153: Chapter 153 The phone call couldn't get through.

Fire Station.

Monday, the Production Team's day off.

After summer arrived in Pengcheng, the temperature climbed higher day by day, and the number of fire calls doubled along with it.

The guests were split into three groups, following the team to respond to non-fire emergency calls.

Moving equipment. Setting up perimeter tape. Maintaining order. Comforting the injured.

They couldn't touch the water hoses or enter burning buildings, but after running one call, it was still enough to drain a person dry.

Lunch had just been cleared away, and Shen Jue was slumped over the canteen table, his face buried in his arms.

"I went on three calls with Han Su yesterday, carried two gas canisters, and moved a truckload of broken branches."

He paused for a moment.

"My lower back is telling me that my relationship with Han Su needs a cooling-off period."

Ji Shen was wiping the table nearby.

"He thinks feeding stray kittens is too expensive; do you really think you're lower maintenance than a husky?"

Shen Jue thought about it seriously for two seconds.

"I do eat more than a kitten."

There were a few chuckles in the canteen.

The Fire Station was sweltering and quiet.

Most of the Firefighters were taking turns catching up on sleep, and the guests were all finding places to sprawl out.

Li Li wasn't there.

Qin Xiaoshan had finished his beef jerky that morning, so he had gone out to help buy some more.

The next second, the alarm rang.

A rapid electronic buzzing exploded from the duty room, dragging the entire building into a state of operation.

Cheng Songyan rushed out from the end of the corridor, his combat uniform only half on, buckling his belt as he ran.

Han Su followed behind him, his voice tense and urgent.

"Captain Cheng! Wildfire! Direction of Wutong Mountain!"

The garage doors rose.

Two main battle fire trucks and one water supply truck drove out in succession.

Three minutes.

The Fire Station was half empty again.

Shen Jue sprang up from the table, rubbing his face.

"Another call? What kind of pace is this?"

Ji Shen walked to the window and glanced into the distance.

"Wildfire."

He paused.

"Looks pretty big."

Gu Zeyan came out of the canteen holding a water cup.

As he passed the duty room, he glanced at the dispatch log board on the wall.

The marker ink hadn't even dried yet.

Time: 13:42.

Location: Wutong Mountain Scenic Area, summit region.

Fire Level: Level 3.

Units Dispatched: Luohu Station, Futian Station, Nanshan Station.

Gu Zeyan stopped at the door.

Wutong Mountain.

He vaguely remembered someone mentioning this place name that morning.

He carried his water upstairs and pushed open the door to the male guests' dormitory.

Shen Jue was lying back on his bed.

Ji Shen was doing stretches.

Jiang Shiyu was curled up in the corner of his bed scrolling on his phone.

Gu Zeyan stood at the door.

"Which one of you mentioned Wutong Mountain this morning?"

Shen Jue rolled over without even opening his eyes.

"Why are you asking that?"

Gu Zeyan didn't rush.

"It's written on the dispatch log board; there's a fire at the summit of Wutong Mountain."

The dormitory went quiet for a moment.

Shen Jue opened his eyes and sat bolt upright.

"Say that again?"

Gu Zeyan placed his water cup on the cabinet by the door.

"Wutong Mountain. The summit. Is on fire."

The three words landed.

Shen Jue's body moved before his brain did.

He sprang out of bed, one slipper flew off, and his toe slammed into the bed leg.

It hurt.

He didn't care.

He had already fished out his phone.

Li Li's number was the first one in his recent calls.

He dialed.

Beep.

Beep.

Connected.

Before Li Li could speak, Shen Jue's voice rushed out.

"The summit of Wutong Mountain is on fire! Is Sister still up there?!"

There was a half-second pause on the other end of the line.

Click.

Shen Jue stared at the darkened screen, frozen in place.

Ji Shen walked over.

"He hung up?"

"He hung up."

Gu Zeyan picked up his water cup but didn't drink.

He opened his mouth, but in the end, he said nothing.

At the entrance of the small shop.

Li Li hung up on Shen Jue and dialed Jiang Rumu directly.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

No answer.

He dialed again.

Still no answer.

On the third time, the call went to "The number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable."

Li Li placed the plastic bag in his hand on the counter.

"Leave these here for now."

The shopkeeper was just about to ask, but the man had already left.

Three hundred meters.

Forty seconds.

When Li Li rushed into the Fire Station lobby, a few Firefighters who hadn't gone out on the call were gathered around a tablet watching a live stream.

Someone on TikTok was live-streaming from the foot of Wutong Mountain.

The footage was shaking violently, the camera pointed at the summit.

A plume of grey-black smoke rose from behind the ridge, pushed eastward by the wind.

The comments were dense and packed.

[Wutong Mountain is on fire? I just came down an hour ago!]

[This fire is huge, is anyone trapped?]

[Have the Firefighters arrived? I can already hear the sirens.]

[Good thing there aren't many people hiking there on a weekday!]

Shen Jue rushed down from upstairs and intercepted Li Li at the lobby entrance.

"What did Sister say?"

Li Li didn't reply.

His phone was still pressed to his ear.

He dialed for the fourth time.

"Hello, the number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable..."

The color drained from Shen Jue's face.

Ji Shen handed him the tablet.

"Looking at the live stream, the fire at the summit is spreading. The wind is blowing east."

Li Li took the tablet, watched for three seconds, paused it, and handed it back.

Han Su had just come out of the duty room.

"Han Su."

Han Su stopped.

Li Li spoke quickly.

"How many trucks have gone to Wutong Mountain now?"

Han Su checked the records.

"Three nearby stations, plus us, fifteen trucks."

He paused.

"But the fire is at the summit; fire trucks can only reach the scenic area entrance. Above that are stone steps and narrow roads; vehicles can't get up there."

"What about water hoses?"

"Right now, people are carrying them up, connecting them section by section. There aren't enough from the foot of the mountain to the mountainside."

Li Li turned and glanced toward the equipment room.

"How much is left in the station?"

Han Su looked over as well.

"About eighty rolls in the backup inventory. We also have breaking and demolition tools and spare parts for the SCBA."

"Load them up, we'll take them over."

The walkie-talkie in Han Su's hand paused.

"Li Li, without dispatch orders, we cannot mobilize on our own."

"We aren't mobilizing."

Li Li took a step forward.

"Just delivering equipment."

Han Su didn't respond.

Li Li pointed outside the courtyard.

"Look at the wind."

The national flag in the courtyard was being whipped violently.

Ten minutes ago, it was stifling and still, but now the wind was pouring in from the street, and the treetops were swaying constantly.

"The temperature is thirty-three degrees, open flames at the summit, and the wind is still picking up."

Li Li's speaking speed wasn't fast.

"By the time the command center at the foot of the mountain asks for equipment and we get stuck in traffic for twenty minutes on the way, the hoses won't grow legs and walk there themselves."

Han Su didn't hesitate any longer.

He raised his walkie-talkie.

"Station Chief Chen, this is Han Su."

It was very noisy on the other end.

The sounds of engines, shouting, and water pumps were mixed together.

Station Chief Chen Tao's voice was intermittent.

"Speak."

"We have a batch of water hoses and breaking and demolition tools at the station. Li Li suggests loading them up and transporting them to Wutong Mountain. The guests will not participate in firefighting, only deliver the equipment."

Two seconds later.

"Approved. Hurry."

Han Su put down the walkie-talkie.

Li Li was already running toward the equipment room.

Five minutes.

The equipment room was half emptied.

Shen Jue was throwing water hoses onto the truck, one in each hand, twenty kilograms per roll; his arms were shaking violently, but he didn't say a single word of complaint.

Ji Shen and Jiang Shiyu stacked fire axes and tool bags into the truck bed.

Tao Qianzhi carried two boxes of spare SCBA cylinders and placed them in the back row.

Gu Zeyan dragged a bundle of spare water hoses out from inside the equipment room.

Twenty rolls tied into a stack.

He dragged it two steps, and then a pair of hands appeared behind it.

Qin Xiaoshan helped push, with half a sausage still hanging from his mouth.

Gu Zeyan turned his head.

Qin Xiaoshan spoke vaguely.

"Don't look at me, it's for eating on the road."

The three transport trucks were quickly packed full.

Han Su jumped into the passenger seat of the first truck.

Zhong Ji drove the second.

Qin Xiaoshan drove the third.

The vehicles started, and all the guests were in the trucks.

The Production Team's vehicles followed as well; this was a major event.

Li Li sat in the back row of the first truck, his phone pressed to his ear.

The fifth time.

"Hello, the number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable..."

The sixth time.

Busy signal.

The seventh time.

Call failed.

Shen Jue sat next to him, watching him press the dial button over and over.

He had never seen Li Li like this.

The usual "Don't panic, it's basic operation" was gone.

The cold jokes were gone.

The analysis was gone.

All that remained was the repetitive motion of dialing.

Dial.

Failed.

Dial again.

Still failed.

Shen Jue wanted to speak, but his throat was blocked.

The three trucks turned onto the main road.

Just as they left the Fire Station, the wind bore down on them.

The roadside trees were swaying constantly, and a delivery rider's helmet was blown into the middle of the road, rolling several times.

In the distance, the smoke in the direction of Wutong Mountain had already merged into one large expanse.

Grey-black smoke pressed against the ridge, spreading eastward.

Shen Jue looked at that expanse of smoke, and the words on the tip of his tongue were swallowed back down.

Li Li pressed dial again.

Beep— Beep— Beep—

No answer.

The screen went dark.

He lit it up again and continued to dial.

Shen Jue finally couldn't hold it in.

"Brother Li, Sister is..."

"She will be fine."

Li Li didn't turn his head.

His voice was very low, mostly drowned out by the sound of the engine.

Shen Jue froze.

This was the first time he had heard Li Li say something like this.

No judgment.

No plan.

And no "basic operation."

The vehicle speed was still increasing.

Wutong Mountain was getting closer and closer.

The smoke was getting thicker and thicker.

Li Li's phone screen lit up and dimmed.

Dial.

Failed.

Dial.

Failed.

The fire siren didn't stop all the way.

His phone calls didn't stop either.