Song Zhenguo was dozing on a rocking chair in the yard.

In the past, Beiliang Mountain was rarely visited by people; apart from those living nearby, there were basically no outsiders.

All the people living near Beiliang Mountain relied on hunting in the mountains and gathering mountain goods for a living.

But later, hunting was prohibited, saying it was illegal.

But without hunting, how could everyone survive?

At first, in those initial years, people in the mountains hunted secretly.

After all, no one knew.

However, the investigations became stricter, and many people were sentenced for poaching.

Song Zhenguo was among those scared into no longer daring to take action.

He handed over his hunting rifle to the police station and honestly tended to two small plots of land in the village.

Life was average.

However, Song Zhenguo had a good relative who sponsored him to open a store.

In past years, Song Zhenguo’s place became the only window for West Valley Village to interact with the outside world.

Gradually, Old Song’s life got better and better.

Old Song, holding a Tabby Cat in his arms, glanced toward his neighbor.

"What fingerprints? I don’t have that kind of time, if you want to go, go by yourself."

After saying that, Old Song closed his eyes and dozed off again with the cat in his arms.

There were quite a few people like Old Song in the mountains.

However, the police’s manpower is ultimately limited, and it is impossible to go door-to-door collecting everyone’s fingerprints.

So, initially, they could only adopt this centralized approach.

Afterward, the remaining unchecked individuals would be collected door-to-door.

Although the process of collecting fingerprints is not difficult, and each person doesn’t take long to collect,

there are just too many people.

The task of fingerprint collection is mainly overseen by the Beizhou City Criminal Investigation Team, with Captain Wang Bingkun being directly responsible.

Zhao Guofeng is the technical advisor.

"Captain Wang, at this rate, it will take at least a week to finish."

Although Zhao Guofeng is an experienced crime scene investigator with plenty of years on the job,

it doesn’t mean he has encountered many situations.

This was his first time encountering such a large-scale fingerprint collection effort.

He had heard from other colleagues about fingerprint and even DNA collection for the investigation of a murder case involving tens of thousands of people in one or two towns, frankly speaking, like listening to a joke.

But now it was his turn, and he truly felt the enormity of the task.

The collective collection had only covered less than 80% of the population.

The remaining 20% would have to be collected door-to-door.

Fortunately, the local police station and village committee were helping to sort it out.

Otherwise, it would be unclear how many people there are and how many needed collecting.

After trekking for over half a day, Lu Chuan and others had entered the southern interior of Beiliang Mountain.

The scenery here was different from the outside.

Some valleys seemed like autumn outside, but some valleys were like spring.

Lu Chuan had never been to the Hengduan Mountain Range, so he didn’t know if the ecological conditions here were similar to over there.

But what he saw amazed him.

Because when he came to Beiliang Mountain, it was in the summer, and the scenery of each valley was about the same.

The temperature difference was not big, and the scenery was largely the same.

Unexpectedly, in winter, the temperature difference here could be so huge, with different weather in each valley.

"Old Chen, it’s so beautiful here in winter, normally there should be more tourists, but somehow it feels like there aren’t that many adventure teams from outside?"

Lu Chuan peeled off a white trumpet flower and sucked the dew inside.

Sweet and refreshing.

Chen Guoshi taught him that.

There’s no shortage of water in the mountains, and the water inside these palm-sized white trumpet flowers is excellent.

In the past, hunters in the mountains would use these for water.

No matter the season, these flowers bloom year-round.

"Though the scenery here in winter is beautiful, it’s also more dangerous."

Old Chen led the way in front, holding a machete.

Though one could vaguely tell it was an old path, having not been used for a long time, it was still blocked by vines, which had to be cleared with a machete to proceed.

"Don’t let the daytime beauty fool you; the temperature difference here at night is significant."

"In the wild, facing predators like wolves, tigers, or leopards is less frightening than encountering low temperatures."

"The cold in the mountains is different from outside; no matter how thick you are dressed or how well you insulate, the cold will penetrate. If you can’t make a fire, you’re in trouble."

"Hence, guides rarely bring tourism groups into the mountains during winter. Even if they do, it’s just to wander around one or two valleys without going deeper."

"Let’s speed up; the temperature in this valley drops at night, unsuitable for camping, so we should cross this mountain and go to another valley."

Chen Guoshi was very familiar with the mountain’s conditions.

As he put it, in the early hunting days, they knew exactly what was on each mountain peak.

These experiences were passed down from older generations.

Knowing which mountain peak is suitable for camping, and where exactly on the mountain can be camped, all has its rationale.

Moreover, every guide actually has different camping spots within the mountains, choosing specific locations by themselves.

Some even leave some supplies near their chosen camping spots.

They aren’t expensive items, maybe a piece of compressed biscuit, a bottle of water, or a lighter.

But don’t underestimate these things.

At critical times, these can be life-saving.

No one objected to Old Chen’s arrangements.

The people from the Beiliang Mountain police station were already aware of the mountain’s complex and changeable conditions, especially the rapidly changing climate.

Once inside, caution is vital.

Lu Chuan and Li Donglin were not reckless adventurers either.

While solving the case was crucial, personal safety came first.

Time in the mountains seemed to pass faster than outside.

Just a moment ago, they could see the sun shining brightly from the mountaintop, but right after coming down, the sun was no longer visible; though not pitch dark, the valley seemed to have entered night.

"This is just how it is in the mountains; although the sun hasn’t set outside, the surrounding mountains already block the sunlight, so we’ll camp here today."

The camping site Old Chen chose had clearly been inhabited before.

But it looked like it had been a long time.

"The last time I came in was half a year ago; I’ll go make a fire in a bit."

The camp area was surrounded by dense plants, but the site itself was clean and tidy.

Li Hao, the head of the Beiliang Mountain police station, directed his young colleagues to set up tents.

"The ground around the camp is loose soil, burned vegetation doesn’t grow."

The humidity varies at different altitudes within the valley; generally, the humidity is lower at the mountaintop and peaks in the valley.

But staying on the mountaintop was not an option. Whether or not there was space, the chilly wind at night would be unbearable.