Chapter 368

The cameraman and the supervisor also crowded over to take a look: "Why don't you use the bucket to open it up and see what's inside?"

Fang Yang shook his head: "No, I'm not sure what's inside. If it happens to be toxic gas, we'll be in trouble. Let me try to get it up again."

After saying this, he raised the bucket again, pressing it against the bottom of the mud pit to lift it upward.

The excavator's engine let out a massive roar, and one could even hear the screeching sound from the main boom.

But the iron barrel moved upward bit by bit; it had been about two meters from the surface, then gradually 1.5 meters, 1 meter...

Just as it was about to be brought up, there was a sudden *clang*, and the iron barrel slipped and fell back down.

Unfortunately, the moment it slipped, it was grazed by the sharp teeth of the bucket.

*Pshhh—*

A huge gash was sliced into the iron barrel.

Immediately, a large amount of liquid flowed out from inside.

The liquid was just like water, colorless and transparent.

It was completely different from the glue from before.

But the few people present all had their pupils dilate and began to back away involuntarily.

The liquid flowing out before their eyes actually began to emit smoke the moment it touched the surface of the iron barrel.

Especially when it dripped onto the mud on the ground, the smoke became even thicker, and a pungent, sour odor accompanied it in the air.

As the liquid continued to flow, when it dripped onto the dead leaves below, they rapidly smoked, carbonized, rotted, and then immediately burst into flames!

With this phenomenon, there was no need for Fang Yang to remind them; almost everyone could guess what the liquid in the barrel actually was.

The cameraman shouted in alarm: "Holy crap! Is this sulfuric acid?"

Fang Yang hurriedly drove the excavator back a bit: "Yes, it is indeed sulfuric acid."

The supervisor beside him panicked: "It's over, it's over. With such thick smoke, it seems like it's already caught fire below. What do we do? Will it burn down this whole area? This is a shrub forest! If it all catches fire, then..."

The cameraman quickly reassured him: "Don't worry, it won't. There are only a few leaves in that pit; it won't burn too big, unless someone throws leaves in and lights them!"

Yet, it was as if the Heavens had heard his words.

Suddenly, gusts of strong wind blew through, sweeping up the thick layer of dead leaves on the ground and drifting them into the smoke-filled pit.

"Holy crap!" the cameraman and the supervisor cursed in unison!

Soon, the pit was not just billowing with thick smoke; a fierce fire began to burn.

"What do we do, what do we do? Should we go put out the fire?"

"Put it out? How? That's sulfuric acid! Do you dare to go put it out? Never mind what happens if you accidentally touch it, even the smell is toxic!"

"Then we just watch it burn?"

The supervisor was completely panicked by now.

He looked at Fang Yang, his eyes filled with despair.

Fang Yang could only shake his head helplessly: "There's no way, we can't put it out. Let's call the fire department first. It's my fault too, insisting on bringing it up. If I had called earlier, this wouldn't have happened!"

The supervisor hurriedly took out his phone and called the fire department. Watching more and more leaves being swept into the pit and burning, with the flames about to spread to the leaves on the ground, he could only pray the fire wouldn't climb up.

"Why? Why would a glue factory have sulfuric acid buried here? These people are truly lethal. When I get back, I'm definitely going to sue them!"

"Sigh..." Fang Yang sighed helplessly: "This isn't ordinary sulfuric acid; it's pure sulfuric acid, with a concentration exceeding 96%. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call this 'bone-melting water.' If we had accidentally touched it just now, it wouldn't have been a joke!"

"Glue production requires concentrated sulfuric acid; it's a chemical component that needs constant processing and purification. I never expected them to bury such concentrated sulfuric acid directly underground. It's appalling—this barrel of sulfuric acid is enough to make a person disappear without a trace!"

Upon hearing the last sentence, both of them felt their scalps go numb and goosebumps rise all over their bodies.

They had often heard of sulfuric acid, but rarely encountered it in daily life.

They only knew from the news that people were often disfigured by having sulfuric acid thrown on them.

And this was even higher concentration sulfuric acid; the consequences of it spilling on someone were unimaginable.

【Popularity】 +1+1+1+1...

—【Sulfuric acid? Oh my god, last time a truck transporting sulfuric acid overturned and leaked near us. Guess what happened? All the surrounding residents were evacuated to a kilometer away because it's not just dangerous, it's toxic! The fire department was fully geared up when they went over!】

—【You absolutely cannot go put out the fire now. If you use water to put out the fire, that's truly looking for death. Sulfuric acid and water will generate a lot of heat, and that will only make all the nearby leaves burn. If you ask me, just let it burn, don't worry about it. There are only so many leaves in the pit; as long as it doesn't burn to the top, it'll be fine.】

—【I'm just afraid of strong winds. If it gets windy at this time, it's really hard to say. There are so many dead leaves and branches in this place; once the flames are blown to the ground, this whole shrub forest might be in trouble. Better pray that doesn't happen!】

—【After this incident, I reckon that supervisor won't dare to call Fang Yang to work again. Anyone with a weak heart can't handle it. Last time, fortunately, there was a good outcome, but what about this time? Could it be that the volcano erupts again and spits out a miracle?】

As the strong wind continued to blow, the flames inside the pit grew more intense, and the surrounding temperature rose higher and higher.

The few of them had to retreat further back. Fortunately, Fang Yang had moved the excavator back to a position dozens of meters away in advance, so as long as the fire didn't spread up, it wouldn't be a big problem.

But the Heavens seemed to be playing a joke on them; the wind, which had only been in gusts, suddenly turned into a sustained strong wind.

The leaves on the ground made a rustling sound as they drifted above the mud pit.

But then, a strange thing happened.

When the leaves flew above the flames, they didn't fall down immediately; instead, they circled above the fire pit for a while before slowly descending.

Fang Yang looked at the large trees overhead swaying incessantly, then looked at the rising temperature in the pit, and felt that some strange phenomenon was about to occur.

Sure enough, the system panel suddenly popped up.

Pit, sulfuric acid, leaves, and strong wind, all gathered together, were about to form a terrifying natural disaster: a fire tornado!

Fang Yang couldn't help but gasp, instinctively wanting to stop it.

But what could he use to stop the strong wind? What could he use to stop the sulfuric acid from burning? What could he use to stop the dead leaves covering the mountains and plains?

At this moment, there was only one path before him: run!

221. The terrifying fire tornado burns everything in its path!

Fang Yang turned his head and shouted to everyone: "Leave here quickly, it's dangerous!"

After saying this, he took the lead and ran toward the distance.

The cameraman followed without hesitation, leaving only the supervisor standing there in a daze, his mouth opening: "Then what about this place?"

"Bullshit! My brother told you to run, so run first. If you don't want to die, you can stay there."

This time he didn't hesitate anymore and followed as well.

The three of them ran for more than a hundred meters.

Suddenly!

The cameraman pointed toward the fire pit and exclaimed: "Brother, look, why do I feel like the leaves on the ground are running into the pit? Is there some kind of gravity?"

In fact, this phenomenon had long been within Fang Yang's expectations.

He looked ahead with a solemn expression and muttered: "You're not seeing things; they are indeed running toward the center."

"Ah? Why?" The other two were shocked.

"It has to do with the environment here. First, the sulfuric acid in the center releases a large amount of heat when it encounters dead leaves and mud. The continuous heat causes the air to rise, which is why you can see flames even in a pit over two meters deep."

The cameraman nodded: "I think I understand this. Like ordinary firewood, normally the more vigorously it burns, the higher the flames, right?"

"Yes!" Fang Yang nodded: "That's because the air is rising. In the process of rising, it sucks in the surrounding air from below. Once it gets windy at this time, it will form an air current that continuously circulates and rises. Commonly known as an air vortex."

"This situation is very normal. In ordinary times, there wouldn't be any accidents, but the coincidence lies in the environment and weather here today."

"Under normal circumstances, the hot air current rises into the sky and gradually dissipates, or it ends once the combustible materials below are burned out."

"But here, although it's a volcano, water resources are abundant and the humidity is high, causing the temperature above the shrub forest to be significantly lower than the ground, forming a strong temperature difference."

"This leads to the hot air current below rising and the cold air above descending rapidly, with the exchange between the upper and lower air layers being countless times faster than usual. If there is wind at high altitude at this time, the air current begins to rotate, and it will soon form a so-called fire tornado."

"Fire tornado?" The two were completely stunned!

They had heard of tornadoes and were very familiar with them, but the term "fire tornado" was too unfamiliar.

"Brother, are we about to have a tornado? This is too exaggerated, can sulfuric acid cause a tornado? Don't scare me!"

Fang Yang shook his head: "What are you talking about? It's not a tornado, it's a fire tornado. But you don't need to worry too much; fire tornadoes move very slowly and almost never run around randomly. They are different from tornadoes."

"A tornado is a vortex from the clouds downward, while a fire tornado is a vortex from the bottom upward. It's very difficult for it to move, so as long as we stay away from there, it'll be fine. I'm just worried about how long it will burn; I'm afraid the surrounding forest will suffer!"

The supervisor's face turned pale after hearing this: "Since it hasn't formed yet, what if we go and destroy it?!"

Fang Yang shook his head again: "Do you dare to go? That's sulfuric acid there, what are you going to use to put it out!"

This sentence was like a basin of cold water poured over them, chilling them from head to toe.

Facing the legendary "bone-melting water," one careless move could be fatal, not to mention that even standing this far away, they could smell the pungent odor.

Let alone how strong the smell was at the center of the fire pit; by the time the fire was put out, they would have been poisoned first!

Just at this moment, the leaves near the fire pit rotated faster and faster, continuously converging into the fire pit.

Gradually, a flame resembling the head of a fire snake poked its head out from the pit, and in an instant, all the dead leaves in the vicinity were ignited.

A large open space around it was all burning, looking like several layers of fire walls had been laid out.