Animal Detective

Chapter 557: Chapter 459: Aircraft Repositioning

Today’s meeting was basically an operations briefing.

All parties needed to coordinate and cooperate well.

That was why someone from Mianguang was participating—the middle-aged man sitting across from them.

He spoke exceptionally fluent Chinese, so communication was seamless. Throughout the meeting, he kept glancing at Shen Xin, his eyes filled with inquiry and curiosity.

The specific operation was roughly divided into three steps.

First, Shen Xin’s Police Bird Team would be deployed to search for the target along the long border.

Second, the strike.

The actual strike team would be handled by the Armed Police, with support from the Dehong Police and SWAT.

With such a large shipment, the other side would definitely be fully armed. It wouldn’t be surprising if they were carrying a couple of grenades.

The final step, after the arrest was made, would be a joint multi-provincial operation to round everyone up at once.

If the first three steps went smoothly, there would be one last phase: the Mianguang side would move in to arrest Min Juekan’s boss.

Liu Baoquan wasn’t exaggerating when he said the success or failure of the mission hinged on Shen Xin.

Min Juekan’s movements were secretive. With only a composite sketch of him, finding him in a sea of people was next to impossible.

If they couldn’t catch him, they would never know who his superior was.

If they couldn’t catch him red-handed with the goods, they couldn’t convict the manufacturing syndicate.

The other side wasn’t a lawless land; they also needed evidence to make arrests.

The contacts responsible for the pickup within the country were also under Min Juekan’s control. Without catching him, they wouldn’t know who they were.

The key to everything was Min Juekan.

The only chance to catch him was during this one time he was smuggling goods across the border.

In the vast primeval forest, trying to pinpoint his location, arrest him, and prevent his escape would be incredibly difficult.

The meeting lasted until one in the morning.

The moment the meeting ended, the operation began.

Liu Baoquan still had to report to the ministry, so he was the first to leave.

Everyone had their assignments and went off to make their arrangements.

Shen Xin followed Cui Jiang out and asked in a low voice, "President Cui, for an operation this big, is there really no backup plan?"

’Throughout the entire meeting, it felt like all their hopes were pinned on me.’

’What if I fail? What if I can’t find him?’

’It’s a border that’s hundreds of kilometers long.’

Cui Jiang glanced at Shen Xin and smiled. "What, getting nervous?"

Shen Xin shook his head, then nodded.

’For an operation this big, with its success or failure resting on my shoulders, it’s only normal to be nervous.’

"Then you’re screwed. Do you have any idea how many places across the country are moving at once? If you drop the ball..." He patted Shen Xin’s shoulder sympathetically, shaking his head and clicking his tongue.

Shen Xin’s eye twitched. He quickly said, "President Cui, I’m just a first lieutenant. Don’t scare me like that."

’He seems so serious. How can he have such a twisted sense of humor?’

Cui Jiang chuckled, pulled Shen Xin to the side, and then said in a low voice, "Don’t worry, we’re not banking everything on you. Why else would someone from Mianguang be here? It’s a precaution in case the operation fails. They’ll be looking for him on their side at the same time."

"And on our side, there’s the group responsible for the transaction inside the country. If we catch them, we might be able to follow the lead to Min Juekan."

"Of course, these are all backup plans. If it comes to that, the operation will have essentially failed already."

The other side might not catch him, and the people caught here might not know enough.

Once Min Juekan ran, he’d be at the ends of the earth. Where in the world would they go to catch him?

Therefore, the ideal scenario was still for Shen Xin to find Min Juekan and catch him red-handed.

"So, Shen Xin, I wasn’t kidding. You are crucial to the success of this operation," Cui Jiang said with a grin.

After saying that, perhaps feeling he’d gone a bit too far, he added, "Don’t overthink it. I know what you’re capable of, kid. You’ll be fine. Just do a good job. When this is over, you’ll get plenty of credit for it."

Hearing this, Shen Xin immediately straightened up and said seriously, "President Cui, it’s not about the credit. I’m just worried that if I fail, it will affect the entire operational plan."

"But rest assured, I will do my absolute best to find him. After all, I’m representing Ningjiang here. I can’t bring shame to you."

’They brought me all this way. It would be so humiliating to fail in the end.’

Seeing Shen Xin’s determined and spirited posture, Cui Jiang didn’t say any more and led him out of the conference room.

Outside, Tang Youkun and the others immediately came over to meet them.

Ding Yuwei stood in the corner like a wallflower, giving Shen Xin an inquisitive look, her eyes filled with apprehension.

She had seen the people who came out earlier. Not a single one of them was low-ranking.

When Shen Xin came over, she handed his holster back and then quietly asked what was going on.

"Don’t ask. It’s a massive operation."

Shen Xin didn’t explain.

Joking aside, Shen Xin truly felt the pressure.

With so many people involved in this operation, if he was the one to drop the ball, he wouldn’t know how to answer for it.

The end of the meeting didn’t mean it was time to clock out and go home.

Cui Jiang and Liu Baoquan would naturally remain at the provincial department headquarters to command remotely.

Shen Xin, on the other hand, would set out with Tang Youkun and the others, driving overnight to Dehong.

As soon as they got in the car, Tang Youkun started teasing, saying Shen Xin had evolved.

"Last time it was a cat, this time you’re even using birds."

He would never forget the last time in Ningshan, when Shen Xin used Da Mei for reconnaissance. It had left a deep impression on him.

Shen Xin gave a few noncommittal replies and went back to looking at the map, mentally calculating his next move.

They were now heading straight for Lianjiang.

They had discussed during the meeting that the target’s crossing route was likely within Lianjiang County.

This was because the last transaction for the person caught back in Ningshan had taken place in Lianjiang.

Although they had seemingly narrowed the search area from the entire Dehong Autonomous Prefecture to a single county, the mission hadn’t become much easier.

The border in Lianjiang County alone was two hundred kilometers long, accounting for nearly half of Dehong’s entire border.

Moreover, most of the border was mountainous, with range after range of tall, densely forested peaks. The highest reached an elevation of 3,400 meters and was shrouded in clouds and mist.

If someone were hiding in there, even a god would have a hard time finding them.

The difficult part now was not knowing when the target would cross. The transaction was said to be in the next few days, but what if that was just a feint to test the waters?

Or perhaps he had already crossed, and the goods were already in the country.

These were all possibilities.

Also, it was only a conjecture that he was in Lianjiang; he could just as well be in other counties or cities.

Knowing they were in for a tough few days, Shen Xin told Ding Yuwei to get some rest while she could.

By the time their vehicle swayed to a stop at the Lianjiang Public Security Bureau, it was almost five in the morning.

He had just gotten out of the car and taken a few steps when he heard a loud, clear cry.

"What the hell was that?"

Tang Youkun exclaimed in surprise. He looked toward the sound and his eyes widened.

A wild elephant was thundering toward them.

"Holy crap!"

"An elephant!"

The others with them were all startled.

Shen Xin quickly went to meet it.

Nan Ji slowed down, flicked her trunk, and let out a series of urgent calls, as if asking where he had run off to.

She kept crying out, probably asking where her child was.

"Don’t worry, we’re looking," Shen Xin said, stroking her soothingly.

Wang Feng was still investigating and had already contacted the Mianguang authorities to ask for their help in the search.

But their counterparts were inefficient, and there had been no news so far.

Tang Youkun was so scared he almost hid back in the car. When he saw Shen Xin interacting so intimately with the elephant, his eyes nearly popped out of his head. He turned to Ding Yuwei and asked what was going on.

Ding Yuwei sighed softly and replied with a question, "What do you think?"

’Wherever Shen Xin goes, he always seems to run into animals.’

Tang Youkun stared, speechless.

After properly calming Nan Ji, Shen Xin called Ding Yuwei over to help feed the birds.

They had a few days of high-intensity work ahead, so the birds had to be well-fed with insects.

Meanwhile, Shen Xin grabbed Tang Youkun and found Chen Huabin, who had returned with them.

He was in the middle of a meeting with Huang Delin and a few others, huddled around a map.

Shen Xin glanced over. ’Perfect.’

On the way here, Shen Xin had studied the map.

In all of Lianjiang County, there were over thirty main border crossing channels.

This was because the area across from Lianjiang in Mianguang was a major jadeite-producing region, and the volume of jadeite trade was huge.

There were four public auction venues for it within the country’s borders alone.

These areas, along with their surroundings, were certainly not places drug traffickers would choose.

Shen Xin also considered which border villages and small entry paths had been sites of past smuggling cases.

For a trafficker, if someone had been caught there before, they naturally wouldn’t use that route again.

And Huang Delin should be the one who knew the most about these places.

As it turned out, they were discussing that very topic.

Huang Delin waved Shen Xin over, a pen in hand, circling and drawing on the map.

He explained the situation as he marked the map.

Shen Xin was discovering that the police officers here in Dehong all had special talents.

Wang Feng had a photographic memory.

And Huang Delin, his memory was also exceptionally good.

He could remember every single village along the border, knew the situation in each one, and who had been targeted in past crackdowns.

He was also perfectly clear on the conditions on both sides of the border, which mountains were easy to traverse and which were not.

"If you ask me,"

Huang Delin pointed to a few spots on the map. "If they’re going to cross, they’ll most likely take a route through Bawashan or Zhutou Mountain."

"The altitude is high, it’s all primeval forest, and at this time of year, the mountain mists are heavy. The route is long, but it’s safe."

Shen Xin followed his finger.

That area should be part of Hudian Town, which they had visited before.

It was nearly twenty kilometers from the border, and it was all mountains.

Huang Delin’s finger slid south along the border. "Or, they could go through Wuya Mountain over here. Once you cross the river there, you’re in Mianguang. They could travel down the river and sneak ashore."

"In the past, there have even been cases where they used slingshots to launch drugs across the river from the other side."

"It’s the same kind of high, densely forested mountain terrain. It used to be a common route for snakeheads smuggling people across."

After speaking, he looked up at Shen Xin and said, "Shen Xin, you’re the one who knows the Police Bird Team best. How they’ll work specifically, that’s up to you."

Shen Xin gestured over the map.

From south to north, this stretch of the border was about ninety kilometers long.

"Director Chen, Captain Huang."

Shen Xin looked up at everyone and asked, "Are you guys familiar with the concept of ferrying flights?"

On the way here, Shen Xin had carefully thought through how to proceed with the operation.

The border was too long, and they weren’t sure of the target’s entry time.

So the key was coverage.

With only seven birds right now, it wasn’t enough.

The others were momentarily stunned, then nodded.

Shen Xin pointed at the map and continued, "Look, we can set up outposts in key areas, equipped with communication devices to stay in remote contact with me."

"And I’ll have the birds move back and forth between all the outposts, just like ferrying an aircraft."

"When they arrive in one area, they’ll immediately begin searching. Once the search is complete, they’ll switch out their helmets, get fed and resupplied, and immediately move on to the next area."

"Then, one bird can be responsible for several areas, flying back and forth throughout the day."

"Travel in the mountains is difficult, and the traffickers don’t have vehicles. They’re on foot, so their speed is definitely limited."

"A single bird can search one area in about an hour, so we shouldn’t have a situation where we miss them."

"So if we set things up the way I’m describing, with seven birds, and each one responsible for three or four areas, we can cover dozens of areas, maximizing our search range as much as possible."

"We’ll try to do most of the searching during the day."

"If the traffickers decide to move at night, that’s fine too. They’ll inevitably need to use lights. I can send out the Hunting Falcon. He has a wide operational range and excellent vision. From high up, he’ll be able to see much more clearly."

Teddy’s night vision is considerably worse, but if there’s a light source, he can see it too.

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