"Li Xiang, what's going on with you? Don't you want to win first place?"

Li Xiang's performance ranks among the top three at the base, making him a strong contender for the championship. The other two competitors can't confidently say they will surely beat Li Xiang.

His sudden decision to abandon the competition and join the rescue operation was unexpected for everyone.

"I can't even get first place in our base, so I won't embarrass myself at the national competition. Our base already has Zhao Dong and Ma Ji participating, that's enough. They will definitely come back with good rankings. I will join the rescue mission; one more person means one more force."

The instructor had originally prepared the rescue teams in pairs. If Li Xiang didn't participate, one person would be left alone. Now that Li Xiang volunteered for the rescue, it was a perfect solution, so the instructor didn't say much.

"Let's go!"

As it was an emergency task, the Public Security sent two helicopters to pick them up, though not specifically for them.

After dropping them off at the site, these two helicopters would serve as aerial rescue forces, participating in the mission.

Evidently, this rescue operation was quite significant.

It was also Li Xiang's first time in a helicopter, he looked around and touched everything, exclaiming it was worth it.

Though he couldn't compete in the national skills competition, as he said, his level made it almost impossible to make the top three nationally, so he decided not to join the rush. This unexpected task, in his view, was not simple; better to stake everything on this. Even if failed, there would be another chance.

"This area marked with the red dashed line is where the trekkers might be found. In a while, you'll go in pairs into the mountains to search, keep the walkie-talkie open at all times, contact the command center immediately if you encounter problems. Don't rush for credit, and no solo actions are allowed."

On the plane, the instructor assigned their tasks and paired up partners. Li Xiang was partnered with Zhao Ye, whose police dog's name was Tang Yuan. Zhao Ye's performance was below average in the team, so they made a complementary pair.

The aircraft moved quickly, reaching the outskirts of Changling Mountain in just an hour, at sunset, making the rescue conditions less than ideal.

Before entering the mountains, the instructor reiterated the importance of safety, not to put themselves in danger in the process of saving others.

Changling Mountain was lush with vegetation, full of thorny bushes, rugged stones, and desolate.

No one could understand why someone would choose to tour a place where it's hard to even set foot.

Li Xiang and Zhao Ye took the machetes distributed by the instructor and started their designated search route into the mountains.

This mountainous area was vast, even with nine teams deployed, it was just a drop in the ocean. Finding the four trekkers here was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

The helicopters flying above would quickly contact the command if they noticed any suspicious areas, directing them to investigate.

"Brother Li, this mountain path is too difficult, even Tang Yuan's paws are worn out."

Li Xiang's team searched in the mountains for three hours but found nothing. By now, it was completely dark, and they had to rely on their flashlights to search carefully.

"You and Tang Yuan should rest here, we'll go check over there."

"No, the instructor said you can't act alone. Let's rest a bit, even the champion seems exhausted."

Zhao Ye was quite protective of Tang Yuan, and seeing Li Xiang planning to go alone, quickly stopped him.

"It's okay, I'll just take a look up ahead, not going far."

Li Xiang thought he saw something reflective when his flashlight shone ahead, so he wanted to verify it.

Ignoring Zhao Ye, Li Xiang led Champion to that spot to investigate, and indeed found a piece of cloth caught in the branches, likely left by the trekkers.

This clue invigorated him, and he immediately reported the situation to the command center.

"Good work. Continue the search based on this clue."

"Understood."

Li Xiang took the cloth and let Champion sniff it: "Champion, lead me to them."

The mountain path at night became increasingly difficult. Champion struggled significantly, and Li Xiang felt his heart ache watching: "Come on, Champion, I'll reward you after the mission is done..."

Li Xiang was about to say he'd reward Champion with a big chicken leg, but then he realized, after the mission, the scenario would end, and everything would reset. That chicken leg, Champion might never get it.

Fortunately, Champion was excellent, enduring with strong willpower.

Finally, after half an hour, Li Xiang heard someone calling.

"We're here, help us!"

The trekkers spotted Li Xiang's flashlight and were jubilant, repeatedly shouting. They had been stuck there for over ten hours, initially just casually sightseeing without adequate food and water, never expecting to get trapped.

Luckily, they had a phone capable of sending an SOS via satellite, or the consequences would have been dire.

"We finally found you. How's your condition? Is anyone injured?"

"One girl twisted her ankle, the rest of us are fine."

Having found them, Li Xiang immediately reported to the command center. Using the walkie-talkie's locator, the command swiftly moved towards Li Xiang's position.

After more than five hours of searching, all four were finally rescued, and the waiting ambulances quickly took them for further medical examination.

It's worth noting some people like to overestimate their abilities, blindly confident in their wilderness survival skills, only to regret when real difficulties arise.

If luck is on their side, they might encounter the rescue team while still alive.

Unlucky ones might not get rescued until they become skeletons scattered in the wild.

Of course, this was just a scenario plot, and Li Xiang didn't take it too seriously. Besides, this scenario would end tomorrow.

He only regarded this task as his final farewell to Champion in the scenario.

Unfortunately, he couldn't participate in the national skills competition with Champion in this scenario.

Returning to the police dog base, it was almost dawn. Everyone and their dogs were utterly exhausted. The mountain paths were treacherous, some people's feet were badly worn, and some dogs were injured as well.

Meanwhile, Zhao Dong and Ma Ji, representing the base in the national police dog skills competition, were ready to leave at first light.

Everyone saw them off, silently cheering them on in their hearts.

[Ding, Main Task Completion 60%, Task First Completion Reward: Dog Training Skill, Task Rating: D, Reward Skill Experience +500]

Instantly, a familiar sensation entered his mind, blending the scattered pieces of police dog training knowledge he had acquired over three months into a coherent system stored in his brain, ready to be accessed at any time.

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