Chapter 95: Undercover Police Dog

“Aofeng, are you settling in well here? How’s the food and your living conditions?” Bureau Chief Shen looked at Aofeng with a kindly expression.

When man and dog first arrived for duty, Shen Yuanhui had been away on official business in the provincial capital and wasn’t at the Municipal Bureau. As soon as he returned, he heard that the Criminal Investigation team had cracked another case at lightning speed. Word was that the new handler and his dog had played a major role.

New handler? That had to be Song Changfeng. Shen Yuanhui had personally stamped his transfer application. And the dog he brought must be Aofeng.

Curious about their involvement in the case, Shen Yuanhui had someone bring him the case summary as soon as he got back to the office.

This move sparked a sense of admiration among the office staff. Look at that, their Bureau Chief Shen was so dedicated! He hadn’t even warmed his seat before diving into work!

Muttering his admiration, the staffer fetched the case file and handed it over. After reading through the entire report, a satisfied smile appeared on Shen Yuanhui’s face. Convincing Aofeng to take the assessment had been one of his best decisions. Not only was Aofeng capable, but he had also brought along Song Changfeng, giving the bureau two new rising stars at once.

As the workday neared its end, Shen Yuanhui sent Song Changfeng a message, asking him to bring Aofeng to his office after hours, and to avoid being seen.

Song Changfeng immediately understood. Bureau Chief Shen was looking out for him. Gossip could be dangerous. If he openly brought Aofeng to see the chief, who knew what others might think? Even if the team was disciplined and wouldn’t say anything outright, there would certainly be whispers behind his back.

After work, Song Changfeng led Aofeng around the crowd and into Shen Yuanhui’s office. As soon as they met, the scene above unfolded.

Aofeng felt a warm familiarity upon seeing Shen Yuanhui. His life had changed because of this man. If not for him, Aofeng might have died a second time on that rainy night.

“Woof woof woof!” Sitting on the floor, he barked at Shen Yuanhui with full energy, letting him know through his spirited demeanor that everything was going well – both food and lodging.

Currently, the Anyang Municipal Public Security Bureau had three police dogs. The other two belonged to different departments – one was a drug-sniffing dog, the other a search and rescue dog. Aofeng was the only one assigned to criminal investigation.

His kennel was quite close to the other two senior dogs, but they were all well-mannered and didn’t bark at night. Lately, Aofeng had been chatting with them before bed and had picked up a few little secrets about the people at the bureau. After all, no one guarded their words around a police dog.

As for the food, he hadn’t been too fond of it at first. The meals prepared by the kennel cook always looked like a pile of mush. Every time Aofeng saw that bowl, he couldn’t help imagining the worst. Perhaps noticing his declining appetite, Song Changfeng had gone to talk to the cook that afternoon. The cook hadn’t realized there were such preferences and even pulled out a small notebook to jot things down. That very evening, Aofeng and the other two dogs were served a new meal. Both the presentation and the taste were a cut above the rest.

Sitting on the couch, Song Changfeng smiled as he watched the lively exchange between man and dog. One was speaking, the other barking, but somehow it felt like they completely understood each other. The conversation flowed effortlessly.

After a satisfying chat with Aofeng, Shen Yuanhui turned to Song Changfeng and asked a few questions. These weren’t the casual kind like before, but carried a hint of evaluation. Song Changfeng answered without much hesitation, and his responses earned an approving nod from Shen Yuanhui.

Until now, Shen Yuanhui had seen Song Changfeng primarily as Aofeng’s trainer. But now, he saw him as a promising officer under his command – a rising star in the police force.

“Changfeng, you two should drop by the house every so often. Let Auntie Wang cook something nice for you. Dou Dou misses you both and keeps asking about you. And Da Huang too – maybe Aofeng can keep training him. Who knows, we might raise an undercover police dog yet,” Shen Yuanhui said with a smile.

Song Changfeng and Aofeng both laughed. But the suggestion wasn’t entirely far-fetched. Da Huang, that savvy and street-smart dog, might actually be able to patrol the neighborhood and help keep the peace. He could be a dog who looked utterly ordinary on the outside but had a hidden identity, bringing pride to the Chinese Rural Dog breed.

The two men and one dog were laughing happily when suddenly, two phones rang at once. Song Changfeng and Shen Yuanhui pulled out their phones at the same time, then stood up in unison. One walked to the window, the other stepped outside to take the call.

Aofeng glanced left and right for a while, unsure whose conversation to eavesdrop on first. With ears like his, gossip was a delight to listen to. No matter how much they lowered their voices, he could hear every word loud and clear.

But he didn’t stay conflicted for long. Both phone calls were about the same thing.

A nameless female corpse had been found in a small landfill on the outskirts of Anyang City. The body was barely clothed, and the face had been severely mutilated, covered in knife marks.

A crime this brutal naturally had to be reported up the chain of command. Song Changfeng had received a call from Lei Liming, instructing him to return immediately. They were about to head out on a case.

Song Changfeng walked back in from outside with a serious expression. Before he could speak, Shen Yuanhui said, “I’ve already heard. Go on, and investigate thoroughly.”

“Yes, sir!”

With a quick nod from Song Changfeng, Aofeng followed closely behind as they rushed downstairs. In less than two minutes, they were back at the Criminal Investigation unit. Guo Zi, who was on duty today, looked at Song Changfeng in surprise and asked, “Song-ge, did you guys fly back or something?” At this point, the others hadn’t arrived yet. Lei Liming had given them ten minutes to assemble. Anyone who didn’t make it in time would head straight to the scene.

While they waited, Song Changfeng got more detailed information about the case from Guo Zi. The female corpse had been discovered by a scavenger. He usually treated that landfill as his base of operations, leaving in the morning and returning at dusk.

That morning, before leaving, he had rummaged through the fresh garbage dumped by the early trucks, but hadn’t noticed anything unusual.

However, when he returned in the evening, something felt off. Several bags of scrap he had neatly organized in the morning were now scattered. He instinctively thought someone had stolen from him and, furious, began searching the area. When he reached a certain corner, he suddenly spotted an arm sticking out. The sight gave him a huge fright, but he mustered the courage to take a closer look. That single glance haunted him with nightmares all night long. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw that face, carved with knife wounds and wide open eyes filled with terror and disbelief.

After receiving the call, the nearest police station immediately dispatched officers to seal off the scene and notified the Municipal Public Security Bureau.

Lei Liming and the rest arrived just in time, ten minutes later. Because of the nature of their work, most of them either bought or rented homes near the Municipal Bureau. Some even lived in the temporary dorms at the Bureau, since they barely spent any time at home anyway.

Once everyone was ready, they set out. By the time they reached the scene, dusk had already fallen. Fortunately, the officers from the local station had prepared well, setting up several floodlights that lit up the small landfill as bright as day.

The forensics team had left even earlier than the Criminal Investigation team. By the time they arrived, the initial examination was already complete. The young female forensic expert removed her gloves and said, “The knife wounds on her face weren’t fatal. Judging from the bleeding, they were inflicted while she was still alive.”

Her expression remained calm as always, but her tone carried a strong sense of outrage. To be alive and watch a small blade slice across your face again and again… such cruelty was beyond comprehension.

“There are clear ligature marks on her wrists and ankles. From the pattern, it looks like nylon rope or something similar was used. The fatal injury was a single slash to the neck. It was precise, severing her trachea. Blood flooded into her lungs, and she died from asphyxiation. Estimated time of death is between 2 and 4 in the afternoon. For a more accurate estimate, we’ll need to conduct a full autopsy.”

“Preserve all traces at the scene. Take the body back for autopsy. Have the dispatcher and all duty rooms keep an eye out for any missing person reports. The rest of you, search the area for anything that might help identify the victim. Notify the Technical Department to pull surveillance footage from nearby roads and around the landfill. See if we can find any leads,” Lei Liming instructed methodically.

Everyone immediately followed his orders and spread out. The moment Aofeng arrived at the scene, he went straight to the body and began sniffing carefully. Unfortunately, in a place like this, even if the killer had left a scent, it had long been drowned out by the overwhelming stench of rotting garbage.

Song Changfeng led him around the area, searching for any clues related to the case. But after a long search, no one found anything useful.

The killer was clearly a cunning one. He hadn’t left a single trace at the scene—not even a footprint. It was as if he had appeared out of thin air.

After two or three hours of searching, no one had found anything. With no other choice, Lei Liming announced a temporary halt to the search. He then assigned officers to visit nearby residents around the landfill to gather information.

However, since most people were at work during the time of the crime, the visits turned up nothing. They went door to door at over a dozen homes, but not a single person had noticed anything unusual.

Just then, Lei Liming received a call. The Technical Department had pulled all the surveillance footage from the surrounding area. Jiang Bai had also unlocked the abandoned office at the landfill, but unfortunately, both cameras inside were broken and hadn’t recorded anything. As soon as he hung up, another call came in—the autopsy was complete, and the report had been delivered to the Criminal Investigation team.

It was already past one in the morning. Lei Liming told everyone to wrap up and return to the station to review the surveillance footage. Since some tools were still at the landfill, Song Changfeng and two other officers went back to gather them.

Just as they were about to leave, a sudden burst of barking echoed from inside the landfill, followed by the sounds of dogs snarling and fighting.

“Probably stray dogs fighting over territory. A place like this has plenty of scraps to eat,” one officer said casually, then turned to leave.

Aofeng’s ears perked up. He looked in the direction of the noise. Stray dogs?