Chapter 142: The Thieving Bird

The case had gone in circles and returned to square one. They had to either catch the suspect or uncover his method of operation before they could finally close this serial theft case.

Song Changfeng stepped out of the meeting room and walked over to Aofeng’s kennel. Because today’s investigation was very specific, yet tedious and dull, he hadn’t brought Aofeng along. But the moment Aofeng, who had only gone out for a short walk that morning, saw Song Changfeng, he got incredibly excited. From a distance, his tail wagged like a fan, and he stood up on his hind legs, paws on the iron gate, staring at him eagerly.

Song Changfeng quickly walked over and opened the gate to let Aofeng out. As soon as the gate creaked open, Aofeng shot out, sprinting back and forth across the small yard a few times before circling Song Changfeng several times, his excitement plain as day. Song Changfeng reached out and rubbed the back of his neck, a complicated feeling stirring in his heart.

Humans are strange creatures. When you’re unaware of something, it’s easy to overlook, but once your perspective shifts, your entire mindset follows. Take Song Changfeng, for instance. When he used to think of Aofeng as just a smart police dog, locking him in the kennel didn’t bother him. There were plenty of clever police dogs, and they all had to follow the rules. But gradually, he began to feel that Aofeng wasn’t just smart. He was deeply human-like. Being with him felt like interacting with a teenager. Song Changfeng could sense his joy, anger, sorrow, and his yearning for freedom. Once that mindset changed, locking him back in the kennel—even though Aofeng never resisted and only looked at him quietly—made Song Changfeng feel even worse.

So when Lei Liming asked what Aofeng needed, the first thing that came to his mind was freedom. Everyone needs freedom, and a police dog with such human qualities deserves it too. Besides, Song Changfeng held a quiet hope in his heart. He knew what Aofeng was capable of. He also knew Aofeng could distinguish right from wrong. If they let him off the leash, the public security in Anyang City might just change for the better. He knew the idea was a bit wild, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that Aofeng wouldn’t let him down.

Once this case was wrapped up, he was going to bring it up again.

…

“Target has departed. Today’s scheduled installations are for Units 704 and 802 in Building Nine. The three unmonitored and currently unoccupied households in Building Nine are under strict surveillance.”

The voice of an on-site surveillance officer came through the earpiece. Lei Liming slapped his thigh in excitement. “Excellent. Let’s see how he makes his move!”

They had already marked Chen Kang, the head of the home security company, as a key person of interest. Based on Song Changfeng’s observations and the data they had gathered, the Criminal Investigation Detachment had come up with a plan they called “Catching a Turtle in a Jar¹.” Now, they were just waiting for Chen Kang to slip up.

The plan was airtight, but the results were disappointing. The three households under close watch showed no signs of being targeted. Neither the pinhole cameras installed across the street nor the surveillance cameras mounted on the opposite building captured anything unusual at the doors or windows. After Chen Kang left, they contacted the homeowners to come back and check—still nothing.

Just as they were sighing in frustration, a police officer received a call. It was from the local precinct. They had just taken a report: a household in Building Five had been robbed. The stolen item was a gold necklace with a pendant set with a ruby. The woman of the house had left it on the vanity table in the bedroom, planning to wear it out that day. She had only stepped out to visit a neighbor for about fifteen minutes, and when she returned, the necklace was gone.

Lei Liming immediately notified the team on-site to head to Building Five. The incident had just occurred, so there should still be clues left behind.

Song Changfeng, who was on standby nearby with Aofeng, rushed over to Building Five as soon as he got the call. The woman of the house was sighing in frustration, and a neighbor was trying to comfort her. She led Song Changfeng and Aofeng to the bedroom door, pointed at the vanity by the window, and said angrily, “The necklace was right there on the table. I just blinked, and it was gone. That damned thief, how are they so good at this?”

“Ms. Wang, when you came back, was there any sign that the front door had been tampered with?”

“No, the front door was perfectly fine. The bedroom door too. Nothing looked out of place,” Ms. Wang replied, shaking her head.

“And the window? Has it always been like this?” Song Changfeng asked. The window in front of the vanity was cracked open just wide enough for a hand to fit through. If it hadn’t been closed further afterward, a drone clearly wouldn’t have been able to get in through such a narrow gap.

“Yeah, I was afraid of disturbing the scene, so I didn’t touch anything inside.” The resident of the Mingyang Community clearly had experience with being robbed. Victims had already shared tips in the neighborhood group chat, including how to preserve the crime scene and what to say when reporting to the police.

Song Changfeng nodded and entered the bedroom wearing gloves. Aofeng had already gone in ahead to investigate. In fact, the moment Aofeng reached the bedroom door, he caught a scent – the same slightly damp, fishy smell he’d found at Grandpa Liu’s place. After sniffing around, he discovered the strongest concentration of the scent was at the vanity.

Once could be a coincidence, but twice pointed to the truth. As absurd as it sounded, Aofeng had no choice but to believe that the culprit behind this serial theft case might actually be some kind of bird. How bizarre – a thief that’s a bird? But then again, Aofeng thought, if he could be a police dog, why couldn’t a bird be a thief?

“Woof woof woof!” Just as that thought crossed his mind, something caught Aofeng’s eye. He barked loudly at a spot beneath the window.

Song Changfeng’s heart leapt. That was the bark Aofeng made when he found a clue! He quickly walked over, crouched down, and when he stood back up, he was holding a fine, downy feather. If you didn’t look closely, it would be easy to miss.

Anywhere else, Song Changfeng might not have thought much of the feather. But since it was Aofeng who found it, that changed everything. Aofeng never made baseless moves during investigations. Anything he marked or reacted to was almost always connected to the case. If he was excited about this feather, then it had to be important.

But what exactly was its significance? Song Changfeng studied it for a while and confirmed that it looked like an ordinary bird feather.

Getting nothing more from examining it, he sealed the feather in a plastic evidence bag and continued to comb through the scene. The results were the same as at Grandpa Liu’s place – absolutely nothing. The only lead was the feather Aofeng had found.

After finishing the report, Song Changfeng headed out of Building Five with Aofeng. But as soon as they exited the unit door, Aofeng didn’t continue forward. Instead, he turned and walked around to the back of the building. Song Changfeng’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. He didn’t stop him, just silently followed.

Aofeng led the way to the rear of Building Five, where the landscaping was lush, with several tall trees and a ring of shrubs. Beyond the shrubs was a long gravel path. Standing on the path and looking up, one could see the window of Ms. Wang’s apartment. Aofeng sniffed around constantly, occasionally glancing up at the trees. There were plenty of bird scents here too, but none matched the scent of the bird thief from Ms. Wang’s home. The birds in the trees were also small, and a gold necklace like that would be far too heavy for them to carry.

“Woof woof woof woof…” Aofeng barked up at the trees, trying to communicate with the birds, hoping they might offer a clue.

Unfortunately, the birds panicked at his barking and scattered in all directions, chirping furiously as if cursing him. Aofeng sighed. He realized not all animals were easy to talk to. Generally, the closer an animal was to humans, the easier it was for him to communicate with them.

But Aofeng’s actions led to a misunderstanding. Seeing him barking at the birds in the trees, Song Changfeng assumed he was trying to tell him not to overlook them.

Song Changfeng decided to go back and review the surveillance footage again. Maybe, just maybe, he really had missed something the first time.

Translator’s Notes