Animal Detective

Chapter 119: Searching the Mountain

"Good boy!"

Shen Xin reached out and patted Knight’s head.

His sitting posture was impeccable; it was easy to see how well-trained he was.

To become a qualified police dog, they had to be the cream of the crop, one in a hundred. It really wasn’t easy.

Seeing the affinity icon appear above Knight’s head, Shen Xin subconsciously pulled a piece of jerky from his pocket, wanting to feed him.

He usually carried some for training Black Panther and the others.

It was proper beef jerky. Sometimes, when he got hungry writing case files, he’d even have a piece himself. It tasted great.

But after pulling it out, Shen Xin remembered this was a police dog—it couldn’t just eat anything.

"It’s okay. When you finish your mission, I’ll have Chen Guo give you an extra treat," Shen Xin said with a smile. Then, he tore open the package and, under Tiger Stripes’s longing gaze, stuffed the jerky into Dou Dou’s mouth.

Tiger Stripes let out a dissatisfied BARK and nipped at Shen Xin’s pant leg.

"Get lost!"

Shen Xin irritably kicked him away.

Chen Guo was dumbfounded.

’You can just kick a police dog?’

At their K-9 base, the police dogs were treated like precious treasures; they couldn’t bear to hit or scold them.

Just then, he was surprised to see Knight turn its head and look at him.

His gaze seemed to be asking if he could have one too.

Chen Guo was completely baffled. Not eating food from just anyone was a fundamental rule for police dogs, and Knight was usually excellent at following it. Other than the food he prepared himself, the dog would only accept treats from the captain and a few other select people.

So why was it trusting Shen Xin so much on their very first meeting?

"By the way, are you hungry? Who knows how late we’ll be. Want something to tide you over?" Shen Xin took out a few more pieces of jerky and gave one to Ding Yuwei.

"Alright."

Since Shen Xin was offering, Chen Guo was too embarrassed to refuse.

But as soon as he tore open the package, he saw Knight staring at him eagerly, as if to say, ’What about me?’ He couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

’I’ve never seen you so greedy before,’ he thought.

He stuffed it directly into Knight’s mouth. The dog devoured it in a couple of bites and wagged its tail at Shen Xin.

The affinity meter above its head instantly jumped up a level.

Only Tiger Stripes got nothing. He was getting anxious and pawed at Shen Xin’s pant leg.

Chen Guo said softly, "Maybe give him one?"

"No need," Shen Xin said, shaking his head. "He can have one after he’s done his job, depending on his performance."

Tiger Stripes was the type of lazy mule who makes a lot of fuss but does little work. If you fed him his fill now and didn’t keep an eye on him, he’d immediately find a spot to curl up, nap, and digest.

Most importantly, you couldn’t be nice to him. He had to learn that you only eat if you work.

Chen Guo shot him a sideways glance.

’If I dared to do that at the K-9 base, the captain would fire me for sure,’ he thought.

But this dog really was a handful.

As for the other one, Chen Guo looked at Dou Dou and nodded to himself.

She was much better behaved than Tiger Stripes. Ever since they’d met, she had been sitting obediently by Shen Xin’s side.

"By the way, how long have you been training them? They’re quite well-behaved," he said, pointing at Dou Dou.

Shen Xin had already noticed that Chen Guo’s expression was a little unnatural.

It was understandable.

If he were in Chen Guo’s shoes—spending over a year painstakingly training a police dog from pup selection through rounds of elimination—it would be no different from raising a child.

And then there was him, who seemed to be using cheats, taking two strays he’d picked up on a mission after just over half a month.

It would be a miracle if the guy didn’t feel a little unbalanced.

"A long time. It’s really difficult," Shen Xin said vaguely.

Chen Guo nodded in solidarity. Indeed, he knew all too well how hard it was to train a police dog.

For instance, there were times when you’d try to teach a dog a command, and no matter how you taught it, it just wouldn’t understand or learn. It was so frustrating you’d wish you could get down on all fours and demonstrate it yourself.

Just as he was speaking, Chen Chao walked over.

He was here to ask Shen Xin for some beef jerky.

He said while chewing, "By the way, Shen Xin, are these two dogs of yours any good? You’ve had them for less than a month. Maybe you should train them a bit more first."

He reached out to play with Tiger Stripes.

Compared to the well-behaved Dou Dou, he preferred the sly and clever Tiger Stripes.

"Less than... a month?"

Chen Guo was completely stunned. His first thought was, ’Isn’t this just messing around?’

’Picking up two strays, training them for less than a month, and now bringing them out on a mission?’

’This is too reckless.’

Shen Xin shot Chen Chao a look. ’This guy and his big mouth.’

Seeing Chen Guo look his way, Shen Xin sighed and said, "That’s why. They aren’t fully trained yet. See? He doesn’t listen at all."

Shen Xin pushed Tiger Stripes’s paw away.

’Getting smart, are we? Pawing at my pocket now.’

"But the higher-ups gave the order. Nothing I can do," Shen Xin said, putting on a helpless expression.

Shen Xin was talking about Sun Zhao.

Chen Guo seemed to understand. He grunted in acknowledgment and said, "I get it."

’Ah, the bosses.’

He figured a leader at the sub-bureau had made a decision on a whim, and the task had fallen into Shen Xin’s lap. What could Shen Xin do? He was a public security officer who was suddenly told to train police dogs; he had no choice but to bite the bullet and do it.

Just then, Sun Zhao beckoned them over.

Apparently, they had finished their discussion.

They were going to search.

Wang Yuansheng was armed with a knife. If he managed to slip down the mountain and grab an innocent bystander, no one could bear the consequences.

Two scent sources were prepared.

The first was an article of Wang Yuansheng’s personal clothing.

Underwear was best. Men don’t change their underwear frequently enough, so the scent is strong.

The second was blood collected from the scene—the blood of Wang Yuansheng’s wife. Blood had sprayed everywhere, so Wang Yuansheng was surely covered in it.

"Sniff."

Chen Guo held Knight and had him identify the scent source. Knight barked once, confirming he had the scent.

Next was the blood. He quickly barked again, then took off straight up the mountain from where Wang Yuansheng had abandoned his car.

Chen Guo followed behind.

Shen Xin also had Dou Dou and Tiger Stripes smell the scent sources.

"Dou Dou, track."

Shen Xin gave the command, holding Dou Dou’s leash himself while handing Tiger Stripes’s to Ding Yuwei.

Dou Dou immediately shot forward, following the same route as Knight.

"Everyone be careful!"

Sun Zhao’s shout came from up ahead.

The sky was gradually darkening. The path Wang Yuansheng had taken up the mountain was a remote trail and not easy to walk.

He had just finished shouting when Ding Yuwei let out a cry from behind him.

Her foot had slipped, and she nearly fell, only managing to steady herself with quick reflexes.

"Tiger Stripes, are you looking for a beating?!"

Shen Xin shot Tiger Stripes a vicious glare.

The mutt had suddenly bolted, causing Ding Yuwei to lose her footing.

Tiger Stripes immediately turned his head away, not daring to look at Shen Xin.

Shen Xin really would punish him.

He’d even get Black Panther to help beat him up.

With the K-9s tracking, as long as they didn’t lose the scent, there was no need to spread out. They just had to follow the dogs.

It was clear that Wang Yuansheng had headed straight up the mountain.

The path was barely passable, crowded with small trees and undergrowth. In movies, you might see scenes where people track someone by broken branches, but in reality, everyone was too busy panting from the climb to worry about that.

Up ahead, they stopped.

Shen Xin’s group caught up to find Knight sniffing at a spot.

The dirt on the ground showed some impressions, as if Wang Yuansheng had stopped here for a brief rest.

Knight paused, but Dou Dou didn’t. She immediately continued tracking off to the right.

Chen Guo froze for a second. He realized that Knight had also confirmed the direction and was now chasing to the right.

This meant that the instant Dou Dou arrived, she had already confirmed the new trail.

’That sense of smell is incredible!’

With no time for further thought, Knight followed as well.

Tiger Stripes trailed at the very back, sniffing left and right as if he were just out for a stroll.

Ding Yuwei was so annoyed she couldn’t help but smack him on the head.

Now it was Dou Dou’s turn to lead.

She barely paused to identify the scent, simply pushing forward relentlessly.

She was so determined that if Knight hadn’t been following, Chen Guo would have suspected she’d made a mistake.

"He’s heading downhill now!"

Sun Zhao started holding his lower back, speaking through gritted teeth.

Judging by the K-9s’ tracking path, Wang Yuansheng had started heading back down the mountain.

This was not a good sign.