Chapter 7: The Police’s Excellent Assistant — Crows!
Most people didn’t take the claim that he could understand animal language too seriously.
Anyone who kept pets could more or less interpret their own animal’s behavior. With professional study, one might even “understand” what animals were expressing.
As for commanding crows—well, wasn’t his major Animal Studies? That seemed fitting enough.
The large crow flew slightly faster than the little one. As several police cars sped toward the outskirts, their sirens rang sharp and clear.
Soon, more crows appeared overhead.
[Human! They’re ahead! Charge!]
[Boss is harassing them! But that human is in bad shape!]
The mix of cawing and sirens made it hard for Lin Jiangye to catch every detail.
He stretched a hand out the window. The officers in the back frowned at first—but before long, a large crow landed on his arm.
He brought it inside the car.
“How many of them are there?”
The officers assumed the crow would caw a certain number of times to indicate a count. Instead, it called only once.
“Six.”
“Are they all male?” he continued.
“Caw!”
He nodded.
“All six are adult men. None of them are small.”
One caw could convey that much?
Someone almost scoffed—but caught the captain’s sharp glance and swallowed the words.
If the captain wasn’t objecting, why should he?
“Besides the bad men and the human the little crow likes, was anyone else taken?”
“Caw caw caw!”
Three calls.
“Three. But… one was killed. The other two were taken away. They’re in very bad condition—likely tortured.”
His face grew grim as he translated.
Everyone knew traffickers had no humanity.
The car lurched as Shang Fuyan slammed on the accelerator.
“This road only has one exit. We can go full speed.”
The speedometer jumped from 60 to 130, leaving the crows trailing behind.
[Human? Why are you so fast?!]
Lin Jiangye couldn’t answer. He stroked the two crows and scanned the surroundings, meanwhile wondering what bird species flew the fastest.
Not that he was dissatisfied with crows.
With the doubled speed, they soon reached the destination.
Abandoned factory.
Dozens of crows circled overhead—those he had arranged, along with their allies.
[They ran! They left the human and ran!]
His heart sank. Beyond lay hills and dense forest. If they fled, they’d head deeper into the mountains.
“The traffickers left the victims and ran. Take the injured to the hospital. I’ll follow the crows.”
Before the words finished, he and Shang Fuyan were already several meters ahead.
“Captain, why are you so fast?!”
Yan Zhou gritted his teeth and followed. If there were six armed traffickers, two men wouldn’t suffice.
The remaining officers cautiously entered the factory.
Soon, more arrived.
Inside, they found two severely injured men.
“Wait—where’s the third?”
The former undercover officer was missing.
“Damn it! Contact the captain!”
They didn’t know why the traffickers had taken him, but he would undoubtedly become leverage.
Yet Shang Fuyan and Lin Jiangye already knew.
The crows had told them.
“They intended to kill him. But he said something—made them hesitate.”
That was why the other two officers survived long enough for rescue.
In the forest, the two moved swiftly.
Upon hearing this, Shang Fuyan’s frown eased slightly—but only slightly.
Heroes should not die like this.
They ran so fast that Yan Zhou nearly lost sight of them. If not for the little crow guiding him, he might have.
What surprised both officers most was that Lin Jiangye not only kept pace—he was faster.
After a stretch of sprinting, Lin Jiangye heard voices ahead.
“Damn it, the cops are here!”
“So what? We’ve got a hostage!”
He glanced at Shang Fuyan—and veered off.
“Police! Stop, or I’ll shoot!”
Under cover of that shout, Lin Jiangye circled ahead of the traffickers.
Gunshots rang out.
He knew Shang Fuyan had forced them to halt.
He signaled the crows to dive and disrupt their vision—both aiding the officers and masking his own movements.
These were desperate men. Without chaos, he’d be detected.
As caws echoed, he heard Yan Zhou confronting them.
Time to move.
He lowered himself like a hunting beast, stepping lightly across dry leaves and branches, silently approaching from behind.
Three meters.
In the dim forest, his pupils widened, fixed and cold.
The next instant, a shadow dropped onto the rearmost man.
A soft rustle—lost amid the cawing.
No one noticed one trafficker disappear.
A precise strike.
Unconscious.
The second-to-last man sensed a chill—but dismissed it as wind.
“Drop your weapons!”
The traffickers shoved the battered undercover officer forward as a shield.
His body was soaked in blood.
“Go ahead—shoot! See who dies first!”
They raised their guns.
Shang Fuyan’s grip remained steady. His expression calm—even faintly amused.
Yes, only two officers stood before them.
But behind them lurked a silent shadow.
And overhead, dozens of crows.
More and more gathered, diving to peck and distract.
“Guess how we found you. Guess why there are so many crows here.”
As he spoke, another trafficker vanished behind him.
This time, Shang Fuyan glimpsed the shadow.
The traffickers were unsettled.
Had the police trained crows?
Impossible.
Pecked repeatedly, their arrogance faded.
They dared not waste bullets on birds.
Nor swing knives recklessly.
“Back up slowly. They won’t dare shoot!”
But as they retreated—
“Where did two go?!”
“Now!”
A tidal wave of black feathers descended, blocking their vision. Gunshots fired into empty air.
Lin Jiangye didn’t hold back.
One kick sent a trafficker flying into a tree trunk.
Shang Fuyan fired—clean shot to the leader’s wrist. The gun dropped.
Yan Zhou seized the moment, grabbed the hostage, and rushed downhill.
He’d already realized two were missing—thanks to Lin Jiangye.
With four remaining, they could handle it.
As soon as the hostage was clear, Shang Fuyan fired five precise shots—each shattering a wrist.
At the same time, Lin Jiangye “accidentally” broke their legs.
With wrists pierced and legs fractured, the traffickers could only writhe helplessly.
Six men subdued.
As Lin Jiangye approached, Shang Fuyan said calmly,
“Thank you for your courageous assistance, citizen.”
Accidental?
Hardly.
That was bravery worth commending.
