Chapter 228 - 173: We Are Here!

"Einstein said it well."

"Without knowledge, a man is not noble, and without fire, the mountains are not fertile."

"Burning wheat straw and wild grass is a custom handed down from ancient farmers."

"Burning the straw right in the fields and then together with the weeds can fumigate and burn some pests inside the ground. The ash mixed with water also becomes fertilizer for the soil."

"Experts suggest that this shouldn’t be done, while experienced farmers suggest the experts not to advise."

"But the billows of smoke and flames in the distance, even houses burning, prove that this is by no means an organized straw burning."

"The closer they got, the smaller the wisp of smoke, but the bigger the blaze became."

"They could even hear the crackling sound of weeds and wood burning in a mix."

"Fang Huai had already switched places with Zhang Yang beside him and started to observe the situation at the fire point."

"No, it couldn’t be called a fire point anymore, it was a fire front."

"The out-of-season mountain wind was scattering the embers everywhere, sowing cause and effect in the contiguous rural houses filled with straw stacks."

"Impossible to extinguish, a single truck simply could not handle it."

"Not even a whole squadron would suffice."

"According to what Squad Leader Hao said, by the time they arrived on scene, they were at least an hour late compared to normal dispatch."

"The story of ’the boy who cried wolf’, even in modern society, still causes great losses."

"Squad Leader Hao, make a call. Let Instructor Cao inform the Command Center, and have the nearby squadrons come over to help."

"Fang Huai glanced at the fire scene that covered at least a thousand square meters, he knew that someone at the Command Center was probably going to receive a severe disciplining today."

"Meanwhile, the nearby villagers were facing some very real losses."

"Hao Chengbin nodded, reduced the speed of the vehicle, and picked up the phone."

"Everyone was somewhat speechless, the words Fang Huai just said sounded like an Ideological Education class, yet in the blink of an eye, they turned into a harsh reality."

"At a junction, a dark-skinned middle-aged man with a cigarette behind his ear, wearing an old-fashioned grey suit, ran over in a panic to guide them, shouting as he ran:"

"An Hour and a Half it’s been, why did you all only arrive now!"

"Sitting in the passenger seat, Liu Jianfeng became angry at once, ’Isn’t it because of those people in your village often calling in false alarms, asking us to sprinkle water on your fields?’"

"The man fell silent immediately."

"Fang Huai sighed and looking at the clanging keys hanging at his waist, asked:"

"Are you the Village Head?"

"Yes, yes! I’m the Village Secretary!" the man immediately nodded."

"Any injured or trapped people?"

"No, no, I’ve already shouted through a megaphone going from home to home! Many have gone to set up market stalls in town! It’s because many people were absent that so many homes caught fire!"

"Only then did Fang Huai open the car door and made space to the side, saying:"

"Get in! Take us to the open area closest to the entrance of the mountain! We need to go there!"

"While speaking, he pointed upwards to a large platform where the mountain forest and houses intersected."

"The Village Secretary was startled, ’Aren’t you going to the two houses that caught fire?’"

"Fang Huai, somewhat speechless, pointed to the large expanse of mountain forest above the village slope:"

"Do you see? The fire has already charged up there!"

"If that whole stretch of forest catches fire, our little bit of water is not going to be enough!"

"By then, whoever started the fire and you, the Secretary, will all be dragged off to prison!"

"And your village below the forest will also face all sorts of landslides and falling objects."

"On hearing this, the Village Secretary didn’t delay:"

"Let’s go, let’s go! Toward the house with funeral wreaths in front! The road is next to their house!"

"Hao Chengbin immediately began to drive towards where the Secretary pointed, while still on the phone."

"The road to the halfway point on the mountain was still concrete, but as they drove, it turned into a dirt path. The tires with difficulty kicked up a wave of mud and sand, slipping two or three times before finally making it up."

"Fortunately, there was a hamlet halfway up the mountain with a half-built road that allowed the vehicle to reach this relatively elevated platform. Otherwise, they would have had to run water hoses all the way up the mountain."

"Get out of the car."

"Standing up high, only now, looking down at the village below, did they truly feel a sense of shock."

"About a dozen timber-brick mix houses, at least half of them were on fire, some fiercely, some with mere flames on the roof."

"Besides the billowing green smoke, the air above was filled with the odor of pine forest burning, the tops of trees especially prone to igniting; many branches were already catching sparks."

"The surrounding temperature was already stifling."

"If the fire below reached up here, the moment the temperature hit a certain point, this span of forest would erupt into flames."

"When that happened, and the fire found the wind, it would become uncontrollable."

"Water out, connect directly to the two outlet ports, set up two guns!" seeing there were only four combatants, Hao Chengbin quickly took charge."

"While Fang Huai opened the Equipment box, he shouted to the Village Secretary:"

"Gather all your villagers over here, carry water, help those burning houses put out the fire!"

"Don’t just randomly pour water! Aim at the base of the straw stacks! Don’t bother with the mud walls!"

"If you can’t get into the burning houses, then pour water near the contact points with the houses next-door, don’t let it spread further!"

"We’ll extinguish the fire on the edge of the forest up here, bring water down the mountain to help you, and get the fire under control!"

"Be careful of your safety!"

"Right, right! Our villagers are already helping!"

"Impatiently, Fang Huai said, ’Don’t sprinkle water in patches, it’s useless! Go organize them! Do as I said!’"

"’Okay!’"

"The Village Secretary, wearing sandals, took a shortcut and accompanied by a clinking of keys, dashed down the mountain in a few strides."

"Another gust of freak wind blew by, sending a large number of sparks drifting this way."

"Fang Huai quickly laid out the first supply line, connected three hoses, and yelled to Liu Jianfeng, who had opened the second gun:"

"’Squad Leader Liu, don’t save on water, the 13-ton (truck number three) is almost here!’"

"You take care of the sporadic sparks here, cool down the surroundings, and I’ll go ahead to tackle the fire closest to us!"

It’s over half an hour from the base to here, no matter how you look at it, they should be here soon.

"Got it!" Liu Jianfeng shouted, looking up while spraying water.

Those who have witnessed the ferocity of a wildfire never take it lightly.

Given the size of this forest, if a fierce wildfire were to erupt, it could become a crematorium for thousands of people.

"Song Lin, get a length of hose to extend, carry the hose, follow me!"

There was a narrow path to the side, just wide enough for a person to pass, leading directly above the house. His current position was the densest part of the forest, closest to the village, and most vulnerable to being ignited by the sparks from the fire.

If they’d arrived any later, the house closest to the woods might have already caught fire. Its gate was locked tight, with no one at home.

If that house were to burn, a gust of wind would put the surrounding trees at great risk.

Fang Huai was prepared to fight the fire as he moved forward.

"Here!" Song Lin had already lifted a section of the hose Fang Huai had laid out and followed him forward.

When they reached just above the nearest burning house, Fang Huai took out his two-way radio, "Squad Leader Hao, help me get the water going through the pump for my hose."

"Roger."

The water came quickly.

The residents below were shouting, asking for their houses to be sprayed, but Fang Huai ignored them.

"Swoosh..."

A jet of water streamed down, and the green smoke below boiled.

The smell made both Fang Huai and Song Lin’s eyes sting; standing above, they were also engulfed in the steamy heat.

Fang Huai twisted the nozzle of his multi-functional water gun, switching to a spray pattern to quell the smoke.

The area around them cooled significantly.

Still, this water was merely a drop in the ocean against the endless plume of smoke; they had no choice but to press on through the smoke to extinguish the fire.

Two houses with smaller fires were quickly doused and dampened by the water gun, and the smoke lessened.

"Damn it... can’t take this anymore. Song Lin, go get a couple of air respirators and masks from the truck," Fang Huai commanded.

The further down they went on this path, the closer they got to the fiercely burning houses. Fang Huai felt like his eyes were smoked to the point he could hardly open them. The two of them were like pieces of cured meat hanging to dry.

Without a word, Song Lin quickly ran off.

Fang Huai took the opportunity to turn around and rest for a bit.

When Song Lin returned, he also brought two bottles of mineral water.

"Hydrate a little. You’ll be thirsty once we go in," he suggested.

Fang Huai nodded, grabbed the mineral water, and gulped down a couple of mouthfuls. He then began to put on the air respirator.

Meanwhile, Song Lin took the chance to tell Squad Leader Hao to stop the water and added a length to the hose.

Fang Huai internally commended him.

This was the coordination between comrades.

No matter how smart he was, once on the fire scene, there were many things he couldn’t cover. Song Lin, standing behind holding the hose, was able to think a bit more clearly.

"Not bad, brother," Fang Huai said with a smile.

"Just kidding, we’re all learning from you," Song Lin laughed heartily in return.

They resumed spraying water and moved forward; the temperature was rising, and the visibility was gradually being reduced by the smoke thickening around them.

Fang Huai, relying on his slight "smoke penetration" vision, aimed the water as much as possible towards the areas concealing flames.

"Fang Huai, Fang Huai, try not to extend the hose line too much—we’re down to half the water on the truck."

Fang Huai grabbed his two-way radio and responded, "Roll up the hose on your side if the temperature drops there, but I have to keep extending mine. I’m dealing with a smoldering house, and I’m close to a major fire, about to head there."

"Copy that, we’ll cool down for another minute, then hose line one will stop. Need us to come over for support?"

"No need, the path here is narrow and two hoses would make no sense. If you’re free, go patrol the hill to prevent other parts of the nearby forest from catching fire."

"Roger that."

Around him, the heat intensified.

Every hidden smoldering spot Fang Huai knocked down hissed and burst into steam.

Fang Huai endured it for a while, then switched to a spray pattern, dousing himself and Song Lin a bit.

This time, he felt little relief; wrapped all over, the heat had nowhere to escape.

After seven or eight minutes, the fire in the smoldering house was largely extinguished.

But just five meters away on the road below him was a house ablaze with fire, its roof completely burned through.

Standing here, he could hear the Village Secretary shouting in the distance.

"Don’t just throw soil on the walls! Zhou Qiang, damn it, I told you not to!"

Fang Huai wanted to say something to them, but with the mask on and feeling his throat parched, he couldn’t shout.

Looking at the flames twisting the air in front, he felt a tinge of annoyance.

Will-o’-the-wisp.

Fang Huai thought of a term.

Under high temperatures, people can hallucinate, and new recruits are most prone to making rash judgments under such heat-induced illusions, even recklessly walking into the fire.

Fang Huai forced himself to remain calm and yelled into the two-way radio:

"Squad Leader, increase the pressure by half! I’m about to tackle a house with an open flame; the front is too hot to approach, I need to break through its side wall with water!"

"... We only have one-fifth of the water left. Increasing pressure will only last a short while, it might be better to pull back for now."

Fang Huai swallowed, frustrated.

He attempted to shoot water into the house, but the flames showed no sign of dying down, instead growing more vigorous with less water.

At that moment, the two-way radio crackled to life.

"Hao Chengbin, increase the pressure for him, we’re on our way! The brothers from Baiyun Squad are right behind us!"