Chapter 345: Deep into the Mountains
The two looked at each other, quickly got into the police car, and sped towards the city police station.
After returning to the Municipal Bureau, Xia Lili immediately reported the details that he clearly saw in the hallucination to the technical staff.
The distinctive highway exit and the rusted abandoned mixer in the quarry with distinctive red markings.
By comparing the map system and field archives, technicians quickly identified an abandoned quarry located deep in the mountains on the border between the two provinces.
Data shows that there are two villages scattered around the quarry, both of which are located in remote areas with rugged roads and are almost isolated from the outside world. The population structure is seriously aging, and the people are extremely closed and xenophobic.
At the case analysis meeting, Captain Gu, who was in charge, pointed solemnly at two points on the map. "The locations are confirmed, but this is where the thorny issue arises. Remote villages like these, where kidnapped people are hidden, often have strong clan values and many are ignorant of the law."
"They probably don't think 'buying people' is a crime. Instead, they think we are 'robbing people'."
"If we act rashly, it is very easy to cause an unexpected conflict, which will not only fail the mission, but also greatly threaten the safety of the team members and the victims."
He pondered for a moment and gave the order: "We can't attack by force. We must find out the details first."
"Early tomorrow morning, send two investigators, disguised as mountain goods traders, into each of these two villages to investigate the situation. The key is to determine whether any outsiders are being detained, and their specific locations."
The next morning, at dawn, two seemingly ordinary civilian vans drove out of the city bureau and headed towards the mountainous area in the far suburbs.
A few hours later, the vehicle turned off a very hidden fork in the winding mountain road and finally stopped behind a dense fir forest.
Located between Aotou Village and Wangshi Village, the area is about three or four kilometers away from both target villages, allowing for a quick response while avoiding alerting the enemy. The team quickly established a simple, temporary forward station using the natural environment.
The action team sent two experienced male members to carry out preliminary reconnaissance tasks.
They changed into cotton jackets and rubber shoes that were stained with mud and looked a little worn, and drove a small truck filled with empty baskets and weighing rods, perfectly disguising themselves as peddlers who went from village to village all year round to buy mountain products.
Before departure, Xia Lili confirmed the operation details and emergency contact information with the two again.
The moment her eyes met with the older police officer codenamed "Mountain Eagle"—
A frightening scene suddenly flashed before my eyes:
In the illusion, "Mountain Eagle" was speaking fluent dialect and talking to several villagers under a big tree in the village, handing them cigarettes. Everything seemed to be going well.
However, just as he turned around and pretended to tidy up the empty basket on the car, the hard outline of a multi-functional tactical dagger on his waist accidentally pushed out a clear bulge from the hem of his coat!
This slight flaw was immediately caught by an old hunter with sharp eyes nearby.
How could an ordinary vendor who collects mountain products carry such standardized and professional knives with him?
The old hunter's face suddenly darkened, and he shouted sternly, "Who the hell are you? You're not here to collect mountain products!"
Before he finished speaking, several strong men around him immediately surrounded him, their eyes full of suspicion and hostility.
The situation got out of control in an instant. "Mountain Eagle" tried to explain, but the villagers didn't listen at all and pushed them and told them to "get out."
During the fierce physical conflict, a villager swung the thick wooden stick in his hand and hit the arm of "Mountain Eagle" which was subconsciously blocking!
A heart-shaking sound of "click" was clearly heard.
"Mountain Eagle" had a broken arm.
The illusion came to an abrupt end.
Xia Lili suddenly came to her senses, a layer of cold sweat broke out on her back, and her eyes immediately locked on the waist of "Mountain Eagle".
"Wait!" She called out to the two people who were about to get on the car in a hurried but clear voice, "'Mountain Eagle', your knife!"
She stepped forward and gestured to the tactical dagger at his waist, which he wore almost instinctively. "This detail must be taken care of. A true mountain goods dealer wouldn't carry this."
"Mountain Eagle" immediately understood, his expression became stern, and he quickly took out the tactical dagger from the hidden holster on his waist and properly hid it in a secret compartment under the driver's seat of the van.
After confirming that there were no more equipment flaws that could expose their identities, he and another team member checked each other's clothes and the "goods" they were carrying, and finally nodded.
Both of them were wearing the latest type of hidden high-definition camera probes.
This device is usually cleverly integrated into a button, glasses frame, or a seemingly ordinary hat logo, and can capture and transmit high-definition images and audio in real time from a first-person perspective.
At present, the camera probes are worn on the buttons on the chests of the two people.
Everything was ready. The two men picked up backpacks filled with cheap daily necessities and empty sacks, pretended to be exhausted and ready to go into the village to collect goods, and walked along the rugged mountain road towards Aotou Village.
At the same time, in a temporary base hidden in the rear, Xia Lili and several technical support team members were staring at several surveillance screens.
The screen clearly displayed the real-time picture of the "Mountain Eagle" team's journey, accompanied by the slight sound of footsteps and breathing. Everything was under control.
At least that's the case for now.
Immediately afterwards, Xia Lili and all the team members in the temporary command point saw the scene inside Aotou Village through the real-time images transmitted back by the hidden cameras.
The camera shook slightly as the investigator walked.
The dirt road leading to the village is narrow and muddy, with crooked adobe houses and messy piles of firewood on both sides.
The whole village looked dilapidated and secluded, and the air seemed to be filled with a sense of oppression and isolation from the world.
At this moment, there was a burst of crying and scolding suddenly coming from the yard on one side of the picture.
The camera quickly and stealthily turned to the source of the sound, and saw a young girl in tattered clothes and messy hair being roughly grabbed by the arm by a burly man and dragged staggeringly towards a low earthen house.
The man cursed and although his raised hand did not fall directly in the picture, the girl's terrified whimper and the desperate glance back when she was forcibly dragged into the house were enough to explain everything.
"Hmm...!" The young investigator codenamed "Nightingale" suddenly let out an uncontrollable, rapid breath in the channel, obviously shocked by this sudden scene.
"Nightingale! Breathe! Control yourself!" The deep and stern voice of veteran police officer "Mountain Eagle" rang out immediately, his tone unquestionable. "Look carefully, remember this! But we must not panic now! If we panic, we'll truly harm her!"
His voice was like a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing the young team members' impulsiveness.
The only sounds on the channel were heavy breathing and the subtle friction sounds as the camera locked onto the mud house, recording the specific location.
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