Chapter 53: Here Comes the Little Plane

In the end, Aofeng didn’t get to use the new equipment. On the very day it was delivered to the base, he and the other dogs from the Training Base were loaded into a vehicle and taken to the airport in the northern part of Anyang City.

The journey to Jingdu for the competition was long, so flying was naturally their first choice. The northern airport had a great location, solid infrastructure, and plenty of experience transporting live animals. It had helped the Training Base ship police dogs to various parts of the country many times before. When the airport staff heard that three police dogs were flying to Jingdu for a competition, they even arranged a special fast-track lane¹ to get them through security and onto the plane.

During security screening, trainers weren’t allowed to accompany them, so the staff had the trainers coax the dogs into a steel crate. The crate was fairly spacious, with thick padding on the bottom and barely any lingering smells inside. It wasn’t too uncomfortable. Aofeng walked in on his own, circled twice, then lay down and stayed still. The staff were stunned. In all their years on the job, they’d never seen a dog so cooperative.

Duo Duo the Rottweiler and Xiao Qi the Kunming Dog were a bit nervous at first, growling low in their throats. Even with the trainers coaxing them, they were reluctant to enter the crate. But when they saw Aofeng lying calmly inside, they finally stopped resisting so much.

Once all three police dogs were inside, the airport staff wheeled the crate into the plane’s oxygenated cargo hold. After confirming they were all doing fine, they left.

This was Aofeng’s first time flying. Even when he was human, he’d never flown before. Back then, he always took the high-speed rail²—after all, the cities he traveled between weren’t that far apart. He used to have a plan: on his thirtieth birthday, he’d take all his accumulated vacation days, carve out a long break, and travel the world by plane. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it to thirty before he died.

Now, that unfulfilled wish had come true—just not in the way he’d imagined. He never expected his first flight would be in a live animal cargo hold.

Still, thinking about it, it wasn’t a bad deal. The conditions here were probably better than economy class. Aofeng looked around the cargo hold with interest. When he turned his head, he saw Duo Duo and Xiao Qi curled up in the crate, trembling.

Last time they’d been caged and taken to an unfamiliar place, their trainers had stayed with them the whole time. Even if they were uncomfortable, they could tough it out. But this time? The trainers had only walked them to the door. Now they were alone in a strange environment. Honestly, the fact that they weren’t barking their heads off showed impressive restraint.

Aofeng couldn’t help feeling a bit concerned. He barked a few times, explaining the purpose of the trip and where their trainers were.

Once they realized they weren’t being abandoned, Duo Duo and Xiao Qi calmed down a little. They didn’t really understand long human speech—especially when people talked fast. The only reason they could follow commands was because of endless repetition during training.

About ten minutes later, a few more pets were brought into the cargo hold. Two Ragdoll cats, an Akita, and an Erha³ (Husky). These pets were all expensive breeds, not something the average person could afford, let alone pay to fly with.

The two Ragdolls were probably from the same household. They were stunning—big, glistening eyes that made Aofeng want to call them goddesses and go over for a cuddle. Sadly, they were no goddesses, just two neutered male cats. They looked a bit on edge, their eyes scanning the surroundings warily.

The Akita was still a pup. The moment it entered, it was so terrified by the scent of the three police dogs that it peed itself. Now it was curled up in a corner, tail tucked, shivering.

Aofeng turned his gaze to the Erha and suddenly felt like the guy looked familiar, like he’d seen him somewhere before. As he studied the Erha, the Erha tilted his head and looked back with an expression of deep wisdom—though his face was full of confusion.

“Kaka?” Aofeng called out. He hadn’t met many Erhas, but the one that stood out most was the one who’d fallen into a pit at Dabai Mountain Forest Park and gotten tangled in vines. That Erha had the same wise-looking eyes.

The Erha’s expression turned horrified, like he was thinking, How do you know my name?

“Dabai Mountain Forest Park. I rescued you. Remember?” Aofeng sighed. People always said goldfish only had seven-second memories, but he’d never heard that Erhas had bad memories too.

“!” The Erha’s eyes went wide. “Whoa, how’d you get so big?”

Aofeng felt oddly satisfied. At least the guy remembered. Probably the size difference between a six-month-old police dog and an eleven-month-old one was too much for Kaka to recognize him right away.

“It’s been a while. Isn’t it normal to grow?” Aofeng replied.

Kaka nodded like he sort of understood, but inside he was wondering why he hadn’t changed at all.

“So what are you doing in Jingdu?”

Kaka tilted his head, thought for a moment, and said, “My owner’s taking me on a trip.”

Looking at that innocent face, Aofeng couldn’t help feeling a little jealous. What a cushy life. With a rich second-generation⁴ owner, this dog was living the dream.

“What about you, big guy?” Kaka asked.

“We’re going to compete. Ever heard of the National Police Dog Competition?” Aofeng’s tone was a little smug, but to Kaka it was like lighting a lamp for a blind man⁵. He didn’t catch Aofeng’s meaning at all. In fact, he had no idea such a competition even existed. He even asked if he could enter too.

“No way. You’re not a police dog,” Aofeng said bluntly, dousing Kaka’s excitement like a bucket of cold water. He didn’t mean to be harsh, but Erhas just weren’t cut out to be police dogs.

Director Li trying to train a Golden Retriever as a police dog was already pushing it. If he ever brought in an Erha for training, people would probably think he’d lost his mind.

Luckily, Erhas had incredible emotional resilience. In no time, Kaka was back to his cheerful self, trying to cozy up to Duo Duo and Xiao Qi. They’d never met a dog like him before. After a few exchanges, they saw through his true nature and couldn’t help looking at him with pity. They thought to themselves, If this dog were at the Breeding Center, he’d probably be eliminated the moment he walked out the door.

They were chatting away happily when, all of a sudden, the floor began to shake and a buzzing sound came from beneath the plane. The sudden change startled all the animals in the cargo hold. Panic broke out as everyone began to cry out. The two Ragdolls nearly leapt to the top of their cage, their fur puffed up like balls of fluff.

Amid the chorus of meows, barks, and howls, Aofeng was the first to regain his composure.

“Everyone, calm down! This is just the plane taking off and climbing. It’ll be over soon!” Aofeng called out loudly, trying to soothe their nerves.

Fortunately, the others trusted Aofeng. As soon as he spoke, the animals in the cages quieted down. Sure enough, just as Aofeng had said, everything settled down after a short while.

The flight from Anyang City to Jingdu took a little over four hours. They spent the first hour mostly chatting, even the two Ragdolls and the timid Akita joined in. The remaining three hours were spent sleeping.

Aofeng let out a yawn, which spread like a virus through the cargo hold. One by one, the animals began yawning too, then curled up in comfortable spots in their cages and drifted off to sleep.

…

The descent of the plane didn’t wake them. It wasn’t until a staff member came to open the cargo hold that they stirred. At first glance, seeing all the animals lying motionless in their cages gave the worker quite a scare. He rushed to check the oxygen supply system. If something had gone wrong mid-flight and caused a lack of oxygen, the consequences would be unimaginable. Never mind the expensive pet dogs on board, just the three future working dogs from the Training Base alone were an invaluable asset.

Thankfully, the oxygen system was working fine. As he checked the equipment, the animals began to wake up. Fuzzy heads turned toward him, their eyes still misty with sleep, making them look irresistibly cute.

The staffer really wanted to pet them one by one, but the cages were in the way, so he had to give up with a sigh.

He wheeled the cages out for security inspection. Once that was done, he had to wait in a designated area until their owners came to pick them up.

The first to arrive was the owner of the Ragdoll cats, a gentle young woman with flowing hair. She held the two beautiful Ragdolls in her arms, drawing plenty of attention as she walked by. Next came the Akita’s owner, a sunny-looking young man. After fastening the leash on the Akita, he noticed Aofeng and the others and couldn’t help but whistle at them. The whistle didn’t get a response from Aofeng and the rest, but it did stir up Erha, who let out an excited howl and looked thrilled.

“Kaka!” Kaka’s owner, a bespectacled rich kid with a bit of a shut-in⁶ vibe, always acted like he was reuniting with a long-lost friend whenever he saw Erha. Man and dog truly were a perfect match.

Just before leaving, Kaka wagged his tail at Aofeng, as if about to say something, but his owner gave a tug on the leash and the moment passed.

After they left, Aofeng couldn’t help looking toward the corridor. Why were Song Changfeng and the others taking so long? Even if they were crawling, they should’ve arrived by now. Could something have happened?

He wasn’t the only one worried. Duo Duo and Xiao Qi were getting anxious too. Their earlier calm had faded as more and more pets were picked up, yet their trainer dad still hadn’t shown up. They stood on their hind legs, paws pressed against the cage, letting out low, whimpering growls.

Just as Aofeng was about to say something to comfort them, his ears twitched. Footsteps. Familiar ones. It was them! He looked over and saw Duo Duo and Xiao Qi had perked up too, ears alert and eyes fixed on the corridor.

Song Changfeng and his team finally appeared. Their breathing was uneven, as if they’d just gone through some intense physical exertion.

On the way back, Aofeng overheard them talking and learned what had happened. Apparently, just after disembarking, an elderly couple walking ahead of them suddenly collapsed. One of them fell to the ground, and the other clutched their chest, struggling to breathe. They helped the flight crew carry the couple to the airport’s emergency center and didn’t leave until the doctors had wheeled them in for treatment.

Aofeng looked at them with admiration. When faced with an emergency, they stepped up without hesitation. Calm, decisive, and compassionate – true role models for the people.

Translator’s Notes