Qi Taiguo returned to Shuiping Village with Wan Dahe and immediately bumped into Chief Sun Tianlong, a local police officer involved in the capture operation.
"Commander Qi, you’re back. How did it go? Did you find anything?" Sun Tianlong asked with a smile as he greeted them.
Though Sun Tianlong is a police officer, he only got the position through connections and has never served in the military. Initially, he was not part of this mission, but he volunteered to join, claiming that he wanted to avenge his sworn brother, the deceased officer Wang Xing.
Qi Taiguo and Ma Guangshe, another squadron leader, were in command of this operation, and they issued all the top directives.
The squads they led were rotating through day and night shifts, but sadly, despite several days of effort, they hadn’t yielded any results, which was starting to dampen morale.
Soldiers are proud by nature and had thought this mission would be quickly resolved. But after a few days with nothing to show for it, they were starting to feel embarrassed.
The challenge to their military dignity was something Qi Taiguo could not accept!
In response to Sun Tianlong’s question, Qi Taiguo’s face looked unpleasant as he retorted, "Hasn’t your police department found any leads?"
Upon hearing this, Sun Tianlong sighed, forcing a wry smile, "They say tomb raiders are as crafty as rabbits, and they’re not wrong. We’ve spread out our forces but still haven’t found any trace of them. I believe they’re most likely hiding somewhere in the mountains!"
When Wan Dahe and Qi Taiguo heard this, their brows furrowed. If the gang really was hiding in the mountains, that would make them even harder to find!
The surrounding mountains, one higher than the next, couldn’t possibly all be searched.
"We’ll have to keep investigating. They’ll need food and drink, and if they’re going tomb raiding, they’ll need to prepare their provisions," said Qi Taiguo.
"Yes, sir," replied Sun Tianlong with a salute.
Qi Taiguo’s gaze was suddenly drawn by a flash, and upon looking, he realized it was sunlight reflecting off a brand new wristwatch on Sun Tianlong’s wrist, causing Qi Taiguo to squint.
"Commander Qi, you should rest up. I refuse to believe I can’t find those bastards," Sun Tianlong said, oblivious to the fact that his watch had nearly blinded Qi Taiguo, and chuckled.
Qi Taiguo grunted an acknowledgment and pointed at his wrist, "Chief Sun’s watch looks pretty nice."
There was a brief look of surprise on Sun Tianlong’s face, which quickly passed as he said, "Oh, this is an heirloom passed down from my grandfather’s time, said to be foreign merchandise. Haha, I wear it to check the time."
As he spoke, Sun Tianlong subtly covered his watch with his sleeve, as if he feared Qi Taiguo would snatch it from him.
Qi Taiguo’s eyes flickered and he said, "Then we’ll have to trouble Chief Sun."
Sun Tianlong nodded with a smile, watching Qi Taiguo and Wan Dahe walk away, he then let out a long sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
That was close, he nearly saw through everything.
It was his own fault for trying to appear wealthy the night before, insisting on showing off when meeting that sly woman. He had forgotten to take it off and stash it away properly, which almost led to a disaster.
Sun Tianlong secretly rejoiced, quickly took off the watch, and placed it in his pocket, then walked away nonchalantly.
"Commander, if those folks really are hidden in the mountains, what should we do? Should we send people to search the mountains? The difficulty is just too great, and I heard there are many poisonous snakes up there!" Wan Dahe said with a stern face.
"Hmm, we need to think this through carefully. If necessary... wait, no." Qi Taiguo stopped in his tracks, eyes narrowing.
"What’s wrong?"
Qi Taiguo suddenly turned around, his gaze fixed on the retreating figure of Sun Tianlong, and said with a deep, serious tone, "There’s something off about Sun Tianlong!"