Animal Detective

Chapter 573: Chapter 475: Looking for the Child

At that moment, all eyes were on Celestial Skill.

Everyone’s eyes lit up when they saw her dash off.

"Shen Xin, get in the car!" Jiang Wengang was the first to jump into a vehicle.

But there was no stopping him; Shen Xin had already taken off in pursuit on foot.

Tang Youkun hurriedly waved his hand, signaling for everyone to follow.

A flicker of astonishment crossed Fu River’s eyes, and he immediately ordered his team to follow as well.

With so many people coming and going at the scene, he had no idea how Celestial Skill had managed to lock onto Ding Yuwei’s scent.

Celestial Skill sprinted ahead.

Her tracking methods were different from those of an ordinary police dog. She could think, constantly correcting her course and understanding the nature of the target she was pursuing.

For example, she picked up Ding Yuwei’s scent, but also smelled it mingled with the heavy scent of blood.

From this, she could deduce that these other scents belonged to the culprits who had taken Ding Yuwei.

The scent of blood was exceptionally strong, so she was able to distinguish it and focus her pursuit on that potent smell, even following the trail of car exhaust mixed with it.

"That’s right, just like that," Shen Xin shouted from behind her.

He could hear Celestial Skill’s thoughts.

’Understood.’

Celestial Skill gave a single bark and continued the chase, head down, without a backward glance.

Jiang Wengang followed behind in his car.

Pan Wenhai also scrambled onto Fu River’s bus; Teddy and the others were still on board and might be needed.

"Shen Xin, get on."

Qian Feng called out as he pulled up alongside on a scooter.

Shen Xin was already struggling to keep up with Celestial Skill, so he quickly hopped on.

As he drove the scooter, Qian Feng said grimly, "Shen Xin, don’t you worry. When I find that bastard, I’ll kill him."

He knew his mission in Mianguang was to protect Shen Xin.

’Does protecting Shen Xin mean I don’t have to protect anyone else?’

’With Ding Yuwei captured, my mission is as good as a failure.’

And that was to say nothing of Li Niu having a gun pointed at his head.

’How could I stand by and watch my own people get pushed around like that?’

Celestial Skill led them straight to the first intersection, the one where Wang Feng had gotten out to ask for directions, and then she immediately changed course.

Wang Feng had been heading in the right direction.

"Celestial Skill, get on!"

Shen Xin called out to her.

Running was too exhausting. Just as they’d done when tracking Li Xingping in Ju Province, they could let her down periodically to reacquire the scent.

Celestial Skill glanced back.

’No need.’

She said it wasn’t necessary, but Shen Xin couldn’t help but worry about her.

He knew of cases where police dogs had died from overexertion, literally worked to death on high-intensity jobs.

Since their target was in a car, they played it safe. At every intersection, or every five hundred meters, they would have Celestial Skill get down and reconfirm the scent trail.

The underdeveloped economy in Sava was actually a blessing in this case.

There were fewer cars and no major industries, leaving the environment relatively pristine. Not much time had passed, and the scent of blood was still strong, making the tracking conditions favorable.

They never lost the scent trail.

The direction they were heading matched the one Wang Feng’s team had been following.

However, about three or four kilometers after leaving the city limits, the trail took a turn.

Celestial Skill veered onto a small side road.

Shen Xin didn’t hesitate, choosing to trust Celestial Skill’s judgment.

In the vehicle behind them, Li Niu angrily slammed his hand against a seat. ’So we really did lose them!’

Tang Youkun immediately contacted Guan Baofeng to report the new development while pulling up a map.

The map showed the small road passing through a village before connecting to another main road to the west.

Tang Youkun studied the western part of the map.

The eastern part of Sava State, which bordered their country, was mountainous and covered in primeval forests, with towns few and far between.

The west, however, especially the Southwest, was more developed and had a higher density of towns.

This meant Fan Liping had chosen to hide among people rather than in the remote mountains.

His speculation proved correct. After they passed through the village and reached the main road to the west, Celestial Skill turned south, heading toward the Southwest.

Tang Youkun silently studied the map, his brow furrowed in concentration.

Although they had confirmed the general direction, the high density of towns actually made the search more difficult.

This wasn’t like being back home, where surveillance cameras were everywhere and administration reached deep into the community level.

Back home, you could issue an alert, and if someone suspicious appeared in a residential complex, the neighborhood committee might be the first to spot them.

But Celestial Skill’s tracking had at least confirmed their direction, which was a massive help.

A few kilometers later, Celestial Skill changed direction again.

They continued the chase for another ten-plus kilometers in one go. But then, Celestial Skill slowed down and even began to backtrack.

Shen Xin knew the hardest part of the chase had begun.

After all, they had already covered over twenty kilometers.

Their target had been driving for nine hours. God only knew how far they could have gone.

"Come on, Celestial Skill. You can do it."

Shen Xin said, encouraging her.

They needed some luck now. They needed a miracle.

But unfortunately, their luck was running out.

It had rained up ahead.

Sava and Dehong were on the same latitude, so their climates were identical.

This time of year was the rainy season in Dehong, and the same was true for Sava—in fact, it often rained even more here.

Hot, humid, and rainy.

It seemed there had been a localized downpour just ahead; the ground was still wet.

Celestial Skill ran back and forth, sniffing everywhere. She understood her target was in a car, so she kept to the road, searching desperately for the scent.

But finally, at an intersection in a small town, she came to a halt, lost.

She darted in several different directions before finally standing still, unmoving for a long time.

She let out a few anxious barks.

’I’m sorry.’

’I failed.’

Her eyes were filled with self-reproach.

Shen Xin quickly crouched down to comfort her. "Don’t say that. You’ve done an amazing job. Thank you."

’After this is all over, I’m going to take Celestial Skill back with me, just like I did with Tian Kui,’ Shen Xin thought.

It wasn’t just because he was angry with Pan Wenhai and didn’t want to leave Celestial Skill in his care.

’As for Shu Kang, I’ll have to train more police dogs for them later anyway, so I can just give them new ones.’

Tang Youkun got out of his car and said comfortingly, "Shen Xin, don’t worry. Celestial Skill did an amazing job."

"She tracked them for nearly thirty kilometers. I have no idea how she even managed that."

"If it hadn’t been for the rain, she might have been able to keep going."

"Besides, compared to where we were before, we’ve made huge progress. We’ve found the right direction."

They had previously thought the suspects fled north, but now they had confirmed the correct route.

Shen Xin didn’t say anything, staring blankly at his surroundings.

They were in a small town with only a few scattered streetlights.

It was now past two in the morning. There were few lights around, and the distance was swallowed by an impenetrable darkness.

Shen Xin clenched his fists and suddenly said, "Captain Tang, I have another idea."

Tang Youkun eagerly asked what it was.

"Elephants."

Shen Xin turned his head, his gaze resolute.

"Celestial Skill has lost the trail. It’ll be too hard to have her search aimlessly over a wider area."

"After sunrise, Teddy and the others can help look."

"Especially Teddy."

"He can fly at an altitude of a thousand meters and search a wide area for our target."

"But Fan Liping and his men will definitely be hiding inside a building. Even if they do come out, we have no idea when that would be."

"We could search an area, and they might appear right after we leave. We’d miss them completely."

"That’s why I had them bring Teddy, but I know in my heart there’s little hope of him and the others finding anyone. They’re Plan B."

Tang Youkun paused, confused. He asked what Shen Xin meant.

Shen Xin said, "I’m talking about the white elephant."

"Angdu was captured and interrogated. He knew nothing about any white elephant."

"But Zhu Kun confirmed with the border authorities that it was Fan Liping who smuggled the white elephant across."

"So where did the white elephant go? I suspect Fan Liping hid it himself. A white elephant is incredibly valuable; it’s considered the most precious of gifts."

"For Fan Liping to survive in Mianguang, he needs protection from someone powerful. That white elephant might be a gift he’s prepared for just such a person."

"That’s why Angdu was kept in the dark."

Tang Youkun nodded, agreeing with Shen Xin’s analysis, and gestured for him to continue.

Shen Xin continued, "Fan Liping kidnapped Yuwei. He knows full well how serious the consequences are, so he’s definitely going to hide."

"A man like him, having scraped by in Mianguang for so many years, must have more than one hideout."

"At a time like this, he’ll definitely choose his safest location to lie low."

"And then there’s the white elephant. It’s extremely conspicuous. So, isn’t it possible he’d hide the elephant in that same safe place?"

"Of course, I know this is just a theory. It’s not a sure thing, but what if?"

Shen Xin posed the question.

Tang Youkun nodded. He found Shen Xin’s speculation to be reasonable.

After a moment’s thought, he added, "Shen Xin, so you mean we should look for this white elephant? Elephants are certainly conspicuous, but it’s a calf, isn’t it? It can’t be that big."

"Look at Cai Xingquan—he hid in a warehouse, and no one knew. Fan Liping could do the same thing. If the elephant is hidden in some warehouse, no one will know, and it’ll be next to impossible for us to search for it."

Shen Xin shook his head. "I’m not saying *we* should look for it. I’m saying we should use an elephant to find it."

This left Tang Youkun and the others completely bewildered.

Shen Xin explained, "Captain Tang, you might not know this, but elephants have the second-best sense of smell of any animal on Earth."

"I asked Director He about this very topic. In the wild, for instance, elephants can smell a water source from over ten kilometers away, even in humid conditions."

"Also, elephants are social animals, and they rely on their sense of smell to identify their own kind."

"Director He and his team have conducted research showing that a wild elephant can smell the urine, secretions, and other scents of a companion from ten kilometers away."

"That, of course, includes the scent of its own child."

"Ten kilometers! That’s an enormous range. We’ve already determined the general direction. So, what if we bring the mother elephant here to look for her calf?"

"If we find the calf, even if we don’t find Yuwei, we’ll discover where Fan Liping is hiding the elephant and find his men."

"Captain Tang, I want to bring the elephant to Mianguang."

Nan Ji’s calf has been missing for a month; she’s been frantic.

If her calf is anywhere nearby, she’ll definitely be able to find it. It’s her child, after all.

Tang Youkun stared at Shen Xin in a daze.

This method was simply beyond his comprehension.

He subconsciously wanted to ask, ’Will the elephant really listen to you? You just tell it to search, and it’ll search?’

But then he recalled Nan Ji’s reaction to Shen Xin when they’d met before. Maybe it really was possible.

Seeing Tang Youkun still looking dazed, Shen Xin said at once, "I’ll call Director Wan."

’For Ding Yuwei’s sake, I have to try. What if it actually works?’

’Besides, Nan Ji’s injuries are almost healed, and she’s in good health.’

’He Jinglin and his team were worried, too. They didn’t think taking her back to the rescue center was a good idea, since she was so agitated over her missing calf.’

’They were even considering releasing her back into the wild.’

’In that case, why not bring her to Mianguang to look for her calf?’

’I did promise I’d help her find her child.’

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