Send him to be a mountain guardian?

"I didn't, it wasn't me, I was only..."

Sun Daqiang hastily tried to defend himself, but before he could finish, Zhou Haiming mercilessly interrupted him.

"You don't need to quibble; I will investigate the truth myself! From now on, you had better shut your mouth and stop causing trouble!"

Zhou Haiming glared at him and rebuked him sternly.

At that moment, the team members responsible for the investigation hurried back, reporting to Zhou Haiming with grave expressions.

The traces at the scene were extremely obvious; the series of clear footprints along the path where the brown bear had fled were enough to prove that the previous struggle had been fiercely intense.

Moreover, they had remarkably found five bullets lodged within the shattered skull of the brown bear!

One had to know that the ammunition used by the Mosin-Nagant rifle and the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle were completely different, which served as crucial, irrefutable evidence.

At this moment, the looks the team members cast toward Lin Yang were filled with profound respect and admiration.

They walked up to Zhou Haiming's ear and reported all the details in low, hushed tones.

Not only that, but the two dogs had also been shot right through their eye sockets.

Due to the extremely close range of the gunfire, the back parts of their skulls had been blown away by the immense impact, creating a shocking and gruesome scene.

The situation at the scene was now crystal clear, and Zhou Haiming believed Lin Yang's account implicitly.

However, to ensure that the entire case was handled without a single flaw, further corroborating evidence was needed.

Thus, the group set off in the direction of the village.

Along the way, Sun Daqiang kept shouting, trying to defend himself, but no one paid him any heed.

After all, the team members had witnessed the scene with their own eyes—five bullets accurately piercing the brown bear's eye sockets; such miraculous marksmanship was truly astonishing.

Through his exceptional marksmanship, Lin Yang had successfully won the respect of the team members.

Coupled with his special and admirable family background, it left an even deeper and more favorable impression in the hearts of the team members.

Sun Daqiang was securely restrained by the team members, while other team members dispersed to search for the few fellows who had fled.

After some searching, although they only managed to find two of them in the end, they were able to get a rough idea of what had happened at the scene from their accounts.

The team members couldn't help but feel a lingering trace of doubt in their hearts, feeling that the progression of events was perhaps a bit too coincidental.

Moreover, Lin Yang's demeanor at the time and the situation as he described it seemed to have some subtle discrepancies.

However, what could be ascertained was that someone had indeed attempted to rob the brown bear, and Sun Daqiang had indeed threatened to put Lin Yang to death.

Hearing this, Zhou Haiming fell into deep thought.

Afterward, he went to see the elderly village chief to learn about Lin Yang's family background in detail. Having formed his own conclusion, he was unwilling to dwell on minor trivialities any longer.

By this time, the elderly village chief had also received word of the forestry team's arrival, but since he did not know what had specifically happened, he had not immediately sought out Lin Yang's family.

Although the villagers had noticed the arrival of the dozen or so members of the forestry team, they only knew they were from the forestry department and remained completely unaware of the purpose of their visit.

As the person directly involved, Lin Yang had been quietly waiting outside the village all along.

He knew very well that as a key party to the incident, entering the village rashly before the matter was fully investigated would likely arouse unnecessary suspicion or even be misunderstood as colluding on testimonies.

Therefore, he chose to wait patiently to ensure the fairness and transparency of the entire investigation process.

The elderly village chief stood before Captain Zhou with a grave expression, the thick worry in his eyes resembling unyielding mist.

He stared intently at Captain Zhou, his brow knitted into a deep frown, and a flurry of urgent questions burst forth like a string of firecrackers.

"Captain Zhou, what on earth is going on here? Why are you suddenly investigating Lin Yang? Could that boy have gotten into some massive trouble and sneaked into the mountains to hunt, only to get caught by you people?"

His heart had leaped straight into his throat, terrified that the forestry team had brought news of some fatal misfortune befalling Lin Yang.

If that were the case, he truly wouldn't know how to face Lin Dahai and his wife with such a cruel reality, nor how to bear that heavy burden of guilt.

Seeing the elderly village chief's anxious demeanor and knowing his deep concern, Zhou Haiming quickly and thoroughly recounted the entire sequence of events from beginning to end.

From Lin Yang's encounter with the brown bear to Sun Daqiang and his cohorts attempting to seize the prey, the subsequent conflict between the two sides, and the ongoing investigation, he held nothing back.

Upon hearing the whole story, the elderly village chief couldn't help but draw a sharp breath.

A mixture of utter astonishment and deep emotion washed over his face as he muttered to himself, "The kid actually pulled it off?! I figured, when he asked me for bullets earlier, there was an unusual glint in his eyes—he definitely had something brewing in his mind!"

"I originally thought he was just hunting some hares and pheasants at the edge of the mountains to improve his family's meals. Who could have imagined he'd be bold enough to provoke a brown bear?"

"If his parents found out about this, they'd tan his hide the moment they got back! This boy... oh, sigh!"

As the elderly village chief spoke, he couldn't help letting out a heavy sigh.

In that sigh, there was both amazement at Lin Yang's brave act and a profound worry for his safety.

In the old chief's heart, Lin Yang's recent transformation was like a sudden storm, arriving with such fierce and catching everyone off guard.

On one hand, he was gratified to see Lin Yang seemingly turning over a new leaf and showing a sense of responsibility.

On the other hand, he knew all too well the extreme perils of hunting deep in the mountains, fearing that the boy would meet an untimely end on this path.

After all, out of ten hunters who ventured deep into those old mountain forests, nine faced life-or-death tests.

The trade of a hunter meant putting one's head on the line just to make a living.

To venture out alone and single-handed was undoubtedly placing one's life on the edge of a cliff; a single moment of carelessness would result in being smashed to pieces.

However, to Zhou Haiming, the elderly village chief's sigh carried a completely different meaning.

He had just carefully inquired about the detailed circumstances of Lin Yang's family and was well aware of the conflict between Lin Yang and the Sun family.

The entanglements here were intricate and complicated.

Yet he knew very well that Sun Daqiang must have bullied Lin Yang quite a bit in the past, long viewing him as a soft persimmon that could be easily squeezed.

This time, Lin Yang had risen up to resist, but Sun Daqiang remained completely oblivious, which ultimately led to the present situation.

"Elder Village Chief, we'll still have to trouble you to brief the villagers and let everyone understand that Lin Yang did nothing wrong in this matter."

"Furthermore, I've been pondering on finding a way to get Lin Yang an unofficial, auxiliary status."

"You know as well as I do that the current situation is vastly different from the past! If it were back in the day, I wouldn't have said a word—I'd have pulled him right into my team."

"But nowadays, with all sorts of red tape and restrictions, we can't do that. However, arranging for him to be a mountain patroller is still entirely possible!"

Zhou Haiming explained patiently, a trace of expectation in his eyes, hoping the village chief would understand his arrangement.

Upon hearing this, the elderly village chief's eyes widened instantly, disbelief written all over his face as he involuntarily blurted out, "What? Have him become a mountain guardian?"