Animal Detective

Chapter 559: Chapter 461: An Airtight Dragnet

「Far away in Spring City.」

Inside the spacious, high-tech command center, Liu Baoquan had specifically made time to remotely observe Shen Xin’s search operation.

The signal was already being transmitted back.

The first to come online was Plane.

At the same time, Shen Xin’s team had also set up a camera to record his command process and send it back to the center, creating valuable material for future operational experience.

"It’s starting."

Lu Chunze immediately sat up straight.

The others stopped their idle chatter, their attention fixed on the large screen.

The video bitrate was low, so it wasn’t perfectly clear, but it was good enough to watch.

Plane could be seen skimming over the treetops, occasionally dipping into the forest.

At those times, the signal would weaken slightly.

But they could still see the forest environment. It was deathly still, with beams of light piercing through the canopy.

Vines and branches were everywhere.

Plane deftly weaved through them, completely unaffected.

Meanwhile, the large screen also displayed a topographical map with a red dot representing Plane’s position.

Lu Chunze nodded slightly. "This search speed is impressive."

In a primeval forest like this, with no proper roads, it would take a person over half an hour to cover a single kilometer.

But for Plane, flying through the air, two or three minutes was enough for the same distance.

Everyone deeply agreed.

A bird, after all, flies with wings.

Liu Baoquan pointed at the screen and said, "Shen Xin mentioned that when birds search for targets, they rely not only on sight but also on hearing and smell."

"They can smell scents from kilometers away and hear unusual sounds—abilities that humans simply don’t possess."

Shen Xin had already explained these advantages of birds.

Just then, Four Seasons came online.

In the same manner, under Shen Xin’s guidance, it deftly weaved through the mountain forest, searching for the target.

After that, Er Long, San Yang, and the others came online one by one.

Using their positioning, Shen Xin continuously issued commands, guiding them to search in their designated areas.

The Bawashan area was a key focus.

It was a region roughly ten kilometers from east to west and over twenty kilometers from north to south.

It was divided vertically into two zones, A and B.

Searching one sector took about half an hour.

The forest was dense. If a person were to fly above the canopy, it would be difficult to notice any movement on the ground below.

But birds could. They could spot prey on the ground through gaps in the leaves; it was their biological instinct.

Not to mention their sense of smell and hearing.

Having been with Shen Xin for so long, they were familiar with the scent of humans.

In the forest, the smell of humans was very distinct.

When people move through the mountains, animals can often smell them from a great distance and hide in advance.

That’s why hunters entering the mountains try to mask their scent.

Then there was their hearing.

They could understand Shen Xin’s speech, so if drug traffickers passed by and spoke to each other, the birds could hear them from far away.

The complex terrain didn’t hinder them in the slightest, so their search speed was incredibly fast.

After nearly an hour, Plane was the first to return.

He had completed the search of his assigned area.

Nothing found.

This wasn’t like the mountains near a city, where you might occasionally spot hikers even on deserted hills.

This was a true primeval forest, without even a cell signal. No one would come here for a hike.

Plane flapped his wings and landed in front of Shen Xin, grumbling.

"So tired."

"Food."

If you work, you deserve a good treat.

Ding Yuwei quickly came forward and gave him a handful of freshly shelled sunflower seeds.

He loved them.

Just now, while Huang Delin and the others were idly watching the spectacle, all they did was shell seeds.

Then, after swapping his helmet for a fully charged one and a short rest, he was sent out again.

He had searched the area north of the camp before; now he was heading south to search two other sectors.

The other six birds also returned one by one.

This was also when Shen Xin’s relay plan came into play.

In the Spring City command center, watching the large screen was the most intuitive way to follow along.

Following Shen Xin’s command, San Yang, who had taken off from within Lianjiang County, turned after searching his designated area and flew toward Mengwan County.

Colleagues in Mengwan had already set up a camp in the designated area.

The red dot representing San Yang crossed over ten kilometers and, with guidance, quickly located the camp in the mountains.

Only when he flapped his wings and landed did the people at the camp notice his arrival, their faces filled with disbelief.

Lu Chunze said in amazement, "Incredible. It’s just like an aircraft being relayed to another airfield."

Liu Baoquan nodded to himself and said, "From what we’ve seen so far, this search method is truly viable."

"The problem now is that we have too few birds. I’ve thought about it. Our Dian Nan border is four thousand kilometers long, but the areas that can actually be exploited by drug traffickers for crossings are probably only about a quarter of that."

"For a thousand kilometers, if one bird is responsible for a ten-to-twenty-kilometer area, and with rotations, a hundred birds could probably form a sufficiently comprehensive reconnaissance network."

"There’s also the communication issue. Yesterday, Shen Xin said we either need to upgrade the equipment on the birds or build signal towers along the border to create a communications network with full coverage."

"That way, we’d have birds in areas where it’s difficult for our strike forces to reach."

These areas Liu Baoquan mentioned were difficult to monitor consistently, which was why loopholes existed.

"Then, at the entry points we can control, we have police dogs. Perhaps we can truly build a great defensive net, just as Shen Xin envisioned, and completely block drugs from entering the country."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

This operation was still experimental in nature, meant to evaluate effectiveness and identify problems.

Communication, for instance, was a major issue.

But overall, Liu Baoquan was optimistic.

With birds in the sky and a multiplied force of police dogs on the ground, it would be truly impenetrable.

By around noon, the first round of searches had concluded.

Nothing was found.

Yifan had discovered people in the mountains south of Mengmao.

He approached silently and found they weren’t drug traffickers, but people who had entered the mountains to gather medicinal herbs.

Life was thriving this time of year, and the mountains were full of not just mushrooms but also various herbs.

This discovery also proved that these police birds could indeed find targets in the mountains.

Now it was a matter of lying in wait. There was no use in being anxious; they just had to wait for the traffickers to appear.

The wait lasted until nightfall.

They couldn’t light fires in the mountains, so they could only eat self-heating meals.

Ding Yuwei brought over some food.

As dusk fell, Shen Xin directed Yifan and the others to return to base one by one.

At night, he would send them out every two or three hours to fly higher and look for lights, which would make the search even faster.

However, he estimated the traffickers probably wouldn’t move at night either.

This primeval forest was incredibly difficult to navigate during the day, let alone at night.

After finishing up and reminding the other locations to feed the birds well, Shen Xin finally picked up his meal box to eat.

Just then, Ding Yuwei moved closer and whispered, "Shen Xin, I feel like there’s something on my back. Could you go to the tent and help me check?"

In the lamplight, her cheeks were slightly flushed.

She was surrounded by a bunch of grown men she didn’t know well, so she was too embarrassed to ask them.

After thinking it over, asking Shen Xin for help was her only option.

Startled, Shen Xin quickly pulled Ding Yuwei into a tent.

He lifted her shirt, revealing fair skin and a light purple bra.

"Holy shit, a leech."

Right there on Ding Yuwei’s back clung a dark, slimy leech.

Ding Yuwei shuddered, twisting her head to look. She had no idea when it had attached itself to her.

"Don’t move."

Shen Xin poked his head out and asked Huang Delin for some spray.

It was actually just concentrated saltwater. Leeches hate salt; one spray and it would fall right off.

The spray stung, making Ding Yuwei flinch again.

Shen Xin shivered too. "Why do I feel like I have something on me now?"

Ding Yuwei quickly turned her head and asked where.

"Hold still."

Shen Xin stopped her, tending to her wound first.

They had medical supplies with them.

After treating it, Shen Xin checked himself as well.

Evidently, it was just his imagination.

He took the leech that had come off Ding Yuwei, stomped on it hard, and it burst in a pool of blood.

"Dammit, if we don’t catch these traffickers, all this suffering will be for nothing," Shen Xin said viciously.

He quickly finished his meal and, according to plan, sent Plane out again.

There were no discoveries that night.

Shen Xin didn’t get much sleep either; he couldn’t fall asleep at all.

It wasn’t just the cold; mainly, he kept hearing strange noises from time to time.

He didn’t know where they were coming from, and it was creepy.

After an agonizing night, dawn finally broke.

Ding Yuwei clearly hadn’t rested well either and looked a bit haggard.

"If I’d known it would be this rough, I wouldn’t have let you come along," Shen Xin said with some regret.

Ding Yuwei smiled. "I just have to bear it. Besides, I have to keep an eye on you to make sure you don’t do anything reckless."

’Does she really not trust me that much?’ Shen Xin thought. ’Besides, I’m only doing the searching, not participating in the actual operation.’

Ding Yuwei glanced at the others and added, "And for us, this is a one-time thing. But for them, I’m afraid this is normal."

Looking at Li Niu and the others, Shen Xin fell silent.

Once again, Shen Xin viscerally experienced what a monumental task border anti-drug enforcement was. It only strengthened his resolve to do something to keep drugs out of the country.

Daylight meant it was time to work.

Plane had flown twice during the night and was now complaining about being tired.

"Just bear with it. I’ll find you a female parrot later," Shen Xin coaxed.

The moment he heard "female parrot," Plane perked right up.

"Want."

He hopped about cheerfully and took off in a hurry.

The other sectors also came online one by one and started working.

This relay plan had now covered nearly all the potential illegal crossing points.

According to this plan, if the other party truly intended to cross the border, they would definitely be discovered.

However, a full morning of searching still yielded nothing.

Having spent a day and a night in the mountains, everyone was, frankly, exhausted.

Shen Xin hadn’t rested well and had to constantly watch Plane and the others, guiding their search until his mouth was dry and his vision blurred.

Crucially, he was also wracked with anxiety, not knowing when the traffickers would show up.

As a result, at a little past two in the afternoon, just when everyone was at their most exhausted, Ding Yuwei, who was sitting next to Shen Xin and helping him watch the screen, suddenly slapped his arm and pointed at Plane’s red dot.

Shen Xin had noticed it too. Plane, who had been flying a straight search pattern, suddenly banked right and flew off to the northeast.

On camera, he weaved between the tall treetops and, in an instant, swooped down to land on a branch.

Through the feed, Shen Xin immediately saw a group of people appear below.

"Captain Huang!"

Shen Xin shouted urgently.

In the distance, Huang Delin and the others came rushing over.

"Did you find them?"

Huang Delin asked frantically.

Shen Xin nodded, pointing at Plane’s camera feed.

The bird was currently perched on a high tree, at least ten meters off the ground, with a clear view of every movement in the forest below.

A group of nearly ten people, leading five mules, was moving slowly through the dense woods.

Each mule was laden with cargo.

There was no doubt. This had to be the group of drug traffickers.

And at that moment, they were completely unaware that a pair of eyes was watching them from the treetops above.

"It really is Bawashan!"

Huang Delin glanced at Plane’s location and threw a triumphant punch.

His guess had been right on the money.

And now that their position was confirmed, this group was as good as dead.

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