Chapter 56: On High Alert

The two-day fun competition was like an appetizer before the main course, whetting the appetite of all the viewers. Watching these intelligent, loyal, and adorable police dogs on TV, everyone couldn’t help but think, “If only I had one of those at home.”

Online, young pet owners were especially struck by the sight of these well-trained, majestic police dogs. Suddenly, they were looking at their own dogs with a bit of disappointment. While other dogs had mastered all sorts of skills, theirs only knew how to eat and destroy the house.

Still, when their furry companions looked up at them with those big, pleading eyes, all that frustration melted away. Well, they were already raising them, after all. It wasn’t like they could just give them up. So, they resigned themselves to continuing their roles as dutiful pet owners.

After the fun competition came the official matches. Just like the Regional Competition, the official matches lasted four days, with two events each day. Due to limited space during the earlier competitions, the two events were scheduled for morning and afternoon. Although the stadium now had plenty of room, the events were still split into two sessions to accommodate the live broadcast schedule.

The first day featured the Police Dog Patrol and Outdoor Tracking events. Since Xiao Qi had gotten a bit injured during the last Outdoor Tracking competition, and although he had recovered, it would be better to avoid intense activity for now. After some “discussion” between Song Changfeng and Aofeng, they decided to assign Xiao Qi to the Police Dog Patrol, while Aofeng would take on Outdoor Tracking.

The Police Dog Patrol took place in the morning. This time, the patrol area wasn’t limited to a single street but covered a larger zone, and the patrol duration was set at thirty minutes. During the event, unexpected situations might occur, and the dogs and their trainers would need to respond accordingly. Scores would be based on a comprehensive evaluation of their performance.

Xiao Qi did fairly well. He and Pan Zi encountered a staged incident where two people got into a conflict while waiting in line. It started with a verbal argument, escalated into shoving, and eventually broke out into a full-blown fight.

Watching the video, Aofeng shook his head and sighed. These two clearly weren’t faking their anger. He couldn’t tell whether this was a test set up by the organizers or a real incident. But after Pan Zi and Xiao Qi intervened and calmed them down, the two men admitted they had overreacted. Luckily, things hadn’t gotten out of hand. At that point, Aofeng was pretty sure the two men were actors planted by the organizers. Their tempers cooled too quickly, and their apologies were a little too heartfelt.

Regardless of whether it was staged or not, Pan Zi and Xiao Qi handled the situation well and completed the patrol event successfully. During the scoring segment, they received 8.5 out of 10. Once all the dogs had competed, the final rankings would be determined based on these scores, and only those rankings would count toward the team competition points.

As soon as the first event ended, the second one began. Everyone grabbed a quick lunch and rushed to the site of the next event.

The Outdoor Tracking event at the national level was more complex than in the Regional Competition. In earlier rounds, the evidence was placed in obvious spots, and once the police dogs found it, they could quickly pick up the suspect’s scent and begin tracking. But in the national competition, the scattered pieces of evidence were hidden in various corners. The dogs had to find a set number of clues, then use the residual scent to determine the suspect’s escape route and follow it correctly. Along the way, the organizers would introduce distractions to test whether the dogs could distinguish the correct trail.

The competition had become more challenging, but that didn’t faze Aofeng. And the other police dogs wouldn’t be too affected either, since in the national competition, trainers were allowed to accompany their dogs during the search. If the trainer spotted something, they could give hints directly.

Once the event began, Aofeng and the other participants waited in a side room. In the national competition, competitors weren’t allowed to watch each other’s performances to ensure fairness. If they wanted to see how others did, they’d have to watch the livestream replay or ask a colleague who wasn’t competing to record the key moments.

“Trainer Song Changfeng and competing dog Aofeng from the Anyang Police Dog Training Base, please prepare!”

After about an hour, the announcement Aofeng had been waiting for finally came through the loudspeaker.

He and Song Changfeng walked to the exit, waiting for staff to escort them to the competition area. Soon, a staff member with an ID badge led them to a large hall. Inside was a man. The staff signaled for Song Changfeng to bring Aofeng forward to observe the suspect. They had two minutes to memorize his features and scent as thoroughly as possible.

When the two minutes were up, the man left. Aofeng and his trainer were then taken to another exit. As soon as the starting bell rang, Song Changfeng led Aofeng forward.

Aofeng lowered his nose to the ground, sniffing for the suspect’s scent in the air. At a fork in the path, he immediately caught a whiff from the left side, coming from a bush. It smelled very similar to the suspect. He walked over and pawed through the foliage, uncovering a set of keys that looked just like the ones hanging from the suspect’s waist earlier.

Song Changfeng picked up the keys, examined them for a moment, and nodded. These were definitely the suspect’s. That meant the suspect had likely gone left.

They followed the left path for a while until they came to another fork. This time, the scent was faint, and after careful sniffing, Aofeng realized the suspect had passed through both paths.

The first distraction had appeared. Aofeng had no choice but to split up with Song Changfeng and search both paths. He followed the left trail, nose to the ground, tracking the suspect’s scent. Before long, he found something hidden behind a signpost. It was a lighter, just barely sticking out of the back pocket of the suspect’s pants earlier.

At the same time, Song Changfeng found a lighter along the right path too. Not wanting to contaminate the scent, he called Aofeng over to sniff it. When Aofeng came over carrying an identical lighter in his mouth, Song Changfeng couldn’t help but feel a little helpless. This was beyond what he could judge on his own.

Aofeng placed the two lighters side by side, sniffed one, then the other. He noticed that the scents on both were extremely similar, but with careful inspection, he could detect a difference. One carried a faint trace of alcohol, the other did not. Aofeng was certain that the suspect he had smelled earlier had no trace of alcohol on him, which meant the suspect had gone left, not right.

Having figured it out, Aofeng placed his paw on the lighter to the left, signaling to Song Changfeng that he had found the right one. Song Changfeng understood immediately, picked up the lighter on the left, and placed it into the evidence bag. Then, he led Aofeng onward in the leftward direction.

After walking about a hundred meters, they suddenly came upon a wall. This immediately stirred discussion among the spectators outside the field, many thinking Aofeng must have made a mistake. Otherwise, why would they have reached a dead end?

But was it really a dead end? Aofeng sniffed along the base of the wall and was absolutely certain the suspect had climbed over it. Song Changfeng also spotted a partial footprint somewhere on the wall. He pulled out his phone, took a photo, then stepped back a few paces, ran forward, and with a leap and a push of his hand, he was on top of the wall.

“Aofeng, come!” Song Changfeng sat atop the wall and reached out his hand.

But Aofeng didn’t need his help. Wall-climbing was a basic skill drilled into him during obstacle course training. He dashed forward, stretched out his front legs, kicked off the wall twice with his hind legs, and vaulted over. As he landed, he rolled to absorb the impact. The smooth, fluid motion showcased his solid fundamentals, instantly drawing praise from the onlookers.

Song Changfeng followed with a jump down, and man and dog continued their search for traces of the suspect. Guided by the scent, Aofeng led Song Changfeng to a trash bin. The bin was a bit tall, so Aofeng couldn’t see inside, but he was certain the scent was coming from within.

Without changing expression, Song Changfeng reached into the bin and rummaged around. Soon, he pulled out a fruit knife wrapped haphazardly. He held it under Aofeng’s nose. A single sniff was all it took for Aofeng to confirm this was what he had been looking for.

With this key piece of evidence found, they continued tracking the suspect. As they got closer, the scent grew stronger, and Aofeng became visibly excited. Song Changfeng noticed the change and grew more alert.

Suddenly, a figure darted out from around a corner. The person wore a gray jacket and black athletic pants, matching the suspect’s description exactly.

Chase!

That was their first instinct. But after just a few steps, Aofeng came to a halt.

Though the person ahead looked identical to the suspect in both clothing and build, Aofeng could tell from the scent that he wasn’t the same.

A second decoy had appeared.

When Aofeng stopped, Song Changfeng immediately understood. Man and dog began carefully searching the surrounding area. As they neared a patch of bushes, a figure suddenly sprang out and bolted.

Aofeng stiffened. This person was dressed differently from before, but the scent was exactly the same. Clearly, this was the real suspect!

Barking loudly, he gave chase, with Song Changfeng close behind. Within a minute, they had caught up.

Just as they did, the bell signaling the end of the match rang out. Aofeng immediately stopped in his tracks, without even waiting for a command from Song Changfeng. The “suspect” had been bracing for a bite, only to be surprised that this police dog was so sharp, even able to understand the meaning of the bell.

According to the usual pattern of the competition, when the first decoy appeared, the participants would typically give chase, giving the real suspect plenty of time to reach the final location and wait for them to return.

But this man and dog pair had been so vigilant that they stopped after only a few steps, leaving the suspect too afraid to move. As they drew closer and closer, he had no choice but to flee from the bushes to avoid being caught on the spot.