Chapter 18 Basic Moves, Don’t Overdo It

While Dezi was lost in a wave of sorrow and helplessness, Aofeng sensed something was off. He didn’t understand why Dezi had suddenly become so downcast, but he still reached out with a front paw and patted Dezi’s hand. Snapping out of it, Dezi gave Aofeng a gentle pat on the head, his smile tinged with bitterness.

His gaze shifted back and forth between Aofeng and Shan Dian, filled with reluctance. Rather than being forced to choose between the two pups, he would rather be the one chosen. Even though he already had a good idea of what their choices would be.

Dezi took a small ball, stepped back, and crouched down, signaling the Assistant Trainer to do the same.

Without hesitation, Shan Dian ran straight to Dezi. Aofeng, having seen Shan Dian’s earlier behavior and knowing he was wary of strangers, thoughtfully stepped toward the Assistant Trainer and sniffed the ball in his hand. This way, no one would be put in a difficult position.

Aofeng, still sniffing the ball intently, had no idea what this choice actually meant. He noticed the ball was the same kind the police dogs usually played with, but unlike the usual ones, these training balls had been soaked for a long time and now carried distinct scents.

The one Aofeng was sniffing had a faint fragrance, similar to the pet shampoo he usually bathed with—a mix of citrus and orange. The one Dezi was holding out to Shan Dian had a hint of lavender.

It seemed today’s training wouldn’t be too difficult. The scent was strong enough that even a human might catch a whiff. Aofeng figured that made sense—this was their first training session in a new location, so jumping straight into hellish drills would be a bit much.

Five minutes passed quickly. Most of the police dogs, with their exceptional sense of smell, had already memorized the scent. Only a few overly excited dogs kept trying to bite the ball, clearly more interested in playing than remembering the smell.

At Zhang Meng’s command, the Trainers led their dogs toward the haystacks scattered around the training field. Aofeng followed the Assistant Trainer toward one not far away.

By the time they arrived, two other police dogs were already circling the haystack. They had their heads down, noses practically buried in the straw, sniffing carefully for the familiar scent.

Aofeng didn’t join them. Instead, he stood beside the haystack and flared his nostrils. A mix of scents rushed into his brain—natural straw, the Trainers’ sweat, the other dogs’ scent, and the distinct fragrance of the hidden training balls.

He carefully sorted through the smells until he picked out the citrus scent he was looking for. It was coming from the upper-middle section of the haystack!

Aofeng stepped forward, pinpointed the spot, and swiped with his front paw. Sure enough, a yellow ball rolled out from the scattered straw. He lifted his head, grabbed the ball in his mouth, and dropped it into the mesh pouch tied to the Assistant Trainer’s waist.

The Assistant Trainer was stunned by the smooth sequence. Aofeng hadn’t even gone over to sniff up close, yet he found the ball in one go! And he even knew to drop it in the pouch afterward. How smart was this dog?

Meanwhile, other police dogs were also finding balls. Some ran off excitedly with the ball in their mouths, while others placed them in their Trainer’s hands, eyes gleaming with anticipation, clearly hoping for a game as a reward.

With all the dogs in action, the training field buzzed with energy. Amid the barking and shouted commands, Aofeng led the Assistant Trainer to the next haystack.

The Assistant Trainer noticed that Aofeng only paused briefly at each haystack. After a moment, he would either decisively dig out a ball or move on without hesitation.

Aofeng was incredibly focused. He wasn’t distracted by other dogs and didn’t need constant reminders or rewards. It was as if he knew exactly what his task was and how to carry it out. To Aofeng, the Assistant Trainer probably served no purpose other than carrying the pouch.

Fifteen minutes later, Aofeng led the Assistant Trainer off the field. Zhang Meng stood with his hands behind his back, observing everything. When he saw this pair acting so differently from the others, he immediately frowned and walked over.

“Sun Xiaobin, what’s going on?”

“Coach, he found all the balls.” Sun Xiaobin showed Zhang Meng the mesh pouch at his waist.

Zhang Meng’s frown deepened. He looked at the bulging pouch, then down at Aofeng on the ground, suspicious that this dog might’ve just grabbed every ball it saw.

“Who’s his Trainer? Where is he?” Zhang Meng had just taken over this batch of adolescent dogs and their handlers, so he wasn’t familiar with this particularly fine-looking German Shepherd. But he knew for sure that Sun Xiaobin wasn’t the Trainer.

“It’s Dezi, Li De. The one who brought two police dogs this round,” Sun Xiaobin replied.

That clarified things for Zhang Meng. No wonder Sun Xiaobin had stepped in as a temporary handler—today’s training made it impossible for Dezi to manage both dogs at once.

“So this is Aofeng?” Zhang Meng asked, though his tone was more certain than questioning.

Sun Xiaobin nodded, confirming his guess.

They all knew a bit about this dog named Aofeng. Just two weeks ago, he’d been the Training Base’s infamous Salted Fish Dog¹.

No one had expected that the offspring of two outstanding Merit Dogs would turn out like this. People always said bad bamboo could produce good shoots², but here, two fine stalks had somehow grown a dud.

For a while, Trainers with less impressive bloodlines in their dogs felt comforted. Everyone said, “What’s the use of good lineage? It might just turn out to be another Aofeng.”

But the slap in the face³ came fast and hard—like a tornado.

First, Aofeng appeared on Anyang City’s morning news as a heroic dog who bravely fought off a criminal. Then came the recent puppy evaluation results, where Aofeng once again shocked everyone. Not only did he earn perfect marks, he even received bonus points from the judges. Just like that, Dezi became the envy of the entire Training Base once more.

As Zhang Meng studied the police dog, marveling at its almost mystical presence, he noticed that under his intense gaze, it didn’t flinch at all. Instead, it looked right back at him with a scrutinizing stare of its own.

He smirked. “Interesting. Sun Xiaobin, bring me the ball it found. I want to test it.”

Sun Xiaobin unhooked the net pouch, then walked over to the table at the front and picked up the small ball Aofeng had just sniffed out, the one labeled number 13.

Zhang Meng held the ball and compared it one by one with the others. He saw that the faint markings left in the hidden area of the ball’s surface were identical. The number of balls in the net pouch also matched exactly what he’d had someone hide earlier—ten in total.

“Did you record the finish time just now?” Zhang Meng asked.

Sun Xiaobin replied, “Got it. Total time: fourteen minutes and five seconds.” That included the time spent moving between the haystacks.

The timer started the moment the instructor blew the whistle and stopped when the police dog found all the balls and began heading back. The dogs’ final scores would be based on both time and accuracy.

Zhang Meng wrote “14:05” and “10” next to ball number 13, then went ahead and marked a perfect score of 100, placing it in first place.

Sun Xiaobin scratched his head. “Wait, the test isn’t over yet, is it?”

Zhang Meng shot him a look and asked, “Does it need to be?”

“Good point. Fastest time, one hundred percent accuracy—if it’s not taking first place, who is?”

Seeing the admiration in Sun Xiaobin’s eyes, Aofeng simply wanted to say one thing—

Standard procedure. Don’t get too hyped.

Translator’s Notes