Chapter 98: The Rescue Dog Was Stolen!
“Huff… huff… huff! Where the hell did this wolf come from?!”
Shi Licheng never imagined he’d end up this miserable. He knew the police would catch up soon—but he hadn’t expected them to show up with a wolf.
A wolf, not a dog. Shi Licheng had grown up on the grasslands as a kid—he’d seen wolves before. There was no way he’d mistake one for a dog.
If it were a police dog, maybe he wouldn’t have panicked this badly. But this was a wolf—one even bigger than the prairie wolves he remembered!
No—seriously. Where did this thing come from?!
And why were there so many birds above his head? Where did they come from too?
Questions flooded his mind, but this wasn’t the time to stop and ask the cops behind him. All he could do was curse under his breath while sprinting for his life.
He couldn’t understand how the police had found out.
According to his calculations, that suitcase should’ve been swept straight into the ocean!
He kept changing direction, trying to use the nearby woods and hills to shake them off, but for some reason, the people behind him stayed right on his tail.
What the hell… did they put a tracker on him?
Shi Licheng darted into a crack in a rock wall. It was so narrow only one person could squeeze through. If you didn’t know it was there, you’d never notice it.
He was sure the police wouldn’t find this spot, so he took the chance to pat himself down thoroughly—phone, bank card, ID… and nothing else.
So what, had they hacked his phone and planted a tracker in it ahead of time?
But before he could think it through, a rush of footsteps—and the harsh, panting breath of a beast—headed straight toward him.
The steps were unwavering. The closer they got, the stronger the dread clawed up his spine.
Above, harsh caws and chattering bird calls rang out. His heartbeat sped up so violently it felt like his heart might burst out of his chest.
Something was wrong.
He spun around and bolted down another narrow path.
The moment he left, the footsteps continued behind him—so the police had known about that crack. If he’d stayed, he would’ve been caught already.
He’d been running for so long he didn’t even know where he was anymore. He just ran wherever there was a path.
What he didn’t know was that from the moment he left the village, every single move he made had been under police control.
An hour earlier, when Lin Jiangye and the others arrived at the national highway where Shi Licheng had gotten off, Lin Jiangye immediately released the crows, gathering nearby birds to serve as his “outdoor eyes,” watching the suspect’s every move.
When Tianheng got out of the car, it sniffed Shi Licheng’s scent, then circled the village once—and quickly locked onto the target’s trail, switching into full tracking mode.
Lin Jiangye and Shang Fuyan followed closely behind. Captain Su had wanted to go too, but Shang Fuyan stopped her. “Captain Su, you need to stay and coordinate the overall operation!”
They would stay tight on the suspect, while Captain Su—based on their updates—would consolidate the rest of the officers and tighten the net, forming a dumpling-style encirclement so the suspect would have no escape route.
So for the next hour, they toyed with Shi Licheng like a cat playing with a mouse.
Everyone silently agreed not to arrest him immediately. Under Lin Jiangye’s instructions, Tianheng also held back its top speed, staying close enough to be threatening but not close enough to catch—pressuring him psychologically, grinding down his stamina.
As for losing him? Unless Shi Licheng could run at fifty or sixty kilometers an hour, he couldn’t possibly shake the birds overhead.
They wore him down without a sound, while the encirclement tightened smaller and smaller.
Gradually, outside Shi Licheng’s field of vision, police were already everywhere.
When they saw him drenched in sweat, face contorted and vicious with exhaustion, every officer felt a surge of satisfaction.
But only a surge—compared to the pain and despair those two children had suffered, this was nothing.
Still, Shi Licheng really did have strong counter-surveillance instincts. He began to sense something off. The unease grew sharper and sharper.
He suddenly stopped, scanned the area, and then sprinted toward a cliff edge.
Lin Jiangye lifted a brow. “Trying to break through, huh.”
He couldn’t see people, but he wasn’t stupid—he could feel it. So he was going to gamble.
And yes—Shi Licheng was gambling.
On the way up, he’d noticed the cliff wasn’t that high. If he controlled his landing, he could jump into the grass pile—not onto concrete.
If he got into the grass, he might still escape.
Would Lin Jiangye give him that chance?
Of course he would.
What hurt more than hope shattering at the very moment you think you’ve found a way out?
Shang Fuyan’s gaze slid over, quiet and cold enough to raise goosebumps. “Relax. I won’t let anything happen.”
Shang Fuyan didn’t answer. He’d guessed Shi Licheng’s plan too, but his silence wasn’t approval.
He was planning to jump too.
Bai Zhengwen hadn’t realized what they were about to do. If he had… he would’ve exploded.
Soon, Shi Licheng reached the cliff edge and looked down. Below was a road about three meters straight down. Beyond the guardrail was a dense patch of grass.
That was his real destination.
When he saw the police rushing up behind him, he panted and glared at them. “How did you find out?!”
Lin Jiangye and Shang Fuyan had chased him for so long, yet they were only slightly winded—an infuriating contrast that stabbed Shi Licheng right in the ego.
He suddenly realized: he’d been played. The cops had run him.
“Someone fished your suitcase out of the river.”
Ten words. One sentence.
Shi Licheng’s brain exploded. “Those damn fishermen!”
Lin Jiangye twitched his mouth—he almost wanted to correct him. They should be called “air force” anglers. Fishing up a suitcase isn’t exactly a “catch.”
But before he could speak, Shang Fuyan patted him from behind.
Tianheng bared its teeth, a low huff-huff rumbling from its throat, and Shi Licheng’s psychological shadow almost crawled out of his skull.
“That’s a wolf, not a dog… You cops are raising wolves?!” As Tianheng approached, Shi Licheng’s legs began to tremble.
No. He had to run. If his legs went soft, he’d be done.
He stepped forward, then whipped around and sprinted straight for the cliff.
At the same time, Lin Jiangye and Shang Fuyan charged too.
The two men and one wolf launching themselves after him made Bai Zhengwen and the officers behind them go completely blank.
Are you two trying to die?!
They weren’t.
The moment Lin Jiangye was in midair, he twisted his waist hard, forcibly correcting his angle—and pulled Tianheng into a safe landing posture with him.
Shi Licheng didn’t know two lunatics had jumped after him. He slammed into the grass and instinctively covered his head, rolling forward once.
When he hit something and stopped, he opened his eyes groggily.
“I… I shook them off, right? Heh…”
He was giddy, thinking he’d humiliated the police at the last second.
But when he focused, he didn’t see the dim night sky.
He saw three pairs of cold, razor-sharp eyes.
“Oh? Happy to see us?” Lin Jiangye’s clear voice carried a bright edge of mockery. “Didn’t expect we’d jump right behind you, did you?”
Shi Licheng was stunned. Of course he hadn’t expected it—much less that they’d recover faster than him.
His brain was still foggy, his body instinctively trying to flee—except Lin Jiangye wasn’t giving him another chance.
Tianheng lunged like a battering ram and slammed him flat. The pain was so sharp Shi Licheng couldn’t even get back up.
Bixi swooped down from above onto Lin Jiangye’s shoulder, rubbing against his hair before letting out a laugh-like sound.
“Caw-caw.” [Idiot!]
Lin Jiangye nodded, echoing it. “Yep. A real idiot. He didn’t even realize he’d been watched from the start.”
Shi Licheng’s face twisted again as he finally forced his mind into focus. “You… what did you say?”
Lin Jiangye smiled and pointed up at the birds circling the sky. He “kindly” explained: “They’ve been watching you for ages. Wherever you went, there was always a bird’s eye on you.”
So no tracker. Just birds.
Shi Licheng froze. He couldn’t believe he’d been monitored by a flock of birds.
No wonder he kept seeing birds above him—so they’d been tailing him the whole time.
The rage choked him so hard he could barely breathe, and Lin Jiangye’s eyes curved with satisfaction.
For a freak like this, the best punishment really was breaking him psychologically—
Too bad he couldn’t stack psychological and physical torture together.
But before he could savor it, two furious roars exploded overhead.
“You two have lost your minds!”
Bai Zhengwen and Captain Su had arrived, both raging.
Lin Jiangye instantly shoved Shang Fuyan forward like a shield. Shang Fuyan, abruptly forced into the front line, stared blankly at the furious Bai Zhengwen and the officers charging in.
“You two are insane!” Jumping off a cliff—are you not afraid of breaking your legs?!
Shang Fuyan reached back to drag Lin Jiangye out from behind him, but the moment his hand touched behind him, Lin Jiangye grabbed it. “They won’t dare yell at you. Help me block it, yeah?”
That single “yeah” short-circuited Shang Fuyan’s brain.
He stood there stiffly, shielding Lin Jiangye almost entirely.
Even when Bai Zhengwen got to them, he still didn’t move.
Bai Zhengwen was so furious at Lin Jiangye his heart nearly jumped out. Seeing Shang Fuyan protect him like that made him choke on his breath.
Captain Su, arriving at the same time, didn’t know what to say either. Lin Jiangye was right—they truly didn’t dare curse Shang Fuyan.
That earlier shout had been pure panic. Now that they’d cooled down, neither of them knew how to handle these two.
Bai Zhengwen did have an idea, though.
No one in the house dared scold Lin Jiangye… but a Northeast tiger wasn’t human.
“I’ll tell the Mountain God about this.”
One sentence dragged Lin Jiangye right out from behind Shang Fuyan.
And the next sentence made Shang Fuyan’s expression change instantly.
“And I’ll also tell Director Gao and your brother, Deputy Captain Shang.”
Great.
In one second, neither of them was laughing anymore.
Seeing Bai Zhengwen could suppress the two of them, Captain Su finally felt her heart settle back into place.
Sure, police work is dangerous—but not this kind of self-inflicted danger!
Captain Su lowered her head. Her ice-cold eyes locked on Shi Licheng, pinned under Tianheng. “We finally got you.”
Shi Licheng shuddered violently.
When the handcuffs clicked onto his wrists, he suddenly snapped back and shouted at Captain Su: “You don’t have evidence! On what grounds are you arresting me?!”
“If you weren’t guilty, why were you running?” Captain Su shot back.
He panted hard, stubbornly yelling, “What’s it to you?! I didn’t break the law—how can you treat me like this?!”
That’s right… they were only suspicious. They couldn’t possibly have evidence…
Panic gnawed at him. In hindsight, running had been the stupidest move he’d made.
If he hadn’t run, even if the police suspected him, without evidence they couldn’t touch him.
And even if they suspected him, he could’ve dumped everything on his mistress!
He regretted it to death—regretted losing his cool the moment he saw he was being followed on the train.
Unfortunately, Captain Su’s words smashed the last of his hope.
“Evidence?” She laughed coldly. “We’ve got plenty. Don’t worry.”
While they were chasing him, the handwriting and blood tests had already come back. During the brief time she coordinated operations in the car, Captain Su had already skimmed the results.
The diary handwriting matched the two children. The blood on the broken ruler, rolling pin, and branch also belonged to the two children—evidence enough to prove they’d been brutally abused before death.
And that video from the old district was crystal clear: license plate, the suspect’s face, the suitcase’s color and style—everything matched the suitcase recovered from the river.
The woman taken by police, terrified of being charged as an accomplice, had already been screaming that she had something to report—trying to clear herself.
Now the killer was caught. The case was essentially settled.
All that remained was his motive.
No matter what—Shi Licheng was finished.
Shi Licheng stared at Captain Su in disbelief. He replayed everything in his mind and still couldn’t figure out where he’d screwed up.
He opened his mouth to ask—Captain Su didn’t give him the chance.
“Take him back.”
He was shoved into a police car and sent back to Yueyang City.
“This time, thank you to the three of you.” Captain Su exhaled, but there was no joy in her eyes.
Even if the killer was caught… even if he was sentenced to death… no one could feel happy.
Two children not even six years old—killed by their own father, and in such a horrific way.
Shang Fuyan’s voice was heavy too. “I’ll have someone send the children’s bodies back to your side.”
Their mother was buried in Yueyang City. The children should be laid to rest with her.
Bai Zhengwen wanted to say something, but thinking of his identity and the officers around him, he swallowed it.
After they got into the car, Lin Jiangye lay against the armrest and asked him curiously what he’d been about to say.
Bai Zhengwen was quiet for a moment, then sighed. “If ghosts are real… their mother died a month ago. If she’s down there and finds out her children came too—and that their own father killed them… would she collapse?”
He was a soldier, a Party member—he wasn’t supposed to say superstitious things.
But after today’s case, he couldn’t help thinking about it.
The back seat went still.
The mother had died only a month ago… If there really were an afterlife, how unbearable would that be?
His question plunged the whole car into silence. They all felt terrible.
They wanted an underworld to exist so the kids could reunite with their mother.
But they also wanted it not to exist so she wouldn’t have to know something this cruel.
Either way, it wasn’t theirs to decide. Whether it existed or not, they’d done all they could.
In the car, Shang Fuyan called Qi Gaoyang. Even over the phone, Qi Gaoyang sounded weighed down.
On the drive back, the two men, the wolf, and the raven all dozed off in the back.
Bai Zhengwen glanced at them—the warmth of that scene eased some of the darkness in his chest.
When they reached a service area, he pulled in and patted them awake. “Want to eat something? Use the restroom?”
Lin Jiangye blinked awake groggily, hugged Tianheng, and rubbed his face into its fur.
Tianheng was well cared for—its coat soft and sleek, smelling faintly like grass. Holding it was like hugging a big warm pillow.
“I’m gonna wash my face…”
They’d been running nonstop from last night into tonight. In those twenty-four hours, they’d basically gotten no rest.
Shang Fuyan also woke slowly. He instinctively rubbed Bixi, who was flattened like a “bird pancake” on his chest, and said hoarsely, “I’ll go get some air too.”
Unlike Lin Jiangye, once he got back to Yue City, he’d have to head straight to the Wen’an District sub-bureau to organize the case files and report to Director Gao.
Meaning—he still couldn’t rest.
Yawning, the two of them got out.
Yawns really were contagious—Tianheng and Bixi poked their heads out the window and yawned too.
This service area was small. There wasn’t even a place to eat—just a little convenience stand selling instant noodles, sausages, and hot water.
After washing their faces with cold water, neither of them felt like eating.
“Forget it. When we get back, we’ll have Jiang Xin cook. Worst case, we order delivery.” Lin Jiangye rubbed his flat stomach. Maybe he’d been hungry too long—he wasn’t even that hungry anymore.
As for Shang Fuyan, pulling all-nighters on an empty stomach was routine. He’d rather eat compressed biscuits than instant noodles anyway. With only about a hundred kilometers left, he’d rather wait and eat something decent back home.
But just as they were walking back—
A storm of frantic barking instantly caught their attention.
A freight truck was pulling into the service area, packed with dogs—native village mutts, common pet breeds… thirty or forty in total.
That chaotic barking also drew Tianheng and Bixi’s attention in the back.
A wolf and a raven popped their heads out the window. Tianheng spotted the dirty, tangled mass of dogs at a glance.
Lin Jiangye stopped short.
To him, those boiling barks weren’t just noise.
They were desperate, miserable cries for help.
[Owner… wuwuwu… where is my owner?]
[It hurts… my body hurts… it’s so stinky… Owner! I was wrong! I won’t run off again, wuwuwu…]
[Where is this… so scary… why is it moving… why are there so many dogs… where are we going…?]
[Help… save my life… awoo, save me!!]
The loudest cries came from a husky and a beagle together—so piercing that almost everyone in the service area heard them.
A lot of people, seeing the scene, frowned.
The dogs in that truck were obviously grabbed or stolen—but their frowns weren’t from pity.
It was disgust at the reeking stench.
Maybe from fear, maybe from long transport, the dogs had been peeing and pooping everywhere; the sour stink of waste clung to the whole truck.
Though it wasn’t like no one was angry at the scene—besides Lin Jiangye and Shang Fuyan, whose expressions turned icy, there was also a small group who looked shocked and furious.
“What’s going on with the dogs in your truck?!”
A petite girl rushed straight up to the truck driver, bristling with anger as she demanded an explanation.
The driver had a cigarette hanging from his mouth and couldn’t be bothered to respond. He’d done this plenty of times. It wasn’t the first time someone tried to stop him—but as long as there was no proof, or the evidence got destroyed in time, even the law couldn’t touch him.
“Boss, gimme a pack of cigarettes!” If he hadn’t run out, he wouldn’t have pulled into this rest stop in the first place.
“I’m talking to you! If you won’t answer, I’m calling the police!” The girl was still right there. The driver found her increasingly annoying and shoved a hand out, trying to push her aside.
But the moment he reached for her, the next second the world spun—smack—and he collapsed onto the ground.
The driver was stunned, but the convenience-store owner and Lin Jiangye’s group, standing not far away, saw it clearly: the driver had tried to shove her, only for the girl to seize his arm and execute a clean shoulder throw, slamming him down.
“You—” Once the driver snapped out of it, he flew into a rage and pointed at her, ready to unload a torrent of abuse.
But the girl wasn’t afraid. “Try putting your hands on me again and see what happens. I’m seventh-dan Sanda.”
The driver’s finger froze midair.
Just then, a young man hurried over and grabbed the girl’s hand, trying to drag her away. “Stop making trouble. Let’s go.”
He hadn’t expected that he’d only gone to the restroom—only to come out and find his girlfriend threatening people.
The girl yanked her hand back and pointed at the truck, shouting, “What trouble? That truck is full of pet dogs—one look and you can tell they’re stolen. I’m asking him what the hell is going on, and he won’t answer because he’s guilty! And he just tried to shove me. I only reacted on instinct.”
As she spoke, she shot her boyfriend a fierce glare.
But even with the whole story laid out, the boy still thought she was just asking for trouble.
“Can you stop sticking your nose into other people’s business? Whether those dogs are pets or not has jack to do with you. You don’t even have a dog!” His tone grew increasingly impatient.
The girl stared at him in disbelief, completely blindsided that her boyfriend could be this cold.
He tried to pull her away again, but he couldn’t budge her.
Seeing she still wouldn’t move, irritation spread across his face. “Will you quit it already?”
After the initial shock, her eyes filled with confusion and hurt—she genuinely couldn’t understand why he was acting like this. But after that sentence, her expression hardened into something cold and unwavering.
“I’m not going on the trip. You can go back.” She pried his hand off and once again blocked the driver from leaving.
“If you don’t explain yourself, I’m calling the police.”
By now the driver was furious too, cursing her for being nosy. He even dragged the boyfriend into it and insulted him.
But the boyfriend was the very definition of spineless: instead of snapping back at the driver, he turned around and scolded the girl for being unreasonable.
The driver snorted, about to take the chance to slip away—when a voice came from not far off:
“You even dared to steal a rescue dog from the fire department. You’ve really got some guts.”
Rescue dog…?
Everyone immediately turned toward the voice. Two men stood there—one making a call, the other holding up his phone, clearly taking photos.
The moment he saw the filming, the driver’s heart clenched and he lunged to stop Lin Jiangye.
But he was too late.
While the girl had him blocked, Lin Jiangye and Shang Fuyan had already started collecting evidence, contacting the owner, and moving through a whole chain of steps.
Thankfully, the rescue dog knew its own workplace. Shang Fuyan immediately called the local fire department, and they confirmed they truly had lost a rescue dog—the details matching up one by one.
“Move! Get out of the way—all of you!” The driver tried to shove Lin Jiangye aside. This time he picked an even worse target. Lin Jiangye pinned his arm and gave it a sharp twist—pop—the driver’s shoulder dislocated on the spot.
The girl hurried over. From where Lin Jiangye stood, he saw a black hound drooping miserably.
“That’s a rescue dog?” The girl was genuinely stunned.
“No!”
“Yes, it said so.”
The first was the driver’s denial; the second was Lin Jiangye’s explanation. Hearing that, the driver actually laughed, looking at Lin Jiangye like he was an idiot.
But he didn’t get to laugh for long.
The girl blinked and stared at Lin Jiangye for a moment, then covered her face and let out a small squeal. “You’re Consultant Lin! You’re Consultant Lin, aren’t you?! I know you—Yue City Public Security’s special consultant, the one who can understand animal language!”
The driver didn’t know who “Consultant Lin” was, but he understood the words Yue City Public Security special consultant.
Which meant… he’d crashed straight into the hands of the cops.
“No, no, no! It just looks like one—this is a dog from my hometown!” The driver tried to argue, but the moment Lin Jiangye lifted a hand, he started trembling. He remembered the pain from that dislocated shoulder all too clearly.
After hanging up, Shang Fuyan took out his credentials and held them out. His eyes were icy as they settled on the driver. “Shang Fuyan, Deputy Captain of the Yue City Criminal Investigation Brigade. I’ve already contacted the fire department. Once they arrive and identify the dog, we’ll know for sure. Until then, you and this truck aren’t going anywhere.”
The driver’s face drained gray, his eyes filling with despair.
Lin Jiangye narrowed his eyes, studying him, feeling something off about the man’s reaction.
Even if he stole a rescue dog, there wasn’t currently a dedicated legal framework for protecting working dogs nationwide—at most it would be treated as property loss and compensated accordingly.
So why did this driver look so utterly doomed the moment “rescue dog” was mentioned?
Was it because there were so many dogs in the truck and the money involved was huge, so he thought he’d go to prison?
The fire department wasn’t far. After getting the rest stop location, they rushed over quickly—and local police arrived too.
When the officers saw a truckload of pet dogs, they immediately understood: this was a dog thief.
Dog theft was generally handled as theft. With this many dogs, it easily crossed the criminal filing threshold.
“Who called it in?” As the officers looked around, Shang Fuyan showed his credentials again.
The words Deputy Captain, Criminal Investigation Headquarters made the officers suck in a breath. They hadn’t expected the caller to be “one of their own.” Their brows twitched as they shot the driver a quick glance.
Well then—he’d run smack into a criminal investigations deputy captain. He was finished.
But what shocked them even more was the sight of the fire department members arriving, throwing their arms around a black dog in the truck and bawling.
Only then did they learn the driver had even stolen the fire department’s rescue dog.
Their only rescue dog.
A rescue dog that had saved people.
This wasn’t just “greedy”—it was downright deranged.
“You even stole a rescue dog… are you sick in the head?” Rescue dog. Do you not understand what rescue means?
One firefighter clutched their beloved dog tight, eyes red with rage. “A month ago, Xiaohei found two survivors in a fire and helped get them out alive. Half a year ago, we searched for trapped people in the mountains—Xiaohei found the survivor first. Another half hour and that person would’ve bled out. Last March, during a mudslide, it was also with Xiaohei’s help that we found survivors buried underground… It’s saved so many people. How could you do this to it?”
They hugged Xiaohei tighter and tighter, furious enough to explode. If the police weren’t there, they’d already be throwing punches.
Even if they got disciplined afterward, they’d take it. This was the fire department’s treasure.
The driver, now cuffed, kept his head down and didn’t say a word. He didn’t react at all to the accusations.
Watching the firefighters on the verge of tears, the police couldn’t help thinking of their own K9s. If their K9 got stolen too… no, no—don’t even think about it. The moment they did, it felt like they’d have a heart attack.
Lin Jiangye’s gaze shifted between the firefighters and the driver. Then, suddenly, he reached out and forcibly lifted the driver’s face, using his phone flashlight to illuminate it fully.
The driver realized what was happening and tried to duck his head again—but it was too late. Every firefighter saw his face clearly.
“It’s you!!!”
Someone screamed. In the next instant, a fist smashed hard into the driver’s face.
The punch startled the police.
Lin Jiangye’s brows lifted. He’d known the driver’s reaction was off—turns out he recognized the firefighters.
So it really was a “familiar face” job.
The firefighter who landed the punch looked young. One hit wasn’t enough—he tried to follow with a kick, but the police hauled him back the moment he moved.
“Calm down, calm down—don’t hit him! You’ll get disciplined!”
“Then discipline me! I’m breaking his legs! Zhang Min, how the hell could you?! Believe it or not, I’m telling Auntie right now!”
Oh—so not only was it a familiar face, it was family.
Pinned back, the firefighter heaved for breath, eyes blazing red—hurt, and pure fury.
“Your mom—my aunt—was pulled out alive by rescue dogs in that earthquake five years ago. And now you steal my unit’s rescue dog. Is this how you repay kindness—by stabbing it in the back?!”
Even if it wasn’t the same dog, that didn’t matter. What mattered was that he knew Xiaohei was a rescue dog and still did it.
The firefighter felt like his whole body was about to combust with anger. He couldn’t understand how someone could do something this vile.
Even setting Xiaohei aside, every one of those pet dogs was someone’s precious family. Stealing them was no different from kidnapping a child.
And on the legal side, Zhang Min’s actions were theft. Even if you calculated just 500 yuan per dog, with this many dogs the value already hit five figures. If it exceeded 30,000 yuan, it could qualify as “a relatively large amount,” carrying a sentence of three to ten years.?
A perfectly able-bodied young man, and he chose crime.
The driver stayed silent, letting the police stuff him into the squad car.
As for the truck, only Xiaohei could be taken back immediately. The rest of the dogs would have to be held at the station first—valued, then their owners located.
“I can help with that,” Lin Jiangye offered.
He was exhausted and half-asleep, but he couldn’t stop worrying about the dogs’ condition.
With the “special consultant” title, the officers naturally didn’t refuse—and honestly, if nobody helped, and the owners didn’t show up, they couldn’t just keep dozens of dogs at the station forever.
Lin Jiangye looked at the dogs curled into trembling balls in the truck and felt profoundly grateful he’d opened a pet clinic earlier.
Now they had vets, and a place to house the dogs. They could be treated while waiting for their owners to come find them.
And if any were strays, that was fine too—he could help them find new homes. If they didn’t want new homes, then they could be recruited to work for the police.
In Yue City, no stray animal would go hungry or freeze.
Author’s note:
P.S. Rescue dog Xiaohei was inspired by real-life rescue dog Heizai, but Heizai has already passed away.
? PRC Criminal Law, Article 264: theft of public/private property—“relatively large amount” or repeated theft, etc.—punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment/detention/surveillance and/or a fine; “huge amount” or other serious circumstances, three to ten years and a fine; “especially huge amount” or especially serious circumstances, ten years to life and a fine or confiscation of property.
The Supreme People’s Court & Supreme People’s Procuratorate interpretation: theft value thresholds (e.g., 1,000–3,000 yuan for “relatively large,” 30,000–100,000 yuan for “huge,” etc.), vary by region.
