into flames. The fire instantly swallowed him whole, and in the next instant, he vanished.
In a supermarket, several employees hiding in a corner watched burly men pushing shopping carts around and looting the place in a zero-dollar shopping spree. Then, without warning, the men were engulfed in flames and instantly disappeared. Only their carts continued forward under their momentum, finally crashing headlong into the shelves.
In an alley, several thugs assaulting a woman had just taken off their pants when they suddenly combusted right in front of her. Within a single breath, they turned to flying ash and vanished, as though they had never existed.
Beside a car, several Black men were setting fires, holding torches and singing and dancing as they