Acting on Expediency

If it were ordinary people, we would definitely advise them not to go up the mountain. The deceased person you saw today was a local mountain patroller.

When a homicide occurs in the mountains, roughly ninety percent of the time it is the work of poachers. They are usually fully armed, carrying firearms, and often travel in groups of three to five. For an ordinary person to encounter them is extremely dangerous.

As for you, however, all we can advise is that once you go up the mountain, do not trust anyone.

Xing Anming spoke very earnestly. As for why he did not stop Du Ruo from going up the mountain, there was actually a very important reason.

Once branded with the label of a special talent, Du Ruo would indeed be subject to many restrictions, such as monitoring of his whereabouts, security checks, and even being the primary suspect if a crime occurred in his vicinity.

Yet at the same time, certain conveniences would also be granted. Especially for someone like Du Ruo, who could assist in solving cases and had meritorious achievements, local authorities would typically afford them some conveniences as long as it was within reasonable and legal bounds—a form of appeasement.

"Alright, thank you very much. I'll be careful."

Du Ruo nodded in gratitude, though another thought crossed his mind.

"Committed by poachers? Poachers go into the mountains certainly to hunt rare animals, and I'm doing the same thing. Doesn't that mean..."

"Captain Xing, do you have any leads on today's case? Could you share them with me? I don't mean anything else, I just want to understand more. After all, once I go up the mountain..."

After a moment of thought, Du Ruo decided to ask Xing Anming directly. Knowing a bit more could only be beneficial.

"We're waiting for the forensic appraisal, but before the results come out, we certainly won't sit around idly. We'll closely monitor the market to see if any illegally hunted animals appear.

We'll send people to visit surrounding villages under some pretext, asking around for skilled hunters or experts with bows and arrows. Such individuals are usually not unknown; if they truly exist, it should be easy to find out.

At the same time, we must notify the border defense to remain vigilant. We cannot rule out the possibility of foreign perpetrators."

Xing Anming still did not harbor much guard against Du Ruo. After all, Du Ruo had just arrived from afar and had even provided them with crucial clues.

Therefore, routine screening procedures could be shared with him. However, if a suspect were identified or new developments in the case arose, those would still be withheld for reasons of confidentiality.

"What if I run into them?"

Du Ruo narrowed his eyes, finally asking the ultimate question on his mind.

"Haha, didn't you know? For special personnel like you, many special cases have different judgments applied.

As long as you have evidence proving the other party is a criminal, and as long as you feel the killer poses a threat to you, you can act with a certain degree of expediency.

We will conduct an investigation later. If it is proven that the other party was indeed a criminal, we will report your contribution. Conversely, if the other party was innocent or merely a petty criminal, you will be placed on a priority wanted list."

Xing Anming first chuckled, then spoke with profound meaning. Some things could be said by others, but not by him. Naturally, he hoped Du Ruo could capture the criminal—that would be the best outcome. Of course, he hoped even more that Du Ruo would not make a mistake, because doing so would have a major impact on society.

Many things have two sides. Restrictions often bring certain conveniences along with them; otherwise, wouldn't it be forcing these special personnel to make mistakes?

"That's good then."

Du Ruo smiled and set his mind at ease. Going up the mountain like this, he would at least have no misgivings.

"A message just came through. There really is a discovery."

At that moment, feeling the vibration in his pocket, Xing Anming took out his phone, glanced at it, and then looked over at Du Ruo.

"There is a village here called Gangzi Village. Two months ago, someone driving on the road encountered a tiger. You can go take a look over there. As for bears, there are plenty; you can see them everywhere."

Xing Anming put away his phone and said to Du Ruo.

"Gangzi Village? Is it far from here? Can I make it there today?"

Du Ruo only remembered the village name; everything else would have to rely on navigation. He had already made up his mind: if there was nothing pressing here, he would set off immediately. Regardless of anything else, getting to the location first was priority.

"Don't be in such a rush. Going alone means there are many things you won't be able to handle. I know Gangzi Village; there used to be a logging camp there, but after logging was banned, the camp was abandoned. They call it a village, but there are hardly any households left.

Besides, it's not appropriate for you to just go like that. Never mind, let me arrange it for you."

Xing Anming thought for a moment and reached for his phone to make a call. Before dialing, he said to Du Ruo:

"Have a cup of tea first. I'm going to go arrange a few things. Just listen to me later, and I guarantee everything will be properly sorted out for you."

With that, he walked out without waiting for Du Ruo to respond.

"True to the hospitality of northerners, aren't they?"

Seeing this, Du Ruo said no more. Since the other party offered to make arrangements, he would let them. In any case, Du Ruo did not believe the man would harm him.

He took out his phone and chatted with Xiang Yuanyuan for a while, roughly explaining what happened today, though he omitted anything related to the case and simply summarized it briefly.

Xiang Yuanyuan didn't ask too many questions and chattered away on the other end of the video call about what had happened today.

After finishing the video call, Du Ruo scrolled on his phone for a bit before Xing Anming pushed the door open and entered.

"Let's go, Master Du. My arrangements are done, and I'll take you over now."

Xing Anming was full of fiery momentum. As soon as he finished speaking, he walked out. Du Ruo followed behind, grabbed his luggage, and got into Xing Anming's car.

This time it wasn't a police car, but presumably Xing Anming's private vehicle.

"We aren't going straight to the village. We need to stop by somewhere else to pick up a few things first. But before we go, I need to ask Master Du a question."

Xing Anming had already started the engine, but before shifting gears, as if suddenly remembering something, he looked at Du Ruo with a serious expression.

"Ask away, Captain Xing. I certainly won't hide anything."

Seeing the other party looking so solemn, Du Ruo couldn't help but turn serious as well. Xing Anming's warm hospitality had saved him a lot of trouble; out of both reason and emotion, as long as the questions weren't too private, he couldn't refuse to answer.

"Master Du, did you eat your fill at noon? Were you unaccustomed to eating those steamed buns? We didn't prepare anything for lunch, and I'm truly sorry about that.

How about this? I know a beef restaurant. Why don't I take you there for a meal right now? Once we've eaten our fill, we'll set off. Since you've come to the north—especially to Heihe for the first time—we can't let you go hungry."

Du Ruo swore that when Xing Anming asked this, he was being exceptionally serious—even more serious than when he had asked Du Ruo what murder weapon was used. It was as if Du Ruo's midday remark of "Forget it, I won't eat" had dealt him a heavy blow.

"Ah? No, no, no, I'm full, I'm really full! I actually ate such delicious steamed buns for the very first time, and the timing really wasn't right today. How about this: in a few days, once Captain Xing cracks the case, we'll eat meat and drink liquor to our heart's content."

Du Ruo was utterly astonished. Recovering his senses, he hurriedly waved his hands, and fearing the other party wouldn't be reassured, he promptly promised another meal and drinks.

"That sounds great, it's a deal then. Let's get moving."

Seeing that Du Ruo wasn't lying, Xing Anming nodded and started driving.

Witnessing this, Du Ruo subconsciously wiped the sweat from his brow. It seemed that next time in the north, he really couldn't casually say he wasn't full; these northern men would genuinely get anxious.

"We're going to the Forestry Bureau now to pick up a permit. But you must be careful—don't go hunting protected animals, that's illegal, you hear?"

Not long after driving, Xing Anming arrived at the Forestry Bureau. He had clearly made prior arrangements. He brought Du Ruo over to have a photo taken, and in less than twenty minutes, everything was settled. A permit and a stamped A4 sheet of paper landed in Du Ruo's hands.

"This piece of paper is useless, isn't it? I'm not going to hunt when I go into the mountains. I actually quite like the little animals in the mountains."

Du Ruo looked at the documents in his hand, still somewhat bewildered. He truly hadn't expected the status of a hunter to be sorted out so easily like this.

"This is a special period. There will be guard posts in the mountains from time to time, and starting tomorrow, mountain patrollers will be issued firearms. The patrols will also change from one person per team to two. With this, you'll have an explanation when you run into them; otherwise, they won't let you leave and might even call the police.

Besides, there's another important reason: once you're in the mountains with this, if you ever run short on food, bagging a rabbit or a wild boar isn't a big deal."

Xing Anming offered an explanation. In short: as long as Du Ruo didn't hunt wild protected animals, anything else was fine.

"Alright, thank you very much."

Du Ruo offered his sincere gratitude.

"Think nothing of it. Let's go, we'll buy some provisions now and then head to the village. There are very few residents there, and given your appetite, I think you'd better prepare some food ahead of time, otherwise getting supplies will be quite difficult."

Xing Anming waved his hand dismissively and then drove Du Ruo to buy supplies.

After going here and there, they bought plenty of items—food, clothing, and even bedding. Du Ruo originally wanted to buy a tent, but Xing Anming stopped him.

In the end, half the car was packed with goods before Xing Anming finally drove Du Ruo toward Gangzi Village.

Gangzi Village wasn't just near the Lesser Khingan Mountains; it was already a long way deep inside them.

"We're almost there up ahead."

The further Xing Anming drove, the more remote the surroundings became, and the trees on both sides grew taller and thicker. The road was still quite good, however—at least smooth with no bumps. It was just that aside from their vehicle, not a single other car traveled along the wide road, demonstrating just how isolated the place was.

"We've arrived."

After driving for at least an hour and a half from the urban area, Xing Anming's car finally entered a settlement.

Calling it a settlement was a stretch; it was already four or five in the afternoon, yet the place was frighteningly quiet.

The houses occasionally visible did not look inhabited.

The vehicle continued forward and finally stopped in front of a house where an old man sat on a stool smoking a cigarette.

Aside from the old man, this house didn't look much different from the others. If there was anything to distinguish it, it would be the abundance of firewood piled neatly alongside both sides of the dwelling.