Jimmy and Mahong were smoking on the side, talking about their discoveries and thoughts.

Mahong was no ordinary person. The people in DHS were actually gathered from various departments when DHS was established. These people weren't much different from Jimmy and Mahong, and Mahong was clearly one of the highly capable agents among them.

The problems that Jimmy could spot, he could spot as well. Like Jimmy, he couldn't interfere. Now both he and Jimmy were being led around like puppets by the DHS people, completely devoid of autonomy.

Jimmy and Mahong were notified that they needed to deploy again, starting to patrol along the road. This time, there weren't as many DHS agents assigned to them, just one agent as a liaison sitting in Mahong's car, accompanying them on patrol.

Since the heavily armed individuals were found just in the outskirts of Snow City, most agents had already gathered around several small towns nearby, expanding the encirclement, resulting in a significant shortage of personnel.

Jimmy and Mahong left the temporary command center, driving along the small roads, constantly observing the sides of the road until the fuel tank was half empty. They found a gas station to refuel the car and then found a vacant spot by the roadside to have lunch.

However, their good mood vanished quickly when a fast-driving sedan swerved erratically on the road and suddenly lost control, crashing towards them.

The three of them were sitting on the grass by the roadside. When they saw the car rushing towards them, they were taken by surprise, not even having time to stand up and run. "Get out of the way," the three shouted almost simultaneously, tumbling to the sides to dodge the incoming vehicle.

The shallow ditch by the roadside didn't cause much of an impact on the car; it just bounced slightly and continued nearly at full speed toward the small woods beside the road, finally stopping after hitting a few small trees.

Jimmy and the others got up from the ground and drew their pistols, slowly approaching the stopped vehicle. Jimmy had already determined that there was only one driver in the car, who seemed to have passed out, head slumped to one side, presenting no danger.

"FBI," Jimmy called out as he approached, glanced through the window, and holstered his gun. "Get him out, he's unconscious, lots of blood, probably seriously injured."

The car door was deformed and stuck, unable to open by pulling the handle. Jimmy broke the already shattered door glass further, reached in, and yanked the door open with a grating sound, finally opening the driver's door. His strength had its advantages, and fortunately, neither Mahong nor the other agent reached out, so they wouldn't notice Jimmy's frightening strength.

"No, he's been shot, look at his abdomen and chest," Jimmy was just about to reach out when he suddenly noticed that the driver's blood wasn't from a traffic collision or fracture but from gunshot wounds, a wound type he was all too familiar with.

Mahong immediately came beside Jimmy. Neither man reached to pull the driver out, instead bowing to check the gunshot wounds and feel the driver's carotid artery to confirm he was still alive. Mahong looked at the DHS agent: "Call for support and an ambulance. These are rifle wounds, not handgun. Also, inform Agent Raymond to trace this car's origin; this driver likely saw our target."

Mahong, experienced, knew the difference between rifle and handgun wounds in both energy and destructiveness. The gunshot location didn't seem to affect the heart, at least judging by the carotid pulse, confirming he was alive but unsure for how long due to significant blood loss.

The DHS agent glanced at the driver, quickly went to the car, picked up the radio, and called the temporary command center. Jimmy and the others left the crashed driver, starting to check both sides of the road.

Jimmy: "Mahong, you stay here, I'll check the direction he came from."

Mahong shook his head: "No, it's too dangerous alone. I'll go with you."

They informed the DHS agent, left Mahong's vehicle, transferred Mahong's gear to Jimmy's car, and headed back along the road the car had come from.

Starting from where they noticed the problem, they traced back. Though they drove against traffic, using police lights and sirens, the cars on the road had no issue with their direction or slow speed, slowing down to pass by them.

After over a kilometer, they finally found traffic accident signs. A car had hit the roadside crash barrier, spilling water everywhere. Judging by the watermarks, the accident hadn't happened long ago. Since they hadn't seen other crashed cars all along their search, the previous driver likely had issues right here.

Jimmy and the others examined the scene, used the car radio to notify follow-up personnel, and continued forward, eventually finding a makeshift campsite nearby. The campsite by the roadside had a ground sheet with some food on it, but no one was there.

Beside the campsite, they found tire tracks. Following them, they finally found bloodstains leading into the woods.

Jimmy and Mahong drew their guns, watching the woods, finding nothing unusual for the moment. Returning to the car, they notified the backup to come urgently and encircle the woods. Jimmy and Mahong began following the blood trail into the forest to investigate.

Finally, they reached the starting point, where there was a pile of dung on the ground. It seemed the driver was relieving himself there when, due to some unforeseen event, he was discovered, shot twice, then allowed to escape, get in his car, and seek help in the city.

But the scene had been disturbed by the driver, making it impossible to determine bullet trajectories immediately. However, it must have happened in these woods; otherwise, the trees would block bullets. The woods weren't large, and Jimmy and Mahong stood up, surveying all around but seeing nothing.

Soon, the support agents arrived, and Jimmy and Mahong briefed them on their assessment. The agents began searching around the dung site, finally finding two bullet casings: 5.56x45 NATO standard rifle rounds.

The target confirmed, finding those rounds in this setting meant their target appeared here. Given how far the injured driver ran afterward, the shooter likely wasn't far from here.

The agents immediately called for helicopter support, searching for the target within a three-kilometer radius around these woods.

Jimmy and Mahong finally breathed a sigh of relief; this was truly a stroke of luck. Without spotting the rifle bullet wounds on the driver, they'd never have traced it here. There were too many coincidences in finding the clues.

Two helicopters quickly arrived over the woods, scanning both directions. Though infrared monitoring was slightly weakened during the day, they still found several targets in the wilderness. Agents fanned out to inspect each, finally obtaining intel from an elderly couple who had seen a few camouflaged individuals with weapons nearby, seemingly hunting.

Following this lead, some agents abandoned their vehicles, trekking through the wilderness guided by the couple, while another team advanced along the highway to block off areas, spreading out multiple defensive lines to avoid any lapses.

Agent Raymond also started adjusting the temporary command center, ready to relocate to the next suitable place for nearby support, everything progressing toward success.

However, things weren't so simple. In an unexpected direction, one intercept team of five members was ambushed. One, due to his position, was shot through the side of his torso, dying instantly, making him the first DHS agent killed since the search began.

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