Chapter 18: Valley of Death

“J65 region? Why does that name sound so familiar?” Xue Meng muttered to himself.

“Isn’t that…” A hint of fear flickered across Su Weiguo’s face.

“Isn’t that the area people call the Valley of Death?” Xiong Xiong hesitated, uncertain.

“That’s just a rumor—don’t scare yourselves!” Long Fei cut in. “I’ll lead the way, Gu Jianfeng, you take the rear. Everyone, keep a moderate distance between front and back. Once we enter the mountains, don’t act alone under any circumstances!”

“Understood?”

“Yes!” The group responded, though some lingering worry remained in their hearts. But seeing Gu Jianfeng’s calm demeanor put everyone at ease. Besides, several among them were battle-hardened veterans, no strangers to the sight of blood, so morale quickly improved.

Once they entered the mountains, their anxiety about combat faded considerably. Now, the only feeling that haunted them was exhaustion. The mountain path was no easy trek.

As for Tianjiang and Rifle, ever since entering the mountains, they had become lively as fish in water—chasing each other and playing with the exuberance of children.

After nearly three hours of walking, the group finally arrived at the J65 region. But contrary to their expectations, the environment here was especially serene, almost intoxicating in its beauty.

Several miles away, Tianjiang and Rifle suddenly gave warning barks.

As the group drew closer, they saw it was a detachment of the Special Police Unit.

“All right, you two quiet down. These are our people.” Gu Jianfeng couldn’t help but pat their heads, soothing them gently.

Tianjiang whimpered softly, then sprawled on the ground, utterly still. Yet its taut hind legs and predatory gaze betrayed its restless vigilance.

“Tianjiang, these are all our own men. Don’t go causing any trouble, you hear? If you get me into a mess, I’ll stew you for dinner when we get back!” Perhaps this was Tianjiang’s first real combat mission—his nervousness was plain to see.

Hearing Gu Jianfeng’s words, Tianjiang finally relaxed, licking his hand repeatedly as if pleading for forgiveness.

No one else spoke. Despite Tianjiang’s rabbit-like docility before Gu Jianfeng, everyone knew well the beast’s ferocity could send a man’s soul fleeing.

“Let’s go!” Having finally found the Special Police, Long Fei let out a heavy sigh of relief. The responsibility of leading this group weighed on him—especially since they were poorly armed.

“Who’s there?” A Special Police officer on sentry duty called out at the noise.

“Friends—we’re from the Border Defense Regiment, First Company!” Long Fei quickly responded, leading his men into view.

Glancing at the motley assortment of weapons in their hands, the Special Police officers couldn’t hide the disdain in their eyes: Were these men here to help, or to be protected?

Long Fei approached the team’s Deputy Inspector, saluted, and introduced himself, “Hello, I am Long Fei, Captain of First Company, Border Defense Regiment. We’ve come under orders to assist you.”

“Hello, I’m Cheng Anfu, Deputy Captain of the Special Police Unit. Thank you for your support,” Cheng Anfu returned the salute politely.

Yet when he saw the hodgepodge of weapons carried by the Border Defense men, he was momentarily taken aback.

“Captain Long, these criminals are desperate men—ruthless and swift. Are your soldiers up to it?” Cheng Anfu’s meaning was clear; in a real fight, who had the energy to protect such a group?

Gu Jianfeng put out a hand to stop Xue Meng, who was about to retort, then stepped forward. “Captain Cheng, perhaps now would be a good time to tell us about these criminals?”

“These men are traffickers, arms dealers—utterly depraved. We’ve tracked them for some time. They’re closely connected to the Qingzhai White Hawk group.

“We’ve pursued White Hawk for a long while, but he always slips away. He’s responsible for dozens of deaths, his hands soaked in blood.

“He’s cunning, and with Qingzhai as his stronghold, he’s deeply entrenched. At any sign of trouble, they vanish into the Nu Mountains. We’ve tried to catch them several times, but always come up empty-handed.”

“Any of the criminals wounded or bleeding? Preferably minor injuries,” Gu Jianfeng asked the Special Police.

“Yes, two of them were shot in the arm,” Cheng Anfu replied after a moment’s thought.

“No injuries on our side?” Gu Jianfeng pressed.

“We’re all fine—those punks aren’t good enough to hurt us,” Cheng Anfu’s tone was a little sharp, though he answered nonetheless.

“Oh, don’t misunderstand, Captain Cheng. I’m only asking so I can find a scent to track,” Gu Jianfeng explained.

Cheng Anfu’s expression softened as he realized his own pettiness.

“Tianjiang, there are wounded among them. Head toward the scent of blood,” Gu Jianfeng instructed his dog.

Tianjiang barked, sniffed the air, and bounded off in one direction.

It was only then that Cheng Anfu noticed the two military dogs. He’d encountered many working dogs before, but never ones this large. He also sensed something different about Gu Jianfeng as a handler, though he couldn’t put his finger on it.

“Let’s move!” As Tianjiang darted ahead, Gu Jianfeng quickly followed.

“Captain Long, what breed are those two dogs? I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like them,” Cheng Anfu asked curiously as they made their way forward.

“Those two? They were both found and taken in by us,” Long Fei replied.

“Found?” Cheng Anfu echoed in disbelief.

Anyone could see these two dogs were extraordinary—especially Tianjiang, who exuded an almost overwhelming presence.

“You find it hard to believe, don’t you?” Long Fei said with a faint smile. “To be honest, even I can hardly believe it myself. But yes, both of them were found and taken in.”