National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 577 - 524

Chapter 577: 524

Mr. Mu sent three people on a big detour to cut off Jiang Yuan and his party’s escape route, while another two rifle-armed men climbed the side of the slope. They were the main force tasked with shooting the police dogs, and with a clear line of fire, taking out eight targets with two guns would only take a matter of seconds.

Mr. Mu, along with two others, crouched on the second-floor of the building on this side, his hand on his gun, watching Jiang Yuan and the others a few hundred meters away, contemplating something unknown in his mind.

The police dogs had to be killed. Otherwise, no matter how far they ran, it would be child’s play, and even if they managed to get half a day’s lead, it wouldn’t matter if the direction could be found behind them. With police closing in from the front, the longer they ran, the quicker they would be sentenced.

If the police dogs coming from behind weren’t familiar with their scent yet, once they reached the mountain, a few crossings through streams and rubbing some animal feces on themselves could greatly increase their chance of escape.

But police dogs this close at hand were all too familiar with their scent, making it too easy for the dogs to follow persistently and hard to shake off.

However, Mr. Mu actually hesitated at the thought of killing Jiang Yuan and the others.

Firing a gun was easy but escaping afterward was hard. If they shot dead seven police officers and a dog all at once, the wanted level would probably skyrocket to five stars. At that point, Yuan Yushan, the company’s General Manager, would no longer be the primary target—it would be them.

Although the chances of escaping were already very slim, everyone still clung to hope. This included Yuan Yushan and others who definitely hadn’t completely given up yet.

When they built this escape route years ago, they did so thoughtfully and with a substantial investment, designing it quite comprehensively—of course, now they were being pursued, but that was okay. The next few supply points not only helped escape in multiple directions but also had pre-designed routes. If they could quickly cross the blockade, there was a chance of survival.

The premise, however, was not to become the "thorn in the police’s side."

For instance, not running alongside key figure Yuan Yushan, and... not killing police officers.

"Let’s go," Mr. Mu said in a low voice as he watched two groups of people gradually distance themselves.

The other two, subordinates who had followed Mr. Mu for many years, were momentarily stunned by the command but quickly came to their senses. They started stowing their guns and asked, "What about the dogs?"

"If you can shoot them dead, do it; if not, the dogs will just keep chasing them," Mr. Mu said as he turned and added, "Yuan Yushan probably knows some other routes, but we don’t need them. We’ll just take the old route."

The old route was designed by Jianyuan in the early days, back when they first started making the special precursor. Yuan Jiansheng was also nervous at the time. To comfort himself and to reassure other team members, Yuan Jiansheng led the design of the first escape route, burying canned food, clothing, lighters, and other items at several key rest spots in advance.

In those days, once over the mountain and into the town on the other side, a motorcycle was all it took to disappear without a trace.

Jianyuan later developed several other routes, but they were controlled by different gang members, and Yuan Yushan likely knew several new ones.

Hopefully, the new routes worked better.

Mr. Mu couldn’t worry about that now.

He slung his gun over his shoulder and started to walk with his head down.

He didn’t insist on the other two following; if they wished to come, they could. After all, life was earned by oneself, and right now, Mr. Mu wanted nothing more than to secure his own.

"Mr. Mu."

"Mr. Mu!"

The two subordinates kept pace with him. They were younger brothers among the old gang and didn’t know the escape routes. Although they could go back to find Yuan Yushan and the others, at this point, why bother.

Once the three had their rifles ready, they climbed up the mountain without a word. There were some trails leading to the various mountain passes, some walked by villagers nearby, others by visitors for fun. However, the further they went into the mountain, the less these traces became, and Mr. Mu struggled to navigate.

Yet, he still devoted some attention to the sounds coming from the mountain foot.

After a while, Mr. Mu felt they had climbed quite a distance. He found a rock to sit on, looked towards the factory area that was almost concealed by the mountain landscape, rubbed his legs and asked, "Did you hear any gunshots?"

"No," the two shook their heads.

Mr. Mu was convinced that it wasn’t his ears that were the problem. He frowned and considered for a moment, then looked at the other two and said, "Seems like everyone has their own ideas."

Even if the three of them had run off, Mr. Mu had five more people arranged below; it looked like all the police had pistols. Five against seven plus a dog, the prepared against the unprepared—it should be no problem.

Moreover, they shouldn’t even know that he had run off.

So, the other five must also have had other thoughts, which accounted for their actions. They most likely intended for Yuan Yushan to press forward, and they themselves didn’t want to stand out.

Reflecting on this, Mr. Mu felt a twist in his heart. The once close-knit team was falling apart just like that.

...

At the mountain’s base.

A few excavators were working hard, their engines grunting as they loaded the dug-up soil onto trucks that immediately hauled it away.

Two engineers, wearing hard hats and measuring with a rangefinder, scribbled on paper, then turned to the construction team leader and said, "We can only dig up to this point, and no further. It’s forest land ahead, don’t take the risk."

The captain acknowledged, asked a few more questions, and then picked up the walkie-talkie to start giving commands.

More construction workers began to arrive on site, quickly setting up a kitchen followed by work on a temporary parking lot.

Liu Jinghui stood beside Xu Taining, watching the progress of the project while clicking his tongue, "You’re practically building them a highway service center."

"They’re doing the construction, I just helped them with the process. There was already a plan in place; I just expedited it by a year. This way, they don’t have to go through the procedures themselves. It’s a mutual benefit," Xu Taining paused, adding, "I know how to save money too, don’t think I just spend it."

"Where did you save money? I see Chief Yu doesn’t even come around you anymore, everyone’s numb to it now—they don’t mind as long as it’s out of sight. The cars are parked a kilometer away. If someone didn’t know, they’d think we’re engaging in some major construction work. Hey, and speaking of which, we are indeed undertaking a construction project..." Liu Jinghui commented.

"It can’t be helped. We’re talking about search teams of thousands. How else to provide for them? It’s not like in the past where you could just let people bring their own dry rations," said Xu Taining with a firm resolve, ready to spend money where needed, not swayed by others’ opinions.

"Attention—ease! Right, dress..."

In the midst of conversation, they heard the paramilitary forces starting to form ranks up ahead.

Xu Taining and Liu Jinghui fell silent, watching the teams of armed police head up the mountain.

"This is going to be a tough one," Liu Jinghui remarked as he watched the fully-equipped squads setting out and gazed towards the daunting Jiming Mountain.

Jiming Mountain stretched out from the city, with peaks rising hundreds of meters high, one after another, and many of the ridges between the peaks also towering over a hundred meters.

To navigate such mountains, one usually sticks to well-trodden paths, often following the valley floors until no path remains, then trying to squeeze through the passes between two mountains, or if that won’t work, traversing halfway up the mountainsides—this is what "crossing mountains and ridges" entails.

For modern people to climb mountains like these, walking on foot is already beyond the norm.

But the intensity of a manhunt is even greater because fugitives might choose any path in panic, diving deep into the wilderness, and then it’s not about crossing mountains, it’s about scaling them.

To describe it in terms of city life, this "scaling mountains" would be like walking to the end of a pedestrian street and then starting to climb the skyscraper at the end, reaching the top, coming back down, proceeding along another street—preferably one with an incline—and then climbing another skyscraper...

Without helicopters, journeying 5 kilometers through the woods might include climbing the equivalent of three skyscrapers.

In such dense forests, both escape and pursuit quickly turn into a contest of will.

The escapee is tested, and so is the pursuer.

"We’re about to connect with Jiang Yuan." Xu Taining glanced at the time.

Liu Jinghui’s attention was immediately drawn to this.

Um...

Xu Taining’s walkie-talkie crackled to life.

"Director Xu, we’ve located Jiang Yuan. We’ve trapped Yuan Yushan," the voice on the walkie-talkie said concisely.

Xu Taining was surprised, "Trapped her? Do you need reinforcements?"

"It would be best if you have some. She has a rifle but is mostly holed up; however, her men have scattered."

Xu Taining let out a sigh of relief. His vast ambush was transitioning from a complete lockdown to focused defense and search, and now, assured that Yuan Yushan was cornered, his efforts were not in vain.

"Yuan Yuming isn’t here..." Jiang Yuan came in over the walkie-talkie with an update.

Xu Taining acknowledged with a "hm" and said, "We haven’t located Yuan Yuming here either; we’ve already dispatched teams to check the sewers and underground pipelines."

"That’s good," replied Jiang Yuan.

Liu Jinghui could only add a word of caution, "Stay safe."

After ending the call, Xu Taining’s spirits once again surged. The current mode was his favorite: the search perimeter was accurate, and they had achieved some results, so now each team could remain settled in place.

Meanwhile, the case was still ongoing, with several suspects left to be found, including key figures.

Anxious to proceed, Xu Taining hurried back to the tent, unfolded the map, and began to ponder.

Boom.

A loud explosion reverberated through the nearby mountains, prompting everyone in the tent to lift the flaps and rush out.

No need to ask—the news came back quickly:

"There’s been a landslide, likely caused by an explosion, reason unknown. The search team has spotted Yuan Yuming through binoculars, still quite a distance away, and they’re in pursuit."