In this world's mountains and forests, perhaps because spiritual energy was too abundant, vegetation always grew at an astonishing pace. Some trees could become towering giants in a single year, while monsters that devoured flesh and blood bred deep within the forests. Some animals could even transform into demons and gain the qualifications to cultivate.
To suppress these unstable existences, the City Defense Bureau organized people every month to fell trees around the city and along both sides of the official roads, destroying forests that had grown too dense. But such methods were far too crude, and if they were not careful, logging crews would sometimes be attacked by demons.
That was why the year-end cleanup was necessary every year. Otherwise, at the rate those demons grew, they would launch a counterattack on the city in less than ten years.
By the time the Second Patrol Squad arrived at the training grounds, every member of the First Patrol Squad was already present. Just as Yang Wenqing and the others stepped into formation and were about to speak, Xiao Liang and a Senior Police Sergeant approached at the same time. He was Wang Ze'en, captain of the First Squad, said to be the director's cousin.
Immediately afterward, a dense clatter of footsteps came from the training ground entrance. The members of the Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Patrol Squads ran in one after another under the lead of their captains.
In the blink of an eye, the open training ground was filled with more than forty guards. Blue uniforms formed an unbroken sea. With six captains standing at the front of their respective teams, the entire grounds were silent as a grave, save for the mournful howl of the cold wind sweeping past the flagpole.
More than ten seconds later, Director Wang Ren entered from the direction of the entrance. Two longswords hung from the tactical belt at his waist, while a standard-issue military pistol rested in his holster.
"This assembly—I believe you all know what it is for. Our station's target this time is Forest No. 13, fifty li east of the East City District. Aside from the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Patrol Squads remaining behind to guard the city, every other patrol squad member will participate."
Wang Ren's gaze swiftly swept over every guard present as he said sternly, "The First Patrol Squad will serve as the vanguard and coordinate with the logistics office to set up the camp. The Second Patrol Squad will follow closely behind. Once you arrive, sweep two kilometers outward with the camp as the center."
"The rear yard has prepared ample bullets, talisman paper, and dry rations for your two squads..." He lowered his head to glance at the mechanical watch on his wrist. "It is now four thirty in the afternoon. You need to get the camp set up before dark."
The two squads immediately sprang into action, jogging toward the rear yard. Two rune-powered transport trucks fitted with protective steel plates were already parked there, with several sealed wooden crates stacked nearby. Logistics personnel had long been standing by. Inside the crates were neatly arranged golden bullets, stacks of basic talisman paper, and compressed rations and dried meat wrapped in oiled paper.
Yang Wenqing and his teammates expertly checked their firearms, loaded extra bullets into speed loaders, sorted the talisman paper into the specially designed compartments of their tactical belts, and packed the dry rations into their backpacks.
Once the supplies had been distributed, Xiao Liang and Wang Ze'en exchanged a glance and nodded to each other.
"Everyone, attention," Xiao Liang barked. "Activate the Lightness Charm talismans. Maintain three-man combat formations and advance at full speed!"
At the command, the squad members immediately pulled pale green Lightness Charm talismans from their belt compartments and slapped them onto their legs without hesitation. The talismans ignited the moment they touched flesh, transforming into a breeze that wrapped around their legs.
"Move out!"
Wang Ze'en charged ahead, and the First Squad members shot toward the East City District like arrows loosed from a bow. Moving in three-man wedge formations, their footsteps were nearly inaudible against the gravel-strewn ground.
Yang Wenqing's Second Squad followed close behind. Feeling the lightness flowing through his legs, he adjusted his breathing and stride, keeping pace at Li Ming's side while Zhou Kun covered the other flank.
With the enhancement of the Lightness Charm, they could reach the speed of ordinary Qi Refinement Practitioners. The fifty-li journey would take only an hour.
Even so, since it was winter, by the time the First and Second Squads reached their designated location at the edge of Forest No. 13, the sun was already about to sink behind the distant mountains, leaving only a dark red afterglow on the horizon.
People were already at the camp—militiamen from nearby villages and towns. They had felled many giant trees and piled them together, diverted a stream to run through the middle of the camp, and set up simple wooden fencing and chevaux-de-frise around the perimeter.
"Clear the area and build the camp immediately. Move quickly!" Wang Ze'en's voice rang out in the dimming light.
The First Squad members immediately got to work, swiftly clearing away the overly dense vegetation in the chosen open area. At the same time, guards from the logistics office unloaded folding metal barricades, tent components, and lighting equipment from the transport trucks, beginning to construct simple defensive works and campsites.
Captain Xiao Liang swept his gaze over the Second Squad members. "Stay alert. Form groups of three, just as in our usual tactical training. Do not scatter. If you encounter an emergency, fire a signal flare immediately!"
"Yes!"
After receiving the order, Yang Wenqing, Li Ming, and Zhou Kun immediately formed a combat formation and cautiously entered the forest, where the light had already begun to dim.
The trees inside the forest towered into the clouds, their branches and leaves intertwined, nearly blocking out the sky. The air was damp and bitterly cold. A thick layer of fallen leaves covered the ground beneath their feet, soft and yielding as they stepped on it, rustling with every step and making the surrounding silence all the more terrifying.
The three held their breath and focused, slowly advancing for about one li when a strange rustling suddenly came from the bushes to their left.
"On guard!"
Li Ming shouted lowly. The three formed a triangular defensive formation, their gun barrels aimed toward the source of the sound.
The next moment, three demon beasts resembling jackals in shape but covered in dark-purple fur, corrosive drool dripping from the corners of their mouths, burst out!
Their eyes glowed with bloodthirsty red light. On all fours, they moved with astonishing speed, fanning out as they closed in on the three men.
"Corrupt-Claw Jackals! Watch their claws and saliva!" Zhou Kun shouted in warning.
Bang! Bang!
Li Ming and Zhou Kun fired almost simultaneously. Bullets screamed through the air and struck the two Corrupt-Claw Jackals charging at the front with precision. One had its foreleg shot through and rolled across the ground with a miserable howl. The other was hit in the neck, dark-purple blood spraying out as it struggled a few times before falling still.
However, the third Corrupt-Claw Jackal was exceptionally cunning. Using its companions to draw their fire, it lowered its body and burst forward, slipping through the gap in Li Ming and Zhou Kun's barrage. Its foul-smelling maw gaped open as it lunged straight at Yang Wenqing on the flank!
Yang Wenqing's gaze remained calm, as though he had long foreseen its path. The instant the Corrupt-Claw Jackal leaped into the air, he steadily raised his gun.
In but a moment, he clearly saw the arc of the Corrupt-Claw Jackal's leap and predicted where its head would be in the next instant.
Bang!
A crisp gunshot rang out.
The bullet flew with flawless precision into the Corrupt-Claw Jackal's gaping, blood-filled maw and pierced through the back of its skull!
The Corrupt-Claw Jackal's forward momentum came to an abrupt halt. It let out a whimper before crashing heavily at Yang Wenqing's feet, scattering several dead leaves. After twitching twice, it fell silent.
"Excellent shooting!"
Li Ming praised him sincerely.
Yang Wenqing let out a soft breath, checked the cylinder, and held an Explosive Round in his hand in case of emergency.
At that moment, scattered gunfire echoed from nearby parts of the forest. Some of it sounded like blank shots, meant to intimidate the demon beasts hiding in the dark. This was experience gained from past forest-clearing operations. In the words of the Security Academy instructors: those demon beasts possessed inherited memories, and gunfire was the source of fear passed down from their ancestors.
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