Chapter 348 Delaying Time
Xia Lili, who was in the command vehicle at the rear, clearly heard the quick-witted responses of "Mountain Eagle" and "Nightingale" through the real-time audio transmission.
The corners of her tightly pursed lips couldn't help but rise slightly, and her tense heartstrings relaxed a little.
As expected of a senior police officer, his reaction was so quick!
Xia Lili sighed inwardly.
In this closed mountain village where modern medical knowledge is lacking, words like "infectious hepatitis" are enough to trigger the most instinctive fear and avoidance.
It is a hundred times more effective than any common excuses like "I'm full" or "I'm not thirsty".
Not only did it instantly destroy the basis for the other party's "enthusiastic" persuasion, but it also made the villagers actively avoid it, completely eliminating any possibility of subsequent persuasion to eat or drink!
If other excuses were used, given the country people's hospitality, they would probably continue to persuade them, or even feel that they were not giving them face, which might lead to trouble.
Now, the villagers will only think that these two people are "unlucky" but "honest". They will neither get overly close to them nor deliberately make things difficult for them. Instead, they will create a safer and more distant observation space for the police to continue their investigation.
Xia Lili felt like she had learned something again!
In the real-time transmitted images, the atmosphere presents a strange "harmony".
"Mountain Eagle" and "Nightingale" were surrounded by a dozen villagers.
Although after they threw out the excuse of "infectious disease", the villagers no longer enthusiastically handed out water and food, and even subconsciously kept a subtle distance.
But they had no intention of leaving. Instead, they chatted even harder, trying to fill every second of the air with various topics.
"Where are you two bosses coming from? This road is not easy to travel!"
"How many people are there in your family? You must be making a lot of money doing this, right?"
"What's the price of mushrooms outside this year? I heard that bosses in the city like to eat our wild vegetables?"
The questions came one after another, disorganized, yet with a deliberate warmth.
"Mountain Eagle" still had the smile of an honest merchant on his face and answered all the questions perfunctorily, but his sensitive nerves were gradually tense.
He raised his voice again, bringing the conversation back on track: "Fellow villagers, I appreciate your kindness! Let's take a look at some mountain products first. If anyone has any, please bring them out so we can see. The price is negotiable!"
However, the villagers just laughed it off:
"Oh, no hurry, no hurry!"
"Yes, yes, I've asked someone to get it!"
"You can take a break here, it will be delivered right away. Why would we bother you to run there yourself? Don't worry, it will be delivered immediately!"
These seemingly considerate words instantly pierced the false calm in the heart of "Mountain Eagle".
Something is wrong.
The real mountain product transaction is about inspecting the goods, bargaining, and weighing, all in a quick and efficient manner.
But these villagers seemed to be carrying out some kind of mission.
It seems that their purpose is not to sell goods at all, but to use this aimless chat to nail the two of them here!
It's like... delaying time!
A cold sense of alertness climbed up the spine of "Mountain Eagle".
At this time, Xia Lili, who was far away at the temporary command point, was staring at the real-time images transmitted back from the high-definition screen.
Her sharp eyes passed through the seemingly warm greetings and accurately captured the subtle but unconcealable flaws on each villager's face.
Although the corners of their mouths were raised sharply, the muscles around their eyes did not contract, and they lacked the signature crow's feet of a sincere smile.
There was no trace of a warm smile in those eyes, but instead a deliberately maintained emptiness and scrutiny.
This emotional disharmony between the upper and lower halves of the face is, in micro-expression psychology, a typical "Duchenne smile," an expression that can be deliberately manipulated and not from the heart.
"The people in this village are much more difficult to deal with than the last one."
A technician who was staring at the monitoring screen beside him couldn't help but whisper something in a serious tone.
All the police officers in the tent felt the strange pressure spreading through the screen.
The other side is obviously more organized and more cunning.
What are they waiting for?
Could it be that the two undercover agents were exposed?
Or is there some shameful secret that needs to be hidden to slow down the two undercover agents?
At this moment, "Mountain Eagle" raised his right hand seemingly casually, pinched his earlobe with his index finger and thumb, and at the same time, as if dazzled by the sun, he tilted his head slightly so that the button camera on his chest could clearly capture the action.
In the temporary command point at the rear, this subtle movement was instantly captured by Xia Lili and the technicians who were staring at the screen.
"Attention everyone!"
Leng Xiaohe's voice immediately rang out over the internal channel, calm and sharp. "'Mountain Eagle' issues the 'Yellow Alert' signal! Repeat, Yellow Alert! All units on high alert, and the reserve force is ready to move forward to provide support at any time!"
"Raise the drone, expand the surveillance range, and search for any unusual movement around the village!"
The atmosphere in the tent instantly froze.
Everyone understood that this seemingly tickling action was the highest level of danger warning issued by the "Mountain Eagle" when verbal communication was impossible.
They are already in danger, and the other party is planning something.
About a quarter of an hour later, a few more villagers came from the other end of the village road, carrying some mountain products such as dried mushrooms and dried bamboo shoots in their hands. It seemed that they came to respond to their previous statement of "going to get the goods".
The crowd stirred slightly, and the circle opened up a gap.
However, just as these people approached, Xia Lili, who was in the temporary command point in the rear, suddenly fixed his gaze.
Through the high-definition screen, she clearly saw one of the men was dark-skinned and of medium to short build.
His right arm and the back of his hand were covered with several clear scratches that had not yet completely scabbed over, and there was even a deep, purple-red tooth mark at the base of his palm.
Those were definitely not marks caused by work or scratches from branches. They were clearly the result of tearing and biting caused by a person struggling and resisting extremely.
The short, dark man in the picture seemed to have sensed something and subconsciously glanced in the direction of the button on the chest of "Mountain Eagle".
At this moment of "looking at each other" across the air——
Xia Lili's eyes suddenly became dizzy, and the hallucinations swept over her again:
In a cramped, dim cellar.
The short, dark man who was looking at Xia Lili was punching and kicking a woman who was pushed to the ground with a ferocious look on his face, swearing at her.
The woman struggled desperately, scratching his arms with her hands, leaving bloody marks, and even biting his palm fiercely!
The man felt pain and became even more furious, and his attack became more brutal.
Just as he bent down again to lift the woman up, the woman suddenly picked up a half-broken pottery shard from the scattered debris on the ground. It looked like something left from a smashed pickle jar, with sharp edges.
The woman used all her strength and, while the man was not paying attention, stabbed the sharp end of the pottery shard into the side of his neck!
Blood gushed out instantly, and the man made a strange "ho ho" sound in his throat.
He covered his neck in disbelief, staggered backward, and finally fell heavily to the ground, his body twitching, and soon he stopped moving.
The noise in the cellar attracted others.
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