National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 576 - 523 Old Brothers

Chapter 576: Chapter 523 Old Brothers

The underground pipelines were low, cold, and smelly.

Though not as filthy as the subterranean utility lines of a city, Jianyuan’s pipes were not genuinely designed with pedestrian traffic in mind.

Most of the pipeline could be navigated by bending over, but some parts required crawling. Occasionally, in the more spacious areas, everyone would inevitably stand a while longer to ease the discomfort in their shoulders, necks, and backs.

Jiang Yuan had it the worst. His height and long legs were a significant disadvantage; most places where others could stand up straight were too low for him. Being there felt like sleeping in a train’s middle bunk.

Dazhuang was the most comfortable one because its size was quite suited to the dimensions of the pipeline. However, the surrounding odors still made Dazhuang quite uncomfortable.

The pipelines would intersect at times, and it was during these moments that Dazhuang needed to sniff around.

Mu Zhiyang followed behind, holding the inspection lamp and continually turning it on to illuminate the way, allowing Jiang Yuan to determine if there were any footprints left behind and whether they matched the characteristics of Yuan Yushan’s group.

Having the inspection lamp wasn’t strictly necessary at this point, but Mu Zhiyang insisted on holding it while they crawled through.

For Jiang Yuan, the broad coverage and even, steady light of the inspection lamp made it much easier to see the footprints in full detail.

As a result, he quickly memorized the characteristics of Yuan Yushan and his group’s footprints.

Therefore, even at a crossroads, if Yuan Yushan’s footprints were occasionally not found, he could attempt to locate footprints of others in the group.

The main pressure to make decisions was really centered at the crossroads. Upon entering a crossroad, it was best to make an accurate judgment. If that wasn’t possible, they needed to confirm the presence of Yuan Yushan’s footprints as soon as possible along the subsequent path. If it was the latter case, it was clearly more anxiety-inducing, as everyone feared taking a wrong turn and going down the wrong path.

After all, their trust in Jiang Yuan was greater than in a dog’s ability, so even if Dazhuang was leading the way with sniffing, everyone still hoped for Jiang Yuan’s secondary confirmation.

There were a few occasions where neither Dazhuang nor Jiang Yuan could make an immediate judgment, but after several attempts, they managed to locate the correct position.

The complexity of the pipeline system went from simple to complex and back to simple again. Gradually, it became more straightforward.

At the end, the group followed a long stretch of pipeline and eventually entered an air-raid shelter.

The shelter could accommodate over a hundred people. Beyond, there were tunnels interconnected with other shelters.

Mu Zhiyang and the others got their guns ready. They hadn’t needed them in the pipes, fortunately not getting trapped, but once they reached the air-raid shelter, holding their weapons significantly increased their sense of security.

After descending a gentle slope of over a hundred meters, they pushed open a steel door. Mu Zhiyang couldn’t help but let out a soft "wow."

"There’s a small factory here," said Mu Zhiyang, holding his gun and a small round shield. He formed a search formation with two other members of the Bald Strike Team and automatically moved forward a bit.

Jiang Yuan came up only at this point, taking a long breath. Looking beyond, indeed, there was a dilapidated factory that was no longer in use or inhabited.

"It’s an old three-line factory," said Li Li, leading Dazhuang over and identifying, "It must be one of those small factories from the past."

"I heard that some members of Jianyuan’s gang who followed Yuan Jiansheng started from a three-line factory," added Shen Yaowei, who followed behind. He had been delving deeply into case files recently and had even conducted specific research on certain gang members within Jianyuan.

Jiang Yuan nodded, "Starting from that time, these people would be nearing retirement age."

"They probably wanted to do legitimate business back in the day," Li Li remarked.

Shen Yaowei laughed, "Considering their income and assets back then, even if they went bankrupt doing legitimate business, they’d still have much more left over than the average person. The worst off were those left working in the three-line factories—those who didn’t retire had no income, and even those who did retire had very little..."

"Woof."

Dazhuang barked once, giving Shen Yaowei a look that seemed to say: All you do is talk. Aren’t you going to get on with the chase? The suspects are still on the run, and you start chatting here? Going on sentimentally as if you’ve forgotten what you came here to do? Don’t you remember your own role?

Feeling a bit sheepish under Dazhuang’s scrutinizing gaze, Shen Yaowei said with a smile, "This dog is pretty perceptive."

"Keep searching. Once this case is closed, I’ll make you a good dog meal," Jiang Yuan contemplated. He thought about using a level 6 "one extra meal" skill for dogs on his day off, wondering what Dazhuang’s expression would be when faced with a feast of level 6 dog food.

"Woof!"

Dazhuang barked again as if it understood, its spirit seemingly lifted by +1.

"This way," Li Li felt the pull on the leash and quickly called out.

The rest of the team immediately followed her lead.

After running out, Yuan Yushan’s group made less effort to cover their tracks; they were headed straight for an old building in the factory.

"Call Director Liu and Chief Yu," Jiang Yuan suggested when they got a little closer and then stopped.

At this moment, the number of officers around Jiang Yuan, including Dazhuang, totaled eight.

For eight people to capture a murderer or such would be more than enough, not to mention that Mu Zhiyang and others had brought along three guns.

But the drug trafficking gang members surrounding Yuan Yushan numbered twelve.

Even assuming Yuan Yushan’s combat effectiveness was zero, twelve against eight—with the former potentially possessing stronger weapons—made closing in on them clearly unwise.

Especially when one’s own side moves from an exposed flat land towards a building that may house gunmen, one could easily become a living target for the enemy.

Jiang Yuan preferred to wait. By the time the search reached this point, Yuan Yushan had almost lost her advantage. Now there was no need to pursue too closely. It was nearly impossible for a team of 13 people to break through the blockade.

And that was indeed the case.

Though Yuan Yushan reacted quickly and made her decisions decisively, the advantage was inherently on the side of the officers pursuing the fugitives.

It wasn’t that she had done anything wrong that led to her capture.

The reality was that if she did even one thing wrong, she could be caught. Unless she demonstrated extraordinary abilities, escape was not an option.

Yuan Yushan looked around; twelve pairs of eyes were staring at her intently.

"Let’s rest for a bit," Yuan Yushan said softly. "The police probably don’t know we’re here. They are just following standard procedure with the blockade and patrols. If it really comes down to it, we can cross Jiming Mountain, or we could even break out forcefully. The few people they have manning defenses won’t be able to stop us."

Jiming Mountain was the largest mountain nearby. Not only was it vast in size, but also complex in its terrain. Aside from the difficulty and danger of traversing wild mountains, crossing Jiming Mountain was a foolproof plan.

Starting the escape route from this location was also one of Yuan Jiansheng’s plans.

Having fled, even with money on hand, they still needed supplies and manpower. Fleeing on foot was the most reliable option.

Of course, they had vehicles stashed on their side, but the police blockade made all the easy routes dangerous.

After a short rest, Yuan Yushan led the team on their way once more.

They hadn’t gone far when an experienced member approached and said, "Boss Yuan, I have a suggestion."

"Go ahead," Yuan Yushan said with an accommodating tone.

The seasoned brother suggested, "Our team is too large. If we’re not planning on a head-on breakout, I think we should split up. Several smaller groups would have a better chance of escaping."

Yuan Yushan was silent; she obviously knew that too many people could be a problem, but bringing more had its advantages, such as the ability to storm a checkpoint and then scatter in different directions to escape.

But Yuan Yushan really didn’t want to run for her life.

Furthermore, with a larger group, Yuan Yushan’s personal safety was better assured.

Yuan Jiansheng’s old friends had watched Yuan Yushan grow up; they were like uncles and brothers to her. Most of the time, she trusted them completely, but on the run, with the funds for a new start left by Yuan Jiansheng, would these uncles and brothers reveal a drug trafficker’s true colors?

"Let’s consider this issue later." Yuan Yushan wanted to keep more options open. As for their next steps, next targets, and the surrounding circumstances, she hadn’t thought it all through yet.

Moreover, Yuan Yushan would rather defer to her older brother, Yuan Yuming, for decisions. In other words, if she set up her brother’s men to act according to her instructions and they acted preemptively, at least Yuan Yuming could attract most of the attention.

As Yuan Yushan was contemplating this, a low call came to her ears:

"The police are here."

All members of Yuan Yushan’s group stood up, and some immediately looked towards the direction of the mountain base.

"The police are coming from the south side of the road," the lookout of the gang said in a calm, not too loud voice.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Yushan’s previously calm forehead furrowed instantly.

Why would the police come from that side?

She hurriedly looked in that direction and saw a tall figure from a distance.

"Jiang Yuan!" Yuan Yushan ground her teeth. The failure of the dump truck arrangement to kill Jiang Yuan was her greatest regret.

Yuan Yushan even wanted to slap herself for not learning her lesson.

If the first attempt, during the case of her father’s mistress’ warehouse burning corpses, to stab Jiang Yuan’s tire with a knife was considered an accident, then sending a dump truck to hit Jiang Yuan was a calculated move by Yuan Yushan.

What Yuan Yushan didn’t expect was that Jiang Yuan came out completely unscathed!

Looking back now, Yuan Yushan felt she should have arranged for some gunmen to follow the dump truck, so if they couldn’t kill with the vehicle, they could rush forward and shoot to finish the job.

Of course, Yuan Yushan was just thinking about it; the situation at that time didn’t allow her to entertain such violent thoughts. However, in the current situation, she felt like she could execute even the most violent plans.

"Once they get closer, shoot them dead with guns." Yuan Yushan didn’t understand tactics, but after saying this, she looked to her side and said, "Mr. Mu, Jiang Yuan knows how to track footsteps; he’s the tallest one. Please lead the team down and make sure to kill him and the police dog."

"Alright. Those of us with guns, let’s get organized," Mr. Mu didn’t see it as much of a challenge as he drew a P90 submachine gun from behind him and while checking it, he looked back and said, "Boss Yuan, once we start firing, the police below will hear it. You should start moving forward now."

Yuan Yushan became visibly more tense and nodded, "Okay," she said, "We’ll meet at supply point number 2."

"Don’t have to meet up necessarily, just move according to your own situation," Mr. Mu said, then called out and led 7 people away. Facing 8 versus 8, he was still confident.