Animal Detective

Chapter 537: Chapter 441: Er Long Plays with the Pearl

It was late at night.

The lights in the Simao City Bureau’s Anti-Drug Squad operations room were still blazing.

In reality, it was just a conference room.

But Wang Feng had deliberately hung a sign that read "Operations Room" to remind every team member that this was a life-or-death war against drug traffickers.

"Alright, stop playing with the bird."

Wang Feng cleared his throat and called out.

Especially Qu Guofeng. He was a deputy captain, for crying out loud, yet he was leading the fun.

"No, that’s not right," Wang Feng immediately corrected himself, pointing at Er Long in the cage. "His name is Er Long. The ’Er Long’ from the saying ’Two Dragons Playing with a Pearl.’ All of you, remember that. Don’t get it wrong—he can understand people."

Er Long, in his cage, really did seem to understand.

He opened his beak. "I understand."

Qu Guofeng was in disbelief. He quickly asked Shen Xin, who was beside him, just how many words Er Long could actually speak.

Shen Xin said, "Quite a lot, anyway."

Just then, a team member spoke up. "Captain Wang, his name is Er Long, from ’Two Dragons Playing with a Pearl.’ How fitting! Our target this time is also surnamed Zhu. Why don’t we just call this Operation Two Dragons Playing with a Pearl?"

The moment he finished speaking, a man strode into the conference room.

"What’s this about ’Two Dragons Playing with a Pearl’?"

The newcomer wasn’t tall, with graying hair, dark skin, and a slightly stout build.

There was a RUSTLE of movement as everyone in the room stood up, calling out, "Director Chen."

"Everyone, sit!"

He waved his hand, his gaze immediately drawn to Er Long in the cage.

He walked over quickly, bent down to take a look, then cheerfully shook hands with Shen Xin in greeting.

His name was Chen Ruidong, the director of the Simao City Public Security Bureau.

"Xiaoshen, this police bird you’ve trained... can it really track people?" Chen Ruidong was intensely curious.

He had come over for two reasons. First, this was a drug case.

Here in Simao, drug cases were the biggest cases. For every major operation, he would personally oversee things to prevent any issues.

Second, he’d heard Wang Feng’s report that they were preparing to use a raven to track the target.

That was certainly a rarity.

He knew Shen Xin had come to Dehong on a mission.

But he wasn’t clear on the specifics.

He was the director, true, but Simao was a county-level city. To put it bluntly, it was on the same level as Tingyang.

Shen Xin’s mission, on the other hand, was supervised by the Ministry and managed by the provincial department. The city-level authorities weren’t necessarily aware of the full situation.

If Wang Feng hadn’t reported to him, sworn that they had already run tests, he truly wouldn’t have believed such a thing was possible.

Shen Xin briefly explained the situation.

Ravens were very intelligent, had incredible vision, and so on.

They had already tested it all before.

When Wang Feng had Er Long lead him back to Pan Chenghai’s home, his eyes had nearly popped out of his head. He said he had been looking all over during the trip but hadn’t spotted a trace of Er Long.

"Good. I’ll have to take a good look this time and broaden my horizons." Chen Ruidong gave Shen Xin a thumbs-up and turned to sit down.

He’d used police dogs before, but a police bird... this was truly a first.

Only then did they get to the main topic.

After confirming that Er Long could track according to his instructions, Wang Feng immediately decided to use him to assist with this operation.

He told everyone to sit down, then posted a photograph on the blackboard behind him.

Some of what he was about to say was meant for Shen Xin’s benefit.

"Thanks to Zhao Yunfei’s confession, we now have a clearer understanding of this manufacturing and trafficking ring."

Zhao Yunfei was Brother Fei.

Wang Feng had said he would crack him open, and he had succeeded.

It was confirmed that he was a member of the gang from last month’s Xinzhai case, responsible for peripheral distribution.

Before the case broke, his rank wasn’t very high.

After the Xinzhai case, most of their gang was arrested.

Because of his low rank, he had managed to escape the net.

After the incident, with no one else available, he was given a more important role to maintain the sales network, and he learned more about the situation.

"According to Zhao Yunfei, the factory we busted last month was indeed this group’s only factory in the country."

"Their person-in-charge, their main hideouts, and the people on several of their sales lines have all been cleaned up by us."

"Especially their cook—they only had one."

"This group has been hit hard, but they haven’t given up. Their boss has already entered the country, set up a new factory, and is preparing to use up their remaining stock of raw materials."

"In the entire organization, only two people know how to produce the drugs: this guy surnamed Cai, and the cook we arrested previously."

The specific drug manufacturing method was a core secret. Naturally, the fewer people who knew it, the better.

"Zhao Yunfei has never met this Cai, he only heard from Zhu Kun that there are still several hundred kilograms of raw materials."

"Based on the quality of the product we seized before, their technique isn’t bad. Assuming half a ton of raw materials, they could produce at least two hundred kilograms of drugs."

"At around two hundred thousand yuan per kilogram, that’s forty to fifty million yuan."

Shen Xin shook his head slightly.

The profit margins on drugs, especially synthetic drugs, were almost always several hundredfold.

Just last month, their drug factory was busted, and they lost more than half their members.

’Any normal person would have gone into hiding, grateful they hadn’t been caught.’

’But this Cai character...’

’How long has it been? He actually risked entering the country to personally cook the drugs, just to use up the remaining materials.’

’It’s all because the profits were too high. One transaction, and you’re looking at forty or fifty million.’

The saying "people die for wealth, and birds die for food" wasn’t just a metaphor when it came to these traffickers.

Zhu Kun was the man in the photograph on the blackboard.

A native of Lianjiang, 39 years old, who also had a legitimate business locally.

The photo was an ID picture.

ID photos often make people look ugly, but his gaunt face, monolids, and narrow eyes somehow gave him a sinister air even in the picture.

"After Cai entered the country, Zhao Yunfei never saw him and doesn’t know where the factory is."

"Right now, in their whole crew, only this Zhu Kun knows Cai’s location."

"We busted their factory on the 5th of last month. Then on the 17th, Zhu Kun contacted Zhao Yunfei again, having received instructions from Cai."

"In other words, this Cai fellow probably snuck into the country in mid-to-late May."

"Then finding a factory location, getting the equipment... let’s give him ten days for that. After that, half a ton of raw materials would take close to a month to process, wouldn’t it?"

"Tomorrow is the 12th, so I believe he’s not finished yet."

"According to Zhao Yunfei’s confession, this Cai likes to set up his factories in the middle of nowhere. This is similar to the Xinzhai case, where he also chose an abandoned house in the mountains to produce drugs."

"He only knows that every few days, Zhu Kun makes a trip, possibly to deliver supplies or to transport the finished product to a safer location."

"Every time, Zhu Kun goes alone. His counter-surveillance awareness is very strong. If we rashly tail him, we could easily arouse his suspicion. Once he notifies Cai, the man will be gone."

"Director Chen, that’s why I considered using Er Long to track him."

He pointed at Er Long and launched into another round of praise.

Zhu Kun would drive to deliver supplies, and only he knew the location.

Out in the wilderness, there were no surveillance cameras.

If they tailed him by car, they could easily lose him from a distance, or be spotted if they got too close. Once discovered, one phone call from him and Cai would flee.

And installing a GPS tracker was also not an option.

Zhao Yunfei had confessed that they always used satellite phones for their past transactions.

When driving, they would also use devices to check for trackers on the car.

Under these circumstances, silently tracking him without alerting Cai, confirming the location, and then deploying to ensure a successful arrest would be no easy feat.

But using Er Long was a different story.

There was no way Zhu Kun would notice a bird.

At this point, Shen Xin finally understood completely. He saw why Wang Feng had suddenly thought of Er Long and the other police birds.

After the briefing was over, Wang Feng asked Chen Ruidong for his thoughts and instructions.

Chen Ruidong thought for a moment, then said, "Confirming the factory’s location is crucial. You’ve already tested this and think that using... Er Long, is it?"

He turned to smile at Shen Xin and continued, "If Er Long can handle the tracking, then use him without hesitation."

"And be quick. Just as you reported earlier, because we’ve hit them before, they’re very cautious with their communications now."

"This is an advantage for us, but we still can’t drag it out for too long. If it takes too long, this Zhu Kun might get suspicious."

"Once he finds out Zhao Yunfei has been arrested, even if he thinks Zhao Yunfei doesn’t know the factory’s location, he’s still highly likely to relocate."

"And he himself will also flee across the border."

"So you need to keep a tight watch on this Zhu Kun. And make sure Zhao Yunfei cooperates properly. Try to avoid any slip-ups. You know how cunning these traffickers are; the upline often uses special methods to monitor their downline."

After giving his instructions, Chen Ruidong turned his head to thank Shen Xin again.

Shen Xin was from Nanjiang, and a criminal police officer at that. He had no connection whatsoever to them here. The fact that he was helping was a favor Chen Ruidong had to remember.

"Director Chen, you’re being too formal. I’m more than willing to help if I can," Shen Xin said quickly.

Chen Ruidong nodded with a smile, then instructed Wang Feng to notify him immediately when they were ready to move. He would coordinate the personnel.

After seeing Chen Ruidong off, Wang Feng came forward and apologized again.

Speed is paramount in war. They didn’t know when Zhu Kun would make a move; it could even be tomorrow.

So, they had to be fully prepared on their end.

Therefore, it would be best for Shen Xin to take Er Long to Lianjiang and be ready to move at a moment’s notice.

"Look at this, I’ve even interrupted your vacation."

Wang Feng looked apologetic, then said that after the case was closed, he would definitely give Shen Xin a proper tour of Dehong.

It was also the provincial department’s fault for the lack of news, which made it seem like Shen Xin was on a paid vacation.

Though Shen Xin said it wasn’t necessary, he and Wang Feng set off for Lianjiang that very night.

Shen Xin called Jiang Wengang and explained the situation.

Jiang Wengang was a little surprised, but he didn’t ask many questions, immediately saying he wanted to go along.

He had come to Dehong to protect Shen Xin.

"Captain Jiang, Old Pan is here. You should stay and protect Yuwei. Besides, all those birds need to be looked after too."

Shen Xin glanced at Pan Wenhai.

He had said it directly: wherever Shen Xin went, he would go.

Same as always, he had to protect Shen Xin well.

Jiang Wengang hesitated for a moment, then agreed.

He turned back to get Celestial Skill.

The previous drill had been a joint ground-air three-dimensional tracking exercise. Bringing Celestial Skill along might prove useful.

The road from Simao to Lianjiang was a winding mountain path, nearly two hundred kilometers long.

They didn’t arrive until after two in the morning.

They headed straight for the county public security bureau.

The person who received them was the captain of the Lianjiang Anti-Drug Squad.

His surname was Huang, and his name was Huang Delin.

He and Wang Feng were old acquaintances, and they were very familiar with each other.

Of course, he was no stranger to Pan Wenhai either.

But just after they had exchanged greetings, he spotted Shen Xin lifting a rather large birdcage out of the back seat.

"Hey, Old Wang, what’s the deal? Why’d you bring a bird along to work a case?" he asked, his tone puzzled.

Wang Feng’s eyes widened. "What do you mean, ’a bird’? This is a police bird! And he has a name. It’s Er Long. The ’Er Long’ from ’Two Dragons Playing with a Pearl’."

He was already getting defensive on its behalf.

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