ushernet Chapter 1509 - 867:
Chapter 1509 - 867:
Old Qin continued, "Just judging from the footage, the way these people stand and walk is nothing like someone who’s ever been in the army."Third Uncle nodded, then turned his head and said to Xiao Jun:
"When was the last time you saw those people?"
Xiao Jun glanced at his watch, then said, "I saw them at three thirty yesterday afternoon. It’s eleven forty in the morning now, almost twenty hours."
It had already been twenty hours; finding them again now would actually be quite difficult.
But if those people were still nearby, Third Uncle was very confident he could track them down.
Third Uncle pondered for a moment, then said to Old Bi and Xiao Jun:
"The 155 heavy howitzers have been hauled over; get them assembled immediately. Also, use drones to patrol around Oil City twenty-four hours a day. No matter whether that group is enemy or friend, we have to stay on alert!"
"Yes, Captain." The two of them straightened up, saluted Third Uncle, and answered in unison.
Third Uncle put down the footage and saw that Ant and Jackals had already topped off the helicopter’s aviation kerosene, and the canned food they’d brought from Big Camphor Tree Base to Oil City had also been unloaded by them.
So he said to Old Bi and the others, "Alright, we’ll go out and have a look, see if those people are still around. You guys get back to your own tasks!"
"Oh right, Xiao Jun, come with us and take us to where you saw them yesterday."
"Okay." Without another word, Xiao Jun fell in directly behind Third Uncle.
With that, Third Uncle and Old Qin and the others boarded the helicopter.
Old Bi watched Third Uncle’s back, wanting to speak but holding back.
He also understood the situation now. Maybe Oil City had already been targeted. Oil City currently needed manpower; if he proposed returning to Big Camphor Tree Base at this stage, it might not be appropriate.
He sighed, shook his head, and ran off to assemble the heavy guns.
...
In the helicopter, Jackals saw that Xiao Jun had come aboard as well and gave him a slight nod.
Third Uncle said to Xiao Jun, "You guide us; we’ll head over."
Xiao Jun started giving directions, flying along the route where they’d seen that group yesterday.
The helicopter was fast; soon they reached the spot twenty kilometers outside Oil City where they had discovered those people.
This place was in the urban-rural fringe, under a county of Xin City.
Low houses, broken walls, ruins, construction rubble everywhere.
They first circled around the area once, scanning to see if they could spot yesterday’s group.
After circling for a few minutes, they confirmed there was no trace of anyone.
Third Uncle signaled to Jackals with a gesture to descend. Jackals understood immediately and piloted the helicopter down.
After the typhoon and torrential rain, a lot of silt had been washed out, leaving the original concrete and asphalt roads covered with a thick layer of dust.
The helicopter came down, kicking up a massive cloud of dust, like a small sandstorm being whipped up.
Thud!
The helicopter slowly touched down. Third Uncle covered his nose and came down with Xiao Jun and the others.
After getting off the helicopter, Third Uncle looked ahead; the scene in front of him was almost the same as what he had just seen in the footage.
Third Uncle walked slowly, gun in hand, scanning the surroundings as he moved forward.
The others behind him kept their formation, cautiously checking all around.
A minute later.
Third Uncle and the others reached the spot where those people had been yesterday. Third Uncle squatted down, examined the tire tracks on the ground, then followed them for more than a dozen steps.
He suddenly crouched again, touched a drop of fuel on the ground, sniffed it, and his eyes flashed.
He stood up and asked Xiao Jun behind him, "You said they headed east yesterday?"
"Yeah. I don’t know if they left because they spotted us or for some other reason, but I did see through the drone that they were heading east."
"Mm." Third Uncle gave a slight nod.
Then he had everyone spread out and search the area to see if they could find any clues.
They searched a full circle and didn’t find any clues of value.
"Let’s go, fly east and take a look." Third Uncle stood up and said to the others.
Third Uncle and the others boarded the helicopter and continued flying east.
The helicopter climbed to about a thousand meters, the safest and most stable altitude for it.
It also made it easier to observe what was happening below.
If there were seven or eight Military trucks moving along the ground, they could still spot them from the air.
Like this, they flew at a steady speed. From time to time, Third Uncle had the helicopter descend to check the tire tracks, then, once confirmed, continued flying east.
All the way, Third Uncle relied on his strong reconnaissance skills to lock onto a direction and keep going.
Another hour passed.
They were already over three hundred kilometers from Oil City.
Everyone on the helicopter, including Third Uncle, found it very strange. They’d already come more than three hundred kilometers—where exactly were these people trying to go?
Third Uncle was even more curious. These people had come all the way to Oil City, then just up and left? What did they think this was, a sightseeing trip?
Very soon.
After flying another few dozen kilometers, Third Uncle had Jackals bring the helicopter to a halt. While someone refueled the helicopter with diesel, he squatted down again to examine the marks on the ground.
"Same vehicles. Looks like they’re just going to keep heading east."
Third Uncle frowned deeply, his curiosity growing stronger and stronger.
Who on earth were these people? They came all this way and didn’t even say hello before leaving—what the hell is that supposed to mean.