Night gradually arrived.The temperature at Vulture"s Mouth seemed to get lower.
After getting off the car, tiny drops of rain started to fall on their heads where they felt gooseb.u.mps all over their bodies.
The headlights could not penetrate through the dark night. They started to feel that the mountain that looked like a bird"s beak felt dreary and cold.
"Why is this terrible place so cold?" Someone complained.
"… Don"t you know what season is it already? It"ll be strange if it"s not cold in the mountains!"
"D*rn! My spine is numb already—"
Everyone commented on the surrounding as they murmured in a low tone. When the night winds blew, that somehow attributed to a feeling of terror.
Xiang Wan pulled her coat tighter and wrapped one more around with Cheng Zheng"s m.u.f.fler. However, she was still feeling cold.
"Comrades!" Quan Shaoteng"s voice was usually pleasant and a little s.e.xy, like those hot young studs. However, at this moment, his voice was loud and clear with an air of valor as though it could drive off the coldness permeating the atmosphere.
"Let"s leave the cars here! Everyone, brace yourselves, we"re going in now!"
"Got it!"
Quan Shaoteng turned around to shake hands with the second-in-command—Ha.s.san.
"Brother, I"ll leave the things here to you."
"No problem! Rest a.s.sured!" Ha.s.san gave a pat on Quan Shaoteng"s arm and glanced at the mountain with worry. "This stretch of mountains had an area of several hundreds of kilometers. Do keep in contact. If there"s an emergency situation, just take the return path back!"
"Don"t worry!" Quan Shaoteng"s eyes were dynamic and vibrant. "Everyone"s safety is most important!"
Ha.s.san said, "We"ll wait for all of you to come back!"
Quan Shaoteng brought a team with him into the mountains while Ha.s.san and remaining stayed behind for support.
…
In the mountains in December, the climate was strange.
It was cold, gloomy, and very dark as they walked into the forest. In no time, they started to feel oppressed by the atmosphere.
This truly was a terrible place.
Many of them noticed it—the myth of the Vulture"s Mouth—there was some truth to it.
There was a reason why the local people were afraid of it.
They trekked deeper into the forest and walked for a long time. Not to mention they were looking for a person, they could not even see a small animal—
"Everyone, be mindful of the distance between yourselves, as well as the team formation!"
Anyone who had been a soldier knew that the formation of a troop was very important when they entered a dense forest like this.
The team divided their work where they would need to cooperate with each other so as to ensure the safety of everyone.
Most of them were police officers; therefore, it was common for them to face dangers when carrying out their mission. They were not afraid of the situation inside the forest. It was especially so when they knew that Quan Shaoteng was from the top commando brigade—Red Thorn—and was even a platoon commander who was very experienced in guerilla warfare… All of them were perked up, filled with morale.
Xiang Wan and Cheng Zheng were also in the team.
He did not stay in the villa.
He also brought along his disciple, Mei Xin.
Their reasons for joining the mission were simple.
They were part of Serious Crime Division One, and they shouldn"t be afraid.
Moreover, as the only medical-related personnel amongst them, they could be very useful if emergencies occurred.
Hence, Quan Shaoteng did not reject their request.
When he carried out missions back in Red Thorn, he also had a medical team in his platoon.
Hence, the only one who did not undergo any training and was not a part of the police was Xiang Wan.
She was a civilian.
As well as the one who should be protected.
However, she did not join the team for the purpose of troubling others.
Ever since she entered the forest with them, Xiang Wan diligently followed Quan Shaoteng"s commands—not to leave his side and obediently did what she was told.
Was she tired of all the walking? Of course.
However, there was no reason for her to complain about her tiredness.
She gritted her teeth and persisted on.
Bugs and insects were buzzing around her ears.
Sometimes, a huge swarm of them would come right at them, at their eyes…
As it had rained earlier, the ground was damp with occasional puddles. As it was very dark inside the forest, it was difficult to walk.
Originally, they wanted to split into smaller teams for the search. However, in no time, they noticed that the walkie-talkies couldn"t work properly in this place as though it was some sort of impenetrable forest. Gradually, it was rendered useless.
Without the ease of communication, their actions were limited. Quan Shaoteng felt that he had just lost an arm when he needed to issue commands.
This team of armed policemen was not his men from Red Thorn. They were not trained in military warfare nor were they equipped with the special and advanced military warfare instruments…
As they walked deeper into the forest, he started to feel his back getting colder.
He was not worried that he could not get out of the forest. He was worried that there might be some mishaps with this team.
"What the h.e.l.l? Did we run into spirits or something?"
In the team, someone cussed as he could not withstand the oppressive, suffocating atmosphere in the forest.
"It"s understandable that the electronic equipment couldn"t work well. But why did the compa.s.s fail to function?"
"… It"s bizarre somehow!"
"Captain Quan, did you notice? We kept walking on a slope, walking upwards as we thought. Yet all this while, we seemed to have been walking in circles and the surroundings looked exactly the same… But when we looked around, we"re still on a slope…"
"…"
n.o.body spoke.
The surroundings felt chilly.
The moment they held doubts, it would create unwanted imaginary fears.
The moment they planted the seed of fear, anything they saw would seem like something that could cause their deepest horrors to blossom.
"Stay closer, everyone!"
Quan Shaoteng put his gun on the holster at his waist. With a wave, someone brought the compa.s.s to him.
"Could this thing be broken?"
The armed police officer in charge of scouting shook his head.
"In the beginning, we didn"t notice that there"s a problem with the compa.s.s. After making one big round, we realized that it seemed to be broken."
There was no signal on their mobile phones, which was normal in the mountains.
For the walkie-talkie to fail… it was also understandable.
Now, even the compa.s.s could not work?
Quan Shaoteng looked around the surroundings with his eyebrows furrowed in thought. "There"s some sort of magnetic interference in this place!"
"…"
For a long time, no one spoke.
It was quiet.
They were waiting.
Everyone felt uneasy.
If they got lost here, how would they be able to find Bai Muchuan and Brother Steel? Even their own safety could be in jeopardy.
If they failed to save anyone and got trapped instead…
Such a result was not something Quan Shaoteng could accept.
He pulled out his gun with a grim face. "Scouts!"
After shouting that, he recalled that he was not in Red Thorn anymore, and immediately pulled a long face.
This was his first official operation mission in Serious Crime Division One. He didn"t want to fail in something he was good at!
"When these advanced types of equipment are no longer dependable, we have to rely on ourselves." Quan Shaoteng pointed at two men. "Both of you follow me. The rest of you, rest here and be on standby!"
"Yes!"
"Follow me!"
When Quan Shaoteng was in Red Thorn, he had led the famous Scorpion platoon in missions. Everyone had confidence in him and did not raise any objections in his command. However, what they did not know was that the Scorpion platoon was worlds apart from them. The Scorpion platoon was so good that Quan Shaoteng was a little unsure if he could guarantee the safety of his new less-experienced subordinates.
They heard rustling sounds in the woods, as Quan Shaoteng went away with two armed police officers, the rest of them were on standby obediently.
There was an occasional breeze whispering the anthem of the dead through their ears.
It was unusually quiet.
No, they were all afraid.