Fearing that the other party would discover their whereabouts, the flashlight, which was wrapped up, only cautiously illuminated a small part of the path underfoot. Wang Tianxiao walked in front, testing the ground before taking each step.

His two younger brothers followed closely behind him, almost stepping in his footprints as they moved slowly.

Their movement speed is quite slow.

Wang Tianxiao dared not act hastily. Alerting the enemy was a minor matter; the most important thing was that they couldn't yet ascertain the other party's purpose and strength.

How many people are there, what is their combat strength, especially whether they have guns, and if so, what kind of guns?

You need to understand these things to deal with them effectively.

Otherwise, if they are discovered and lose the initiative, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Desperados are incapable of compassion, nor will they spare these people just because they are young, and there is even a child among them.

In the deep mountains, killing a person and leaving them to be eaten by predators is a very easy and possible thing.

We must find a place to observe and see what they are actually doing.

The three of them groped their way forward. As Wang Tianxiao walked, his curiosity grew stronger. Although he was not as familiar with Yangzi Ridge as he was with his previous workplace, he still knew the general terrain of the mountain very well.

If his memory serves him right, a short distance ahead lies a precipice, below which lies another village. To descend the mountain, there is no way from this direction; one must detour eight or nine kilometers further ahead.

Only a legendary martial arts master capable of leaping high and low could step off a cliff with his left foot on his right and descend like a bird.

If that's the case, what are those illegal loggers doing here?

If we want to go down the mountain, wouldn't that be taking a long detour?

With doubts, the three continued walking for a while, and could vaguely make out four or five figures.

Wang Tianxiao stopped in his tracks.

"Brother, what's wrong?" Wang Tiancheng asked.

Wang Tianxiao looked around at the terrain.

Strictly speaking, they are currently standing below those people, and they can see their silhouettes only because they are far enough away. If they continue forward, they will probably gradually lose sight of them.

Moreover, in the event of an emergency, the enemy, with its superior position, obviously has a greater advantage. Therefore, throughout history, both armies have placed great importance on controlling the high ground.

Wang Tianxiao weighed the semi-automatic rifle in his hand, feeling much more at ease.

"Fifth and Sixth Brothers, the other side outnumbers us, and we don't even know if they have any weapons. A direct confrontation wouldn't be a wise move,"

He pointed to two places and said, "Fifth brother, go over there and find a tree to hide under. Sixth brother, go over there too. Once you're there, don't make any rash moves. When you hear me say something, just repeat the same words."

"Why not just go up and catch them?" Wang Tianxin didn't want to go through all that trouble.

Wang Tianxiao looked at his innocent younger brother and smiled wryly, "Logging a few trees isn't a serious crime. They don't even need to be detained. They can be released after a reprimand. There's no need to go to extremes and make too deep a grudge with them. Just drive them away."

"That's too easy on them, isn't it?"

"What else do you want? To catch them and shoot them?" Wang Tianxiao looked at his younger brother, who was prone to extreme actions. "Look at all the thieves on the streets. Why do the police release them so quickly after catching them? It's because the severity of the crime varies. Stealing trees is wrong, but it doesn't warrant a prison sentence."

Seeing that his younger brother still didn't understand, he had no choice but to say, "There's another fatal problem. I'm not a formal forest ranger in Yangziling right now; I will be after the new year. At least I don't have the right to arrest these people. If I injure them, I'll be the one who has to go to jail or pay compensation."

Having said that, Wang Tianxin naturally understood.

"That's really letting them off easy."

He understood, but he was still unconvinced.

"Alright, if you're really interested, then study hard. After you finish high school, you can come to the mountains and work as a forest ranger with me. Then you can punish these people properly."

"Oh well."

Seeing that Wang Tianxin had finished, Wang Tianxiao told them to take their positions and then quickly ran up to a spot himself.

He recalled seeing a huge rock nearby during a patrol a few days ago, which could serve as cover. If the other side had a gun, it might be necessary to use firearms to resolve the situation, making cover extremely important.

Following his memory, he found the hidden spot, placed the gun on the ground, attached the sight and silencer, and looked at the cliff edge through the sight.

The Type 56 semi-automatic rifle can be used as a sniper rifle, but it requires a separate scope; otherwise, with the average human's field of vision, even if the gun can be used, a person cannot see that far.

Upon seeing this, he instantly understood what these people wanted to do.

They planned to push the logs directly off the cliff and then collect them in the village below.

This perfectly solves the problem of bringing the logs down the mountain.

It can only be said that the wisdom of the "working" people is boundless. Wang Tianxiao watched a documentary where some mountain people cut down trees and threw them directly into the river, letting the trees float downstream and be collected. This is similar to the way these people do now.

However, this kind of thinking was not used for the right purpose.

Judging from the wood around them, at least a hundred or so trees had been felled.

At this time of year, trees are still quite valuable. If it's pine, cypress, or fir, a single cubic meter of wood can fetch four or five hundred yuan, so those pieces of wood should be worth several thousand yuan. If sold individually, they could probably sell for over ten thousand yuan.

In earlier years, due to limitations in steel smelting technology and production capacity, many pieces of furniture were made entirely of wood. Similarly, because the cement industry had not yet developed, the rafters and beams of houses were also made of wood.

Therefore, the demand for timber was huge, and the price was much higher than the living standards at the time.

For example, in his previous life, Wang Tianxiao planted a circle of catalpa trees outside the backyard after the family divided their property. This type of wood is not considered very good, but after a few years of price increases, it has a diameter of about ten centimeters, and each tree can sell for three hundred yuan.

At the time, he thought timber prices would continue to rise, making it a rare commodity. However, as industrialization progressed, timber prices not only failed to rise but continued to fall.

So much so that when the yard was later renovated, anyone willing to come and dig up the trees could have them taken away for free.

Some people know that trees in the mountains are valuable, but not many people actually have ulterior motives to steal them.

The main problem is the inconvenience of transportation.

Even a tree with a diameter of ten centimeters, cut into pieces two or three meters long, is very heavy and cannot be easily lifted by an ordinary person.

Even if you could carry it, how would you carry it home? If someone on the way discovered it, the accusation of theft would be confirmed, a label you could never shake off.

People in this era are still stuck in an old-fashioned education model, generally valuing dignity and face above all else, and even if they are poor, they cannot lose their self-esteem.

Stealing is wrong in itself, and then there's the shame involved, which most people can't accept.

While Wang Tianxiao was pondering, the thieves had already lifted a tree and rolled it off the cliff, and then they had already lifted a second one.