Chapter 35: Lawless

Song Changfeng was a bit confused. Just moments ago, Aofeng had suddenly burst into the room, grabbed his pant leg, and dragged him outside. He followed Aofeng to the iron gate beside the lower training field and finally saw the reason: a yellow dog had its head buried in a bag, eating something. He had seen this yellow dog’s back before and figured it was a friend of Aofeng’s. As soon as the dog heard his voice, it bolted.

“Aofeng, do you want to eat that too?” Song Changfeng asked tentatively, like a child seeing someone else eating something tasty and running to ask their parent to buy it. He figured Aofeng had seen the yellow dog eating so happily and wanted him to get some too.

“Woof woof woof!” Aofeng couldn’t help barking. Was this guy stupid or what? Did he really think he was that greedy? Maybe a little when he was a puppy, but that was just biology. There was no way he was acting like this now just because he wanted food.

If it wasn’t about the food, then there had to be another reason. After a closer look, Song Changfeng realized something was definitely off with the yellow dog. It was crouched low, front paws spread apart, head frantically burrowing into the bag. Though he couldn’t see its expression, he could tell it was in a state of desperation, even agitation.

Was it starving? No, that didn’t seem right.

From what he could see, the dog’s fur was a bit matted on its back, and there was a small bald patch on its belly, but its back was full and its limbs were strong. It didn’t look like a malnourished stray.

With other possibilities ruled out, there was only one explanation left. There was something wrong with the food! Otherwise, it wouldn’t be acting like someone high on illegal drugs.

With that thought, Song Changfeng didn’t hesitate. He climbed the iron gate barehanded and vaulted over in one smooth motion. His movements were agile and clean, not the least bit clumsy. No wonder he had once been a decathlon prospect.

Da Huang, who had been gobbling down the dog food, took a step back when he spotted Song Changfeng. The fur on his back bristled as he bared his teeth and let out a low, threatening growl. His eyes kept darting toward the bag on the ground. It was clear that if not for his natural wariness, he would’ve already lunged back at the food.

“Da Huang! Snap out of it!” Aofeng barked at him. Song Changfeng couldn’t understand dog speech, but he could vaguely tell Aofeng was trying to bring Da Huang back to his senses.

A flicker of pain and confusion flashed in Da Huang’s eyes, but then he took an aggressive stance again, as if warning them not to take his food.

Song Changfeng slowly moved closer. Da Huang, tail half-tucked, backed up another step, but still bared his teeth and growled low in his throat.

Aofeng was getting anxious. Da Huang looked like he might actually bite Song Changfeng if pushed too far. What should they do?

Suddenly, there was a soft “pfft” sound near his ear. About ten seconds later, Da Huang collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Aofeng’s pupils contracted in shock. Someone had shot Da Huang?! But that thought only lasted a moment. He quickly noticed that Xu Ming was holding a tranquilizer gun. So Da Huang had just been sedated.

It turned out Aofeng’s strange behavior had caught the others’ attention too. When they saw Song Changfeng facing off with a yellow dog that seemed to have lost its mind, Li Qing immediately went to the front office to request a weapon.

She remembered that last month, during a traffic stop, the traffic police had confiscated items from a van. Among them was this tranquilizer gun, along with several sedated pet dogs. If the van driver hadn’t panicked and tried to speed through the checkpoint, they might never have discovered anything. Just goes to show, karma catches up eventually.

Later, the sedated dogs were picked up by their owners. Luckily, the driver’s goal had only been to steal and resell pets. If he’d been selling them to dog meat restaurants¹, the drugs used might have been something far worse.

Song Changfeng picked up Da Huang and the bag of dog food with one hand, and used the other to climb back over the iron gate. In the blink of an eye, he had jumped back inside.

Once Da Huang was laid on the ground, Aofeng rushed over and listened to his breathing. It was steady, and his heartbeat was normal. He finally breathed a sigh of relief. Then he sniffed the bag of dog food closely. There was a strange, enticing aroma coming from it that instantly triggered his appetite. The urge to eat was intense and overwhelming. If Aofeng didn’t have a human soul inside him, he might’ve ended up just like Da Huang, face-first in the bag. He shook his head hard and quickly backed away several steps.

Seeing Aofeng recoil like that, and the suspiciously placed bag of dog food on the ground, Song Changfeng’s expression turned grim.

“Sun Xiaobin, take this yellow dog to the nearest pet hospital and have the vet run a full check-up. Xu Ming, could you contact the surveillance team and pull the footage from those two camera angles?” Song Changfeng pointed to the cameras near the iron gate and the one on the wall by the road.

His serious tone made everyone realize this wasn’t just a random incident. As fellow members of law enforcement, it didn’t take much thought to figure out that someone had deliberately placed the dog food there as a trap for Aofeng. They didn’t know the motive yet, but the act itself was vile.

Sun Xiaobin and Xu Ming immediately nodded. Li Qing asked, “Is there anything I can do?”

Song Changfeng thought for a moment and said, “Please take some of the dog food with Sun Xiaobin to the pet hospital. Have the vet test it for illegal substances.”

“Got it.”

Everyone quickly set off to carry out their tasks. Song Changfeng took Aofeng and followed Xu Ming toward the surveillance room.

Once they arrived, Xu Ming exchanged a few words with the young technician inside. The guy started working on the computer and soon pulled up the footage from the two camera angles.

“How far back should I rewind?” the technician asked.

Song Changfeng thought for a moment and said, “Two hours.”

Two hours ago, they had been filming nearby. He had glanced in that direction at the time and hadn’t seen any dog food or anything else unusual.

The young man gave an OK gesture, then got to work. The Traffic Police Squad had fast internet, and about ten minutes later, both video clips were copied onto the USB drive Xu Ming had brought.

After thanking him, they returned to the office where they edited short videos. They imported the surveillance footage and began reviewing it, starting with the camera near the iron gate. At first, everything looked normal. About half an hour in, a man appeared on screen, carrying a bag of “Haohaochi” brand dog food.

He was a middle-aged man, probably in his forties, short and with a bit of a beer belly. He tore open a hole in the dog food bag and pushed it through the iron gate. Then he leaned in to take a look inside. Whatever he saw seemed to please him, because he broke into a satisfied smile that looked downright sleazy. After standing there for four or five minutes, he turned and walked back the way he came. A few seconds later, he disappeared from view.

Song Changfeng immediately hit pause, then switched to another camera feed. This one covered the nearby intersection, capturing every passing pedestrian and vehicle. He scrubbed the timeline to match the same moment from the previous video, and sure enough, the man appeared again. After walking a few steps, he climbed onto an electric scooter² parked by the curb and rode off at a leisurely pace.

Aofeng was a little frustrated. The guy’s scooter didn’t even have a license plate! If it did, they could’ve tracked him down in no time without even leaving the office. Now, even though they had a clear shot of his face, finding him in a city as big as Anyang was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

His disappointment didn’t last long. Sun Xiaobin and Li Qing brought good news: Da Huang was fine. He had just ingested a large amount of appetite stimulants, which might cause some digestive issues and loss of appetite over the next few days. He was still unconscious from the sedative, but would wake up once it wore off.

As for the dog food, the pet hospital had examined it and confirmed it contained a high concentration of appetite stimulants. The quality of the dog food itself also seemed poor. However, the hospital didn’t have professional testing equipment. To analyze the ingredients, they’d need to send it to the veterinary feed inspection station.

“Got it. Thanks for your help. How much was the bill at the pet hospital? I’ll transfer it to you,” said Song Changfeng.

What he had just seen was footage of Da Huang approaching Aofeng, only to be drawn in by the dog food. He had struggled to pull the bag out and then started devouring it. Since Da Huang had unwittingly taken the hit for Aofeng by triggering the trap, Song Changfeng felt responsible for the dog’s well-being.

Sun Xiaobin said, “It wasn’t much, Song, no need.”

“No way. Just tell me, or should I go ask myself? Oh, and I’ll reimburse your cab fare too.” Song Changfeng wasn’t tight with money. Aside from daily expenses, he saved most of his monthly salary. On top of that, his mom often transferred money to his account, worried he might be short. She owned a clothing factory that was doing quite well.

Sun Xiaobin quickly said, “Really, there wasn’t any. Li Qing gave us a ride on the traffic patrol motorcycle. Uh, the pet hospital visit cost three hundred and fifty total.” He felt a little awkward, but knowing Song Changfeng’s personality, it was better to be upfront than to let him go digging for answers.

Song Changfeng transferred five hundred yuan and said, “Buy yourself and Li Qing a coffee. Thanks for all the trouble.” This was something he should’ve handled himself, but he simply didn’t have the time and had to rely on others.

Sun Xiaobin sent back a “thanks, boss” emoji, then turned left out of the hospital and bought two lattes. With the leftover money, he grabbed some food from KFC to share with Li Qing back at the hospital.

Meanwhile, after thanking Xu Ming, Song Changfeng led Aofeng out the door and immediately pulled out his phone to call Director Li.

As soon as the call connected, Director Li’s voice came through. “Changfeng! I knew you and Aofeng were the most dependable. I never expected our video channel to gain followers this fast. You guys should be heading back soon, right? If not, I’ll have Dezi drive over to pick you up tomorrow.” With nothing much to do lately, Director Li had been glued to his phone, watching the follower count climb with a grin that stretched from ear to ear.

Song Changfeng said, “Director, I’m afraid we can’t come back just yet.”

Director Li replied, “Staying a few extra days is no problem.”

After Song Changfeng explained everything that had just happened, Director Li’s furious voice exploded from the other end. “You two stay put. I’ll come over tomorrow myself. Someone dared to target a police dog? That’s outrageous!”

Translator’s Notes