Chapter 6

Xia Anping followed Mo Yan down the stairs and arrived in the residential area, only to find that two gray-green Falcon helicopters were already parked on the lawn, each bearing the emblem of the National Order Committee.

Several special operations team members in black combat uniforms were standing guard beside the helicopters, holding guns.

Fortunately, there were not many people in the residential area at the moment, so the two Falcon helicopters did not cause much of a stir. Only a group of elderly people who were not working and a few housewives were curiously watching the helicopters, whispering and pointing.

Security guards were also maintaining order around the lawn.

The impact of yesterday's spatial invasion was still lingering, and everyone thought that the two helicopters might be related to the incident.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Xia Anping, still in his sportswear, quickly approached one of the Falcon helicopters with Mo Yan.

Inside the helicopter, there were nine people: seven fully armed special operations team members, a muscular bald man, and a beautiful woman with a cold demeanor.

The bald man was as strong as an ox, with muscles like rocks on a mountain. Next to him was a large, guillotine-like broadsword, over a meter long.

The short-haired beauty was in her twenties, with black short hair and fiery red lips. She wore a leather outfit that accentuated her curvaceous figure. A pistol and a dagger were tucked into her belt, making her look like a rose with thorns, not to be trifled with.

The woman was operating a tactical computer in front of her, her fingers flying over the keyboard as maps continuously changed on the screen.

"Old Tu, this is Xia Anping. He's in your hands now!" Mo Yan said to the muscular man, then turned to Xia Anping, "Follow them!"

Xia Anping nodded and quickly climbed into the helicopter, sitting next to the big man, while Mo Yan ran to the other helicopter nearby.

"Kid, you're pretty good, hiding your千里眼 (千里眼 means '千里 eye,' which can be translated as '千里eye' or '千里vision,' but in this context, it refers to a special ability to see things far away, so it's better to translate it as 'clairvoyance') ability so well..." As soon as Xia Anping sat down, the bald man grinned, revealing a mouth full of metal teeth, which was quite intimidating. He then handed Xia Anping a noise-canceling headset.

Xia Anping put on the headset, and the helicopter's door closed. The rotors started spinning, creating a loud roar that blew the grass on the lawn in all directions, and the people watching from the sidelines quickly ran away.

The helicopters quickly took off, and the other one followed, then they split in different directions, one heading east and the other west.

The residential area below grew smaller, and the buildings and vehicles on the ground quickly passed beneath them.

After flying a few kilometers, another gray-green Falcon helicopter joined them, following behind.

This sight put Xia Anping at ease.

"First, let's go to the place where you last found the two escaped demon rats!" As the helicopter flew out of the city, Xia Anping, sitting in the helicopter, got straight to the point, "Also, show me the images of the two demon rats. I need to confirm what they look like!"

"No problem!" Old Tu said, then turned to the short-haired beauty, "Lingshan, show him..."

The short-haired beauty said nothing, but operated the tactical computer in front of her, turning the screen toward Xia Anping.

The first image on the screen was from the helmet camera of the special operations team last night. The background was green, indicating it was taken with night vision. The team followed the blood trail to a logistics park outside the city, where they found two workers' bodies that had been savagely bitten. The team then entered a warehouse and began searching.

"Two victims found. Squad 7 entering the warehouse. Turn on the thermal imaging. The target may be nearby..."

A few seconds later, the thermal imaging detected a moving heat source. The team quickly surrounded it, and intense gunfire erupted. In the footage, two demon rats suddenly appeared from behind a stack of wooden crates, rushing through a hail of bullets, knocking down two team members. One demon rat's claws tore through a team member's throat, and they quickly fled...

The second image was taken from the air, likely from a drone. At dawn, the two demon rats had fled to the outskirts of the city, running through the bushes by a river. The drone captured them for only a few seconds. One demon rat briefly stopped, looked up at the sky, and then, just before the drone's attack, the two demon rats dove into the river and disappeared underwater.

The third image was taken in the wild, with the sky already bright. The drone captured the two demon rats coming ashore by the river and entering a large swamp and reed field, where they disappeared.

"Got it..." Xia Anping nodded, memorizing the appearance of the two demon rats, and then fell silent.

...

Half an hour later, the two Falcon helicopters arrived at the last known location of the two demon rats—over 160 kilometers northwest of Xianghe City, in a swamp area covering over 20 square kilometers. Beyond this area was a vast mountain range, close to the national park region of Nanyi Province.

From the helicopter, the entire swamp was mostly covered by tree shadows, reeds, and weeds. The surrounding mountains were complex, with river valleys, waterfalls, and dense black pine forests, making it difficult to spot the target.

The helicopter circled over the swamp, and the bald man looked at Xia Anping, "Can you find the trail of the two demon rats?"

Xia Anping closed his eyes, focusing on the images of the two demon rats he had just seen.

After a few seconds, a scene appeared in Xia Anping's mind.

The two demon rats were in an underground burrow, motionless. The scene zoomed out, and Xia Anping saw the large black pine forest outside the burrow, the nearby hot springs, and two bald mountain peaks, with a vast grassland. The surrounding terrain became clearer.

"The two demon rats have left the swamp and entered the mountain range... about 80 kilometers from here, in a black pine forest!" Xia Anping opened his eyes and pointed in a direction.

"Can you mark it on the electronic map?" the bald man asked.

"Sure!" Xia Anping nodded, took the electronic map from the bald man, and drew a circle, "It's roughly here..."

The bald man patted the helicopter pilot on the shoulder and gestured. The two Falcon helicopters immediately flew in the direction Xia Anping had pointed.

"Send the drone to the target area for surveillance and search..." The short-haired beauty finally spoke, her fingers tapping on the keyboard.

Soon, Xia Anping saw the drone's footage on the short-haired beauty's computer screen, as the drone quickly approached the area he had marked on the electronic map.

Before the helicopter arrived, the drone was already circling over a large black pine forest, using thermal imaging to scan the area. The forest covered over 60 square kilometers, extending across a valley and hills.

The thermal imaging detected deer, bison, and pronghorns in the forest and valley, but not the two demon rats.

"The two demon rats are very cunning. They burrow underground and won't be detected by thermal imaging!" Xia Anping said.

The bald man licked his lips and looked at Xia Anping, "Can you pinpoint their hiding place more precisely?"

"Sorry, some people with remote viewing abilities might be able to do that, but I can't. I can only determine the general area!" Xia Anping shook his head.

...

Just over ten minutes later, the two Falcon helicopters arrived at the edge of the black forest. The helicopters lowered ropes, and the special operations team members quickly slid down to begin searching the area.

"You don't need to come with us. Stay on the helicopter and contact us if you find anything..." The bald man picked up his large, guillotine-like broadsword and, like a tiger, leaped down from the helicopter.

The short-haired beauty also put away her tactical computer, stuffed it into a tactical backpack on the helicopter, grabbed a shotgun, and followed the bald man down.

The two Falcon helicopters then moved to a grassy area over 20 kilometers away and landed.

A Falcon helicopter can stay airborne for over 6 hours, but since the search team's time in the black pine forest was uncertain, the helicopters had to wait nearby to conserve their flight time. The surveillance and attack tasks were handled by drones with longer flight times.

After the helicopter landed, Xia Anping got off and relieved himself in the nearby bushes.

Looking at the beautiful scenery of the surrounding mountains, a sense of magic rose in Xia Anping's heart, making him feel a bit dazed.

This place should be part of Yellowstone National Park. In his previous life, when he came to North America to investigate the mountains and terrain described in the "East Mountain Classic" of the "Classic of Mountains and Seas," he had been here. The entrance fee was calculated per vehicle, about 25 dollars per car.

However, this place was now a 5A-level national forest park in Yizhou Province of Yan State, and there was no entrance fee!

---

(End of the page)