Chapter 696 - 331: Military–Civilian Cooperation to Pursue Poachers!

Chapter 696: Chapter 331: Military–Civilian Cooperation to Pursue Poachers!

"Now, prove your worth. You say you can track, then come up with your plan."

"Tell me, how do you intend to pursue? Where will you pursue? What is your basis? If your plan can convince me, I’ll take you along."

"If not," his voice turned icy, "then stay put here honestly, waiting for backup."

Lin Yu’an knew this was a rigorous interview to decide if he could enter the team.

He was not intimidated by the other’s aura, took a deep breath, and presented the tracking plan he had thought of within the past hour.

"Captain, it’s simple, the answer lies in load and efficiency."

He pointed to the footprints on the ground, "These people are professionals, they chose the crime scene at the saddle of this ridge. It’s a location with many paths, a natural point of confusion."

"They have three directions to choose from: return the same way, continue over the mountain, or head down to the creek."

"But they aren’t empty-handed now, they’ve taken all the valuable parts of the bear, possibly other illegal game, adding at least dozens of kilograms to the total load."

"With such weight, returning the same way is too slow, continuing over the steeper ridge ahead is suicidal."

"So, there’s only one route left," he pointed to a definite direction.

"They will choose the most effortless, most concealed way to retreat—along the contour of the mountain, cutting across to the creek I passed by, then downstream!"

"Although that route forms an arc, it has no major ascents and descents, best suited for a weighted march."

At this point, Lin Yu’an squatted down again, pointing to the clear shoe prints in the mud, his gaze becoming sharper.

"Moreover, I dare assert their load is far more than just this bear!"

"How so?" Yang Zhen immediately asked.

"Look at this footprint," Lin Yu’an used a twig to point to the edge of the deepest footprint, "Look at the front of the footprint, the impression is very deep, while the heel’s mark is relatively shallow. This indicates the person’s center of gravity is severely forward leaning."

"This isn’t a normal walking or running posture, but an involuntary adjustment to maintain balance when carrying a heavy load!"

"Distributing a bear’s parts among a few people wouldn’t cause all of them to show this degree of center of gravity shift."

"So I deduce, before hunting this bear, their backpacks were already filled with other illegal game! This bear is just part of their poaching spree."

"What does this mean?" A flash of excitement gleamed in Yang Zhen’s eyes.

"It means their advancing speed is much slower than our most pessimistic estimate!" Lin Yu’an’s lips curved into a hunter-like smile, "They are just like a bunch of turtles lugging gold bricks now, giving us the perfect opportunity!"

"My tracking plan is to not take their safe route." Lin Yu’an’s gaze shimmered with a near-crazy confidence and adventurous spirit.

"We’ll trace a direct line!" He slashed a straight line in the air from their current position to the predicted creek direction!

"We’ll cut straight down from here! This road may face steep slopes, even cliffs, with twice the physical toll compared to them."

"This is the route they’d never choose! But we aren’t heavily loaded; we’re racing against time!"

"My plan is to utilize our superior mobility and stamina, paying a huge price to traverse the shortest yet most perilous path."

"We must intercept them before they reach the creek via detour! Even if we fail to intercept, downstream, we can readily find traces of their rest."

"Even if we fail to catch up before dark today, that’s okay. Night is our main field!" He looked at Yang Zhen, "Captain, I bet you’ve brought a thermal imaging reconnaissance drone on your helicopter, right?"

Yang Zhen nodded slowly.

"That’s great!" Lin Yu’an’s plan formed a perfect loop, "After dark, for warmth, they will surely light a fire. In the dark, cold mountain forest, a campfire will be as dazzling as the sun in the drone’s thermal view!"

"We won’t even need to laboriously track their footprints. By day, using the most primitive tracking techniques to continually compress the distance to them. By night, utilizing modern technology to precisely aerially locate them! No matter where they run, they’ll be trapped without wings!"

A hunting plan combining primitive tracking intelligence with modern technology was vividly laid out by Lin Yu’an.

It instantly sparked everyone’s thoughts and entirely dispelled the last bit of doubt in Yang Zhen’s mind.

Yang Zhen gave Lin Yu’an a deep look, his eyes full of approval.

He didn’t immediately reply, but turned to a warrior in the team carrying a tactical backpack and growled: "Xiaoli! Set up the data link! I want direct communication with command!"

"Yes!"

The communication soldier named Xiaoli immediately unloaded his pack, pulled out a collapsible directional antenna from the side, and quickly unfolded it.

He glanced at his wrist-mounted multi-functional tactical watch, confirmed the satellite position, and precisely pointed the antenna towards a direction in the sky.

He opened the equipment and his fingers swiftly operated on the keyboard.

Lin Yu’an noticed that in the dense crown-covered canyon area they were in, ordinary satellite phones likely would not find a signal.