Ji Shuyun said gravely, “These people will use any means necessary to intimidate and extract information. Sacrifice... might be the quickest way out.”
His brief words outlined the bloodiest and most brutal aspect of the border anti-drug struggle.
It was a war fought in the shadows of the dense forest, a war without gunpowder but fraught with danger. Every police officer who ventured into the lion's den was walking on the edge of a knife.
Xia Zhining's heart clenched tightly, but she didn't hesitate for a moment: "Brother, we have to save them. Can we contact headquarters or those three comrades now?"
Ji Shuyun slowly shook his head, his expression grim: "It's difficult. This is a signal blind spot, and our satellite communication with headquarters has time limitations. The next contact window hasn't arrived yet."
“Those three comrades were most likely carrying out independent tracking or reconnaissance missions. They wouldn’t know we were there, much less approach us.”
Xia Zhining's face turned deathly pale: "In other words, we are now... the only people in this rainforest who know that they are about to face annihilation."
Isolated and without help, cut off from information, and with no clear information about the enemy.
Xia Zhining took a deep breath of the humid, sweltering air, but there was no fear in her eyes; instead, a calm flame ignited within them.
Her mind raced; every second counted in the current situation.
"Crow, have your birds split into two groups: one group should report back on any trace of those three comrades, but they must keep their distance and absolutely not expose them."
"Another route..."
A sharp glint flashed in Xia Zhining's eyes. "Go and find out which animals in this forest particularly hate these drug dealers."
She was clear-headed: "These people have been active here for more than just a day or two, setting traps, planting landmines, making noise, polluting water sources... I don't know how many animal nests they've destroyed, how many small animals they've killed. There must be victims."
"Let's see if we can unite these animal enemies and create some natural obstacles for that private armed group to hold them off!"
"Understood!" Boss Crow accepted the order and flapped his wings to fly away. "I'll go and investigate right away!"
Not long after Boss Crow took his share—
"Beep! Beep! Beep!"
A soft but urgent buzzing sound suddenly came from a specially made bracelet-style receiver on Xia Zhining's wrist, and a red light flashed rapidly on the screen.
Xia Zhining's expression changed drastically: "It's Wuya's distress signal!"
This was a New Year's gift from Xia Tang, Ning Ning's mother, to her animal friends before they set off; it was also a life-saving charm kept at the bottom of her trunk.
A miniature biosignal distress device.
Each device is linked to the animal's vital signs and stress state. In the event of an insurmountable severe injury or extreme danger, the device will automatically trigger and send location and alarm information to Xia Zhi Ning's main receiver.
At that moment, a signal rang out, and it came from the direction of Fogtooth!
"Something happened to Fogtooth!" Xia Zhining's heart sank.
The location of the flashing red dot on the bracelet was clear, and Xia Zhining and Ji Shuyun immediately followed the location and quickly traversed through the forest.
The movement was very subtle, but extremely fast, leaving both of them on edge.
Although the fang snake is venomous, in this rainforest with its complex food chain, there are also natural enemies that can threaten it.
Parting a huge fern leaf, the sight before her made Xia Zhining gasp.
In a small, relatively open patch of woodland ahead, a large serpent eagle with sharp, hooked eyes stood before a small crevice in the tree roots, barely concealed by withered branches and fallen leaves.
The serpent eagle kept pecking at the unstable tree stump with its strong and powerful beak!
With each peck, several dead branches break off, and shredded leaves fly everywhere.
And through that crack, a faint, milky-white shadow with golden markings could be seen writhing in terror—
It's fog teeth!
It had obviously slipped into the crevice of the tree roots in haste, but unfortunately it was discovered by this top snake catcher with a keen sense of smell.
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