Animal Detective

Chapter 562: Chapter 464: Borrowing People

In the dim forest.

Dashun perched on a treetop, silently observing the five-person team below.

He suddenly snapped his head around, looking into the distance.

He had already detected Qian Feng and his team.

This movement surprised Liu Baoquan and the others once again, all the way back in the Spring City command center.

On the map, Qian Feng’s team was a full kilometer away from the group of five, having just set up their ambush.

The Mianguang police official, who was present, keenly noticed the change on the screen and whispered, "Director Liu, it seems your previous analysis was correct. The senses of these animals are incredibly powerful."

To be able to sense a human presence from such a great distance was astonishing.

Liu Baoquan smiled and nodded, his eyes glued to the large screen. He couldn’t help but feel a surge of tension.

The main mission had been a success, but a small loose end remained.

This team of five was clearly armed. If a firefight broke out, any casualties would be the absolute last thing he wanted.

A few minutes later, the group of five ambled into the ambush zone.

Qian Feng had chosen a prime, elevated position for the ambush.

"Don’t move!"

"Police! Hands up!"

At the command, the ambushing officers shot to their feet, muzzles aimed at the team below as shouts erupted from all sides.

Bathed in the beams of tactical flashlights, all five men were startled, freezing in place.

They looked up to see beams of light surrounding them, and their faces turned deathly pale.

"Don’t... don’t shoot."

The man in the lead hurriedly raised his hands.

Just then, the man in the middle of the group ducked down slightly. He raised his left hand with his companions, but his right hand crept toward his waist.

Then, quick as lightning, he pulled out a handgun.

BANG! A gunshot rang out.

In the distance, Dashun and countless other birds hidden in the shadows were startled into flight, taking to the sky with a flurry of wings.

A bloodcurdling scream rang out at the same time.

The man’s handgun clattered to the ground. He collapsed sideways as if he’d been kicked, a bloody hole in his ribs gushing blood.

"I’ll say it again, hands up!"

Qian Feng bellowed, smoke still curling from the muzzle of his gun.

’I told them not to move. Did they really think we wouldn’t use lethal force?’

The remaining four men were scared out of their wits. They quickly threw their hands in the air, frantically shouting their surrender.

The four were quickly subdued.

Dashun was a bold and curious bird. Startled by the gunshot, it quickly flew back to the scene, relaying firsthand intel.

Seeing the drug trafficker twitching and screaming on the ground, Shen Xin’s gaze hardened.

’It didn’t faze me.’

’If I were in that position, I would have fired without hesitation, too.’

’I’ve just never actually done it before.’

The next moment, Qian Feng’s steady voice came over the comms channel, reporting that the scene was secure.

「Inside the command center.」

Liu Baoquan nodded with satisfaction.

He couldn’t care less about the drug trafficker who’d been shot.

The war on drugs in Dian Nan was a life-and-death struggle. It was kill or be killed.

He would rather the traffickers die than see his own men get hurt.

"Alright, we can celebrate later. First, I need to report to the Ministry."

Liu Baoquan stood up.

He needed to give the Ministry the good news of the successful operation and, more importantly, inform them that the nationwide operations could now commence.

This operation wasn’t just about catching the source; the entire drug trafficking network had to be dismantled.

Now, only one target remained: the leader of this drug cartel.

"Chunze, hurry. You must get something useful out of Min Juekan."

After giving the order, Liu Baoquan walked over to the officer from Mianguang. "Colonel Song Zhi, we’ll be counting on you for the next phase of the mission."

The man’s name was Song Zhi, and he held the rank of Police Colonel.

Across from Dehong is Mianguang’s Sava State.

A state is a provincial-level unit with its own police department, typically headed by a Police Brigadier General.

As a Police Colonel, Song Zhi was a deputy director in the Sava State Police Department, and one with actual authority.

"Rest assured."

Song Zhi smiled and nodded. After a moment’s hesitation, he said, "Director Liu, could I have a word with you in private?"

Liu Baoquan nodded and led Song Zhi to the side.

Song Zhi said, "Director Liu, the identity of this cartel’s leader is shrouded in mystery."

"He has his own loyal force and controls several villages in the border region by offering financial incentives, luring the villagers into growing for him."

"He never appears in person, always directing things from the shadows."

"Our assessment is that for his own safety, he’s most likely hiding in one of those villages."

"As you know, the terrain and environment in those border villages are extremely complex. A rash assault could result in heavy casualties."

Liu Baoquan nodded in agreement.

’That’s certainly part of the reason,’ he thought.

’But the main reason is that they’re just not good enough.’

’The Mianguang police force’s combat capabilities are average at best.’

’Of course, they have SWAT teams and dedicated border police.’

’But it’s the same old story—their fighting strength just doesn’t compare to ours.’

’And let’s be honest, a drug lord who can control a whole region is basically a warlord with his own militia.’

’Attacking them in a jungle that’s a natural fortress... it’s no guarantee the Mianguang police would even win.’

’Add to that the collusion among local factions—the targets would probably get tipped off the moment an operation began.’

Still, Liu Baoquan didn’t quite believe that the Mianguang authorities were completely incapable of taking this group down.

He had a feeling Song Zhi was just making excuses.

Song Zhi keenly sensed the shift in Liu Baoquan’s expression and realized he might have laid it on a bit too thick. He quickly added, "Of course, once we confirm the target’s identity, we will go all out to eliminate these traffickers."

Cracking down on traffickers was a shared goal among their nations; if he wasn’t planning to pull his weight, he wouldn’t have come in person.

"However, I’m still worried our plan isn’t foolproof and that he’ll manage to escape."

"Which is why I have an idea. The reconnaissance birds your side used in this operation were incredibly effective."

"What I’m saying is, could you possibly lend us those birds?"

With the high mountains, dense forests, and primitive villages, the perimeters are crawling with hidden sentries. Forget about getting a clear picture of the inside; even if we could, an operation would be incredibly difficult. A frontal assault would be our only option.

And a frontal assault would inevitably lead to heavy losses.

But with these ’police birds,’ we could infiltrate silently, get eyes on the situation, and the operation would become much, much easier."

It dawned on Liu Baoquan. He hadn’t expected Song Zhi to be after the police birds.

But after seeing the crucial role the birds had played in the reconnaissance mission, he couldn’t blame Song Zhi for wanting them.

’If I were in his shoes, I’d probably be thinking the same thing,’ he thought.

After a moment’s thought, Liu Baoquan said, "Alright. Let me report this to the Ministry. I’ll get back to you."

He smiled and took his leave.

「Far away in the mountains.」

The arrest operation had been a complete success, which meant Shen Xin’s mission was also over.

He recalled Plane and the other birds and waited for Qian Feng’s team to return with the prisoners.

The team returned three hours later.

Huang Delin’s group was the first to return.

After trekking through the primeval forest late at night, the team looked worse for wear.

Shen Xin recognized Min Juekan at a glance. He was in handcuffs, escorted by two SWAT officers.

His mouth and lips were covered in blood.

’Did he get beaten up?’

Shen Xin didn’t ask.

A short while later, Qian Feng’s team returned.

Four alive, one dead.

The man’s lung had been pierced by the bullet; he couldn’t be saved.

"Hey, what happened to this guy’s head?" Qian Feng asked, pointing at one of the traffickers.

One of the trafficker’s heads was wrapped up in so much gauze it looked like a mummy’s, with bloodstains seeping through near his left ear.

Huang Delin shook his head, speechless. He gestured with his eyes toward Min Juekan, who was squatting on the ground. "He’s the one who bit him."

"On the way back, Min Juekan suddenly went berserk. Even with his hands cuffed, he knocked this trafficker to the ground and bit his ear clean off."

"He thinks he was ambushed because someone betrayed him, and he suspected it was this guy."

"The man’s a complete psycho."

Huang Delin cursed.

After Min Juekan bit off his subordinate’s ear, he chewed it to a pulp and swallowed it right in front of them.

Even for a seasoned officer like Huang Delin, the sight made his skin crawl.

"What a sicko," Qian Feng said, startled.

Huang Delin nodded and sighed lightly.

They had tried a flash interrogation in the forest, but got nothing.

They would have to continue the interrogation back at the station.

But having witnessed Min Juekan’s vicious insanity, Huang Delin had a feeling that breaking him would not be an easy task.

Qian Feng probably guessed what Huang Delin was thinking, patted his shoulder sympathetically, then turned to face Shen Xin.

"No words. Just incredible."

He directly gave Shen Xin two thumbs up.

"That silent tracking... it’s like you have a map hack."

"The operation went so smoothly, without a single injury. Shen Xin, your birds deserve all the credit."

After the praise, Qian Feng, as expected, looked a little sheepish and asked, "So... are these the only birds you have?"

Shen Xin knew exactly what he was getting at. "Don’t worry, Captain Qian," he said. "There will be more in the future."

Shen Xin had learned a few things from this operation.

’I’d considered using monkeys before.’

’But now it’s clear that the mobility of birds is far superior to monkeys.’

’After all, they can fly.’

’Birds can cross several kilometers in a matter of minutes.’

’Monkeys can’t do that, and they make a lot of noise moving through the forest.’

’The only problem is nighttime.’

’In a primeval forest with no city lights, the crows’ effectiveness is somewhat limited.’

Shen Xin couldn’t help but wonder, ’What about owls?’

’They come and go like shadows at night, flying silently and seeing as if it were day, just like ghosts.’

’Crows by day, owls by night. A perfect partnership.’

’The only issue is that owls aren’t very smart. I wonder if they can even be trained.’

After enduring two days and a night in the mountains, they naturally had to head back that very night.

The group escorted the traffickers and began the long trek back.

Huang Delin walked at the back of the group.

Shen Xin sidled up to Li Niu, curious to hear about how the raid went down.

Plane had been scared off and hadn’t seen anything.

Li Niu didn’t brag, but the details he described—like the traffickers throwing grenades—still made Shen Xin’s heart pound.

"It’s no big deal. We’re used to it."

Li Niu grinned, then pointed at Plane in his cage. "If it weren’t for your bird, who knows how things would’ve gone."

As they were talking, Huang Delin, who was walking at the back, suddenly shouted without any warning.

"Fan Liping!"

As he shouted the name, Huang Delin stared intently at one of the traffickers.

In the group, most people were either startled or instinctively turned their heads to look at Huang Delin.

But that one man merely flinched, not turning around.

His lack of reaction, however, was what gave him away.

Huang Delin silently clenched his fist. ’No doubt about it. That’s him.’

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