"Don't worry, with my driving skills, don't you still—" Xiao Yuande hadn't finished speaking when we heard a strange bang from behind, and the car began to shake even more violently. I realized the rear tire had burst. Talk about tempting fate.
We all got out to inspect. The rear left tire had indeed blown out. One side of the car had sunk into a muddy pit. It was estimated to be unusable. Xiao Yuande gave a wry smile, "It's not your fault, Team Leader He. It's not my problem either; the environment caused it. We'll have to continue on foot now."
"But aren't we still a long way from finding our destination?" Liu Yuning asked anxiously.
"Let me check the map!" Xiao Yuande took out his tablet, fiddled with it for a moment, and then said, "It's about another kilometer, not far. Let's hurry, it's going to rain."
If Xiao Yuande hadn't pointed it out, we wouldn't have noticed the sky was completely overcast. We really did need to pick up the pace. So, after taking some rain gear from the car, we immediately turned and continued our journey.
This time, even facing many muddy pits, we all pushed forward step by step. After all, it was a blessing that there were no swamps. We pressed on with all our might. As we neared the end of the kilometer, we still saw no sign of a town, just endless, rugged mountain paths. I couldn't help but ask Xiao Yuande, "Did you read the map wrong? Why is there still nothing!"
"That's impossible. Could it be that the actual location of Tu Hai Town isn't marked correctly on the map?" he muttered, picking up the tablet again. He examined it carefully, then shook his head. "The area we're in used to be Tu Hai Town, but now there's nothing here, and the surroundings are still the same."
"You mean, Tu Hai Town has been razed to the ground?" Liu Yuning asked doubtfully.
I shook my head. "Even if it was leveled, there should still be something left. Look, there's no trace of anyone having lived here."
"That's true. Look over there, there's a forest!" Liu Yuning pointed. Xia Xiaoling also exclaimed excitedly, "And smoke! It looks like we've found it!"
Her excitement was contagious, and we all felt a surge of hope. We had thought we were lost, but now we had a glimmer of possibility. We all rushed towards the forest, eager to investigate.
As we passed through the forest, the smoke seemed to get closer, meaning we were near a small town. But when we approached a wall, we discovered a strange town enclosed by an oval-shaped barrier. There seemed to be no gate, as if the entire town was a sealed ancient castle with no exits. The people inside were also peculiar, clad in heavy armor. Numerous catapults and ballistas were positioned for defense. Xiao Yuande started to move forward, but I pulled him back, "This place looks heavily guarded, with weapons everywhere. We can't rush in!"
"You're right. This retro style is very much like a criminal's setup. If I'm not mistaken, this castle was likely left behind by Westerners in China, and it's not often seen."
"Yes, it looks like a nobleman once lived here. Could it be that the pale-haired guy was actually Western, like the Pierce family?"
"I really don't want to encounter that lunatic again. But the 'Guiders' must be a different kind of criminal organization. Let's investigate thoroughly. No matter what criminal organization it is, we'll take them all down!"
As we spoke, we cautiously approached the castle, wondering how to get in.
After circling the perimeter, we found no main gate. To get inside, would we have to scale the wall? That would be difficult, considering the height. It wasn't just anyone could get over it. No, even SWAT members would find it challenging. And we had several women on our team, making it even harder. However, I had underestimated the women in our group. Just as I was wondering what to do, especially about the women, Liu Yuning, with astonishing speed, deployed a grappling hook. This had been provided to our Crime Punishment Team by the Ministry of Public Security. It was now proving incredibly useful, and Liu Yuning was the first to use it!
Seeing her, I felt completely proven wrong. Then, Xia Xiaoling and others also used grappling hooks to ascend. The rest of us men were left below, staring in amazement. As they say, never underestimate a woman's capabilities; you might be shocked.
Seeing us still below, Liu Yuning and the others who had already climbed up looked back. "What are you doing? Are you stunned? Aren't you coming up?"
Prompted, Xiao Yuande was the first to react, then, mimicking, activated the grappling hook on his wrist. I and the others immediately jumped up.
After we descended into the castle, we found numerous deep, terrifying grooves distributed throughout. If we had fallen in, we wouldn't have known what was below, and our lives would have been in danger. I tried shining my flashlight into them, but saw nothing.
Ever since the Lester incident, we now carried large flashlights almost everywhere, fearing we might encounter those red-eyed rats again.
Fortunately, I doubted this castle had rats, as my canine senses didn't detect their peculiar scent. Having encountered them so often, I had become familiar with their unique odor.
This was a form of mnemonic olfaction for my canine senses. People normally remember smells because when a unique scent appears, its molecules enter the nasal cavity, attach to the nasal cilia, dissolve into the nasal mucosa, and the 1,200 olfactory receptors around the cilia send nerve signals along the nerve fibers to the olfactory bulb in the frontal lobe of the brain. The sense of smell is processed here. Stronger smells generate stronger nerve signals, creating a deeper impression in the brain, which can also trigger long-forgotten memories. This is why certain scents can evoke past experiences.
My nasal receptors, however, numbered over a million.
If I told my colleagues this secret, they would likely be terrified. It meant my sense of smell was a thousand times stronger than an average person's.
Thus, we carefully navigated the passages between the grooves, keeping our balance by holding our arms out as we moved forward, one after another.