Chapter 529 - 418: Arrival, Wanfeng Lake

This fire, which began with black smoke filling the afternoon sky, stubbornly turned into a streetlight project by night.

It lit up everything around.

Who knows how many daily chemical products were turned into light and heat, not to mention the air pollution.

During the process, there were two minor explosions.

Although they weren’t large, they completely interrupted everyone’s thoughts of an internal attack. Inside, the floors and walls were likely burned to dangerously high temperatures, ready to collapse at any moment, let alone the flimsy stairs; going in there was out of the question, and reaching the second or third floor was simply impossible.

So, the trucks took turns, one after another, controlling the temperature of the external walls and the roof, waiting for the fire to extinguish itself.

This wait lasted past nine o’clock.

At night, it was clear that the fire had diminished, as one could easily see that the glow from inside had faded.

A group of soldiers, who had just returned from their shift, couldn’t wait to take off their helmets. Under the firelight, steam was rising from their necks, and as soon as they came out, they looked for water to wash their hair.

"Oh... finally it dried out! If it hadn’t, I would have been the one to dry out!"

Everyone was so tired they staggered as they walked; Fang Huai, after a whole day, was hoarse from shouting for someone to bring water.

One lesson learned from the day: At a fire scene, especially during such a large fire, you can’t rely on shouting.

At first, his shouts were loud, but later, when his throat was so exhausted, even when the firefighting truck and driver were within arm’s reach, he preferred to use the two-way radio to communicate.

"Captain Bai, the fire seems to be dying down, no need to spray water on the external walls to cool them anymore. We’re pulling out first, make sure you don’t go in for an internal attack," Fang Huai said.

Captain Bai smiled, saluted him, and they shook hands.

"Thanks a lot! Your Special Service Squadron 2 are the real tough guys! Don’t worry, we won’t take risks! Why don’t you wait and let us treat you to a meal?"

Although Wudang First Squad was the main combat force, Special Service Squadron 2 made the greatest contribution.

As soon as they arrived, they cleared the roads and contained the fire.

Moreover, the two squads from Special Service Squadron 2 held their positions at the front for longer than both other squads combined. Any one of them could hold a water gun steady for half an hour without a twitch, which made the captains of both squads envious of their stamina.

Fang Huai then looked at the factory that had been fiercely ablaze for half the day, eyed the now obviously weak and wavering flames from the distance, decided the fire would likely not grow any larger, and then gestured:

"No need... there’s another call waiting for reinforcements. If there’s a chance, I’ll treat you guys to a meal!"

Being a cadres, it was essential to maintain good relationships with the cadres from neighboring squads, as you never know who might need support next time.

Both squadron leaders were very enthusiastic.

"Sure! Come by Xintian Avenue, to Jiusan Duck Overlords! Their duck heads are absolutely exquisite. Your squad’s Old Ye loves them to death!"

"Come to our place. There’s a new live-oil pan restaurant opened not too long ago!"

"Hey! Sure thing, sure thing! Squad 2, pack up, we’re leaving!"

"Eh, eh, Commander Fang, be clear! You mean YOUR Special Service Squadron 2! Don’t take the Wudang Second Squad with you by mistake!"

"Hahaha... If your squad members are willing to come with us, we can take them! Especially the one who said you hit his head with the water gun; I especially like that one!"

...

On the way back, Old Cao’s phone call didn’t go through after trying for quite a long time.

It was only after calling Chen Gong that Fang Huai found Old Cao.

He said they didn’t arrive until after 6 o’clock, and after some traveling, it was too late upon arrival. With the water flowing and the shoreline guards unable to see in the dark, going into the water was too risky. They could only join in with casting nets to block the downstream water line.

He also told Fang Huai to take a rest if it wasn’t working out, and if they didn’t find anything by night, they could leave early the next morning.

It looked like a big job.

Fang Huai had no choice but to return to the squadron and handed over the next day’s training to Ye Jiahong. He also discussed the departure time with Hao Chengbin.

It turned out that both master and apprentices were restless individuals; upon discussion, they decided to set out immediately.

Before leaving, Fang Huai made a special trip to the squadron library, searched for a while but found nothing related to underwater searches, and unwillingly took a book on hydrologic resources with him.

What they learned at the training camp was mostly small-scale underwater searches and self-rescue techniques; they weren’t taught how to conduct searches in vast and elongated waters like Wanfeng Lake.

In reality, such searches are unlikely to have fixed techniques; hydrology is complex and must be judged according to the actual conditions on-site.

If there were any books on hydrological knowledge, it was best to learn it by himself.

After a trip to the training camp, he had only about 30 military merit points left. After responding to several calls since his return, and including today’s half-day call, he only earned four military merit points, making his total just 39.3.

Fang Huai had a vague feeling that their method of net-casting downstream was incorrect. He wanted to find a book to verify his thoughts and come up with a strategy.

But as soon as he got in the car, Hao Chengbin saw the book in his hand and laughed.

"What’s this, learning on the job now? It’s been a whole day since the person fell into the water, don’t worry, we’re just going through the motions. With this weather, by tomorrow, the corpse might swell up and float to the surface!"

"I’ve actually heard about this. People who drown will generally float up between 3 to 7 days, and in the summertime, it’s even shorter, possibly a day or two!"

Fang Huai disagreed, saying:

"It’s not necessarily true. The ones who are most likely to float are elderly women because they have a higher fat proportion and are less dense. Especially those with osteoporosis or diabetes, and also those who haven’t eaten before dying, as they accumulate large quantities of gas in their intestines and stomach, making them more likely to float first.

As far as I know, the person in question isn’t any of these. It’s highly probable they drowned right after a hearty meal, and there might not be much space in their stomach.

Besides, you have to consider the clothing, the amount of water inside the body, cause of death, and the salt content of the water.

The densities of humans and water are quite close; just a slight reason could change the buoyancy of a body.

Moreover, if the body gets stuck on something underwater, it won’t come up in a few days, or even a fortnight, unless it decomposes into pieces.

In any case, don’t be too optimistic. We still need to figure out a solution."

Hao Chengbin turned his head and looked at him in surprise.

This young man was like a living encyclopedia.

He laughed and said, "Alright, alright! Look! You come up with a plan, and I’ll be your chariot driver!"

Fang Huai didn’t beat around the bush; he opened the book and began searching through the table of contents.

While he could see clearly, it wasn’t ten minutes before the IVECO’s shaky ride nearly made Fang Huai vomit, his stomach churning uncomfortably.

He didn’t find any new ideas, everything was about water resource development and utilization, the only thing slightly related was modern hydrological measurement methods.

Fang Huai leaned back in his seat and sighed heavily.

In these past few months, he had read quite a number of books, but he often still felt that his knowledge reserves were not enough.

The ancients often said, such and such a gentleman, learned enough to fill five carts of books.

Damnit, "learned enough to fill five carts" comes from "Zhuangzi·Under Heaven," and back then, books weren’t recorded on paper but on bamboo slips.

How many words can one bamboo slip hold?

Thirty or forty words would be considered not bad.

If you calculate 8,000 words per kilogram of bamboo slips, one cart weighing a thousand kilograms, "five carts" would hold a total of only 8 million words.

In his past life, he had read those online novels, and he was afraid they amounted to more than a hundred million words each.

Of course, ancient texts are concise and rich in meaning.

But even today’s academic reports, one could easily be over a hundred thousand words; to be well-educated in modern firefighting and rescue, the knowledge reserve might not be less than that of ancient sages.

As he thought about it, Fang Huai actually fell asleep.

...

"Master, could I ask which way to Wanfeng Lake?"

"You going to Ke Scenic Area?"

"Yeah!"

"First get past Ke, then drive slowly down that road there! There are signs along the way!"

Fang Huai was woken by the voices and realized they were already on a mountain highway, the noise of the crickets surrounding them loud and irritating.

The moonlight was bright at night, and the water beneath the mountains was faintly visible. Looking with the naked eye, dozens of mountains that all looked alike embraced each other, "Wanfeng" as described was no exaggeration.

He had slept through the entire journey and had reached his destination.

Turning his head, he saw that Hao Chengbin, who was driving, had both eyelids trembling, and Fang Huai’s heart skipped a beat.

He quickly asked,

"Squad Leader Hao, what time is it?"

"...Uh, two o’clock." Hao Chengbin picked up his cell phone and glanced at it, looking a bit more alert, but still groggy.

F*cking hell.

With Squad Leader Hao in that condition, they probably dozed off a few times on the road, right?

Fang Huai suddenly felt that the past few hours, he had been sleeping with his life on the line.

"Have some water, take a drink."

He quickly opened a bottle of water and handed it to Old Hao.

Hao Chengbin gulped it down, his eyes finally showing some spirit.

"Hmm... If we have to reinforce like this every time, driving is a big issue, ah. Even with the IVECO, it’s not easy to drive, and when it comes to fire trucks, they’re even harder. If you’re deployed in the middle of the night, a few hundred kilometers down the road, safety is hard to guarantee."

Fang Huai’s mouth twitched.

"Bro, if you know it’s not easy to drive, why didn’t you take a nap at the service area? I’m the future of firefighting! If you accidentally crash on the way, can you afford the consequences?"

Once someone argued back, Hao Chengbin was fully alert.

"What do you know! I called Old Cao! They’re still searching in the middle of the night, under a lot of pressure. With you, the strategist, here, shouldn’t we hurry to help out?"

"...Alright, alright, then drive faster, just crash into the mountain, as long as we don’t die, we can pretend to get hurt. I’ll dip my finger in some blood, and write a blood letter report, asking leadership for a helicopter, claiming an urgent need to see which leader has the heart to refuse. If our blood manages to get a helicopter for the squadron, it would be worth it."

Upon hearing this, Hao Chengbin shivered and gripped the steering wheel tighter.

"Damn it, I have a family to take care of now, don’t you jinx me!"

...

When they saw their Car No.2, it was already two-thirty in the morning.

Cao Yi stopped them on the side of the road. The two got out of the car and saw quite a scene by the roadside.

Military, police, medical personnel, and even some in tax bureau uniforms had set up a tent and had strung up an electric light from a generator, boiling rice noodles.

There was also an old lady, making ritual offerings of paper money in the direction of the river below.

It looked bizarrely like a funeral service.

"Come on, have a bowl of noodles!"

Cao Yi brought over two bowls of noodles from the tent for them.

"Tsk tsk, found them?" Hao Chengbin asked curiously.

"No!"

"Then... what’s this?" Hao Chengbin gestured towards the old lady burning paper money.

"Oh, she’s venerating the River God, asking the River God to release her son."