"Recognized a Distress Signal":
Reported After Seeing Numbers on a Pillow
Woman Trapped for 30 Hours on 25th Floor of Building 6
Delivery Driver's Quick Thinking Saves a Life
A story has gone viral in China after a delivery driver discovered a blood-stained pillow on the roadside and rescued a woman who had been locked in her room for 30 hours.
According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on August 24, a university student surnamed Zhang, who was working part-time as a delivery driver in Leshan, Sichuan Province, China, on August 12, came across a white pillow with the numbers "110 625" written in dark red liquid near a residential area.
Believing that someone was sending a distress signal, Zhang immediately reported it to the police. Through the testimony of a nearby hotel employee, the police determined that pillows with this design were being used at a local guesthouse. Suspecting a violent crime or kidnapping, the police interpreted "625" written on the pillow as indicating a building and floor number, and rushed to the 25th floor of Building 6 of the guesthouse.
Forcibly opening the door and entering the apartment, the police found the homeowner, a woman surnamed Zhu, isolated in the bedroom. Zhu had entered the room to clean, but was trapped when a strong gust of wind slammed the door shut. The lock broke in the process, and her mobile phone was left in the living room, leaving her unable to call for help.
She tried to alert her neighbors to her predicament by kicking the door and making noise, but no one heard her. She also hung a red item out the window and threw objects outside to attract attention, but no one realized she was in trouble.
Unable to access water, food, or even the bathroom, Zhu was trapped for 30 hours. In desperation, she bit her finger to draw blood and wrote "110 625" on a white pillow with it, then threw the pillow out the window.
Zhu tried to offer Zhang a reward of 1,000 yuan (about 190,000 KRW), but he ultimately refused. Zhang said, "It was just a small act of kindness. Anyone would have reported it to the police."
After the story spread, the delivery company Zhang works for awarded him a bonus of 2,000 yuan (about 380,000 KRW).
On Chinese social networking services (SNS), praise for Zhang's actions continued. Local users commented, "The delivery driver responded very intelligently," "He did something great," and "He could have just delivered food, but his sense of responsibility in noticing and acting on the problem is admirable."
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