Chen He, like the others, stood outside the cordon in his pajamas and slippers, shivering. From time to time, panicked animals whined out of the woods, but without exception they were hung with flames. Although they can tell which species they belong to by their shape, they can only watch them roll to the ground after a few steps, and then quietly turn into the same kind of thing - charred meat.

There was no one among the fleeing animals, indicating that Ivan was still in the fire. Half an hour ago, Chen He frantically rushed into the birch forest, not to extinguish the fire, but to find Ivan and rescue him.

But before he could get close to the edge of the forest, he was dragged back by many hands, and at the same time, a man who looked like a fire brigade leader roared in his ear: "Don't die? I'm afraid that not even a flying insect can survive in such a fierce fire, and you still break in and send it to death? ”

Fly!

Chen He's brain exploded, as if he had hit someone on the head, and he suddenly stopped struggling. Before his eyes, a stream of light composed of fireflies fluttered by, and a voice whispered to him: Don't assume.

Everyone assumed that the fire was caused by the trees being too dry in the summer, but one person finally realized the real cause of the fire. And the momentary awakening pushed him into the abyss of fear forever, and he suddenly forgot where he was, and even more so who he was, and only kept thinking sickly of his reflection from the window, like the ghost of hell.

"Look, what's that? Are there still flocks of birds that haven't flown away? ”

Someone was exclaiming, and the voice was so sharp that the earth trembled uncontrollably. People all looked in one direction, to the southwest of the birch forest, and a group of glittering bright spots swayed from the fire into the night sky, like hideous fire demons, spitting out leftover residues from the bloody mouths.

However, in the blink of an eye, the bright spots changed from disorder to order, and indeed they were lined up in a herringbone formation like a flock of migratory birds, rushing towards the west like lightning. Before people even had time to blink, the point of light disappeared into the depths of the canopy illuminated by the flames, leaving no light tails, and walking so neatly.

"Those things, are they really birds?"

Many people were surprised, but no one could give an answer. Chen He had an impulse, he wanted to roar at the sky, provoke the fire demon, and say: I know where you came from! I know who released you! But why did you choose to scourge Natalie Town? And what kind of evidence have you recovered through those fireflies?

In the end, the Suifenhe City Fire Squadron and the Mudanjiang Fire Department jointly determined that those things were for the birds with burning feathers, and they probably melted away not far after they flew out.

After two days of terrifying fire demons in the birch forest, the heavens finally sent a rainstorm.

Unfortunately, the rain came too late, and when the wind and rain stopped, only the blackened, jagged stumps of the former dense forest remained, and from a distance it looked like a battlefield that had experienced fierce battles in ancient times.

This terrible fire, which was eventually characterized by the investigation department as spontaneous combustion of the forest, confirmed people's assumptions. The inhabitants of Natalie Town thought that the birch forest was their dependence, but unexpectedly, nature had no mercy for them, and they had become lonely and helpless.

When people began to worry about the future days, Chen He, as the mayor of a town, hid at home and refused to show his face.

From the townspeople to his family, everyone thought that he was saddened by Ivan's death, so they easily did not disturb him, and only waited for time to slowly dilute his sorrow.

Chen He does miss Ivan, but in addition to nostalgia, there is more regret. That Friday afternoon, he could have asked more information from the old man, but he always thought that there was still time.

It turns out that the ruthlessness of time is not only that it passes too quickly, but also that there is no turning back. There is no chance to remedy what is missed, because the lives that have been lost will not be awakened.

Late at night, when the sad town fell asleep, Chen He quietly walked out of the house and wandered alone on the ruins of the birch forest. Now the dark scorched earth is the master of the place, mingling with the darkness of the night, and those in it seem to be in the chaos of the beginning of the world.

Following his memory to find the location of Ivan's wooden house in the middle of the clearing, Chen He hopes to dig up some relics related to him, even if it is a scorched bone. And if Ivan had hidden some secret object under the hut, maybe he would have been able to figure out a little bit from the clutter.

After searching all night, Chen He was disappointed. Ivan was like water vapor evaporating from the earth, leaving no trace the size of his thumb.

When the dark ground began to fade, revealing mottled gray shadows, it indicated that daylight was breaking through the clouds overhead. Chen He heard footsteps in the distance approaching him, and the two of them were talking loudly in Russian.

It was a border patrol on the Soviet side, and since the fire, they have also intensified their patrols of this generation.

Chen He didn't want to cause more trouble, so he left the ruins and returned home while the night was still dark. Still sleepless, he took out his diary from the drawer and added another line to the bottom of the page where Kahsha's visit was recorded: Don't assume, Ivan said.

Is there any explosives buried under the birch forest? If you want to find out why Ivan set the forest on fire, and find out what secrets are hidden in the forest, I'm afraid the only person who can give the answer is Kahesha.

Unfortunately, Kahesha made it clear when she left that she would never come to Natalie again, so there was no point in Chen He's waiting.

He thought about taking the initiative to go to Vladivostok to find this person, anyway, since the loss of the main source of livelihood, some residents of Natalie Town have been forced to join the border trade army. And it is not difficult for the citizens of Suifenhe City to get a transit visa in the name of entering the free trade zone.

To Chen He's surprise, a storm 10,000 times more violent than a forest fire finally swept Natalie Town into ,--, aftermath of that harrowing summer.

When --, Chenhe's transit visa became an unrealistic dream.

As the mayor of the town,--, he must also explain clearly.

Because it was found out--, Chen He became a --。

The people with vast powers got a half-meter-high iron cage out of nowhere and locked Chen He in.