Chapter 272 - 272 254 Discovery

Words : 1741 Updated : Oct 1st, 2025

272: Chapter 254 Discovery 272: Chapter 254 Discovery Woof. Woof woof woof. Fangjin Township West Mountain. In the mountains, swathes of light pierced the darkness while the bustling noise of people and the barking of dogs carried for miles. Dazhuang stood at the roadside full of spirit, even though his hind legs trembled slightly from motion sickness, his dog face was resolute. From his position, the sounds of police dogs could be heard in every direction—in the hollows, atop the hills, and all around. The police dogs that had arrived earlier were already immersed in their intense work. Dazhuang stuck out his tongue, a bit excited. Since graduating from the police dog academy, he hadn’t seen this many police dogs together. At the same time, Li Li also felt a bit thrilled, whispering to her colleague beside her, “I’m so excited, I haven’t seen this many police dogs since we graduated from the police dog academy.” “Doesn’t Ningtai have a pet market?” her colleague responded offhandedly while soothing their own police dog. Li Li pursed her lips and said, “What do those non-working bums count for dogs?” Dazhuang also pursed his lips and nodded in agreement. “Comrades!” Xu Taining’s voice came over the loudspeakers. Murmurs of “Attention” and “At ease” rose from the ranks immediately. Li Li did as instructed, and the police dogs also settled down after a slight unrest. Xu Taining hardly paused before he continued: “It’s quite late, so I’ll keep it short. Liu Jinghui, Zhang Yu, and Jiao Peng have been missing for ten days.” “They are our colleagues, our comrades, and members of the public. They are the pillars of their families, a father to a nine-year-old boy, a son to a 68-year-old retired female teacher, newlyweds, and a husband who returned home after seven years of border service. Bringing them back home is our duty and our promise to them.” “Everyone, our continuous efforts day and night, every minute and every second, are to provide our three colleagues with a glimmer of hope for life. I know everyone is tired, some comrades have been working for thirty to forty hours without sleep, but at this moment, I hope everyone can hold on a little longer to give Liu Jinghui, Zhang Yu, and Jiao Peng a better chance to survive...” “Now, all teams, move out as planned. Report any issues promptly.” Xu Taining watched as team after team departed in an orderly manner, and the four new police dogs were deployed around as planned. He himself was starting to feel unsteady on his feet. This was the fourth search team of the day, but the third wave with a substantial number of police dogs. The first two waves had mainly relied on human searches, not only utilizing the maximum forces Xu Taining could gather but also representing a gamble on his part. If they were lucky and found the missing persons quickly, it would lighten the workload and the mission would be accomplished. If luck didn’t strike, the pressure would return to Xu Taining. He still had great trust in Jiang Yuan and had largely adopted his suggestions. Therefore, the police dogs, which had been deployed from across the province, had started their work based on multiple scent sources. But only those who had worked with police dogs knew how unstable their actual conditions could be. High temperatures, illnesses, psychological factors, environmental elements, and more could prevent the dogs from reaching their optimal working state. And scent sources were even more affected by the environment. The harsh reality was that, with the arrival of the first batch of police dogs, their performance was not as good as expected. “Has the suspect confessed yet?” Xu Taining turned back and asked his subordinate. “No,” the subordinate answered succinctly. “What did Zhou say?” “Director Zhou said it’s pretty tough, didn’t say much else.” Xu Taining let out a somewhat disappointed “hm,” with nothing else to add. The criminal suspect was determined to stay silent, and interrogation experts couldn’t break through their psychological defenses quickly. That left Xu Taining with nothing much to do but wait. In the past, under tough measures, they might have gotten something out of a suspect, but in the current environment, for a major case like this, nobody dared to do that anymore. This was a case that would go all the way to the high court. If the suspect were to claim in court, “I was interrogated continuously for over ten hours during my detention,” or “I was not allowed to drink water or use the bathroom during the interrogation,” every public official involved in the case would be subject to countless inspections. And to save their own lives, to escape the death penalty, no criminal suspect would exonerate the police or prosecutors. Perhaps some might say the suspect has no evidence. But as far as death penalty cases are concerned, a malfunctioning camera cannot withstand scrutiny. Even when looking at the problem from a darker perspective, if the suspect lacks evidence, do interrogation officers not have enemies? “So now...” the subordinate hesitated, glancing at Xu Taining, wondering if he had any further instructions. Xu Taining shook his head slightly and said, “Let’s wait. What happens next depends on everyone’s performance and whether Liu has tough luck or not.” All clues had been exhausted. Thousands of people and the complex logistics had all been switched to the West Mountain of Fangjin Township, and even the dogs from the entire province had been summoned by Xu Taining. Having done this, Xu Taining felt he had no more tricks up his sleeve. Just as he said, from now on, it depended on everyone’s performance, as well as Director Liu’s own fate. “I’ll take a nap. Wake me up when it gets light.” Xu Taining glanced at the sky and headed straight to the command vehicle to sleep. There was less than two hours left before dawn. With improved visibility and rising temperature, perhaps there would be new discoveries or changes. Xu Taining had only slept about four hours over the past two days and could no longer hold out. Entering the command vehicle, he settled in his seat, reclined the chair, and fell into a deep sleep. Compared to the young people in the detective squad, he was much older. ... At the West Mountain Service Point of the Power Supply Station, the forensic teams had already withdrawn. The police dogs and officers were scattered around, methodically measuring the ground inch by inch. Corpses, traces, vehicles, or any bit of evidence were what everyone needed. Yet beyond the service point, these things vanished without a trace, like bubbles in the sea—seemingly present but disappeared. With the help of several investigation lights, Jiang Yuan found only some insignificant evidence. Looking back at the police dogs, they were either circling in place or running back and forth. Including the distinguished service dog Heizi, who lay at the trainer’s feet, taking a few steps then stopping. Police dogs track their targets based on scent; the most crucial step is to have a breakthrough with the starting point. Without a breakthrough, they have nothing to pursue. No matter how many dogs were present, it was futile without a breakthrough. Li Li, looking at the police dogs around, especially Heizi’s fruitless efforts, gritted her teeth and decisively took Dazhuang toward the nearby mines. She had read the briefing and knew that cliffs and mine shafts were the most likely spots where Director Liu and others could have fallen. Since Dazhuang’s scent source was the suspect Fu Guangyun, in theory, following the road might lead to his scent. But perhaps Fu Guangyun hadn’t been there for too long, or maybe everyone had been searching in the wrong place—in any case, the police dogs had no response. Knowing Dazhuang’s working abilities couldn’t outperform Heizi, Li Li simply headed into the mountains. Unlike the distinguished service dog Heizi, Dazhuang’s advantages were stamina and obedience. Li Li struggled to climb some of the smaller slopes, but Dazhuang reached them effortlessly without hesitation. So, upon arriving at an exposed old mine slope, Dazhuang suddenly began to sniff repeatedly. There were signs of “going on track,” and Li Li’s nerves instantly tensed. The dense vegetation on both sides of the road might have interfered with the dog’s olfactory sense, but on this mine slope, with the soil eroded, only small grasses were growing, likely offering less cover. Dazhuang sniffed around in circles for a moment, then lifted his head and decisively bolted to the left. Li Li released Dazhuang’s leash and followed at a brisk pace. Dazhuang ran down to the bottom of the mine slope and started frantically sniffing a small patch of grass. When Li Li checked, she saw clear signs of the grass being grasped and pulled. Looking around, there was a mine shaft right in front, and ahead of the grass, a rock about half a person’s height obscured the view. Li Li held onto Dazhuang, then tried to kneel slightly behind the grass, lifting her head just enough to observe the mine shaft. A few steps further, near the shaft, she could see many broken rocks piled up at the entrance, with the area above barren and desolate. Having been involved in many major cases before, Li Li didn’t hesitate to grab her walkie-talkie and reported, “I’ve found a mine shaft with signs of collapse, requesting backup...” After receiving a response and reporting her exact location, Li Li tried to approach the mine shaft, shouting loudly, “Director Liu, Liu Jinghui!” “Director Liu!” “Liu Jinghui!” Li Li repeated the calls several times and listened intently, but no response came. She stood up slightly disappointed. At that moment, rhythmic knocking sounds suddenly came from inside the mine shaft. Thud, thud, thud... It was the sound of metal striking metal, not very distinct, but definitely someone knocking. Li Li’s palm clenched tightly around Dazhuang’s neck, tense with anticipation. “We’ve found them!” Li Li exclaimed in disbelief, gripping Dazhuang’s skin firmly. Dazhuang looked back at Li Li, saw her in a state of emotional explosion, and simply turned away, shrugging off the skin on his neck. A dog’s neck skin is thick and the flesh is loose, not worth barking over.

Chapter 272 - 272 254 Discovery

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