156: Chapter 156 Little Thief, Take This!

The person below is likely the arsonist.

Jiang Rumu is missing, having emerged from the forest near the fire line.

The system is still trying to get attention.

"Please select a priority target."

Li Li raises his hand and dismisses it.

"What kind of choice is this?"

He takes his helmet off the handlebars.

"Adults don't do multiple-choice questions; adults save lives first."

"Task 1 locked: Rescue Teacher Jiang."

"Task 2 not abandoned, target continuously moving away."

Li Li ignores it.

This system forces a choice at such a critical moment.

Even a capitalist would hand over their business card for this.

Station Chief Chen Tao stops him.

"Don't run around blindly. The fire situation over there is unclear; if the wind changes, you won't be able to get out once you're in."

Li Li clips his walkie-talkie onto his shoulder strap.

"Station Chief Chen, I'm not entering the fire line; I'm looking for someone."

"You can't go in alone to search for someone."

Station Chief Chen Tao presses down on his shoulder, his stance firm.

Li Li pauses for a moment.

He walks forward two steps, squats down, and pushes aside a clump of trampled grass.

There are a few short hairs on the ground.

White and gray.

Xiao Chai's fur.

Beside it is a piece of red-orange fiber stained with soot.

Li Li picks it up with two fingers.

Jiang Rumu was wearing this scarf on her wrist in her social media post this morning.

He looks up.

"Station Chief Chen, I'm certain she hasn't left the mountain."

Station Chief Chen Tao's expression changes.

The few Firefighter units nearby also pause for half a second.

Station Chief Chen Tao presses his walkie-talkie.

"Suspected trapped personnel in the forest on the north side of the summit. All units take note, prioritize confirming signs of life."

The walkie-talkie immediately explodes with noise.

"Copy!"

"The smoke on the north side is too thick, the thermal imager can't see clearly!"

"The firebreak is still a hundred meters away!"

The scenic area manager, holding the list, trembles, and the papers fall all over the ground.

"Why would she go into the forest?"

Li Li doesn't answer.

The answer is ridiculously simple.

The dog ran off.

The person chased after it.

The bad guy started a fire.

Every step is logical.

So logical that it makes one want to curse.

Li Li follows the trail of fur forward.

Just as Station Chief Chen Tao is about to call him, Li Li suddenly stops.

In the grass, a small creature is backing away.

Hugging the ground.

Tail held straight.

Ears flattened.

Spotted body.

Li Li squints.

"Holy crap."

He goes around a rock and walks into a small clearing.

The small creature suddenly arches its back.

"Hiss—"

Li Li stops.

Not a cat.

It's a Leopard Cat.

There's actually a Leopard Cat in the mountains of Pengcheng?

The business scope is quite broad; are wild animals coming to participate in Brave Blue Friends too?

Even more absurd is that the Leopard Cat has a red-orange scarf wrapped around its neck.

Jiang Rumu's.

Li Li raises his hand, palms down, and lowers his body.

"Don't get your fur up."

The Leopard Cat takes half a step back, a low growl pressing in its throat.

Li Li doesn't get any closer.

Jiang Rumu wouldn't just randomly tie a scarf on a Leopard Cat.

Unless they had contact earlier.

Or to put it more directly.

Jiang Rumu tied the scarf on it to use as a trail marker.

The cold queen, saving a wild kitten when encountering trouble.

And then the kitten turns around to save her.

It's a closed loop.

Li Li tentatively speaks.

"Do you know where the owner of this scarf is?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he fell silent himself.

Asking a Leopard Cat for directions.

Absurd.

But these days he has flown an F18, discussed Middle East firefighting drones, and ridden a motorcycle into a wildfire.

Chatting with a Leopard Cat doesn't even make the top three.

The Leopard Cat stops growling.

It turns and dives into the forest.

Just as Li Li takes a step, it stops again and looks back.

The meaning is very clear.

Are you following or not?

Li Li buckles his helmet.

"Fine, Teacher Cat, lead the way."

He presses his walkie-talkie.

"Station Chief Chen, I've found Jiang Rumu's scarf, being carried by a Leopard Cat. It's leading the way."

The walkie-talkie is silent for two seconds.

Station Chief Chen Tao forces out a sentence.

"What kind of cat?"

"A Leopard Cat, wild, bad temper, but its operational capability is currently better than the scenic area's surveillance."

A Firefighter nearby can't help it.

"Teacher Li, are you sure you haven't inhaled too much smoke?"

Li Li steps over a tree root.

"I hope so too. That way I could apply for industrial injury milk tea."

Station Chief Chen Tao quickly orders.

"Maintain contact. Report your direction."

Li Li looks at the smoke pressure and the sun's position.

"North-northeast, about three hundred meters from the main platform, currently moving away from the main road."

"Don't run too fast."

"You'll have to tell the cat that."

The Leopard Cat has already darted over ten meters away.

Li Li takes off running to keep up.

It doesn't take the wide paths, only drills through tree gaps.

Li Li, carrying a first-aid kit and a rope tied around his waist, hits his helmet against tree branches twice.

"Teacher Cat, can the route planning be a bit more considerate of human knees?"

The Leopard Cat doesn't stop.

The smoke is lower ahead.

Li Li pulls out a wet towel to cover his mouth and nose.

Every twenty meters he runs, he marks the tree bark.

Leave a retreat path before going in.

He has to bring Jiang Rumu out.

And he has to get himself out too.

Mid-mountain.

The hose line is still being pushed upward.

Lu Fei carries two rolls of hose, his shoulders going numb from the pressure.

A few Firefighter units come down from the opposite side.

Someone brushes past.

Their helmet is pulled low, and their sleeve brushes against Lu Fei's arm.

Lu Fei glances at it.

There are oil stains on the cuff.

He mutters.

"Who works like this? That stuff is hard to wash off."

His companion nearby is panting too hard to speak, only raising a middle finger at him.

Lu Fei curses back.

"Save your energy, a middle finger can't connect a hose."

He delivers the hose to the two-kilometer mark and bends down to connect the interface.

"No one else coming up behind?"

The connector operator twists the interface.

"After the motorcycle went up, no one else has come up for now. Everyone returns after delivering here."

Lu Fei's movements pause.

"That's not right."

"What's not right?"

"Zhang Chao was delivering hoses ahead of me, I didn't see him come down."

"Did he take a different path?"

"He has no sense of direction; he could get lost going from the cafeteria to the bathroom and end up in the equipment room."

As soon as the words fall, another Firefighter comes up from the mountain, panting and cursing.

"A brother down there was knocked out, his combat uniform is gone."

Lu Fei looks up.

"Who?"

"Zhang Chao."

Lu Fei doesn't even drink water, turning around to run down.

At a corner, a few Firefighter units are surrounding someone.

That person is only wearing a short-sleeved shirt, with gauze on the back of his head.

Lu Fei rushes over.

"Zhang Chao!"

Zhang Chao looks up, still dazed.

"Lu Fei?"

"Where are your clothes?"

Zhang Chao touches the back of his head, wincing in pain.

"Someone called me on the side of the road. I went over, and got hit from behind. When I woke up, it was like this."

Lu Fei curses.

"Someone is stealing Firefighter uniforms!"

The few Firefighter units stop simultaneously.

A Firefighter has been attacked.

A combat uniform has been stolen.

The arson suspect has blended into the retreating team.

This is no longer an ordinary wildfire.

Lu Fei immediately presses the walkie-talkie.

"Command! Attacked Firefighter Zhang Chao found below the two-kilometer mark, combat uniform stolen. Suspect may be disguised as a Firefighter retreating, with oil stains on the cuffs!"

Station Chief Chen Tao is silent for half a second.

"Verify identities across the board! All retreating personnel report station and name! Public security block the North Gate, south line, and wild path exits!"

When this notification reaches Li Li's earpiece, he is currently drilling through a bush following the Leopard Cat.

"Stealing a Firefighter uniform?"

Li Li doesn't stop his feet.

"This guy is pretty good at changing skins."

He immediately thinks of the man in black from earlier.

Backpack empty.

Left foot injured.

Strange smell on his body.

If the other party puts on the Firefighter uniform, it is indeed easier to blend in and get off the mountain than an ordinary tourist.

But he forgot one thing.

The firefighting system is not a game lobby.

Wearing a skin doesn't mean having an account.

Li Li presses the walkie-talkie.

"Station Chief Chen, the suspect has an injury on his left foot, look at his gait during verification, don't just look at the clothes."

"Copy."

Station Chief Chen Tao pauses.

"What's your situation over there?"

Li Li turns sideways to squeeze through two trees.

"Teacher Cat is accelerating, I suspect it is better at finding people than the fire department."

Someone in the walkie-talkie laughs.

Very short.

Quickly drowned out by the sound of the water pump.

Li Li doesn't laugh.

The sound of the fire cracking gets closer.

The wind pushes the smoke this way, and his throat begins to dry out.

The Leopard Cat suddenly stops on a rock, flicks its tail, and dives to the right.

Li Li turns to follow.

A few footprints appear on the ground.

Human.

Dog.

And drag marks.

Li Li squats down to touch the mud.

Not dry yet.

Someone passed by within twenty minutes.

He stands up and continues to chase.

The Leopard Cat runs faster.

Li Li grits his teeth and keeps up.

Jiang Rumu, you'd better be safe.

Otherwise, whenever he sees Xiao Chai in the future, he'll weld the leash onto the dog.

After running for another ten minutes, the trees ahead become sparse.

In the earpiece, Station Chief Chen Tao is still reporting the situation.

"A suspicious Firefighter caught at the North Gate, currently being verified."

Immediately after, another person cuts in.

"Wrong! That person dived into a wild path and ran! Left foot is injured! Security is chasing!"

The villain finally revealed a flaw.

He wanted to rely on the Firefighter uniform to get off the mountain.

As a result, Zhang Chao woke up.

Lu Fei discovered the oil stains.

Li Li added the left foot information.

With the three lines connected, the fake skin's durability directly drops to zero.

The scenic area manager screams until his voice cracks on the walkie-talkie.

"All security listen to fire department dispatch! Don't chase blindly! Don't be experience packs for others!"

Li Li doesn't stop.

The Leopard Cat suddenly lowers its body and dives into a bush.

The next second, a scream comes from ahead.

"Awoo!"

Li Li's feet pause.

Xiao Chai.

Even if this raspy voice turned to ash, he would recognize it.

He pushes aside the branches and rushes forward.

"Jiang Rumu!"

No one answers.

"Xiao Chai!"

Another sound.

"Awoo!"

Li Li goes around a tree and sees half a dog tail exposed behind a big tree.

White and gray.

Still shaking.

Beside it is a torn leash.

The Leopard Cat darts onto the tree root, gives a short cry, and then retreats.

Li Li is just about to step forward.

The bush on the left suddenly explodes.

A figure rushes out.

Holding a wooden stick in hand, heading straight for his helmet.

Li Li turns sideways and raises his arm to block.

The wooden stick hits the edge of the helmet, making a dull sound.

He steps back half a step and strikes back, catching the middle section of the stick.

The opponent is still pressing down.

Li Li sees the person clearly and stops his movement.

The jacket is covered in dust.

The hat brim is crooked.

It's Lu Zheng.

Before Li Li can even speak, a familiar voice descends from the sky.

Jiang Rumu jumps down from the tree, gritting her teeth and smashing down at him with a hiking pole.

"Thief, take this!"