Chapter 320: Being Watched
Although Wang An couldn't figure out exactly what was going on, he could guess the general idea. One thing he was certain of was that this group of people definitely wasn't up to anything good.
When men kidnap women or young children and avoid the main roads to travel through deep mountains, what else could it be but something sinister?
Besides, who would be bored enough to carve a path through the dense forests of these mountains?
However, none of this had anything to do with him; getting the sled back was the current top priority.
Putting his thoughts aside, Wang An focused on walking along the path.
After winding through several twists and turns, Wang An finally emerged from the dense forest.
He had to admit, this path was carved with professional precision—it was practically a damn maze.
He wondered if the person who made this path was just bored out of their mind or if their brain was filled with shit.
In a forest belt only about 600 meters wide, they had managed to create a path nearly 3 li long!
Upon exiting, Wang An looked back and couldn't help but curse, "Fuck, what a dumbass!"
After cursing, he turned his head back toward the direction where the footprints disappeared. His curiosity was piqued again because that direction led toward JY County.
It was well known that the most impressive industry in JY County was that invincible gold mine.
That gold mine was currently the largest and richest deposit in all of Huaxia, with the highest gold content in the ore.
Could the county town where such a gold mine was located possibly be a quiet place?
Once again setting his thoughts aside, Wang An walked toward the sled.
As he walked, he observed the entirety of Wild Boar Ridge. The route he was currently taking was actually the northernmost edge of the ridge, specifically a small section of the outermost northern perimeter.
Anything referred to as a "Ridge" was guaranteed to cover a significant area.
It was said that the total length of Wild Boar Ridge was over 20 li. The area the three of them had traversed was merely a peripheral zone; excluding the dense forest, it was less than 2 li.
If a place less than 2 li wide could hold such a large group of pigs, then how many wild boars were there in the entirety of Wild Boar Ridge?
Now, having discovered the path carved by that "dumbass," Wang An felt that Wild Boar Ridge was a hunting ground prepared specifically for him.
Because among all the mountain foragers, it seemed that not a single person had discovered this man-made path yet.
If he ever ran short of meat in the future or felt like hunting wild boars, this would be the place to go. Although it might be a bit dangerous, a Type 56 semi-automatic could eliminate any danger.
Soon, Wang An returned to the sled. The pack of dogs, seeing him return, wagged their tails one after another.
It was clear the dogs were genuinely happy; perhaps dogs entering the mountains also felt bored if they stayed in one place for too long.
After putting away the fodder for the horses, Wang An gave Da Hei a good scrubbing. He praised the dog while scrubbing, and Da Hei, feeling pampered, kept grunting happily.
After soothing Da Hei, Wang An drove the sled toward the path in the dense forest.
At this time, the mountain expedition led by Sun Nian had already crossed the outer perimeter of the mountains and begun advancing into the depths.
Although the ten teams were widely dispersed, the number of target routes they could search was simply too few.
In reality, there were no roads in the mountains; everyone who entered actually traveled along the ridges of the various mountain ranges.
Fortunately, it was the season when the mountains were sealed by heavy snow, so foragers left many footprints when entering and exiting.
Otherwise, for someone unfamiliar with the terrain, getting into the mountains and trying to get back out would be no simple matter.
But it was precisely because of these footprints that the hundred-odd people became more confused as they walked, unsure of which path was the correct one.
The two people carrying radios beside Sun Nian reported information from the various squads from time to time, and Sun Nian's small brow furrowed tighter and tighter.
This was because every squad kept repeating the same question
"Which way do we go next?"
Facing these boundless mountains, Sun Nian was just as clueless!
Thus, Sun Nian kept repeating the same phrase
"Use your own discretion."
Exactly—use their own discretion. If they didn't, there was no other way; the mountains were so massive, who the hell knew which way to go?
However, as they walked, the problem became even more frustrating because human footprints were becoming increasingly scarce.
As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but trees and snow. Sun Nian began to grow anxious, muttering under her breath, "Zhang Shuya, where the hell did you die?"
Yet, her tone was not one of complaint, but of worry and anxiety.
Clearly, the Zhang Shuya she mentioned was an acquaintance.
In fact, Sun Nian and Zhang Shuya were not only acquaintances but classmates, having graduated together from the Ice City Military Engineering University.
In this era, it was a legitimate military engineering university and a very prestigious one.
Of course, in later generations, it was renamed Ice City Engineering, and its prestige declined slightly.
The fact that the two of them got into university actually had little to do with their grades, as they had both entered via recommendations; consequently, their academic performance was quite poor.
However, their hand-to-hand combat skills were excellent, and university students of this era were often full of passion.
Therefore, after graduation, since New Huaxia had basically no wars to fight, the two of them had a sudden impulse and became police officers.
To apply what they had learned, they became criminal investigators on the front lines.
The reason Zhang Shuya went missing was that while she was conducting surveillance, she discovered a major secret but was outmaneuvered by criminals.
Investigation showed that she disappeared within these mountains, which was why Sun Nian and her group had entered the mountains to find her.
Furthermore, Zhang Shuya had another identity: she was the daughter of a certain military officer in Ice City.
Among the people Sun Nian led, only the public security officers were from DJ County; the soldiers were not from DJ County but had come from Ice City.
This explained why those soldiers were following Sun Nian's command.
Of course, Sun Nian's group was only one wave; there were several other groups doing the same thing.
However, the Lesser Khingan Mountains were vast, so these groups entered from different directions.
Just as Sun Nian was filled with anxiety, Wang An drove the sled through the winding dense forest and returned to where Mu Xueli and Wang Li were.
It had to be said that Mu Xueli and Wang Li's gutting speed was very fast; all 22 wild boars had already been gutted.
At this moment, the two of them were simply cleaning the pig intestines and stomachs.
The so-called "simple cleaning" just meant emptying all the waste from the intestines and stomachs.
After arriving, Wang An looked around and asked the two, "Since I left, has anyone passed by here?"
The two instinctively looked at each other, and then Mu Xueli said
"I haven't seen anyone."
After speaking, Mu Xueli took out the heart, liver, and lungs that had been placed back into the boar's belly and cut them into small pieces with a knife, preparing to feed them to the dogs.
Wang Li thought for a moment, then pointed behind the direction of the four sets of footprints and said
"Probably not. For a second, I thought I saw a person, but just as I picked up my gun, the figure vanished. Maybe I was seeing things."
After Wang Li finished speaking, he did the same as Mu Xueli.
Upon hearing this, Wang An felt the hair on his body stand on end, a chill running down his spine.
Wang An had a strong intuition that the three of them were definitely being watched; he just didn't know where the scout was hiding.
Furthermore, Wang An guessed that the opponent might have reservations, or perhaps they weren't carrying a long gun, meaning their range was insufficient.
Otherwise, the opponent likely would have already started silencing witnesses.
Regardless of the reason, the current situation for the three of them was not very safe.
The key was that Wang An didn't trust "people from the underworld" by a single hair.
Because Wang An had once been one of those "people from the underworld" himself.