As more and more people joined in, the scope of the fire continued to shrink.

Moreover, the black thorn forest was a very domineering plant. It didn’t grow many leaves, its body covered with long, sharp black thorns. No herbaceous plants grew beneath it, and the ground next to each black thorn was directly exposed.

So the fire spreading to the left was quickly contained.

The most people were on the right, which consisted entirely of terraced fields. Consequently, the fire spread slowly there and was also quickly controlled.

However, the fire spreading upwards was now the biggest problem.

The fire burned upwards, fanned by a fierce wind from behind. The people fighting it from below simply couldn’t keep up with its upward pace.

Now, if the fire crossed the ridge and spread to the dense forests on the other side of the mountain, all would be lost.

All those fighting the fire were ordinary people from the area, and they knew the mountain’s situation better than anyone else.

Suddenly, a THUMP-THUMP-THUMP sound filled the sky as a helicopter was seen circling in the distance. Everyone glanced at it, cursed "Moron!" and returned to fighting the fire.

Just then, from the road below, the siren of a fire truck wailed, but this time, no one even turned to look.

Fire trucks were useless here. Even if firefighters arrived, they would have to use shovels to beat at the flames like everyone else. Besides, they were still at the foot of the mountain; by the time they climbed up, the fire would have already crested the ridge.

Helplessness, deep helplessness.

The speed at which everyone fought the fire from behind simply couldn’t match the speed at which it surged upwards.

It seemed inevitable that the fire would engulf the ridge.

The surrounding air was scorching, yet Du Heng felt a chill in his hands and feet.

Once the fire leaped over the ridge, it could spread upwards along it, bypassing the black thorn forest to ignite the yellow birch forest behind. If it burned backwards, it would consume the dense forests stretching across four or five mountain ranges.

The economic losses could be set aside for the moment. But if the fire spread, three villages lay behind the ridge to the left. Above them was Wangjiazui, with its five natural villages. And on the back of the mountain were Zojiwa Village, Lijiawa, Mubangou, and Xicha—a total of thirteen or fourteen natural villages. None would be spared.

Du Heng knew that if the fire spread, these villages would be finished. Ma Yuanghai and his son would be finished. Dong Yuezhang—his own sworn brother—would also be finished.

Looking up at the surroundings, Du Heng took out his Mobile phone from his pocket, preparing to give Dong Yuezhang a heads-up.

Suddenly, faint figures flickered in the woods to the left.

Du Heng’s hand, holding his Mobile phone, paused. Did I see that wrong? When he focused his gaze again, two familiar figures emerged first—it was Wang Shizhen and Wang Shiyuan, the two brothers from Wangjiazui.

Following them, more and more people emerged, gradually filling the forest exit above.

Wang Shizhen, at the head of the group, glanced down the mountain. He saw the surging tongues of flame and the crowd relentlessly beating at them from behind. He immediately turned and said something to the people with him, and they all began to run forward.

About a few dozen meters from the flames, the group stopped. Using the shovels in their hands, they began to turn over the topsoil.

Watching Wang Shizhen and the others, a term suddenly flashed into Du Heng’s mind: firebreak.

Before excitement could even fully register, many more figures suddenly appeared on the ridge ahead. Among them was a man Du Heng recognized—Zhao Bin, the village doctor from Zojiwa Village.

There’s always a way out! He truly hadn’t expected it. People from Wangjiazui on the mountaintop had come, and now people from Zojiwa Village at the foot of the back mountain had also made their way up.

Seeing the people from Zojiwa Village also begin to construct a firebreak below the ridge, everyone shouted with excitement, their pace of fighting the fire quickening.

Everyone saw hope!

Du Heng suddenly felt an urge to cry. This was truly a new lease on life when all seemed lost.

However, his hands still trembled as he took out his Mobile phone.

At the foot of the mountain, Dong Yuezhang’s face was ashen. From across the gully, he could clearly see the wildfire’s inexorable spread.

Looking at the firefighters who had only just struggled halfway up the mountain, and the villagers still arriving to help, he knew it was too late.

Fifteen minutes for him to arrive. Twenty-seven minutes for the district leaders. Thirty minutes for the firefighters. Forty-five minutes for the city leader on duty.

But what good was such a rapid emergency response now? Once the wildfire crossed the ridge, no one present today would escape the consequences.

He couldn’t dwell on that. His thoughts now turned to minimizing losses and protecting the surrounding communities from harm.

He had already made the final arrangements: Gong Daoyang and officers from the Police station had rushed to the villages on the back of the mountain. The moment they saw the wildfire crest the ridge, Gong Daoyang’s team would assist the village cadres in organizing an orderly evacuation.

Suddenly, the phone in his pocket rang. Dong Yuezhang saw it was Du Heng and quickly answered. "Du, how are things on the mountain?" As he spoke, he could hear the tremor in his own voice.

Du Heng didn’t beat around the bush and directly described the current situation.

Dong Yuezhang felt instantly invigorated. He was about to ask for more details when Du Heng’s end went silent. He said, "Hello? Hello?" but the Signal was gone; the call had disconnected.

Dong Yuezhang assumed the Signal was weak on the mountain and didn’t dwell on it. He put away his Mobile phone, strode over to where the district leader stood, and spoke in a low voice.

"Really?" The leader looked sharply at Dong Yuezhang. The grassland on the front of the mountain, no matter how much of it burned, would recover in early spring. In fact, the new grass would grow even better thanks to the ash from the fire. Aside from the manpower for the rescue, there would be little actual loss.

But if it spread to the upper left or the back of the mountain, that was a different matter entirely—not just in terms of economic loss.

Dong Yuezhang nodded. He trusted his brother not to mislead him at a time like this.

The leader let out a long sigh of relief, his tense expression finally softening. "Keep in contact with those on the mountain," he said quietly. "Update me on the situation immediately."

With that, he walked over to the city leader, who stood at the forefront, continuously conferring with those around him.

Why did Du Heng on the mountain rush to hang up the phone?

Because Du Ping, who had also pulled back from the firefighting, suddenly called out to him. When Du Heng turned, he saw Ma Yuanghai and his son both collapsed on the ground. He had to end the call abruptly.

He quickly ran to them. Ma Yuanghai’s son was closer, so he checked him first.

The young man’s breathing was steady and he was conscious. Aside from some redness and burns on his face and hands, there were no major issues. He was now limp on the ground, simply from overexertion and the earlier tension.

Seeing Du Heng examining him, he anxiously pointed to his father, who had also collapsed. "Quick," he urged, "check my dad."

Seeing no major problems with the son, Du Heng let him be and moved straight to Ma Yuanghai’s side.

At this point, Ma Yuanghai was already disoriented, his breathing chaotic. When Du Heng had first reached him, his breaths were slow and deep. But by the time Du Heng knelt beside him, his breathing had become shallow and rapid.

"Water, who has water?"

Ma Yuanghai had been fighting the fire right in the thick of it, and all his exposed skin was covered in soot and dust. Du Heng could see nothing on Ma Yuanghai’s pitch-black face; even his nostrils were caked black.

Prying open Ma Yuanghai’s mouth, Du Heng saw that his teeth, tongue, and the entire oral cavity were coated in black.

This meant that he had inhaled a large amount of smoke and dust.

There was nothing available on the mountain, and Du Heng had brought nothing with him. The only immediate action was to find some water to quickly clean Ma Yuanghai’s oral cavity, nasal cavity, and face.

However, Du Heng’s call went unanswered. Who would think to carry water when rushing up a mountain to fight a fire?

Du Heng glanced at the nearby snow, already blackened with soot and dirt, and immediately dismissed the idea of using it.

It didn’t matter if there was no water, Du Heng thought. Inhaling dust wasn’t immediately life-threatening; that could wait until they reached the Hospital or an Ambulance met them en route. The critical issue now was Ma Yuanghai’s difficulty breathing.

Even as Du Heng examined Ma Yuanghai’s face, his breathing was highly erratic—shallow then deep, the rate fluctuating, sometimes with pauses of several seconds between breaths.

Du Heng’s expression grew grim; a terrible premonition rose within him. He quickly unbuttoned Ma Yuanghai’s outer clothes and, through a layer of underwear, pressed his ear to the man’s chest.

"Does your father have any lung disease?" After listening intently for a moment, Du Heng turned to Ma Yuanghai’s son, still lying on the ground.

"Yes, yes, my dad has emphysema."

Emphysema. Du Heng recalled that the very first patient he had treated with the system, acquired just last year, also had emphysema.

What was this disease most vulnerable to?

Dust and smoke—pollutants that compromised breathing. Inhaling air laden with such irritants would typically cause coughing and phlegm; more severe exposure could lead to chest tightness, shortness of breath, and labored breathing.

But those symptoms were for minor, trace inhalation, not for someone who had charged directly into a blaze and inhaled an unknown quantity of particulate matter.

Ma Yuanghai was now having difficulty breathing. If it went on like this, respiratory failure would not be far away.

Moreover, emphysema was often accompanied by heart conditions, a fact that heightened Du Heng’s anxiety.

Several treatment methods came to his mind, drawing from both traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine.

But he was like a skilled craftsman without his tools; he had nothing to work with. He didn’t even have a bottle of water to cleanse Ma Yuanghai’s oral cavity and nasal cavity to reduce the risk of further contamination.

Looking at the father and son on the ground, Du Heng estimated that he and his Big brother, Du Ping, would struggle to carry both men down the rugged, snow-covered mountain path. The crucial problem was his own strength; he doubted he could manage his share of carrying two people down such terrain.

"Help! Someone get over here, quick!" Du Heng shouted again, waving frantically towards the group still fighting the fire.

Finally, his shouts were answered. Hearing his voice, seeing his frantic gestures, and noticing the two figures on the ground, three or four people closest to him broke away from the fire line and ran over.

"Quick, help me get these two down the mountain!"