It was already evening when Peng Jiahu arrived at the small wooden building. The setting sun was sinking below the distant mountaintop, and the colorful clouds painted the sky red, like blood.
Peng Jiahu instructed his team to park the two vehicles in a concealed location, leaving one team member in the vehicle to guard the wireless communication equipment, while the others dispersed and cautiously approached.
The small wooden building was surrounded by dense forest on both sides, with a cliff behind it and only a clearing in front. Two corpses lay in the clearing, one of them in a gruesome state, as if it had been torn apart by some wild animal; the other, dressed like a beggar, had been shot in the head.
Peng Jiahu crouched down, looked around, and then spoke into his headset, "Everyone, be careful, Venomous Snake has a gun, watch out for ambushes. Xiao Li, Datou, you two go check the woods on both sides, the rest of you stay hidden and wait."
After a while, Xiao Li and Datou's voices came through the earphones:
"Report: The woods on the left are safe."
"Report: A pickup truck has been spotted in the woods on the right, but no one is inside."
Peng Jiahu said, "The woods here are too dense, don't let your guard down. You two stay at the entrance to the woods, I'll go check out the small wooden building."
The fat guy next to him said, " Captain Peng, I'll go."
Peng Jiahu nodded and said, "Okay, be careful."
The fat man grunted in agreement, crouched down, and walked towards the small wooden building. When he got there, he leaned against the door, gave an OK sign, and then kicked the door open.
Peng Jiahu lay tensely behind a pile of rubble, watching the small building closely, his finger gripping the trigger, ready to fire a shot to provide support at any moment.
A short while later, the window on the second floor of the small wooden house opened, and the fat man poked his head out. His voice came through the earphones. "There's no one here, but there's a back door."
Just as Peng Jiahu relaxed, a sudden, deafening explosion shattered the small wooden building, sending flames soaring into the sky and waves of heat sweeping outwards. Wood chips and leaves danced in the air, and a severed arm lay on the open ground in front of the building.
" Feizai-- " Peng Jiahu shouted, his eyes almost spitting blood.
Just then, a series of gunshots rang out from the woods on the right.
Simultaneously, Xiao Li and Datou's screams came through the earphones: "Ah--ah--"
"Everyone, take cover! The bandits have automatic weapons!" Peng Jiahu roared. " Xiao Li, Datou, how are you doing?"
"Boss, I'm fine, but their firepower is too strong, I can't move," Xiao Li said.
"I'm fine, just a little scratch on my leg," Datou said.
" Sanzi, come with me to support Datou, the rest of you support Xiao Li," Peng Jiahu ordered, running along the rocks towards the woods on the right while firing into the forest.
The sun had set, the sky was darkening, and the rapids of gunfire rang out, bullets flying out of the woods like flashing locusts.
Peng Jiahu leaped out from behind the rock and hid behind a large tree.
"Fuck him!" Peng Jiahu cursed, returning fire with his Type 92 pistol in the direction of the thugs.
Judging from the gunshots, the number of bandits was not large, but they were using automatic weapons, while our side was using pistols. In terms of power, range, and magazine capacity, our side was no match for the bandits in a direct confrontation.
Since Mu Kuo was eliminated, the anti-drug squad hasn't fought a tough battle in a long time. Most drug dealers rarely carry guns, let alone automatic weapons like AKs.
Moreover, the pursuit of Mu Kuo back then was well-prepared, with the support of special police, unlike this sudden and unexpected situation. Although the eight team members he brought were quite skilled in the police force, most of them were young and had never seen such a large-scale operation before.
Peng Jiahu regretted not bringing Shi Dazhuang. Both of them were reconnaissance soldiers; with Shi Dazhuang there, the two of them, like a lion and a tiger, might have been able to subdue these bandits.
Datou was less than five meters away from him, leaning against a large tree root and firing into the woods.
A dark, shadowy object flew out of the woods and landed in the direction where Datou was.
"Get out of the way, grenades!" Peng Jiahu shouted.
Datou saw it too, but his leg was injured and he couldn't move, so he could only watch helplessly as the grenade fell beside him.
With a loud bang, the grenade exploded.
Before the flames soared into the sky, Peng Jiahu saw Datou smile at him.
Peng Jiahu, his eyes blazing with fury, yelled into his headset, " Simao! Request helicopter support from the Municipal Special Police Unit, quick!"
"Yes!" Simao, who was in charge of maintaining communications in the car, responded.
Just then, a ball of flame, trailing a meteor-like tail and accompanied by a sharp whistle, flew out of the forest in an unpredictable arc.
"Rocket--!" Peng Jiahu shouted, but his shout could not stop the brilliant trajectory of the rocket, nor could it get Simao out of the car in time.
With a deafening roar, the police SUV was instantly engulfed in flames, flipped twice, and plunged off the cliff beside it.
The beeping tone came from Shi Dazhuang's cell phone, which had been constantly charging and in use. He picked it up and glanced at it, confirming that the communication had been interrupted. He didn't know if Qingmu's satellite phone had run out of power or if something had happened.
Peng Jiahu and his team had been on their way for a while. Shi Dazhuang opened the map and calculated Peng Jiahu's current location, wondering how long it would take to reach Qingmu's place.
He didn't know what situation Qingmu was facing. If it was just the Medicine Granny and Han Bo's gang, he believed Qingmu could handle them, but if it was Mu Ka... only those who had fought drug dealers in the jungle knew how terrifying these desperate criminals were.
Yu Meiren sat quietly in the room, comforting Shi Dazhuang who looked anxious, " Qingmu Yeye is so amazing, he'll definitely be alright. Don't worry, Uncle!"
"Yes, yes, don't worry, Uncle." Shi Dazhuang laughed. After being a policeman for half his life, he ended up needing a little girl to comfort him.
Police officer Xiao Zhang was in charge of household registration, came over and asked, " Captain Shi, what are you planning to do for dinner?"
"Oh, is it already dinnertime?"
It was still light outside, but after Xiao Zhang Zhang's reminder, Shi Dazhuang's stomach started rumbling loudly.
Come to think of it, I was busy all day, putting out fires and then coming back to analyze the case, and then I received a call from Qingmu. I hadn't stopped and even forgot about eating.
Shi Dazhuang a little guilty. He was a policeman, and forgetting to eat was a common occurrence for him, but Beauty was still a child!
" My Beauty, are you hungry?"
Yu Meiren nodded shyly and said, "Yes, Uncle, I'm hungry."
Shi Dazhuang stood up. "Come on, Uncle will take you to eat beef rice noodles."
The Beauty said, "Vegetable rice noodles will do; beef is too expensive! Grandpa Enkun said beef is even more expensive than chicken!"
Xiao Zhang said, "There's a shop nearby that makes pretty good rice noodles, and the meat is fresh too."
"Okay, I'll do as you say," Shi Dazhuang said.
Xiao Zhang then led Shi Dazhuang and Yu Meiren out of the police station, turned left, and after a short walk, entered a millet noodle shop.
The shop was small, with only a few small square tables, which were already quite full. There was no air conditioning, but two powerful electric fans hung on the wall.
They chose an empty table by the window and sat down. Xiao Zhang then called out to the proprietress, "Auntie, three bowls of beef rice noodles, extra beef, and a plate of dried beef and a plate of chicken rice noodles."
The proprietress recognized Xiao Zhang; she knew he worked at the police station. With a smile, she said, "Okay, okay, I'll be right there."
Although the shop is small, business is pretty good, and people are coming in one after another to eat rice noodles.
A refined-looking man wearing gold-rimmed glasses arrived at the shop entrance, hesitated for a moment, then pulled his suitcase inside. He went straight to the table where Shi Dazhuang and his companions were sitting, adjusted his glasses, and asked, "Is there anyone here to sit?"