Chapter 433 - Chapter 433: Chapter 433: Hotspot Events (1/2)

Chapter 433: Chapter 433: Hotspot Events

Upon hearing there was an escaped convict, the able-bodied men of Chongyun Village were immediately excited. Word spread like wildfire, from family to friends, nobody slept and all were in high spirits!

Soon a large group of people, armed with hoes, wooden sticks, rakes, and even kitchen knives, gathered at Liu Caifu’s house. To an outsider, it might have seemed like they were preparing for a riot.

Liu Caifu was somewhat overwhelmed by the sight of these young men, full of energy, screaming at the top of their lungs, and undeterred by the heavy rain, despite many of them lacking raincoats or umbrellas.

His original plan was to enlist a few young men from his family to help with the search. But that plan changed when a thunderclap woke everyone in the village.

Through their chat on the WeChat group, they quickly learned about the escaped convict from the news, and that Deputy Director Liu was trying to gather manpower to apprehend him. The overall spirit was one of “when the village is in trouble, every man has a duty.”

Liu Caifu felt as though these lads were about to join a feast, not capture a fugitive.

Strangely, at least half of them were busy recording videos on their phones, providing enthusiastic commentary, as if they were planning to post it on TikTok or WeChat Moments.

Despite the chaos, the loud thunder and widespread knowledge of the fugitive through smartphones did simplify the search in the village.

By the time the police arrived, Liu Caifu had already led a search throughout the village, almost certain that the fugitives had left. Of course, with all the commotion they had made, it was likely that the fugitives had already fled.

The police officers obtained information from Liu Caifu and the Liu Brothers, thoroughly inspected their home, and found clothing discarded on the hillside. From this, they concluded that the intruders who broke into the house and stole the clothes were indeed the escaped convicts.

Further examination of some footprints on a nearby mountain road, which had not been completely destroyed by the rainwater, led the police to believe that both fugitives had fled into the mountains during the night.

Due to heavy rain and darkness, for safety reasons, the pursuers decided to wait until the rain stopped before venturing into the mountains, while also taking the time to familiarize themselves with the terrain by communicating with villagers and studying satellite maps.

Upon hearing that the police required locals as guides, a swarm of young villagers volunteered. Having been unable to capture the fugitives in the village, they were eager for another opportunity.

However, many of the young men, who mostly worked outside the village, had limited knowledge of the mountains. They were unable to answer the police’s questions and seemed more interested in capturing the excitement on video than anything else.

Although there were a few villagers in their forties and fifties who were familiar with the mountains, the police officers preferred to take younger men for their physical stamina and the challenging conditions in the mountains.

In the end, the Liu Brothers Liu Zhengyi and Liu Gaoshang, who had often wandered in the mountains when they skipped school, were chosen, as they were very familiar with the mountains surrounding their village.

At about 4 a.m., as the downpour gradually subsided, the police officers, despite the muddy ground and slippery mountain paths, ventured into the mountains without waiting for daylight.

They arrived at the site of the previous night’s lightning storm just after sunrise and unexpectedly found two heavily charred bodies, whose identities were beyond recognition.

However, from the other items at the site, some burned and some resilient to the fire, the pursuers tentatively confirmed that the unfortunate souls struck by lightning were indeed the two escaped convicts.

Upon this confirmation, all the pursuers except for the Liu Brothers turned to look at one of their members.

The man was stunned. He certainly didn’t expect the joke he had casually made in the car to actually come true!

Subconsciously, he looked up at the clear blue sky.

…

The news of the two fugitives being killed by lightning spread quickly once the Liu Brothers returned to the village.

Given the public concern about the case, the police released an announcement through the media after the bodies were returned for further identification.

The news that two escaped convicts were struck dead by lightning was astonishing not only to the villagers of Chongyun Village and residents of nearby towns close to Wushu Mountain Prison, but also to netizens across the country.

Many people thought it was fake news or clickbait when they first saw the headline in their WeChat groups or Moments.

However, driven by curiosity, they clicked on the link only to find that it was indeed real news, confirmed by a police announcement. The escaped convicts were indeed killed by lightning strike!

By that evening, the related topic “fugitives struck by lightning” was trending on all social media platforms.