Chapter 98: Chapter 98: We’re Just Here to Climb the Mountain

“Yes, yes, we do…”

The weak reply of the person knocked to the ground was drowned out by the wind.

Not far away, small points of light suddenly appeared in the dark night on the snow mountain, resembling a swarm of fireflies dancing in the night sky.

A puzzled illegal miner standing far away asked: “How come there are fireflies on the snow mountain?”

As the small points of light gradually approached, it became clear that they were not fireflies at all but pairs of wild beast eyes!

As the beasts got closer, their figures gradually became apparent: ruthless cheetahs, massive snow wolves, fierce wild boars, towering brown bears…

It was almost like the death squad F4 had arrived!

Everyone suddenly felt their legs freeze to the snow, their limbs weak, finding it difficult to move even a step.

They were at a loss whether to run or quietly move without making any noise.

Having used the snow shovels to search for the valley entrance earlier, everyone had expended a lot of energy; even if they wanted to run through the snow now, they couldn’t outrun these creatures!

Someone was almost in tears with anxiety, wondering what had attracted these ancestors over.

“Captain, what do we do now!”

They hadn’t found the Snow Lotus, and they might lose their lives.

The team leader bit his lip: “Run first, if we can’t beat them, use the hunting rifles!”

Everyone turned to run in the opposite direction, only to find glowing eyes behind them as well.

In the darkness, these bright eyes were eerie, freezing everyone in place, their hearts trembling.

Unluckily, the snow wolves started howling, and their calls echoed in the silent snow ridges, with other wolves scattered in the snow forest responding in kind, sending chills down everyone’s spines.

At this moment, the beasts from both front and rear closed in, slowly forming a circle, trapping everyone in the center.

The sound of the wind seemed to slow down, the surrounding silence was terrifying, and everyone felt as though they could hear each other’s breathing.

Someone whispered: “Why are so many rare beasts gathered here together? Is it for team building?”

“Are we the dishes for their team-building feast?”

Everyone was trembling, scared to move.

The deputy team leader, almost crying, asked: “Team leader, should we shoot directly or call the police?”

Shooting directly might anger three to four dozen beasts into attacking them; with less than ten men, it was uncertain if they could withstand the assault. Surviving with missing limbs would mean a ruined life.

And even if they took down these beasts with hunting rifles, the commotion would surely attract the attention of the West Mountain administrators, leading to them being reported and arrested.

Furthermore, the snow leopard is a national first-class protected animal; harming these many protected animals was extremely serious, potentially resulting in more than ten years of imprisonment, fines, or confiscation of property.

While calling the police had its risks, if they claimed they were just extreme sports enthusiasts illegally climbing the snowy peaks, it wouldn’t be too severe—at worst a few scoldings, perhaps a fine, or ten days to half a month’s administrative detention.

Moreover, the police had no evidence of their illegal mining of West Mountain Snow Lotus, as there wasn’t a single leaf of it on them; there was no legitimate reason for the police to arrest them.

The team leader thought rapidly, weighing the options before shouting the decision: “Quick, call the police!”

“Hurry, find a place to bury the guns!”

The deputy team leader dialed the West Mountain Police Station, while others hurriedly grabbed snow shovels to dig holes and bury the guns.

The snow was quite deep, about fifty centimeters thick, reaching their calves; it was quite easy to hide the hunting rifles quickly.

Meanwhile, a miner who had gone for a pee came back and found his comrades surrounded, promptly turning around and running down the mountain.

The team leader noticed a lucky one wasn’t caught and quickly called out loudly to him: “Lao Qi, quickly call Brother Luo and the others, tell them we might be in custody for a while, to not act rashly and be careful about any leaks. The Snow Lotus will wait until we come out before making any moves!”

The team leader was cautious, fearing the police might check their call records later, so he decided to directly let Lao Qi, who could escape, contact their un-deployed colleagues down the mountain.

As Lao Qi ran, he responded: “Boss, don’t worry, I will get it done, hang in there!”

*

Xu Ying was rushing up the mountain with the police officers.

Policewoman Ji Xuehui suddenly received a call from the West Mountain Police Station.

After answering, she shared with the others, half-amused and half-exasperated: “Someone on the mountaintop called in, claiming there are six of them, climbing enthusiasts who snuck onto the snow mountain, only to be surrounded by snow wolves and brown bears and other beasts; they’re too scared to move now.”

Hearing this, Qin Yan’s eyes widened with anger: “I believe them, not at all! ’Climbing enthusiasts’? This group really knows how to make excuses, banking on us having no evidence!”

Ji Xuehui remained calm: “It’s fine, let’s pretend it’s a routine call when we get there, temporarily detain them for illegally entering the mountain, and file criminal charges once evidence emerges.”

Another officer voiced concern: “Six people, but didn’t Snow Pigeon say seven? Could one have escaped?”

Xu Ying appeared confident: “Don’t worry, as long as they’re within the bird’s area of view, this person can’t escape.”

With the help of the adorable Snow Cleaning Weasels socially networking, the entire mountain was Xu Ying’s surveillance.

Getting closer to the Snow Lotus Valley location, Xu Ying worried about her identity being revealed, so she covered herself tightly with a hat, mask, and goggles, making her unrecognizable from the million-follower blogger Little Xu Station Chief.

*

As the illegal miners trembled with fear surrounded by the beasts, a whistle suddenly sounded, drawing the attention of both people and animals.

“Police, the police are here!”

“Great, we’re saved!”

Seeing the uniformed officers from the West Mountain Police Station, everyone was touched, feeling relieved; survival under arrest was way better than being torn apart by beasts or living with lifelong disabilities.

Upon hearing Xu Ying’s whistle, the beasts automatically opened a path.

Qi Xiao and Qin Yan walked in front, the miners assuming the whistle came from one of them.

Everyone couldn’t help but wonder, amazed at how the administrators had such skills, a single whistle causing the beasts to disperse and open a path.

Ji Xuehui approached and asked the group: “Are you the ones who called the police?”

Their quick response had stunned everyone; as they regained their composure, they promptly replied: “Yes, yes, we’re the ones who called.”

“Officers, your response was so quick. We reported less than twenty minutes ago, and you’ve already arrived at the scene!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep