Chapter 261: A Struggle Without Bottom Lines

Deafening explosions echoed through the canyon crevice as the fire-spewing helicopter, after the second blast, completely lost balance and crashed head-on into the cliff edge, instantly disintegrating.

The small reconnaissance aircraft turned into a huge fireball, rolling down along the cliff face, debris flying everywhere, falling with crackling sounds into the canyon river and crevice bottom below.

Su Tianyu held the belt with both hands, his whole body emanating a singed pig hair smell, taking a full several seconds before shaking his head and pushing against the cliff to climb back to the peak.

"Huff huff!"

Su Tianyu breathed heavily twice before walking unsteadily to run behind the big rock, picking up his automatic rifle and turning to run.

The helicopter had just fired guidance flares - people must have come up the mountain by now, so Su Tianyu didn't dare linger, because he didn't know how many people there were - once trapped on the small area of the peak, that would definitely mean death.

While running, Su Tianyu finally felt unbearable burning pain coming from his arms and right calf.

Looking down, his exposed arms showed obvious redness and swelling, while the pants on his right calf had been burned away, the reddened skin seeping visible blood.

Su Tianyu touched the skin on his right arm with his left hand - without much force, the flesh easily split open, pushing out a small hole.

At this critical moment, Su Tianyu had no way to treat his burned skin - he could only grit his teeth and run downhill, taking out the "macho" phone he had stolen to try calling home to notify Second Uncle. But unexpectedly the signal here was extremely poor - ordinary communication devices couldn't contact the outside world at all.

......

On the winding road toward Dragon City, Secretary-General Lu shouted into his phone: "Notify those private armed forces on the mountain, tell them if they can't find the person then shout! Yes, directly call for Su Tianyu, tell him to hand over Li Mingsheng, otherwise someone will deal with his family in Dragon City."

"Good, I understand."

"That's it!"

Ending the call, Secretary-General Lu looked at the middle-aged man in the passenger seat with gloomy expression saying: "Since we've made our move, we definitely can't let him return, otherwise... big trouble."

"I'm just worried he's already notified people in the city," the middle-aged man said somewhat anxiously. "Old Li has people behind him too."

"They shouldn't have had the chance - when we ran, all phones were taken by the Chi Army people," Secretary-General Lu replied.

"Let's hope so...!" The middle-aged man nodded with furrowed brows.

......

Going downhill, Su Tianyu kept taking detours in an arc to avoid encountering their search personnel. Along the way, whenever he heard any movement, he would choose to hide in place rather than run straight down.

Though the peak's area wasn't large, the terrain became more complex further downhill - surrounded by dense forest and nearly meter-high weeds, vines, and rocks - if someone just found a spot to hide, without thermal imaging equipment, to catch one person here would require deploying at least two to three hundred people for a full dragnet search.

After Su Tianyu had inched downward like this for about twenty minutes, he suddenly heard someone shouting from the forest on the left.

"Su Tianyu right? I fucking know you haven't run out!" A man shouted in a deep voice: "Told you clearly! If you don't hand over Old Li, then your relatives in Dragon City will be in danger."

Su Tianyu stopped, gritting his teeth, looking with bloodshot eyes toward where the shouting came from.

"Su Tianyu, if you're not an idiot, you should realize that someone like Old Li can't even protect his own life now - what's the point of a mud-leg peasant like you getting involved?" The other continued shouting while searching: "Don't you just want to make connections? My boss said, whatever resources Li Mingsheng can give you, he can give the same - what Li Mingsheng can't give, he can also give!"

Su Tianyu's hands gripping the steel gun trembled slightly - he suppressed the hatred in his heart, slowly leaving his hiding spot to continue running down.

"If you don't believe what I say, you can call your family! Ask them if they still have freedom?!" The burly man continued searching in lines, shouting in a resonant voice: "So many have already died in the Supervision Assembly hostage incident - you don't think no one dares touch your relatives, right?"

Listening to their shouts, Su Tianyu's hatred for Secretary-General Lu rose more than one level. He knew these old thunder gods' shouts must have been instructed by the former - this person was an iron political slave who could really do anything for that bit of power.

However, Su Tianyu's will didn't waver at this moment, because the other's words couldn't be trusted at all.

They were trying to assassinate the mayor - if Su Tianyu chose to turn coat now and hand over Li Mingsheng, he would definitely be dead afterward too. Even if Secretary-General Lu had a brain spasm and wouldn't move against him, the people behind Old Lu wouldn't let someone like Su Tianyu, whose background was unknown, possess such an important secret.

Turning coat would absolutely be stupid behavior, equivalent to handing his life to the enemy, so currently all Su Tianyu could do was quickly get down the mountain, urge Jin Maohui again, and notify his Second Uncle.

The shouting on the mountain continued to drift.

Near the peak, a young man asked the leading old thunder god softly: "He hasn't already run down, has he?"

"Damn it, possible!" The old thunder god replied looking at the peak situation with furrowed brows: "We don't have many people - he might have dealt with the helicopter then taken a detour to run. But he definitely heard our shouts."

"Should we keep searching here?"

"No, go down, back to the pasture," the leading old thunder god replied frowning: "He ran up the mountain alone - I suspect Li Mingsheng is still below."

"Good!"

After their exchange, they immediately led their forces back downhill again.

......

At a lower position on the mountainside, Su Tianyu took out the phone, glancing at the screen to finally see two signal bars lit up.

"Gulp!"

Su Tianyu swallowed and immediately dialed his Second Uncle's number.

......

In Dragon City, at the Su family home in Zha'nan District.

Su Zhengcai stood in the living room, looking at the five men before him, asking expressionlessly: "What crime did I commit, why arrest me?"

"Why so much nonsense?!" The leading man held up credentials, pointing at him demanding: "Recognize this credential? If you recognize it then hurry up and come with me!"

Su Zhengcai looked at him: "You show some Military Intelligence Department credential - how would we common people recognize it?! I can go with you, but I need to call the Police Bureau."

"Fine, make your call," the burly man replied frowning: "After you finish, I'll speak. Moreover, I'm not just arresting you now - your eldest second son and second son must come with me too!"

Hearing this, Su Zhengcai also felt uncertain - he knew the other's identity must be genuine.