Animal Detective

Chapter 120: Opening Fire

Thanks to Dingshan Temple, Dingshan Mountain had seen some development.

The mountain had footpaths and a signal tower. Besides coming to burn incense and pray, local residents often hiked here for exercise.

But the developed area was limited; most of it was still impenetrable wild forest.

Shen Xin led the way. Judging from their route, Wang Yuansheng was trying to head down the mountain, but some paths were impassable, forcing him to turn back and find detours.

The general direction was still downward, however. He was probably hoping to escape down the mountain from a different spot.

But Dou Dou’s sense of smell was reliable.

Her previous thirty-kilometer "husband-chasing" escapade was more than enough to prove her astonishing tracking skills.

So they hadn’t lost his trail.

The sky was growing dark. With the thick canopy overhead, the woods were pitch-black. Flashlights were on, and Sun Zhao repeatedly warned everyone to be careful.

One misstep could send you tumbling down the slope, and that was no laughing matter.

They continued the chase, and just as they felt they were nearing the foot of the mountain, a voice crackled through the walkie-talkie.

"Captain Sun, we’ve found Wang Yuansheng. He’s taken a hostage. He’s just west of the intersection of North Dingshan Road and Cui Feng Road."

The color drained from Sun Zhao’s face. He immediately ordered his men to control the scene and avoid provoking Wang Yuansheng.

At the same time, he quickly contacted Feng Kaiwei over the radio.

A hostage situation definitely required SWAT.

After finishing his call, he urged Shen Xin to pick up the pace.

They were all still on the mountain and couldn’t just go straight down. Their only option was to follow Wang Yuansheng’s trail.

The location mentioned on the walkie-talkie had to be just ahead.

Shen Xin said nothing, simply quickening his pace as much as he could.

Just then, a sudden BANG echoed from the distance.

It was a short, sharp report.

Shen Xin stopped dead in his tracks, his heart hammering in his chest.

’That’s a goddamn gunshot!’

Behind him, Sun Zhao’s expression changed drastically as well. He snatched his walkie-talkie and urgently demanded a situation report.

For a moment, there was no response.

Thankfully, no more shots followed.

A few seconds later, the walkie-talkie erupted with chaotic noise.

"Captain Sun, Wang Yuansheng slashed the hostage! He’s heading back up the mountain..."

"Shit!"

Sun Zhao was so frantic he wished he could just sprout wings and fly to the scene.

Just then, Dou Dou let out a sharp bark and tried to lunge forward.

She seemed to have found something.

Shen Xin hurried forward.

The others followed close behind.

The unexpected gunshot weighed heavily on everyone’s minds.

After stumbling along for nearly fifty meters, Dou Dou barked loudly again.

In the beam of his flashlight, Shen Xin’s sharp eyes spotted a figure in the trees ahead, leaning against a trunk and gasping for breath.

Startled by the light, the figure spun around and bolted.

"Stop!"

Shen Xin yelled instinctively.

But it was clearly no use.

Wang Yuansheng scrambled up the mountain on all fours. In his panic, he slipped and fell flat on the ground.

But they were still some distance away from him. The mountain path was treacherous; catching up wasn’t going to be easy.

Wang Yuansheng struggled back to his feet, but after only two steps, he twisted his ankle and staggered, falling to the ground again.

"Stop running, or we’ll shoot!"

Someone shouted from behind. It sounded like Chen Chao.

But it was useless.

Wang Yuansheng struggled up and continued to climb, but after just a few steps, he cried out in pain.

He kept moving, pushing himself up to walk, but he couldn’t move quickly.

He was a mess, but so was everyone else.

The ground underfoot was a minefield of holes and divots, and branches from the low-lying trees whipped at their bodies.

They were in their summer uniforms, and every scratch left a stinging welt.

But they couldn’t worry about that now.

Shen Xin, who also had to manage Dou Dou’s leash, slipped several times himself.

Shen Xin was so anxious he was tempted to just let the dog loose on him.

But he didn’t dare.

A dog’s fighting prowess might be impressive, but it was no match for a desperate, cornered human.

Especially not when Wang Yuansheng was still holding a meat cleaver.

But they were closing in.

Just then, Wang Yuansheng fell to the ground once more. He rolled over into a sitting position, snatched a rock from the ground, and hurled it at them.

Shen Xin instinctively ducked.

The rock slammed into a tree trunk.

Wang Yuansheng kept yelling and throwing rocks, but there weren’t many within reach. He tightened his grip on the cleaver and shrieked at them, "Stay back! All of you, stay back! I’ll kill you if you come any closer!"

His clothes were in disarray and so was his hair, matted into clumps with sweat.

His face was grimy and smeared with blood.

With a panicked and crazed expression, he waved the cleaver wildly through the air, screaming at them.

The group had finally caught up.

Shen Xin stopped, panting as he held Dou Dou back, not daring to advance.

’I didn’t bring my gun.’

"Wang Yuansheng, you can’t escape! Drop the cleaver!" Chen Chao gasped, leaning against a tree for support, completely out of breath.

The others were all in the same state.

Ding Yuwei nearly collapsed onto the ground.

Sun Zhao clutched his back, barely able to stand.

"Stay back! I’ll kill you!" Wang Yuansheng shrieked, then roared like a madman. "Let me go! I have to kill that man! If you don’t let me go, I’ll kill you all!"

He waved the cleaver, screaming relentlessly.

Chen Chao caught his breath and drew his pistol. He tried to speak but was still too winded. Instead, he gestured and mouthed, "Pepper spray! Get him!"

Detectives didn’t usually carry the stuff.

But the officers from the Dingshan Police Station who had joined the chase pulled out their canisters.

That stuff could spray five or six meters. Sometimes, it was even more effective than a gun.

PSSSHHH!

Several streams of pepper spray shot out at once.

It didn’t matter if their aim was perfect. If that stuff hit you, Mike Tyson himself would be brought to his knees.

Wang Yuansheng flailed his arms to block it, but it was no use. Some of it seemed to get in his mouth, and he immediately whipped his head around and let out a piercing shriek.

And yet, he still held onto the cleaver for dear life.

But he couldn’t last long. Soon, he involuntarily dropped the cleaver and began rolling around on the ground in agony.

Gritting his teeth, Chen Chao charged forward. He kicked the cleaver away before he and his colleague, Lao Zhao, pinned Wang Yuansheng to the ground.

Wang Yuansheng continued to struggle violently, screaming a torrent of curses.

It wasn’t until Wang Yuansheng was in handcuffs that Sun Zhao finally let out a sigh of relief. He immediately grabbed his walkie-talkie, demanding to know who fired the shot and what exactly had happened.

The officers who had been down on the road were now making their way up the slope, catching up to them.

Leading the way was their colleague, Zhou Zhongyi.

He was clutching a gun, also panting from the exertion.

"It was me!"

He saw Wang Yuansheng was subdued and finally breathed a sigh of relief. Leaning against a tree as if he were about to collapse, he explained, "The guy’s completely insane. He just started slashing with the knife. I had no choice but to fire a warning shot."

Sun Zhao sat down, clutching his back.

The shot had been fired; dealing with the fallout was a problem for later. He urgently asked about the hostage’s condition.

"Don’t ask. Slashed in the back. We’re waiting for the ambulance."

Sun Zhao felt his vision go dark again.

Shen Xin sat down as well, utterly exhausted.

Ding Yuwei sat down next to Shen Xin with Tiger Stripes and asked him how he was doing.

"I’m fine," Shen Xin said, waving his hand dismissively.

When he noticed Tiger Stripes pawing at his pocket again, he gave the dog an annoyed swat.

He glanced back at Wang Yuansheng.

The man was still cursing, tears and snot streaming down his face as he coughed, looking every bit like a raving lunatic.

Sun Zhao couldn’t afford to rest for long. He immediately started down the mountain to check on the hostage.

Chen Chao, however, went over to ask Zhou Zhongyi for the details about the shooting.

Wang Yuansheng had made his way down the mountain, kicked over the surrounding guardrail, and crossed the greenbelt on the side of the road.

He apparently didn’t know how to drive, so instead of trying to carjack someone, he went for an electric scooter.

It was being ridden by a middle-aged woman, whom he dragged to the ground.

Coincidentally, Zhou Zhongyi was patrolling the perimeter of Dingshan in his police car, specifically to prevent Wang Yuansheng from slipping down the mountain and escaping.

He immediately got out of his car and intercepted Wang Yuansheng.

That was when Wang Yuansheng grabbed the woman and took her hostage.

He demanded to be let go. When he saw he wasn’t getting away, he slashed the woman.

One slash wasn’t enough; he raised the cleaver to strike again.

It was at that exact moment that Zhou Zhongyi fired the warning shot.

As soon as the shot rang out, Wang Yuansheng stopped his attack, turned tail, and fled back up the mountain.

After finishing his explanation, Zhou Zhongyi asked, "Old Chen, am I in trouble?"

Chen Chao knew what he was worried about. He clapped him on the shoulder. "It’s fine. You should have just shot him."

In that situation, Wang Yuansheng was completely out of his mind. A kill shot would have been justified.