Chapter 567 - 469: A Sudden Turn of Events

Chapter 567: Chapter 469: A Sudden Turn of Events

"Be quiet."

Li Niu snapped, his face stern.

Fan Liping didn’t seem to mind, his eyes still glued to the two birds.

Shen Xin thought for a moment and said, "They’re useful."

But he didn’t say how.

Shen Xin felt like chatting for a bit. He knew this guy had a connection to Pan Wenhai, who had apparently raised him like a son.

But this wasn’t the time or place, so he dropped the idea.

Just then, Er Long suddenly piped up, "Where to?"

His sudden question in the small room made Fan Liping jump. He exclaimed, "It can talk!"

The others already knew, so they were unfazed.

Li Niu glared, signaling for Fan Liping to shut up.

But Fan Liping couldn’t help himself. "Didn’t you guys hear? It really can talk."

He looked utterly amazed.

Shen Xin interjected with an explanation. "That’s right. They’re crows, and they can talk. Er Long, Four Seasons, say hello."

Four Seasons turned its head, looked at Fan Liping, and obediently said, "Hello."

Er Long did the same.

The two of them were very obedient.

"Holy shit, this is insane," Fan Liping exclaimed in astonishment.

Seeing that Shen Xin didn’t reply to his praise, he fell silent, his eyes fixed on the two birds, lost in thought.

Once the paperwork was finally complete, the group set off.

The moment they crossed the border, they were met with a rude awakening.

Back in their country, the roads were paved and smooth. On the other side, it was all rough concrete.

The ride was incredibly bumpy.

The vehicle chugged along without a break until they finally reached their destination a little after three in the afternoon.

Luopei Town.

A small town with not a single high-rise in sight.

They headed straight for the Luopei Town police station.

It was a dilapidated, low-slung, two-story building.

By all rights, this should have been a county-level police headquarters, but it looked rather small for its rank.

It looked more like a small local precinct from back home.

The officers they saw on patrol all wore tactical vests and had rifles slung around their necks.

It was a telling sign of just how poor the public security was in the area.

No wonder they had gone through the trouble of getting special permission to bring their own guns across the border.

Fan Liping was handed over to the Mianguang authorities and led straight inside.

The police chief received them.

And then, they waited.

Shen Xin was once again confronted with the inefficiency of their counterparts.

Before they arrived, Shen Xin had been told the operation would be today. If successful, they could be on their way home in a day or two.

But as it turned out, their counterpart in charge, Song Zhi, was a no-show.

When Guan Baofeng inquired, he learned the man was still on his way.

Furthermore, the troops for the operation still needed to be coordinated.

Therefore, Song Zhi’s message was to postpone the operation until tomorrow.

He didn’t think it would be a problem. Fan Liping had mentioned a 20-hour window, and even if Angdu found out yesterday’s mission had failed, he wouldn’t flee immediately.

He would need some time to wait and gather information.

An operation tomorrow would still be timely enough.

This wasn’t their home turf. Guan Baofeng tried to argue, but the other side shut him down, citing logistical difficulties.

He had no choice but to drop it and wait patiently for the Mianguang side to get their act together.

That day, Shen Xin’s group stayed in a hotel near the police station.

That night was sheer misery.

The next morning, Ding Yuwei confessed she hadn’t slept well at all.

The mosquitoes were relentless, and there were all sorts of fluttering moths. The moment she turned off the lights, the buzzing started, like they were holding a conference.

"I’m fine. Mosquitoes have never liked me."

Shen Xin had discovered this quirk about himself back on the grasslands, which was why he had slept rather soundly.

For safety reasons, Guan Baofeng had ordered them not to wander around outside.

Given the surroundings, Shen Xin had no interest in exploring anyway.

After breakfast, they waited for the police station to open. Finally, news came.

It was time to move.

"We’re leaving in a bit."

Guan Baofeng briefed them on the situation. "According to Fan Liping, Angdu controls an armed force of over a hundred men."

"However, his men are spread out across the villages he controls. In Sangga Village itself, he says there are only about thirty."

"Of course, we’re not in charge of the actual arrest. Our main mission is reconnaissance, to get a clear picture of the village."

He looked at Shen Xin.

For this operation, Shen Xin definitely had to go.

Once the situation was confirmed, they would act immediately.

This time, Song Zhi had managed to coordinate a significant number of personnel. Some were from the police headquarters’ direct action unit, and others were from the border police.

Police officers were also pulled from Luopei and several nearby towns.

In total, there were nearly two hundred people.

Even with all those men, Song Zhi was worried it wouldn’t be enough. The enemy had heavy firepower and was familiar with the terrain.

Without a clear understanding of the situation, even this large a force might fail.

Guan Baofeng pointed to himself. "Five of us will go. Wang Feng, you’ll stay here. When Shen Xin sends back recon footage, we’ll need Fan Liping to identify what he sees."

The police birds alone weren’t enough; they needed Fan Liping’s help.

At the very least, he had to point out who Angdu was.

He also needed to identify the fortified positions and the armory within the village.

So, five of the nine would go, leaving four behind to manage Fan Liping.

Of the five going, Guan Baofeng was a must. Then Qian Feng would go, taking one person with him.

The three of them were masters, brought along mainly for protection.

Then Shen Xin and Jiang Wengang would go, and Ding Yuwei would stay.

It was practically a primeval forest out there—too rough for her. Besides, having Ding Yuwei stay behind made it easier to manage the software.

Ding Yuwei looked at Shen Xin and nodded slightly, but after the meeting, she couldn’t help but pull Shen Xin aside and urge him to be careful.

"Take it easy out there, alright? Don’t get reckless."

’The way she said it, you’d think I was always getting reckless.’

Shen Xin thought it over. ’Have I really been that reckless? I’m usually a coward.’

"You be careful too," Shen Xin reminded her.

Ding Yuwei nodded. "I’ll be fine. I’m here at the police station. You guys are the ones who need to be extremely careful."

Shen Xin made an OK gesture.

’I’m not part of the assault team, so it should be fine.’

That morning, at almost ten o’clock, the group set out.

Meanwhile, Ding Yuwei got everything ready, waiting for Shen Xin to send back video for Fan Liping to analyze.

Around three in the afternoon, the video feed came in.

A private room was found in the Luopei police station.

Some of Song Zhi’s men were present, along with Ding Yuwei and her colleagues. Fan Liping was brought in, an officer standing guard beside him.

Ding Yuwei downloaded the video file and played it for Fan Liping.

The video started with Shen Xin’s face as he adjusted the camera, then he simply tossed it into the air.

"Is this... that bird?" Fan Liping immediately exclaimed.

He immediately noticed the strange perspective.

Ding Yuwei offered no explanation, simply motioning for him to keep watching.

Fan Liping looked at Ding Yuwei, then at Wang Feng and the others, frowned in confusion, and continued to watch.

The camera belonged to Er Long. It soared high above, heading toward the immense forest.

Below, one could see cleared farmland and narrow country roads.

In moments, it was over the treetops. Shen Xin’s voice could be heard faintly in the video, giving directions to help Er Long adjust its course.

Er Long adjusted its flight path accordingly.

After about five or six minutes, a village deep in the forest appeared in the shot.

The first things to come into view were endless fields, all planted with drug crops.

In the distance, hugging the edge of the forest, was the village.

In the video, Shen Xin could be heard directing Er Long to circle the village’s perimeter.

There was only one clear road into the village.

And there, in a wooded area, was a checkpoint.

Barriers were set up, with a small concrete hut beside them.

Following instructions, Er Long landed on a nearby treetop, observing the checkpoint from point-blank range.

Two men were on patrol, gathered together chatting idly.

Inside, an electric fan was WHIRRING, and four people were gathered together playing cards.

They were completely oblivious to the pair of eyes watching them.

Fan Liping’s eyes suddenly widened.

"Uncle Wang, don’t tell me you guys used this bird to find us."

Fan Liping wasn’t stupid; he was very smart.

Ever since his capture, he’d been pondering one question.

How on earth had his group been discovered?

He’d suspected an informant had been paid off, or even that the police had used satellites for reconnaissance.

But this was a primeval forest; even satellites weren’t guaranteed to work.

Now he knew.

They actually used a bird.

A bird that could talk, listen to commands, and do whatever it was told.

Fan Liping sucked in a sharp breath.

He’d never imagined such a method existed, and he was even more stunned by how effective it was.

’A bird, of all things.’

’In a primeval forest, who the fuck would pay attention to a single bird?’

And so they’d been discovered without a sound, allowing the police to set up an ambush and catch them completely unprepared.

He finally understood why they had insisted on bringing the two birds along for this operation.

Fan Liping knew Angdu had posted many hidden sentries around the village. The moment he detected anyone approaching, he would flee. It would be nearly impossible to catch him without knowing the lay of the land.

But with a bird like this, they could map out the entire mountain with perfect clarity.

It was even better than a drone.

A drone flying this close would have been discovered long ago.

But a bird... like he’d thought, who would ever notice?

Even if it landed on Angdu’s roof and stared at him, Angdu might not even notice.

Wang Feng didn’t explain. He just told Fan Liping to watch closely and point out everything he recognized.

Fan Liping nodded while continuing to watch the video.

After a bit of observation, Er Long took off again, brazenly flying into the village to continue filming.

Without attracting any attention, the situation in the village was captured in perfect detail.

Fan Liping’s expression grew serious as he thought of Shen Xin.

The faint voice giving commands in the video had to be Shen Xin’s.

And it had been Shen Xin taking care of those two birds the entire trip.

’How did he do it?’

’Was it training?’

Fan Liping’s mind was suddenly filled with questions.

But he couldn’t help thinking that with a bird like this, smuggling goods through the primeval forest would become nearly impossible.

"Well, Liping?" Wang Feng asked once the video finished playing.

Fan Liping snapped out of his daze.

"Uncle Wang, rewind the video. I’ll point things out for you."

As Fan Liping spoke, he glanced at Ding Yuwei a few more times.

Fan Liping knew the village like the back of his hand, pointing out which building was Angdu’s residence.

And where Wu Wei lived.

He also identified the soldiers’ barracks, the armory, the processing plant, and the warehouse.

"That’s Angdu."

He suddenly shouted to stop the video.

In the shot, inside a shack-like production workshop, a middle-aged man with a short ponytail and a full beard was talking to someone.

Wang Feng leaned in for a closer look, then quickly contacted the forward team to relay the information.

Er Long had been responsible for scouting the village, while Four Seasons had searched for the hidden sentries on the perimeter.

By the time Fan Liping finished his analysis, Four Seasons had also completed its sweep. A total of five hidden sentry posts on the perimeter had all been located.

In short, the reconnaissance mission was complete. Angdu was on-site. All that was left was for the assault team to move in and make the arrest.

Having scouted the situation in advance gave them a high chance of success.

Just as Wang Feng hung up the phone, a thought struck Ding Yuwei. She suddenly remembered something and turned to ask, "By the way, where is that little elephant?"

Fan Liping, who had been lost in thought, looked up, startled. "The elephant, right? Let me think... It’s behind Angdu’s house. If you rewind the video, I’ll show you."

After speaking, he turned his head to look at the wall clock.

The hour hand was approaching four o’clock.

Just then, gunshots suddenly erupted from outside the building, down below.

It was completely unexpected.

Just as everyone was reeling from the shock, one of the two local officers standing in the corner suddenly drew his pistol.

With a clean, swift motion, he raised his gun and aimed it at his partner.

BANG.

His partner’s head burst open as he crumpled to the floor.

The next moment, his gun was aimed at everyone in the room as he roared, "Nobody move!"

The sudden turn of events stunned everyone in the room.