Free Web NovelChapter 229: Chapter 174: This is Our Captain!
"Received, Fang Huai, I’ve increased the pressure."
The voice from the two-way radio brought a wave of spiritual cooling to Fang Huai, feeling refreshed from the inside out.
The distant fire truck also began to roar, and the water gun in his hand suddenly gained a much more powerful pressure.
Fang Huai, facing the flames, advanced another meter, loosening the charred wall bricks with the force of the water.
But the wall kept shaking, like a Weeble that wouldn’t fall down, showing no signs of collapsing.
Behind him, Song Lin’s voice came through: freeweɓnovel.cøm
"Do you want me to go down and hook it with a crowbar?"
Fang Huai’s mind had already cleared, and he immediately shook his head, turned off the water, and looked around.
He then pointed to a spot not far away and said, "Don’t risk it, get some big rocks, and smash with those!"
In a fire, demolition is an important part, especially in large fires, where its importance can even exceed that of water and various other firefighting materials.
"All right!"
Song Lin ran to the side and brought back the largest piece of bluestone.
It was so big that Song Lin, holding it with both hands, was walking with difficulty.
It was so large that Fang Huai was astonished:
"Damn, big brother, it’s more than four meters away, can you even throw this thing?"
Song Lin put the stone on the ground and raised his hand towards it: "Of course I can’t! I got it for you!"
He’s definitely taking revenge for what I said at noon.
Fang Huai thought.
While thinking, he bent down and exerted his whole body’s strength.
"Mother’s Smelly Pussy!" freewebnoveℓ.com
Fang Huai gritted his teeth and lifted the large bluestone.
It must have weighed at least seventy or eighty jin.
"You fucking open, no, OPEN!!"
With a loud roar from Fang Huai, the entire boulder barely smashed onto a lower part of the wall, but its huge kinetic energy directly punched a hole in the burnt-crisp wall surface.
It wobbled a couple of times but still didn’t fall.
This wall turned out to be both brittle and tough at the same time.
"I’ll do it!"
Song Lin, behind him, turned his head and ran back to the place he came from, picking up a large stone he could hold with one hand and hurled it with a throw.
"Thud," the earthen wall let out a suppressed grunt.
Like a dinosaur carrying a wolf.
A huge cloud of dust rose, and Fang Huai was stunned.
This guy is stealing my kills.
"It’s opened, it’s opened! Go, go, go!" Song Lin immediately shouted.
The collapsing earthen wall crushed a large area of the flames, scattering them with the force of the impact.
Below, the embers were also scattering across the sky, and a gust of wind conveniently blew through, turning the exposed fire sources into sparks that clung to flammable materials like dry grass and strips of fabric, blowing towards the forest.
Fang Huai had no choice but to spray in a flowering pattern to prevent the spread of sparks.
Don’t be fooled by these little sparks; if they really got blown into the woods, everyone’s lunch today would be compromised, and they would all have to meticulously search the mountains.
Plus, the mountain is full of large trees, three to four meters high, some even reaching seven or eight meters, which may not all be thoroughly inspected.
After returning, in the time that followed, everyone would feel uneasy in their hearts.
These little flames could smolder in a secret spot in the forest for a long time and reignite after they left; once they set the trees ablaze, the fire would become much worse than now.
They had to be completely extinguished.
But suddenly, the pressure in the water gun in his hand weakened, becoming limp and ineffective.
"Fang Huai, I have to shut off the water here; the tank is nearly empty, and if it keeps pumping water, it will burn out the pressure pump soon. Pull back for now!" Hao Chengbin’s voice came with some helplessness.
While Fang Huai watched the direction of the flying sparks, he shouted back, "Can’t pull back, can’t pull back! I’ve got isolated flames blowing up the mountain here!"
The two-way radio fell silent for a moment.
Both men felt somewhat powerless about the current situation, and Fang Huai, being in a high-temperature environment, felt an unnamed anger rising again in his heart.
Fortunately, the siren of the fire truck was already coming from below; reinforcements had arrived.
The two-way radio began to buzz.
"Hao Chengbin, Hao Chengbin, where are you?"
Hao Chengbin driving Car No.1 immediately responded with a honk halfway up the mountain.
"I’m here, 13 tons, come and refill with water!"
"Received!"
...
As Cao Yi, in Car No.3, was heading towards the mid-mountain platform, villagers on the roadside ran up and stopped the vehicle, shouting loudly:
"Where are you going? Hurry up and help put out the fire!"
The first truck had gone up the mountain, and it had not been easy for the second truck to come, but now it was heading up the mountain again, the gathered villagers were decisively opposed.
"Get out of the way! Don’t obstruct official duties!"
Zhao Jinchen on the truck, a man with a fiery temper, stuck his head out of the window and started shouting.
The villagers in front of the truck, upon hearing this, were even more persistent:
"My house is on fire, can’t you see?"
Cao Yi also opened the window and stuck his head out: "There are more fire trucks coming to put out the fire in your homes!"
"Don’t lie to us! You only care about the forest up there, not our lives! You are leaving us to die!"
Zhao Jinchen immediately opened the door, jumped out of the truck, and pointed at the man directly in front of him, shouting, "If the forest catches fire, can you take responsibility?!"
Unexpectedly, a woman from the crowd who was blocking the way threw herself to the ground, kicking her feet and causing a scene, crying and shouting:
"The government doesn’t care about us anymore! Our house has burned down, how will we live? How, I ask you..."
As the woman made a commotion, others who were helping to put out the fire began to gather around as well, as if missing this moment would mean missing some government compensation.
Cao Yi, irritated to the teeth, could only answer by pulling out his mobile phone to inquire how long until Baiyun Squad would arrive behind them.
"Instructor Cao, why haven’t you come up yet?" Commander Fang, blocked by houses and unable to see, felt it had been half a day and no one had come up, asked anxiously on the two-way radio.
Zhao Jinchen’s frantic voice came through the two-way radio:
"The truck is being blocked by the villagers!"
Fang Huai heard this, put down the water gun, turned off his two-way radio, took off his mask, and pulled Song Lin to the side, saying,
"Keep an eye on where the flames are drifting! I’ll be back in a bit!"
Having said that, Fang Huai took the shortcut down the dirt slope that the Village Secretary had used, quickly descending the hillside.
As he approached, Fang Huai’s gaze immediately fell on the Village Secretary, who was standing by and watching. In the surprised glances of everyone around, he strode forward, grabbed him, and demanded sternly,
"Why are you instigating villagers to cause trouble?! Hurry up and have them clear the way!"
The Village Secretary’s status in the village was akin to a godfather. It was unlikely that he couldn’t control the situation while he was still standing off to the side.
The Village Secretary saw how the obstruction had left the firefighters with no options, and while he was considering how to get them to retreat back to several yards in the village to help put out the fire, Fang Huai came up and grabbed him without letting go.
"Young man, it wasn’t me who ordered this! The houses are on fire, and you guys didn’t come to rescue!
One truck went up the mountain, and when the second truck came, it went up too!
I was leading people to carry water until our hands were sore!
You told me to lead the villagers to pour water and that help would come soon. Now the fire is getting bigger and bigger, and we can’t put it out at all!"
Fang Huai had a thousand "Mother’s Smelly Pussies" in his mind.
Really treating the fire truck as if it had unlimited ammo.
He didn’t want to dawdle, so he took the digital camera from Meng Qiang who was nearby, and after waving it in front of the Village Secretary’s face, he said loudly:
"The trucks on the mountain have run out of water!
I’m recording the evidence now!
I’m looking for you, the Village Secretary, and you’re not cooperating. If the fire burns down the mountain, you’d better be ready to hand over the arsonist to serve prison time!
For those blocking the way in front, according to the Firefighting Law, obstructing rescue efforts is subject to detention and fines, and you all will definitely receive the maximum penalty! A fine of 500 per person, with 15 days detention!
And you, Village Secretary, pack your bags and get ready to report in!"
With that, he turned towards those few obstructing the road with the appearance of wanting to take photos.
In fact, the camera wasn’t even turned on.
The few who were blocking the way reacted quite quickly and immediately used their outerwear to cover their heads.
The woman on the ground also sat up, gazing straight at the Village Secretary.
The expression on the Village Secretary’s face tightened:
"My friend, what law have I broken? It’s you who reneged on your word. You young man, shouldn’t talk nonsense! Your leadership hasn’t said a word! You don’t have a say!"
Even though he wasn’t clear about the law, the Village Secretary recognized Instructor Cao’s distinctive red cap.
He was the person in authority, and everyone else followed his commands.
Upon hearing this, other villagers regained their confidence. A few who had been hiding their heads in their clothes started to peek out again.
And that woman began to lie down once more.
Seeing this situation unfold, Cao Yi immediately pointed at Fang Huai and said,
"Who said his word doesn’t count? He’s our Captain!"
This statement slightly stunned everyone from the Second Squadron.
Fang Huai’s expression froze for a moment but quickly returned to his cocksure demeanor as he glared at the Village Secretary.
The quick-thinking driver, Chen Zhenghai, stuck his head out of the window and said, "Commander Fang, should we call 110 to come over?"
The performance continued.
Fang Huai sat down on the ground as if giving in,
"No need! If the mountain wants to burn, let it burn! Since we can’t get through anyway! Once the fire becomes big, detention will turn into sentencing! No need for fines, even better!
Aren’t they unable to get through as well? Just in time, they’ll get free cornbreads in prison!"
The Village Secretary’s face changed several times, but he immediately turned around and vehemently pushed a few people away, saying,
"Move! Everyone move! Zhou Yaomei! I told you not to make trouble, but you insisted on blocking the truck! When your second brother gets arrested, will you be happy then?
Didn’t you see the pamphlet distributed by the town last time?
Arson leads to life in prison!
If you don’t cooperate with the efforts of the authorities, you’ll end up detained and fined. I won’t take responsibility!"
The woman was dumbfounded, "Uncle, you just..."
"Go, go, go!" The Village Secretary cut her off, immediately leading her to the side of the road.
Then, he hurriedly came up, fished out a cigarette, and offered it to Fang Huai with an apologetic smile, saying,
"Brother... Leader, please go ahead, quickly! I will follow your instructions right now and organize them for the firefighting effort!
Just now... they didn’t understand the law, we will educate them well in the village!... Does that sound good to you?"
Fang Huai took the cigarette and held it in his hand, his expression serious, but he remained noncommittal:
"The following trucks will arrive soon. Send someone to greet them!"
"Yes, yes!" The Village Secretary immediately turned to begin directing,
"Little Caicai! Go down to the intersection and welcome the newcomers!"
Only then did Fang Huai pass the camera back to Meng Qiang and waved his hand,
"You all hurry up and go!"
Meng Qiang, struggling to hold in his laughter, crisply saluted, "Yes, Commander Fang!"
The others nearby could barely contain themselves, their bodies starting to tremble slightly as they quickly got into the truck.
They had all undergone strict training and no matter how funny it was, they would never laugh.
At the very least, they had to wait until they were back in the truck to laugh.
...
The Baiyun Squad’s truck arrived approximately 20 minutes later and coordinated with the Second Squadron in a pincer attack.
The process of firefighting is a monotonous patrol, not worth detailing.
Ruthlessly demolishing the roof, clearing all potentially collapsing items and the visible flames, ensuring the firefighters’ safety.
Wherever the water jets passed, steam rose from the long-incinerated brick and stone structures and the ground, carrying away the heat.
Then the firefighters entered, searching for potential rekindling areas, opening them up, and allowing water in to completely extinguish them.
In rural brick-and-wood houses, there is no discussion of preserving the structure; if it has burned over a large area, it must be torn down and rebuilt.
Moreover, Fang Huai deliberately damaged the houses that had been badly burned. Where high-pressure water guns could force entry, he used them; for fire sources hidden under gaps in wood and bricks that water couldn’t extinguish, he let them burn out completely.
Rural folks are poor, and you can’t rule out that they might consider restoring their homes, or even using those charred walls to rebuild.
If you tell them that a gentleman does not stand underneath a dangerous wall, they might just not understand.
You have no choice but to use a barbaric approach to turn those things into rubble.
...
