Chapter 151
The field station of the Kunnan Botanical Garden was located on the edge of the primaeval rainforest. Although it was said to be on the edge, it was also surrounded by towering ancient trees, covering the sky and the sun, with tangled vines and luxuriant flowers everywhere. The ground was slippery and soft from mud and rotting wood, so the car that Wang Chaoliang drove couldn't get there. They had to park it in a nearby village and walk on foot.
Lu Lingxi, who had slept all the way to the village, was now completely awake and jumped out of the car with his bag on his back, looking with curiosity at this primaeval tropical rainforest, the largest in size, the best preserved and the most biodiverse in China.
Wang Chaoliang stood by his side, saying quite emotionally: "Xiao Xi, do you know? More than half of the plants and animals on the earth inhabit the rainforest, and it can be said that the rainforest is the home base of most of the earth's creatures. It's a pity that with indiscriminate deforestation everywhere, the area of rainforest on the earth is getting smaller and smaller. In the long run, it's really going to…"
At the end of the sentence Wang Chaoliang sighed; not to mention other places, the area of this rainforest in front of them was getting smaller and smaller. Although China was shouting about environmental protection, compared to the economic benefits, the so-called protection was just an empty word.
"Let's go." Without saying anything else Wang Chaoliang called Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi to follow him into the rainforest.
Because the plants were too lush, sunlight was rarely seen in the rainforest. After the initial discomfort, Lu Lingxi quickly got used to the environment inside. As far as the eye could see, apart from the huge trees and intertwining vines, there were algae, mosses and ferns. These normally inconspicuous plants covered trunks and branches of the trees like a thick carpet of green. In addition to this, there were also brightly coloured flowers, and occasionally unknown animals rustled by, giving the whole rainforest an aura of mysterious and unpredictable beauty.
Yan Yue had no great interest in all this and simply surveyed the surroundings as a tourist. Wang Chaoliang and Lu Lingxi, on the other hand, were different. They walked and watched with great interest, stopping from time to time to take a few photos and chat with each other. Wang Chaoliang was a veteran plant researcher, and Lu Lingxi had a mysterious white panel, so whatever plants they encountered, they could always discuss them, and Yan Yue couldn't help but feel a little sour.
When the two finally separated, Lu Lingxi went to take pictures of two giant trees growing together, while Wang Chaoliang crouched on the ground carefully observing some white fungi. Yan Yue took a bottle of water and handed it to Lu Lingxi, "Are you tired?"
Lu Lingxi took the water and subconsciously shook his head.
The corners of Yan Yue's lips curved up; looking at Lu Lingxi with a smile in his eyes, he whispered, "Is there any discomfort in your body?"
Lu Lingxi was a little confused by his words, and when he reacted, the tips of his ears immediately turned red. However, apart from being a little sleepy in the morning, there was nothing unusual about Lu Lingxi's body. It was Yan Yue who hadn't slept much all night, but now he was still in high spirits as usual. Both of them knew that this was the effect of evolution, which brought about not only communication with animals, but also an increase of stamina and improvement in their physique.
Seeing that the two of them seemed to be talking about something, Wang Chaoliang simply suggested resting here for a while.
Yan Yue looked at the time and asked, "Is it still far from the workstation?"
"Not far, it's just right ahead."
There were too many dangers inside the rainforest, including an unknown number of various poisonous snakes, poisonous frogs and poisonous spiders alone, and many other dangerous animals lurking about. Although the staff had built the workstation inside the rainforest for convenience, they didn't dare to go too deep.
Wang Chaoliang instructed Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue to pay attention to all kinds of poisonous animals and not to get bitten. Although this was the edge of the forest and there were no animals that were too poisonous, not to mention that there were medicines at the workstation, it was better to avoid accidents as much as possible. "Other than that, make sure you're careful not to wander off alone and get lost." Wang Chaoliang cautioned as someone who had been there before, "It's a huge maze, the trees around are all about the same length and it'll be troublesome if you get lost."
The three of them rested for a few minutes, and Wang Chaoliang led them on. After a couple of steps, Xiaohei, who had been dutifully wrapped around Yan Yue's wrist, suddenly burst out of his sleeve, raised his upper body and hissed at the bushes on the left. The next moment, Xiaohei shot out like lightning and plunged headlong into the bush. The only thing that could be heard was a rustling sound inside, as if something was struggling.
"What's wrong?" Wang Chaoliang asked as he heard the commotion and hurriedly turned around.
Yan Yue pulled out a dagger and shielded Lu Lingxi, looking warily in the direction where Xiaohei had disappeared, frowning, "There might be a poisonous snake."
"A poisonous snake?" Wang Chaoliang immediately stopped in his tracks and whispered, "Don't move yet. As long as we don't provoke, the snakes won't normally provoke us." But despite saying this, he still fished out the snake medicine he had prepared in advance from his bag. It was best not to be bitten by a poisonous snake, and it was good to be prepared in case you were.
While the two of them were talking, there was less movement in the bushes, and not long afterwards Xiaohei poked his head out and excitedly showed his tongue to Yan Yue. His tail curled around a small red snake a few centimetres thick. The little red snake's body was hanging limply, and it looked like it was already dead. Wang Chaoliang was astonished and looked at Xiaohei with dumbfounded eyes, unable to speak for a long time. He had seen Xiaohei before at Tiny Garden, and of course he knew that Xiaohei was Yan Yue's pet. But this scene in front of him… he could no longer find the words to describe.
Xiaohei slithered ostentatiously in front of Yan Yue, raising his head and swaying left and right.
Yan Yue frowned, put away the dagger and picked up Xiaohei, holding a bottle of mineral water and washing him for a long time. Xiaohei resentfully opened his mouth and bit on Yan Yue's finger. Yan Yue didn't have any reaction. Xiaohei let go, aggrieved, wagging his tail and struggling to get into Lu Lingxi's arms.
Wang Chaoliang's expression became odd; he felt that this little black snake seemed to be pouting, as if it was wronged by Yan Yue and wanted to go to Lu Lingxi to complain. He shook his head as the thought flashed through his mind, thinking that he was really confused.
Yan Yue finished rinsing Xiaohei with water and poked Xiaohei's head. He didn't think there was anything wrong with Xiaohei strangling the poisonous snake but simply felt that Xiaohei had gotten dirty and needed to be washed. After all, Xiaohei's favourite place to stay was either his wrist or Xiao Xi's arms and he shouldn't get there being dirty after rolling around.
"Ssss." Xiaohei raised his head in protest.
In front of Wang Chaoliang, Yan Yue couldn't say anything, so he could only comply with Xiaohei's wishes and throw him to Lu Lingxi. Xiaohei wrapped himself around Lu Lingxi's wrist flatteringly and waved his tail at Yan Yue resentfully.
Lu Lingxi couldn't help but laugh.
Ten minutes later, they arrived at the Botanical Garden's field workstation. The workstation was actually three simple houses built in the middle of a clearing in the jungle. Around the houses, there was some equipment that Lu Lingxi didn't recognise. Stationed at the workstation were two staff members who were about the same age as Wang Chaoliang.
They had known beforehand that Wang Chaoliang was bringing people over and were very enthusiastic about Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue, especially Lu Lingxi. Both staff members had read several reports published by Wang Chaoliang before and knew that Lu Lingxi was somehow their colleague and was very good at discovering and developing new varieties of plants.
"Lao Wang, show Xiao Xi around, a rare monster flower was found over there a few days ago." One of the staff pointed it out.
"Monster flower?" Wang Chaoliang first wondered how there could be a monster flower over here, but soon became excited and said to Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue, "Come on, let's go and have a look."
The monster flower, also known as the corpse flower, is a fleshy, parasitic plant and one of the largest flowers in the world. The largest monster flower found so far had a diameter of 1.4 metres and weighed 10 kilograms, giving it the reputation of being the king among the world's flowers. However, most of the flowers were found in the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia, and were relatively rare in Kunnan.
Following the guidance of the staff, Wang Chaoliang led Lingxi and Yan Yue all the way to the depths of the rainforest. "It's okay, this is a place I often come to, and there are no dangerous animals." Wang Chaoliang said as he walked, "Besides…" He jokingly glanced at Xiaohei wrapped around Lu Lingxi's wrist, "With Xiaohei as a bodyguard, there is nothing to be afraid of."
Xiaohei seemed to understand that Wang Chaoliang was talking about it and excitedly kept waving his tail and hissing. Yan Yue understood what Xiaohei was screaming and gently raised the corners of his mouth.
They had been walking for about half an hour when Wang Chaoliang said, "Don't look that we seem to have gone far, this is still the edge of the rainforest, and there's no end to going forward like this."
Lu Lingxi looked in the direction Wang Chaoliang was pointing and said curiously, "Has anyone ever been to the middle of the rainforest?"
This time it was Yan Yue who answered, saying in a deep voice, "This rainforest borders other countries, so there should be smugglers who would risk passing through here."
"Not bad." Wang Chaoliang nodded, "Apart from smugglers, there are also drug traffickers, and this part of the border is not very safe. But we don't have to worry, the workstation has been built for more than ten years and we haven't encountered smugglers or drug traffickers… it's here."
Before Wang Chaoliang finished speaking, he was already excitedly walking forward. Yan Yue glanced around, reached out and held Lu Lingxi's hand, leading him to follow behind. The monster flower that the staff had spoken of soon appeared in front of them.
The so-called monster flower in fact was still just a giant black bud in front of them, with a mark left by the staff next to it. Wang Chaoliang circled around the bud with some regret, "It's not time for it to bloom yet, we probably won't see it bloom."
The monster flower blooms only once in a lifetime, and the flowering period is only four days. The buds are sweet-smelling in the early stages of blooming, and then they will emit an irritating rancid smell. On the fourth day of the flowering period, the petals of the monster flower will gradually turn black and wither, and then become a pool of sticky black matter within a few weeks. Although Wang Chaoliang couldn't judge the specific flowering time of the monster flower, neither he nor Lu Lingxi could stay here every day to wait. If they wanted to see the flower bloom, they would definitely have no hope.
With regret in his heart, Wang Chaoliang simply squatted on the ground and looked at the flower bud. Although Lu Lingxi was interested in the big monster flower, he really didn't know what was so beautiful about the bud, so he pulled Yan Yue to look around and take a few photos every now and then.
"Bang." Something smashed from afar and landed at Lu Lingxi's feet.
Before Lu Lingxi could react, Yan Yue was already pulling him back a step. The two looked up to see a small yellow monkey squatting on a tree not far away, cupping some unknown fruit in its hand and eager to throw it in Lu Lingxi's direction.
"Zi-zi." The little monkey squeaked loudly.
Unfortunately, neither Lu Lingxi nor Yan Yue could understand what it was saying. On the contrary, Xiaohei was angry with the little monkey for bullying Lu Lingxi and crawled out from Lu Lingxi's wrist to hiss angrily at the little monkey. The little monkey stared at Xiaohei curiously, and then seemed to remember something and squeaked urgently, pointing and jumping ahead as it did so.
"What's it saying?" Lu Lingxi pulled Yan Yue and said curiously.
Yan Yue stared at the little monkey's movements in thought, "It seems to be warning of something."
"Warning about what?" Lu Lingxi took out the binoculars from his bag and looked in the direction the little monkey was pointing. He didn't see anything but tall trees covering the sky. He handed the binoculars to Yan Yue, who looked around and still didn't see anything either.
"Let's go back." Yan Yue frowned slightly and said suddenly.
"Huh?" Lu Lingxi looked puzzled.
Yan Yue pulled Lu Lingxi and explained, "This little monkey is not malicious, you should be able to feel it, Xiao Xi. Since it has alerted us to what's ahead, for safety reasons we'd better leave here."
After he finished speaking, Lu Lingxi nodded obediently and followed Yan Yue along the original path to find Wang Chaoliang. After a few steps Lu Lingxi looked back at the little monkey in the tree, who was hanging from the trunk with one arm and waving its hand at them like a human.
Lu Lingxi curved his eyes and smiled, and waved at the little monkey too.
They were not far away from Wang Chaoliang and soon reunited. Yan Yue said to Wang Chaoliang that he suspected that there was danger ahead and that it was better for them to leave the area. Although Wang Chaoliang found it strange, Yan Yue's tone didn't sound like a joke. He cautiously glanced in the direction Yan Yue had come from and simply took the two of them back to the workstation the way they had come. The three figures soon disappeared into the dense forest.
Not long after they had gone, several men in tough, local minority attire turned out from behind a large tree several people thick and stared maliciously in the direction the three had disappeared.
The leader looked to be in his forties, with a thumb-length scar at the corner of his eye. His expression was gloomy, and he asked in a cold voice, "Have you seen what they look like?"
A tall and strong man in his thirties next to him quickly said, "The little one finally turned his head and I got a good look, but the other two I didn't see clearly."
The leader lowered his eyes, made a gesture of beheading and said in a cold voice, "Follow them, see where they are from, and find an opportunity to finish them off."
A man on the right who looked somewhat younger hesitated, "Big Brother, they look like they are tourists who don't know anything and probably didn't see us, so why don't we just not make any more trouble…"
The leader of the group interrupted with a snort, "Didn't see anything? If they didn't see anything, why were they in a hurry to go? Xiao Liu (Little Six), don't forget that Lao Wu (Old Five) was caught and probably said everything he should or shouldn't have said to save his life. We have been working hard here for many years to have the base we have now. Now other lines are not safe, and there is only one drug delivery line… Just in case, even if that kid didn't see anything, it's their bad luck."
The leader had the most authority among them, and when he said so, the others had no objection. The tall, sturdy man followed Yan Yue and the others, and the rest of the group turned back into the depths of the rainforest. Before leaving, the leader looked up and gave the little monkey in the tree a fierce glare. The monkey squealed and grabbed the fruit in its hand and smashed it at the man's head.
The man's face was full of anger and his hand immediately reached for the gun at his waist, but considering that the shooting was too loud, he had to endure it.
Seeing that he didn't move, the little monkey became even more pleased with itself and kept finding dried up fruit to smash at them, making faces like a human.
"Little beast." The man was furious.
The young man beside him hurriedly stopped him, "Big Brother, why bother with an animal."
The little monkey seemed to understand that they were scolding it and smashed the fruit with even more vigour.
Young man: "…"
Chapter 152
Out of caution, Lu Lingxi and the others quickly returned to the workstation.
The staff inside was a little surprised, "How come you're back so soon?"
Wang Chaoliang had already listened to Yan Yue's account of what had happened on the way, so he briefly recounted it at once. He had seen how smart Dahei and Xiaohei were, and believed that the little monkey Yan Yue had mentioned was smart enough to give them an early warning. He was worried that the other two staff members wouldn't believe him, but when he finished, one of them thought about it and smiled, "I know which little monkey you're talking about. It's a very clever little fellow and occasionally comes to the workstation. But it's very wary and seldom deals with people of its own accord, so it's rare for it to give you a warning."
There were many monkeys living in the rainforest of Kunnan, but these monkeys lived far away from human gathering places and rarely appeared in front of humans. The staff at the workstation had only seen them a few times, and the little monkey Yan Yue was talking about was the most lively and daring of them all. Last time, it even exchanged a flower for a loaf of bread, but only after observing them for a long time to make sure they were not a danger. Situations like the one Yan Yue mentioned hardly ever happened.
The topic of conversation soon turned to the little monkey, and although Yan Yue found it interesting to listen, he had to interrupt them to ask a question that had been on his mind all the way. "What would the little monkey warn us about?"
On this point, the staff present had no idea. But from what they knew about the little monkey, it must have been some kind of danger ahead, either a human or a large, dangerous animal. One of the staff members was inclined towards a human. This rainforest, because it bordered other countries, had its fair share of fugitives and drug smuggling outlaws venturing out. Fortunately, on the one hand, the rainforest was too dangerous, and on the other hand, the border armed police were very strict, and nothing had happened to this area. However, some time ago, the anti-drug police on Kunnan's side caught a large overseas smuggling and drug trafficking group apart from several of the main leaders. It might be that they would flee to this area.
It was fine if he didn't say it; but when he finished speaking, not to mention Yan Yue, even Lu Lingxi realised the seriousness of the problem.
The staff member explained with a smile: "Don't worry, because of the unique environment in the rainforest, vision is limited. Except for a little monkey, an average person can't see far. Besides, there are border armed police patrolling regularly nearby, so nothing will happen."
When the other party said that, Yan Yue couldn't say anything. The rest of the time, he and Lu Lingxi were very conscious of their activities and kept them within a few hundred metres of the workstation, not daring to stray too far away.
Not far behind them, the tall, burly man who had followed them all the way here climbed up on the hanging vines and looked through the small binoculars in the direction of Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue. He recognised the workstation of the botanical garden and guessed that Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue were probably the new staff here. It looked like the two probably hadn't seen anything, otherwise they wouldn't have remained here. In that case, the tall, strong man was a little hesitant to listen to his boss and make a move while they were alone.
As he hesitated, Yan Yue sensed something and looked thoughtfully in the man's direction. Although he couldn't see anything, Yan Yue felt in his heart that something was wrong. He took Xiaohei from his wrist and whispered something; Xiaohei hissed in agreement and then burrowed into the grass. Within a few moments, several brightly coloured poisonous snakes slithered out of the grass, driven by Xiaohei in the direction of the man.
The man didn't react at first, but soon realised that something was wrong. A small green snake suddenly sprang up from under him and tried to bite him. The man reacted extremely quickly and jumped down from the tree to avoid the snake's attack. He was glad that he'd managed to dodge the snake's attack when he felt a stinging pain in his ankle. When he looked down, another small green snake was hanging from his boot, biting him hard. The man knew this snake, a common venomous snake in the rainforest. He hurriedly fished out the antidote he always had in his bag, applied it to the wound and left the area hastily. The man was in such a hurry that he didn't even notice that he had dropped his binoculars on the ground.
As soon as he left, Yan Yue rushed over to the place where he heard the commotion, and his face looked a bit ugly when he saw the binoculars on the ground.
Lu Lingxi also saw the binoculars and asked nervously, "Is there any danger?"
Yan Yue frowned slightly and said in a low voice, "I'm afraid so." At this time he couldn't help but start to miss Dahei; in terms of vigilance and chasing people, Dahei could beat Xiaohei by a hundred points. Yan Yue sighed, "If only Dahei or Fang Lei were here."
Lu Lingxi seriously thought about this idea and privately felt that Dahei was more reliable than Fang Lei.
Fang Lei, who was far away in downtown Kunnan, didn't know that he was being missed by Yan Yue and sneezed several times in a row. "Strange, could it be that Xiaohui misses me." Fang Lei muttered in his heart. This time he couldn't bring Xiaohui with him on his business trip and entrusted Xiaohui to a colleague like he had last time. In order to avoid Master Cat making trouble, Fang Lei also made it a point to explain to his colleague that he shouldn't feed Xiaohui canned cat food all the time; Xiaohui preferred to eat small dried fish, and the colleague should occasionally treat Xiaohui to it.
When he thought about it, Fang Lei felt that he really missed Xiaohui. He didn't know if Xiaohui was obedient during his absence, if he was eating well, and if his colleague had bought Xiaohui dried fish. He looked up and saw a food stall on the side of the road selling crispy dried fish, a speciality of Kunnan. Fang Lei's heart moved; he went over to the owner and bought half a catty, which would be his snack for tonight.
With the dried fish in his hand, Fang Lei wandered back to where he lived. Because he was expected to stay in Kunnan for a short time, Fang Lei and the two colleagues who had come with him didn't stay in a hotel to save money, but in an old house owned by a local colleague in Kunnan who didn't live there often.
When he returned, his two colleagues were not at home. Fang Lei was about to open the door when he suddenly stopped moving, overwhelmed with the feeling of being watched again, just like in the morning. He glanced back and scanned the surroundings alertly, but there was nothing suspicious around him. Fang Lei lowered his head. His intuition of many years of work made him believe that he was not mistaken; someone was really watching him. Could it be related to the case? The ones who escaped came back to tip off the others?
While Fang Lei felt suspicious, he suddenly heard a meow and a yellow tabby cat jumped to the wall of the alley, its green eyes looking straight at Fang Lei, giving him a feeling of being watched. Fang Lei couldn't help but be relieved that it was just a cat and he was the one who had been a little overly nervous. Fang Lei relaxed, thought about it, took out some of the fish in his hand and put it in the corner against the wall, gesturing for the tabby cat to come over and eat the fish.
The cat didn't move at first, and Fang Lei didn't care. Cats are always wary of people, so when he was gone, the cat would probably dare to come over and eat. He opened the door, thinking that, but before he could enter the house, a grey figure pounced on him and scratched his face unceremoniously. Almost by reflex, Fang Lei took a step back extremely quickly and grabbed the little thing in front of him while it slowed down a bit.
"Xiaohui!" Fang Lei said in shock.
The one he had grabbed was clearly Xiaohui, who should have stayed in Fengcheng. Xiaohui waved his paws angrily, the fur on his body bristling in anger. Unfortunately for Xiaohui, Fang Lei had gained a lot of fighting experience in the process of getting along with him and carried Xiaohui in a position that made Xiaohui unable to scratch his face.
"Xiaohui, why are you here and how did you get here?" Fang Lei asked curiously.
Xiaohui in front of him looked clean and dry, not at all like he had travelled a long way to Kunnan. Fang Lei didn't believe that Xiaohui could have run from Fengcheng to Kunnan all by himself.
Xiaohui meowed twice in anger.
Fang Lei found a small plate, put the dried fish in it and placed it in front of Xiaohui, coaxing him, "These fish are all for you. Just now outside I thought Xiaohui liked to eat dried fish, so I gave some to another cat."
Xiaohui listened and meowed twice more.
Fang Lei smoothed Xiaohui's fur in amusement and promised, "Okay, all the dried fish from now on will be Xiaohui's, no other cats will eat it."
Xiaohui seemed to be satisfied with Fang Lei's assurance and squatted down in front of the small plate and started to eat the dried fish.
Fang Lei was still curious as to how Xiaohui had found his way here, but unfortunately Xiaohui refused to answer this question. But Fang Lei did learn that the tabby cat outside was Xiaohui's little brother whom Xiaohui entrusted specifically to keep an eye on Fang Lei's whereabouts when he went out. There were several other little brothers like that, spread out in different parts of the alley. Just now, if he hadn't made Xiaohui too angry by giving the tabby cat dried fish, Xiaohui wouldn't have jumped out to settle the score with him.
Fang Lei laughed and shook his head, rubbing Xiaohui's bulging belly. Xiaohui lay comfortably with his belly facing the sky, meowing a few times every now and then.
The mood was perfect when the mobile phone in Fang Lei's pocket rang. Just as he picked up the phone, his colleague said urgently, "The border police have just discovered the whereabouts of the escaped drug traffickers in the rainforest at the border. The local police have already sent someone there, so we have to hurry up and follow them."
Before his colleague could finish speaking, Fang Lei grabbed his car keys and left the house. As soon as he walked out, Xiaohui jumped into the car right behind him. At this time, Fang Lei couldn't care less about talking to Xiaohui. While driving, he said holding his mobile phone, "I'll meet you at the police station right away, so tell me what happened first. How did you find the trail? Is it confirmed that it's the gang?"
The colleague said: "Only 80% confirmed now, but the binoculars found at the scene were commonly used by the gang. You know that all their stuff is plundered from abroad, the things left when the army retreated and not available in the country, so there is a high possibility that it is them. As for how it was found, I heard that two tourists in the rainforest found it, and they were also the ones who called the police and contacted the armed border police."
"There are tourists in the rainforest?" Fang Lei was surprised, "Don't tourists all go to the Kunnan Nature Reserve? Is there such a thing as going to the jungle?"
The colleague laughed at this, "Some tourists are bold and don't want to go to the reserve, they just like to wander around outside. Besides, the two tourists this time weren't exactly going on their own. There is a botanical garden field workstation in that rainforest and they were with the staff of the station."
The botanical garden, the staff, the two tourists, the combination of these words gave Fang Lei a bad feeling. He remembered calling Yan Yue in the morning. Didn't Yan Yue say they were following a friend from the botanical garden to wander around in the rainforest? It couldn't be a coincidence, right?
Fang Lei's heart was beating like a drum all the way, and he didn't even bother to respond when he met up with his colleagues at the police station and was teased about taking his cat out with him. He turned his head to look at the mighty and domineering Master Cat crouching on the passenger side and smiled wryly. It would be convenient if it was Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi, just in time to entrust Xiaohui to them.
They sped along the way and soon reached a small village at the border. The border police were stationed here, and the local police station was also located in this small village. As soon as he got out of the car, Fang Lei saw Yan Yue. The colleague who had come with him went in to ask about the situation and asked Fang Lei to wait by the car first. Fang Lei took advantage of the situation to rush over to Yan Yue, looking him up and down, "Is everything alright?"
Yan Yue was taken aback, "Fang Lei, why are you here?"
Fang Lei said in a low voice, "You still remember the incident at the beginning of the year when someone tried to plant evidence to frame Xiao Xi, right?"
Yan Yue nodded.
"It is that case. The more we followed the trail, the deeper the investigation went, directly leading to a drug trafficking gang outside the country. Now quite a few drug dealers have been caught, and a few big fish got away during the previous arrest, presumably the ones you met." Speaking of this, Fang Lei changed the subject, "What about Xiao Xi? How did you guys meet those people? What the colleague said on the phone wasn't clear either."
Yan Yue's expression was quite serious, "Xiao Xi and some friends are resting inside. As for the encounter, it wasn't us who encountered them, it was them who came looking for us." He started with the little monkey warning them, and kept talking about how he felt something was wrong and commanded Xiaohei to drive poisonous snakes to investigate, only to find the binoculars someone had left behind, and finally to the point where they left the rainforest and reported the incident to the police.
Fang Lei was stunned as he listened; he immediately lowered his voice, "That's not what you told the police, right?" This was too much like making up a story, a monkey warning them, commanding poisonous snakes or something.
Yan Yue chuckled, "Don't worry, I'm not that stupid."
But apart from the Xiaohei part, Yan Yue didn't hide anything else. He was honest about the warning from the little monkey and he suspected it was from there that he and Xiao Xi were being watched.
Fang Lei thought so too, "That group was probably nearby at the time, and if it wasn't for the little monkey's warning, you would have run into each other. It's also a good thing you guys left early, otherwise it would have been dangerous. It's a gang of desperados. I guess they thought you had seen them and wanted to check what was going on and deal with you when you are alone so that you didn't give away their whereabouts."
Yan Yue nodded. That was what he was worried about, so after seeing the binoculars he made a quick decision to leave the rainforest with the two staff members of the workstation and immediately went to the village to call the police.
Fang Lei reminded, "They're already on you and Xiao Xi, so you and Xiao Xi should stay in the village for now and not go back to Kunnan yet. There might be trouble in case there are still their accomplices over there. I'll go back with you guys when this operation is over."
Yan Yue gave an "en" and agreed. While the two of them were talking, Xiaohui had already jumped out of the car window like an arrow and followed the scent to find Lu Lingxi.
"Xiaohui?" Lu Lingxi blinked, wondering if he was mistaken.
Xiaohui leapt gently into Lu Lingxi's arms; his furry paws clung to Lu Lingxi's arm as he meowed affectionately.
As he got close, Lu Lingxi recognised that it was really Xiaohui and that he was not mistaken. He hugged Xiaohui in surprise, somewhat in disbelief, "Is Brother Fang also here? But that's not right, Brother Fang is here on a business trip, how can he bring you along with him?"
Xiaohui held his head up proudly and nibbled on Lu Lingxi's sleeve, signalling him to follow him out. Lu Lingxi spoke to Wang Chaoliang and carried Xiaohui out, following Xiaohui all the way to Fang Lei's car. Fang Lei and the others had come to Kunnan not by plane like Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue but taking turns to drive all the way from Fengcheng to Kunnan. Xiaohui agilely jumped from Lu Lingxi's arms onto the trunk, gently tapped his paw and crouched there without moving.
Lu Lingxi was dazed, "Xiaohui was hiding in the trunk to follow?"
Xiaohui licked his paws and meowed, sort of admitting it.
Lu Lingxi simply didn't know what to say.
"Xiao Xi."
When Yan Yue finished talking to Fang Lei, he looked at Lu Lingxi standing alone behind Fang Lei's car looking at something. The two of them walked over, and when they saw Xiaohui, Yan Yue was surprised to see that Fang Lei had brought Xiaohui with him on the business trip. Meanwhile, Fang Lei guessed that Xiaohui had been hiding in the trunk and said in a weird tone: "Xiaohui, you've been in the car all the way?"
Xiaohui jumped into Lu Lingxi's arms and refused to pay any attention to Fang Lei. Fang Lei laughed and reached out to take Xiaohui, patting his head, "You're lucky that this car is so broken and the trunk doesn't close tightly, otherwise you'd suffocate."
Meow! Xiaohui angrily scratched Fang Lei.
Fang Lei couldn't do anything, so he had to stuff Xiaohui back into Lu Lingxi's arms, which resulted in Xiaohui getting even angrier.
Meow meow!
Fang Lei: "…"
What a Master Cat.
Chapter 153
Fang Lei didn't stay with Lu Lingxi for long before he was called by his colleagues to prepare for the mission. This time, because of the participation of the border police, the large-scale search was handed over to the border police. The anti-drug police from Kunnan City, in cooperation with the local police, only had to search a fixed area.
The area they were going to search happened to be the area around the monster flower, and that was why the local police wanted the workstation staff to cooperate with them and lead the way through the rainforest. After all, the rainforest was full of vines and there were no normal paths, so it would be difficult for first-timers to find the right way by simply relying on directions. Of course, the police explained in advance that the operation would be dangerous, including both dangers from the rainforest itself and from the drug dealers who had slipped through the net, and didn't force the staff to participate.
The two staff members looked at each other and hesitated for a few seconds before Yan Yue took the initiative and said, "I'll lead the way."
Compared to the two staff members, who were good at research but over forty years old, the younger and stronger Yan Yue was in better shape and had more physical strength. He had experience in fighting and shooting and was more suited to the search activities in the rainforest than the workstation staff. He wouldn't need police protection, nor would he be a burden to the police, and could even help them. As for the most crucial issue – leading the way – Yan Yue had already memorised the entry and exit paths after walking back and forth twice. Even if he encountered places he was not sure of, he had Xiaohei to show him the way, so he didn't need to worry about getting lost.
When he said this, everyone was taken aback for a moment.
Fang Lei immediately said, "Yan Yue, don't try to be brave."
Yan Yue smiled, his tone confident, "I'm not trying to be brave, but I'm more suited for the job of leading the way than the others. I've been trained in combat and shooting abroad, I don't need police protection, and I've just been near the monster flower in the morning, I still remember how to get there. Let me go."
He spoke sincerely, and the leader of this operation gazed at Yan Yue and the other two staff members, and after a long time patted Yan Yue on the shoulder, "Okay, brother, you do it."
The police were more willing to take Yan Yue along than the researchers who looked like they didn't have enough strength to bind a chicken. Not to mention Yan Yue's better physical condition, Yan Yue's psychological quality was a cut above the other two. Moreover, in the event of a firefight with drug dealers, Yan Yue's physical strength would allow him to defend himself, which would be less worrying than taking the other two staff members.
When the matter was settled, the leader of the operation found Yan Yue a bulletproof vest. After putting it on, Yan Yue rubbed Lu Lingxi's hair and said softly, "Xiao Xi is unhappy?"
Lu Lingxi lowered his head and didn't say anything. He knew that this operation was dangerous, and he also knew that Yan Yue's physical condition was better than the other two staff members', and seriously speaking, it was more appropriate for Yan Yue to go to the rainforest. But… it was because of the danger that he didn't want Yan Yue to go.
Yan Yue knew what he was thinking and assured, "Don't worry, I'll be back soon, it'll be fine."
Lu Lingxi nodded hesitantly and looked seriously at Yan Yue, "You promise?"
Yan Yue smiled gently, his heart softening as he said in a deep voice, "I promise."
He had just finished reassuring Lu Lingxi when Fang Lei hurriedly ran over with Xiaohui in his arms. "Xiao Xi, take care of Xiaohui for me."
Lu Lingxi agreed and reached out to pick up Xiaohui, but Xiaohui easily broke away from Lu Lingxi's embrace and agilely jumped onto Fang Lei's shoulder and stopped there, looking as if he was going to follow Fang Lei on the mission. Once again, Fang Lei picked him up and made him stay by Lu Lingxi's side.
Xiaohui: "Meow."
Fang Lei was helpless and talked to him, "Xiaohui, be obedient, I will be back soon. When I come back, you'll eat dried fish any time you want."
Xiaohui's golden pupils narrowed and he unceremoniously swatted Fang Lei with his paw, meowing loudly.
Fang Lei: "…"
One person and one cat couldn't negotiate, so Fang Lei had to agree to take Xiaohui along. Luckily, since Yan Yue was there, Xiaohui could be considered to be with Yan Yue and it didn't count as Fang Lei breaking discipline. The group soon left the village and entered the rainforest. Lu Lingxi, Wang Chaoliang and others sent them to the edge of the rainforest.
As they watched Yan Yue's back disappear, the two staff members looked at Lu Lingxi apologetically; they should have been the ones to lead the way. "Xiao Xi, we…"
Lu Lingxi interrupted them, "Big Brother Yan is physically fit and runs fast in case of danger, it's most appropriate for him to go."
Wang Chaoliang patted Lu Lingxi soothingly and said, "Those drug dealers won't stop in one place for long in the rainforest. They were near the monster flower in the morning and they must have left by now. Yan Yue and the others shouldn't be in any danger."
Lu Lingxi nodded vigorously, hoping that it was like Wang Chaoliang had said.
They returned to the village together, and near the entrance of the village they came across a man dressed in local minority attire sitting by the roadside, holding his foot, seemingly injured.
Wang Chaoliang kindly went over and asked, "What's wrong? Did you twist your foot?"
The man looked up with a bitter smile and answered honestly, "I was just looking for herbs in the forest and was accidentally bitten by a snake."
They didn't doubt it; Wang Chaoliang took the initiative to help the man up and asked, "Are you from this village?"
The man shook his head and pointed to the mountain in front of him and said, "I am from another village over the mountain."
Wang Chaoliang hesitated and discussed with the man, "Then let's help you get to the village ahead to get some medicine, do you think that's okay?" The four of them were either too old and too young to take the man back to the other side of the mountain.
The man nodded gratefully and said loudly, "Sorry for troubling you."
While they helped the man to the village to apply medicine, Yan Yue had already led the police team to the spot where he had found the binoculars. The police quickly dispersed in the surrounding area to try and find more clues. Xiaohui meowed, jumped from Yan Yue's arms to the ground, ran a few steps to a tree and crouched there, motionless.
Hearing his meow, Fang Lei followed him over and searched carefully under the tree, finding a small puddle of coagulated black blood and a small pinch of yellow powder on the leaves. "What's this? Has someone been injured here?"
A local colleague came over, rubbed the powder and sniffed it, affirming, "It's a native medicine we use here, to put on wounds after being bitten by a snake." He carefully picked up the blood-stained leaves on the ground and was even more certain when he saw the black blood.
"Team Wu, a drug dealer was injured, I think it's the one who lost his binoculars."
The man addressed to as 'Team Wu' rushed over and quickly judged, "This man should have been alone and left in a hurry after being bitten by a snake, otherwise he wouldn't have left the binoculars. As for why he came here alone, he should have followed Yan Yue and others." He looked at Yan Yue as he said this, his tone very sure.
Yan Yue nodded and didn't say anything. Xiaohei, who was wrapped around his wrist, hissed twice, and the corners of Yan Yue's mouth curled up slightly as he listened. Xiaohei was coquettish with him, reminding how useful he was. "So where does Team Wu think this person will go?" Yan Yue asked.
Team Wu frowned, "He won't be able to move too easily even if he applied the medicine on his injuries. He definitely won't be able to survive inside the rainforest alone. He will either find the others or risk going out of the rainforest to recuperate."
When he spoke of venturing out of the rainforest, Yan Yue snapped his eyes at him. Team Wu waved his hand, "I know what you're worried about, Yan Yue, I'll contact the village right away and ask them to keep an eye for an injured man. If he didn't make it out of the rainforest, then with his slow speed, Scar's group definitely won't get far. Let's continue our search, we must not let them escape this time."
The group continued to advance towards the depths of the rainforest, and Xiaohui consciously jumped into Yan Yue's arms. Team Wu looked at Xiaohui and praised him, "This cat is quite amazing. It was the first to find the blood just now, right?"
Xiaohui meowed and looked at Fang Lei smugly.
Fang Lei laughed when he heard it and whispered to Xiaohui when Team Wu wasn't looking, "Got it, Xiaohui is the best, when we come back, Xiaohui will eat a lot of dried fish."
Xiaohui: "Meow."
Chapter 154
As Yan Yue's group continued the search, the police officers left behind in the village received word that a wounded drug dealer might have escaped and lurked around the village.
"Don't alert the villagers, and don't miss any suspicious places. Remember, the other party is a ruthless outlaw, make sure the villagers are safe, and be careful that the other party might fight to death." The man in charge instructed.
The police officers around him nodded.
The case they handled this time had been followed from the beginning of the year to the present. For a full three months, all their energy had been focused on this case. Now they were about to finally close the net. As long as these main criminals were caught, this overseas drug trafficking group would be completely eliminated. But if any of them escaped, no one knew when the other party would resurface again. Therefore, the police were holding back their breath and swore that they would never let any drug dealer get away.
As soon as they started their search, the two staff from the botanical garden's workstation came to the police in a panic, saying that two of their companions had been abducted by an injured man who had run off to the rainforest.
"What! The drug dealer took two hostages?" The man in charge of the left-behind team was very anxious and while arranging for the police to chase after the man, he hurriedly contacted the leader of the team searching in the rainforest.
"What the hell is going on?"
The two staff members were regretful. They just showed kindness for a moment. Who knew they would run into an outlaw? Just half an hour ago, they met an injured man at the entrance of the village. The man wore local ethnic attire and was very familiar with the surroundings. They didn't suspect anything. They took the man back to the village and gave him the medicine. After the man took the medicine, he said that he wanted to go to the village on the other side of the mountain. They saw that the man didn't really feel well and they kindly sent the man to the entrance of the village. Unexpectedly, the man was much more mobile than he pretended to be. Suddenly he took out a gun and dragged their unsuspecting companions into the rainforest while they were not paying attention.
The two companions who were held hostage by the man were also familiar to the police. They happened to be the two who came to the police in the morning and said that they had discovered the whereabouts of drug dealers. They also had a friend who was now showing the way for the police in the rainforest. Hearing this, the man in charge of the police force in the village had a headache.
He remembered the very good-looking teenager, especially the warm feeling that the teenager gave him when he smiled. He also remembered the teenager's companion, a handsome, strong man who talked to them so calmly and didn't look simple. Not to mention the fact that these men were also friends of Fang Lei, the senior police officer sent from the Fengcheng City side of this joint operation. The handsome man had come forward to show the police the way, and the police thanked him and promised to protect his companions who were left in the village. But how long had it been since those words were spoken before the teenager was held hostage by a drug dealer? So how could he explain it to that man?
Before he could think of what to say on his side, his men had already contacted the leader of the anti-drug brigade leading the team in the rainforest.
"What's going on? A villager is being held hostage by a drug dealer?" The voice of Captain Wu Jiang came over the satellite phone.
The local person in charge smiled bitterly, "It's not our local villagers, it's the two people who called the police this morning. One of their companions is with you, Team Wu, I have no face to talk to him."
According to the thoughts of the man in charge, had the drug dealer really held local villagers hostage, they wouldn't have to worry so much. Even if the villagers were held hostage, they might find an opportunity to escape the drug trafficker at some point. They were also familiar with the rainforest and knew how to avoid the dangers there. But the two people being held hostage were both outsiders, one old and one young, and neither had any experience of living in the rainforest, not to mention dealing with the drug traffickers. It would be troublesome if they encountered a poisonous snake or something.
Wu Jiang's face sank as he darted a glance at Yan Yue in front of him and said in a low voice, "Okay, I see. They can't run far, so hurry up and send someone after them."
After hanging up the phone, Wu Jiang thought about it and went up and patted Yan Yue's shoulder, "Brother, let me tell you something."
Yan Yue had a bad feeling in his heart since Wu Jiang received the phone call, and his heart sank when he heard the words. His gaze was fixed on Wu Jiang's face, sharp like a knife. Wu Jiang was speechless.
Fang Lei also realised that something was wrong and immediately stood next to Yan Yue, asking, "What's wrong?"
Yan Yue's expression was stern and his gaze was grim as he looked at Wu Jiang, but his tone was unexpectedly calm, "Say it, what happened?"
Wu Jiang was a little embarrassed, but now was not the time to hide it; he told the news he received, focusing on the fact that the police left behind in the village had been deployed, so Yan Yue didn't have to worry. The other party had been injured after all, and Wu Jiang suspected that he took hostages on purpose. According to the other two staff members, the other party was perfectly capable of running away if he wanted to. If the man wanted to kill Lu Lingxi and Wang Chaoliang before running, he could do it easily. But the other party didn't do it, instead, he took the two of them into the rainforest as hostages. Wu Jiang analysed that the other party must have known that their whereabouts were revealed and that the police started searching the rainforest, so he took the hostages as a bargaining chip. It seemed that for a while Lu Lingxi and Wang Chaoliang wouldn't be in any danger.
He said this both as an analysis and in the hope that Yan Yue would calm down after hearing this. Although Yan Yue appeared to be calm, Wu Jiang was standing close to him and could sense how heavy the pressure on Yan Yue was; it was like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
Although he had been mentally prepared in advance, after Yan Yue heard that Lu Lingxi was being held hostage in the rainforest, he still had the feeling of blood running out of his body and his brain being hit with a heavy hammer. He was clearly standing on the flat ground, but he had the illusion of falling into the abyss. Anxiety and fear filled his heart, and never before had he felt as panicked as he did now. Even when he heard the news of his parents' divorce back then, even when his father opposed his return to China after he graduated from university, it didn't make him feel as deeply powerless as it did now.
"Yan Yue, Xiao Xi…" Fang Lei wanted to comfort him but didn't know what to say.
Xiaohei seemed to sense Yan Yue's emotions and quickly poked his head out of his sleeve, slowly rubbing his body against Yan Yue's wrist and hissing, showing his tongue.
After being rubbed by Xiaohei like this, Yan Yue completely calmed down. He knew that Wu Jiang couldn't be blamed for this matter, and he also needed Wu Jiang's help in finding Xiao Xi. He said solemnly, "I'm going to find Xiao Xi."
Wu Jiang let out a sigh of relief; it was good that Yan Yue had calmed down. He quickly analysed, "The reason why the drug trafficker escaped into the rainforest and his purpose are actually the same as ours. We want to catch the remaining drug dealers, and he wants to meet with them. I can guarantee that as long as we catch the other drug dealers before they meet, your friend will be safe. At that point, whether it's an ambush or a negotiation, the initiative will be in our hands."
His analysis made sense, but it was all based on them getting to the remaining drug dealers first. What if that drug dealer rejoined them first? What if they had escaped the police completely? What would happen to Xiao Xi at that point?
Along the way, Wu Jiang had revealed many of the drug dealers' past deeds, all of which were cruel and criminal. Yan Yue didn't dare to imagine how they would treat Lu Lingxi, cursing, beating, or… any picture he could imagine was as if someone was holding a knife to his heart and cutting his flesh, causing him pain to the bone marrow.
Yan Yue settled down and insisted, "I'm going to find Xiao Xi."
After he finished speaking, he stopped paying attention to Wu Jiang, lowered his head and rubbed Xiaohei on his wrist, asking as if no one else was there: "Xiaohei, how many helpers can you gather?"
Xiaohei waved his tail, seemingly in thought, and just as Wu Jiang felt puzzled, Xiaohei suddenly leapt from Yan Yue's wrist to the ground and slithered into the grass. After a moment of silence, the whole grass suddenly boiled up like water. Only rustling sounds were heard around as countless snakes of different colours burst out of the grass, from the roots of trees and vines, and slithered in all directions.
"Snakes, why are there so many snakes!" A policeman's voice rang out in panic.
Immediately after his initial disbelief, Wu Jiang shouted, "Don't move, these snakes won't attack, no one move."
His authority in the team was unmatched, and after he finished speaking all the police officers present restrained the urge to do something and stayed quietly in their places. They watched as the snakes seemed to be completely oblivious to them, leaving the vicinity one by one, and in a matter of moments they were gone.
"Captain, what the hell is going on here?"
A policeman came over and asked Wu Jiang. Apart from Wu Jiang and Fang Lei, no one else had noticed Yan Yue's behaviour.
Wu Jiang gave Yan Yue a strange look and said with a sullen face, "How should I know? Keep searching."
The policeman who asked the question sighed and went back to continue with his search mission. They had now reached the vicinity of the monster flower and were looking for traces of previous activities of the drug dealers.
Xiaohei slowly nibbled at Yan Yue's pants and crawled back onto his wrist, and Yan Yue stroked his head, waiting for the snakes to bring back news from their surroundings. When he was looking for the drug traffickers, Yan Yue wasn't ready to expose Xiaohei; he didn't know how capable Xiaohei was and whether he would be useful in finding people or not. But now that Lu Lingxi was in danger, Yan Yue couldn't care less about Wu Jiang's reaction, nor could he think about whether snakes had the ability to find people; he only wanted to use all the power he could to find Lu Lingxi.
It was already afternoon, and the rainforest was quite dim because of the tangle of vines. As the sun was about to set, it was getting even darker and more eerie. In order not to alert the enemy, none of the police officers turned on the flashlights and continued to search the area in silence.
As time passed, Yan Yue's heart grew more and more anxious, worrying that if he found Lu Lingxi one minute later, Lu Lingxi would be in more danger. Suddenly Xiaohei, who had been quietly wrapped around his wrist raised his head and showed his tongue quickly. The next moment, Yan Yue looked over to the southeast and was about to say something when a faint gunshot echoed there.
"Southeast side, let's go check it out."
Wu Jiang shouted immediately, and Yan Yue was the first to run in the direction of the southeast part.
Deep in the rainforest, the man with the scarred face gave the young man beside him a sharp slap on the face. "Xiao Liu, if you want to die, don't drag others with you. Is this a place where you can shoot?"
"Big Brother, sorry." The young man covered his face and said in a muffled voice. The scar-faced man had used so much force that half of the young man's face was swollen. He also knew that he shouldn't have fired at the moment when the border police and anti-drug police outside were looking for them, but anyone who would find that there were so many snakes at his feet, all of them poisonous snakes from the rainforest, would probably react the way he did. He jumped to his feet and looked at the few snakes scattered on the ground with a puzzled expression, "What's going on, Big Brother? Why are there suddenly so many snakes?"
The man with the scarred face grunted, "It's not your first day here, you know that there are many snakes in the rainforest. Now that it's dark, they should also come out for food. It's normal for them to feel your smell and come looking for it."
"But I applied snake repellent on me." The young man was still puzzled.
The man with the scarred face interrupted him impatiently, "Come on, Lao San just contacted us and said he has two men with him, so let's go and meet up with him as soon as possible. Let's go."
The group of four travelled in the dark towards the northwest. They were very familiar with this part of the rainforest and several potentially dangerous places had been avoided in advance. "Be careful." The man with the scarred face warned, "There's a snake not far ahead, it looks like it's at least arm's length, so avoid it."
The three men following behind obeyed as the young man muttered in a low voice, "Why are there so many little snakes this way."
Someone next to him sniggered, "A little snake is better than a large python."
"Shut up." Scarface suddenly whispered, "Something's not right."
"What?"
Even before the words left his mouth, they knew what was going on. From behind a few large trees as thick as three or four people, heavily armed anti-drug police came out.
"Fuck, it's the cops, run."
There were gunshots and chaos all around.
Just as Yan Yue's group ambushed the drug dealers and opened fire, Lu Lingxi was exploring the rainforest in the dark, walking an uneven road. Wang Chaoliang was following him, his nose swollen and his face bruised, his hands tied, and the end of the rope was in the hands of the man they had helped at the entrance to the village earlier. The man had a gun in his other hand and was pointing it in Lu Lingxi's direction.
"Don't be lazy, walk faster." The man scolded.
Lu Lingxi pursed his lips and didn't say anything, watching out for any poisonous snakes around him while walking as fast as he could. He knew that if he walked slower, it was Wang Chaoliang behind him who would take the beating. From the moment they were held hostage by the man and taken into the rainforest, he and Wang Chaoliang tried to resist. When they encountered a big python, they tried to use the opportunity to grab the man's gun while he was distracted. Unfortunately, neither Lu Lingxi nor Wang Chaoliang was a fighter, and the man killed the python in a matter of seconds. Afterwards, the man beat up the two of them, but it was mainly Wang Chaoliang who took the beating. Lu Lingxi didn't take many blows, he didn't know why.
A short distance ahead was a large tree, as thick as several people, and Lu Lingxi tried to get around it. Snakes in the rainforest liked to climb up trees, and there was no telling when one would leap from the tree. He was about to take a few steps to his left when an unknown fruit hit him on the head. Subconsciously he looked up, and a rather familiar little monkey crouched on a branch and squeaked at him.
Chapter 155
"Why did you stop?"
The rainforest was dim; the man holding them hostage didn't see the little monkey, just saw Lu Lingxi stop and immediately scolded him in a loud voice.
Lu Lingxi didn't say anything, waved his hand quickly at the little monkey and walked forward with his head down. He still remembered the little monkey's warning in the morning and was worried that the man might recognise the little monkey. Although the monkey was nimble, the man had a gun in his hand. The little monkey understood Lu Lingxi's movement and quickly jumped to a nearby tree. It hid behind the dense leaves of the tree. The man walked over, raised his head and saw nothing.
The group of three walked forward for a while, and the man thought it was time to contact the boss. He was very familiar with this rainforest, and he could judge the right direction even in the dark. According to their speed, it would be time to meet the boss in half an hour. He was about to take out the satellite phone from his bag, when suddenly a strong gust of wind hit the back of his head. The man instinctively rolled to the ground as a huge black shadow landed behind him. The man was stunned subconsciously, but Wang Chaoliang reacted extremely quickly and took the opportunity to rush over, desperately pinning down the man who was about to get up.
"Xiao Xi, the gun!"
Wang Qingliang's mobility was limited, and after shouting, he opened his mouth and bit the man's arm holding the gun.
The man struggled to push Wang Chaoliang away, and his other hand clenched into a fist and slammed Wang Chaoliang's face fiercely. Wang Qingliang let out a muffled grunt but continued biting and refused to let go. Lu Lingxi had already run up to the man's side and fought with the man for the gun.
The black shadow that had attacked the man earlier also took the opportunity to make trouble and jumped onto the man's face, squealing. It was a large monkey half a human size.
"Fuck, the beast is looking for death!"
The man cursed through gritted teeth, stomping his legs in an attempt to overturn the man and the monkey on top of him. In the confusion Lu Lingxi stepped hard on the man's hand holding the gun. The man had to let go of the gun in pain, and it was snatched away by Lu Lingxi. In the blink of an eye, a few more dark shadows jumped down from the trees. Monkeys of all sizes squealed excitedly, pouncing on the man and scratching or slapping him, while a few small monkeys stood in the forefront, baring their teeth, grabbing some unknown fruits and hitting the man hard. The man roared angrily.
Lu Lingxi took the gun but he didn't know how to use it, so he didn't think much about it and tucked it into the back of his clothes, then pulled a finger-thick vine from the ground that looked very strong. Taking advantage of the man's inability to get up under the pressure of the monkeys and Wang Chaoliang, he went around, tied the man's exposed legs together and tied a knot vigorously.
"Uncle Wang."
Lu Lingxi hurriedly pulled Wang Chaoliang up and untied the ropes around his hands. With the monkeys helping, the two men took the rope and bound the man on the ground, peeling off the man's socks and stuffing them into his mouth in the process.
"There, it's okay." Wang Chaoliang's face and mouth were covered in blood, and he wiped it haphazardly, patting Lu Lingxi soothingly.
Lu Lingxi looked at him worriedly, "Are you alright, Uncle Wang?"
Wang Chaoliang laughed, "Yes, your Uncle Wang is very tough, this little injury is nothing."
It was only now that the two of them had completely stabilised their minds and could talk. Earlier Lu Lingxi's heart had been pounding so hard that he acted completely on instinct. Wang Chaoliang was not much better than Lu Lingxi; after all, he was old and had been beaten up a lot along the way, and almost couldn't hold on under the psychological burden. At least thanks to his usual outdoor work, he was still physically active. He also kept in mind the fact that he had brought Xiao Xi here and had to bring him back intact. Only with this thought did he manage to carry on.
The two men looked at the tied man. The man looked quite miserable; his face was swollen and his clothes were torn into strips by the monkeys, revealing bloody marks all over his body. Several small monkeys were still hitting the man, as if they thought it was a fun game. The little monkey in the lead was the one Lu Lingxi knew, and it was squealing while throwing fruits and pointing at the man.
"What's going on here?" Wang Chaoliang was both happy and puzzled, "Has this man offended the monkeys before?"
Speaking of which, it was really lucky that he and Lu Lingxi were able to get out of danger. If he hadn't taken advantage of the man being caught unawares by the sudden attack or without the help of these monkeys, it would have been completely impossible for him and Xiao Xi to escape the man's hands.
Lu Lingxi couldn't say for sure, but what he was certain about was that these monkeys were the helpers called by the little monkey. But why the little monkey wanted to save him, he didn't know.
"Zi-zi."
The leading monkey jumped up the tree and called out to the monkeys. The monkeys on the ground responded, and even the few small monkeys who were happily beating the man also stopped their actions and responded with the same squeak. The little monkey that Lu Lingxi knew squeaked and jumped into Lu Lingxi's arms, its furry paws hugging Lu Lingxi's neck as it rubbed against him affectionately. Lu Lingxi's eyes curved, his heart feeling unusually soft. He stroked the soft fur of the little monkey. His heartbeat gradually returned to normal.
"Uncle Wang, let's call the village."
The man who was tied up carried a satellite phone with him, which was just right for contacting the village.
Wang Chaoliang immediately went forward to pick up the man's bag. He had just taken out the satellite phone when the monkeys around him suddenly panicked and fled in all directions to the surrounding trees. A giant, black-coloured python, as big as a basin in diameter, emerged silently out of the grass, its head held high as it showed its tongue and looked at them with a cold gaze.
Lu Lingxi's heart sank; he stood there, not daring to move. Even the little monkey in his arms was clinging to his body in fear, completely losing its previous lively appearance. The man on the ground, sensing the unusual atmosphere, craned his neck and saw the python; swinging his body frantically, he tried to move away from it.
Just as the two sides confronted each other, the leading monkey suddenly jumped to its feet and provoked the python. After its squeak, a rainfall of fruit thrown by the monkeys hit the python's body.
"Run."
Wang Chaoliang gasped, shouted hoarsely and pulled Lu Lingxi to run. The little monkey hugged Lu Lingxi obediently, and in his haste Lu Lingxi only had time to glance back at the monkeys. After a few waves of attacks the monkeys also scattered, as if their previous attacks were creating an opportunity for him and Wang Chaoliang to escape. Just that man…
Lu Lingxi didn't think any further, stumbling all the way and running forward desperately. He didn't know how long he ran, he only felt that his heart was about to jump out of his throat. "Xiao Xi… let's take a break." Wang Chaoliang said intermittently, "There seems to be no movement behind."
The two men held onto the tree trunk and went limp, panting heavily.
"The snake shouldn't have followed us." Wang Chaoliang looked around in shock.
Lu Lingxi, holding the little monkey, also looked around, but nothing could be seen clearly in the darkness. The little monkey held on to Lu Lingxi with both paws and refused to let go. Lu Lingxi knew that the little monkey was probably terrified too as it was the first time it had seen such a thick and long python. "It's alright." He coaxed the little monkey like a child, and the little monkey squeaked petulantly.
"That man…" Wang Chaoliang started and didn't say more. Although he hated drug dealers, he only thought of handing the man over to the police, but didn't think of throwing him to a giant python.
Lu Lingxi understood what Wang Chaoliang meant. He hesitated for a long time and finally whispered, "…he… he is a bad guy."
"Yes, he is a bad guy." Wang Chaoliang let out a sigh of relief, stroked Lu Lingxi's hair and said firmly, "He is a bad guy… Xiao Xi, don't think about it."
Lu Lingxi nodded gently. Wang Chaoliang tried to change the subject, "Xiao Xi, look what kind of tree is this? Strange, I haven't seen it at all before."
Wang Chaoliang was talking about the tree that the two of them were leaning against. Lu Lingxi didn't pay attention when he was leaning against it, but when he followed Wang Chaoliang's line of sight, he realised that the tree was as thick as seven or eight adult men, and he estimated that it would take four or five people to surround it.
He didn't know much about trees and subconsciously spread out his mental scan; the white panel floated out in front of him.
Plant name: First-class copaiba balsam tree
Plant needs: None
Plant vitality: dead.
"The plant is dead, consume the power of nature to save it?"
Lu Lingxi was taken aback by the prompt at the bottom. He didn't expect that this very solid tree was actually dead. Although he had never heard the name of this tree, he believed that the panel couldn't be wrong. At this time, it was completely dark, and Lu Lingxi couldn't see the specific situation of the tree clearly. He thought it was probably that the tree had just died, so it looked okay from the outside, but in fact, the problem was in the heart of the tree. He didn't hesitate and quickly chose "yes". It would take at least a few hundred years for this tree to grow to such a large size, and it was a plant that had evolved naturally. It would be a pity if it died like this.
As he clicked "yes", the little monkey in his arms suddenly became excited, grabbing Lu Lingxi's collar and squeaking, one paw even pointing in the direction of the tree. Lu Lingxi knew that animals' senses were very keen, and whenever the big willow tree in Lingshui Village evolved in the past, the animals in the village would get very excited while the villagers didn't notice anything unusual. He touched the little monkey's furry head, and it kept squeaking as it grabbed his finger and pointed at the tree trunk.
"What?" Lu Lingxi still didn't understand what the little monkey meant.
The little monkey was a bit anxious and simply jumped onto the tree, scratched the bark and searched for a long time. Finally its hand was covered with some light yellow oil-like substance and the little monkey happily brought it to Lu Lingxi's face. Seeing that Lu Lingxi still didn't understand, the little monkey jumped to the ground and half-crouched there, stretching out two little paws as if making a fire.
Lu Lingxi blinked and said in a flash of intuition, "This can be lit?"
The little monkey bared its teeth and continued to make several fire-lighting motions, squeaking and jumping into his arms, wiping the oily stuff on its paws onto Lu Lingxi's clothes. Lu Lingxi didn't know whether to cry or to laugh, grabbing the little monkey's hand to keep it from moving around. Although they were now away from the python crisis, the only satellite phone that could contact the village had been lost in the previous escape. Unable to contact the village and unable to see anything, the two dared not continue walking in the rainforest in the dark.
Lu Lingxi simply relaxed, held the little monkey's paw and asked Wang Chaoliang what exactly it was. "Uncle Wang, is it resin?"
Wang Chaoliang and Lu Lingxi had a similar mentality. Now they could change nothing, so they could just relax and take a rest. Wang Chaoliang came over and carefully looked at the liquid for a long time, shaking his head uncertainly, "It's not resin. Do you smell it? Does it smell like industrial oil?"
"Industrial oil?" Lu Lingxi smelled it, but couldn't tell what industrial oil smelled like.
Wang Chaoliang laughed, "If I could ignite it and burn it, I would know. It's a pity…."
Although the light of the fire could give them some peace of mind, it would be a problem if it attracted the other drug dealers. They were running around in a daze just now and they didn't know where they had gone.
"Forget it, safety comes first." Wang Chaoliang suppressed his professional impulse and laughed bitterly, "We've almost lost our lives, and we're still thinking about this thing."
Lu Lingxi first smiled, then said seriously, "I think Big Brother Yan will definitely find us."
It had been a few hours since he and Wang Chaoliang had been taken hostage, and he was sure that Yan Yue must have gotten the news and was now looking for him in the rainforest. As long as they didn't run into the other drug dealers, they would definitely wait for Yan Yue.
"Good, then we'll wait here for Yan Yue."
While the two of them leaned against the big tree in the dark and talked about plants, Yan Yue and his party were standing at the place where they had encountered the python earlier.
"There is a satellite phone and tattered clothes found on the ground. There are traces of human activity directly in front of us, and a trail of a huge snake as well as signs of a human being dragged on the left. The preliminary judgement is that they encountered a giant python, one person was dragged away by the giant python, and the remaining two escaped." Wu Jiang looked around the area and quickly analysed what had happened before. He showed the clothes he had picked up to Yan Yue. "It's the clothes of a local ethnic minority. We can optimistically estimate that the one dragged away by the python was the drug dealer and the ones who escaped were your friends."
Yan Yue knew it was just a possibility, but at this point he was clinging to this possibility like a drowning man. He needed someone to keep telling him that Xiao Xi was okay, that Xiao Xi would be fine.
While no one was paying attention, Wu Jiang asked in a low voice, "Those snakes of yours?"
Yan Yue shook his head. The aura of the python was too strong around here; the snakes were so affected that they hid and didn't dare to come over at all.
"Then let's look along the traces of activities in front of us first." Wu Jiang decided.
Yan Yue nodded and turned to leave when he suddenly heard a monkey squeaking in the tree. He looked over, raising his flashlight, and saw a monkey half a human size hanging from the trunk of a tree, baring its teeth at him and screaming. Yan Yue's heart fluttered as the monkey jumped to another tree and kept leaping forward.
"Follow it." Yan Yue instinctively felt that the monkey was showing them the way and took the lead in running after it.
Wu Jiang looked at Yan Yue's back inexplicably and muttered, "First it was a snake, now it's a monkey, are you guys from the circus?" Despite his sarcasm, he called his men and followed Yan Yue.
As they went deeper and deeper into the rainforest, Xiaohui, who was squatting on Fang Lei's shoulder, suddenly meowed.
Fang Lei was overjoyed and said hurriedly, "Xiaohui says it's just ahead."
The expression on Wu Jiang's face became even more bizarre.
"Here we are, it's just ahead." Fang Lei affirmed.
The group of people quickly stopped. Because they weren't sure which two people had escaped, they didn't dare to make too much noise, for fear that if there was the drug dealer among those who had escaped, the other party would be desperate if he knew the police were coming. Although Yan Yue was anxious, he could only endure and approach slowly.
The rainforest at night was quiet and the little monkey was the first to hear their footsteps and squeaked.
Lu Lingxi looked over warily and faintly heard the movement of someone coming. He and Wang Chaoliang looked at each other. Holding back the fear in their hearts, Lu Lingxi said loudly, "Who is it? Don't come any closer, we have guns." As he spoke, he took out the gun stuck behind his waist into his hand and struggled to point it at the jungle in front of him.
The next moment, Yan Yue's ecstatic voice came, "Xiao Xi!"
"Big Brother Yan." Lu Lingxi blinked, then reacted and ran towards the place where the sound came from with a gun in his hand.
The two of them were not far away and it took only a minute or two to run, but this distance was the longest distance in Yan Yue's life. It wasn't until he held Lu Lingxi in his arms that he was shocked to realise that he had been holding his breath and seemed to be unable to even feel his heartbeat.
"Xiao Xi." Yan Yue shakily called Lu Lingxi's name, shivering as he touched Lu Lingxi's face and back, as if only this way could he make sure his baby was in his arms. "Xiao Xi…"
"Big Brother Yan, I'm here." Lu Lingxi replied as he hugged Yan Yue.
Yan Yue wanted to smile, but unbeknownst to him, his eyes were wet.