Chapter 161: Chapter 138: I Want to Be Saved by Master, Too

The mountain path was rugged and difficult to traverse, and it was already evening. Even though Deng Lei had reported the call and mobilized his team with the utmost speed, it still took them nearly forty minutes to reach Yang Qi’s position.

When Deng Lei, leading a team of fully armed Forest Police and special police—along with Xiao Jun and several elite officers from the narcotics squad—arrived panting at the scene, this was the sight that greeted them:

An unharmed Yang Qi sat on a large rock, with the majestic Bai Wan crouched beside him.

Hu Zi and Leopard flanked the suspect, who lay limp on the ground with bleeding eyes and a body covered in wounds. The two dogs stood guard, never straying a single step.

The black cat, Xiaojiu, was perched on a rock a short distance away, elegantly licking its paws, its cat-like eyes occasionally glancing toward the captive.

The suspect, whom Yang Qi had described as an "extremely dangerous person armed with a gun and grenades," was now like a pile of wet clay. Besides the occasional twitch of pain, he lacked the strength to even move, let alone resist.

Deng Lei hurried over to Yang Qi’s side and gave him a thorough look-over. He saw that other than some dirt and grass clippings on his clothes, Yang Qi had no visible injuries. Only then did he finally breathe a true sigh of relief.

He then clapped Yang Qi on the shoulder and exhaled. "Advisor Yang, you scared me to death! When I heard the words ’service pistol’ and ’grenades’ on the phone, my heart nearly jumped out of my chest!"

"It gave me a scare too."

Yang Qi got to his feet and stretched his limbs.

"It was all thanks to Xiaojiu, Hu Zi, and the others."

Yang Qi pointed to the Guardian Beasts beside him. "If it weren’t for them, I’d be the one on the ground."

"What were you doing out here in the deep mountains anyway? And of all the luck, you run into a monster like him!" Deng Lei asked, a lingering fear in his voice. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"I brought Hu Zi and Leopard out here for some adaptation training—simulating field tracking and sentry duty."

Yang Qi, who had already prepared an excuse, replied naturally, "We were resting when Leopard smelled blood. He went to check it out, saw someone was injured, and ran back to get me. I thought it was a hiker, but it turned out to be a violent criminal."

"Your luck..."

Upon hearing this, Deng Lei was overcome with both awe and lingering fear. "I don’t know whether to call it good or bad. Good thing it was you. Anyone else would have been done for!"

"Advisor Yang, how are you? You’re not hurt, are you?"

Xiao Jun walked over just then, his face showing undisguised concern and a hint of urgency.

Compared to Deng Lei, he seemed even more anxious about Yang Qi’s personal safety.

"Captain Xiao, I’m fine. Not even a scratch."

Yang Qi nodded to Xiao Jun in thanks, though he felt a bit puzzled. "Captain Xiao, why did you come in person?"

At his question, Xiao Jun let out a breath. His expression turned grim as he pointed to "Brother Han," who was being handcuffed by several officers and prepared to be loaded onto a simple stretcher. He lowered his voice and said to Yang Qi, "Advisor Yang, you’ve rendered another great service! That man’s name is Qin Hanming. He’s one of the three leaders of the drug manufacturing gang we’ve been investigating!"

"A drug lord?"

A look of surprise appeared on Yang Qi’s face.

’I already helped take down the drug factory and catch one of them.’

’I can’t believe I ran into another one here.’

’And here I was thinking he was some mercenary who’d snuck in from Southeast Asia!’

Seemingly sensing Yang Qi’s confusion, Xiao Jun pulled him aside to a more private spot. He lowered his voice even further and explained, "Advisor Yang, you’re practically one of us now, so there’s no harm in telling you. This drug gang has a rather complex structure. According to our intelligence, there are three main leaders, each responsible for a different part of the operation."

"The one we caught when we busted the factory was in charge of technology and production. This one you ran into, Qin Hanming, is responsible for armed transport and ’handling problems.’ He’s ruthless and has more than one life on his hands."

"There’s one more who was responsible for the sales network and money laundering. We arrested him out of town a few days ago."

He paused, his brow furrowed, and added, "Based on our intel and the initial clues from interrogations, above these three leaders, there’s an even more mysterious, deeply hidden ’Big Boss’ who commands them through compartmentalized channels."

"If we don’t root out this ’Big Boss,’ the case will never be truly closed. This drug supply chain could rise from the ashes, and the potential danger is immense."

"As the head of armed operations, it’s highly likely that Qin Hanming has had direct contact with the ’Big Boss’ or holds key clues."

"We’ve been hunting him with everything we’ve got. We never expected him to hide deep in Cangshan, and we certainly never expected you to run into him and take him down!"

’So that’s how it is...’

Realization dawned on Yang Qi.

’No wonder the news reports were so brief after the drug factory bust a few days ago. There were no big celebrations or awards.’

’The police were playing the long game, trying to reel in a bigger fish.’

"In any case, Advisor Yang, we really owe you this time!"

Xiao Jun thanked him solemnly again. "Not only did you help us capture a key figure, but you also prevented the greater harm he might have caused by lashing out like a cornered animal."

As he spoke, his gaze swept over Hu Zi, Leopard, Bai Wan, and Xiaojiu, his eyes filled with amazement.

"Just like you said, we did a preliminary check on Qin Hanming’s injuries, and they are indeed all scratches and bites."

"It’s simply unbelievable!"

An experienced and utterly vicious armed drug lord, equipped with a gun and grenades, was taken down by three dogs and a cat?

No one would believe it if you told them!

It wasn’t just Xiao Jun who was amazed. As Deng Lei and the other Forest Police, special police, and narcotics officers processed the scene and collected evidence, they couldn’t help but stare. They looked from the three remarkably spirited dogs and the deceptively lazy, sharp-eyed black cat to the pathetic figure of Qin Hanming on the stretcher, his eyes a bloody ruin. All of them murmured in hushed, astonished tones.