Chapter Twenty-Four: Searching for Enemy Tracks

  To verify his own guess, Xie Xiaoshuai dispatched the members of the sand fox team again, expanding the search range to hundreds of kilometers in diameter. As a result, except for the scorching sun and windblown sand, nothing was gained.

  "Maybe they didn't run at all? Hiding in places we wouldn't notice? And with sufficient water source, food is easily solved, a big pancake can last for several days. What place would be the easiest to overlook?" Xie Xiaoshuai spread out the map and carefully searched for various possibilities.

  "Yes, herders. Herders move around all the time, and as long as there are a lot of livestock, many hands are needed, and they can openly camp anywhere."

  With the direction, the members of the Sha Fox team took action and began to look for herders. The herder's trail was easy to find, as long as there were water sources and pastures, there would be herders. Gong Mao drove a helicopter to scout from the sky, and once he found something, he reported it to the Sha Fox team and then went to investigate.

  The whole day, the sand fox team was almost galloping around, during which they found several herdsman camps, but after investigation, these were all ordinary herdsmen and there was nothing suspicious. Several people were not reconciled, but also had no way out, could only return to the base to replenish supplies, and then take a short rest.

  The Sha Fox team has been here for two days, and Xie Xiao Shuai's mind is getting anxious as he recalls the words of Ren Tian Qi before his departure. The safety of the hostages is like a sword hanging over Xie Xiao Shuai's head, making him feel the crisis. If the hostage rescue operation fails, the consequences will be unimaginable.

  The other members of the squad were still asleep and were called up by Xie Xiaoshuai to continue their actions, one by one dragging their tired bodies out the door.

  Until the next afternoon, several people had no harvest, gathered together to eat dry food, and expressed their own views. Gong Mao drove a helicopter to continue wandering around in the sky.

  "Captain, this won't do. We've turned over every inch of the area within a 200-kilometer radius of the ambush site and found nothing. Have they escaped far away? It's not impossible that they've fled across the border." Li Gang said with his mouth full of compressed biscuits, his face covered in dust.

  "Yes, captain, why don't we try another way to find it." Even the usually taciturn Chrysanthemum Snake expressed its own opinion.

  "This issue I have thought about, but the day of the ambush, the local government knew what was happening and immediately contacted the military. All the roads in and out were set up with checkpoints, and where checkpoints couldn't be set up, there were air force planes patrolling back and forth. It can be said that they were locked down from heaven to earth, it's hard for them to get out, but if they want to find a place to hide, after a long time, food and drink will become a problem. So now their biggest possibility is neither hiding nor escaping, but operating under our noses without drawing attention to themselves. Therefore, I think pretending to be herders is their best choice." Xie Xiaoshuai analyzed the current situation in detail for his team members.

  "Red Sparrow, this is Wingman. We've spotted a large group of herdsmen thirty kilometers at your five o'clock position." The wireless earpiece crackled with Gong Mao's voice.

  The desert fox team jumped up and rushed towards the target direction at high speed with four-wheel motorcycles.

  A place surrounded by mountains on both sides, with a small river valley next to it. Everywhere is bustling with people, with vendors wearing ethnic costumes, mainly Kazakhs, passing by and selecting what they need, looking like a lively market.

  Suddenly, a group of soldiers wearing desert digital camouflage uniforms rushed in from outside. Everyone was tense and didn't know what was happening. An elderly man with a long beard and a fur hat came forward and said something in the Kazakh language.

  It was naturally the Desert Fox Squad who came, and the one speaking was a highly respected elder from the local area. The several members of the Desert Fox Squad looked at each other in confusion, unsure what the elder was saying.

  "Captain, this is the most respected elder here. Why did we intrude into their tribe and cause panic among his people? If we are a government army, please give him a reasonable explanation, otherwise he will go to the National Committee to complain about us." said Chuihuashi.

  Xie Xiaoshuai was surprised that the cauliflower snake could understand minority languages, but he immediately reacted: "Tell him our purpose and allow us to enter and search."

  The cauliflower snake and the elder explained their intentions, although they spoke very awkwardly, but roughly expressed their meaning, only to see the elder nodding continuously, finally saying something.

  "Captain, the elder has agreed and said he will fully cooperate with us." The cauliflower snake came back to report to Commander Xie.

  "Alright, let's get to work. Be careful and thoroughly investigate every single person. Don't miss any suspicious clues." Xie Xiaoshuai led the way in and started investigating.

  After nearly two hours of searching, the sandy fox team had almost observed everyone up and down, but still found nothing. These were all ordinary herdsmen, with no suspicious circumstances.

  "Tell Caihua Snake to ask the elder if anyone has noticed any suspicious people or anything unusual in the past two days." Xie Xiaoshuai still didn't give up.

  The cauliflower snake said two sentences to the elder, and then the elder went to gather everyone, starting to ask questions. Almost everyone shook their heads, but a stout middle-aged man came out and said something to the elder. The cauliflower snake translated for Xie Xiao Shuai on the side.

  "He said that he discovered a strange phenomenon the night before last, where he saw a group of nearly forty herders driving hundreds of cattle and sheep to settle by the Sa'er River. These people were all riding horses, without camels, and had long objects wrapped in cloth hanging from their saddles. None of these people were recognizable, and they didn't look like local herders at all. After setting up their tents, some of them entered an abandoned house, seemingly with electrical equipment. They also left the cattle and sheep unattended, letting them roam freely, and immediately started slaughtering two sheep to feast on. He thought that cattle and sheep were a herder's most valuable possessions, and it was unusual for them to slaughter them casually unless they had important guests at home."

  "It seems that this group of people is the target. Ask the herdsman, where exactly are they stationed." Xie Xiaoshuai let out a long sigh.

  "He said that sixty kilometers south of here, those people are at the source of the Sha River, where there is a large small lake." Caihua Snake inquired and replied to Xie Xiao Shuai.

  "Alright, proceed towards the target. Inform Wing to have the vehicle hide in a discreet location near the target. It's too conspicuous and will be discovered before we even arrive."

  A few people didn't take long to arrive at the target area, hiding and observing from a small hill one kilometer away. It was an open area, with tents set up in a very orderly manner that wouldn't block the view of the sentry, without any blind spots. Except for the small lake next to it where people could hide, the line of sight was good in all directions.

  At this time, the group of people were kneeling on the ground, facing a certain direction and praying, it seems that this is their goal.

  Soon, the prayer was over and everyone went back to their own business. The sentry returned to his post and looked around in all directions.

  According to the situation on site, Xie Xiaoshuai quickly determined the action plan in his mind.