I raise furry animals and fly them to my motherland.

Chapter 245 Why did they mistake one person for another?

Chen Su chuckled upon hearing this: "Don't worry, I trust you and your little animal detective."

Ji Xuehui's gaze darted back and forth between the two, and she suddenly remembered the trending topic of the live-streaming event to help farmers a few days ago.

She interjected with a smile, "Yingying, Captain Chen is also an outside helper I invited. Aren't you guys recording a show?"

"As the official security officer, Captain Chen coordinated police resources to ensure the smooth filming of the program."

Xu Ying understood that safety must be taken into account when filming variety shows outdoors. Xuelang Video is relatively conscientious, hiring professional security personnel and even official police stations to protect the guests for each episode. Some variety shows, on the other hand, completely disregard the safety of their guests, only caring about viewership.

Chen Su's gaze swept over Xu Ying's nose, which was red from the cold, like a plum blossom in the snow.

He turned around without making a sound, took a rubber water bag filled with hot water from next to the heater, and carefully wrapped it in a towel.

"Give."

Chen Su handed over the hot water bottle, but pulled it back just as Xu Ying reached out to take it.

"Wait a minute." He took another dry towel from his coat pocket, placed it outside the water bag, and handed it back to her. "Be careful not to get burned."

The moment Xu Ying took it, their fingertips briefly touched the edge of the towel.

As if struck by lightning, Chen Su immediately withdrew his hand, turned around, picked up paper and pen, and continued writing his notes.
Xu Ying pressed the water bag against her frozen cheeks, and in the steaming heat, no one saw her ear tips suddenly turn red.

"Sit here. Captain Chen has only been here a short while. Let me give you an overview of the situation."

Ji Xuehui pointed to the spot closest to the heater, "The forensic doctor just sent over the preliminary report."

Xu Ying held the hot water bottle, and her frozen hands quickly warmed up. The heat made her earmuffs damp very quickly.

Several supply boxes were piled up in the corner of the tent, with the words "High Mountain Emergency Rescue" printed on them.

The tent fabric flapped loudly in the gale, but the internal thermometer showed five degrees Celsius—a luxurious warmth in a blizzard at an altitude of three thousand meters.

"All three deceased were members of the 'Summit' Mountaineering Association."

Ji Xuehui pulled up the information on the tablet, "The body in the middle is named Lin Yue, 42 years old, vice president of the mountaineering association. He started his business from scratch, experienced ups and downs, and has now finally settled down. He is the owner of a chain restaurant."

Ji Xuehui swiped the screen: "The one on the left wearing a blue windbreaker is Cheng Zeyan, 28 years old, a rich second-generation whose family is in the medical device business, and an outdoor blogger with hundreds of thousands of followers on social media."

The young man in the photo is making a V-sign at the camera, with the snow-covered slopes of Mont Blanc behind him.

"The one on the right..."

Ji Xuehui zoomed in on the third photo: "Zhou Mo, 29 years old, an architectural designer who returned from studying abroad, whose father is the former president of the provincial mountaineering association."

The man in this ID photo is wearing gold-rimmed glasses and looks more like a scholar than a mountaineer.

Xu Ying noticed the commonalities between the two—excellent equipment, well-maintained skin, and the relaxed demeanor characteristic of those from wealthy families, as seen in the photos.

Lin Yue's face, on the other hand, resembled that of a self-made millionaire, and his eyes held a complexity that the two young men lacked—a sense of maturity born of years.

After listening, Chen Su frowned slightly: "This Lin Yue is more than ten years older than the other two."

"We're also in the physical industry, and we're first-generation entrepreneurs. We don't seem to have much in common with these two."

Were these three people a mountaineering team on the day of the incident?

"Based on the information we have now, it should have been a four-person team that day."

Ji Xuehui pulled up a registration form from a mountaineering association, "There's also a mountaineering guide who graduated from a private school, named Luo Zhiqiang, 31 years old."

She pointed to the last name on the form, "The association people said he was stronger than these three, and used to be on the provincial climbing team."

"This mountain guide is currently missing. The search and rescue team is looking for him, but the chances of survival are slim." Ji Xuehui's eyes flickered uncertainly: "We speculate that he may have also met with misfortune, but his body has not yet been found."

Chen Su asked in a deep voice, "Have these four people climbed mountains together before?"

"The association said no."

Lin Yue and his three companions have been members of the association for five years, only occasionally meeting at association gatherings and participating in three or four group activities.

Chen Su pondered for a moment: "Check again to see if they had joined any other mountaineering associations before joining the Peak Mountaineering Association."

Ji Xuehui immediately replied, "Okay."

Just then, the tent flap was suddenly lifted, and a police officer covered in snow poked his head in: "Captain Ji, the drone detected a suspicious signal near the eastern cliff! It could be the missing person's cell phone location!"

Ji Xuehui immediately stood up, the rustling of her winter clothes clearly audible inside the tent: "Notify the search and rescue team, I'm on my way."

Before he could finish speaking, a gust of wind nearly blew the entire tent off its roof, and the heater flames shook violently.

"No."

The officer shook his head. "The wind speed is now over level 10; even helicopters can't leave the hangar."

At this moment, the wind and snow were howling around them, and the tent was as fragile as a small floating boat in the wind and snow.

Chen Su: "Let's get out of the tent right now, it might be dangerous!"

Ji Xuehui: "The wind is too strong outside, and we may be in danger in the snow!"

Xu Ying: "With such strong winds, I wonder if an avalanche will occur..."

Xu Ying had also been involved in mountain rescues in her previous life and understood that the current situation was extremely dangerous, leaving her in a dilemma.

The officer who came in also looked hesitant as he listened to the three people's discussion.

As the group hesitated, the tent miraculously stabilized in the gale. The wind outside was still howling, but this sudden stability left the four of them looking at each other in bewilderment.

Xu Ying was the first to notice the anomaly—several huge black silhouettes were projected onto the canvas at the four corners of the tent.

The shadows rose and fell gently with each breath, bracing the swaying tent with their bodies. She carefully discerned the silhouettes cast on the canvas: pointed, erect ears, rounded earlobes.
"They are snow wolves and snow leopards!"

Xu Ying exclaimed, her voice trembling slightly with surprise and emotion, "They're helping us secure the tent!"

Just then, the tent flap was pushed open a crack.

A silver-gray snow wolf cub nimbly slipped in, shaking off the glistening snowflakes from its body.

It was only the size of a small dog, but it already had the air of a king of the snow – its silvery-white fur was distinct, there was a striking dark gray “lightning” pattern on its forehead, and its amber eyes were bright and piercing.

The wolf cub tilted its head, sizing up Ji Xuehui and Xu Ying, its pointed ears twitching alertly.

Finally, it walked up to Chen Su with its immature yet steady steps:

[Station Chief Xu, my dad said he'd take you to our cave to escape the snowstorm~]

The contrast between its childish, innocent voice and its deliberately serious expression is so striking that it's impossible not to laugh.

But what shocked Xu Ying even more was—

"Wait. What did it call you?"

Xu Ying stared wide-eyed at Chen Su, "Why do I call you 'Station Chief Xu'?"