Chapter 72: Sounding the Alarm

The afternoon shoot went smoothly. With Song Changfeng’s guidance, the two extras playing police officers suddenly became much more disciplined. When they escorted the suspect toward the car, Aofeng even overheard someone nearby quietly asking if something unusual had happened at the scenic area.

After Director Cheng called cut, Song Changfeng walked over to the two extras, said a few words to them, and then followed them away. Aofeng was told to stay put, and his leash was loosely tied in a symbolic knot to a nearby railing. Watching him walk off, Aofeng couldn’t quite figure out what Song Changfeng was up to.

“Pspsps…”

A strange sound came from behind. Aofeng turned his head out of curiosity, and his expression immediately darkened. A man was sticking out a finger, beckoning in his direction while making a “psps” sound to call a dog. When he saw Aofeng actually turn his head, the man excitedly said to the person next to him, “See? A police dog is still a dog. If it’s a dog, it can’t resist that sound!”

Yeah, right!

Aofeng rolled his eyes at him and turned his head back, speechless. Humans were so childish. He remembered that even when he was human, he wasn’t this annoying.

“He’s not falling for it,” someone nearby mocked the man.

Unwilling to give up, the man pulled out his phone and opened a video, saying, “This one’s guaranteed to work. They say no dog can resist this sound. They’ll come running the moment they hear it.”

Aofeng’s ears twitched slightly. Since he was being spoken about so confidently, he might as well listen and see what kind of sound it was.

“Awoo woo…” The phone’s volume was turned all the way up, and a pitiful puppy’s wail came through. No wonder it could attract dogs. The fear and panic in the sound would make any dog want to investigate. It was like how adults instinctively check when they hear a child crying in distress on the street.

If he hadn’t known it was just a video, Aofeng might have actually gone over to look. But knowing it was fake, he naturally ignored it. His indifference drew another round of laughter from behind. The man tried to save face and said, “It must be a male dog. No maternal instinct, that’s why it didn’t come over!”

Aofeng rolled his eyes again. Idiot.

“Why don’t you go check if it’s male or female?” someone else egged him on.

“Uh, well—”

“What, you scared? The dog’s tied up. As long as you stay outside the safe zone, it can’t bite you.”

The man was convinced. He had only dared to provoke the dog earlier because it was leashed. Otherwise, a bite from such a big dog wouldn’t be a joke.

Footsteps approached from behind. Aofeng turned to look. Sure enough, it was that idiot again! Usually it’s a tiger fallen from power getting bullied by dogs. In his case, the dog was tied to a railing and getting bullied by people!

Trying to peek at his privates? Aofeng sneered inwardly. He stood up, walked to the railing, and, in full view of everyone, calmly used his mouth and paws to untie the knot. Then, with practiced ease, he tied the leash back exactly as it was.

After finishing, Aofeng tilted his chin at the stunned idiot, looking at him with contempt, silently daring him to come take a look if he had the guts.

The man blinked and gave Aofeng an awkward smile. No joke, he actually felt threatened by a dog’s stare!

“Aofeng!” A voice called out from not far away. The moment Aofeng shifted his gaze, the man bolted like a rabbit. Aofeng caught his fleeing figure out of the corner of his eye and couldn’t help scoffing again.

Why did Song Changfeng change clothes? When Aofeng saw him, he was puzzled by the dark blue police uniform he was wearing—or rather, costume. The two looked nearly identical, like twins, but were fundamentally different. Hadn’t Song Changfeng refused to act? Why was he in costume now? Did he just miss the feeling of wearing it?

“Aofeng, come on, let’s go for a walk.” Song Changfeng was smiling, but Aofeng felt like there was something hidden behind that smile.

Song Changfeng took Aofeng back to the Little Imperial Palace they had visited that morning, once again arriving in front of the East Fourth Hall.

After the scare earlier, Xiao Hu didn’t dare slack off anymore. He stood diligently at the entrance to prevent tourists from wandering in by mistake. When he saw Song Changfeng in uniform, he greeted him enthusiastically, “Hey, buddy, you playing a cop in your crew? That outfit looks sharp. You really look the part.” As he spoke, he patted Song Changfeng’s arm.

Song Changfeng smiled and said, “Comrade Xiao Hu, may I go in and have a word with Director Zhang?”

Xiao Hu looked surprised. “The way you talk makes it even more convincing! But honestly, I meant to say this earlier—who still calls people ‘comrade’ these days? Sounds so old-fashioned.”

Song Changfeng looked a bit embarrassed. “Can I go in and talk to Director Zhang?”

Xiao Hu nodded. “Sure, go ahead. Did you regret turning him down this morning? No worries, now’s the perfect time. Director Zhang’s in a great mood this afternoon, totally different from this morning. He won’t hold it against you.”

Hearing that, Song Changfeng quickly asked, “His mood suddenly improved? Did something good happen?”

Xiao Hu replied, “Nah, as soon as he came out of the room this afternoon, he was in a great mood. I think he took a nap and got some rest. His liver fire¹ probably cooled down.” He firmly believed Director Zhang’s temper came from excessive liver fire.

“…Maybe.” Song Changfeng nodded in agreement.

He led Aofeng inside. Along the way, both extras and staff stared at him curiously, wondering why a police officer had shown up on set.

“Director Zhang, there’s a cop outside!” The assistant got the news, peeked outside, and quickly ran into the courtyard to report.

Clang—

The megaphone in Director Zhang’s hand dropped heavily to the ground, immediately letting out a sharp, ear-piercing screech. The jarring static made everyone instinctively cover their ears. The assistant hurried to pick it up and switch it off, sparing everyone further torment.

A flicker of something unreadable passed through Song Changfeng’s eyes outside the door, vanishing just as quickly. Although Aofeng’s ears were still ringing from the earlier damage, his eyes clearly caught the panic and struggle on Director Zhang’s face the moment he heard the police had arrived. So, Song Changfeng had been testing Director Zhang’s reaction. But why test him? Was he suspected of some illegal activity? For some reason, Aofeng suddenly recalled the scent he had picked up that morning.

“Director Zhang? Director Zhang!” The assistant tugged at his sleeve, confused by his sudden absentmindedness. He didn’t even seem to hear the policeman speaking to him.

Snapping back to reality, Director Zhang relaxed slightly when he saw it was Song Changfeng. Still, a trace of embarrassment and irritation crept onto his face.

“Mr. Song, you’re certainly dedicated. You didn’t even change out of your costume before coming over. What brings you here?” Director Zhang lifted his eyelids slightly, his tone icy.

Song Changfeng replied, “This morning, you said I could pick any role below male lead number four. Does that still stand?”

“Having second thoughts, Mr. Song? Well, this morning, sure, it was valid. But unfortunately, it’s afternoon now. I’m sure you understand the principle of ‘missed opportunities don’t come again’, right?” Director Zhang spoke with a tone of regret, though there wasn’t the slightest trace of it on his face.

“My apologies for the disturbance, then.” Song Changfeng turned and left, looking dejected.

But the moment he stepped outside, his expression turned stern. Aofeng was the same. They had both caught a strong, milky-sweet scent coming from Director Zhang up close. It had been faint in the morning, but now it was unmistakably strong. That meant Director Zhang had come into contact with something that produced that scent sometime after noon. Combined with what Xiao Hu had said about Director Zhang suddenly becoming energetic and cheerful in the afternoon, Song Changfeng couldn’t help but suspect that the director had taken some kind of banned stimulant.

“Comrade Xiao Hu, could you take me to Director Zhang’s lounge? He said there were too many people around and it wasn’t convenient to talk in detail.” Song Changfeng approached Xiao Hu, lying with a perfectly straight face.

Since Xiao Hu had indeed heard Director Zhang make that promise earlier, he let his guard down and led Song Changfeng straight to the temporary lounge area. The largest room belonged to Director Zhang. These makeshift lounges usually only had a latch on the inside and couldn’t be locked from the outside. Song Changfeng gave the door a gentle push, and it opened easily.

Immediately, a scent wafted out from inside. But contrary to their expectations, the windows were open and the air inside was fresh. The floor and surrounding areas looked clean, clearly having been tidied up. Still, just because Song Changfeng couldn’t smell anything didn’t mean Aofeng couldn’t.

Without waiting for instructions, Aofeng began to search on his own. He sniffed every corner of the room and finally caught the scent again in the crevice of the sofa armrest. He pawed at it, but his legs were a bit short and he couldn’t quite reach whatever was inside.

Seeing this, Song Changfeng reached down and fished around. After a moment, he pulled out a small round tablet. It was rose-pink and had several foreign letters engraved on it. His expression instantly darkened, turning grave and cold. Carefully, he stored the tablet away. Then, relying on his excellent memory, he restored everything in the room to its original state, quietly closed the door, glanced around, and left with Aofeng.

Exiting the Little Imperial Palace, Song Changfeng hailed a taxi and headed straight to the local police station in Tongcheng. There, he reported everything and handed over the item Aofeng had found.

“Ecstasy!” One glance was all it took for an officer from the narcotics division to identify the rose-pink pill. It was a new type of drug, primarily made of methamphetamine, highly addictive, and capable of causing irreversible damage to the central nervous system, blood system, and internal organs.

Aofeng was stunned. He had assumed it was just some kind of stimulant, not an actual drug. Thinking of the harm drugs cause, of the police officers who sacrifice their lives every year in the fight against them, of their photos that can never be made public², Aofeng’s expression turned solemn.

It now seemed likely that the package from that morning had contained this very drug. Aofeng felt a pang of guilt. He hadn’t detected anything unusual at the time. If it had been the Drug Detection Dog Xiao Qi, he probably would’ve noticed right away.

But it wasn’t really Aofeng’s fault. His nose hadn’t been trained to recognize the scent of various drugs. Even if he had smelled it, he might have ignored it. Still, this incident was a wake-up call for him. He decided that once he got back to the base, he would immediately add Drug Detection and Explosives Detection to his training. A qualified Criminal Investigation Dog shouldn’t only understand criminal investigation techniques. After all, many cases involve more than just one type of crime.

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Translator’s Notes

• Magu: A transliteration of the Thai word for ‘crazy horse.’ It is a stimulant pill composed of methamphetamine and caffeine. It is known for having a distinct, sweet scent (often vanilla or milk) used to mask the chemical odor of the drugs.

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1. liver fire: In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), ‘gānhuǒ’ refers to an imbalance of energy in the liver. It is physically associated with symptoms like red eyes and dizziness, and emotionally associated with irritability and a quick temper. ↩
2. photos that can never be made public: Refers to the strict anonymity maintained for narcotics officers in China. To protect surviving family members from retaliation by drug cartels, the identities and faces of fallen anti-drug police are often kept secret, and their tombstones may remain blank or without portraits. ↩