Chapter 57

Noon.

The sun hung high, blazing fiercely.

The rocks on the mountain peak were scorching hot from the sun, as if heated like a teenager’s groin.

Sand and shattered ore scattered across the ground trembled in the wind, coarse and rough, even dogs despised them.

“Da Zhuang, sit down.” Li Li’s voice was light and crisp, like a breeze stirring through everyone’s hearts.

The Changyang City detectives, exhausted and sweltering, sought shade from the sunlight; hearing Li Li’s voice, they felt as if their hearts had been immersed in an air-conditioned room, instantly relieved.

“Which unit is this?”

“That voice… a girl this soft as a police officer? She’d sweet-talk suspects to death.”

“Honestly, being a dog doesn’t sound so bad.”

During break time, the group sat around chatting aimlessly.

The leaders also moved a few stones and sat on the ground, ignoring the murmurs of the officers nearby. The command vehicle stood right in front, its air conditioning running—but no one suggested going inside to rest.

Today’s operation involved multiple agencies: provincial bureau personnel, Changyang City Bureau officers, Ningtai County Criminal Investigation Team members, forest police, and local police stations; additionally, several reporters invited by Liu Jinghui and multiple units’ police dog squads were present.

In this environment, even the most timid or lazy individuals refused to show weakness in front of others.

At the very least, they couldn’t let the dogs laugh at them.

“One more quarter-hour rest, then we enter the mine shaft. The police dogs get an extra quarter-hour.” Yu Wenshu, commander of the Changyang City Criminal Investigation Brigade, was today’s on-site commander.

The case was too massive—regardless of its myriad dimensions, the social impact alone demanded heightened attention from everyone.

At such moments, wasting a day wasn’t feared; what was feared was wasting a lifetime in vain.

Liu Jinghui wiped sweat from his brow and replied.

Since entering the mountains, he had grown unusually quiet.

The abandoned mine was far more complex than what the reports described; even with nearly three hundred people gathered, turning the mountain access road into a traffic jam, once dispersed inside, it still felt like a weekend stroll with your wife—eyes full of confusion, directionless, purposeless, aimless…

Not far beside them, under the only roadside shade, Da Zhuang looked just the same.

Before him lay his familiar food bowl, filled with boneless chicken legs, fresh chicken breast, large chunks of beef, and abundant vegetables. Without even lowering his head, Da Zhuang could smell the familiar aroma—undoubtedly prepared by his handler Li Li, using her long legs: visually appealing, taste exquisite.

Normally, Da Zhuang would just mentally prepare himself and eat peacefully.

But today was different.

Sitting beside Da Zhuang was Heizi, the meritorious police dog from Longli County.

Heizi’s bowl contained boneless chicken legs, large chunks of beef, extra-large chunks of beef, eggs, tender yolks, diced fruit, even more vegetables, and yogurt… the sheen and appearance of the food made any dog drool.

Moreover, Heizi had a second bowl, filled with meat porridge and unknown contents.

When have you ever seen a dog with two food bowls?

Stray dogs didn’t, pet dogs didn’t, police dogs didn’t, military dogs didn’t either!

One dog, one bowl. Each dog carried its own bowl, lined up obediently, ate only once a day—that was the police dog standard, the most basic, foundational knowledge Da Zhuang had learned since joining the force, the cornerstone of all knowledge.

Today, the cornerstone shattered.

The neighboring county’s neighboring dog really had two food bowls!

Not just Da Zhuang—on the other side, the Changyang City Police Dog Brigade’s dogs Hu Zi and Bao Zi also stared with eyes as large as copper bells, fixed on Heizi in the center.

Heizi leisurely wagged his tail, gazing straight ahead, head slightly raised, as if utterly unaware of the surrounding stares.

On both sides, whether Da Zhuang or Hu Zi and Bao Zi, their tails were stiff, their heads incredulous.

Li Li, watching her dog’s expression, had to crouch down and whisper: “Da Zhuang, don’t compare yourself to him. He’s old, needs to take care of his health. We’re on duty—eating too much makes you drowsy, hinders performance.”

The neighboring handler also crouched down to reason: “Police dogs don’t compete over food or clothing—they compete on combat effectiveness. He’s earned a Second-Class Merit, so his daily food allowance is higher. That’s normal, right? If we earn a Second-Class Merit too, we can eat 90 yuan a day from now on, okay? Okay?”

The police dogs remained silent.

Half an hour later.

The handlers gave the order, and the police dogs began searching along designated routes.

Jiang Yuan stretched his neck to watch. He hadn’t been assigned to the field; he remained with the leadership group, on standby for consultation.

Commander Yu Wenshu of the Changyang City Criminal Investigation Brigade issued continuous orders; once everything settled into rhythm, he took a sip of his own hot tea, then turned to Jiang Yuan and smiled: “Jiang Yuan, nervous? This is all following your script.”

Jiang Yuan snapped back to attention and hurriedly replied: “Not at all—I’ve only done some trivial work.”

“Speaking of that term, I heard about trace evidence twenty years ago. But when it comes to solving cases, the number of times it actually plays a decisive role is truly few and far between,” Yu Wenshu murmured. “Even the tiniest clues—those are case leads now.”

“I only know how to extract trace evidence and conduct crime scene investigations. Testing? I can’t do any of that. That’s entirely up to the provincial bureau’s trace evidence lab,” Jiang Yuan had to humble himself.

But Yu Wenshu pointed at him: “You’ve hit the nail on the head. When our brigade’s trace evidence lab submitted reports, they only listed detection capacity, how many techniques they had—but never mentioned crime scene investigation. They never mentioned their own ability to extract trace evidence at the scene. Our detectives don’t understand it either. How can we solve cases if both sides can’t connect?”

“Technicians don’t understand the scene; the scene doesn’t understand technology,” Gao Qiang, a Level Three Senior Police Officer from the provincial bureau, nodded in agreement. “It’s like fingerprint collection—your fingerprints must be properly taken for forensic tech to have room to work. By the way, Jiang Yuan does excellent trace evidence work. Case 326 was pulled open by Jiang Yuan.”

“Jiang Yuan’s official role is still forensic medicine. When I first joined the force, technicians were all like Jiang Yuan—capable in both literature and martial arts: could handle fingerprints and footprints, perform autopsies, analyze toxins, and even conduct ballistics in gun cases,” Yu Wenshu said, gazing at Jiang Yuan, growing more impressed by the moment.

Nowadays, detectives who can run and fight aren’t rare—police academy graduates all have good physical fitness, and after years on the job, their bodies deteriorate. Ordinary technicians aren’t rare either—universities graduate countless students; as soon as a position with a permanent post opens, everyone rushes to apply, and with minimal training, they can handle routine duties.

But technicians who can actually solve cases through technology—not just post-facto analysts—are exceedingly rare.

Of course, the Changyang City Criminal Investigation Brigade has no shortage of experts—but who would refuse more experts? A general is happiest when his troops are numerous.

Before Yu Wenshu could speak, his walkie-talkie crackled to life.

“Situation at position 4—we’re preparing to send personnel down the shaft.”

The walkie-talkie also carried the whining of police dogs.

Liu Jinghui, who had been silent until now, bent down, pulled out a map, and spread it on the ground.

“It’s a ventilation shaft. Sixty meters deep.” Liu Jinghui exhaled, his expression complex as he glanced at Jiang Yuan.