Chapter 6: Escaping a Tragic Fate

Early the next morning, Shen Yuanhui got out of bed. He picked up his phone from the table, only to find it had powered off due to a dead battery.

He stepped outside and borrowed a charger from one of the staff at the Training Base, then plugged in his phone. As soon as it powered on, a flood of missed calls and WeChat messages popped up.

Shen Yuanhui frowned. He’d forgotten to check his phone before bed last night. With so many people trying to reach him, had something serious happened? Most of the missed calls were clustered around eleven o’clock the previous night, with none afterward, so it seemed the issue had already been resolved.

He opened WeChat and saw that many people had messaged him. Clicking on a few at random, they were all asking if he was okay and how he was feeling.

Shen Yuanhui was completely confused. He’d just spent the night at the Police Dog Training Base. Why was everyone so anxious?

Still puzzled, Shen Yuanhui dialed a number and asked, “Xiao Zhang, what happened last night? A lot of people tried to call me. Did something happen?”

Xiao Zhang, whose full name was Zhang Ming, was the office director working closely with Shen Yuanhui. For this unannounced inspection at the Police Dog Training Base, Shen had only informed Zhang Ming to avoid tipping anyone off.

Zhang Ming said, “Bureau Chief Shen, you scared everyone half to death. Last night, a landslide occurred on the S325 highway due to heavy rain. The buried section stretched over a hundred and twenty meters, pushing several cars off the road and down a steep slope. One vehicle was completely buried.”

“Was rescue dispatched? Were the people saved?” Shen Yuanhui shot to his feet.

Zhang Ming quickly replied, “Bureau Chief, please don’t worry. The passengers from the cars that went down the slope have all been taken to the hospital. Aside from some scrapes and fractures, they’re fine. They were coworkers on a team-building trip, visiting a countryside farm. They rushed back because of the rain and got caught in the landslide. Luckily, there was water at the bottom of the slope, and the soft soil cushioned the fall, so there wasn’t much impact. Once they regained consciousness, they immediately called for help. The buried car was also dug out in time. The driver had some oxygen deprivation but was resuscitated and moved to a regular ward.”

Shen Yuanhui let out a sigh of relief. “Good, as long as they’re safe.”

“Yes, as soon as we got the call, everyone mobilized right away,” Zhang Ming added. Then, sounding a bit sheepish, he lowered his voice. “Bureau Chief, the reason everyone kept calling you… was because I said something.”

“Hm?”

“When I heard about the damaged road, I immediately thought of you. If you were returning from the Police Dog Training Base, you’d have to take that route too. I panicked and mentioned it. Then, when we couldn’t reach your phone…” Zhang Ming trailed off awkwardly. The whole point of this trip was a covert inspection, but his reaction had turned it into a public affair.

Shen Yuanhui couldn’t help but chuckle. “Forget it. You were just worried. But why did everyone stop calling after that?”

Zhang Ming laughed. “That was thanks to Xiao Huang from the Technical Department. He had the smarts to check the surveillance footage. He saw you get into Xiao Li’s car, then immediately called Xiao Li and confirmed that you both stayed at the Training Base. That’s when everyone finally relaxed.”

“Has the road been cleared? Traffic safety is no small matter. Did you report it to the municipal authorities?”

Zhang Ming replied, “Don’t worry, Bureau Chief. It’s been reported, and the road should be reopened by this morning.”

Shen Yuanhui gave an approving nod, then offered a few more instructions before hanging up.

Not long after, Director Li hurried over and said, “Bureau Chief Shen, please stay at the base a bit longer this morning. The road is still blocked, so it’ll be a while before you can head back.”

Shen Yuanhui nodded. “I’ve been briefed on the situation. I’ll use the morning to observe more of the police dog training.”

Director Li said, “Formal training starts at 8:30. You can head to the cafeteria first, and then we’ll go to the training grounds.”

On the way to the cafeteria with Director Li, Shen Yuanhui spotted a squad of puppies doing their morning drills. The little ones were full of energy, bouncing and leaping in sync with the trainers’ commands. They looked absolutely adorable.

Of course, not everything was picture perfect. For example, that little German Shepherd was once again blatantly slacking off during training, lazily sprawled out on the grass, sunbathing. It was just waiting for the dismissal command so it could trot off with the others to breakfast.

“That’s Aofeng, isn’t it?” Shen Yuanhui said with certainty in his voice.

“That’s the one,” Director Li replied, shooting Aofeng a reproachful glance. He felt utterly embarrassed. It had only been one night, and Bureau Chief Shen already recognized this lazy little pup.

“Has it always been like this?”

“Pretty much,” Director Li couldn’t help venting. “We had high hopes for it. It’s the offspring of two Merit Dogs, with excellent physical traits. But the older it got, the lazier it became. At first, it would at least pretend to train. Now it doesn’t even bother. It’s infamous across the whole base.”

At that moment, Director Li sounded like an elementary school teacher lamenting the downfall of a once-promising student, torn between frustration and affection.

“But I’ve noticed it’s actually very clever,” Shen Yuanhui offered his own take based on Aofeng’s behavior yesterday.

Director Li nodded in agreement. “Clever, yes. Among this batch of puppies, Aofeng is probably the smartest. But it doesn’t use that intelligence the right way. After it ran off yesterday, we checked the surveillance footage. That rascal deliberately chose blind spots to move through. We’re not sure if it was just a coincidence or if it figured that out on its own.” Most of the main cameras didn’t catch it, but everyone assumed it was just luck. After all, no matter how smart a dog is, there’s a limit.

For some reason, Shen Yuanhui had a gut feeling that Aofeng had intentionally avoided the cameras.

“Thank goodness for it yesterday,” Shen Yuanhui said with some emotion. It seemed some animals truly had a sixth sense.

Director Li froze for a moment, then recalled how Aofeng had blocked Shen Yuanhui from leaving yesterday. A cold sweat broke out on his back.

That’s right. If Aofeng hadn’t stubbornly stopped Bureau Chief Shen from heading out yesterday, they might’ve ended up in that landslide. If something had happened… it would’ve been a disaster.

“I heard those puppies are getting evaluated today?” Shen Yuanhui changed the subject.

Director Li replied, “Yeah, that was the plan. But the evaluator called and said something came up on their end, so they can’t make it today. The assessment’s been pushed back a week, which gives these little guys more time to train.”

Shen Yuanhui felt a bit disappointed. He had thought he could adopt Aofeng right away. Whether or not Aofeng was truly special, after what happened last night, he was determined to adopt him. After all, Aofeng had practically saved his life. If his wife didn’t want to keep the dog at home, he’d just keep Aofeng at the station until retirement, then bring him home.

“Once the evaluation results are out, don’t send Aofeng to the auction. Hold him for me,” Shen Yuanhui said.

Director Li quickly responded, “No problem. I’ll definitely keep him for you.” He had thought Aofeng was going to be a tough one to place, but now it looked like the pup had found an even better home.

He noticed Shen Yuanhui couldn’t take his eyes off Aofeng, his gaze full of affection. He added, “Actually, you could take him home this afternoon. We’ll just bring him back for the evaluation later. The little guy isn’t really training anyway. He’s just playing around here.”

Shen Yuanhui was tempted, but he didn’t want to break protocol. It was only seven days, after all. He could wait.

After breakfast, Shen Yuanhui and Director Li headed to the other side of the Training Base. The facilities there were much larger and the equipment more advanced. If the puppies here were considered reserves, then the dogs over there were practically full-fledged police dogs.

Watching the well-trained police dogs follow the trainers’ commands to practice biting and tackling techniques, Shen Yuanhui was full of admiration. Once properly trained, these dogs would be a major asset in fighting crime.

The morning flew by. Xiao Li called to say the roads had been cleared and asked when Shen Yuanhui wanted to head out.

Hearing that, Shen Yuanhui didn’t waste any time and got ready to leave right away.

Just before departure, he received a call from his wife, Wang Xiuyun, who scolded him for only sharing good news and hiding the bad. She had just found out he’d been in danger the day before. If it hadn’t slipped out from a nearby police family, she still wouldn’t know.

In fact, they had spoken yesterday afternoon, but Shen Yuanhui had only said he was going out on business and might not be home. Wang Xiuyun was used to his busy schedule and just reminded him to eat on time, thinking nothing of it. It wasn’t until she was dropping their grandson off at kindergarten this morning and overheard the neighbors talking that she realized something serious had happened.

Shen Yuanhui quickly reassured her and took the opportunity to bring up adopting Aofeng. To win her over, he emphasized how Aofeng had stopped him from going out last night, possibly saving his life.

As expected, once Wang Xiuyun heard that, she agreed to the adoption and told him to bring Aofeng home today. Such a well-behaved dog deserved a proper thank-you.

Shen Yuanhui had already been leaning toward it, and now that he had her blessing, he immediately asked Director Li to have someone bring Aofeng over. Still, he was thinking he’d just let Aofeng stay at home for a day and bring him back for training tomorrow.

…

When they put the leash on Aofeng, he froze for a moment. But when he saw Shen Yuanhui waiting by the car, he perked up and ran over excitedly to greet him.

Looks like he really had escaped the fate of being neutered!