Chapter 712: Chapter 703: Gunshots

The sudden sound caught the attention of all the remaining personnel, followed immediately by the sounds of various walkie-talkies.

"Old Yu, one of them got caught by our people and is heading your way. Keep your eyes wide open, don’t let him escape. Also, the suspect has a weapon, be careful. If you find a gun, feel free to shoot to ensure our people’s safety!"

"Received, received!"

"Old Zhao, Old Zhao, how’s the situation over there? Any problems?"

"No problem, I saw a shadow earlier, but it’s dark, and I lost track of it!"

"Don’t get careless, don’t overexert your old bones. If necessary, let Xiao Fu unleash the dogs. Watch out for the gun in their hands. You ended up in the hospital last year, behave yourself this year!"

"Don’t worry, I’ll report any situation at once!"

Hearing the commotion, Su Qing and Zhou Ning got out of the car. By now, it was almost completely dark outside, so they turned on all the car and flashlight lights.

The remaining personnel were from the Forensic Department, a few policemen, and three or so from their Criminal Investigation Division. In Shanghe Village, there were just over ten people in total.

The Narcotics Division had nobody remaining here; they all went to search the mountains, while the rest set up roadblocks at various intersections to check suspicious people.

This operation seemed to involve just dozens of people from their bureau, but the actual number involved was far greater. Including additional police deployed from the surroundings, it could be over a hundred, even several hundred.

But despite that, it remained extremely challenging.

"Captain Lin, what’s the situation now?" Su Qing asked Lin Chengcai as he got out of the car.

"We caught them, but they’re cunning. Seeing that they were trapped, they split up and ran. The biggest challenge is our men aren’t familiar with the terrain inside, which puts us at a disadvantage. Luckily, we have police dogs with us, otherwise, searching this huge mountain would be like finding a needle in a haystack.

One guy got separated and is being chased now. I’ll send some of our people to help guard the road intersections later. Xiao Su, you stay here and be safe. Today is different from usual, these guys know what’s at stake. If caught, they’re dead meat, so they’re desperate, and they even might have guns. Don’t be a hero, alright?" Lin Chengcai warned.

In response, Su Qing asked, "Captain Lin, can’t be, can it? Our country’s gun control is so strict. How could they get guns?"

"Our country also prohibits drugs, but do they stop showing up?"

"True!"

Guns, apart from some special organizations, are scarcely accessible to regular folks. But not everyone.

Some places have guns smuggled in from abroad, some are self-made or assembled. Normally, you’d never encounter them, but it’s different for the police.

"Boss, let me go too. A few officers are enough to stay here!"

At this moment, Li Zijun ran over and spoke.

Hearing this, Lin Chengcai thought for a moment, then nodded, "Alright, I need to head over too. You go to the east, I’ll go to the south!"

"Understood, boss!"

Listening to this, Su Qing kept an eye on Li Zijun, relieved to know that from the narrative, nothing suggested danger. Actually, someone on Lin Chengcai’s side was indeed going to be caught without any risk, making him even more at ease.

"Stay here quietly, don’t wander, understood? Brother Zhou, keep an eye on him!" Li Zijun instructed.

Su Qing: ...

I’m not a kid. Do you have to remind me like this? Am I that unreliable?

"Don’t worry, Xiao Li, be careful yourself!"

Very soon, Lin Chengcai and Li Zijun took six or seven people and left. The sudden tension alleviated some of Zhou Ning’s somber thoughts.

Humans are like this; when dealing with painful memories, they prefer to keep themselves busy. Once busy, those thoughts fade away.

Meanwhile, Du Qiang was moving back and forth in the forest with a flashlight. This season, the weather was warming up, with the mountains beginning to turn green. Vines were abundant, and the mountain paths were indeed difficult.

Fortunately, Du Qiang had professional training, excelling in reconnaissance and tracking. Plus, with Fu Qi’s police dogs leading the way, they didn’t stray too far off the path.

Several colleagues from the Narcotics Division were scattered around, using flashlight beams for mutual positioning.

"Qiang Zi, can you handle it? If you can’t, don’t push yourself. If you stumble during our celebration, you won’t even get to sit at the dogs’ table for dinner!" Fu Qi, chasing Taihu, shouted.

The sound wasn’t suppressed; with such bright flashlight beams, a little noise was trivial.

Upon hearing this, Du Qiang roared, "Get lost, who’s saying I can’t? I’m preserving my strength. If you doubt me, let’s practice one day!"

"Practice, sure. Afraid of you? You catch up now, okay? We’re the closest, Lightning, Gale, and Erlv are surrounding from other directions. If you lose them, you’ll see how I’ll deal with you!" Fu Qi replied.

"Woof woof woof!"

At this moment, Taihu made a sound from the front, prompting everyone around to rush up, invigorated.

Soon, six or seven people gathered, with Taihu pacing in circles before a tree.

"What’s going on, Old Fu? Taihu isn’t going to relieve itself, right?" Du Qiang asked.

"Get lost, you think Taihu is you? These bastards have split up again," Fu Qi replied, pressing the shoulder of his walkie-talkie. "Er Lu, Er Lu, this is Taihu, this is Taihu!"

"Er Lu receiving, go ahead!"

"Targets scattered, observe my position, we’ll pursue at four o’clock, you pursue at two o’clock!"

"Er Lu received, Er Lu received!"

Meanwhile, deep in Feng Mountain, a group of four stumbled forward, afraid to turn on lights, even shielding the glow when checking phones for direction.

"Damn, these cops came too fast. I heard dogs barking earlier; they must have deployed police dogs. What do we do, Brother Biao?" one tall, thin man spoke, holding a machete as both weapon and tool for clearing paths in the mountain stream.

"What else? Run, just run and escape first. You know the consequences of our crimes, getting caught means death. Push me too far, I’ll take some of them down with me," replied a burly man with a face full of flesh, holding a machete in one hand and an extremely worn-out gun in the other.

When people are faced with certain death in this line of work, they will secure every means of self-defense.

Among them, only two out of twelve people had guns, one was carried by this burly man, the other by a silent companion beside him. These two were brothers.

"Brother Biao, once we escape, do we meet at the old spot?" the tall, thin man asked as they walked.

"Meet, my ass. You know if they’ve been caught? If they have and spill about us, we’ll all get swept up. Zhiyong, we’re in this together now. If we go in, you’re joining us too."

"Don’t worry, Brother Biao, I’m familiar with the roads here. I’m just worried they’ll get caught and rat us out." Indeed, the tall, thin man was the owner of the makeshift homestead, Cui Zhiyong.

Brother Biao’s younger brother chimed in, "Even if they rat us out, I’ll take you to Northern Myanmar, where you’ll enjoy good living."

"Thanks, Brother Bao, I’ll follow your lead."

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Feng Mountain, southeast, a shadow was frantically running outwards. Several policemen, trailing from a distance, followed him with flashlights, desperate to escape.

Suddenly, a large patch of flashlight light appeared ahead.

"Don’t move, police, get down with your hands on your head!"

Shouts erupted ahead, causing the shadow to abruptly brake and attempt to change direction.

"Don’t move, or we’ll shoot!"

Then came two loud gunshots, making the man shiver. Yet knowing the crimes he’d committed, he dared not stop.

"Captain Lin, what should we do?" A police officer asked.

Lin Chengcai was the one who fired warning shots earlier. They knew the suspects were armed; nobody was willing to take undue risks since it was uncertain who held the gun.

"Surround him, don’t get too close. If they resist, shoot!"

"Yes, sir!"

Shortly, another gunshot was heard.

...

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