It was said that atop the mountain, besides the magnificent laurel tree, there was a gasoline factory, and if the inferno were to spread there…
This factory dated back to the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. Back then, most of the Eighth Route Army's gasoline was stored here. Being quite secluded, it was a suitable place to stockpile resources, and they secretly transported it in and out. To this day, the Da Fa Gasoline Factory still stood.
We battled prisoners amidst the sea of flames. This night was truly a spectacle of clashing steel, fervent hearts, and a desperate struggle.
Fortunately, the police force and the experts from the He family eventually subdued countless criminals, including those in black. By the time the fire department arrived, Captain Linghu Jing and his team immediately deployed their hoses, unleashing torrents of water onto the roaring flames!
Countless streams of water, like a surging tsunami, continuously poured into the inferno. However, the fire was indeed fierce, and it couldn't be extinguished in a short while. This water had been mixed with a special agent, capable of extinguishing even gasoline fires.
Water is heavier than oil. When oil catches fire, using water is ineffective. Using oil at such a time would be more effective, but using oil on a large scale is highly difficult. In such situations, firefighters add a special foam, transforming ordinary water into a water-based extinguishing agent.
As the name suggests, it is a liquid extinguishing agent composed of water mixed with other chemical components. Upon spraying, the water-based extinguishing agent turns into a mist, rapidly evaporating the heat in the fire zone, lowering the temperature. The surfactant contained within quickly forms a water film on the surface of the combustible material, providing a dual effect of cooling and isolating oxygen, while also participating in the extinguishment, thereby achieving rapid fire suppression.
For fires involving common solid combustibles like coal, wood, cotton, hemp, paper, plastics, and rubber, water-based extinguishing agents can be chosen for suppression. Wood fires are a common scenario in daily life. The experiment below demonstrates the use of a water-based extinguishing agent to extinguish a pile of burning wood. You can see that after the extinguishing agent was sprayed onto the woodpile, the flames were quickly extinguished.
However, given the current intensity of the fire, this method of suppression would likely be too slow. Only helicopter teams could be deployed for dry ice support.
It was unclear which city's fire department it was, but everyone had joined this grand firefighting operation on Mount Yuegui.
Many nearby citizens were immediately evacuated, along with some villagers from the mountain.
At that time, Liu Yuning, He Xin, and I were maintaining order and escorting them out step by step, as we couldn't assist in fighting the fire.
As the situation of the inferno worsened, the flames engulfed the surrounding streets. Mayor established a fire command center in a particular direction on Mount Yuegui. We temporarily withdrew from the mountain and headed to the command center.
The Mayor, upon seeing me, firmly clasped my shoulders: "Detective He, I haven't properly thanked you for what happened on the boat last time!"
"It's alright, Mr. Mayor. We cannot let the flames reach the gasoline factory on the mountaintop, nor let the Yuegui tree burn!"
"I understand. If the flames spread to the gasoline factory, I fear, not just within a hundred miles, but even…"
"The Organization must be insane! To gamble with the lives of our city's people!"
"They have always been lunatics. It's rumored that recently, not just in China, but throughout the world, there are rumors of the North Star's criminal activities. They have truly gone mad!"
"No! They are not mad. This is their revenge against the World Police!"
"Meaning, the police currently under threat are no longer just in China."
At this moment, the Mayor and several technical police officers were frantically typing on the keyboards of the command center's screens. He Xin and Yuan Hezhao had also joined them.
I approached He Xin: "What's the situation?"
"It's bad! Father, the flames are spreading towards the mountaintop, and the areas below the mountain, the foothills, have already been submerged in fire!"
"How is that possible? That fast?" As I spoke, I stared at the screen. The red areas represented the fire coverage, and I witnessed with my own eyes that the fire coverage was advancing towards the summit of Mount Yuegui at a visible speed!!
Countless technical personnel from across the country were furiously typing, monitoring the progress of the fire. But at this speed, it was estimated that the inferno would reach the summit in less than 30 minutes!!
What to do? We wouldn't have time to escape. Once the gasoline factory exploded, the infernal flames would instantly sweep down from the mountain, incinerating us all!
At this moment, I rushed out of the command center and looked at the roaring inferno burning not far away. Countless helicopters were using dry ice to fight the fire. Those arriving to help were no longer from nearby cities; I even saw them from other provinces, even from across the nation. Their speed was astonishing. Large groups of firefighters disembarked from planes and headed directly towards Mount Yuegui.
Tens of thousands of firefighters were converging on the same point. Soon, Mount Yuegui was surrounded by countless firefighters and fire trucks. However, the ferocity of the flames temporarily prevented the firefighters from making a breakthrough for rescue.
At this point, several rescue personnel approached, carrying a few firefighters who had sustained burns, and they were loaded onto ambulances. I grabbed a cooperating firefighter and asked: "What's the situation inside?"
"The fire is not under control at all, and it's even intensifying. It's too bizarre. This fire seems impervious to dry ice, foam extinguishing agents, and gas extinguishing agents. I doubt even the world's most potent extinguishing agents would work!"
"How is that possible? Could it be another invention of the Organization?"
Mentioning the Organization filled us with extreme anger, but there was nothing we could do. If this fire continued to spread, everything would be lost.
At that moment, a group of people, led by someone, came over anxiously. He was covered in soot. The Mayor also came out immediately.
He said to the Mayor: "Mr. Mayor, this fire is unprecedented, and it's impossible to extinguish. Perhaps we should evacuate."
"Evacuate? You want me to lead these citizens away from Guangming City, abandoning our hometown! Abandoning the homes we've lived in for so long! I don't care. You must immediately continue to extinguish the fire. You cannot let the laurel tree burn, do you understand?"
"But…"
At this moment, I also clenched Linghu Jing's arm forcefully: "Captain, I'm going up the mountain with you!"
"Director He, are you insane? No one can go up the mountain now!"
Just as he finished speaking, several police officers and many villagers walked over. Some villagers cried out: "It's bad! Our children haven't come down yet. The situation was too chaotic earlier, and we didn't have time to take them with us. Sob sob sob, what can we do?"
"That's right! Our Big Yellow hasn't left either, and our Peaches…"