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In stark contrast to the howling winds outside, Lu Xiaoran was comfortably sipping red wine and enjoying music in the safety of the cabin atop the mountain. He swirled his glass and murmured, "The poisonous gas is about to reach Haitong."
By noon on April 4th, the southern suburbs of Haitong were already shrouded in toxic gas, which spread rapidly in a pale yellow cloud that was visible to the naked eye. Passersby caught out in the streets were choking on the fumes, desperately seeking shelter in nearby buildings.
At the foot of Dragon Ridge Mountain, the air in the village was already tinged with a pungent odor. The village's low-lying terrain allowed the denser toxic gas to accumulate quickly. Within just a few minutes, the concentration of poison in the village had risen sharply. Moreover, rural houses were less airtight than urban buildings, exacerbating the situation.
Villager Wang Ren coughed violently and exclaimed, "The village is filled with toxic smoke! If this continues, we’ll all be poisoned to death!"
Wang Ren was a thin, slightly hunched middle-aged man with an unremarkable appearance but a determined demeanor. His small green bean-like eyes sparkled with intensity. He was a member of the village committee known as Wang Fugui.
As he faced the villagers before him, Wang Fugui contemplated their dire situation. The concentration of toxic gas continued to rise; staying in the village was akin to waiting for death. With a serious expression, he said, "Gather a few more people and go door-to-door to inform everyone. Tell them to bring bedding and dry rations and head up to Dragon Ridge Mountain for refuge."
The villager nodded and hurriedly left Wang Fugui's home. Soon after, villagers began to arrive one by one, carrying their belongings as they made their way up the path toward Dragon Ridge Mountain.
The air at the top of the mountain was significantly less toxic than in the village; once they reached the summit, there was hardly any trace of the irritating smell left in the air.
Half an hour later, noticing that no one else was coming from below, Wang Fugui counted those who had made it to Dragon Ridge Mountain. A total of one hundred eighty-seven people had arrived. Some had fled in their cars when the gas first entered the village, so after accounting for them, this number seemed accurate.
Having confirmed the count, Wang Fugui stepped forward and addressed the crowd: "Dear villagers of Dragon Ridge Village, our village is currently engulfed in toxic smoke. We will stay here on the mountain for now and return once it clears."
He looked at the hundreds of villagers before him; their faces were filled with fear and concern. Many were coughing intermittently from inhaling the gas earlier.
"Let’s take a moment to rest," he continued. "We’ll set up tents here; it seems we may need to spend the night on the mountain."
After Wang Fugui finished speaking, everyone began to disperse, searching for dry branches and wooden sticks on the mountain, preparing to use them to set up tents later. The more than a hundred villagers were currently located in an open area near the mountain top, with Lu Xiaoran's safe house built at the southernmost part of this land.
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