Then came the incessant sirens of fire trucks.
It seems the main force has been mobilized.
"If all the trees on Wangtai Mountain are burned down, what will we use to cook and burn? Let's go help put out the fire!"
Some forward-thinking young people made the suggestion loudly.
He had barely finished speaking when he received support from some people.
So those who were going to Wangtaishan to fight the fire quickly grabbed their buckets of fish and headed towards Wangtaishan.
"Other armies have professional rescue equipment. With such a huge fire, you're just going to your deaths!"
Another group of people remained indifferent, even mocking those who had left to fight the fire.
Hearing those mocking words, Xu Lai quickly turned to the people around her and said, "You guys go back first, I'll go take a look too!"
"Lai girl, wait a minute, I'm going too!"
Old Mr. Xiao, who came along, was a veteran. Hearing the fire alarm blaring one after another, getting closer and closer, he followed Xu Lai straight to the shore.
When Grandpa Lu saw that Grandpa Xiao was about to leave, he silently followed.
When he used to live in the countryside, if a fire broke out on the hillside behind the village, it was usually the entire village who would mobilize to put it out.
"No, Grandpa Xiao, Grandpa Lu, you're too old, your energy can't keep up!"
Water and fire are merciless; this is no joke!
If elderly people go to help, there's a risk of accidents on the mountain. If something happens, it will delay the soldiers from putting out the fire.
Xu Haiguo was worried about his daughter and wanted to go with her, while Li Qingya, relying on her youth and quick thinking, also wanted to go.
But Xu Lai persuaded them all to stay.
The Changyan River is not far from Wangtai Mountain; in fact, it's farther for her father and the others to get back to their neighborhood. She had originally planned to leave the electric tricycle for them to use.
Everyone refused, saying, "Lai Lai, you should ride the electric tricycle. If you encounter any danger, you can escape quickly!"
Xu Lai'ao had no choice but to put the two buckets on the back of the electric tricycle, then got into the driver's seat and rode away.
Xu Lai checked the time; she had ridden for about twenty minutes before arriving at the entrance to Wangtaishan Forest Park at the foot of the mountain.
When Xu Lai arrived, the place was already a scene of devastation, burned to the ground.
According to people who arrived before her, the fire started less than 20 meters uphill from the entrance of the forest park.
After the fire started there, the wooden art gate at the foot of the mountain was also completely burned down.
Fortunately, this was at the foot of the mountain, and the soldiers who came to rescue and extinguish the fire had already put it out.
At this point, all that remained was pitch blackness and muddy water covered in black carbon ash.
On the left side of the mountain path leading uphill, large machinery such as excavators, arranged by the government and the military, are clearing a road up the mountain.
Meanwhile, the raging fire burning halfway up the mountain was like a fiery serpent, rapidly expanding its burning area.
The People's Liberation Army soldiers who serve the people carried various firefighting equipment and rushed up the mountain.
Before the natural disaster struck, there were already many high-pressure water wells at the foot of the mountain that were used as backups.
The villagers who arrived before her to help put out the fire used buckets to collect water from the high-pressure water wells, then carried it up in baskets or by hand, one after another.
After riding his electric tricycle to a secluded spot, Xu Lai stored it in his spatial storage. Then, carrying a fire extinguisher from his storage space, he rushed up the mountain along the stone steps he usually used for climbing.
The higher you go, the worse the situation becomes.
On some of the steps, there were even more than a dozen bodies that had been burned beyond recognition, one of which was completely charred by the merciless fire.
"Who was this dead man, someone who came here to chop wood?"
Xu Lai listened to the conversation between the two young volunteers carrying water in front of her, and her mood became somewhat heavy.
She suddenly missed the days before the natural disaster.
Back then, although everyone was busy from early morning to late at night, some were working to earn money and others were going to school, life was convenient and travel was safe.
Unlike now, when living conditions are so harsh that ordinary people struggle to even have three meals a day, and they don't even know when they'll go out and risk losing their lives.
However, even so, humanity is not entirely without hope.
She climbed up the mountain in one go from the foot of the mountain, and the volunteers who came to fight the fire before her had formed a long human conveyor belt from the foot of the mountain to the location of the fire.
The water they pumped from the high-pressure well at the bottom of the mountain, bucket by bucket, was passed up the mountain by the long line of people.
There were also fire extinguishers that everyone had brought, which were all sent up the mountain to where the fire was.
Xu Lai didn't arrive early, so those who came later had to continue climbing the mountain and stand in order behind those who arrived first.
"Little girl, what are you doing here? Are you out of your mind? Get down here right now, or you won't even have the strength to run if we encounter any danger!"
Having climbed halfway up the mountain, Xu Lai encountered several middle-aged men in their forties who were coming down from the top.
Their bodies and faces were completely covered in black, making their features difficult to discern. But when they saw her, their mouths revealed a set of pearly white teeth.
"Yes, hurry down! The fire is spreading this way!"
Another middle-aged man, who had been rushing around, took a breath and then spoke up: "The mountain wind has picked up again, which makes it more difficult to put out the fire. The firefighters and People's Liberation Army soldiers who are fighting the fire at the front are also struggling to keep up!"
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