Chapter 49: Even Ultraman¹ Couldn’t Tempt Him

By the time Song Changfeng returned with his food, Sheng Changlin had already left. Aofeng lay on the floor, frustrated and unable to vent his grievances, pawing at the cracks between the floorboards in a sulk.

Song Changfeng didn’t understand what was going on. He assumed Aofeng was just feeling a bit down from not getting enough exercise that day. So after finishing his meal, he took Aofeng to the training field at the Yicheng City base to let him run freely.

Even though it was already dark, the training field was still bustling with people and dogs. The mingling of voices and barks created a lively, harmonious atmosphere. Under the bright lights that made it feel like daytime, the place was even more relaxed and cheerful than during the day.

The field was filled with large dogs. Despite being calm and professional during work hours, off-duty they were lively and adorable. Even though the trainers held their leashes tightly, they couldn’t stop the dogs from pouncing on their companions, either to play or to provoke.

Song Changfeng jogged a few laps around the field with Aofeng. Sure enough, exercise was a great mood booster. After a few laps, the dopamine rush helped Aofeng forget his earlier frustrations, leaving only the pure joy of a good workout.

“Song Changfeng? It really is you!”

As they strolled along the edge of the field after their run, a voice suddenly called out from nearby. It sounded both surprised and full of excitement. If the voice hadn’t clearly belonged to a man, Aofeng would’ve thought it was one of Song Changfeng’s admirers.

Aofeng looked up at Song Changfeng, his eyes curious. Come to think of it, he’d never seen this guy date anyone. He never even chatted with women on his phone. Even Dezi had gone on a couple of blind dates. But Song Changfeng? Aside from training dogs at the base and the occasional shopping trip, he had no social life at all. And he was good-looking too. What a waste for a homebody!

Song Changfeng turned to find the person who had called out, so he didn’t notice Aofeng’s probing look. Otherwise, he might’ve sat this underage dog down for a serious talk about his thoughts.

“Wang Jinbao?” Song Changfeng called out.

“Yeah, it’s me! You actually remember my name?” Wang Jinbao wasn’t short, but next to Song Changfeng, he didn’t quite measure up. He had a cheerful personality, and upon seeing that Song Changfeng recognized him, he couldn’t resist teasing a little.

Song Changfeng smiled and started chatting with him. But no matter where the conversation went, it always circled back to dog training.

They had met at the Beijing Advanced Studies School. In Wang Jinbao’s eyes, Song Changfeng was practically a legend. He aced every academic assessment, always kept to himself, and rarely showed emotion, giving off a cool and distant vibe. But once, when Wang Jinbao got injured during a wall-scaling drill, it was this seemingly aloof Song Changfeng who rushed over first, carried him on his back, and took him to the medical room. That incident revealed Song Changfeng’s warm heart beneath the cold exterior, and from then on, everyone found it easier to get along with him.

The two of them were happily catching up, but Aofeng was getting increasingly annoyed by the dog Wang Jinbao had on a leash. It was a Labrador, energetic and outgoing to the extreme. From the moment Wang Jinbao walked over, the Labrador had been testing Aofeng’s patience.

It would crouch down pretending to attack, bounce around in front and behind him, spin in circles, and its thick tail kept slapping Aofeng like a feather duster. Worst of all, it seemed to think it was all a game, grinning like a fool the whole time. Aofeng’s forehead veins twitched. He was on the verge of exploding.

This dumb dog… is no one going to control it?

When the Labrador spun around for the fourth time and its tail smacked Aofeng in the face, Aofeng finally snapped. He leapt up, launched forward with his front paws, kicked off the ground with his hind legs, and in the blink of an eye, had the Labrador pinned to the ground and was rubbing it into the dirt.

“Guo Bao!” Wang Jinbao shouted in alarm.

Almost at the same moment, Song Changfeng called out, “Aofeng!”

Aofeng released the dazed Guo Bao, who had been stunned by the sudden attack, and calmly returned to sit beside Song Changfeng as if nothing had happened. When dealing with a brat, quick and decisive action was best. Otherwise, the fool would just come back for more.

Guo Bao let out a yelp and dove under Wang Jinbao’s legs, trembling. His big eyes looked innocently at Aofeng, confused as to why this fellow dog wouldn’t play with him and instead beat him up. Wang Jinbao patted his head, looking a bit troubled.

“Sorry about that,” said Song Changfeng. “He’s usually… not like this.”

Song Changfeng was puzzled. Aofeng had never had conflicts with other police dogs at the base. Then again, no other dogs ever tried to mess with him. Even as a puppy, Aofeng had used his human-level intelligence to beat up any dog that tried to provoke him. Afterward, he’d just lie there like nothing happened. When the trainers came over, they had no idea why the others were whining so miserably. Thanks to those childhood traumas, the other dogs rarely tried to play with Aofeng.

Wang Jinbao scratched his head. “I should be the one apologizing. Guo Bao must’ve been bothering him. He’s way too hyper and always messing with others at the base. Gets into fights all the time. Your Aofeng’s got a good temper though, and really strong self-control. Very obedient too.” Most dogs, once angered, wouldn’t calm down just because their trainer called out once.

“What program is Guo Bao registered for?” Song Changfeng asked. Labradors were among the gentlest and most harmless of police dogs, usually assigned to patrol or search and rescue duties.

Sure enough, Wang Jinbao replied, “Explosives Detection and Patrol. What about Aofeng? Oh right, wasn’t he the one who took first place in the Blood Trail Search this afternoon?”

Seeing Wang Jinbao’s excitement, Song Changfeng gave a quiet nod. Aofeng’s performance this time had been even better than usual.

“Wow, that’s amazing! You’re incredible, and so is your dog. I bet someone’s already got their eye on him. Might even get called up early!” Wang Jinbao sounded a bit envious, but in his mind, even if Guo Bao wasn’t the best, he was the perfect match for him.

That kind of early selection wasn’t common, so Song Changfeng didn’t think much of it. After chatting a bit more, the two went their separate ways.

…

This morning’s event was indoor pursuit, and the afternoon was evidence search. In the indoor pursuit competition, the Rottweiler Duo Duo had performed bravely, but ultimately lacked the experience of frontline police dogs. He only scored 5 points in that event, bringing his total to 33.

Yesterday’s top scorer, who had 24.5 points, earned 5.5 yesterday and 7 today, bringing the total to 37. That 4-point gap pushed them five spots apart in the rankings – one still held first place, while the other had dropped to sixth.

If Aofeng wanted to secure a good result and advance, he would have to give it his all in the remaining events, because the last three competitions were all his responsibility.

During the afternoon’s evidence search, Aofeng maintained the same energy he had shown the day before. However, since the evidence was scattered in multiple locations, yesterday’s strategy didn’t apply. On top of that, the other police dogs performed exceptionally well too. In the end, Aofeng scored 7.5 points in this round. That brought his total score to 40.5, bumping him up one spot to fifth place. The current first-place team scored another 7 points, raising their total to 44.

The next day marked the final day of the competition. The events scheduled were police dog patrol and Anti-Riot and Emergency Response². The Anti-Riot and Emergency Response event would be held within the Training Base, while the patrol would take place across several nearby streets.

In the Anti-Riot and Emergency Response event, Aofeng performed admirably. Working alongside Song Changfeng, he successfully apprehended two “suspects” and quickly contained the situation. Based on his overall performance, the judges awarded him a high score of 9. Unfortunately, since this event was judged manually and not in chronological order, the chances of score overlap were high. Even though their total score rose to 49.5, they only moved up one place to fourth. The first-place team earned 8.5 points this round, bringing their total to 52.5 and keeping them in the lead.

As soon as the results were reported, Director Li burst out laughing. As long as Aofeng performed normally in the final event, there was a real chance he could break into the top three. Even though it was just the top three within their regional division, it was still a huge improvement from starting out in tenth place. The national competition would be held ten days after the regional rounds ended, giving them time to intensify their training. Who knew? There might still be a pleasant surprise ahead!

After sharing the good news, the group went off to eat. After the meal, the instructor went to draw lots. When he returned, he said, “I drew Jingfeng Street. I’ll head over first to scout the area and mark the key patrol spots. Make sure you don’t miss any of them. Also, pay attention to how passersby react. The little details can make or break your score. There’ll be a drone monitoring the entire patrol.”

Song Changfeng nodded seriously, and Aofeng followed suit.

There was a reason the police dog patrol was scheduled as the final event. After all, street patrols were what police dogs did most frequently in their daily duties. Major and minor cases happened every day, but the odds of any one dog being involved in a big case were low. Most of the time, these cities remained peaceful and orderly. After several days of intense and thrilling competition, it was time to return to the routines of everyday life.

About half an hour later, the instructor returned to the Training Base. He pulled out his phone, opened a video, and began analyzing the basic layout of Jingfeng Street. From the footage, it was clear that Jingfeng Street stretched for one kilometer and had heavy foot traffic. In addition to storefronts, there were also street vendors lining the road. All in all, there were quite a few areas that required attention.

While the instructor was analyzing, Aofeng listened attentively beside him. After a while, only one sentence truly stuck with him: during the patrol, the police dog must stay at the trainer’s heel at all times and must not act on its own. Any violation could result in disqualification for that round.

Aofeng made up his mind. Even if he saw Ultraman running down the street, he would not leave Song Changfeng’s side!

Translator’s Notes