Animal Detective

Tonight, Shen Xin was staying at Camp No. 2.

The conditions were harsh.

After washing up, just as Shen Xin was about to turn in for the night, Doniya ran over.

She was carrying a large, thick sheepskin blanket, saying it would be cold at night and this would keep him warm.

She dropped it off and left, leaving Shen Xin with no choice but to accept.

He had to admit, the grasslands were freezing at night. It was especially true sleeping in this shipping container cabin. Even with the stove lit, it was useless. He could always feel a draft coming from somewhere and wished he could just burrow his head into the thick sheepskin blanket.

The next day, it was a rare sunny day on the grasslands.

First thing in the morning, Lakshen was ready to lead his men out to search for Tianxiong.

Shen Xin stopped him. He pulled out a map and compiled all the tips they’d received from the public notice he’d sent out, studying everything carefully.

He had received quite a few tips. Some were specific, confirming a sighting of a black dog.

Others were less certain, with people only saying they saw something that *looked* like him from a distance.

Nearly every family on the grasslands owned a sheepdog, so mistakes were possible.

Ignoring whether the tips were real or not for the moment, Shen Xin marked every sighting on the map. He then added Tian Kui’s tracking path and the areas Lakshen and his team had already searched, hoping to find a pattern.

As he studied the map, Shen Xin’s attention was drawn to one particular area.

To the north.

Pointing at the map, Shen Xin said, "This is the border here, isn’t it?"

Lakshen nodded instinctively, but then his expression changed abruptly. He frowned. "Shen Xin, are you suggesting Tianxiong crossed the border?"

He drew in a sharp breath, his expression shifting once more.

Beside them, Zhang Qifeng muttered, "You know, that’s actually a real possibility."

Shen Xin had only mentioned the border because he noticed they hadn’t really searched that area.

He wasn’t suggesting that Tianxiong had actually crossed it.

Shen Xin said, "But isn’t the border lined with a wire fence? Tianxiong couldn’t have gotten through, could he?"

In Shen Xin’s mind, borders were lined with wire fences and buffer zones on both sides, constantly monitored by patrols. Getting across wouldn’t be that easy.

Lakshen shook his head, his expression grim. "There are wire fences, but not everywhere. The border is thousands of kilometers long; you can’t fence the whole thing."

"And more importantly, Tianxiong isn’t a person. His patterns of movement are completely different."

Lakshen went on to explain the situation at the border.

It was only then that Shen Xin learned the wire fence wasn’t continuous.

For one thing, the cost of construction and maintenance was prohibitive, so fences were only installed in populated areas with roads that were relatively easy to travel.

In the uninhabited zones, you could go for hundreds of kilometers without seeing a soul. If an ordinary person tried to cross the border there, they had a 99% chance of dying along the way.

They also had to consider the wildlife.

Mongolian gazelles, for example, migrate over vast areas following water and pasture, and they would often get caught and die on the fences.

After this was discovered, gaps were intentionally left in certain sections to allow animals to migrate.

Lakshen concluded, "To put it bluntly, the fence is meant to stop ordinary people. If you have the skills of a survival expert, well, there’s nothing we can do to stop you."

"But even if they cross, they eventually have to go somewhere with people. And in those places, you’ll be discovered without identification."

"So it’s not really worth it. We catch a dozen or so people crossing illegally every year. Last year, two people tried to cross through the uninhabited zone. We were the ones who recovered their bodies."

Zhang Qifeng chimed in, "We’ve been subconsciously assuming Tianxiong thinks like a human and would avoid the border. But he’s an animal. He roams everywhere. He could have easily ended up near the border."

"We sent word to the patrol points and the border defense units to help look, but their patrol areas are huge, and they focus on high-priority zones. They might not have noticed Tianxiong."

"Lakshen, let’s split into groups today and search along the border."

Lakshen agreed. He immediately and urgently gathered his men to set out.

Shen Xin went with them.

’After searching for several days and sending out a public notice, someone should have seen him by now if he were in a populated area. Since they still can’t find him, maybe he really is near the border.’

Once again, the group set out on horseback.

Shen Xin had spent a long time on horseback the day before, and when he woke up this morning, his butt and inner thighs were sore.

But he was getting used to it.

They also had to look after Tian Kui, so their pace wasn’t fast.

The Huergan Police Station was responsible for a 57.2-kilometer stretch of the border.

There were permanent Border Guards stationed here who, along with the officers from the police station, patrolled the area once every morning and once every afternoon.

On the vast grassland, not a single soul was in sight—only a wire fence stretching to the horizon.

This was the first time Shen Xin had ever seen a national border.

Standing on this side of the wire fence and looking out at the vast grasslands on the other, a strange emotion welled up inside him.

This side was his country, his home—a place to be defended with his life.

Unfortunately, the day’s search yielded nothing.

On the way back, Lakshen actually tried to comfort Shen Xin, saying that as long as they didn’t find him, there was still hope.

It was obvious he was saying it as much for himself as for Shen Xin.