"Lin Beichen, is that you?"
Upon hearing this, Sun Dewang and the other officers felt a chill run down their spines. In this situation, it’s entirely possible, and quite likely too!
Lin Beichen wasn’t encountered by the human traffickers and retaliated against. Instead, he was researching thunder...
Could he have been struck by lightning and killed?
The thought of this possibility made their expressions inexplicably strange. Could a person be so unlucky?
At this moment, Sun Dewang carefully observed the charred corpse on the ground and noticed a crucial detail, asking, "If I remember correctly, the information shows Lin Beichen is a tall guy, about 1.8 meters?"
Pointing to the corpse, he said, "This corpse looks only about 1.6 meters. Even if struck by lightning, causing body contraction, the skeleton is still intact. There’s no way it shrunk that much suddenly."
Seeing the other officers nodding in agreement, he concluded, "So, this isn’t Lin Beichen."
For a moment, the officers breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, it wasn’t Lin Beichen.
But then another question immediately popped into everyone’s minds—
If this body isn’t Lin Beichen, then who is it?
The officers looked at each other, instantly understanding the mutual confusion in each other’s eyes.
Sun Dewang, being a veteran cop, didn’t waste any time and immediately said, "Let’s investigate the scene first."
He then led the other officers to start the investigation.
"This area seems to be frequently struck by lightning."
One officer mumbled while observing the surroundings without starting the investigation, "The trees are blackened and dead, the ground is black. It makes one feel uneasy."
"Indeed."
Another officer nodded in agreement, "I’ve never seen such a scene in my life. It’s comparable to a fire scene."
Before he finished his words.
After the investigation, an officer gave feedback: "I found many footprints here. They look somewhat chaotic, and they’re not from just one person, about six people."
Now, no one paid attention to the surrounding scenery anymore.
Everyone focused on the investigation.
Soon, feedback came continuously.
"I found many footprints here too, about nine people."
"Come over here and check if the footprints in my area overlap with what you found?"
"Come over here too, let’s compare."
"..."
They exchanged words one after another.
They quickly sorted out the footprints found at the scene: The footprints in this area belonged to sixteen people.
At this moment, one officer speculated: "Given this weather, for so many people to suddenly appear in the depths of Wuling Mountain, I think these people are likely the human traffickers hiding in Wuling Mountain!"
The other officers nodded in agreement, expressing the same thought.
For a moment, they couldn’t help but look at Zhong Bai’s corpse on the ground, their expressions inexplicably strange. So, the one struck by lightning should be one of the traffickers?
Could it truly be retribution?
First, Li Youquan was struck dead, and now another one?
Just targeting the wicked human traffickers?
At this moment, another officer pointed to the pit where the Thunderstruck Wood was originally located, guessing: "Isn’t this pit dug by the traffickers for burial?"
"But why did they only dig halfway and leave the corpse exposed in the wilderness?"
Another officer raised his doubts.
While talking, the officers surrounded the pit and observed.
"Hey, looking at the inside of the pit, there used to be a tree here. If the traffickers wanted to dig a pit, they should’ve dug on an empty space. Why dig up a tree?"
New findings brought new doubts.
But then, the officer raised another question: "Also... Where’s the tree? The dug-up tree isn’t anywhere nearby."
Upon hearing this, the officers exchanged glances, their expressions extremely odd. Could the tree have been carried away by the traffickers?
Leaving their comrade’s corpse behind to...
Carry a tree?
They couldn’t figure out what kind of sophisticated operation the traffickers were up to.
At this moment, Sun Dewang asked, "Have we basically finished the investigation?"
Seeing the other officers nodding.
He took out his communication device and said while pressing the button, "No point in speculating now. Since it’s pretty much confirmed that it’s the traffickers, let’s quickly inform Captain Xiao. Once we catch the traffickers, interrogation will clear everything up."
He then gestured to the other officers to follow him.
At this moment, the call connected.
Xiao Peng’s voice came from the communication device: "Hey, Old Sun, what’s the situation? Did you find Lin Beichen?"
"Captain Xiao, we haven’t found Lin Beichen yet, but we seem to have discovered the whereabouts of the trafficker gang."
Sun Dewang explained his situation and the scene investigation while walking, then added: "The footprints on the ground are still very clear, even in this heavy rain. It seems those people haven’t gone far. I’m heading there with the team to scout and see what’s happening."
On the other end.
Wuling Mountain Scenic Area meeting room.
Xiao Peng and his team leaders, along with Wang Kai and other officers from the substation who had arrived, sat around the conference table. They used this as a temporary command center to discuss the operation to capture the traffickers.