Chapter 72: Flaming Hell and Three-Dimensional Reconnaissance Network

The roar of the heavy convoy's engines was eventually swallowed by a larger, more terrifying background noise.

That was the low roar of the fire burning, mixed with the crackling of trees bursting, and the shrill howling of the gale sweeping across the mountain ridge.

The convoy stopped at a temporarily opened assembly point a few kilometers away from the fire line.

This was originally a viewing platform, but now it was crowded with various rescue vehicles, and the air was filled with a pungent burnt smell and an atmosphere of tension and anxiety.

Countless figures of firefighters wearing orange helmets and fireproof suits were busy shuttling under the swaying car lights and the reflection of the fire in the distance, their faces full of exhaustion and determination.

Feng Yan and the others jumped off the command vehicle, and the scorching air instantly wrapped around them, carrying the grainy feel of smoke and dust, making it hard to breathe.

Looking up, the Cuiyun Mountains in the distance were like a giant dragon that had been ignited; on the winding mountain ridge, the crimson fire line spread wantonly, and the thick smoke was like a huge black curtain, obscuring half the sky.

Only when the wind eased slightly could one see the center of the churning flames, emitting a heart-palpitating red light.

"My God..." Wang Hao opened his mouth wide, the excitement from the car before was smashed to pieces by the scene in front of him, leaving only shock, "This... how the hell can this be saved?"

Even Li Yang, who was always expressionless, couldn't help but shrink his pupils, his fingers clenching slightly.

"Don't just stand there!" Feng Yan shouted in a low voice, instantly pulling everyone's mind back, "Zhang, take people with me to immediately contact the on-site command and report our arrival and equipment situation!"

"Old Li, Guangzi, Haozi, prepare the equipment and wait for dispatch at any time! Zhao Gong, please sit in the equipment area and ensure all systems are in the best standby state!"

The order was given, and the team operated efficiently again.

Major Zhang took two communication soldiers and Feng Yan and rushed to the core area of the command, which was composed of several command vehicles and temporary tents, not far away.

Li Yang, Chen Guang, and Wang Hao immediately rushed to the equipment transport vehicle, and the support team members had already begun the tense unloading and preliminary setup work.

The atmosphere at the on-site command was even heavier than on the periphery.

The temporarily drawn fire situation map hanging on the wall was rough and chaotic, and most of the marked areas had question marks.

Several commanders frowned, their voices hoarse as they shouted into the radio, but the information they obtained was fragmented.

"... The east fire head crossed the No. 3 ditch and is advancing toward the forest farm! Need manpower to intercept!"

"The wind direction on the west line is unstable, and there is a possibility of forming a fire whirlwind! Suggest retreating to the second line of defense!"

"Logistics supply cannot keep up! Front-line team members have been fighting continuously for over twenty hours! Physical strength is seriously overdrawn!"

"Cannot contact the 3rd squad in the No. 3 area! They went in to survey the fire situation and have been out of contact for over an hour!"

Chaos, unknown information, physical strength running low, personnel out of contact... every word was like a heavy hammer hitting the hearts of the on-site commanders.

Just then, Major Zhang and Feng Yan walked into the tent, saluted and reported:

"Report to the Chief! The Dragon Chant Forward Technology Research Institute emergency support team has arrived as ordered, carrying special exoskeletons, unmanned reconnaissance platforms, 'Insect' clusters, laser scanning systems, and 'Peregrine Falcon' missiles, etc., reporting for duty, waiting for command!"

Several commanders looked up. The leader with a dark face and bloodshot eyes (who was later known to be the on-site general commander, the deputy director of the Provincial Emergency Management Department) quickly shook hands with Feng Yan, his tone urgent:

"Team Leader Feng, right? You came just in time! The situation at the fire is extremely complex, and what we lack most is eyes!"

"We are almost completely in the dark about the situation inside! Can your equipment really be useful?"

Feng Yan didn't talk nonsense upon hearing this, and directly pointed to the equipment that was being quickly deployed outside:

"Chief, please give us a chance."

"Our three-dimensional reconnaissance network can provide the command with the first complete real-time fire situation map within thirty minutes!"

The general commander stared at Feng Yan for two seconds, his eyes sharp as if to pierce him, and then nodded heavily:

"Good! If you need any support, just ask! I will open the highest-priority communication channel for you! Move fast!"

"Yes!"

Feng Yan turned and rushed out of the tent, waving his hand forcefully at the team that was ready: "Action begins! Old Li, Iron Wolf moves forward to establish a forward reconnaissance point!"

"Guangzi, Xiao Bai and the Insect Legion, build an air-ground integrated reconnaissance network according to the predetermined plan! Haozi, your Peregrine Falcon stands by, ready to provide an aerial perspective at any time!"

"Understood!"

Li Yang was the first to act. He took a deep breath and walked quickly toward the "Iron Wolf Mark II" exoskeleton that had completed self-testing and was standing quietly.

The heavy wolf-head helmet closed, the visual interface lit up, and the noisy sounds of the outside world were partially filtered, leaving only clear system prompts and data streams.

He controlled the Iron Wolf to take the first step, its heavy metal soles stepping on the ground full of ashes, making a dull sound, and walked toward the denser smoke wall in the direction of the fire without hesitation.

The black armor reflected a cold luster under the leaping firelight, forming a strong contrast with the orange-red scorching environment around it.

The Iron Wolf's pace was steady and firm, and its powerful leg strength and precise balance system allowed it to walk on flat ground even on rugged mountain slopes full of obstacles.

Li Yang did not rush directly into the sea of fire, but chose a route that was relatively safe and could maximize close-range observation, like a fearless steel scout, piercing into the chaotic front line without looking back.

"Iron Wolf has arrived at the predetermined reconnaissance position Point A." Li Yang's calm voice came through the encrypted channel, and at the same time, the real-time footage captured by the Iron Wolf's head camera was transmitted back.

That was a scene like the entrance to hell, twisted burning trees, dark red flames flowing on the ground, and almost suffocating thick smoke.

"Visibility is less than 50 meters, thermal imaging mode is on. Currently, no direct threat of open fire is found, but the surface temperature is extremely high, and there are a large number of hidden fires."

Almost at the same time as the Iron Wolf moved forward, Chen Guang also moved.

"Xiao Bai platform, start. Reconnaissance module loaded." Chen Guang stood by the operation terminal of the command vehicle, his fingers dancing rapidly.

I saw three "Xiao Bai" units equipped with reconnaissance modules (high-definition cameras, thermal imaging, laser rangefinders) like hunting dogs that had received orders.

Instantly activated from standby, they took light and steady steps, and along three different preset directions, nimbly drilled into the smoke and terrain obstacles.

Their goal was to cover the flanks and rear areas that the Iron Wolf could not take care of, and conduct rapid mobile reconnaissance.

Immediately afterward, an even more amazing scene was staged.

"Insect reconnaissance squad, lift off, enter the ground." With Chen Guang's instruction, several special boxes opened at the same time.

Five "Mechanical Butterflies" flapped their wings lightly and took off. They did not try to climb high to cross the thick smoke like ordinary drones (that would lead to loss of targets or even damage by high temperatures).

Instead, they cleverly used mountain winds and convection to shuttle in relatively low airspace, like real butterflies.

Using their wide-angle cameras and micro-sensors, they captured the large-scale fire spreading trend, smoke column morphology, and possible safety passages from the air.

Almost at the same time, more than a dozen "Mechanical Spiders" were like well-trained special forces, sliding silently from the boxes to the ground, their eight bionic legs moving rapidly, quickly disappearing into rock crevices, under fallen tree trunks, and in the soft ashes burned by the fire.

Their task was to go deep into corners that humans and large equipment could not reach, looking for those hidden fire points under the surface that easily lead to re-ignition, and... searching for possible signs of life.

And two nearly one-meter-long "Mechanical Centipedes" crawled along the edge of a slightly damp stream that had not yet been completely swallowed by the flames.

Their multi-segmented bodies adapted to complex terrain, and the sensors they carried focused on monitoring soil moisture and temperature gradients, providing data for judging the fire spreading direction and finding natural fire barriers.

All images and data, like hundreds of rivers returning to the sea, were continuously poured into the central processor of the command vehicle through the relay of the "Xiao Bai" platform and the temporary anti-interference network built by the "Firefly" laser communication system.

And then quickly integrated, denoised, and modeled by the algorithm written by Chen Guang.

In the temporary command, the general commander and several senior officials stared closely at the split-screen interface that had just been connected to their main screen.

At first, there were various jumping, incoherent shots and messy data streams.

But soon, a miracle happened.

In just over twenty minutes, a preliminarily formed, dynamically updated three-dimensional fire situation map began to become clear on the main screen!

On the map, crimson areas represented open fire, dark red represented high-temperature areas and hidden fire points, blue arrows indicated the main wind direction and wind speed, green lines were the relatively safe paths explored by "Xiao Bai" and the "Insects," and there were even some yellow flashing light points specially marked.

Those were potential danger areas discovered by "Mechanical Spiders" (such as flammable material accumulation points) or signals that needed further confirmation.

The originally rough, question-mark-filled hand-drawn map was completely replaced by this clear, intuitive, real-time updated electronic sandbox!

"Report!" Feng Yan's voice came through the communicator, "Dragon Chant team has completed preliminary reconnaissance. The three-dimensional reconnaissance network has covered about three square kilometers of the fire front and the east side of the fire."

"Three main fire head advancing directions have been marked, seventeen potential hidden fire belts, and... two possible trapped personnel signal areas, which need further verification. Relevant data and real-time footage have been synchronized to the command."

The entire temporary command fell into an extremely short silence.

All commanders widened their eyes, looking in disbelief at the "dark zone" clearly illuminated by the light of technology on the screen.

That information black hole that had made them miserable before was now forcibly torn open, revealing the real context inside!

The general commander slapped the table, and his voice trembled slightly with excitement as he spoke into the communicator: "Good! Very good! Team Leader Feng, you have really made a great contribution!"

"This situation map... is so timely! It's so useful!"

He immediately turned to other commanders and issued new, more precise orders at a fast speed:

"Immediately adjust the east line deployment, focus on defending the B7 area fire head!"

"Notify logistics, prioritize ensuring the C2 channel is unblocked, that is the safe supply line explored by the Dragon Chant team!"

"Search and rescue team! Immediately organize capable forces to search for the lost 3rd squad, focusing on the P1 and P2 areas marked on the map!"

The orders were clear and powerful, completely different from the previous chaos and hesitation.

The information advantage brought by technology was displayed vividly at this moment.

It was like an invisible giant hand, starting to try to reverse the passive situation in this flaming hell.

Wang Hao was in the equipment area, watching the commotion vaguely coming from the direction of the command, and looking at the heart-palpitating but incomparably clear fire front footage transmitted back by the "Iron Wolf."

He couldn't help but swallow his saliva and whispered to Chen Guang beside him: "Guangzi, are our 'eyes' a bit too bright?"

Chen Guang pushed up his glasses, his gaze not leaving the operation screen.

On it, a "Mechanical Spider" was crawling deep into a rock crevice, transmitting footage of hidden fires faintly glowing red in the dark depths.

"Data feedback is all normal." He replied calmly, "This is just the beginning." ===== CHAPTER 73 =====