Chapter 189

Think of it, do it.

The poor mouse uncle lay on the glue trap, its already painful hind leg not daring to move at all; suddenly, the light above was blocked, it looked up, and its fluffy body began to tremble.

Wuu wuu wuu don't, don't kill me QAQ

The poor little mouse, so scared tears streamed down, then it was gently stroked on the head by a gloved hand, and the frightened mouse uncle froze.

The two girls looked around, suddenly seeing the sand pile stacked nearby, their eyes lighting up instantly.

This is useful!

Ke Ke pointed at the sand pile and said.

Hearing her words, Ting Ting's movement stalled: 'This? Can it be used? How to save it?'

Ke Ke patiently grabbed a handful of fool, coarsely scattering it around where the glue trap touched the mouse's body, then began rubbing, rubbing, rubbing.

At this moment, her movements were even gentler than before.

Ke Ke explained while rubbing: 'This is our family's folk method; back when we had mice at home, Mom put out glue traps, unexpectedly the mice didn't get stuck but two birds did, the whole family was at a loss, and finally Grandma said to use sand and soil.'

'Although the glue trap is very sticky, covering it with sand and soil can dry it out; I rubbed for a long time, picking bit by bit, and those two birds were actually saved in the end.'

At the same time, hearing this, the mouse uncle finally relaxed; moreover, to soothe it, Ting Ting occasionally stroked its small body with a gentle pressure like a massage, making it involuntarily let out a soft 'jiji' sound.

Come on, little cutie, you're awesome!

The mouse uncle blushed, covering its face; its lower half couldn't move, but the upper half could still move, and the girls couldn't help laughing at its shy gesture.

When Ling Yue arrived, this was the scene she saw.

She poked the treasure-seeking mouse Duo Duo in her pocket: 'Looks like we don't need to help.'

As for the mouse uncle being rescued, Ling Yue asked it: 'Are you sure it's this one?'

Xunbao Shu Duo Duo: 'It's him, it's him!'

'Mouse uncle, it's actually quite pitiful.'

It said, then suddenly suggested: 'How about we come out again later?'

Ling Yue agreed to its words, but then said: 'But you have to tell me the mouse uncle's story.'

She was really puzzled; the mouse uncle is clearly a pet mouse, how could it have ended up like this, or is there some unknown secret?

As for the mouse uncle itself, Ling Yue withdrew her gaze, glanced at it from afar, its appearance etched in her mind, something she couldn't shake off.

Perhaps because it had endured too much hardship, the mouse uncle was indeed petite, even somewhat frail; being older, its gray-and-white fur had lost its luster, faintly turning white.

But Ling Yue didn't expect that, upon hearing her words, the treasure-seeking mouse burst out cursing: 'What secret? It's clearly that hateful bad human, who bought the mouse uncle from the pet store, and because of the mouse uncle's bodily ailment...'

Xunbao Shu Duo Duo said, voice growing lower: '... the mouse uncle was just abandoned by him like that.'

Ling Yue listened to his story from the side, nodding now and then, her eyes showing a hint of anger.

As Xunbao Shu Duo Duo had said earlier, the mouse uncle was originally a variegated mouse from the pet store; its mother was a very cute variegated mouse, the father likewise had excellent genes, and together they gave birth to a only cute mouse baby, the mouse uncle being one of them.

It was born cute, but the mouse uncle had a congenital disability; one of its legs had a defect, causing it to walk unsteadily and nurse less well than its brothers; the unscrupulous pet store owner discovered this and, wanting to sell it cheap while the variegated mouse's traits weren't obvious, put it up for low price.

That man had bought it on a whim, not really caring for pets, to curry favor with his girlfriend; after the girlfriend found out she'd been deceived, the poor little creature was taken in by her, but the good times didn't last.

She broke up with her boyfriend, who used the mouse uncle to blackmail her into getting back together; the girl fled the city overnight in fright, valuing her own life more than the pet, and besides, the mouse uncle wasn't a pet she had bought.

After she left, the man vented all his anger on the mouse uncle; it wasn't originally called mouse uncle, but had a lovely name, Tang Tang.

Unfortunately, none of the mouse's traits matched its name; during one of the man's lapses, it escaped the cage and began a long life of wandering, its weak body making it a target for bullying by other mice.

However, in Tang Tang's memory, this was far better than being by the man's side; he would bang its cage, insult it, and poke its defective leg with a small needle...

While wandering, Tang Tang met another similarly despised treasure-seeking mouse; at that time it was still weak, its anomalous golden‑shimmering tail fur envied and excluded by other mice, Tang Tang, as the elder, always brought it along; later, the treasure‑seeking mouse became capable on its own, and Tang Tang entered old age.

After that came what is happening now: Tang Tang became the mouse uncle, a mouse living near the trash cans, silently keeping away from people and other mice.

'It looks a bit aloof, but the mouse uncle really is a very good mouse.'

Ling Yue nodded along, her finger grasped by the tiny claws of Xunbao Shu Duo Duo: 'I know, because I believe in you, Duo Duo.'

During their conversation, the two girls finally rescued the mouse uncle from the glue trap; it dragged its disabled leg, bent down and picked up a small dry twig, using it as a crutch, and hobbled away.

Seeing this, the two girls froze in unison.

Hearing its cough and seeing its sluggish movements, they couldn't help feeling guilty: 'Its leg seems broken.'

Mouse uncle Tang Tang heard it, glanced at the two benefactors.

Ting Ting felt even more ashamed: 'It must be me, I broke its leg; goodness, Ke Ke, you always said I'm careless, I didn't take it seriously, but now I've actually fractured its leg!'

Both girls were kind‑hearted, blaming themselves endlessly; hearing this, the mouse uncle Tang Tang was utterly dazed.

It opened its mouth, about to explain, when a blast of cold wind rushed into its throat, making it cough miserably, as if it were about to vomit its five viscera and six bowels.

'Oh my mother, won't something happen?'

Seeing that, Ting Ting's dialect slipped out in fright, and Ke Ke was even more anguished.

Mouse uncle Tang Tang: 'No, cough cough, not so!'

It clung to the crutch, explaining: 'This is all, all cough cough cough a congenital defect……nothing to do with you, cough cough……'

Unfortunately, the girls couldn't understand its words, and being much more nimble than this old mouse, they promptly picked up a paper box and gently placed it inside.

Ting Ting didn't dare meet the little variegated mouse's eyes, speaking unnaturally: 'Little variegated mouse, rest assured, I will take full responsibility!'

'Before your leg gets better, I will surely raise you, even for a lifetime!'

Hearing her words, mouse uncle Tang Tang had what it wanted to say catch in its throat; it wanted to flee, but the box had already been lifted by them, wanting to leave, it was nearly impossible.

Mouse uncle: 'It's not your fault, quickly put me down.'

Ting Ting covered the lid, and the mouse uncle's voice was also muffled.

On the other side, Ling Yue, having witnessed the whole process, stared in shock at the two girls, the treasure‑seeking mouse Duo Duo in her pocket gripping the edge tightly, almost wrinkling the fabric.

'My, my heavens, did I hear wrong?'

Ling Yue shook her head then nodded: 'No, I heard it truly as well.'

'Is Tang Tang adopted or kidnapped?'

She muttered to herself as she walked out of the alley, and right ahead were the two little girls nervously clutching clean paper boxes; when a person suddenly appeared on the bare road, Tingting instinctively gripped the box.

Her companion Keke linked arms with her: 'Let's go, we feel like heading home—it's freezing today.'

Tingting: 'Ah, okay.'

The two of them quickened their steps as if guilty; although their living conditions weren't great, the room's heating in such a harsh winter truly saved their lives.

At that split second, Ling Yue seemed to see something unbelievable, her eyes widening in shock.

'They—'

The treasure-seeking rat, having hidden in a hurry, wiped its brow and shook itself, as if shaking off the sweat that had broken out, only then noticing Ling Yue's shocked expression; hearing her words, it grew even more curious.

'What's wrong? What's wrong with them?'

'Could they be bad people? Uncle Rat is in danger!' The rat, agitated by its own speculation, instantly grew tense.

Ling Yue shook her head, bit her lip, feeling a sting, and only then snapped out of her tumultuous thoughts: 'No, they're not bad people, but I saw their faces, which is scarier than them being bad people.'

Her voice lowered; just then a draft whistled from the alley entrance, sweeping away chill after chill, and a faint female voice sounded: 'They are in danger.'

'I saw their faces; disaster is imminent.'

The treasure-seeking rat trembled all over, instinctively hugging itself and curling up: 'What should we do?'

'Aren't they good people? Good people, good people should be safe all their lives.'

Ling Yue: 'Yeah, good people should be safe all their lives.'

After she came to, the two girls, because of Tangtang, had already vanished without a trace; the alley twisted and the terrain was complex—even if she searched for four or five more days, in such a labyrinthine terrain she couldn't find their residence.

Ling Yue's gaze fell on Xunbao Shu Duo Duo; it retreated step by step, then flopped onto the soft side of the pouch, its paws pressing outward: 'You, you what do you want to do?'

It didn't dare speak, seeing Ling Yue's expression now—so frightening it made the rat panic.

Ling Yue's eyes curved, her smile alluring: 'Dear Duo Duo, help me with something.'

'After all, you wouldn't want to see Uncle Rat, who finally found a home after being adopted, suddenly lose his family and home, would you?'

Xunbao Shu Duo Duo blinked: 'Then, what do you want to do? Anything I can do, I'll help you with!'

Ling Yue waved at it: 'Come close to my ear.'

The treasure-seeking rat earnestly approached, doing this and that, its eyes slowly widening; after a moment, it patted its little chest and promised: 'I can!'

The next morning, Ling Yue first went to the Jing Shi Criminal Investigation Brigade; speaking of it brings tears—Dahei, since receiving an official posting, has become extraordinarily busy; later Ling Yue went to Changbai Mountain, and Dahei was directly placed in foster care at the Criminal Investigation Brigade.

Ling Yue, as its owner, went to find it, but first had to make a phone call; she wanted to check the situation to ask for leave for Dahei, yet as soon as she arrived, she saw a familiar police officer.

The officer looked at her in surprise: 'You are… Dahei's owner?'

Ling Yue nodded, explaining: 'I first called your deputy captain, Cheng Ziming; he said Dahei is in the police unit, and earlier I really troubled you.'

The officer quickly waved hands, face flushing: 'No no no, what thanks—Dahei is our unit's famous dog trainer; it's no trouble, we're glad to have him!'

'Da… cough cough, Miss Ling Yue, you don't know—Dahei, relying on its nose and ability, has cracked many big cases! Our unit is even discussing submitting a recommendation for a second-class merit!'

Ling Yue was stunned upon hearing this—second-class merit!

Back when she fought to get Dahei an official posting, she did a lot of homework; second-class merit—let alone dogs, even for people the requirements are extremely strict, an honor reserved for soldiers who have made great contributions; could her silly, lovable Dahei possibly earn a second-class merit?

Ling Yue's heart raced, blood pumping to her heart; yet no matter how excited she felt inside, she kept her composure, saying calmly: 'Really? Becoming a police dog has always been Dahei's dream; if it knew, it would surely be delighted!'

The officer nodded: 'That's absolutely true!'

Going back and forth, the topic returned to earlier; Ling Yue asked where Dahei was now; the officer, catching her meaning, couldn't help but be slightly startled: 'You really picked a bad time to come—Dahei went on a mission half an hour ago and hasn't returned yet.'

Ling Yue nodded, and didn't press further.

Although she holds a nominal consultancy position, in reality she's no match for Dahei—he is the genuine, top-notch police dog.

At that moment, the officer's phone suddenly rang; after answering, his face suddenly changed: 'What?'

Before he turned, Ling Yue faintly heard from the earpiece the words 'police dog,' 'missing,' 'malfunction'; combined with the officer's inability to hide his expression, her heart instantly shot up like a roller coaster.

'What happened?'

She really wanted to speak, but in fact she couldn't intervene; in that instant, Ling Yue thought of many things, fingers gripping the phone tightly—what on earth had happened?

At that moment, the earlier officer finally came to his senses and walked over to her, tense, asking: 'Miss Ling Yue, do you have anything today?'

Ling Yue shook her head: 'Nothing. What's up?'

After she asked, she exhaled a turbid breath; the officer opposite, recalling what he'd heard, said: 'Dahei lost an important suspect while on duty today; because it happened suddenly, the suspect went missing in the mountains—I wanted to ask you, Miss Ling Yue, would you help with the investigation?'

Ling Yue replied without hesitation: 'I can!'

'Where is the address? I can go right away!'

She was even more anxious than the officer; even using herself, not even Dahei's top-notch sense of smell could pick up a trace—surely something else had happened, and moreover, an important suspect!

Ling Yue's heart clenched; she couldn't help but think of the cunning, heinous criminal from the earlier pigeon case, wishing she could fly there instantly.

Unfortunately—

She glanced ahead; the officer driving was skilled, and even on Jing Shi's usually congested roads it would take only ten-odd minutes before heading toward the suburbs.

Entering the mountains, Ling Yue looked up; the mountaintop was a blanket of pure white snow, utterly different from the scenery she had seen before.

The car stopped before a small hill; the officer immediately said: 'We've arrived; Captain Lin and Deputy Captain Cheng are ahead.'

Although said to be ahead, there was still a considerable distance; the officer trains daily, his physique is good, he can climb hills and ford rivers, but Ling Yue, who looks like a pampered young lady, could—

Thinking that, he couldn't help but look back—yet behind him was empty, nothing there; the officer blinked: 'Ling Yue?'

The next instant, a clear female voice rang from above; Ling Yue, on the slope ahead, looked down: 'Officer Zhou, what's wrong?'

She didn't realize when, but she had already outpaced him by a large margin; if she paused even a moment, she might soon leave him far behind.

Thinking of his own presumption, Officer Zhou's face flushed completely; the tall man scratched his head: 'No, no, it's fine!'

Ling Yue: 'Oh.'

With such speed, she arrived ten-odd minutes earlier than planned; moreover, to catch up to Ling Yue, Officer Zhou reached the site, panting and unable to straighten his back.

He looked at Ling Yue, utterly doubtful—she couldn't be human, must be a spirit transformed; the rough mountain road was like flat ground to her, the wet, slippery snow under her feet behaved like obedient clay, shaping itself however she wished.

In contrast, he himself had several times nearly slipped, falling face-first into the mud.

Ling Yue glanced over; over ten police officers were carrying out a carpet‑like search of the area, several police dogs including Dahei were searching everywhere, walking and stopping, but to her it looked like they were just going in circles.

Ling Yue frowned, hadn't even thought of anything else, when Cheng Ziming's voice came from below: "Ling Yue!"

He was overjoyed; his previously anxious feeling was like having a basin of cold water poured on it—the tiny flame that had just sparked sputtered and went out.

His mind settled completely, as if he had found his mainstay; he didn't know how to describe the feeling, and was about to run over when a cool voice sounded from beside him: "Are you Dahei, or is it Dahei?"

During the time he followed beside the Captain, he still couldn't understand what the Captain meant.

Cheng Ziming looked unhurried, glanced at Dahei sitting to one side, then at himself—oh no, I've really turned into a dog!

How could he be more excited than Dahei!

If his rear end could be made visible, he'd probably already have a big fluffy tail attached, wagging and swaying toward Ling Yue.

Cheng Ziming covered his face and let out a low groan: "Captain, I was wrong."

After he said that, he noticed the area beside him was empty; he looked up and saw a tall, long‑legged man in uniform already standing before Ling Yue, his deep black eyes fixed on the girl: "I couldn't make it clear on the phone, let me explain in detail."

Ling Yue nodded, and after his introduction she finally understood the whole story.

As it turned out, this arrest had been planned days earlier; the target was a drug‑trafficking gang that the police had been tailing and monitoring, and maybe because it was year‑end, they were pushing for performance.

In short, this gang came to the capital to commit crimes, so they should be prepared to be caught!

One important suspect was the gang's low‑ranking but high‑status little leader; according to an informant, he is the younger brother of the gang's mastermind! He knows several concealed drug‑trafficking routes, and capturing him would be equivalent to obtaining half of the gang's network, which the police value greatly.

One could say this is an absolute big fish!

However, the arrest operation went poorly, and they only then realized why he knew so many hidden secrets: he was simply too good at escaping!

As the saying goes, a crafty rabbit has three burrows, but he has eighteen!

Despite the police dragging a net over heaven and earth, he still managed to flee from the suburbs all the way here.

Cheng Ziming couldn't help but say, "I'm really impressed—this guy runs faster than a rabbit! You can't catch him even in a car!"

"He scuff‑scuff‑scuffed up the small slope, and by the time we got up there he was gone—but we can be sure he didn't actually escape!"

"Look—"

Ling Yue followed his gaze upward and saw—wow, a drone!

Cheng Ziming explained: "This is the team's drone, with a specialist operating it; it came in right after the suspect, like an eye in the sky. I asked Luo Er, the drone specialist, and he said, with him on watch, not even a person—let alone a fly or mosquito—could get out!"

At the end he slapped his thigh and said, "Even if this kid grew wings, he still couldn't fly out!"

Ling Yue: "What you say is correct, but where is he now?"

Cheng Ziming, who had just been full of confidence, instantly went limp and muttered, "I don't know."

"This kid doesn't know what he did—he's hidden himself so thoroughly that even the police dogs can't find him."

As his words fell, Dahei was led over by the police, trotting up; upon seeing Ling Yue, his huge tail instantly began to wag and flap like a small fan, making Cheng Ziming exclaim, "Good grief, watch out—you might wag it off!"

Dahei: "Woof‑whine~!"

"It's your tail that's about to wag off! People without tails aren't allowed to speak!"

Ling Yue laughed at that, then crouched down and rubbed Dahei's head; the weather had turned cold, and the dog's fur had grown all curly, so you can imagine how warm this coat is.

Ling Yue teased it on purpose: "Our team's meals are pretty good—I see you've put on a bit of bulk, Dahei."

Dahei's expression went blank for a moment: "Put on weight? I've put on a bulk?!"

No, it doesn't believe it!

It whined plaintively at Ling Yue: "I haven't, I haven't gotten fat—it's all fur, not meat! Don't believe me? Feel~"

Ling Yue tried touching it, exaggeratedly opening her mouth: "Wow, there's a lot of meat here—shouldn't you go on a diet, Dahei?"

Dahei: "!!!"

"Not fat, not fat, not fat! The dog isn't fat, don't make me diet QAQ"

Its sad, aggrieved little look made anyone want to laugh; Ling Yue burst out laughing, and upon hearing the sound Dahei immediately realized her earlier teasing.

It was so angry it puffed and panted: "Sniff‑sniff‑sniff, the owner lied! The owner lied to Dahei!"

While saying that, its head kept nudging into Ling Yue's arms—truly both pitiful and adorable, a bit silly, lacking any of its former elite bearing, just a spoiled little child.

What else could Ling Yue do? Naturally, she angrily rubbed the dog's head.

"Sorry, Dahei, I was just teasing you earlier—alright, alright, don't be upset; when the time comes I'll take you home, okay?"

Only then did Dahei stop, and Ling Yue began to ask how it felt.

"You really can't smell anything at all? Not even a trace?" Ling Yue said, wrinkling her nose as she sniffed too—don't forget, she and Dahei both have top‑notch sense of smell.

The result was the same as what Dahei said—she really couldn't smell anything.

However, Ling Yue wasn't in a hurry; she already had a plan in mind, and she summoned Lin Shaoze to ask: "Can I use the drone to check the terrain of this hill?"

Lin Shaoze: "Yes."

She is a consultant invited by the police team, so naturally she can use any equipment belonging to the team.

Ling Yue's gaze fell on the screen above; the latest‑model drone captured images with extraordinary clarity, the lens zoomed out to cover the entire hilltop, fully encompassing the terrain, and when zoomed in, even the whitish reed filaments in the water were distinct, each one clearly visible.

Wait, reeds?

"Is there a lake here?" Ling Yue asked aloud, and received an affirmative answer.

Cheng Ziming explained: "But we've already searched this lake several times over—there's absolutely no sign of anyone."

He scratched his head and continued: "Because the temperature has been dropping steadily these days, the lake surface has frozen over with a thick layer of ice, with no signs of any cutting; and now it's this cold, if he dared to go in the water he'd surely have frozen to death by now!"

Ling Yue didn't rush to question it, speaking calmly: "Did you search the ground thoroughly?"

"We've searched it—just short of digging three feet down, we even probed rabbit holes with poles."

Ling Yue: "Then I'll go onto the lake surface."

Arriving at the spot, Ling Yue saw a thick layer of ice covering the lake, white as far as the eye could see; even the sporadic reeds had a coating of white frost, and around them there wasn't a single trace of footprints.

Ling Yue tapped the ice at the shore, realizing the fish below were out of the question, so her plan changed.

However, she wasn't particularly flustered, and she said outright: "Has anyone been on the ice? I'll go have a look."

Cheng Ziming: "!!!"

"What if we fall?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but the drone had gone back and forth dozens of times—no person, not even an animal, had been seen—yet Ling Yue actually intended to go inspect it herself.

He pondered for a moment, about to speak, when he suddenly heard the team captain's voice: "We had also planned to check it out earlier, but because we lacked supplies and the weather was bad..."

Ling Yue understood his meaning, stared at the man steadily, yet heard him say again: "The supplies have arrived; I'll go with you.":,,.