Diary of a Criminal Investigator

Chapter 688: Chapter 688: Run Again and I’ll Shoot!

Ten minutes ago.

Cao Zhian received a signal from below and then emerged from his hideout at the mountaintop.

He developed this habit ten years ago.

Ten years ago, Cao Zhian was just a lackey in a poaching syndicate.

In that organization, he was responsible for setting up tents, making fires, cooking, and skinning animals—the toughest and most exhausting tasks.

But he received very little money in return.

Later, police from outside the mountain conducted several raids against poachers.

Cao Zhian was very lucky, he managed to evade capture twice during the raids.

Originally, there were over a dozen poaching teams in the mountains, but after those raids, for a long period, only two or three people continued poaching.

Although there were fewer poaching teams, there was still demand for their goods.

Cao Zhian had spent half his life in the mountains and knew nothing else, so he relied on this to make a living.

So he pulled three people from his village to form a new team.

For ten years, he led this three-person team, thriving in the mountains.

Beiliang Mountain straddles two provinces, and there were two poaching teams on the other side, but he never made contact or ventured there.

Cao Zhian’s territory was closer to Beizhou City.

And part of it was in Penghu County of Haizhou City.

This was due to geography; most of Beiliang Mountain was within the borders of Beizhou City, with only a small part near Penghu County.

But Cao Zhian was unfamiliar with that side, and fencing stolen goods was impossible without acquaintances.

A couple of years ago, he got in touch with someone over there named Li Pengcheng and tentatively conducted some business.

But ultimately, it didn’t work out, and he almost got exposed, so he had to deal with him.

So, Cao Zhian’s main base remained on the Beizhou side.

He was born here and had known Song Zhenguo all his life.

Both parties were very cautious, as this was a long-term business.

Though life in the mountains was tough, it granted freedom.

In the past, when Cao Zhian and his group made money and wanted to relax and have fun, they had to go down the mountain.

But now, it’s no longer necessary.

In the past two years, more people have come for adventure tourism in Beiliang Mountain.

Whenever Cao Zhian’s group encountered a team with young women, if there weren’t many people, they’d kill the men and take the women back for fun.

Moreover, compared to spending money, having fun in the mountains was much safer.

Afterwards, they’d kill them and casually bury them. No one would know where they had gone.

Of course, despite the safety, Cao Zhian remained very cautious in the mountains.

For example, before reaching a campsite, he always scouted from the mountains, letting others go down first.

This was to prevent everyone from being caught together.

Ten years ago, a team he was with, consisting of seven or eight people, was ambushed by police at the campsite. Only he escaped because he was at the mountaintop defecating and missed descending with the group.

Since then, Cao Zhian developed this habit.

Hoisting his shotgun, Cao Zhian descended the mountain from another direction.

But for some reason, today Cao Zhian felt his heart racing.

The direction of his group’s descent was where Lu Chuan’s team was.

As Cao Zhian passed the ambush site and entered the trap, Lu Chuan reported to the group.

Upon receiving the information, Li Donglin was about to give the attack order, but Cao Zhian suddenly blew the Bone Whistle!

The reason was simple: Cao Zhian’s descent route differed from the other three’s.

But he noticed a broken tree branch.

As someone who lived in the mountains for years, he understood what this signified.

The broken branch was not left by a large animal for sure.

If it were a bear, the broken branches would be in clumps, not just a single one.

If it were a bird, it wouldn’t have broken the branch.

Someone!

It must be someone!

And the broken branch was fresh, clearly indicating someone had recently passed by.

Cao Zhian’s alertness instantly peaked.

Turning to run, after blowing the whistle, Cao Zhian didn’t return the way he came but dashed into the dense forest.

"Move!"

Decisively, Lu Chuan burst from his hideout.

"Police! Do not move!"

Bam!

A warning shot, but it had no effect.

The individuals ran even faster.

On the other side, Li Donglin and others also charged from their ambush point.

Nobody expected this late appearance by such a cautious Cao Zhian.

Based on the information provided by Song Zhenguo, Li Donglin and others had already identified the individuals involved.

This person, descending last from the mountaintop, was Cao Zhian, the ringleader of the four.

Five groups pursued from five directions, with Li Donglin’s group targeting the three at the mountain’s base.

These three were already entirely surrounded, and though they attempted to split and flee, escape was virtually impossible.

As for Cao Zhian, Lu Chuan personally pursued him.

The opponent was indeed a seasoned jungle hunter.

The dense forest seemingly didn’t hinder his movement; rather, it served as leverage for him.

Though Lu Chuan was fast, tree branches and trunks frequently impeded his progress, greatly slowing his closing speed.

The armed police trailing behind were even slower, falling several paces behind within just a few breaths.

In the dense forest, once three or five trees were between them, visibility was nearly nil.

Keeping a tight hold on his target, Lu Chuan soon left the original valley.

"Cao Zhian! You can’t escape!"

"If you don’t stop, I’ll shoot!"

Cao Zhian ahead didn’t even look back, answering Lu Chuan with his actions.

Bam!

Lu Chuan abruptly stopped, taking cover behind a large tree.

He could feel the vibration of steel pellets from a shotgun slugging the trunk.

Damn it!

In the jungle, a shotgun trumps a handgun.

Though a shotgun has a short range and low accuracy, its blast radius is wide once the bullet is fired.

Cao Zhian never intended to hit Lu Chuan with this shot but created enough trouble to delay him and make an escape.

When Lu Chuan stepped out again, he could barely see the opponent.

This won’t do!

If things continue this way, a couple more shots and he’ll completely lose me.

Time to take a gamble!

Lu Chuan had studied the local terrain; Cao Zhian’s escape route could only head up the mountain, not down.

Ascending allowed crossing the valley to the maximum degree, so the target had to be heading upwards.

Lu Chuan changed direction for a pincer movement.

Screech!

Dry branches tore the combat uniform, leaving bleeding scratches on Lu Chuan.

But he had no time for that now; he had to give it his all.

Cao Zhian constantly monitored the sounds behind him and only stopped after sprinting several hundred meters, gasping for breath.

Finally, he had shaken them off.

Running in the mountains, even for one familiar with the jungle like Cao Zhian, was tiring.

"Song Zhenguo... I’ll slaughter your whole family!"

Cao Zhian knew that the police could ambush here because Song Zhenguo must have betrayed them.

Panting heavily, Cao Zhian pondered his next move.

"Keep running!"