Free Web NovelChapter 266: Chapter 228: A Fierce Beast Appears
Zhou Chengguo found a burlap sack and, just as Zhao Jun had instructed, rolled the semi-automatic rifle inside it. Tucking it under his arm, he left the equipment depot.
The two split up, each heading to catch the light railway train back to their respective villages.
On the commuter train, Zhao Jun ran into Zhao Youcai, Li Dayong, Lin Xiangshun, and Li Baoyu. Zhao Youcai questioned why Zhao Jun had returned to the Forest Farm, but Zhao Jun simply used Zhou Chengguo as a cover, and no one suspected a thing.
He got home, ate, and went to sleep. The night passed without incident.
Early the next morning, Zhao Jun got up, ate breakfast, and headed straight for Yongsheng Village to meet up with Zhou Chengguo.
When Zhao Jun arrived at Yongsheng Village, he went directly to the commuter stop for the road maintenance workers.
Zhou Chengguo was already waiting there, two semi-automatic rifles slung over his back.
Seeing Zhao Jun arrive, Zhou Chengguo took one of the rifles and handed it to him. Zhao Jun took the gun, and together they boarded the maintenance workers’ commuter flatcar.
Most of these road maintenance workers were from Yongsheng Village, and many of them recognized Zhou Chengguo. Seeing him board with a young man, none of them dared to ask any questions.
Once they were on the flatcar, Zhao Jun took his leg wrappings out of his satchel and began to bind them around his ankles.
He hadn’t dared to put on the leg wrappings at home, fearing it would make Zhao Youcai and Wang Meilan suspicious.
Once the leg wrappings were secure, Zhao Jun pulled a white coat out of his bag and put it on.
"Brother," Zhou Chengguo asked, "is it okay for you to skip scaling today?"
"It’s fine," Zhao Jun replied. "I’ll just work a little extra tomorrow and the day after. As long as it doesn’t delay the seven-day payment, it won’t be a problem."
At this, Zhao Jun asked in return, "By the way, Brother, is everything alright at the equipment depot?"
Zhou Chengguo shook his head and smiled. "It’s fine. I gave the key to my office to your brother-in-law. If anything is really needed, he can just open the door and get it."
Hearing this, Zhao Jun felt relieved. The equipment depot was also under the logistics department, and Zhou Chengguo’s and Zhou Jianjun’s offices were not far apart.
Zhou Chengguo might not have trusted anyone else, but Zhou Jianjun was completely dependable. Not to mention his connection through Zhao Jun, Zhou Jianjun’s own background was also extremely reliable.
The large commuter flatcar traveled all the way to Forest Class 65. The workers had been maintaining the road from there to the Forest Farm for the past few days.
Zhou Chengguo knew this in advance; otherwise, he wouldn’t have had Zhao Jun take this flatcar with him.
The two got off the flatcar. Instead of taking the logging road, they cut through the mountains on a smaller path, heading straight for Old Ghost Head Ridge.
After entering Old Ghost Head Ridge, they headed toward the western ridge. Once they crossed a large ridge and saw the ground covered in human and dog tracks, they knew they were getting close.
Judging by the tracks, they weren’t fresh. They must have been left by Song Dong and his eight dogs.
Zhao Jun and Zhou Chengguo exchanged a look, their guards instantly raised. They both unslung their rifles, tucking them under their arms and cautiously scanning their surroundings.
Suddenly, Zhao Jun stopped in his tracks and reached out, grabbing Zhou Chengguo.
Extremely alert, Zhou Chengguo stopped immediately. He raised his rifle and looked where Zhao Jun was facing. Not far off, under a birch tree, lay a dog.
They moved closer to inspect it and saw two puncture marks on the left side of the dog’s head, and two on the right.
A jolt of alarm went through them. They exchanged a look, then quickly scanned the areas to their left and right.
Fortunately, they were on a gentle, rolling slope, and it was a Qingtang Forest with sparse trees, offering few hiding places for a predator.
Even so, Zhao Jun and Zhou Chengguo didn’t dare to be careless. They kept their rifles raised, covering their left and right.
To Zhou Chengguo’s left and to Zhao Jun’s front right were large snowdrifts.
Aiming his rifle to the left, Zhou Chengguo said to Zhao Jun without turning his head, "Let’s both take a shot."
"Alright."
BANG! With Zhao Jun’s assent, Zhou Chengguo fired.
BANG! Zhao Jun immediately fired a shot to the right.
After the two shots, the area was still silent.
Zhao Jun said, "Brother, let’s keep moving."
"Let’s go!"
The two pressed forward again. After no more than a hundred meters, they saw a dog half-buried in the snow ahead.
The previous dog had been lying on the surface because Song Dong had pulled it out of the snow yesterday. After that, he hadn’t dared to go near the others.
While Zhou Chengguo stood guard with his rifle, Zhao Jun went over and pulled the dog out of the snow. He saw its neck had been snapped from behind, and blood had sprayed all over the surrounding area.
A killing bite.
This was the one-hit-kill method of a feline predator.
A few steps away, they saw paw prints. But when he saw where they came from, Zhou Chengguo’s face fell. "Brother," he said to Zhao Jun, "this isn’t just any Large Lynx. This is Big Claw."
Zhao Jun said nothing but nodded. The prints were here, but they originated from the Big Stone Cliff, over ten meters away.
Clearly, the creature had leaped from the Big Stone Cliff to instantly kill the hound.
As they continued forward, they saw dog tracks all over the ground, scattering in every direction. The dogs had clearly encountered something terrifying and fled for their lives in a blind panic.
Looking at the scattered tracks, Zhou Chengguo glanced ahead and said to Zhao Jun, "Brother, we can’t follow any further."
"Mm." Although they could see Big Claw’s tracks leading into the woods, Zhao Jun nodded in agreement. "The forest is too dense. We can’t go in."
It was the same principle as the old adage: *never follow an enemy into the woods*. ’If Big Claw is really hiding in there,’ Zhao Jun thought, ’with the trees so dense, it could be on us in an instant. We’d never be able to dodge it.’
Zhao Jun scanned the area, then pointed south. "Brother," he said to Zhou Chengguo, "let’s go up from the south side, circle around to the top of the ridge, and fire a few shots down. See if we can flush it out."
Zhou Chengguo looked south and nodded. "Good idea."
The two made their way up the southern slope. They hadn’t gone far when Zhou Chengguo suddenly pulled Zhao Jun to the side, ducking under a large, weathered tree.
Zhao Jun understood immediately and leaned against the tree. With one on the left and the other on the right, Zhou Chengguo fired a shot into the air.
BANG!
BANG! Without a word, Zhao Jun immediately followed with a second shot.
BANG! Zhou Chengguo fired again.
BANG. Zhao Jun added another.
After four shots, Zhou Chengguo held his fire, and Zhao Jun, in perfect sync with him, did the same.
Then, Zhou Chengguo pointed forward and said, "Brother, we have plenty of ammo, so don’t be shy. Let’s move. We’ll fire a shot every ten meters or so. I’ll shoot, we walk, then you shoot."
"Alright."
Rifles ready, the two advanced. They soon saw blood on the ground, but the stains looked like they were from a previous day.
After ten meters, Zhou Chengguo fired into the air.
After another ten meters, it was Zhao Jun’s turn.
Further on, they found four more dogs scattered about, all dead in the snow. While Zhou Chengguo kept watch, Zhao Jun went to inspect them. Each of the four dogs had either a pierced skull or a crushed throat—all killed in a single, fatal blow.
Just then, Zhou Chengguo fired again. At the sound of the shot, a WHOOSH came from up ahead. A beast burst from cover and, in a single, twisting leap, covered more than thirty meters in an instant.
Zhao Jun raised his rifle and fired two quick shots from his semi-automatic, but the beast had already vanished from sight.
Zhao Jun and Zhou Chengguo both froze, rifles raised, nervously scanning the area.
The instant they saw the beast, the scalps of both men prickled. A cold, tingling numbness shot through their bodies, like an electric shock.
It was a primal, physical reaction.
"Go!" Zhou Chengguo fired another shot into the air. With that single word, the two began to retreat the way they came, one covering the front and the other the rear.
They fired a shot every thirty to forty meters. Over the distance of roughly half a kilometer, they fired eight shots in total.
When they reached the spot where they had found the first dog, Zhao Jun whispered, "Brother, we should be safe now, right? It wouldn’t have followed us this far, would it?"
"Yeah, we should be fine." No sooner had Zhou Chengguo spoken than a gunshot rang out from behind them.
BANG!
Zhou Chengguo spun around instantly, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Zhao Jun, raised his rifle, and fired!
