Chapter 1263: Deep in the Mountains, There Are Evil Men

God created the world in seven days, but to destroy it, it actually only takes an instant.

Chen Shijie had indeed uncovered some things, or to be more precise, he and the four investigators had combined the information they gathered from the villagers and reached a conclusion that was almost unbelievable.

"You mean there's a group of people hiding in these mountains?"

Zhao Fusheng stared at Chen Shijie in shock, utterly bewildered. He had originally thought that his senior's death and the people secretly watching them might be some locals, like poachers, but clearly, Chen Shijie didn't think so.

Chen Shijie's expression was very serious. He said earnestly to Zhao Fusheng, "Believe me, this case is definitely no small matter. I even suspect that there's a criminal gang here that has been active for at least ten years, engaged in some kind of nefarious activity. As for your senior, he probably stumbled upon something and was silenced before he could report it."

He paused, then continued, "That's why Wang Zhen couldn't find his diary—because it must have recorded something he saw with his own eyes."

Zhao Fusheng remained silent but had to admit that Chen Shijie made a lot of sense.

"So what do we do?" Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and said to Chen Shijie, "You only brought four people. If you rush into an investigation, I'm afraid something might happen to you."

This was his honest opinion. Chen Shijie had too few people. If they rashly entered the mountains to search, they might be discovered before they even found the enemy's lair.

In such a desolate wilderness, it was all too common for one or two people to go missing without causing much of a stir.

Chen Shijie smiled. "I know. Under these circumstances, we naturally can't act rashly. You have to understand, those people are likely armed."

"Armed?"

This time Zhao Fusheng was even more shocked. He had never expected to inadvertently lift a lid.

"From our investigation in the village, we learned that in the past five years, at least eight or nine women have gone missing from the village, all while gathering mountain products in the hills. Most were adult women. Adding in disappearances from nearby villages, the total exceeds twenty. So we have reason to suspect there's a group of more than ten people nearby. Not only that, but the villagers also say that sometimes gunshots ring out in the mountains. They say it's the mountain god beating a drum, but I think it's related to the criminals." Chen Shijie told Zhao Fusheng what he had found out and said seriously, "Fusheng, the situation is very dangerous now, so I plan to commandeer your security guards."

Zhao Fusheng gave a wry smile, then frowned. "Lending you the men is no problem, but the issue is that although they work for me, they earn a salary. Now you want them to go up against a bunch of vicious bandits empty-handed. Do you think that's feasible?"

Chen Shijie was taken aback, then understood Zhao Fusheng's point. On second thought, even if these men were retired special forces, they couldn't stop bullets with their bare bodies.

With that in mind, Chen Shijie gritted his teeth. "I'll go back to the county seat right away and request reinforcements from my superiors."

"Don't rush," Zhao Fusheng waved his hand. "Haste makes waste. In my opinion, the other side clearly hasn't figured out who we are yet, so we still have plenty of time."

Chen Shijie frowned, clearly not entirely convinced by Zhao Fusheng's words.

Seeing Chen Shijie's expression, Zhao Fusheng looked helpless. After all, he wasn't a god or a policeman. His words could only be suggestions; whether to listen was up to Chen Shijie.

That noon, Chen Shijie hurriedly left with another investigator from the provincial department, claiming that the company had urgent business.

This didn't arouse much suspicion, since Zhao Fusheng was still there.

Over the next few days, Zhao Fusheng and Jiang Wen roamed the nearby forests, ostensibly scouting locations for a film shoot.

But accompanying them on the survey, besides the Future Security personnel, were the remaining three investigators from the provincial department and a few assistants Jiang Wen had brought.

"The scenery here is really nice," Jiang Wen said to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng smiled. "What, thinking of building your outdoor set here?"

Jiang Wen nodded. "The Goose Town in 'Bullets' could be built here. But as for a base, I think we'll pass."

"Why?" Zhao Fusheng asked, puzzled.

Jiang Wen shrugged. "Think about it. How many film crews would come to such a remote place? Unless it's guys like Jia or Lou Ye who like to shoot in places like this. Otherwise, people can shoot near the capital or go to Hengdian. Why come all the way here?"

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback. On reflection, what Jiang Wen said made a lot of sense.

These days, unless it was an art film director, anyone who went to such trouble to shoot on location in a place like this would have to be crazy—commercial directors, that is.

After all, the country's vast landscapes offered too many beautiful spots.

"Come on, let's look around," Zhao Fusheng said after a moment, smiling, and said no more to Jiang Wen.

Behind them, Zhang Qian and several Future Security personnel were cooperating with the provincial investigators, carefully searching the nearby woods. Being former special forces, this was no big deal for them.

Soon, the survey ended, and Zhao Fusheng and his group left the forest.

Not long after they left, Scarface appeared nearby with two men.

"Brother Dao, what are these people up to?" a bald man with a fierce face whispered to Scarface.

Scarface shook his head. "Don't know, but I saw them carrying cameras and stuff. Probably that film crew they mentioned earlier."

"Right, look, isn't that Jiang Wen?" another man said.

After all, Old Jiang was quite famous, a top actor in the country with a high profile.

"Then leave them alone," Scarface said after thinking. "The boss told us to be careful lately. You guys too—don't go down the mountain to cause trouble, and don't go to the villages, got it?"

"Boss, we haven't had any fun in ages. Sneaking down for a bit won't hurt," the bald man said with a grin, rubbing his hands. "Don't worry, we'll be careful. No one will find out."

Slap!

A sharp slap landed on the bald man's face. Scarface said viciously, "Fuck your mother! Didn't you hear what I said? Say one more word, and I'll cripple you!"

The bald man was stunned by the slap, then saw the murderous look in Scarface's eyes. Clearly, if he said the wrong thing, Scarface would make a move on him.

Thinking of Scarface's past, the bald man swallowed, gritted his teeth, and nodded. "I understand, I understand. Boss, don't be angry."

Scarface snorted, put away his knife, and turned to walk deeper into the dense forest.

Watching Scarface disappear, the bald man let out a long breath, glared at him, and spat, "Damn it, always throwing his weight around in front of me. If he's so tough, why doesn't he take it up with the big boss?"

"Brother Guang, don't say that. Scarface is the boss's man," said the young man beside him.

"A-Fu, you don't understand. Scarface doesn't dare disobey the boss. His whole family is in the boss's hands," Brother Guang said with a sly grin to the young man named A-Fu. "I heard the boss even... heh heh heh... with Scarface's wife."

A-Fu's eyes lit up, and the two began whispering to each other, unaware that not far away, Zhang Qian and another figure were quietly lying in ambush.

…

…

People always think they are the smartest, forgetting the lesson of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

At dusk, Zhang Qian returned to the school and gave Zhao Fusheng a look. Zhao Fusheng understood, sent the others away, and walked over to Zhang Qian.

"How did it go?" Zhao Fusheng asked Zhang Qian.

"Found some clues," Zhang Qian said to Zhao Fusheng. "There really are people watching us—three of them. Old Zhou and I followed them for a while but didn't go too deep for fear of being discovered."

Zhao Fusheng nodded. "Good. Don't rush. We'll stay here, and they'll keep watching us. Then we'll gradually map out the terrain around here and take them down."

His current plan was simple: while those people weren't too alert, secretly get a clear picture of the surrounding terrain and, if possible, locate their hideout. The rest would be up to the police.

Time passed quickly. Three days later, Chen Shijie returned, accompanied by Yu Feihong and a group from the foundation—dozens of people, all carrying field tents and various food supplies. As Yu Feihong put it, if they were going to build a Hope School here, how could they not conduct a field survey?

Zhao Fusheng had no objection to that. What he cared about more was what Chen Shijie was up to, because it was obvious that among those who came with Yu Feihong, at least six or seven were not foundation staff.

"What the hell are you up to?" Zhao Fusheng found an opportunity to ask Chen Shijie.

Chen Shijie grinned. "Nothing much. I called Director Cao and borrowed a few scouts from the armed police. Once we confirm the gang's lair, we can have the military conduct a包围 exercise here..."

Pfft!

Zhao Fusheng nearly sprayed water in his face, staring at Chen Shijie in astonishment. He never expected this guy to pull off such a slick move. This old classmate of his was practically defying the heavens!