Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 683 Everyone, load your guns, follow me!

At this moment, it was dawn. In the back seat of the jeep in the Municipal Bureau compound, Li Fuqiang held up a flashlight to illuminate the way. Xu Ning lowered his head and took a quick look at the map. After hearing Lin Dongliang's speculation, he shook his head slightly and expressed a different opinion.

Xu Ning said bluntly: "Uncle Lin, I don't think Liu Yu has such a sharp mind. Think about it, how old are he and his accomplice this year? At most, they are over 18 years old, and they haven't experienced any major events in society. When encountering such a life-threatening thing, he must be very panicked!"

Lin Dongliang nodded and asked, "Do you think they are still in the mountain?"

"Well, although this mountain is much smaller than the one near my home, it is quite large for people like Liu Yu who have rarely been in the mountains. If they have a better sense of direction, they are likely to get out of the mountain. If they have a bad sense of direction and don't have much experience in going into the mountains, they may have been frozen to death by now."

Lin Dongliang said: "We now have solid evidence. As long as we catch them, we can put them on trial. At least they will be sentenced to life imprisonment! Moreover, during our arrest a few days ago, they had the intention to resist and made noises. So the target is that as long as we can find them, it doesn't matter if they are dead or alive!"

It is obvious that he wants to close the case quickly and give an explanation to the victim's family. Now Lin Dongliang does not seek credit, but only wants to avoid mistakes.

"According to my idea, I was planning to enter the mountain from the west entrance of Daji Village, and then follow the trail forward. Even if the trail was covered by heavy snow, I would have a rough idea in my mind."

"Okay! Let's set off now."

Lin Dongliang opened the car door and waved to the two Dongfeng cars in front. Then the drivers of the Dongfeng cars honked their horns in response. Cheng Yang, who entered the building, ran over with six marching water bottles. After he got into the driver's seat, he handed the bottles to Xu Ning and Li Fuqiang.

"Brother, the water here is 45 degrees. If you feel cold, take a few sips to warm yourself up."

"Okay, Brother Yang is really thoughtful."

Lin Dongliang smiled and said, "He is quite careful in his work. This time it was mainly because his subordinates did not cooperate well. He deserves it."

Cheng Yang raised his hand to shift gears, stepped on the accelerator and slowly drove out of the courtyard gate, saying: "It's also my fault. There were two new guys following me for the first time, and I didn't explain it clearly to them."

Driving all the way to the northeast, the four people in the car chatted a lot, from cases to family matters, and their relationship seemed to be getting closer and closer.

It was not until the jeep stopped at the west entrance of Daji Village that Xu Ning looked and found that the west entrance of the village was connected to the mountainside. What came into view was a vast expanse of white snow, and under the snow were farmlands with ridges and ditches. In fact, these farmlands were all reclaimed land, extending all the way into the ditches.

As soon as he got off the car, Lin Dongliang asked Cheng Yang to arrange other people, while he talked to Xu Ning about the situation at the scene.

"When I came here last time, this path up the mountain had been trampled flat. After following the path into the mountain, I heard other people's footprints..."

After hearing this, Xu Ning said: "It's normal. The people in this village also rely on the mountains for their livelihood. We can't stop them from going into the mountains."

"Well, I checked the relationship network of Liu Yu and others. They don't have any acquaintances in Daji Village. We can rule out the suspicion that they came here to seek refuge with relatives or friends. They must have skidded on their motorcycle, and when they saw our people chasing them, they ran into the mountains in a panic."

At this time, Cheng Yang had already put on his equipment and took out three 56-and-a-half missiles. Lin Dongliang personally handed two 56-and-a-half missiles to Xu Ning and Li Fuqiang, saying, "We have to stay in the mountains for at least two days. The food will be prepared at the foot of the mountain, and someone will deliver it to us when the time comes..."

"Okay, now that it's light, let's go for a walk in the mountains."

Immediately, Xu Ning, Li Fuqiang, Cheng Yang, and Lin Dongliang walked in front, followed by more than 30 comrades holding guns, and the remaining more than 10 people stayed at the foot of the mountain.

Entering the mountain from the west entrance and walking along the path to the halfway point, Xu Ning discovered that the snow was not as thick as that in Qing'an, at least 5 centimeters thinner.

"The two brothers in the hospital were quite experienced. When they found it snowing, they took off their clothes and built a small shed with branches to preserve their footprints. They put it in front."

Walking to the footprints left by Liu Yu, Xu Ning saw that the two footprints were covered with plastic sheeting and surrounded by more than 30 centimeters thick snow, just like a rectangular trap dug in the snow.

Xu Ning stared at the footprints for a while, and Cheng Yang said, "The shoes they were wearing should be paratrooper boots, size 40."

After Cheng Yang finished speaking, seeing that Xu Ning was still silent, he stood by and waited quietly like Lin Dongliang. Xu Ning took two steps forward, but suddenly stopped, turned around and asked, "Uncle Lin, Brother Yang, where did your people stop?"

"That's it! Two shots were fired here. There's a bullet hole in the tree in front. The suspect must have fired the shot from more than 50 meters away."

"Where's the other bullet hole?"

Cheng Yang's face flushed slightly, and he said, "I didn't find it..."

"Where did the gunshot come from?"

“It’s still directly opposite.”

Lin Dongliang felt a little uncomfortable. It was not that Cheng Yang was incompetent, but it was the dead of night and it was dark and he couldn't see clearly. Besides, Cheng Yang was not at the scene at that time. No one knew what was going on.

Xu Ning pointed to the opposite side and said, "Is it over there? Has anyone gone there to trace it?"

"I have thought about it, but I don't understand it. Otherwise, why would I invite you all the way here?"

Zhang Yuemin reminded from the back: "Director Lin, when I sent Xiaoyu to the hospital, he told me that the gunshots came from the opposite side. The first shot was fired at the two of them. When the second shot was fired, the two of them lay down, and I didn't see the muzzle flash... From the sound, it was two shotguns."

Xu Ning stood there, glanced back, and then walked forward. Li Fuqiang followed him and said, "Brother, I think these two must be playing tricks. Two gunshots can't be fired from two guns. What if it was a double-barreled hunting rifle or a five-round burst?"

The sounds of the double-barreled shotgun and the old shotgun were almost the same, both were a bit muffled, as if a quilt was covering the muzzle.

"I've been thinking about this, too. If I were the one who committed a crime and went into the mountains, I would definitely run away separately from my accomplices. Whoever can escape first will be the luckiest."

Suddenly, Xu Ning raised his hand and clenched his fist. The people behind him saw this and stopped walking. He then strode away the snow, pointed at a thin branch, and asked, "Are any of you injured?"

Lin Dongliang, Cheng Yang, and Zhang Yuemin were all stunned and shook their heads quickly: "No!"

"What's going on? What are you looking at?"

Xu Ning pointed at the slender branch and said, "This branch is broken, and there is blood on the broken part."

"No one of our people was injured, it must be Liu Yu and the other one!" Cheng Yang said.

Lin Dongliang frowned: "Who investigated the scene? How come they didn't even find such an important clue? What are they doing?"

The 30-odd people behind him didn't dare to say anything. Lin Dongliang came over and asked, "Erning, did you find anything else?"

Xu Ning pointed to a patch of snow that was slightly sunken two or three centimeters in front of him and said, "This is their track. I said before that they had no experience in going into the mountains, but I was wrong. From this trail, we can tell that they must have gone into the mountains often, because they smoothed the snow as they walked. Then when the third snow fell, the track was no longer clear."

Cheng Yang nodded: "In that case, they are most likely hiding in the mountains?"

"It's hard to say. Let's follow the trail first. Uncle Lin, have our people follow behind and move forward by following the footprints. If anyone falls behind, just shout." After getting Lin Dongliang's nod, Zhang Yuemin went to the back to notify them.

This traceless trail would definitely not be noticed by anyone other than an experienced hunter, because the mountain is covered with white snow, and who would care about a snow trail that is only two or three centimeters deep?

Xu Ning pointed to the back of where they were and said, "They went around to the south."

Then, everyone followed Xu Ning and walked south. Along the way, they basically went in whatever direction Xu Ning pointed.

No one had any complaints. After learning about Xiao Xu Pao's deeds, Lin Dongliang's men were quite convinced. After all, Li Quan alone was enough to prove Xu Ning's strength.

At noon, someone came running down the mountain to deliver food. The food was still hot when it was delivered to the people. Everyone was very satisfied with the hot meal, and they had no regrets even if their feet were a little cold.

After finishing his meal, Xu Ning took two sips of 45-degree water, but Lin Dongliang, Cheng Yang and others did not drink it because they had their own discipline.

After wandering in the mountains for a day, Xu Ning found several broken branches, but nothing else.

After nightfall, everyone found a leeward slope to set up camp. Xu Ning and Li Fuqiang lay in the tent, with two layers of mattresses underneath and thick quilts on their bodies. There were five fires outside. Lin Dongliang sat in front of a fire with a sad face, picking potatoes with a branch in his hand.

Cheng Yang sat silently beside him, not daring to disturb Lin Dongliang. Suddenly, Lin Dongliang pulled out the roasted potatoes and said, "You and Yuemin go back and write an 8000-word self-criticism! Give it to me before the case is completely over."

"Oh, okay, I promise to complete the task!"

This is not Lin Dongliang making things difficult for him and Zhang Yuemin, but Lin Dongliang is taking care of them. If Lin Dongliang does not reflect on his mistakes, once the matter is reported to the higher-ups, they will definitely be punished one by one, and at the very least they will be punished! !

"Boil a few eggs for them tomorrow morning."

"Of course, I'll cook it myself!"

Lin Dongliang raised his head and glared at him angrily: "Just forget it, you cooked that thing like a chick hatching from its shell, the egg whites are floating in the pot, and someone who doesn't know would think you were making egg soup."

"Haha..." Cheng Yang covered his mouth and laughed to suppress the sound.

The next day, when it was dark, Xu Ning and Li Fuqiang sat up from the tent and stretched comfortably.

Just after saying a few words, Cheng Yang came into the tent carrying two enamel pots and said, "Director Lin specifically asked me to bring you two eggs, porridge, pickles, and steamed buns. Put them here. Eat them before you come out."

Xu Ning took the enamel pot with a smile, "Why are you cooking special meals for us two? This is so embarrassing."

"Oh, don't say that. I'm the one who's embarrassed. I brought you two all the way here to suffer."

Li Fuqiang waved his hands and said, "Why suffer? This tent and this mattress are so comfortable to sleep in."

"Okay, then you two eat first."

After Cheng Yang left, Xu Ning and Li Fuqiang quickly devoured the porridge and pickles in the enamel pot, along with two boiled eggs and three steamed buns.

Then, the two of them opened the tent and walked out, and saw that Lin Dongliang and the others had already eaten and drunk enough. He did not ask Xu Ning if he slept well, after all, who would want to sleep in the mountains covered with ice and snow? It was so comfortable to sleep on the warm kang at home.

After a brief exchange of words, Li Fuqiang and Xu Ning walked in front, holding a flashlight, and continued to follow the trail to the southwest.

Their location was only 70 kilometers away from Qinglitun, or more than 140 miles. The deeper they went, the more difficult it was to step on the ground, because this area was rocky and it was easy to trip over the rocks when stepping on the snow. The most dangerous thing was that there were hidden pits and ditches here, and if they were not careful, they would fall into the ditches.

At about 2 p.m., Xu Ning pointed to a crack in the rock below the slope ahead and said, "They must have lived here. There are traces of smoke on the crack. The snow around melted, and they smoothed it out with snow from other places. But the snow below melted and turned into ice."

Lin Dongliang nodded and asked, "When did this mark appear? Could it be from last night?"

Xu Ning walked over and touched the traces of smoke. He pinched the black ash and said, "In just these two days, I'm not sure about them..."

At this time, Zhang Yuemin shouted: "Report! There are traces in the southwest!"

"Everyone, stay still! Stay where you are! Erning, let's go over and take a look first."

When Xu Ning and others arrived at the trail reported by Zhang Yuemin, Lin Dongliang's fist almost stiffened.

Because this was an animal trail, there were obvious traces of wild boars wading through the snow, but fortunately Lin Dongliang did not curse out loud on the spot, because Lin Dongliang saw a footprint made by a paratrooper's boots on the edge of the trail!

"Erning, look at that shoe print."

Xu Ning said: "I saw them, they are the two of them! There are two of them in total..."

At this time, Cheng Yang led the people out of the crevice and reported: "Report, there is a large space in the crevice, and there are signs of people living there. There is a pile of oak leaves and branches, and a small pile of bones."

Xu Ning said: "These two people fired guns in the mountains. They must be shooting at livestock."

Cheng Yang frowned and said, "If that's the case, these two young people are quite experienced."

Lin Dongliang said: "After all, I am a child of the forestry family compound. How can I not have experience in the mountains?"

Previously, Xu Ning said that they were half-grown children, what could they understand? In fact, he was wearing tinted glasses, but Xu Ning admitted his mistake yesterday. After all, judging people by appearance is human nature and it is unavoidable.

"Brother, what do you say? Chase me?"

Just as Xu Ning was about to nod, Lin Dongliang said hurriedly, "Hey, this is not about beating animals. I know you two have experience, but we have a lot of people here... Erning, you and your brother stay behind, and we will chase them along this road. When we can't see them anymore, I will call you back, how about that?"

"Okay! Uncle Lin, you guys better be careful."

Lin Dongliang nodded, turned around and said, "Everyone! Full of bullets, loaded guns, three people in a group! Divide into 12 groups in total, the first four groups follow me in the middle, the middle four and the last four groups advance from the left and right sides, 50 meters apart! Remember, keep an eye on the road under your feet, Xiao Xupao said there are hidden ditches and pits in this mountain, don't fall into them!"

"Yes!"

Everyone responded in unison.

(End of this chapter)