Animal Detective

"Maybe they set up a hideout in a specific mountainous area, stockpiled food, and are trying to lay low long-term."

"They have accomplices, so they can keep getting resupplied. They’ve been active for a long time, and with how smart those two are, it’s very possible they’ve prepared several hiding spots like this."

Duan Zijie’s words immediately made Shen Xin think of the previous case with Fan Lei.

He had also taken food and holed up in a pre-arranged shelter in the mountains, planning to come out after the heat died down.

Shen Xin thought for a moment and asked, "Captain Duan, have you found any leads on their accomplices?"

Compared to these two vicious thugs, their accomplices were even more despicable.

Without the help of accomplices, where would they have gotten the horses and the motorcycle? And they couldn’t have had such an ample supply of food.

Without food and water, they would have been found long ago by the previous search parties, let alone one on the current scale.

So, in Shen Xin’s view, the only reason these two had been able to wreak havoc for so long, and even had the capability to attack the camp, was entirely because of this accomplice.

Duan Zijie shook his head slightly. "We started our investigation with the motorcycle and the firearms, but we haven’t found anything yet."

"The guns were probably brought in from across the border. As for the motorcycle, the frame number has been filed off."

"It’s the same with the motorcycle they were riding this time. Both the engine and frame numbers were filed off, so it’s going to be difficult to trace its origin in a short amount of time."

Only a few days had passed since the incident began. Tracing a 125cc motorcycle—a model that was a dime a dozen around the grasslands—was no easy task.

Shen Xin nodded slightly and asked no more questions.

A little after four o’clock, Tian Kui tracked them all the way to the location where the thugs on the motorcycle had been spotted.

Duan Zijie sighed softly. The situation had devolved into the most complicated outcome.

But his confidence wasn’t shaken. "It’s fine," he said. "At least we know where they are. In this area, we’ll find them even if we have to turn over every inch of turf."

With that, he took the lead and drove off to arrange the next phase of the search plan.

"Shen Xin, don’t overthink it. No one expected those two would be bold enough to attack our camp," Lakshen said, trying to comfort him.

He could tell that Shen Xin was blaming himself for the attack on Liao Lei.

He then urged Shen Xin to head back to the camp, reminding him they still had to find Tianxiong.

Shen Xin nodded. ’Right, we still have to find Tianxiong.’

Just then, a helicopter flew across the sky in the distance.

Shen Xin thought of Teddy.

A helicopter’s high-altitude reconnaissance still mostly relied on the naked eye.

At night, it would be easy to spot them riding a motorcycle with its lights on.

But during the day, looking down from above at the endless expanse of yellow-green, it would be very difficult to spot any sign of a person.

But Teddy was different.

His super vision could detect any slight movement during the day.

And thinking of the falcon, Shen Xin suddenly realized there was a question he had subconsciously overlooked.

The two men had a very clear objective: they were after the falcon.

At first, Shen Xin had subconsciously assumed they had been lurking nearby, saw Lakshen and him leave, and decided to strike when they thought the camp was empty.

But now, Shen Xin realized something was wrong with that theory.

’First, how did they know the falcon was at the camp?’

’We only rescued the falcon the day before yesterday.’

’Normally, after rescuing a falcon, the police would either release it or take it to the Forestry and Grassland Bureau for further processing.’

’And yesterday and the day before, Captain Duan was searching the entire grassland for them.’

’They should have been lying low, hiding from place to place. They would never have dared to come lurk near the camp in broad daylight to observe.’

’Even Teddy choosing to stay after he was supposed to be released was an unexpected development.’

’They needed a source of information to know the falcon was at the camp.’

’Second, the timing of their move was too precise.’

’Or rather, too much of a coincidence.’

’It just so happened to be when Lakshen went to find someone and I had left as well.’

’These were also random events that couldn’t have been predicted.’

’Normally, to find such an opportunity, they would have needed to observe the area for a long time.’

’But lurking nearby was almost impossible.’

’Besides, the camp normally had several people and guns. If the two of them had attacked directly, they would have just been handing us a free victory.’

’Yet, while being hunted, they just so happened to get extremely lucky and find an opportunity to attack.’

’Coincidences happen in the world, but this was just too convenient.’

’In that case, there was only one answer.’

’There’s a mole!’

’Or, to put it another way, there was someone who told them the falcon was at the camp, told them the camp was empty, and told them they could make their move.’

Without a mole, Shen Xin truly felt it would have been impossible for them to pull this off.

’So who could it be?’

’They had to know about the falcon, and they had to know all the police were gone. Listing these two necessary conditions, it seemed it could only be someone from the camp.’

’It wasn’t me, and it wasn’t Liao Lei.’

’Liao Lei fought for his life; the camp’s security cameras recorded everything.’

’Doniya?’

’She actually fits both conditions.’

’But if it were her, she wouldn’t have been attacked before, nor would she have fought so desperately to save the falcon.’

’Then there’s no one left.’

’If it was just one of the conditions—for example, knowing the falcon was at the camp—then the list of suspects is quite long.’

’Teacher Chen and his group, the people from the Forestry and Grassland Bureau, and the villagers from the *gacha*... so many people came to see what was going on.’

’If someone posted about it on social media to show off, even more people would know.’

’So, could their accomplice have found out the falcon was at the camp that way?’

’A villager?’

Shen Xin frowned, a question mark forming in his mind.

Just as he was trying to rethink everything that had happened from Doniya’s attack to the present, Lakshen called to him from ahead.

He said he had called the people at the Forestry and Grassland Bureau, but they hadn’t found Tianxiong yet.

It was too dark, making the search difficult.

He was suggesting they have Tian Kui help with the search, so he asked if Tian Kui could handle it.

Shen Xin said it wasn’t a problem.

Besides, finding Tianxiong wouldn’t be that hard.

They could use Teddy. Once dawn broke, Teddy could fly high into the sky, and it would be easy to spot a wolf and a dog.

While everyone was still gathered, Lakshen briefly assigned the day’s tasks.

Captain Duan’s team would certainly have to coordinate on the search for the fugitives, but they also had to look for Tianxiong, and on top of that, there was daily work that couldn’t be ignored.

Tian Jian suddenly spoke up, "Oh, right, Chief. What about Sangbu? That kid still hasn’t been found."

Lakshen slapped his forehead, thinking to himself that there was so much going on, he’d completely forgotten about the guy.

"No problem. I’ll tell Old Duan and his team to look for him at the same time," Lakshen said, pulling out his satellite phone.

But Shen Xin, who was walking behind them, felt his heart suddenly leap.

’Sangbu?’

Shen Xin suddenly thought of a possibility.

’Instead of passively waiting for an opportunity when the camp was empty, there was another possibility: actively creating one.’

’For example, if someone went missing late at night, and the situation seemed dangerous, wouldn’t the police at the camp have to go out and search?’

’And then the camp would be empty, wouldn’t it?’

Moreover, Shen Xin suddenly remembered something.

Back at the very beginning, when he had just arrived on the grassland, Hong Gu’er had gone missing. Doniya had chased him down and asked Zhang Qifeng to help find the horse.

Zhang Qifeng had sent a message in the grid management group chat.

Then someone had first replied that they saw Hong Gu’er in Peony Valley.

After that, Sangbu quickly popped up, saying he had seen Hong Gu’er at Banlazhan. He’d even claimed with certainty that it was definitely Hong Gu’er, but that he’d tried to chase it and failed.

At the time, the three of them hadn’t thought much of it and had gone to the closer location, Peony Valley, where they found Hong Gu’er.

The next day, Hong Gu’er went missing again, and the attack on Doniya occurred.

And according to the on-site investigation, the two poachers had probably been lurking around Uyastsan Mountain for a long time.

’So, thinking back on it now, the situation was rather strange.’

’It was as if he was afraid Doniya would go to Peony Valley to look for her horse, so he deliberately mentioned a location in the opposite direction, even stating in a confident tone that the horse was there.’

’Almost as if he was worried Doniya would run into the two poachers.’

’On top of that, there was Sangbu suddenly going missing last night.’

’He’s a volunteer border patrol grid member. A couple of days ago, Captain Duan mobilized the public for the search. The grid members would know the specific arrangements; they were supposed to help with the manhunt themselves.’

’He also has the responsibility of patrolling the border, which means he could help those two cross it.’

’Also, he knew perfectly well that Teddy was at the camp—he came to see him yesterday.’

Shen Xin drew in a sharp breath, his gaze turning piercingly sharp.

’The accomplice of these two men... could it be Sangbu?’