Free Web NovelChapter 686: Chapter 309: Life-or-Death One Hour
"Something’s wrong, the chemical gas seems to have started leaking!"
"Mr. Han! Mr. Han!"
Gu Ji pointed to the swirling yellow-green gas at the foot of the mountain.
Upon seeing this, Wang Yuexi quickly called over Han Yue.
He picked up the binoculars and observed carefully for a while, then said with a serious expression, "Bian Shizhang is right, the chemical tanks have already started leaking on a large scale. The chemical plant is practically a toxic nest now. Rescue team, how many gas masks do we have?"
"We have a total of 76 left."
The support unit is responsible for all the equipment and supplies of the rescue team.
"The effective safety time for FMJ08 gas masks is about 40 minutes, with a maximum usage time of around 1 hour, and we don’t even have professional hazmat suits..."
The implication of Han Yue’s words was clear.
Since the masks averaged, each person could only get one at most, which meant their maximum rescue time was only 1 hour, or they would face chemical gas exposure.
The Lahore Metropolitan Area is Pakistan’s industrial and chemical hub.
The Descon Chemical Plant is one of the giants in Bafang’s domestic chemical industry, although it’s not as large as BASF during the wartime checkpoints, it still stores nearly two thousand tons of sulfur, as well as hundreds of tons of liquefied chlorine gas and liquefied petroleum gas tanks.
Let alone the continuously releasing corrosive toxic gas.
If the liquefied petroleum gas tanks explode, or the sulfur storage burns, they wouldn’t even have a chance to run!
"Distribute the FMJ08 gas masks, prioritize supplying the filter canisters for the rescue dogs."
"Understood!"
Following Han Yue’s order, the support unit immediately retrieved gas masks from their backpacks and distributed them to all rescue team members, including the six rescue dogs.
FMJ08 is one of the active gas masks used by the domestic military.
It can be seen as a combination of the S10 from the British SAS special forces, and the domestic FMJ03, FMJ05 masks, made from butyl rubber and silicone rubber, which is a key difference between military and civilian firefighting masks, in that its material is not heat-resistant.
In case of a fire, silicone is easily melted, and especially butyl rubber, which can be highly irritating to the skin.
However, military gas masks offer greater resistance to chemical corrosion and improved air-tightness.
The entire FMJ08 is black, featuring two transparent observation lenses on top, and three ports at the bottom for the auxiliary speaker, an exhalation valve with a drinking port, and the filter canister interface.
The military-grade filter canister is filled with high-quality activated carbon—catalysts and high-efficiency filter paper, capable of filtering various toxic gases, organic vapors, and particulate aerosols, except carbon monoxide, with minimal resistance.
Gu Ji wore his and Xiao Jian’s gas masks.
Then he continued charging down the mountain with Wang Yuexi.
The saying "easy to ascend, difficult to descend" is especially true on a mountainside ravaged by an earthquake, steep and a great challenge to control one’s knees and center of gravity.
Along the way, two members of the technical team had already slipped and fallen, bruising their arms and heads.
So much so that Han Yue eventually ordered them to rappel down the mountain using ropes.
Upon reaching the lower part of the mountainside, Xiao Jian began barking loudly and stopped, showing a strong unwillingness to approach further.
Gu Ji knew it must have sensed the gas.
Because a dog’s sense of smell is more sensitive than a human’s, naturally making it more susceptible to gas corrosion and damage.
He then put the FMJ08 canine mask on Xiao Jian, allowing it to continue downwards. Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, Gu Ji also felt a burning sensation in his nostrils.
He endured the irritating smell in the air and turned back to report, "Mr. Han, the chlorine concentration in the air is already very high."
"Everyone, put on your gas masks and prepare to enter the factory for rescue. Remember, we only have 1 hour, so be quick and efficient. When time’s up, everyone must retreat from the toxic gas range. Understood?"
"Understood!"
Everyone shouted, straining their necks.
The next second, everyone hurriedly put on their black gas masks.
Removing the safety helmet and donning the mask, Gu Ji’s view immediately split into two ovals, and his inhalation became slightly obstructed, with breathing sounding especially heavy inside the mask.
Suddenly, he felt as if he were back at the wartime chemical checkpoint.
As they approached the factory, the first thing that came into view was not the precariously swaying buildings wrecked by the earthquake, but the chemical storage tanks spraying gas into the sky, some discharging white mist, others releasing chlorine gas, that yellow-green substance, while some pipelines were directly twisted and deformed.
Faintly, they could even see one or two "bodies" dressed in gray chemical plant uniforms lying among the ruins and pipeline valves.
Fortunately, the chlorine leak here wasn’t as overwhelming or sky-blocking as at the BASF Factory, and only slightly tinged the air yellow for now.
Gu Ji, along with Xiao Jian, immediately went into search mode.
Others clearly didn’t adapt as quickly as he did, although they had trained in chemical gas leak rescue drills, those were just exercises that couldn’t compare to actual operations.
Especially when they personally felt the exposed necks, wrists, and other skin parts transmit strong irritation, the pain from the body, the pressure from the toxic gas, and the unknowns caused by the obstructed sight, made their heart rates instinctively rise, inducing tension.
"Mr. Han, we discovered two Pakistani workers here. They’re still alive but have fallen unconscious, likely knocked out by the gas!"
