Chapter 245: Chapter 244: Why Mistaken Identity?

Chen Su chuckled lightly at the words: “Don’t worry, trust you and your little animal detectives.”

Ji Xuehui’s gaze shifted back and forth between the two, suddenly recalling the trending agricultural assistance livestream from a few days ago.

With a smile in her eyes, she interjected, “Yingying, Captain Chen is also an external support I invited. Aren’t you guys going to record a show?”

“Captain Chen is the officially appointed safety officer, ensuring the program’s filming proceeds safely and coordinating police resources.”

Xu Ying understood. Filming variety shows outdoors indeed required attention to safety. Snow Wave Video was fairly conscientious, hiring professional security and even official police presence for every episode, unlike some shows that disregarded guest safety for the sake of viewership.

Chen Su’s gaze swept over Xu Ying’s nose, reddened by the cold, resembling a plum blossom in the snow.

Without a word, he turned around, picked up a rubber hot water bottle filled with hot water from beside the heater, and carefully wrapped it in a towel.

“Here.”

Chen Su handed over the hot water bottle, only to pull it back when Xu Ying reached out to take it.

“Wait.” He said, pulling another dry towel from his coat pocket and placing it over the hot water bottle before handing it to her again, “Be careful not to get burned.”

As Xu Ying accepted it, their fingertips briefly touched at the towel’s edge.

Chen Su, as if shocked by electricity, quickly pulled his hand back and picked up paper and pen, resuming his notes;

Xu Ying pressed the hot water bottle against her frozen cheeks, the steam hiding her suddenly reddened eartips from view.

“Sit here. Captain Chen just arrived, and I’ll explain the situation to you both.”

Ji Xuehui pointed to the spot closest to the heater, “The forensic team just sent over a preliminary report.”

Clutching the hot water bottle, Xu Ying’s numb hands quickly warmed up, the steam soon making her ear muffs damp.

In the tent’s corner, several supply boxes stacked up, marked with “Mountain Emergency Rescue.”

The tent fabric flapped wildly in the wind, yet inside the thermometer read five degrees Celsius—luxuriously warm in a blizzard at three thousand meters altitude.

“All three deceased were members of the ’Peak’ Mountaineering Association.”

Ji Xuehui brought up information on a tablet, “The one in the middle is Lin Yue, 42, an association vice president who built a business from scratch, faced ups and downs, and finally stabilized as a chain restaurant owner.”

Ji Xuehui swiped the screen, “The one on the left in the blue jacket is Cheng Zeyan, 28, a second-generation wealthy from a medical equipment family, an outdoor influencer with over 100,000 followers on social media.”

The young man in the photo posed with a V sign, Mont Blanc’s snowy slope in the background.

“And this one on the right…”

Ji Xuehui enlarged the third photo, “Zhou Mo, 29, an architect returned from studying abroad, his father a former provincial mountaineering association president.”

The man in the ID photo sported gold-rimmed glasses, resembling more a scholar than a mountaineer.

Xu Ying noticed what these two shared—high-end gear, well-maintained skin, and the relaxed demeanor of the privileged seen in photographs.

Lin Yue’s face, however, bore the look of the first-generation wealthy, with an eye carrying a complexity absent in the younger two, a sense of time’s accumulation.

Chen Su, after hearing this, slightly furrowed his eyebrows: “Lin Yue’s age differs greatly from the other two, over ten years older.”

“Also, his industry is traditional, as a first-generation entrepreneur, seeming to lack common ground with them.”

“Were the three of them in a mountaineering team on the day of the incident?”

—”According to current information, it should have been a four-person team that day.”

Ji Xuehui displayed an association registration form, “There was also a professional mountaineer guide, named Luo Zhiqiang, 31.”

She pointed to the last name on the form, “The association says he’s burlier than the others, formerly on the provincial rock climbing team.”

“The mountaineer guide is currently missing. Search and rescue teams are looking for him, but prospects seem grim.”

Ji Xuehui’s eyes flickered: “We suspect he met with misfortune too, but his body hasn’t been found yet.”

Chen Su asked gravely: “Had these four climbed together before?”

—”The association says no.”

Lin Yue and these three joined the association five years ago, with only occasional meetups at association events, participating in three or four group activities.”

Chen Su pondered briefly: “Look further into whether they joined any other mountaineering associations before Peak Mountaineering Association.”

Ji Xuehui immediately responded, “Okay.”

At this moment, the tent’s entrance suddenly parted, a snow-covered officer stuck his head in, “Captain Ji, the drone detected a suspicious signal near the eastern cliff! It might be the missing person’s phone location!”

Ji Xuehui quickly stood up, her thermal clothing rustling audibly in the tent, “Notify the search and rescue team, I…”

Before she could finish, a gust nearly flipped the tent over, the heater’s flame flickering violently.

“No.”

The officer shook his head, “The wind speeds exceed level ten, even helicopters can’t leave the hangar.”

By now, the wind roared around them, the tent feeling as fragile as a drifting boat amid the snowstorm.

Chen Su: “Let’s quickly evacuate the tent, there might be danger!”

Ji Xuehui: “The wind’s too strong outside, we could be in danger in this blizzard too!”

Xu Ying: “With such strong wind, there might be an avalanche…”

In her previous life, Xu Ying had also been on a snow mountain rescue mission and understood the current situation was highly dangerous, caught in a dilemma.

The officer who entered listened to their discussion, a look of hesitation crossing his face as well.

While they hesitated, the tent miraculously stabilized in the wind. Outside, the howling winds persisted, but the sudden stability left the four exchanging glances.

Xu Ying was the first to notice something unusual—the canvas at the tent’s corners showed the silhouette of several large shadows.

The shadows rose and fell slightly with breathing, using their bodies to brace the shaking tent. She carefully discerned the silhouettes cast on the canvas: pointed, erect ears, rounded ear lobes…

“It’s snow wolves and snow leopards!”

Xu Ying exclaimed, her voice trembling with surprise and emotion, “They’re helping us stabilize the tent!”

Just then, a gap opened in the tent’s entrance.

A silver-gray snow wolf cub deftly slipped in and shook the glistening snow particles from its body.

It was only the size of a small dog yet already exhibited the majestic aura of a snow land ruler—its silver-white fur clear-cut, with a conspicuous deep-gray “lightning” pattern on its forehead, its amber eyes bright and piercing.

The wolf cub tilted its head to study Ji Xuehui and Xu Ying, its pointed ears alertly swiveling.

Finally, it padded with youthful yet steady footsteps towards Chen Su:

［Little Xu Station Chief, my dad says to take you to our cave to shelter from the storm~］

The childlike voice, paired with the wolf cub’s feigned seriousness, was amusing enough to provoke laughter.

But what shocked Xu Ying even more was—

“Wait… what did it call you?”

Xu Ying widened her eyes at Chen Su, “Why did it call you ’Little Xu Station Chief’?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep