Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

  To be cautious, Zhang Zian asked Sun Xiaomeng to text back Qian and Li and ask them for details on how they lost their dogs. They replied to the texts soon after.

  After compiling the information, the three of them identified a pattern. All the dogs were lost in Dongcheng District, near the Family Housing Facilities of the university, the hospital and the state-owned enterprise. These facilities were old and were under-equipped with surveillance cameras. There were many dead ends and the security guards were sloppy with their jobs which left them vulnerable to intrusion.

  Among them, Mr. Li claimed that although the surveillance did not record the dog trapping, it recorded a suspicious vehicle. He sent over the screenshot from the surveillance video.

  The three events happened either in the early morning or in the late evening. It could not have been a coincidence. The surveillance video was not clear in the dim light of dusk and dawn. Mr. Li’s video screenshot was very blurry, in which only a sliding door of an MPV car was identifiable. As the car drove, the door was ajar and not completely closed. Apart from this, no other sign could relate this vehicle to the lost dogs. But to use this screenshot as the only evidence was obviously far-fetched.

  Mr. Li complained in the texts that he reported the surveillance video to the police in his district, but the police would not accept the case. They advised him to look further near his home because they thought the dog might have gone astray.

  Zhang Zian could understand it. The police had a lot to deal with at the end of the year. Even a lost person’s case could only be established after 24 hours, not to mention a dog. Besides, there was no evidence.

  The surveillance camera was too high to capture the face of the MPV driver. The plate number was captured, but blurry.

  Zhang Zian thought for a moment, then called Sheng Ke. It was New Year’s Day holiday, and he didn’t want to interrupt Sheng Ke’s day off, so he called his office number. If nobody answered, he would wait another day or two.

  Surprisingly, Sheng Ke answered the phone within a second. Zhang Zian briefly explained the case. Sheng Ke asked him to send the picture to a designated email, then wait for a call back.

  It did not take long for Sheng Ke to call back. The technical department processed the picture and identified the plate number, but unfortunately, it was a falsified number which did not match the vehicle. In other words, the owner of the MPV could not be found.

  Sheng Ke sounded busy over the phone, and had constantly been interrupted by subordinates’ issues to deal with. Despite this, he promised to notify the police to keep an eye on the plate number and vehicle model. He specified that he didn’t do it for the sake of Zhang Zian. Falsifying a plate number was illegal anyway.

  Zhang Zian put the phone on speaker so that Ning Lan and Sun Xiaomeng could also hear the conversation. Ning Lan was eager to find the dog, but felt sorry for Sheng Ke when she heard that he had to work during the New Year’s holiday. She signaled Zhang Zian to drop this matter.

  He gave a brief apology and thanks, then hung up the phone.

  Ning Lan sighed and said, “It’s fine. I’ll look for it myself. Thank you, Mr. Zhang. I’m grateful for what you have done so far. Please don’t interrupt his office hour with our business. Caption Sheng must have a lot more urgent matters to deal with.”


  She was a sensible person, and did not take advantage of the fact that Zhang Zian had a police captain friend.

  Things had reached a dead end. The trappers were clearly well prepared and even used a falsified plate. Zhang Zian and Sun Xiaomeng could not help any further even if they wanted to.

  Ning Lan looked at the time and stood up. “Sister Xiaomeng…thank you. I’m leaving now. It’s New Year’s day and you should take a break. I have a date with my classmates at the gate of Binhai University. We’ll look for the dog together today. The more people, the better.”


  “I’m sorry that I couldn’t help much.” Sun Xiaomeng stood up and walked her out.

  Ning Lan thanked Zhang Xian. “Thank you for your help, Mr. Zhang. Although Tuan Tuan is irreplaceable, if it’s truly lost, I’ll surely buy another dog from you.”


  As soon as she said goodbye, Zang Zian suddenly remembered that the elfins at home were waiting for breakfast. He prepared to leave as well.

  “You are welcome. I’ll leave too.”


  After leaving Sun Xiaomeng’s clinic, Ning Lan went to meet her classmates. Zhang Zian dropped by Uncle Li’s restaurant, and returned to the pet shop with a styrofoam cooler.

  While the elfins were eating breakfast, Zhang Zian turned on the computer at the cashier station, logged into the public account of Wechat, and sent a group message.

  The Spring Festival is coming soon. There have been a few dog trafficking events lately in the Dongcheng District. Please be careful when you walk a dog. Make sure to use a leash, and never let the dog out of your sight.

  A moment later, more than one comment confirmed that their neighbors had lost their dogs in the recent days, and most of them were in the urban village.

  A few others cursed the dog thieves to bump into ghosts at night.

  A few minutes later, Snowy re posted the message on her Weibo page, reminding people to keep their dogs safe.

  Although the store was open today, there were barely any customers. Most people were either resting or visiting relatives during the long-awaited, 3-day break. Most nearby stores were closed.

  Zhang Zian continued to read the Abyssinian cat breeding book left by Kathy, but found it hard to stay focused.

  He put down the book, dressed himself again, grabbed the baseball and baseball gloves, and prepared to play the daily game in the green field. The weather was not great, but it was cloudy and cold. So he didn’t take the elfins with him.

  After locking the shutter door, he left from the back door with Zhan Tian.

  The back door of the pet shop was facing a quiet alley, leading to the green field on the right. Around the green field were some old residential buildings waiting for demolition. The old residential buildings were not well insulated and were cold in winters. Not many people lived there. They were mostly the old and the sick.

  The green field was empty and cold as usual, without anyone in it.

  Zhang Zian played with Zhan Tian for a while. Zhan Tian was apparently getting more excitable than before, responding faster to orders and executing them faster. It did not mean that the Special Forces were not good at training dogs. They had other more important things to do, and wouldn’t compromise their daily training and assignments for training a dog. Zhan Tian was excellent, but so where the other candidate dogs, plus the numerous new ones that arrived each year.

  Zhang Zian knew well that Zhan Tian was unlikely to get back to its peak state. It was good enough to give him a normal life.

  “Zhan Tian, fetch!”


  He threw the baseball to Zhan Tian to fetch, rewarded it with beef jerky, and so forth. He threw harder and harder, and the ball was landing further and further. But Zhan Tian was able to fetch it each time.

  Zoom…


  He threw the baseball again, except it was not very accurate this time. The baseball hit the fence, then bounced towards the alley at the exit of the green field.

  Zhan Tian chased after it with excitement. It made a turn, then disappeared into the alley. Zhang Zian did not notice that. He looked at his cellphone when Zhan Tian returned earlier. It was getting late and decided that he should head back soon. He had not yet started the daily boxing class, nor played hide-and-seek with Galaxy but he waited for a while longer, yet Zhan Tian did not return.

  He threw quite hard just now, and the baseball flew far away. But even after this, Zhan Tian should have returned. Did the ball get stuck somewhere Zhan Tian could not reach? It was possible. Sometimes the ball got stuck in the branches, and he had to climb a ladder to get it.

  He waited awhile longer, but Zhan Tian still not return.

  Zhang Zian had a bad feeling in his heart. He shouted, “Zhan Tian, come back!”


  Usually, as soon as he shouted, Zhan Tian would have returned to him, with or without the baseball. As he shouted, Zhan Tian growled in the alley with rage. At the same time, a motor sound came from the alley.

  Damn!

  Zhang Zian felt anxious, as if a million llamas were running over his heart and left a million holes.

  Can I be unlucky enough to encounter this?

  He ran towards the exit with so much regret that he wanted to slap his own face. This old residential area was about to be demolished, with no surveillance nor securities. It was the perfect crime scene for the dog-trappers! How could he be so careless to ignore that? And he was reminding others not to let their dogs out of their sight? He failed so miserably at this. A big slap in his face!

  If Zhan Tian had been trapped. How could he answer Fu Tao from the police dog nursing home the next time he asked him “How is Zhan Tian lately?”


  Zhang Zian was stronger than before. He ran out of the green field and entered the alley.

  A dark shadow flashed in front of him, and he almost ran into something. He was covered in cold sweat, and quickly dodged to the side. As he looked carefully, it was Zhan Tian.

  “Zhan Tian, are you OK?” He was thrilled with excitement that Zhan Tian was back and no longer had to worry. There was something wrong with Zhan Tian. It barked restlessly towards the other end of the alley, as if it had seen an enemy.

  Zhang Zian looked over, and saw an MPV disappearing at the end of the alley in smoke. It looked like the vehicle in Mr. Li’s video. Subconsciously, he took out his phone to film the plate number, but then he realized that it was a falsified plate and filming would have been in vain.

  “It’s OK, Zhan Tian. It’s OK.”


  He held Zhan Tian, trying to calm it down.

  As he looked closely, the hair in Zhan Tian’s neck seemed to have been scraped by something against the direction of growth, and the skin under the hair was reddish.

  Zhan Tian furiously barked a few more times towards the vanishing MPV, then stopped reluctantly.

  “Zhan Tian, let’s go home.”


  Zhang Zian put the leash on Zhan Tian in terror. They just walked a few steps, and Zhan Tian was distracted by a soft object on the ground. It sniffed and sniffed, unwilling to leave.

  Zhang Zian was certain that this thing was not there earlier. It must have been left by the dog-trappers.

  He picked it up and pinched it. It looked like a ball of rice, or some dessert made with glutinous rice. It was made with an unknown substance but it was soft with a nice smell.

  He drew a picture of what happened just now.

  The group of trappers drove into the alley, slowed down, or stopped with the engine on, and searched for a victim dog. Then they saw Zhan Tian run out of the field to fetch the baseball. They thought it was an ordinary German Shepard, so they threw bait towards it as they did with most dogs. The dogs chased after it because the bait was probably irresistible to them. Then they trapped the dog. Using this method, they caught it every time.

  But Zhan Tian was no ordinary dog. Despite the early retirement, it was still one of the best police dogs, and would not accept food from strangers. It had always been alert, and the bait did not work. But those people were obsessed with money, and didn’t want to let go of this beautiful, purebred German Shepherd. It would cost a lot of money. They drove up, trying to trap Zhan Tian anyway. But it was smart enough to get away, and barked horrendously to alert Zhang Zian.

  The thieves were nervous, and accelerated the car to flee the scene. After hurrying over, all Zhang Zian saw was the exhaust from the vehicle.

  It was a pity for Zhang Zian. If Zhan Tian had not been hurt by the flare, it might have been brave and chased and bitten them. Had they stopped those dog-trappers, they would have done the world a favor.

  “Come on, Zhan Tian. Let’s go home.” He put the bait in his pocket, and wanted to return to the pet shop through the back door. But Zhan Tian stopped at the door, staring in the direction of where the MPV disappeared. He tugged a few times, but Zhan Tian would not move. Zhan Zian frowned, and lowered his body to Zhan Tian. “Zhan Tian, do you remember their smell?”


  Zhan Tian turned its head and barked loudly. Then it continued to stare in the direction that the trappers went. He knew what Zhan Tian meant. It wanted to chase them.

  As one of the best police dogs, Zhan Tian must have received professional scent recognition training, and must have graduated with good grades. Otherwise, it would not have entered the Special Forces.

  Honestly speaking, Zhang Zian was pissed off by these people. They were bold enough to trap his dog. He remained calm despite the anger. He was thinking about two things; first, was Zhan Tian able to trace them by the odor; second, could he turn those trappers over to the police after he traced them.

  He was more concerned with the second thought. Since they were a group, there should be at least three people, or even more. That was a lot of people for him and a dog. He was good at Wing Chun Kung fu, but lacked battlefield experience. If the enemies had knives or bricks, he and Zhan Tian would be in danger. A wise man should not put himself in unnecessary danger. He didn’t suffer actual loss, and should not risk himself impulsively.

  It was inappropriate to ask for Sheng Ke’s help as well. It was uncertain whether Zhan Tian was able to trace them yet. If Sheng Ke came over with a group to help and ended up with nothing, it would look bad.

  Old Time Tea could nail it for sure, but it may draw too much attention in bright daylight, so he better not.

  A decision must be made as soon as possible, before the enemy’s odor disappeared.

  After realizing this, he asked Zhan Tian to wait by the door. He stuck his head inside the room and called, “Famous, come out with me.”


  Famous was snoozing next to the reclining chair in boredom. It followed Zhang Zian outside after hearing how serious he sounded.

  Fina and Old Time Tea watched him in confusion. He had little time to explain. “I’ll tell you later after I come back. Lunch may be late today.”


  “What?” Fina was about to explain when Zhang Zian shut the back door.

  He took out the phone and texted Sun Xiaomeng to ask for Ning Lan’s number.

  “Hi, is that Ning Lan? This is Zhang Zian, manager of Amazing Fate Pet Shop.” He dialed the number.

  “Oh, hi.” Ning Lan was obviously surprised. “Mr. Zhang, what’s the matter? Did you find my Tuan Tuan?”


  Her voice was full of expectation.

  “No, but I may have a lead. Are you looking near Binhai University with your friends?” Zhang Zian asked.

  “Well, yes.”


  “How many are you?”


  “One, two, three…ten including myself.” She replied. Others could be heard in the speaker.

  That was a lot of people. Ning Lan seemed popular in class. Zhang Zian speculated that most of the ten were guys.

  “OK. Please come over as soon as possible. I’ll meet you at the intersection of Zhonghua Road. I saw the vehicle just now.” He said.

  Ning Lan was excited with happiness, and replied, “OK, we’ll be there right away!”


  After hanging up the phone, Zhang Zian patted the eager Zhan Tian. “Zhan Tian, now it’s your show time!”