It’s about 150 kilometers from the Imperial Capital University to Wuling Mountain.
The bus sped all the way and, after more than three hours, finally arrived within the range of Wuling Mountain.
At this moment, outside the bus.
The sky was overcast, thin dark clouds gradually gathered with the wind, and occasionally a bright flash appeared in the sky, accompanied by the rumble of distant thunder.
The mountains stretched majestically, surrounded by lush greenery and shrouded in mist, looking just like in Wang Wei’s poetry: Boundaries among peaks change, differing ravines under different skies.
Lin Beichen looked at the weather outside the window with a bright mood. He took out his phone, snapped a photo, and sent it to the consistently lively dorm group chat.
Lin Beichen: "Picture.JPG."
Lin Beichen: "I’m at Wuling Mountain, should be getting off in about ten minutes."
Han Yuan: "I’m envious, really envious!"
Liang Dong: "The scenery looks great, I’ll have to visit sometime."
Han Yuan: "@Lin Beichen, Wu You is watching a show and can’t type, he asked me to tell you not to send such hate-inducing photos if you’re bored."
Lin Beichen, having nothing else to do, chatted with his dorm mates to pass the time.
With a sharp brake, the entire bus lurched forward.
Unprepared, he watched his phone, just in his hand a second ago, form a perfect arc and crash onto the front door handrail as the bus stopped.
Not just the sound of the phone breaking, but also the sound of Lin Beichen’s heart shattering.
"Driver, what are you doing?"
"My glasses, they’re broken!"
"Seriously, driver, there’s no car around. Why did you brake suddenly?!"
"So annoying, I think I bumped my head!"
Dissatisfied and angry voices instantly filled the bus.
Lin Beichen didn’t say anything, he got up to find his phone. Without even taking a close look, he could already pronounce it dead at a glance.
The screen was shattered beyond recognition, the battery almost popped out.
It was a brand new Fruit 14 Promax he bought after his college entrance exams!
Lin Beichen felt he hadn’t even gotten over the novelty of it yet.
Just then, the driver’s apologetic voice rose above everyone’s: "I’m really sorry, everyone. A state-recognized Grade II protected monkey suddenly jumped out of the shrubbery. My immediate reaction was to hit the brakes hard. I apologize, sincerely."
Seeing Lin Beichen’s broken phone, the driver added: "Regarding everyone’s losses... We’ll discuss compensation with the park management once we reach the destination to ensure you’re all satisfied."
Sometimes it’s all about attitude.
Seeing the driver’s sincere and proactive response, the passengers, being students from the Imperial Capital University, high in civility, didn’t press further.
Lin Beichen thought to himself, just my luck, shaking his head and returning to his seat.
The bus grew silent again.
The bus set off once more and soon arrived at the destination. The driver got off and discussed with the park manager. They decided not only to compensate for the losses but also to waive the admission fees.
This solution was unanimously approved.
Seeing the compensation hit his payment account, Lin Beichen left pleased, enjoying half a year’s worth of phone usage for free, comfortably.
He didn’t rush to go down the mountain and buy a phone, no hurry. After all, he came to toughen up, not for a vacation. It didn’t matter if he didn’t have a phone.
What’s urgent now is to find a secluded spot to set up his tent before it starts to rain.
As he ventured deeper into the mountains.
Xiaoqian Police Station.
Several officers sat in front of the surveillance footage, continuously drawing on the map of the Imperial Capital, their expressions growing more excited and resolute.
After roughly half an hour, each officer’s eyes brightened, nodding to each other.
Then, one officer, holding the map, found Wang Kai and said: "Team leader, we have a new lead."
Over the past few days of checking, the images of two members of the human trafficker gang were almost fully restored. Wang Kai was doing a database comparison when he heard the new lead, he quickly asked, "What did you find?"
"Through monitoring analyses and the cross-analysis of the fake license plate van’s movements, we can pretty much confirm the gang’s hideout is in Yunmi County!"
As he spoke, the officer laid out the Imperial Capital map on the table, pointing to the marked areas: "We then reviewed the surveillance footage of the fake license plate van in Yunmi County, noticing it disappeared for extended periods in several spots. After careful study, we believe this is the most likely hiding area."
Wang Kai followed where he was pointing.
The officer nodded, explaining: "Among all the potential locations, Wuling Mountain is where they were longest off the radar. Although a tourist spot, it is largely undeveloped, with vast untouched areas, ideal for hiding. Additionally, it lies at a geographical crossroads between the Imperial Capital and Beihai Province. If they fled to Beihai Province, it would become an interstate case, complicating our investigation."
Wang Kai thought carefully about everything he said and finally nodded: "Makes sense. Wuling Mountain is indeed the most likely hideout."
Then he pointed to the other marked spots, continuing: "However, we can’t overlook these suspicious locations either. A cunning gang could have multiple hideouts."
Time flew by, soon reaching noon amidst the busyness.
Having a quick lunch, all officers returned to their desks, continuing with the case.
Wandering through the offices, Wang Kai, holding his boxed lunch, suddenly saw an unexpected figure, puzzled, he approached and patted his shoulder: "Liangzi, why are you back at noon? Isn’t your reporting time in the evening?"
The figure was Xu Wenliang.
Seeing Wang Kai, he smiled: "Team leader, I came back early. I wanted to report to you, but you were too busy, so I joined the guys in their work first."
Finishing his report: "I was supposed to protect Lin Beichen for another half a day, but he left for Wuling Mountain early this morning. Considering our busy schedule and his safe period being over, I figured half a day wouldn’t matter and returned ahead of time. Before leaving, I did confirm..."
As Xu Wenliang was reporting, Wang Kai’s mind was stuck on one word—Wuling Mountain.
This morning, they identified the most likely hideout for the traffickers...
Why go now of all times?
If the traffickers are indeed in Wuling Mountain...
Isn’t he walking right into danger?
As Wang Kai contemplated what to do.
The officer from yesterday rushed in with the Imperial Capital map.
Seeing his excited and joyful smile, Wang Kai had a bad feeling.
Before he could ponder more.
The officer reported: "Team leader, mission accomplished. After an overnight analysis, we can confirm the trafficker gang’s hideout is indeed in Wuling Mountain!"