Chapter 427

Er Mao and two others followed Big Mountain through the mountains and forests; although they really wanted to find Peijie as quickly as possible, wanting to speed up, speed up, and speed up again, but Big Mountain couldn't.

After all, it's old; even though Big Mountain's body has always been good, constantly cared for by Uncle Lin with acupuncture and massage, and even its meals are nutritionally balanced, compared to other elderly feral cats it's far stronger, but it still can't endure such long-distance walking and running.

Big Mountain hasn't rested for a long time; even during its back-and-forth journey it got little rest, and upon reaching the courtyard to fetch help it only rested a few minutes, just drinking some water and eating something; compared to Zheng Tan, the only thing better for Big Mountain than Zheng Tan is that Big Mountain can eat better food, while Zheng Tan is still hungry.

"Let's rest a bit." Peiliang looked ahead at the endless mountains and forests and said.

Peiliang was also anxious, worried about Peijie's safety, wishing he could fly over immediately. But he also knew Big Mountain's condition wasn't good; if they continued like this, if they didn't find Peijie, Big Mountain would likely collapse. They couldn't carry Big Mountain while running, since they didn't know the exact direction or route—the mountains were full of twists and turns, and one wrong turn might mean Big Mountain couldn't make it back in time.

They couldn't communicate due to the language barrier; the only option was to let Big Mountain lead the way.

After all, Big Mountain isn't Zheng Tan; it doesn't have Zheng Tan's ability to give directions.

Since Peiliang said that, Er Mao and Wei Leng certainly wouldn't object; they also knew Big Mountain's condition in their hearts.

Er Mao gave Big Mountain some water and food, then rubbed it; his massage skills were far inferior to Uncle Lin's, but even a little relaxation would help. They didn't know how much farther the road ahead was.

Big Mountain lay on the ground, eyes closed, panting. Now there were three people beside it; although it used to like causing trouble for those guys, it knew that with them around there'd be no danger, so it didn't need to waste energy staying alert.

Seeing Peiliang sitting silently on a nearby stone, Er Mao comforted him: "Xiao Jie is fine; Black Coal is surely over there with him. Senior Brother Pei, you probably don't know that black cat well—it's far more capable than we imagine. That guy is very experienced at causing trouble."

He still wanted to say more to comfort him. Er Mao suddenly realized: although that black cat is capable, its talent for causing trouble is top-notch; who knows what will happen—he really couldn't imagine it. After all, the enemy is no pushover.

Peiliang tugged at the corner of his mouth. He wanted to smile in response, but he just couldn't. He hasn't eaten much so far; the only thing he's eaten... Still, because he had to follow Da Shan over to look for someone, he forcibly stuffed some food to have the strength to keep up. Peiliang was anxious inside—how could he not be? It was even more impossible for him to smile.

Just then, while they were silent, Wei Leng's phone rang.

Because the signal in the mountains was poor, with many places having no signal at all, the three of them, when they came over, were given a satellite phone by their master.

After hearing a few words from the other end of the call, Wei Leng's complexion wasn't good.

"What's wrong?" Peiliang's heart jumped to his throat, fearing to hear any bad news about Peijie.

Wei Leng hung up the phone and said, "The missing Da Zhi has been found, but this has also stirred up some people behind the scenes."

Peiliang and Er Mao both felt their hearts tighten; although Da Zhi's appearance could lead to the mastermind, those few high-ranking officials of the zoo certainly couldn't escape blame, but at the same time, it also alarmed those hired people, including the one who had taken Peijie away.

If those people still intended to negotiate, that would be fine—then Peijie would still be useful to them—but fearing that they might become agitated, not planning to use hostages as leverage, not planning to negotiate, but instead directly kill and then slip away lightly.

Er Mao rubbed Da Shan's black ears, scratched its chin, then cupped Da Shan's cat head with both palms, looking into Da Shan's opened eyes and said, "Da Shan, I can only trouble you to work hard."

Da Shan stood up, looked around, determined the direction, and continued walking forward.

On the other side, Zheng Tan watched the person guarding the tent, holding a pen already loaded with bullets, thinking about how to deal with this guy.

At that moment, a bird flew over from the woods.

Bang!

This innocent bird fell from the air, its scattered feathers drifting down slowly.

The shooter showed hardly any emotion on his face, as if he had merely snapped a twig just now, doing something as ordinary as could be; he didn't even look at the bird he had shot down, continuing to stay alert to the surrounding woods. At the slightest movement, he would fire.

"What's going on?" the person who had just walked into the tent asked upon hearing the gunshot.

"Nothing, just a bird."

After glancing at the bird on the ground, the person said nothing and walked back into the tent.

Zheng Tan hid behind the bushes, carefully exhaling. He really hadn't expected the other side to not even spare a bird—after all, his comrades could decisively blast one away with a single shot, let alone a bird. If Zheng Tan stepped out now, or were discovered by the other side, he would definitely get shot.

Better to mistakenly kill a cat than to let any suspicious movement go unchecked. That is the other side's current strategy.

What to do?

Zheng Tan was still some distance from the opponent, and he knew that with his clumsy skill, accuracy at this range would definitely be low; if he fired here, missing the target would only expose himself, which would be miserable—he might even instantly ascend and become a cat immortal.

After thinking, Zheng Tan quietly retreated, then went to the spot where he had first test-fired a bullet; the bird still lay there, motionless. Zheng Tan stood up, lifted the bird, looked at it in his hand, and muttered to himself: "If you run into a cat, consider yourself unlucky—I can only sacrifice you."

Zheng Tan had considered throwing a stone or some other inanimate object, but the other side obviously had rich hunting experience in the mountains; whether stone or bird, perhaps they could tell them apart in an instant, which would not achieve Zheng Tan's goal of distracting the opponent.

Regardless of whether the other side truly had such discernment, Zheng Tan planned to try using the bird anyway.

Too bad he couldn't use a hunting rifle, nor was it convenient to do so; otherwise he would just grab a gun and blast these people away. Zheng Tan flicked his cat paws in disdain, held the bird, and sneaked back toward the tent again.

At this moment, gunfire could be heard coming from inside the tent, along with a monkey's sharp scream.

Zheng Tan's heart leapt—could the person who had just entered the tent be intending to silence them?!

Originally he had planned to wait for an opportunity, but now it seems he can't wait any longer; if he delays further, Peijie's little life might very well be lost.

The person standing by the tent would change his stance direction every so often.

Zheng Tan, at the point closest to the opponent, when the opponent turned sideways, took a deep breath. He raised his hand and flung the bird he was holding with all his strength.

The opponent's reaction was also quick; from the faint sound he could tell that something was flying through the air.

While the opponent's attention was on the bird, Zheng Tan swiftly burst out from the bushes and ran toward him.

Bang!

One shot hit the airborne target squarely, but after firing that shot, the opponent didn't stop. Although he couldn't make out exactly what had run out of the woods, he still wouldn't let any suspicious object go, quickly swinging the gun barrel.

Bang!

Another shot.

But it was off by a hair's breadth—this marked the line between success and failure.

As Zheng Tan charged forward, he thought of nothing else, sprinting at full speed; when he got close to the person, he activated the "pen," fired, and then ran. He heard the second gunshot; just before, he had even felt his fur stand on end, an intense sense of danger instantly falling upon him, but he couldn't dwell on it—he fired the bullet from the pen, then Zheng Tan ran to the back of the tent and jumped into the bushes.

He waited a while, heard no other movement, and cautiously peeked out.

By the tent, the person who had just been shooting with a gun now lay on the ground, a small bullet lodged in his bare arm.

Zheng Tan found a clump of earth, threw it hard, still aiming at the person's face.

The clump of earth struck the person, breaking into several small pieces, dust scattering, yet the person who was hit remained just as before, his facial expression hardly changed.

Zheng Tan stepped out of the thicket, jumped to the back of the tent, looked again, then quickly rushed over and dragged the gun from the person's hand.

The person still showed no reaction.

Looking at the bullet hole on the ground, it was less than a palm's width from the path Zheng Tan had just run; if he had been a step slower, he might have been hit.

He had still underestimated these people's abilities.

Fortunately, only one person remained here.

Zheng Tan let out a breath, hid his gun in a nearby tree, then dragged the person into a tent and tied them up with the tent's rope, making a dead knot.

Bang!

Gunfire rang out again from the cloth tent; Zheng Tan had just tied the hands, hadn't had time to tie the legs of the unconscious person, but the drug would last a while, so he swapped a bullet into his pen and hurried over to the cloth tent.

Inside the cloth tent, Peijie was in a bad way. After seeing the kidnapper enter, he zipped up the flap and fastened the buckle. Now, without tearing the tent, only someone inside could open it from within; from outside it couldn't be opened. And tearing the tent would surely cause a disturbance the other side couldn't miss.

After entering the cloth tent, the intruder shot and killed a monkey, then used a knife to take whatever the monkey was carrying. Next came a second monkey, then a red panda.

Inside the cloth tent, the flap was fastened and the light dim; the intruder switched on the hanging solar camping lamp, letting Peijie see the situation clearly.

Seeing these bloody scenes, Peijie could no longer hold back and burst into tears with a wail.

Damn, I never want to be a superhero again; this job is too dangerous—one slip and you lose your life.

Dad, Uncle Wei, Uncle Er Mao—why aren't they here yet? Where on earth did Hei Tan run off to?! Could he have just run away?!

After all, he's still a child; even though he's usually mischievous, he can't withstand this bloody stimulation and threat of death. At first Peijie thought of crying out loud, hoping any nearby reinforcements would hear and hurry to rescue, but as he cried, all his grievance and fear welled up, making him hiccup while crying.

The other person didn't stop Peijie, let him cry loudly, and said in Mandarin with a slight dialect accent: "Cry slowly, your turn will come later."

Saying that, the person glanced at the flap, then looked around the interior of the cloth tent; he had previously confirmed that no one could slip in unnoticed, not even a child.

But he didn't know cats are an exception. When Zheng Tan earlier entered, he didn't come through the flap; instead he slipped in through the loose, hanging cloth around the edges that wasn't fixed to the ground.

Zheng Tan chose the spot near a cage; inside the cage lay a dead monkey, the light shining on it cast a shadow on the tent's barrier close to the ground.

In such a small place, a person can't hide, so after a quick scan, he again focused his gaze on the last red panda.

This red panda's mental state has been improving over the past couple days, its mind is clear; it presses itself against the side of the cage away from the person, but being confined it can't escape; even knowing the danger, it can't do anything, only shrinks there, eyes wide with fear.

The person held a gun, aiming at the last red panda in the cage, about to fire, when he thought of something and shouted toward the outside of the cloth tent. He was calling the name of his accomplice guarding outside, but got no reply. Now he couldn't open the flap to go out and look, nor would he look outside through the tent's sole window, fearing a sniper outside who'd blow his head off at the first move.

His eyes flickered; he lowered the gun, shifting his gaze from the last red panda to Peijie, who was hiccuping from crying inside the cage.

Peijie saw the person looking over, his crying paused, then he started crying even louder. He was panicked and afraid; besides crying, he didn't know what else he could do, only hoping someone would come and take down that gun-wielding madman in front of him.

The person took out a key, opened the cage, dragged Peijie out, holding him like a chick; Peijie's little strength was no match for the opponent's iron-like arms.

Peijie punched and kicked, but he hadn't eaten much in over a day, and being locked in the cage so long left him weak and powerless, his efforts futile. He also tried to bite, but the opponent wore gloves with metal plates, so he couldn't bite; his own teeth almost got chipped instead.

The person held Peijie in his hand, ignoring his little tricks; he was concerned about outsiders. He glanced around, making sure no one had entered.

Something must have happened outside; although he didn't know who it was or how the opponent had silently taken care of several of his comrades, he knew the opponent could neutralize four people without a sound and also threaten him. So he wanted to use this kid to escape; even if he couldn't get away, he could trade one life for another.

The hiccuping, crying little Peijie, like other children, began to cry and call for mom and dad.

Are Dad and the others really outside? But why haven't they come out, even if just one person came out to negotiate, why is there no movement?

If only there really were a superhero in this world.

Peijie thought.

Out of the corner of his eye he caught something; Peijie turned his head to look.

In the spot where that person had his back turned, beside a cage, behind a small wooden box, a black silhouette gradually emerged.

The camping lamp was still on; Peijie's vision had long adapted to the light here, and he wasn't nearsighted, so he could see clearly.

Ears, tail…

That is a cat.

A cat standing upright.

A black cat standing, holding an automatic pencil.

Peijie's hiccup even stopped from shock; on that face, smeared with snot and tears from crying and shouting, there was a dazed expression. (To be continued...)