In just ten minutes, all the personnel were woken up roughly, and they gathered in the open space in the center of the camp with blank faces.
"It's only past five o'clock, why are you getting up so..." Qin Qiu was lifted out of the tent shirtless by his assistant, with the hair on his head messed up like a clump of chicken coops. He yawned as he complained, but all his complaints were swallowed when his eyes fell on the volcano not far away.
"Damn, did I not wake up?!!!" He screamed, but no one else in the room had time to answer him.
Just like cold water pouring into a frying pan, uncontrollable fear spread among the crowd.
China has a vast territory and complex landforms, but there are only a few volcanoes, most of which are located in the northeast and southern Tibet. And since the founding of the People's Republic of China, these volcanoes have hardly woken up! For the Chinese, geological disasters such as "volcanic eruptions" only exist in international news, and they can only imagine the horrible scene after the volcanic eruption based on the scenes in disaster movies.
And now, they are standing on the mountainside of an active volcano, and this volcano will erupt soon!
"This is the responsibility of your program team! Why did you choose such a dangerous place!!!" Wei Jing was furious and rushed forward. He has just become a father, and his daughter has not yet learned to walk. Is he going to leave her forever
Not only the artists were in a hurry, but the staff were also in chaos. Shooting with the group was extremely hard. If it wasn't for the pitiful overtime pay, who would want to travel thousands of miles to the jungle for adventure
Buzzing on the left, buzzing on the right, everyone is trying to blame each other, and I don’t know who to ask for an explanation.
Just when the dragons were leaderless, a piercing loud noise suddenly erupted in the center of the camp, startling everyone in the camp.
The air froze and there was no sound.
Surrounded by the crowd, Su Jishi held a geological hammer and stood proudly on the spot. And under her feet was a group of stones that had been hammered into pieces. She must have used this method to attract everyone's attention just now.
"Shut up!" The girl's exquisite face was tense, and her eyes were frighteningly bright. Her eyes flicked across the thirty or so faces in front of her, and there was a kind of magical power in her hot eyes, crushing the fear, timidity, and panic that popped up one by one. "I'll say the following, and don't ask any questions!"
She is full of aura, and she is an experienced geologist. Although geological disasters are not her specialized field, her knowledge reserve is definitely more than that of all the people present combined.
Su Jishi knew that she must not panic—now, she is the backbone, if even she panicked, who else could take this group of people safely out of the danger zone
Her voice was loud: "A volcanic eruption is like an earthquake. There is no scientific method that can predict it 100%. When we went up the mountain yesterday, it was still emitting white smoke normally. Who would have known that it would erupt today?! The program team didn't know, The indigenous people don't know, and the local government won't know! It's God's blessing that we can detect the signs of the volcanic eruption a few hours in advance. Are you going to waste these hard-won hours on accusing each other? ?!"
Her words were resounding, as if several loud slaps had been slapped on everyone's faces.
When everyone looked at me and I looked at you, they all felt a little ashamed. In the program group, two-thirds of the people are older than Su Jin, but at such a critical moment, they actually need a little girl to preside over the situation.
Su Jishi ignored everyone's hesitant expressions, and continued: "Everyone go back to the tent immediately to pack their things! Wear long-sleeved trousers, sneakers, masks, communication equipment, medicine, dry food and drinking water! If you have a self-defense knife Take it with you, don’t bring anything else! We are fleeing for our lives, not moving!”
She looked down at her watch: "We will go down the mountain in ten minutes, and the volcano may erupt at any time." Then, she estimated the distance from here to the top of the mountain, and looked at the meadow at her feet, "We can't delay any longer, at least we have to retreat." To the plains beyond the three-kilometer radius of the volcano!"
As soon as she gave an order, everyone scattered like birds and beasts, and quickly rushed back to their tents. They used the energy to snap up discounted New Year's goods in the supermarket, and desperately filled their backpacks with needed items.
No one questioned why Su Jin became the "leader"—even the oldest and most experienced chief director was yelled at by her until she shrunk her neck, and only knew how to pack her bags.
The local guide next to him wanted to escape alone, but Su Jishi immediately pressed him down. After all the good words and countless benefits, he finally agreed to lead them the way.
Fortunately, the eruption this time was just an inconspicuous small volcano. Volcanic ash and pyroclastic flows have a limited range of influence. As long as they can seize the time to escape for their lives, their lives will not be in danger.
But the biggest problem is that the vegetation here is dense and the terrain is complex. They arrived here yesterday after climbing from sunrise to sunset... Could they really retreat to the foot of the mountain before the volcano erupted
※
"Mr. Mu, Mr. Mu! Wake up!!"
A violent knock on the door broke the tranquility of the seaside resort. Secretary Gao's voice was hoarse, pounding on the door again and again. He had a spare room card in his hand, but Mu Xiulun had the habit of locking the door before going to bed. Secretary Gao swiped several times, but he couldn't get in.
The two black bodyguards behind him immediately dragged him away, and raised their legs to pull the door open—at a critical moment, the door was pulled open from the inside, and Mu Xiulun's gloomy face appeared behind the crack of the door.
He worked until early in the morning and didn't go to bed until four o'clock. Unexpectedly, he was awakened by Gao Ling's screams just after closing his eyes.
"Gao Ling, isn't the plane leaving at ten o'clock in the morning?" His tone was irritable, and the headache caused by lack of sleep made him wake up to the peak.
He originally only planned to stay in Indonesia for three days, but he didn't expect the local governor to have a bigger appetite than he imagined. The other party not only asked for real gold and silver, but also tried to meddle in his nickel mine, intending to get shares! Mu Xiulun naturally refused to give up an inch, even the Mu family can't interfere with his own property, let alone hand it over to outsiders? ... After such a delay, he stayed in Sulawesi for five full days. He finally got rid of the greedy governor at the banquet last night, so he arranged a special plane to return home this morning.
"No...Mr. Mu, the plane can't take off now!" Secretary Gao, who often had a playful smile and was not in shape, turned pale at this moment, "We are going to move inland now—the tsunami is coming!"
"What?"
Mu Xiulun's pupils shrank sharply, and the sleepiness just now disappeared instantly.
He glanced out of the window—the resort stands on the coast, with beautiful and pleasant scenery, and he stayed in the most expensive suite among them, with the highest terrain, which can clearly overlook the coastline hundreds of meters away.
But now, when the tide should be high, the coastline recedes one kilometer away contrary to common sense. The shore is full of stranded dead fish pushed up by the tide. Seabirds are flying around in the sky. A catastrophe has already begun. Prelude!
It was still early in the morning, but already the beach was filled with swarms of people fleeing frantically with their backs to the ocean. This is a natural disaster! Scourge! When the tsunami hit, "man will conquer nature" was just a lie to comfort myself.
Those who have cars drive cars, those who have motorcycles drive motorcycles... But more tourists can only rely on their own feet, crying and running. It was obviously a vacation trip, who would have thought that their vacation would be torn apart by a roaring tsunami? In 2004, a tsunami in Sumatra, Indonesia killed 220,000 people. Will that disaster happen again today
Secretary Gao spoke very quickly: "The eruption of the submarine volcano triggered the tsunami. The official issued a tsunami warning ten minutes ago. The tsunami will wash up on the coast in as little as 40 minutes. The area within five kilometers of the coastline is a dangerous area. We must Go up the mountain immediately!" The car has already parked downstairs, although it can start.
"Forty minutes?... Enough." Mu Xiulun narrowed his eyes lightly, watching the tourists and residents fleeing downstairs, "Call the team captain and ask them to bring the bus over to help evacuate the tourists."
"What?!!"
In order to facilitate mining and transportation, laterite nickel mines are generally located in mountainous areas with a coastline of about 20 kilometers, and the nickel mine in Mushulun is no exception. His mine is very large and employs a lot of workers. A few days ago, he just bought 20 buses to serve as the shuttle bus for the workers in the mine. It was only because it took time to apply for the license, so those buses were temporarily parked in the parking lot on the shore.
Each bus can carry fifty people, but when this kind of life is at stake, one hundred people can definitely squeeze it in! A bus with eight wheels can always run faster than a person with two legs. Twenty cars means thousands of lives. He is not a cold-blooded machine, how could he watch these fresh lives disappear before his eyes, especially when he has the ability to save them
Secretary Gao shook his head again and again: "Impossible, this is impossible! Mr. Mu, even if you want to save someone, you have to think about the actual situation! This is a tsunami, and the drivers of the motorcade must have run away long ago. Who would drive just because of your phone call?" Come back to save people?"
"I can't call anyone on the phone, so what about my money?" Mu Xiulun said solemnly, "If he is willing to save someone, a driver will be rewarded with 100,000 US dollars. If the death is caused by me, an additional 500,000 US dollars will be added .”
The local per capita GDP is extremely low. Even a highly educated white-collar worker can earn only five to six hundred dollars a month. For the local low-level residents, a family of five cannot earn $100,000 for a lifetime!
Under the heavy reward, there must be a brave man. Ten minutes later, the brand-new and tidy bus stopped at the coast. There were 20 buses, a lot! The door of the bus was opened, and the swarms of tourists quickly filled the compartment.
Driven by them, many private cars also stopped and offered to help tourists! Pickup trucks are popular in the area, which is convenient for transporting goods. I saw more than a dozen people squeezed into the back of each pickup truck. Just a few minutes ago, the expressions of these people were still gloomy. They thought they were going to die here, but now, they all had the hope of "survival" on their faces!
"-Set off."
In the off-road vehicle, Mu Xiulun looked back at the mighty convoy behind him, and pressed the call button on the intercom.
The convoy started, and with their backs against the tide that was about to hit the shore, they drove at full speed towards the inland mountains.
※
"Hold on!"
Seeing that the little planner accompanying the team was about to fall down if his legs gave way, Su Jishi quickly grabbed her arm.
On the way from the mountainside to the foot of the mountain, they did not know how many stumbles they fell. There is almost no formed road under the feet, which were all stepped on by previous tourists and wild animals in the forest. When going up the mountain, they suffered a lot. It took more than an hour to climb a steep dirt slope with a drop of 30 meters.
There was no time to clean up the slight scratches on the hands and face. Behind him is a volcano that is about to erupt, who cares about those little scratches
Su Jishi and the tour guide are at the forefront of the team. When encountering any danger, she will go up first; when encountering any difficulty, she will pass first; I feel at ease in my heart.
Suddenly, the mountain under my feet vibrated suddenly, the vibration was not violent, it was like throwing my head on the soft bed and bouncing lightly—it was an earthquake!
Everyone's nerves tensed immediately, and they turned around to look at the same time, only to see more and more ash smoke rising from the high crater, and the flames that burst out were getting bigger and bigger. It seems that a gas-filled balloon is hidden under the cone-shaped mountain. Seeing that it is expanding more and more, the skin is about to burst, and the earthquake just now is like a needle point that punctures the balloon skin—
- "Boom!"
There was only a muffled sound, another shock at the foot, and black smoke suddenly shot up from the crater!
Black smoke instantly rose to a height of more than 100 meters, and orange-red magma visible to the naked eye spewed out along the crater and rolled down the hillside. Where the magma passed, the hot torrent swept through countless vegetation, and the peak of the mountain pass was covered by that layer of heat.
... However, the magma stopped abruptly after only traveling a few hundred meters, and the high temperature of thousands of degrees quickly cooled down into black-gray mud.
After struggling all the way, the people who finally rushed to the foot of the mountain: "..."
"???"
"!!!"
"This... the power of this volcanic eruption is too small." Chen Gangyu's voice came out weakly, "When the porridge was cooking, it was more powerful than its movement."
"I think it just hiccupped!" Qin Qiu said angrily, his hair sticking out on top of his head, ruining the image of his idol Xiao Xianrou, "If we had known that the power of the volcanic eruption was so small, why would we run away?" Run, I rushed down early in the morning without taking anything, I even put on the wrong socks."
Everyone joins in. When they heard that the volcano was about to erupt, countless clips from disaster movies flashed in their minds, thinking that they would definitely die here today. Unexpectedly, when this volcano erupted, there was no sign of "earth shaking and mountain shaking", which made their worries a joke.
The chief director nodded when he heard the words, and his heart bleeds when he thought of the millions of photographic equipment he threw in the camp. A camera weighs twenty kilograms. When retreating, he asked the cameraman to remove all the memory cards, but these light and small cards are not as valuable as a camera!
Seeing that the outbreak did not cause any real danger, the chief director proposed: "Otherwise, let's go back...?"
"What the hell!" Su Jishi yelled, bringing the whole team back to calm, "A volcanic eruption is the same as an earthquake, it doesn't end in one wave! There are aftershocks in an earthquake, and waves of volcanic eruptions will follow! That was just the vanguard , no one knows how big the next wave will be and when it will come!"
As if to confirm her words, aftershocks continued under her feet. At the same time, the black smoke on the top of the volcano became thicker and thicker, like a piece of black silk covering the sky, covering the entire sky!
Next, a thunderous voice sounded from the top of the head! Black smoke spewed out from the crater, and instantly rose to a height of nearly a thousand meters! ! But this time, the magma splashed out directly as if it had been blasted, mixed with volcanic ash and fell on the mountainside, together with the surging heat and rocks, formed a terrifying "pyroclastic flow"!
Pyroclastic flow is definitely the number one killer of volcanic eruptions. It looks like thick mud to the naked eye, but its lethality far exceeds that of ordinary mudslides. Its momentum is overwhelming, and it can roll from the top of the mountain to the mountainside in just a few minutes.
It wasn't just the debris flow that killed the people, the volcanic ash that rushed into the sky spilled to the surroundings, and soon fell back to the earth under the action of gravity. Its speed was even faster than the former one. Looking from a distance, one could see endless thick smoke sweeping in, like a terrifying big mouth, waiting to devour them!
Volcanic ash is just fine dust, and a small amount is not fatal, but inhalation of large quantities into the lungs will definitely cause pneumoconiosis and choke breathing. In the ancient city of Pompeii that was buried at the foot of the volcano in history, most people died not from magma, but from suffocation due to inhalation of excessive volcanic ash!
"Run!" Su Jishi yelled, "Behind this forest is the road, the bus is waiting for us there!"
The program team originally planned to return to China today, so they arranged a shuttle bus in advance to transport everyone back to the nearest airport. Before going down the mountain, she specially contacted the driver and promised him a lot of money to stay where she was. Just now on the hillside, everyone has seen the shadow of the bus, as long as they run faster, they can escape the clutches of death!
At this moment, the desire to survive overwhelmed the exhaustion of the body, everyone threw off the weight on their bodies, and ran towards the distance with their legs open.
Fifty meters, eighty meters, one hundred meters.
Two hundred meters, three hundred meters, five hundred meters...
It's near, it's near!
After rushing out of the woods, they were only the last 100 meters away from the bus!
However, they never expected that the last hurdle in front of them was actually a man-made ditch about three meters deep! When building a road in the forest, ditches were dug on both sides of the road in order to prevent large animals from entering the road by mistake and causing traffic accidents. Now, this ditch seems to be a curse from God, preventing them from escaping!
Fortunately, a tour guide who is familiar with the local environment pointed out a "earth bridge" for them. I don't know which villager cut off a few bamboos and tied them together to form a narrow earth bridge. The tour guide jumped up first, and in a few steps, he crossed the ditch and reached the road.
The bus driver opened the door, and Didi desperately honked the horn, urging them to get on the bus as soon as possible.
Although three meters is not deep, falling down will definitely hurt your muscles and bones. But at this moment, no one can care about the deep ditch under their feet, and all their eyes are fixed on that bus—on the hope of survival!
Everyone jumped onto the bamboo bridge one by one, and quickly ran towards the other side of the bridge.
Su Jishi took the initiative to hold the line, Xiaoxia was loyal and wanted to stay with her, but Su Jishi forcefully pushed her onto the bamboo bridge.
By the time the last person got on the bus, the black smoke was already within reach. The terrifying power of the natural environment is fully displayed at this moment.
There were screams one after another, and Xiaoxia cried and shouted: "Sister Su, come here quickly!! Come here quickly!!!"
Su Jishi discarded all distracting thoughts and quickly jumped onto the bamboo bridge, but she was still one step too late—before she could stand still, the black smoke rushing from behind spread its huge net and engulfed her in one bite!
…
Thick smoke filled the air, obscuring all sight.
When Su Jishi fell from the shaky bamboo bridge, in just a few seconds, her spirit seemed to have traveled through time and space and returned to ten years ago.
Ten years ago, she was finally admitted to the university of her dreams.
Ten years ago, she carried the three treasures of geology and embarked on her first field trip in a daze but excitedly.
Ten years ago, as a young girl, she was listening to the professor's teachings by the campfire.
— “As a geologist, you must always keep in mind that human beings are small in the face of nature.”