522 Danger (1/2)

Chapter 522: Danger

Translator: Nyoi-Bo StudioEditor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

To be cautious, Zhang Zian asked Sun Xiaomeng to text back Qian and Li and ask them for details on how they lost their dogs. They replied to the texts soon after.

After compiling the information, the three of them identified a pattern. All the dogs were lost in Dongcheng District, near the Family Housing Facilities of the university, the hospital and the state-owned enterprise. These facilities were old and were under-equipped with surveillance cameras. There were many dead ends and the security guards were sloppy with their jobs which left them vulnerable to intrusion.

Among them, Mr. Li claimed that although the surveillance did not record the dog trapping, it recorded a suspicious vehicle. He sent over the screenshot from the surveillance video.

The three events happened either in the early morning or in the late evening. It could not have been a coincidence. The surveillance video was not clear in the dim light of dusk and dawn. Mr. Li's video screenshot was very blurry, in which only a sliding door of an MPV car was identifiable. As the car drove, the door was ajar and not completely closed. Apart from this, no other sign could relate this vehicle to the lost dogs. But to use this screenshot as the only evidence was obviously far-fetched.

Mr. Li complained in the texts that he reported the surveillance video to the police in his district, but the police would not accept the case. They advised him to look further near his home because they thought the dog might have gone astray.

Zhang Zian could understand it. The police had a lot to deal with at the end of the year. Even a lost person's case could only be established after 24 hours, not to mention a dog. Besides, there was no evidence.

The surveillance camera was too high to capture the face of the MPV driver. The plate number was captured, but blurry.

Zhang Zian thought for a moment, then called Sheng Ke. It was New Year's Day holiday, and he didn't want to interrupt Sheng Ke's day off, so he called his office number. If nobody answered, he would wait another day or two.

Surprisingly, Sheng Ke answered the phone within a second. Zhang Zian briefly explained the case. Sheng Ke asked him to send the picture to a designated email, then wait for a call back.

It did not take long for Sheng Ke to call back. The technical department processed the picture and identified the plate number, but unfortunately, it was a falsified number which did not match the vehicle. In other words, the owner of the MPV could not be found.

Sheng Ke sounded busy over the phone, and had constantly been interrupted by subordinates' issues to deal with. Despite this, he promised to notify the police to keep an eye on the plate number and vehicle model. He specified that he didn't do it for the sake of Zhang Zian. Falsifying a plate number was illegal anyway.

Zhang Zian put the phone on speaker so that Ning Lan and Sun Xiaomeng could also hear the conversation. Ning Lan was eager to find the dog, but felt sorry for Sheng Ke when she heard that he had to work during the New Year's holiday. She signaled Zhang Zian to drop this matter.

He gave a brief apology and thanks, then hung up the phone.

Ning Lan sighed and said, ”It's fine. I'll look for it myself. Thank you, Mr. Zhang. I'm grateful for what you have done so far. Please don't interrupt his office hour with our business. Caption Sheng must have a lot more urgent matters to deal with.”

She was a sensible person, and did not take advantage of the fact that Zhang Zian had a police captain friend.

Things had reached a dead end. The trappers were clearly well prepared and even used a falsified plate. Zhang Zian and Sun Xiaomeng could not help any further even if they wanted to.

Ning Lan looked at the time and stood up. ”Sister Xiaomeng...thank you. I'm leaving now. It's New Year's day and you should take a break. I have a date with my classmates at the gate of Binhai University. We'll look for the dog together today. The more people, the better.”

”I'm sorry that I couldn't help much.” Sun Xiaomeng stood up and walked her out.

Ning Lan thanked Zhang Xian. ”Thank you for your help, Mr. Zhang. Although Tuan Tuan is irreplaceable, if it's truly lost, I'll surely buy another dog from you.”

As soon as she said goodbye, Zang Zian suddenly remembered that the elfins at home were waiting for breakfast. He prepared to leave as well.

”You are welcome. I'll leave too.”

After leaving Sun Xiaomeng's clinic, Ning Lan went to meet her classmates. Zhang Zian dropped by Uncle Li's restaurant, and returned to the pet shop with a styrofoam cooler.

While the elfins were eating breakfast, Zhang Zian turned on the computer at the cashier station, logged into the public account of Wechat, and sent a group message.

The Spring Festival is coming soon. There have been a few dog trafficking events lately in the Dongcheng District. Please be careful when you walk a dog. Make sure to use a leash, and never let the dog out of your sight.

A moment later, more than one comment confirmed that their neighbors had lost their dogs in the recent days, and most of them were in the urban village.

A few others cursed the dog thieves to bump into ghosts at night.

A few minutes later, Snowy re posted the message on her Weibo page, reminding people to keep their dogs safe.

Although the store was open today, there were barely any customers. Most people were either resting or visiting relatives during the long-awaited, 3-day break. Most nearby stores were closed.

Zhang Zian continued to read the Abyssinian cat breeding book left by Kathy, but found it hard to stay focused.

He put down the book, dressed himself again, grabbed the baseball and baseball gloves, and prepared to play the daily game in the green field. The weather was not great, but it was cloudy and cold. So he didn't take the elfins with him.

After locking the shutter door, he left from the back door with Zhan Tian.

The back door of the pet shop was facing a quiet alley, leading to the green field on the right. Around the green field were some old residential buildings waiting for demolition. The old residential buildings were not well insulated and were cold in winters. Not many people lived there. They were mostly the old and the sick.

The green field was empty and cold as usual, without anyone in it.

Zhang Zian played with Zhan Tian for a while. Zhan Tian was apparently getting more excitable than before, responding faster to orders and executing them faster. It did not mean that the Special Forces were not good at training dogs. They had other more important things to do, and wouldn't compromise their daily training and assignments for training a dog. Zhan Tian was excellent, but so where the other candidate dogs, plus the numerous new ones that arrived each year.

Zhang Zian knew well that Zhan Tian was unlikely to get back to its peak state. It was good enough to give him a normal life.

”Zhan Tian, fetch!”

He threw the baseball to Zhan Tian to fetch, rewarded it with beef jerky, and so forth. He threw harder and harder, and the ball was landing further and further. But Zhan Tian was able to fetch it each time.

Zoom...

He threw the baseball again, except it was not very accurate this time. The baseball hit the fence, then bounced towards the alley at the exit of the green field.

Zhan Tian chased after it with excitement. It made a turn, then disappeared into the alley. Zhang Zian did not notice that. He looked at his cellphone when Zhan Tian returned earlier. It was getting late and decided that he should head back soon. He had not yet started the daily boxing class, nor played hide-and-seek with Galaxy but he waited for a while longer, yet Zhan Tian did not return.

He threw quite hard just now, and the baseball flew far away. But even after this, Zhan Tian should have returned. Did the ball get stuck somewhere Zhan Tian could not reach? It was possible. Sometimes the ball got stuck in the branches, and he had to climb a ladder to get it.

He waited awhile longer, but Zhan Tian still not return.

Zhang Zian had a bad feeling in his heart. He shouted, ”Zhan Tian, come back!”

Usually, as soon as he shouted, Zhan Tian would have returned to him, with or without the baseball. As he shouted, Zhan Tian growled in the alley with rage. At the same time, a motor sound came from the alley.