Animal Detective

Chapter 566: Chapter 468: Arrest Operation, What’s with Bringing Two Birds?

A little after 6:00 AM, Liu Baoquan received instructions from the ministry, approving the joint operation.

Liu Baoquan called Lu Chunze into his office for a private conversation and gave him several instructions.

The first point was to be considerate of the sentiments of the Mianguang side.

After all, this was a cross-border operation. They were to let the other side take the lead, coordinating with them to make the arrest.

"You know the situation over there. Their government is willing to cooperate with us to crack down on drug trafficking."

"But things are complicated on the ground. The relationships are a tangled web, and situations can arise where they’re willing but unable to act. Remind your people to be mindful of their methods."

"If we strain the relationship, it’ll make things difficult in the future."

After all, it was another country. They couldn’t just do whatever they wanted.

Bossing them around would definitely not go over well.

A bitter smile touched the corner of Lu Chunze’s mouth. "Liu Ting, I understand."

He was all too familiar with the situation over there—with their capabilities and efficiency.

Liu Baoquan continued, "So, prepare a contingency plan. If it can’t be done, don’t force it."

"Of course, there are some principles we must adhere to. We don’t want to cause trouble, but we’re not afraid of it either. You need to make this clear to the team."

Times were changing. This wasn’t ten or twenty years ago; things were different now.

The second point was, naturally, safety.

"Especially Shen Xin’s safety. He’s a real talent. He must be protected."

He gave Lu Chunze a meaningful look.

Lu Chunze nodded slightly. He understood.

After a moment’s thought, Liu Baoquan added another point. "And this Fan Liping, you need to learn to parse his words. You can’t trust him completely."

Liu Baoquan sympathized with Fan Liping’s original intentions, but in his position, he had to maintain sufficient vigilance about everything.

Lu Chunze understood this as well. After some thought, he said, "Liu Ting, if we want to back out, it’s not too late."

He meant they could just not send him to Mianguang.

It didn’t really matter to Song Zhi’s side.

They had only chosen this path because they were considering giving him a chance to live.

Since there were doubts, they might as well keep him in the country.

Liu Baoquan’s gaze was profound as he slowly shook his head.

Lu Chunze didn’t ask any more questions. He could roughly guess what the higher-ups were thinking.

They spoke for a while longer before Lu Chunze left to arrange the operation.

This operation would be led by Guan Baofeng, the captain of the Dehong City Bureau’s narcotics division, who would lead the team into Mianguang.

A little after 8:00, Shen Xin received a call and immediately rushed to the city bureau.

When he arrived, they were in the middle of tense preparations.

The operation team consisted of nine people in total.

There was Guan Baofeng, Wang Feng, and another member from the narcotics division.

Then Shen Xin saw Qian Feng.

He was bringing two soldiers with him.

One of them happened to be Li Niu.

The rest were from Shen Xin’s side.

Shen Xin had wanted to keep Ding Yuwei from going, but her attitude was firm. She said she could assist Shen Xin with his work.

Jiang Wengang was also going.

His mission from start to finish was to protect Shen Xin. Now that they were leaving the country, it was impossible for him not to go.

Nine people in total, with representatives from all sides.

At the city bureau, Shen Xin saw Fan Liping, who was about to be transferred.

Pan Wenhai was saying his final goodbyes to him.

"Li Ping, I’ve said everything I need to say. Don’t let hatred blind you. You’re still young. You still have a choice."

"This time, let’s cooperate well. We’ll catch the guy, settle this, and then you can properly repent. Don’t worry, as soon as this is over, I’ll come see you immediately."

"I’ll be waiting for you to get out."

Pan Wenhai gripped Fan Liping’s arm, his expression earnest as he spoke.

"Uncle, I understand," Fan Liping nodded, then added, "You take care of yourself. Look, you’re already getting white hair. And my aunt, and Pan Rui, say hello to them for me."

Pan Wenhai nodded repeatedly, opened his arms, and pulled Fan Liping into an embrace.

He held him tightly, not letting go for a long time.

He walked Fan Liping outside.

"Captain Wang, I’ll have to trouble you." Pan Wenhai handed the man over to Wang Feng.

Their eyes met. Wang Feng gave an understanding nod, then turned and put Fan Liping in the car.

Meanwhile, Tang Youkun pulled Shen Xin aside, repeatedly relaying Cui Jiang’s message.

"Be careful, be careful, and be careful again."

Tang Youkun repeated "be careful" three times, then glanced at Jiang Wengang and said, "Wengang, Shen Xin is inexperienced. You need to watch out for him."

Jiang Wengang said nothing, only nodding slightly.

Since this was a targeted reconnaissance mission, Shen Xin didn’t bring Yifan and the others.

He only brought Er Long and Four Seasons.

Among his seven birds, these two were the most well-behaved and obedient.

Alternating between the two would be enough.

He left Teddy and the others for Pan Wenhai to look after.

A convoy of several cars immediately set off for Zhangfeng Port, where they would cross into Mianguang.

The Mianguang side had already arranged for people to meet them at the port for the handover.

After entering the country, they would head to Luopei Town in Nongkan County, under the jurisdiction of Sava State.

In Mianguang’s administrative structure, a state is equivalent to a province and a county is equivalent to a city, making Luopei Town roughly the size of a county back home.

But it was very remote, located in a corner of Sava State right along the border, and very poor.

According to Fan Liping, Angdu was currently hiding in a village called Sangga, near the primeval forest on the border.

At nearly 11:00 AM, the group arrived at Zhangfeng Port.

Fan Liping was in handcuffs and a baseball cap, with a piece of clothing covering his wrists. Escorted by Li Niu and another soldier, the group used a special access channel to enter Mianguang directly.

’A business trip, and I even ended up going abroad.’

’But it’s necessary. It’s a perfect chance to bring back Nan Ji’s child.’

It was only after arriving at the city bureau that Shen Xin had learned from Wang Feng that Nan Ji’s baby had been taken by Fan Liping.

The little elephant was with Angdu right now.

It had been brought to Mianguang in May, but Angdu had kept it and was in no hurry to send it away.

His plan was to give the little elephant away as a gift on July 15th, during Mianguang’s traditional Festival of Lights.

If the arrest went smoothly, they could bring the little elephant back with them.

’I promised Nan Ji I would definitely help her find her child.’

While crossing the border, Shen Xin got a taste of the Mianguang side’s inefficiency.

Song Zhi had arranged for a designated person to handle the handover at the port.

And the result? The port officials claimed the relevant paperwork hadn’t been sent over. The documents were incomplete, so they wouldn’t let them through.

This in itself was somewhat unbelievable.

The police system and the immigration system were supposed to work in close cooperation.

But here, it was as if they were two completely separate entities.

After asking around, they discovered the paperwork had been faxed, but the port officials hadn’t received it.

After running to the office to ask around, they finally confirmed that someone had seen it and casually tossed it aside.

Alright, so the paperwork was there. They should be allowed to proceed now.

But no. Now they were saying that Er Long and Four Seasons didn’t have the proper paperwork, no relevant quarantine documents, and couldn’t just be brought into the country.

Guan Baofeng, the team leader, was so angry he laughed.

’These two birds are the key to this mission, and you’re holding them up at the border?’

The officials were adamant, saying the paperwork didn’t mention the two birds, so it was against the rules.

The contact who came for the handover even started arguing with the port officials.

After arguing for a long time, they still had to file supplementary paperwork in the end.

The port officials were afraid of taking responsibility.

From that perspective, the port officials’ actions weren’t actually wrong.

The problem, then, lay with Song Zhi’s side not being thorough enough.

Of course, considering how the port officials had casually tossed the fax aside, one could only say it was six of one, half a dozen of the other.

More paperwork had to be filed, another fax had to be sent.

They were held up for over an hour before finally being allowed to pass.

In the meantime, Shen Xin and the others could only wait tediously in a room.

Shen Xin didn’t know the full situation yet; for instance, he didn’t know about some 20-hour time limit.

But Wang Feng knew, and he paced back and forth in the room, a look of agitation on his face.

Fan Liping was also there, occasionally stealing glances at the two birds in the cage.

Shen Xin noticed his gaze.

To be honest, Shen Xin was also interested in this guy.

His methods and the path he’d chosen weren’t necessarily appropriate, but Shen Xin truly admired him for being able to choose such a path.

’He’s a real man, the kind who repays kindness and takes revenge without hesitation.’

Noticing Shen Xin’s gaze, Fan Liping smiled, motioned toward the birdcage with his eyes, and asked, "Officer, what are these birds for?"

It was an arrest operation, not a vacation. Bringing two birds was a strange thing to do.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!