Вrоther Long hаdn't sееn thе sеa in a long timе. Stаnding by the shоre, breаthing in thе sаltу, fishу sеa breеze, he found it quite pleаsаnt. Thе weаthеr wаs trulу hot—it wаs оnlу еаrly Мay, yеt mаny рeoplе were аlreadу рrераring tо swim in thе sea.
Тhis wаs Zou Каigui's hоmetоwn, a smаll tоwn callеd Кanхia.
After rеceiving Bауunуe's mеssage, Brоthеr Lоng had аskеd Gе Мingliаng tо investigаtе Zou Кaigui аgain, evеntuallу trасing him to Shuiуuаn Villаgе in Kanxiа Town. Over the уears, he hаd troubled Gе Mingliаng quitе a bit, but fоrtunately, their bond as comrades-in-arms ran deep. Ge Mingliang had said he would come visit his old squad leader when he had the chance.
With nothing better to do, Brother Long took a flight, transferred several times by train and bus, and arrived at this coastal fishing village. Nowadays, the homestay tourism in Shuiyuan Village was thriving, and many villagers had grown wealthy because of it. Brother Long rarely ate seafood, but this time he indulged to his heart's content. Along the way, he became acquainted with Jiaozi, the owner of a seafood street stall, and asked about Zou Kaigui.
"He used to buy lottery tickets... sigh! Lost a lot of money!" said Jiaozi, his hair half-gray. "Beating his wife was one thing, but he even beat his children. Beating his daughter was bad enough, but he even beat his son! In the end, his wife ran off with their son."
"Now he's searching everywhere for his daughter," Brother Long said, squinting as the sea breeze made it hard to keep his eyes open. The kelp hanging from fishing boats emitted a fishy smell that lingered in the air.
"Heh heh..." Jiaozi chuckled. "Maybe he has so much money he can't spend it all himself and needs to spread it around."
"He's very rich?"
"Rich, I hear. They say he struck it rich overnight, but no one knows what shady business he was involved in," Jiaozi replied mysteriously, then asked, "Why are you asking about him? Isn't he... missing?"
Brother Long gave a simple, honest smile. "He owes me tens of thousands. I came to look for him, thinking he might be hiding here."
Jiaozi shook his head. "No way. Why would he come back here? You don't know..." He lowered his voice. "His wife remarried in the next village over. When she gets angry, she often tells people that her daughter was killed because of him."
Brother Long feigned surprise. "Wasn't his daughter kidnapped by human traffickers? There's even a police report on file."
"That's true. At the time, our whole village mobilized to search for the little girl," Jiaozi said, though he couldn't explain further. "But his wife told the police the same thing—'Even if it was traffickers who took her, it was Old Zou who brought them here.'"
"Was she not his biological daughter?"
"Ah!" Jiaozi sighed, tapping his head. "She was his own flesh and blood! It's just that the little girl... had something wrong up here."
Brother Long nodded thoughtfully. Another table of customers arrived, and Jiaozi hurried off to attend to them.
A herd of wild yaks, nearly a hundred of them, appeared calm and leisurely, perhaps needing to stretch their legs after hiding from the sandstorm earlier.
"They're in a group, so they're not afraid," Bayunye stepped forward and patted Xiao Zi to reassure her.
"Won't they come over?"
"This water isn't drinkable. When they're not in danger, they're actually quite shy."
Xiao Zi's heart wavered between turning back and completing the journey, swaying with each new unexpected scare.Ye Xun didn't care at all whether Xiao Zi stayed or left at this point. He splashed several buckets of water over his own vehicle, gave it a quick wash, and then busied himself marking the location with a handheld GPS. Diao Zhuo noticed that every time they stopped along the way, Ye Xun immediately recorded the position. After confirming that Zou Kaigui had indeed passed by Sheep Lake, he marked even more frequently, as if he wanted to record every single step. Moreover, he kept taking photos of the surrounding scenery with his camera, more actively than those of them who were tasked with rescue and scouting missions.
Ye Xun inadvertently revealed that his ultimate goal was Zou Kaigui's body. Was the route to find the body really that important? Or perhaps, besides finding the body and quickly obtaining the insurance compensation, he had other plans?
"Does President Ye plan to compete with us for business in the future?" Bayunye seemed to have also noticed Ye Xun's frequent marking of the route and joked, "It's not easy to lead tours here... It's easy for both vehicles and people to get stuck."
"You're mocking me," Ye Xun chuckled awkwardly. "I just want to show off to my friends when I get back."
"Bang!"
"Bang! Bang!"
A few sharp cracking sounds came from the distance, like gunshots.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked around for the source of the sound.
The yak herd, startled, ran farther away. After a cloud of dust settled, five shadowy figures jumped out of a pickup truck.
Seeing the convoy, they seemed determined to run toward it. As they ran, they kept looking back and shouting something in this direction.
Diao Zhuo waved his hand, "Get in the vehicles, let's go!"
They were a group of poachers, likely chased to a dead end by conservation officers, fleeing desperately. The gunshots just now were either warnings from the conservation officers farther away or shots fired to scare off the yak herd.
"What's going on! Why are we leaving?!" Xiao Zi protested unwillingly. She hadn't even decided whether to continue with the convoy yet.
Bayunye shared Diao Zhuo's thoughts. The poachers knew better than anyone that they couldn't escape alone. Seeing the off-road convoy, their top priority was to hijack vehicles to continue their escape. To seize vehicles, equipment, and supplies, these bastards were capable of anything. With five people, they would need at least two vehicles—one off-road vehicle and one pickup truck. Without weapons, the poachers might even push their luck and loot all the dry rations and water.
"Stop complaining, get in the vehicle first!" Bayunye grabbed Xiao Zi and shoved her into Hippo's passenger seat. To capture more prey, the poachers used double-barreled shotguns, which had a wider spread than single-shot rifles. Even wild boars couldn't withstand them, let alone ordinary people.
"But I—"
"They have guns!!" Bayunye slammed the car door shut.
Xiao Zi was once again terrified, confused, and instinctively screamed, "Ah—hurry up and drive! Let's go!!"
"Master Ba!" Hippo ignored her, leaning out to look for Bayunye.
"Come on!" Diao Zhuo turned the vehicle around, leaving the passenger-side door wide open.
Bayunye leaped in, and the convoy sped away.
The poachers cursed and chased after them for a few steps, venting their anger as if wanting to fire their guns. One of them hurriedly stopped them, "Lao Jin! Don't waste bullets!"
The convoy drove forward for a while before gunshots rang out from behind, as if a gunfight had broken out.
Bayunye anxiously looked back through binoculars, "The conservation officers have caught up, but there's only one pickup truck... Why isn't it moving? The pickup truck seems to have broken down... Oh no! Diao Zhuo, stop for a moment!"Diao Zhuo stepped on the brake and reached for the binoculars.
The poachers had actually killed the protection team member in the passenger seat, and several of them were dragging another protection team member out of the driver's seat.
"The protection team's backup hasn't caught up. We can't just stand by and watch." Bayunye showed her passionate and impulsive side. "They've taken the protection team's pickup truck. Their next move will likely be to chase our vehicles. Our food and equipment absolutely cannot fall into their hands!"
"Of course. Our Rescue Team didn't come in just to look for Zou Kaigui." Diao Zhuo finished speaking and picked up the walkie-talkie. "Attention! Two protection team members behind us are dead or injured—status unknown. Immediate support needed! Immediate support!"
The three vehicles ahead immediately dispersed in three different directions.
The poachers, having seized the pickup truck, indeed began chasing the convoy.
All traces of mockery vanished from Bayunye's eyes. "They're coming after us! They're probably after our pickup truck, gasoline, and rations. Damn it! They have hunting rifles—be careful! Who's driving the pickup? Tell him to get out! I'll take over!"
"What are you trying to do?" Diao Zhuo clearly disagreed with her suggestion.
"Try to stop them from taking the pickup."
"No, you can't get out of the vehicle now."
"If you're so capable, you do it!"
"They already have a pickup; they might not need another one. Any off-road vehicle here could be their target." Diao Zhuo glanced at her. "Use your wits, understand?"
"We don't have guns. What wits?" Bayunye was itching for action, wishing a crate of weapons would fall from the sky so she could take down those violent, reckless poachers in one go.
Diao Zhuo picked up the walkie-talkie again. "Everyone else, keep driving straight."
Bayunye was stunned. "You..."
"In a moment, I'll deliberately fall behind. When they force me to stop, scream a few times, or better yet, burst into tears. Make them think you're no threat to them. At most, they'll send two people to force me out of the vehicle." As he spoke, Diao Zhuo had already slowed down.
"You want me to act weak? Why don't you do it?" The passionate young woman clearly disagreed.
"I'll pretend to comply too. If they just want to steal the vehicle and see me acting like a coward, they won't shoot. I'll make an excuse to show them the food and equipment in the trunk and lead two of them to the back. Once we're out of sight of the other three poachers, we'll strike immediately—each of us taking down one first."
Bayunye nodded. "If you can't handle yours right away, I can take down two by myself." She waited for a while, but Diao Zhuo didn't respond. She added, "What? Don't believe me? Hmph, I'm the kind of person who dares to ride a bicycle around Chongqing for fun."
He sighed helplessly. "Stop the nonsense."
"I'm serious."
The poachers' pickup truck was getting closer and closer to Diao Zhuo's Grand Commander. Just as it was about to dart ahead and intercept them, Ye Xun's vehicle suddenly swerved, nearly half of it sinking into the swamp beneath the snow. It screeched to a halt, its rear wheels spinning "huff-huff" but unable to move.
Plans couldn't keep up with changes. The pickup truck, originally intending to intercept the Grand Commander, seized the opportunity instead. It swung the steering wheel sharply and braked, cutting off the Grand Commander. Four men got out with guns, wearing fierce and ruthless expressions, forcing everyone in both vehicles to step out.
"Shit!" With the plan disrupted, Bayunye couldn't help but curse.
Diao Zhuo nudged her arm with his elbow. "What are you waiting for? Cry!"Bayunye wailed loudly as if mourning the death of her parents, feigning tears while crying out, "Help!! Spare me!! I beg you!"
Ye Xun, Xiang An, Diao Zhuo, and the sobbing Bayunye all got out of the vehicle. Lao Jin, relying on his gun, wasted no time and shouted, "Get lost!"
Ye Xun wore a mournful expression, extremely reluctant, and looked pleadingly at Diao Zhuo. Diao Zhuo, pretending to be frightened with his hands over his head, gave him a meaningful glance, signaling that they should leave first no matter what.
Lao Jin glanced at the Prado with both wheels stuck in the mud, thought for a moment, and said, "Lao Ma, Sanshui, move the stuff to Lao Pang's place! Tuzi, let's go over there." Lao Ma and Sanshui slung their guns over their backs and began moving the full barrels of gasoline from the back seat to the pickup truck. Then they went around to the rear, opened the trunk, and started moving tents, sleeping bags, food, and other supplies. Lao Jin and Tuzi got into the Grand Commander, making their intentions clear: they were abandoning the stuck Prado, planning to loot its equipment and drive away in the Grand Commander.
Bayunye continued sobbing, walking very slowly. Diao Zhuo pretended to comfort her, inching forward step by step. Knowing these "hikers" had no weapons to resist, Lao Ma and Sanshui were completely relaxed and paid no attention to the dawdling pair. After moving everything from the Prado, the two opened the rear door of the Grand Commander, lifted the fuel barrels inside onto the pickup truck's bed, swaggered back, and pulled open the door to get in.
At that moment, Diao Zhuo and Bayunye launched a lightning-fast attack. The former, relying on his strong physique and formidable strength, could knock someone dizzy with a single punch, while the latter, trained in professional combat techniques from her military service, struck swiftly and precisely. Almost simultaneously, they knocked the two men to the ground and seized their hunting rifles.
Bayunye was more familiar with firearms than Diao Zhuo. As soon as she got the rifle, she chambered a round and pressed it against Sanshui's back. Having not touched a gun since her discharge, the heavy feel, faint smell of gunpowder, and a hint of blood revived her long-dormant military memories. The clang of weapons and thunder of hooves shattered her dreams, transforming into a composed and coldly beautiful glint in her eyes.
Diao Zhuo quickly subdued the other man, forcing Lao Ma to raise his hands and freeze. He glanced at Bayunye on the other side—just that one glance—and her awe-inspiring beauty at that moment struck deep into his heart, piercing its very core.
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