Chapter 245: Discovery

Woof.

Woof woof woof.

Fangjin Township, Xishan.

Among the hills, clusters of lights dispelled the darkness; the clamor of voices and barking dogs carried for miles.

Dazhuang stood proudly by the roadside, his hind legs trembling slightly from car sickness, yet his dog face was resolute.

From his position, he could hear police dog voices coming from the valley below, the hilltop, and all around.

The police dogs that arrived earlier had already plunged into tense work.

Dazhuang panted excitedly. Since graduating from the police dog school, he had never seen so many police dogs before.

At the same time, Li Li was also excited, whispering to her colleague: "I'm so thrilled—I haven't seen this many police dogs since graduating from police dog school."

"Aren't there any pet markets in Ningtai?" her colleague replied absently, calming his own police dog.

Li Li snorted. "Those lazy bastards aren't real dogs."

Dazhuang snorted too, and nodded.

"Comrades!" Xu Taining's voice came through the loudspeaker.

The ranks immediately murmured, "At attention!" "At ease!"…

Li Li obeyed; the police dog settled down after slight agitation.

Xu Taining didn't pause, continuing at once:

"It's late, so I'll keep this brief. 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 pillars of their families, fathers of nine-year-old boys, sons of 68-year-old retired female teachers, husbands who returned home after seven years guarding the border. Bringing them home is our duty, and our promise to them."

"Comrades, every minute, every second we've fought for these past days has been to give these three one more chance at life. I know you're all exhausted—some of you haven't slept for thirty or forty hours straight—but now, I ask you to hold on just a little longer, to give Liu Jinghui, Zhang Yu, and Jiao Peng one more chance to survive…"

"Now, teams, deploy according to plan. Report any issues immediately."

Xu Taining watched the teams march out in orderly fashion; the four new police dogs were also dispatched as planned. But Xu Taining himself could barely stand.

This was the fourth wave of search teams today, but the third with a large number of police dogs.

The first two waves relied mostly on manpower—what Xu Taining could mobilize at maximum capacity, and what he'd staked everything on.

If luck held and they found them right away, the task would be easy and done.

But if that first strike failed, the pressure fell back squarely on Xu Taining.

He still trusted Jiang Yuan, and had largely followed his advice. So the police dogs from across the province began work, each based on multiple scent sources.

But only those who've used police dogs know how unstable their actual performance can be.

High temperatures, illness, psychological factors, environmental conditions—all can prevent police dogs from reaching peak working state.

And scent sources are even more affected by the environment.

The reality was that, with the first batch of police dogs on site, their performance fell far short of expectations.

"Has the suspect talked?" Xu Taining turned back and asked his subordinate.

"No," the subordinate replied bluntly.

"What does Old Zhou say?"

"Chief Zhou said it's tough. Said nothing else."

Xu Taining sighed in disappointment, and had nothing more to say.

If the suspect had firmly decided to stay silent, and interrogation experts couldn't break his psychological defenses, Xu Taining had no choice but to wait.

In the past, under torture, they might have gotten something. But now, in this environment, the bigger the case, the less anyone dares to do such things.

This case will go all the way to the High Court. If the suspect says even one word in the collegial panel—"I was interrogated continuously for over ten hours while detained," or "I wasn't allowed water or to use the toilet during interrogation"—every official on the chain will be investigated countless times.

And to save their own lives, to escape the death penalty, no suspect will ever defend the police or prosecutors.

Someone might say, "He has no evidence."

But under the evidentiary standards for death penalty cases, even something as simple as a broken camera is utterly indefensible. Even from a cynical perspective: if the suspect has no evidence, doesn't the interrogator have enemies?

"So now…" the subordinate ventured, glancing at Xu Taining, wondering if he had further orders.

Xu Taining shook his head slightly. "Wait. Now it's up to everyone's performance—and whether Old Liu's got enough grit."

All leads were exhausted. Thousands of personnel and complex logistics had been shifted to Fangjin Township's Xishan—even the entire province's police dogs had been summoned by Xu Taining.

At this point, Xu Taining felt he had no more options.

As he'd said, what came next depended on everyone's efforts—and Old Liu's luck.

"I'll catch a few hours' sleep. Wake me when it's light."

Less than two hours remained until dawn; by then, with better visibility and rising temperatures, perhaps new discoveries or changes would emerge.

Xu Taining had slept only about four hours in the past two days; he could hold on no longer. He entered the command vehicle, sat down, lowered the seat, and fell into unconscious sleep.

Compared to the younger officers in the Criminal Investigation Unit, Xu Taining was far too old.

…

The evidence collection and trace teams from the Power Supply Station's Xishan service point had already withdrawn.

Police dogs and officers were scattered across the area, inch by inch, measuring the ground with their feet.

Corpses, traces, vehicles, any piece of evidence—everything was needed.

But beyond the service point, these things vanished like bubbles in the sea—seeming like they should be there, yet gone without a trace.

With the help of several search lamps, Jiang Yuan had found only trivial evidence. Turning back to look at the police dogs, each was either pacing in circles or running back and forth.

Even the decorated dog Hezi lay beneath his handler's feet, walking a few steps, then stopping.

Police dogs locate targets by scent sources; the critical step is achieving a breakthrough at the origin. Without that breakthrough, they have nothing to follow.

No matter how many police dogs are present, without a breakthrough, it's all useless.

Li Li glanced around at the police dogs, especially Hezi's futile efforts, clenched her teeth, and decided to take Dazhuang straight toward the nearby mine.

She'd read the briefing—she knew the cliffs and mine tunnels were the most likely places where Liu Chu and the others had become trapped.

Dazhuang's scent source was suspect Fu Guangyun's. Logically, following the road should have let him catch the man's scent—but perhaps Fu Guangyun hadn't been there in a long time, or everyone had searched in the wrong place. Either way, the police dog showed no response.

Li Li knew Dazhuang's skills couldn't match Hezi's, so she simply headed into the mountains.

Compared to elite dogs like Hezi, Dazhuang's advantages were stamina and obedience. On several gentle slopes where Li Li struggled to climb, Dazhuang advanced effortlessly without hesitation.

When they reached a bare, abandoned mine slope, Dazhuang suddenly began repeatedly sniffing.

This was a sign of "locking on." Li Li's nerves tightened instantly.

The vegetation along the road was dense, possibly interfering with the police dogs' sense of smell. But this mine slope, its soil disturbed, supported only sparse grass—likely offering less obstruction.

Dazhuang sniffed in a tight circle, then lifted his head and dashed decisively to the left.

Li Li released Dazhuang's leash and hurried after him.

Dazhuang ran straight to the base of the mine slope, then began wildly sniffing a small patch of grass.

Li Li rushed over and saw clear signs of the grass having been torn out.

Looking around, a mine entrance lay directly ahead; before the grass, a half-person-tall rock blocked the view.

Li Li held Dazhuang's leash, then knelt slightly behind the grass, raised her head—and could clearly see into the mine entrance.

A few steps further, near the mine entrance, lay piles of broken rocks. Above, not a single blade of grass grew—desolate beyond words.

Li Li had worked on multiple major cases. Without hesitation, she grabbed her radio: "I've located a mine entrance with signs of collapse. Requesting backup…"

After receiving confirmation and reporting the exact location, Li Li cautiously approached the mine entrance and shouted: "Chief Liu! Liu Jinghui!"

"Chief Liu!"

"Liu Jinghui!"

She called out several times, listened closely—no reply came. She stood up, slightly disappointed.

Then, suddenly, rhythmic knocking echoed from within the mine.

Thump. Thump. Thump…

A metallic sound, faint but unmistakable—someone was knocking.

Li Li's hand clenched tightly around Dazhuang's neck.

"Found them!" Li Li whispered, gripping Dazhuang's fur in disbelief.

Dazhuang glanced back at Li Li, saw she was in an emotional frenzy, and quietly lowered his head, twitching the loose skin along his neck.

Dog necks have thick skin and loose flesh—not worth barking over.