Chapter 123 What happens when a group of people try to escape?
Guan Xia sat there for several hours without feeling sleepy at all. Even when it was too dark and he left the range of the camping light, he could not feel the passage of time in the pitch black and silent surroundings.
This caused everyone to check the time almost every few minutes, and they couldn't help but mutter, "Why is time passing so slowly?"
The later it got, the more restless Guan Xia became. Finally, when it was almost dawn, Xu Nian's cell phone rang.
After a quick conversation, Xu Nian breathed a sigh of relief and said with a hint of excitement, "The first group of reinforcements has already started going up the mountain. Subsequent personnel will be deployed around the area, aiming for a complete, dragnet-like search with no loopholes."
The reinforcements finally arrived, and Guan Xia felt as if a huge stone had been lifted from her heart. She instantly felt relieved and said, "We called the police immediately, almost as soon as the gunshot was heard. The murderer couldn't have anticipated this. We'll definitely arrest him this time."
Guan Xia said it very decisively. It was also an inexplicable intuition that she had. She just felt that the man would not be able to escape.
Pang Le sighed and said, "I just don't know what happened to the people at that campsite. Are there many casualties?"
Wang Yu said, "Aside from the first five shots, there haven't been any more. I roughly counted the number of people while climbing the mountain today. There were sixteen of us, all young. They might not be physically strong, but at that age, they're definitely quick-witted. So my guess is pretty optimistic."
Pang Le muttered, "I hope so."
Ji An did not participate in their discussion. He kept looking at his watch and looking outside from time to time, obviously worried about Zhong Xiaoyu.
Guan Xia saw it, moved her buttocks closer to Ji An, and whispered, "Don't worry, Sister Ji, Zhong Xiaoyu is a former armed police officer. He is very skilled and strong, and he is brave and careful. He will be fine."
Ji An forced a smile and nodded, reaching out to touch Guan Xia's head, but his eyes were full of worry and regret.
Guan Xia guessed that she must be regretting that she didn't insist on going with him, otherwise the two of them could have looked after each other.
Guan Xia also looked at the time again and calculated in his mind that it had been more than three hours since Zhong Xiaoyu left.
Although it is August now, the temperature difference between day and night in the mountains is large. It is also an undeveloped wild mountain. The mountain path is narrow and difficult to walk on, and there are no guardrails on both sides. Zhong Xiaoyu is here for the first time. Even though he has carefully observed the terrain during the day, he is not familiar with it. Guan Xia couldn't help but imagine the scene of Zhong Xiaoyu slipping and falling down the mountain in his mind.
Guan Xia quickly shook this unlucky scene from his mind. He could no longer sit still and simply stood on the platform outside the cave wrapped in a blanket, looking around.
The others were equally worried, so a few hours later, everyone returned to the platform, anxiously looking at the only mountain trail in and out of the campsite.
Fortunately, the scene that Guan Xia imagined in his mind did not come true. After another hour, around 1:00 a.m., a familiar figure finally appeared faintly on the narrow mountain road.
Ji An recognized her immediately, and with a rare expression of excitement, he said, "It's Zhong Xiaoyu, she's back."
Everyone subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, and then waved excitedly to Zhong Xiaoyu.
Zhong Xiaoyu obviously saw it and ran up a little faster.
It was a cold night in the mountains, but Zhong Xiaoyu was sweating all over. The hair on his forehead was wet with sweat and stuck to his forehead. Fortunately, the hair was not long and did not block his vision.
Zhong Xiaoyu casually wiped the sweat from his face and panted, "I've figured out the situation. I also saw the criminal. He has triangular eyes, a flat nose, and is wearing a black jacket. The gun he was holding was indeed a homemade rifle. It looked very crudely made and not very lethal. At least I didn't see a body, but I did see blood. Someone must have been injured, but they were probably rescued or went into hiding."
"And..." Zhong Xiaoyu paused, frowning and thinking for a moment before adding, "I don't think the criminal's goal was to shoot the people at the campsite. You might not believe me, but I saw him from afar through binoculars, hanging behind the group of young people, but he didn't shoot again, as if he was trying to drive them away."
"Drive him away?" Guan Xia was completely stunned when she heard this. She said in disbelief, "Why would he drive him away? Didn't Wang Yu say before that he was born with an antisocial personality and enjoyed the thrill of controlling people's lives? Could it be that he's not the person we're talking about?"
Guan Xia thought of something as he spoke. He quickly pulled out his phone from his pocket and searched for it for a few minutes before finding what he was looking for. He handed it to Zhong Xiaoyu and asked, "Look, is it him?"
Zhong Xiaoyu only took two glances and said with certainty: "It's him, the man I saw."
Xu Nian and the others also leaned forward. Wang Yu only took a glance and said with certainty, "It's the murderer of the 0217 family murder case."
Pang Le hesitated and said, "So, the murderer has changed his methods? Is he so perverted?"
I don’t know what Pang Le was thinking about, his whole face was wrinkled.
Guan Xia thought of something when he heard this. After thinking hard for a few seconds, his eyes lit up and he looked at Pang Le, "Do you still remember what happened to Song Yi in Quchun City?"
Guan Xia said this and looked at Xu Nian again. She had asked Xu Nian about this matter later. Due to confidentiality regulations, she didn't know the specific details of what happened, but when she connected some of the known information with what happened today, it was indeed extremely similar.
Pang Le was stunned for a moment before he understood. He looked at Guan Xia with a serious expression and said, "You mean... Song Yi and the others encountered a similar situation that night, two of them died, and she escaped?"
Guan Xia nodded. She was both curious and impressed at the time. She wondered how Song Yi could have managed to escape even when he was being chased by someone with a gun, late at night, and in the mountains.
At the time, all she could think about was fighting and hiding from criminals. Only after what happened tonight did she realize what a terrifying night she had been through.
Not only did he have to worry about criminals shooting at him from behind at any time, but he also had to be careful not to fall down the mountain. Song Yi was able to survive not only because of his good luck, but also because of his experience and the physical fitness he had developed through years of outdoor activities.
If it were Guan Xia, she might not even last an hour.
After sighing inwardly, Guan Xia heard Meng Lan's anxious tone ask, "It's already this late, why don't you two stop playing dumb? I'm too slow to understand. Can someone explain it to me?"
This time, it was the elder Jiang Yingyao who patiently explained, "They are saying that the murderer of the 0217 family murder case has upgraded his methods of committing murder. Based on the case that occurred in Quchun City in April this year and today's situation, we can infer that the murderer no longer enjoys the pleasure of killing with his own hands, but is more inclined to toy with the victims and enjoy their fear and despair. Take the scene that Zhong Xiaoyu saw tonight. Because there is precedent, we can infer that the reason the murderer stopped shooting after firing five shots was to intimidate them first, causing them to panic and flee with a strong desire to survive. He then hung behind the crowd from a distance, admiring their strong negative emotions and panicked choices for survival. Just imagine, an undeveloped wild mountain with unfamiliar terrain and rugged and narrow mountain paths. What will happen to a group of people trying to escape?"
The more Jiang Yingyao spoke, the more his expression became gloomy. Meng Lan was completely stunned when she heard him. She subconsciously muttered, "They slipped and fell down the mountain. In order to run faster and not be left behind, they would push each other?"
Meng Lan seemed to be frightened by her own speculation. She trembled and said in disbelief, "In modern society, there are still such perverted people?"
Pang Le said, "So he is born with an antisocial personality. A normal person would never do such a thing."
Xu Nian suddenly asked Zhong Xiaoyu, "You said you saw the people at the campsite running away. Which direction did they go?"
Zhong Xiaoyu said, "Most people went down the mountain, but a small number of people panicked and headed towards our campsite."
Ji An asked, "Where is the criminal? Which direction did he go?"
Zhong Xiaoyu replied, "I chased most of the people down the mountain. It's a pity I don't have a sniper rifle, otherwise I could definitely have shot him at that distance."
Zhong Xiaoyu slapped her thigh angrily as she spoke. Everyone could understand her. After all, she was from the armed police force, and her natural responsibility was to protect the property and lives of the people. The same was true for Xu Nian and the others. If they had not had no weapons, they would have rushed out as soon as they heard the gunshots.
Guan Xia easily understood Xu Nian's meaning. She glanced at him and asked, "Do you want to pick up the people fleeing in our direction and find out more about the situation?"
Xu Nian nodded, looked at his colleagues, and then looked at Ji An for his opinion, "What do you think?"
Ji An said calmly, "I agree. Let's go now without further ado."
Meng Lan looked at them hesitantly, and after a moment she couldn't help but say, "It's the darkest time of the day now, and the dew is heavy. I just checked, the mountain path is a bit slippery and difficult to walk on. You..."
Facing the gazes of the crowd, Meng Lan's voice became smaller and smaller, and finally she only whispered, "Be careful."
Guan Xia thought she was too weak to go, so she naturally didn't go. Pang Le had subconsciously followed suit and packed up, but only realized it after he put his backpack on his back. He put it back and looked at Ji An and said, "You guys go. Guan Xia and I are used to being conjoined. I feel uneasy without her under my watch in this kind of environment, so I won't go. You guys be careful and watch your step."
No one else said anything, but Zhong Xiaoyu hugged Pang Le when leaving.
Guan Xia noticed that Zhong Xiaoyu stuffed something into Pang Le's hand in a very subtle way.
After everyone left, Guan Xia asked curiously, "What did Zhong Xiaoyu give you?"
Pang Le opened his palm and showed it to Guan Xia. "It's a dagger. I don't know when she prepared it. I guess it's for self-defense."
Guan Xia was amazed. "Zhong Xiaoyu is really well prepared for this camping trip. He even brought weapons."
Pang Le played with the dagger in one hand while putting his arm around Guan Xia's shoulders with the other. He smiled and said, "I guess she heard about your great achievements from Sister Ji and made some special preparations just in case. After all, she's from the armed police and must be afraid of insufficient firepower. Only our country has banned guns, otherwise she would definitely have gotten a gun."
Pang Le said as he looked down at the dagger, "Come to think of it, I have a feeling that this dagger will be useful to me today."
Guan Xia was horrified by what she said, "Don't tell me we'll be so unlucky. As soon as they left, the murderer would come to us."
Meng Lan was frightened by what the two said and her face turned pale. She shuddered and subconsciously retreated against the mountain wall, looking at the mountain path where no one was seen in panic.
"That won't happen," Pang Le shook his head and said, "You have to trust Zhong Xiaoyu. If the environment we are in is not absolutely safe, Zhong Xiaoyu would not be able to leave without worry. After all, those people are the people, and so are the three of us."
Guan Xia touched the cold sweat on his forehead caused by fear, and nodded belatedly.
That's true. She and Xu Nian investigated several cases in a row. They came into contact with criminal police every day. The places they went in and out were either police stations or crime scenes. They had almost forgotten that they were not police officers, but just non-staff members in Yongquan City.
Thinking of this, Guan Xia no longer worried about herself, but just looked worriedly in the direction where the group of people left.
I hope their trip goes smoothly and they can bring those people back safely without any accidents.
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