Chapter 39: Di Te, Meritorious Service

"Oh no."

If this middle-aged man went out of the mountains, he would definitely discover the path he had cleared when he came; he could only quietly knock him unconscious before the middle-aged man discovered it.

Zhang Ping'an didn't even have time to observe the camp; he followed the middle-aged man stealthily, knocked him down with a hand-chop after getting far from the camp, stuffed his mouth with a rag, and tied him to a tree with hemp rope.

Zhang Ping'an couldn't understand the language of the Foot-Basin Chickens, otherwise, he would have interrogated him for a bit no matter what.

"Young man, your stamina is pretty good, huh? Any interest in coming to work at the Police Station?"

Director Wang had developed a fondness for his talent; Jia Dongxu had run back and forth, and was still able to lead them up the mountain—although he was a bit out of breath, this physical strength was already not a bit inferior to theirs.

"Director Wang, I already have a job, I'm not considering changing for now." The job of Purchasing Agent was free, and Jia Dongxu couldn't bear to change it, even though the job of Public Security was very impressive.

"Alright." Director Wang didn't force it.

After another hour of travel, they finally arrived at the place where they cooked, and Jia Dongxu couldn't hold on anymore.

"It's right up ahead, my uncle left a mark, huff, huff~"

"Alright, you rest here for a bit first. Xiao Dong, you go ahead and scout the path."

"You got it."

In less than ten minutes, Xiao Dong returned.

"Director, there are indeed markings ahead."

"Good, everyone, bullets in the chamber, line up and advance. Young man, you wait here for our reinforcements to arrive."

"Alright."

Half an hour later, Zhang Ping'an discovered a group in beige Public Security Uniforms.

"Comrade, I am Zhang Ping'an, I caught one of them."

"Little comrade, put your hands where we can see them."

"Alright, the person is right there on the tree, their camp is three or four li away from here." Zhang Ping'an was also a bit on edge being pointed at by a group of long guns and short cannons, so he hurriedly complied, moving his hands in a shoulder-stretching motion.

"Director, there is indeed someone tied up ahead, looks like they were knocked unconscious."

"Little comrade, do you know Zhen Xudong?"

"Huh? I don't know him, but my nephew is named Jia Dongxu," Zhang Ping'an said, stunned for a moment.

"Hehe, misunderstanding cleared up, little comrade, please understand."

Actually, based on Jia Dongxu's description, the director had almost confirmed that this person was Zhang Ping'an, but he still had to test him.

"I understand."

"Tell me about the situation inside."

"I'm not clear on exactly how many people, but I heard three or four people; that middle-aged man was the one I knocked out when he went outside."

"Young man, have you trained?"

"Yes, plus I understand a bit about acupoints."

"Not bad, not bad. Xiao Dong, bring that person over."

Now that the number of enemies was unknown, he couldn't rashly attack; it was better to wait until the reinforcements arrived.

"Slap."

"Baka, who hit me?" The middle-aged man, having regained consciousness, wilted immediately upon seeing a group of Public Security in beige Uniforms, and then a flash of resolve crossed his eyes.

"Slap." Seeing that the situation was wrong, Zhang Ping'an directly slapped away the tooth containing the poison sac.

"Cough, cough, I saw his eyes looked wrong just now, so I was afraid he would bite down on poison to commit suicide; I didn't expect he really had one."

"Little comrade did well, he almost succeeded. Xiao Dong, take him down and interrogate him properly."

"Yes."

"Little comrade, you can go back and reunite with your nephew, we'll take it from here."

"Alright, there's a big tree about a thousand meters ahead; if you climb to the top, you can see their camp clearly."

"Alright, I know."

Zhang Ping'an retreated to the open area and met up with the resting Jia Dongxu.

"Uncle, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, how about you?"

"I'm fine too, just a bit exhausted."

"Someone is coming, and there are quite a few of them." Zhang Ping'an's ears twitched.

"That should be the reinforcement troops Director Wang called."

Sure enough, not long after, nearly a hundred people came up.

"Little comrade, are you the ones who reported the Agent?"

"Yes, Director Wang is right up ahead."

"Very good, leave two people to protect them, everyone else line up and move out."

"Chief, we are familiar with this place, no need for protection."

"Alright then, you wait at the foot of the mountain, our military vehicles are there."

"Alright."

On the way back, Zhang Ping'an and the other checked the traps they had set again.

"Not bad, eleven pheasants, eighteen wild rabbits." The two tied up the pheasants and rabbits, put them into a hemp sack, and went down the mountain.

"Who goes there?"

"Officer Li, I am Jia Dongxu, we are the ones who reported the Agent, this is my uncle Zhang Ping'an."

"It's you guys, what's the situation up there?" Officer Li signaled for the others to lower their guns.

"Not clear on the specifics, the chief told us to come down the mountain."

"Pop-pop."

"There's gunfire." Zhang Ping'an heard the faint sound of gunfire coming from the distance.

"Hmm?" The others all looked puzzled; they hadn't heard any gunfire at all.

"I've been hunting and practicing martial arts since I was a child, so my five senses are quite sharp."

"So that's it. It seems they've already engaged in combat up there."

It was already past two in the afternoon, and they wouldn't be able to leave for a while, so Zhang Ping'an simply went to the edge of a nearby pond to process the wild rabbits.

"Dongxu, go find some firewood; we'll roast the rabbits to eat in a bit." Zhang Ping'an didn't touch the wild pheasants, mainly because they were too troublesome to process.

"Alright."

Jia Dongxu hadn't felt it before, but once Zhang Ping'an mentioned it, he suddenly felt famished. After all, he had only eaten a little something in the morning and had been walking for five or six hours straight without much rest; it would be strange if he weren't hungry.

All eighteen wild rabbits were skinned and gutted, seasoned and marinated, and soon they were sizzling with oil over the fire.

"Officer Li, invite the comrades to come eat some; the two of us can't finish this many."

"No need, little brother, we have discipline."

"Officer Li, you all made this trip because of our report, after all. Let everyone have a little something to tide them over."

"This..." Many of them indeed hadn't had time to eat lunch due to the emergency summons.

"Alright then, but we can't take it for nothing. I'll give you money."

"Fine."

Zhang Ping'an knew their discipline was strict, but he could decide what to do with the game he had caught himself; taking a symbolic amount was fine.

"You kid..." Officer Li understood Zhang Ping'an's good intentions and didn't refuse again.

Zhang Ping'an wasn't very hungry, as he had eaten a little inside his space. He kept only one rabbit and gave the other seventeen to Officer Li and his six men.

"Dongxu, you've exerted a lot of energy today, eat more. I already ate while I was on the mountain earlier."

"Alright." Jia Dongxu didn't stand on ceremony; he knew his uncle's capabilities, and he was indeed starving.

As for Officer Li and his six men, they only shared one rabbit, each taking just a small taste to maintain basic energy. Although the soldiers on the mountain had eaten dry rations, they had likely exhausted them by now, so they had to save some for them.

By nearly five in the afternoon, the soldiers from the mountain came down, escorting seven tightly bound individuals, with those behind them carrying or hauling quite a few crates.

"Damn it, where is that smell of roasted meat coming from? Have I gone hungry to the point of hallucinating?"

"Reporting to the Chief, it's the roasted rabbit meat from Comrade Zhang Ping'an. He wanted to give it to us, but..."

"Alright, alright, take it out first and let the comrades have a bite to tide them over."

They had been on a forced march, fought a beautiful battle, and were now carrying quite a few things down the mountain; the dry rations in their stomachs had long since been used up.

"Yes, Chief."

"Hahaha, you two little comrades, you are very good. You've performed a great service this time. Once everything is investigated and the rewards are issued, we will notify your units."

Their raid this time had been well-prepared, catching the Agent off guard without any casualties.

"Thank you, Chief." The two looked excited and gave a proper salute.

"Hahaha, come on, I'll send you two back." The Chief nodded to himself; this was how young people should be.