Chapter 62: An Auxiliary Dog

All individuals involved in the case were brought to the police station, and by this time, Li Zihao’s parents and older brother had also arrived in Jingdu.

Ever since they received the phone call last night, Li Ziyi and their parents hadn’t slept a wink. What puzzled them most was why the kidnappers never called to demand a ransom. They would have paid any amount, as long as their son was returned safely! They tried not to imagine the worst and forced themselves to suppress their growing anxiety. As soon as dawn broke, they had someone arrange a flight and rushed over. Just as they stepped out of the airport, unsure of where to go next, they received a call saying their son had been rescued. Only then did they breathe a sigh of relief, and the exhaustion they had been holding off finally caught up with them.

After confirming Li Zihao’s safety through a video call, the Li family found a nearby hotel, booked a room, and collapsed onto the bed, falling asleep the moment their heads hit the pillows.

As for the three kidnappers, they would of course face legal punishment. After Li Zihao finished giving his statement, he was taken to another office. There weren’t many people inside, and when they saw him enter, they greeted him with warm smiles. They asked him to turn on the computer on the desk and hack into the police department’s firewall.

Li Zihao was completely stunned. There was no way he would do something illegal like that. He didn’t even dare visit shady foreign websites, let alone hack into the police system. Were they trying to entrap him? The moment he breached the firewall, would they arrest him for endangering public safety?

At that moment, Li Zihao seriously regretted ever showing off his skills. If he’d known this would happen, he would’ve let that guy flame him to death online that day. Now, not only had he gotten himself kidnapped, but he might even end up spending the rest of his life in prison. This was just too tragic!

Watching Li Zihao’s expression shift from confusion to terror to utter despair, the people in the room were baffled. What kind of wild thoughts had he just run through in his head? They were simply curious about how skilled he really was, to the point that someone would kidnap him over it.

To stop him from spiraling further, one of the Cyber Security Bureau staff cleared his throat and explained that they only wanted him to demonstrate his computer skills and file a simple record. If they ever needed someone with his expertise, they’d reach out.

Li Zihao let out a few awkward chuckles, then quickly sat down in front of the computer and started typing. His fingers flew across the keyboard. In less than ten minutes, a crack appeared in the previously impenetrable firewall. Li Zihao seized the opportunity, slipped in, and even disguised his presence, moving freely within the system.

The Cyber Security Bureau staff were stunned. They couldn’t believe how terrifyingly skilled this so-called “keyboard immortal” was. Even though this was just a regular police department’s firewall, it wasn’t something an average hacker could break into so easily. With talent like this, if left unchecked, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t be kidnapped again and forced into committing crimes.

Fortunately, they had already looked into his family background. With such a powerful backing, the likelihood of him committing crimes for money was extremely low.

Still, they wanted to reduce that already slim chance to zero. To do that, they needed to bring him into the fold as an auxiliary member as soon as possible.

Li Zihao came from a well-off family and had no worries. Even after hearing about all the benefits they offered, he wasn’t particularly tempted. For him, as long as he could stay home in his villa and play games with Kaka, he was perfectly content.

The staff were stunned. What a waste of talent! They immediately tried to persuade him again and asked him to name his own terms.

Li Zihao hesitated for a moment, then suddenly remembered something. The day he picked Kaka up from the cargo area, there had been three police dogs in the cage next to him. When Kaka left, he kept looking back at the cage, clearly reluctant. Ever since then, whenever he saw someone in a police uniform, he would stare at them. Li Zihao had reason to believe that Kaka was envious of those police dogs. Plus, he’d just learned that the dog who had rescued him at the auto repair shop was the same one that had saved Kaka at Dabai Mountain Forest Park. Now, it had saved both him and Kaka. What a fated connection. No wonder Kaka had been so reluctant to leave at the airport. He must have wanted to stay with his friend!

“Then… I want my Kaka to become a police dog. Is that okay?” Li Zihao asked cautiously.

The Cyber Security Bureau staff hadn’t expected such a simple request and agreed without hesitation. Li Zihao was thrilled. Now Kaka wouldn’t have to envy other dogs anymore. As for himself, he could play on the computer anywhere, so it didn’t really matter.

Since Li Zihao was from Anyang City, the staff told him to report to the Cyber Security Bureau there with an introduction letter. Li Zihao agreed and even asked for a letter for Kaka, so he could report to the Anyang Police Dog Training Base.

One of the staff casually asked, “What breed is your Kaka?”

“He’s a very handsome husky!” Li Zihao replied happily.

A… a husky? The staff member nearly broke down. He could already imagine the string of curses the training base director would unleash after receiving that letter. Thankfully, he had only promised auxiliary dog status.

…

Aofeng, of course, had no idea that once he returned to the base, there would be a husky joining them. At the moment, he and Song Changfeng had already returned to the stadium.

Unknowingly, evening had arrived. Duo Duo and Xiao Qi had both completed their events for the day. Today’s competitions were drug detection and explosives detection, which were their future specialties, so naturally, they performed without error. Still, most of their opponents were seasoned police dogs, so their chances of standing out weren’t particularly high.

Everyone at the base understood this, but they weren’t discouraged. The competition was judged by total score. After four events, their team ranked eighth out of forty. As long as the gap didn’t widen too much, they still had a shot at breaking into the top three in the later rounds.

Pan Zi and Zhou Xiaoyong quickly approached Song Changfeng and Aofeng to ask about the kidnapping case. When they heard it had already been solved, they were full of admiration. As expected of the Jingdu police – their efficiency was unmatched! Little did they know, both Song Changfeng and Aofeng had played a major role in cracking the case.

The group chatted as they headed toward the cafeteria, but before they could even step through the door, Song Changfeng’s phone rang again. He had practically developed a conditioned reflex by now—after just three rings, he answered and brought the phone to his ear.

“Yes, this is he. Treat us to a meal? Thank you, but that won’t be necessary. Helping and rescuing every citizen is our duty and responsibility…”

After a brief conversation, Song Changfeng hung up. When he turned around, he found several pairs of eyes staring straight at him.

“What is it?”

“Was that someone from the Li family?” Pan Zi asked.

“Yes, he said his name was Li Ziyi,” Song Changfeng replied truthfully.

“Sigh!” Zhou Xiaoyong let out a long sigh. “Brother Song, do you know what kind of background his family has?”

“Isn’t it Huaxing Technology?” Song Changfeng asked in return.

“Exactly! The leading enterprise in our province, Huaxing Technology, and you actually turned down an invitation from the head of Huaxing Technology!” Pan Zi looked at Song Changfeng with a mix of disbelief and disappointment.

“So what? As a public servant, I shouldn’t be accepting invitations to dine at high-end places,” Song Changfeng said. To him, breaking the rules once opened the door to doing it again. The moment you started gambling on luck, things could spiral in unpredictable directions.

Hearing this, Pan Zi and Zhou Xiaoyong couldn’t help but show thoughtful expressions. They wondered, if this had happened to them, would they have been able to refuse as firmly as Song Changfeng had? The answer was uncertain. Since it hadn’t actually happened to them, any amount of speculation was meaningless.

This little episode didn’t dampen their appetite in the slightest. As for Aofeng, he didn’t face such moral dilemmas. After all, he was currently a dog. Even if he ate something from someone else, surely no one would accuse him of accepting a bribe, right?