“Xiao Wu, aren’t we going back today? Didn’t Old Grandma Jiu say not to stay in the mountains?”
The one speaking was a young guy who looked about eighteen or nineteen. Hearing his companion, he curled his lips and said, “Why listen to that old geezer? Most of the food in our village is in that ‘thing’ of Da Long’s. Now that he’s been taken by the guards, the food’s gone too. If we don’t stay in the mountains, what, you want to stay in the village and starve?”
These two talking were the small-time thugs from the same village as Da Long.
That night, Da Long had said he was going alone to a warehouse in the suburbs to get some stuff. They had even happily planned what good things they might get when he returned. After all, Da Long was a chosen one, he even had the legendary “space”!
It was because of this space that everyone in the village followed Da Long’s orders.
Da Long was a strategist. He had led them to ransack quite a few stores. The only regret was that they hadn’t been able to get anything from the Lin family supermarket in the city.
So, half a month ago, when that useless Old Cheng told them about the situation at Qingshui Manor, Da Long led them to pull off a big score. Although he was later caught by the police, the brothers were released quickly.
They thought that was the end of it, but then Old Cheng notified them again, there was a full warehouse of goods from the Lin family supermarket in the suburbs.
Such a good opportunity could only belong to Da Long, the chosen one!
Who would have thought, Da Long never returned from that trip.
If it weren’t for the guards coming to investigate, they wouldn’t have even known he’d been caught.
With him arrested, the village ran out of food.
Of course! Da Long had the space, so he was the king of the village. Naturally, almost all the food in the village had been taken by him, except for a few families with elderly members who didn’t want to get involved.
That’s why there was still a little leftover food in the village.
But that small amount wasn’t enough to feed the whole village. So, those of them with guts, who had once hung around with Da Long, naturally went up into the mountains to find food.
Not that it was impossible, although Wu’an Mountain was scorched by the sun, covered with dead grass and trees, deep inside the mountains, in the shaded areas, they could still find some wild vegetables, roots, or small animals.
In this way, the seven of them were able to survive in the mountains.
Ignoring his companion’s warnings, especially those from that old thing Old Grandma Jiu, Xiao Wu said, “It’s already past four o’clock. Why go back now? If we leave halfway, the sun will be up.”
They had been unlucky last night, wandering many places, and finally found a dry, skinny rabbit. After dividing and eating it, they realized it was already past four in the morning.
Fortunately, there were quite a few caves in the mountains, so they could hide inside during the day to rest and come out at night to hunt for food.
The five of them joked and laughed as they found the nearest cave and huddled inside.
With the rising temperature, the caves that had been damp before were now dry and comfortable.
The five of them lay down casually in the cave, and before long, they were all snoring.
Xiao Wu, however, couldn’t sleep. He lit a cigarette and started smoking.
In their village, he had been the closest to Da Long. Since Da Long was caught, not a single word had come from him. Nobody knew if his “space” had been discovered. Every time Xiao Wu thought about not having a space of his own, he felt frustrated.
Lost in thought, he didn’t notice the gaps in the cigarette’s ash, and tiny sparks fell into the corners of the cave.
At 4:45 a.m., inside a cave on Wu’an Mountain.
Xiao Wu felt as if he were being roasted in an oven, his whole body burning hot. The air smelled strongly of burning plants and wood.
When he forced his eyelids open, he was completely stunned.
The cave entrance was already engulfed in flames, spreading both inside and outside. The fire tongues devoured everything rapidly, and the surrounding dry grass and dead trees fueled it further.
Before Xiao Wu could react, the flames consumed the companions next to him.
Only then did he realize that their chests no longer rose and fell, they had likely been suffocated by the smoke.
But he had no escape either.
Soon, the flames surged toward him. Piercing, terrified screams echoed throughout the cave. By this point, there was no one left to respond to him.
Inside the cave, people were being roasted alive. Outside, the fire spread even more terrifyingly fast.
In less than ten minutes, the area covering more than ten square meters had already been consumed by the fire.
The high temperature and dry vegetation only made the flames spread faster.
In the nearby small villages closest to Wu’an Mountain, people soon smelled the burning plants in the air and felt black ash blowing through their open windows.
By now, it was past five in the morning. The sky was gray, but the massive, blazing red fire on the mountain was impossible for anyone to ignore.
“It’s on fire…”
Qingshui Manor wasn’t far from Wu’an Mountain, so naturally, someone noticed the fire on the mountain.
Lin Su had an exceptionally sensitive nose. Even with her windows tightly closed to run the air conditioning, she could still smell the burning grass and wood in waves.
Instinctively, Lin Su felt something was wrong and immediately opened her eyes from sleep.
She picked up her phone and saw that someone had posted a photo in the community group chat.
The photo seemed to be taken from a tall building and zoomed in. Even so, it was clear that the once-yellow Wu’an Mountain now had massive flames erupting in several areas.
Without a second thought, Lin Su pressed the emergency button beside her bed.
This emergency button, once pressed, would trigger alarms in every room in the house that had the device installed. At the same time, the alarm would alert the property management center. Although there were no staff on duty at the property center at the moment, the system was automatically linked.
Soon, many people in the villa community heard the alarm.
Awakened from sleep, most of them were confused. Checking their phones, they saw that many residents in the community group chat were already sharing news of the Wu’an Mountain fire.
By now, Lin Su had dressed and was in the living room with her parents, waiting for the latest updates.
Unlike some of the more optimistic residents in the group chat, Lin Su worried that the wildfire would spread.
Although the sound of passing fire trucks could occasionally be heard outside, the sun was slowly rising. Temperatures would climb from the fifty-something degrees of night to over sixty. The heat would only strengthen the fire.
On top of that, once the sun was up, people couldn’t safely appear outdoors. They could only wear heavy protective suits to battle the relentless flames.
Obviously, this would make firefighting even more difficult.
Although she couldn’t go outside, Lin Su kept monitoring the community group chat.
Wu’an Mountain was the only mountain in An City. While not very tall, it consisted of a cluster of peaks, five main peaks of varying sizes.
These peaks were almost connected, forming a range along the southwest side of An City. Now that a fire had broken out on the peak near the suburbs, the flames were spreading along the mountain ridges toward other areas.
Lin Su ate shaomai she had taken from her space while keeping an eye on the latest messages in the community chat.
The newest notice from Director Wu of the community advised everyone to stay indoors and avoid direct sunlight. Many residents shared his view, just stay inside and be safe. Others, like Lin Su, were anxious, asking in the group whether they should pack their bags in case evacuation became necessary.
Lin Su agreed with this advice.
She immediately brought it up in the chat she shared with Wen Shiyun and the He siblings.
Lin Su: 【Everyone should pack some luggage. I’m worried this fire won’t be put out anytime soon.】
Wen Shiyun: 【There’s no problem in the city for now. If evacuation becomes necessary, make sure to bring plenty of water and food, as well as commonly used medicines.】
He Qingfei: 【No way! I finally got some rest. How did something like this happen?】
He Rongxuan: 【I think it’s better to be prepared. My parents are on duty at the hospital, so it’s just me, my sibling, and our grandparents at home.】
Lin Su: 【Pack your luggage first, so that if we really have to evacuate, we won’t be scrambling.】
Cheng Jiajia, who shared Lin Su’s concern, was now extremely anxious.
“Obviously, my dreams never predicted a fire this big. Why? Why? This community is supposed to be safe… you can survive a major earthquake…”
“Could it be that damned dream… it wasn’t telling the truth…”
“Cousin, what are you mumbling about?”
Cheng Jiajia’s cousin, who had secretly sold her supplies, couldn’t help but tease her when he saw her talking to herself in a daze.
Cheng Jiajia had really been spoiled by working in the big city, talking to herself every day. If it weren’t for having food and shelter here, he would have returned to the village long ago.
“Jiajia, your cousin is concerned about you. What’s going on? Why are you mumbling all the time?”
Cheng Jiajia’s mother couldn’t help but nag. In this day and age, the daughter at home is a woman with little strength. She and her father are elderly, even weaker. If the daughter doesn’t stick close to her cousin, she might easily be taken advantage of.
Cheng Jiajia snapped back to reality under the scolding: “I’m packing. You all take care of yourselves…”
Her abrupt words left the three people in the living room staring at each other.
Cheng Jiajia had already found a suitcase and started stuffing things into it. Even though she had access to extra space, she was good at making it look like she was doing more than she actually was.
No matter what people thought about this wildfire, the fire would spread regardless.
By just past 10 a.m., the sky near the community was almost completely gray-black.
The air and ground were filled with ash from burned plants. The ash drifted over the community on the breeze, some particles even carrying small sparks.
Many people had noticed this phenomenon.
It should be noted that due to days of extreme heat, all outdoor vegetation had dried out. Any spark that landed on dry grass or trees could easily start another large fire.
Although the community hadn’t issued an evacuation notice yet, Lin Su had already decided to find a spot free of dry grass, dead trees, and falling ash to hide.
She quickly shared her discovery in their small group chat and soon got responses from Wen Shiyun and the He siblings.
No one brought too much, everyone traveled light, each carrying only one suitcase.
Before setting off, everyone filled their stomachs, then put on their most important protective suits.
After locking their respective house doors, Lin Su drove out a ten-seater electric cart meant for tourist areas. The sides were open, with only movable iron railings to keep passengers in place.
“Wow, there’s actually something this nice! I thought you weren’t letting us ride the electric cart so we’d have to walk!”
He Rongxuan’s excited voice came from behind. Lin Su smiled and helped his grandfather and grandmother onto the cart, while giving the driver’s seat to Wen Shiyun.
Wen Shiyun was in charge of driving this time, while she would monitor the fire situation in real time.
Before leaving, Lin Su posted in their villa community group to let everyone know about the evacuation.
Lin Su: 【Our family, along with the Wen and He families, are leaving first. This wildfire doesn’t look like it’s going to die down easily. Everyone else, be prepared.】
Building 5, Lai Huaming: 【Where are you going? Can you take the three of us with you?】
Lin Su had initially thought the message was in the small group and was about to refuse, but realized it was a private message.
After a moment’s thought, she replied: 【If you can get here within five minutes, we’ll take you.】
She didn’t expect them to make it, but three minutes later, Lai Huaming came running, panting heavily, carrying his daughter, while his wife Liu Meilin followed behind, dragging a suitcase.
All three were wearing protective suits, making it very difficult to run.
Once they were all on the cart and it started moving, everyone finally had a chance to feel the scorching heat of the midday sun.
From the back of the cart, chatting among themselves, Lin Su, looking through her protective mask, glanced up at the enormous sun overhead.
The layer of ash from the burning plants softened the glare, but the heat, even with the suit’s built-in micro air conditioning, was still unbearable.
Meanwhile, in the villa community’s small group, everyone was growing anxious because of Lin Su’s message.
Some people, seeing the Lai family leaving with them, became even more worried.
However, this anxiety quieted down considerably about fifteen minutes later, because someone posted a picture in the group chat.
The image showed several helicopters equipped with firefighting gear, heading straight toward the area where the wildfire had broken out.
At this moment, Zhou Mi jumped into the chat: 【Lin Su, you’re all such scaredy-cats. Haven’t you seen the helicopters coming to fight the fire? We’re still far from the fire!】
Old Cheng’s wife also chimed in: 【The Lin family isn’t good people, they harmed my husband. A bunch of black-hearted fools, and they just got away…】
After saying this, she looked at her son, planning to take him to “pay a visit” to a few families tonight after dark.
Lin Su naturally noticed the helicopters as well.
However, many photos had already started circulating online. The city had mobilized all available fire trucks, but many hadn’t been upgraded in time. On the way, due to the extreme road temperatures, tires melted, leaving the trucks unable to move.
Those trucks that did reach the fire faced a serious problem: no water to fight the flames.
Indeed, because of the extreme heat, the city hadn’t used the pipeline water system for a long time. Each district only had scheduled water trucks each day, and the pipes hadn’t carried water in ages.
For this firefight, the city had issued an emergency water delivery, but the amount was small, and water pressure was low, hardly enough to make a dent in the blaze.
What was even more terrifying was how fast the fire spread. It was so fast that a nearby squad of guards trying to set up firebreaks didn’t have time to escape and was completely engulfed.
The loss of these lives was unknown to people far from the fire, but the speed at which the flames spread across the mountain could be seen by anyone living on higher ground.
In this atmosphere, the appearance of firefighting helicopters encouraged many people.
But things rarely went smoothly.
As soon as a helicopter approached the fire, before any operation could begin, its fuel tank exploded.
Seeing such a thing in the high sky made everyone’s hearts seize in fear.
Lin Su immediately heard the news of the helicopter explosion, which reminded her of the airport explosion incident back in late August.
The extreme heat was terrifying. Even helicopters couldn’t withstand it over the fire.
Not to mention the helicopters, but even the firefighting team members deployed to the fire, many of whom were professional firefighters temporarily assigned to assist, suffered varying degrees of burns as they approached the blaze.
Wildfires burn extremely hot, often several hundred to over a thousand degrees Celsius. Once their protective suits were damaged by the heat, the first injuries they suffered were severe burns. Then, due to exposure to the sun’s rays, many developed blistering symptoms.
Most ordinary people had no idea about these gruesome scenes.
They didn’t know what those heroes behind the scenes were going through, they could only pray for the fire to be extinguished as soon as possible.
After the helicopter explosion, the villa community’s small group chat went completely silent. Lin Su knew everyone was probably busy preparing for evacuation.
At 11:42 a.m., Director Wu posted an emergency evacuation notice in the main community group. The designated evacuation point was the city stadium.
By the time Lin Su and her group saw the notice, they had just arrived in the city.
During the day, the roads were mostly empty, so their drive had been smooth. Occasionally, official vehicles sped past on the opposite lanes, a clear sign that the wildfire was serious.
After reading Director Wu’s evacuation notice, Lin Su looked toward Wu’an Mountain. Thick, rolling smoke rose into the sky, black ash scattered everywhere, and the yellow mountain was streaked with red flames. The smell of burning vegetation was faintly perceptible in the air.
“No way! You can even smell the burning ash in the city?”
Logically, the city center should have been the safest point, given the layout of Wu’an Mountain. But now even here, the smell was noticeable, a clear sign of how fast the wildfire was spreading.
“Brother Lai, our entire community is evacuating toward the stadium. Does your family want to go with the main group or find somewhere else to stay?”
Lin Su and her group had originally planned to stay at a rental apartment she had in the city. It was spacious enough for all of them.
But now the community had organized a designated evacuation point. Her apartment was in a thirty-plus-story building, with intermittent power outages. Living on such a high floor wasn’t convenient, and if anything went wrong, the stadium was a much safer option.
Her building had even experienced an elevator accident before. Although it had been repaired, Lin Su still felt uneasy.
Lai Huaming knew these people were reliable, so he asked directly: “Are you going to the stadium? If so, I’ll go with you.”
So, the group happily turned the car around and headed straight for the city stadium.
At the same time, in the Qingshui Manor villa area…
“If only we had followed the Lin family, we heard they even have an electric cart.”
People dawdled as they left their homes, some pulling a single suitcase, others carrying four or five.
Seeing this, Director Wu frowned. “The notice said each person can only bring one medium-sized suitcase. Anyone carrying more will have to walk to the city themselves.”
“No… Director Wu…”
Director Wu wasn’t there to negotiate. “You can choose to go on your own or use the vehicles arranged by the community. If you choose the latter, follow the rules.”
After speaking, Director Wu hurried to the next household, unaware that one family had decided not to evacuate at all.
Lin Su and her group arrived at the entrance of the stadium at 12:42 p.m. At that moment, no one had yet been assigned to organize arrivals.
“Which community are you from?”
Staff at the stadium entrance were responsible for registration. Seeing them arrive in the electric cart, their eyes were full of curiosity.
Wen Shiyun and He Rongxuan went up to speak with the staff for a moment. Afterwards, He Rongxuan said, “Just line up, swipe your ID cards, and you can get in. The stadium is only accommodating people from our community.”
This sudden wildfire had hit the suburban villages the hardest. Villagers who managed to escape had gone to community workstations to wait for aid, while those who couldn’t get away had long been engulfed by the flames.
However, because they had fled in broad daylight, many of these people had developed blisters, including the 234Jiupo Lin Su and her group knew.
“Jiupo, these people are really wealthy.”
The first evacuees were all wearing protective suits. Without a suit, one could still board the vehicles if they weren’t afraid of getting blisters, but obviously, many people didn’t dare to.
Those without protective suits would be arranged to leave later. By that time, if the fire spread rapidly, no one would care about the suits.
“234Jiecao, I told you, at my age, there’s no need to drag me along!”
Jiupo was already eighty years old. She had been among the first in the village to notice the fire and had no intention of running. But Jiecao from the village had simply hoisted her onto his back to escape.
They had managed to flee, but both of them had blisters on their arms, face, and legs.
Cheng Jiajia, sitting in the first convoy of evacuees, naturally saw the miserable condition of these villagers.
“Hey, girl, are you the only one from your family?” asked a friendly stranger, trying to chat with Cheng Jiajia.
Cheng Jiajia didn’t respond. Instead, she looked toward her home, where her parents and cousin, without protective suits, were cursing and hiding inside.
But Cheng Jiajia paid no attention to these “vampires.” All her focus was on the suddenly raging wildfire.
If this wildfire couldn’t be put out, would she be unable to return home? All the money she had spent renovating the house, wouldn’t it be a total loss?
The more Cheng Jiajia thought about it, the angrier she became. But there was nothing she could do, except hope that her prophetic dreams would come true one by one.
At the stadium, Lin Su and her group had already settled on a spot.
This stadium was the largest in An City. The stage area had 20,000 seats, and below it was a large sports field with a running track. The roof of the stadium could be moved freely and was currently closed to block out sunlight.
They didn’t separate, instead finding space together in the upper seating area. The chairs had long since been removed, making it easy to set up tents.
Lin Su’s family chose a corner against the wall, with the Wen, He, and Lai families beside them. The four families together could look out for one another.
“I wonder what’s happening with the wildfire?”
He Qingfei stood next to Lin Su, watching the men set up the tents. They made small talk, though distractedly. The faint smell of burning vegetation still lingered in the air. Inside this fully shaded area, they had already removed their protective suits.
Lin Su had been scrolling through her phone the entire way and knew the situation was grim.
The main problem was the extreme heat and dryness, almost all the plants on the ground were withered. In such conditions, extinguishing the fire would be extremely difficult.
At the same time, this disaster made Lin Su regret not stockpiling large amounts of fire retardant powder.
Elsewhere, in the area where the wildfire raged, a squad appeared, limbs missing, faces twisted and fierce.
Unlike other teams using high-pressure water to fight the fire, this squad had been led to a higher mountain peak, still close enough to the fire.
Once they took their positions, massive amounts of mud and sand suddenly fell from above, plunging directly into the heart of the flames…