With the complete disappearance of the stationed troops and distant reports of a wildfire, the local government quickly sensed that something was wrong.
That very afternoon—
An armored convoy arrived near the mountain blaze, which was still burning.
Standing atop a hill, a man in military uniform frowned as a wave of heat was blown toward him by the wind.
Sweat began to form on his brow.
"This temperature… something isn't right…"
Given the geography of his jurisdiction, he had encountered wildfires more than once, but never one with such intense heat.
At this distance, he should still feel the warmth, sure—but not to this degree.
Glancing at the soldiers beside him, whose expressions had all turned grim, he had no doubt: a normal person standing here for just a few more minutes would probably faint.
He immediately gave the order: "Back in the vehicles! Move 500 meters back!"
Hearing that command, the troops who had been gritting their teeth to endure all sighed in relief and promptly retreated roughly 500 meters.
Only then did the searing heat ease off slightly.
Though still uncomfortable, it was at least within tolerable limits—no longer enough to make someone dizzy or lightheaded.
After instructing his subordinates to proceed with their tasks, the officer picked up his binoculars and looked toward the barren mountain that had once been the cordoned-off site.
He couldn't help but bare his teeth in disbelief.
The mountain looked nothing like it did before.
Its shape had changed from a pyramid-like structure—wide at the base and narrow at the top—to a bizarre, irregular cylinder. Both the top and bottom were wide, the middle unnaturally thin, giving it a crooked, unstable look—as if it might collapse at any moment.
He scratched his head in confusion. "What the hell is this…?"
The situation before him had far exceeded his expectations. He couldn't make any sense of it.
He had considered all possibilities—but never imagined the biggest threat would turn into this bizarre thing that radiated unease just from looking at it.
Soon after, as he stood lost in thought with the binoculars in hand, several researchers he had brought along cautiously approached.
Their expressions uncertain, one of them spoke up: "Um… sir, something's wrong with the flames."
He wasn't surprised and asked calmly, "What's wrong with them?"
The lead researcher, clearly unsure, replied, "The temperature of these flames might be four to six times that of a typical wildfire."
The officer's brows immediately furrowed upon hearing this.
The researchers shifted nervously, thinking he was considering something profound.
'Damn it, with my level of education, how the hell am I supposed to understand that?!'
After a brief silence, the officer steadied his temper and managed not to betray his lack of scientific knowledge. With a stern expression, he said, "I get the general idea… but you need to explain it more clearly."
The researchers, unaware of anything amiss, promptly continued their explanation:
"Under normal circumstances, based on the species of local trees, a wildfire's temperature should max out around 1,000 degrees Celsius."
"But according to our instruments, this fire has reached nearly 6,000 degrees!"
"At that temperature, forget trees—even steel would melt. There's no way the vegetation alone could be the source of such intense heat. Frankly, we have no idea how this is even possible."
Once the explanation concluded, the officer focused on the most important point: "If it can melt steel, then does that mean ordinary firefighting methods won't work?"
The researchers held a brief, chaotic discussion, then shook their heads and replied, "No, they won't. Regular water or fire retardants won't be effective. The best approach is to create a firebreak at least several hundred meters wide."
The officer's frown deepened. "Several hundred meters?"
The researcher nodded solemnly. "Yes. At least that. Otherwise, the surrounding trees could still catch fire from the residual heat."
Faced with this response, the officer did a rough calculation of the fire's current spread—and realized his current manpower was far from enough.
Every available unit in the area, including the police, would have to be mobilized.
And even that wouldn't be enough without heavy machinery. Manual labor alone simply wouldn't cut it.
They couldn't chop fast enough to outrun the flames.
He didn't hesitate. Pulling out a communication device that looked like an old-school brick phone, he immediately relayed the situation to his superior.
The moment his superior received the information, he grasped the severity of the situation and, not daring to delay, escalated it further up the chain of command.
After all, the scale of required personnel and equipment exceeded his own authority.
Eventually, after being reported up three ranks, the intel reached someone with the power to make executive decisions.
Soon, a massive mobilization effort was underway—personnel, equipment, and supplies all set into motion, covering a wide area.
Additionally, the strange transformation of the mountain's shape was taken very seriously by the higher-ups.
Experts from across the country were summoned to investigate what exactly had occurred that day.
Why had the mountain changed shape?
Why had the entire stationed garrison disappeared?
Why was the wildfire so unusual?
———
The wildfire burned for an entire week after the initial incident.
Spreading for dozens of kilometers, it finally began to die down only after the firebreak had been fully constructed—simply because there was nothing left to burn.
Only then did it slowly extinguish.
At this point, the expert investigation team approached the mountain.
After multiple tests confirmed there was no immediate danger inside, they were finally able to enter and begin a formal investigation.
Though, truth be told, given its current shape, they weren't even sure they could still call it a mountain.
Its appearance now resembled that of an apple someone had taken a huge bite out of.
Frankly, it was difficult to look at.
One of the researchers approached and picked up a small hammer, intending to chip off a sample of the soil for testing.
"Duang~"
It didn't even budge.
And to his shock, the sound that echoed out was eerily similar to striking metal.
"??"
Baffled, he looked at his hammer, then at the pristine surface of the "soil," completely unharmed.
Stunned, he gave it another whack.
"Duang~~"
This time, the recoil left his hand numb.
"Holy shit! This stuff's still supposed to be dirt?!"
The researcher finally lost his cool and let out a very polite expletive.
In the end, they had to bring in heavy engineering tools just to cut out a chunk of this so-called "soil" from the mountain.
If that piece—harder than metal and capable of serving as outer armor for a main battle tank—could still be called "dirt"…
_____
T/N:
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