Dark Light Chaser.

Chapter 182 Standoff in the Pursuit of the Killer
The moment Jin Ping'an saw the RV video, he immediately perked up.

His eyes were glued to his phone, and he waved his arms frantically, shouting, "Old Tian! Come quick! We found it!"

"What did you find...?"

Before the two could share the latest information with Jiang Kaiji, he curiously leaned over to watch the video recording: "This is... a motorhome? A motorhome this big must cost at least ten million, right?"

Tian Hao and Jin Ping'an ignored Jiang Kaiji and instead called Cheng Lejia to filter all the relevant videos of the RV and send them over.

Most of the videos sent to Jin Ping'an's phone were recent.

The software will only automatically transfer older videos after the most recent videos have been viewed.

Furthermore, whenever a vehicle that meets the screening criteria appears below the monitor, the software will prioritize sending the video of the newly appearing vehicle to Cheng Lejia's computer and Jin Ping'an's mobile phone.

This was a special selection criterion added considering that Hu Yingshao's men might take the opportunity to drive the RV out of Qianhua City today.

This way, you won't have to worry about missing the latest surveillance footage.

It now seems that adding this screening criterion was worthwhile; the video of the RV was from an hour ago, meaning the vehicle probably hadn't gone very far.

"Le Jia, go through all the videos of this RV and find out when it was last seen on camera!"

At this point, Jin Ping'an couldn't care less whether the vehicle was the RV they were looking for.

Statistically speaking, there is a 90% chance that this car was used by Hu Yingshao to imprison the victims.

There are quite a few people in Chika City who own RVs, but it just so happens that they have RVs at this price point and are going camping in the wild today.

This possibility cannot be described as low; it can only be said to be infinitely close to zero.

"The last time the RV appeared on the surveillance camera was half an hour ago, on a road in the southern suburbs... There was no footage of the RV at the next intersection two kilometers later, so it is very likely that it had already left the highway before that."

Cheng Lejia quickly retrieved the surveillance footage and sent the location to Jin Ping'an's phone.

"Could this be the vehicle used to transport the victims?"

Jiang Kaiji rubbed his hands together excitedly. Seeing Tian Hao and Jin Ping'an's excited expressions, he guessed the purpose of the RV.

"The mountain road is difficult to walk on; we probably haven't gone far in half an hour!"

Tian Hao grabbed his car keys and ran to the parking lot. Jin Ping'an, holding his phone and the case report, quickly followed.

"Wait a minute! I'm getting... damn it, that's my car!"

Jiang Kaiji then remembered that Tian Hao's car had been sent to the bomb disposal facility and hadn't been driven back yet; he was driving his own car.

By the time Jiang Kaiji reached the parking lot, the two had already started their car and set off.

At this point, there wasn't a single car left in the criminal investigation team.

Because all the vehicles in the brigade were requisitioned by Liu Yuan and his men.

They needed to communicate and coordinate with the victims' families, whose addresses were scattered throughout Qianhua City. The group had to split up, and one or two cars were definitely not enough.

Jiang Kaiji's car was spared from disaster only because Tian Hao borrowed it.

He hurriedly went back to the branch office to grab his pistol, and before he could even tuck it into his waistband, he ran to the branch office entrance, raised his hand to rob someone, and then hailed a taxi.

After getting into the car, Jiang Kaiji, who wasn't wearing a police uniform, shouted into his phone, "Old Tian, ​​couldn't you wait for me before you ran away? Tell me your location, I'm coming right away!"

Jiang Kaiji did not try to hide his words from the driver.

So engrossed in staring at his phone, he didn't notice that the driver's face had turned deathly pale.

The driver thought Jiang Kaiji was a notorious criminal who had escaped from the criminal investigation team...

…………

Jin Ping'an, who was still checking the video on his phone, felt very lucky.

If Hu Yingshao hadn't voluntarily surrendered, he wouldn't have gone to Hu Yingshao's home to conduct the reconnaissance.

Without going back in time, the relationship between Hu Yingshao and the fake Wang Sheng would not have been discovered.

Without discovering the relationship between the fake Wang Sheng and Hu Yingshao, we wouldn't have traced back to the warehouse where the fake Wang Sheng's body was found, nor would we have encountered the messenger, thus missing the crucial information that the victim was imprisoned in a campervan.

Even if the messenger were to call and inform him of this information, it would be too late. By then, Hu Yingshao's men would likely have already destroyed all the victims and evidence.

Now, at least there is still a sliver of hope to catch up.

Jin Ping'an took out the report and compared the time of the victim's disappearance with the time of the RV's appearance.

Sure enough, the RV would reappear within one to three days after each victim went missing, confirming that it was the tool Hu Yingshao used to imprison the victims.

As always, Tian Hao disregarded traffic rules and vehicle speed limits, recklessly driving through traffic.

This is his nth traffic violation this month. At the beginning of next month, he'll probably have to trouble Liu Yuan to get all the traffic police officers drunk again.

Leaving the city, we headed south.

There are no towns or counties to the south, only rolling mountains. Traveling through these mountains for a few hundred kilometers will take you to the territory of Shuimu City.

Unlike Chihaya and Neva, the urban area of ​​Shuimu City is not very close. It is nearly 500 kilometers away from the urban area of ​​Chihaya City, and there are very few buildings to be seen along the way except for rest stops.

Moreover, the route is through desolate mountains and wilderness, which makes tracking extremely difficult. For this reason, most of the escape routes from Qianhua City lead to Shuimu City.

If you just bury someone here, they'll really be lost.

After arriving at the section of road where the RV had been, Tian Hao gradually slowed down.

Two kilometers, a distance that can be covered in two minutes if you drive at a slightly faster speed.

The two of them, however, had to spend several times longer, checking the tire tracks along the roadside as they walked.

Fortunately, Jiang Kaiji finally caught up. Together with the taxi driver, the four of them split into two groups. One group checked one side of the road and quickly found the huge tire tracks of the RV.

After seeing the taxi driver off, Jiang Kaiji finally got into his own car.

"Hey, this isn't an off-road vehicle!"

Jiang Kaiji felt a pang of heartache as he watched Tian Hao drive his beloved car like an off-road vehicle, the sound of the chassis scraping against the rocks coming from time to time.

"We can't worry about that now."

Tian Hao ignored Jiang Kaiji's complaints and continued along the tracks left by the RV.

It was a completely deserted wilderness, unlike a campsite with a flat ground and neat lawn.

The area is covered with weeds and bushes that are more than half a meter tall, and there isn't even a road.

If it weren't for the heavy RV passing by and carving out a narrow path that could barely be called a road, Jiang Kaiji's car probably wouldn't have been able to get in.

Tian Hao watched as the car slowly drove along the path carved out by the RV. He dared not drive too fast, mainly because he was worried that the sound of the engine would alert Hu Yingshao's men.

As darkness falls, even though it's summer, it probably won't be long before it's completely dark.

After walking for about five minutes, Jin Ping'an called out in a low voice, "Old Tian, ​​stop the car! There's someone at two o'clock!"

Upon hearing this, Tian Hao swerved the car and parked it behind a ditch.

The three of them didn't even dare to close the car door when they got out, for fear that making too much noise would alert the enemy.

"where?"

Tian Hao took out his binoculars and looked in the direction Jin Ping'an pointed, only to see a dark, dense forest: "Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"I just saw a flash of light in that woods, I'm absolutely certain!"

Jin Ping'an said firmly.

It was already dark, and he might mistake a shadowy figure for a real person, but the light from his phone was definitely not an obstacle.

Tian Hao pointed the binoculars at the grove again, but after careful examination, he still couldn't see anything.

This is not Tian Hao's fault. After all, they are a criminal police team, not a narcotics squad, and it is impossible for them to be equipped with night vision devices at all times.

Although he couldn't see, Tian Hao was in charge of driving. Based on the path left by the RV, he deduced that the other party would most likely stop in the woods ahead.

As usual, Tian Hao and Jiang Kaiji were carrying live-fire pistols, while Jin Ping'an was carrying a stun gun that could only be used to observe from the sidelines after two shots.

Taking advantage of the darkness and the cover of the grass, the three of them slowly made their way over.

Less than twenty meters from the woods, a gentle breeze carried a pungent, sour smell from ahead.

In the pitch black, the only light they could see, reflected from the RV windows, was a bald man throwing something into a metal bucket.

After realizing what was happening, Tian Hao felt a great sense of danger, turned on his headlamp, and rushed forward.

"Hands up and put the things down!"

Ignoring whether the bald man was armed, Tian Hao charged toward him while shouting.

The other person was not startled by the sudden noise. Instead, he quickly threw the calligraphy and painting in his hand into the bucket, stirred it frantically with a stick, and then rolled over to the side of the RV.

The bald man used the RV as cover, took a grenade from his waist, held the grenade handle with one hand, pulled the safety pin, and calmly waited for Tian Hao to approach.

Just as Tian Hao was about to reach the iron bucket, a round object with a detached handle flew towards him.

Tian Hao's pupils contracted sharply: "Lie down!"

Before Jin Ping'an could react to what was happening, Jiang Kaiji swiftly pushed his head down and pinned him to the ground.

Bang!
Fortunately, it was a low-powered explosive grenade, and the people who lay down were not injured.

The grenade didn't hurt anyone, but the gun was a different story.

Before the three could get up from the ground, the bald man pulled out a pistol and pointed it at Tian Hao.

boom!boom!
There are advantages to darkness.

In a dark forest, the bald man fired two shots at the location of Tian Hao that he remembered, which was somewhat different from Tian Hao's actual location.

People usually imagine gunfights as guns held with one hand, muzzle pointing upwards, and a roll to dart from one cover to another.

But reality isn't as glamorous and smooth as it's portrayed in the movies.

Tian Hao rolled three times on the ground, heading towards a large tree.

Just from the messenger's previous description, it was clear that the bald man was no ordinary character. Taking advantage of the flashes of light from the first two shots, he quickly adjusted his gun and fired a third shot at Tian Hao.

boom!
The bullet grazed the clothes, leaving a small spray of blood.

The shot caused a severe abrasion to Tian Hao's shoulder. Although it didn't hit any vital organs, it greatly reduced his accuracy in the ensuing gunfight.

If Tian Hao hadn't dodged quickly, that bullet could very well have killed him.

Taking advantage of the moment when Tian Hao was distracting the bald man.

While protecting Jin Ping'an, Jiang Kaiji slowly retreated and requested backup: "Captain, we've had a firefight with unidentified individuals near S08 highway. They're armed with light weapons..."

The two sides have reached a mutually agreeable standoff, with neither daring to make the first move.

The bald man had no intention of continuing the standoff with Tian Hao and the others. He glanced at the iron bucket, then crouched down like a cheetah and slowly retreated.

At this moment, a series of crackling sounds came from inside the RV, which aggravated the tense nerves of Tian Hao and the others.

Everyone knows there are other accomplices of the bald man in the car.

Jiang Kaiji left Jin Pingan behind and rushed to a tree near the RV, pointing his gun at the RV door to assist Tian Hao in suppressing the enemy from multiple directions.

This was Jin Ping'an's first time participating in a live-fire arrest operation, and he lay prone and slowly backed away.

It wasn't that Jin Ping'an was afraid of the gunfight and wanted to run away, but rather that he knew his own limitations. Without any military training, he would only cause trouble if he went to help.

Jin Ping'an had no intention of going to the front lines, but he also didn't want to just stand by and watch. So, like a caterpillar, he slowly made his way to the other side of the woods.

If you can't win in a direct confrontation, you can always resort to backstabbing in the face of justice.

When he slowly approached the RV from the other side, he found that there was no one in sight behind it.

Cuckoo, coo coo, cuckoo, coo coo.

The distant call of a cuckoo added an eerie atmosphere to the dark grove.

Faced with this situation, Jin Ping'an wanted to stand up and inform Tian Hao and the others, but as soon as he stood up halfway, a chill spread from his back to his whole body.

In an instant, Jin Ping'an felt as if time around him had slowed down. The cicadas' chirping was slowed down several times, and the fallen leaves on the branches were almost suspended in the air, swaying slowly from side to side as they fell.

Every single cell in his brain was frantically warning him, urging him to leave the location immediately.

Jin Ping'an instinctively lunged to the side, a burning pain shooting through his left arm, followed by a loud gunshot.

"what!"

Jin Ping'an instinctively let out a scream.

"Ping An?! What happened to you?!"

Upon hearing the screams, Tian Hao and Jiang Kaiji seized the opportunity to rush to the RV.

"I'm fine!"

Jin Ping'an clutched his arm and gritted his teeth. The wound from the bullet graze felt like a burning scald, as if he were wiping his butt with a red-hot knife smeared with chili oil.

After being shot, Jin Ping'an clutched his arm and ran towards the RV. Jiang Kaiji, who happened to peek out, was startled by Jin Ping'an's actions: "Damn it! Don't run! Get down!"

In a situation where the enemy is in the dark and we are in the light, running so blatantly in the opposite direction of the RV is undoubtedly making us a sitting duck. The correct choice would have been to immediately find the nearest cover based on the direction from which the bullets were coming.

This is a piece of knowledge that anyone who has played some FPS games can know, even without military training.

However, knowing this is one thing, but when it comes to actual combat, probably very few people will remember it. Not everyone has the opportunity to apply what they've learned.

Jiang Kaiji gritted his teeth, jumped out from behind the RV, and fired a barrage of shots at the woods behind Jin Ping'an.

He didn't know where the bald man was; this was just a cover for fire.

It's unclear whether Jiang Kaiji's covering fire was effective or if the bald man had already gone far away.

Jin Pingan successfully reunited with Tian Hao and others.

"Are you out of your mind?!"

Just as he hid behind the RV, Jiang Kaiji slapped Jin Ping'an hard across the head.

Jin Ping'an said with a pained expression, "I'm trying to give you guys a chance, okay! See that bald guy?"

"What can you see in the dark?!"

Tian Hao retorted to Jin Ping'an in an annoyed tone, "This kid is like a stubborn brat, daring to use his own life as bait. I really don't know how his brain works."

(End of this chapter)