Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The four uniformed police officers came down from the top with ropes. They wore caps that covered half of their faces. They were also wearing shades. It only took Gu Nianzhi one look to know that they were not normal shades. They must have been night vision ones.
The four police officers looked around cautiously. They were armed with guns. They were prepared to shoot should there be any movement around. Had they really come to rescue her? Gu Nianzhi looked at the police officers again and shouted with a final glimpse of hope, “Help!” Then she rolled onto the ground and into the jungle.
The moment those officers heard her cry for help, they turned in that direction and began shooting! Bullets rained from above and hit the rocks. Broken pieces of rocks flew all around. They could’ve injured anyone who was nearby.
Even though Gu Nianzhi had already rolled away, some of the broken pieces of rocks hit her back. It hurt. However, they were merely abrasions. She had managed to avoid the bullets. Otherwise, she would really have been killed there.
Gu Nianzhi could finally confirm that those police officers were not here to save her—they were here to kill her! Since that was the case, they couldn’t blame her for being ruthless! She should have known. That horrendous stepfather of Seth’s was one of the higher-ranking police officers! How could she be so stupid and hope that the police would save her?! Seth was the one who wanted her dead, and his stepfather was the higher management in the police force.
She had thought that the police force in Munich would not have any affiliation with York, but seeing these four armed police officers who shot in the direction her cries for help had come from, Gu Nianzhi did not dare to risk it again. She shivered the moment she tried to imagine what could have happened to her if she were to land herself in York’s hands…
With determination, she carried her bucket bag behind her and rolled onto the ground. Then, slowly, she crawled her way through. There were many trees where she was, and the moon couldn’t shine through them. It was much darker than the empty space across the river. Taking the opportunity while the men were still hanging in mid air and could not see what was happening on land clearly, Gu Nianzhi crawled out from behind the rocks and pushed the stacks of firewood she had stacked during the day closer together, forming a huge stack of firewood.
There were many trees there—tall and huge ones, short and wide ones, flowering ones, and even some with fruit on them. However, when autumn arrived, all of their leaves fell, other than those of evergreen trees. Having almost no visitors there, the ground was covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves. During the day, Gu Nianzhi had gathered them into little stacks of kindling.
Now that the small stacks had been pushed together to form a big stack, it was much higher than the ones she had made during the day. The stack was almost as high as her knees. She placed them directly under the men who wore police uniforms—the ones who shot at her.
Gu Nianzhi guessed that these people must be hanging there with suspension wires. Therefore, their landing point would already have been planned and would be difficult to change on a last minute request. And before they landed, it would be impossible for them to release themselves from the wire. Taking out her lighter, Gu Nianzhi lit the firewood stack with a cold expression. Then, she quickly rolled away and hid behind a big rock.
Light from the fire lit up the dark grounds again. However, this time, it was way stronger than before. Other than being a lot brighter, it was also a lot hotter. The flames were burning even higher as well. The flames continued growing until they almost touched the soles of the men’s feet. The four men were stunned. The place where they were supposed to land was in flames?!
What do we do, then?!
They were about three meters from the ground. If they were to release themselves from the wires, they’d fall right into the fire. However, if they do not do that, the wires would land them right into the flames as well!
Someone began to communicate to the people on the ground to report the situation. “Eagle! Eagle! Fox calling for Eagle! There’s fire at our landing point! We’re unable to land. Fox requests to change the landing spot!”
However, the people on the ground saw the fire from the cameras on the helmets of the four men and replied ruthlessly, “The fire is man-made. It is most likely by the lawyer. She isn’t dead! She’s down there!”
“But the fire is too big. We can’t go down!” The four men were extremely nervous. They had thought that it was merely a night search and wouldn’t be too tough, but they did not expect to meet someone who would dare to start a fire there!
“You’re not that high up, to be honest. Just jump. I can only shift a little at most. However, I probably won’t be able to get away from the flames, either. Alternatively, you may jump onto the trees to the side.” Because there weren’t a lot of empty spaces for landing spots, their only option was to land on the trees and climb down.
Gu Nianzhi saw that the four men changed direction and were moving towards the trees. Closing her eyes, she said a silent prayer to the trees: My dear trees, I’m so sorry. They’ll be coming here to kill me if I don’t light you up. If I do light you up, the forest conservancy people will be here. You will be saved…
After saying that, Gu Nianzhi swifty took out her wallet, Swiss Army knife keychain, a pack of tissue, and some chocolates from her Hermes bucket bag and stuffed them into her clothes before taking out her lighter again and lighting one of the big trees behind her. Coincidentally, the tree that Gu Nianzhi lit was a type of Tectona grandis. Not only was it easily flammable, it could also burn for a long time. The moment Gu Nianzhi lit the tree, she quickly rolled in front towards the river and hid in the water without a sound.
The fire from the tree had spread to the other trees around, and a forest fire began just like that. The dark night sky of the Alps was suddenly lit up due to the large fire. The flames danced in the darkness, and the Germans and nuns who lived in the area saw the flames immediately. The bell was rung, and the forest conservancy received an emergency call. They hopped into their helicopter and flew towards the spot where the fire was located.
The men who were wearing police uniforms panicked when they saw that the trees around were in flames as well. They were discussing whether they could land in the river instead, when they heard helicopters above them! The light from the helicopters shined on them and revealed their identities in an instant.
“The people who started the fire! Listen up! Put down your weapons and put your hands behind your head! You’ve been surrounded!
“What? Police officers? Which department are you from? Report your Identification number!” It was the helicopters from the forest conservancy. The people began to put out the fire as they spoke to the “police officers.”
In no time at all, white foam spilled from the helicopter onto the fire. The fire was put out in a short time. However, the four men in police uniforms turned towards them and opened fire! At the same time, they shouted into their walkie-talkies, “Retreat! Retreat! Fox calling for Eagle! Retreat now!” They wanted the people to pull them up as soon as possible.
However, when the people from the ground saw the helicopters from the forest conservancy, they abandoned the pulley truck and drove off in their cars. The people from the forest conservancy had guns as well. They understood that the four men were not real police officers the moment they saw how they reacted!
Seeing that their helicopter was under fire, they began to fire back as well. The four men hanging in mid air immediately became live targets.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
After a series of gunshots, three out of four of the men were dead with headshots. The last one was shot in the arm. He dropped the gun in his hand. It fell into whatever was left of the flames on the ground and exploded…
The people from the forest conservancy had no plans to get out of their helicopter. Most likely, they were worried that there might be more fake police officers around, and they did not want to open fire if they met them. It was also likely that they might be returning to find more help for this situation. Whichever the case was, the helicopter circled the place a couple of times and flew away, leaving three corpses and an injured man hanging in mid air.
Hiding in the river, Gu Nianzhi looked at what just happened feeling extremely afraid. She was also relieved that she had brought a lighter along to save her life like that. Had she exposed herself when the four men dressed in police uniforms appeared, she would be the one lying there, dead.
Sigh. She had just lost all the trust she had in humans. It was so emotionally draining… Gu Nianzhi felt alone as she plunged her head into the water. She threw on her favorite Hermes bag and began swimming downstream. That bag wasn’t waterproof. Therefore, it soaked up water the moment Gu Nianzhi went into the river. It was as heavy as a rock. Therefore, even though Gu Nianzhi loved the bag, she decided to abandon it in such a time of crisis. Her priority now was to get herself to safety.
The forest conservancy people would definitely be back. However, she did not dare to get in contact with the people from the helicopters anymore. Looking at how they killed, even though it was in self-defense, Gu Nianzhi was still scared. And those men in police uniforms—who knew if they’d be real police officers or fake ones?!
Thinking along the same lines, Gu Nianzhi realized, who would know if the forest conservancy people who were going to return were real?! She had been somewhat overcome with paranoia, thinking that whoever came would be there to kill her. She could not trust anyone again, unless Huo Shao could appear right now. Professor He would be fine as well, but they were both not with her at this point in time.
Gu Nianzhi swam in the cold water. In a state of panic, she managed to swim exceptionally well, even better than usual, leaving the riverbank in a short time. After god knows how long, Gu Nianzhi felt tired. Turning around, she began swimming using the backstroke, taking the opportunity to look at the place she had come from.
