Animal Detective

On hard, flat ground, a horse is definitely no match for a motorcycle.

But this was the grassland.

The terrain was uneven, full of ups and downs, which was no problem for a horse.

An ordinary horse could reach speeds of forty to fifty kilometers per hour.

But a naturally magnificent steed could go even faster.

Without a doubt, the wild and free-spirited Hong Gu’er was just such a steed.

At a full sprint, he was astonishingly fast.

At first, the two men on the motorcycle could still keep up.

The ground around the mountain range was relatively firm, allowing the motorcycle to pick up speed.

They even closed the distance to just a hundred meters at one point.

But as Hong Gu’er galloped onto the softer grassland, the motorcycle could no longer keep pace.

Parts of the grassland were soft, pockmarked with holes, and full of dips and rises.

At sixty kilometers an hour, even a slightly larger slope could send the motorcycle airborne.

A violent bump launched both of their rears off the seat.

The man with the pencil mustache gripped the handlebars tightly, barely avoiding a wipeout.

He was sweating with anxiety, but there was nothing he could do except watch helplessly as Doniya and her horse pulled further and further away.

The man behind him, one arm wrapped around his waist and the other holding a gun, shouted, "Bro, slow down! I can’t get a bead on her."

He was being bounced around like a kid on a coin-operated ride; there was no way he could aim from this far away.

"Aim my ass!" the man with the pencil mustache cursed.

’From this distance? Does he think he’s a damn sniper?’

He spat a stream of obscenities, his eyes locked on the black horse ahead as he cursed nonstop.

All in all, they had been roaming the grasslands for nearly twenty days, enduring all sorts of hardships, just to capture this white Hunting Falcon.

If they caught it, a million USD would be theirs for the taking.

Instant financial freedom. They’d be living the high life.

’I was already being so careful, trying not to celebrate too early.’

’And now look. Someone’s stolen the whole damn bottle.’

’If I’d known this would happen, I should have just shot Doniya and been done with it.’

But the thought was fleeting.

Stealing a hunting falcon gets you less than five years if you’re caught.

Murder gets you the death penalty.

He could do that math just fine.

’Chase her!’

The man cursed under his breath.

They couldn’t catch up now, but a horse was an animal. It would get tired.

A motorcycle, on the other hand, could run as long as it had gas.

The view was wide open on the grassland. As long as they kept chasing, they were bound to catch her.

’When I catch up, I’m going to give that girl a serious beating.’

’So gutsy, huh!’

’She had a chance to run but decided to snatch food from the tiger’s mouth instead.’

At that thought, the man stopped hesitating. He gunned the engine to its max and chased after her relentlessly.

Up ahead, Doniya kept glancing back.

She hadn’t expected the two men behind her to be so determined. They were still right on her tail.

’It’s just one Hunting Falcon.’

Doniya looked down at the Hunting Falcon in her arms. She wasn’t sure what was wrong with it. It was completely still. If not for the occasional twitch, she would have thought it was dead.

Originally, Doniya had planned to just run.

But when she saw the bird lying right there, easy enough to scoop up on her way, she couldn’t just leave it to die.

The only problem was that saving the Hunting Falcon had forced her to flee west.

Huergan, her way home, was to the east.

To the west lay a vast, uninhabited area.

Doniya glanced at the sun, which was sinking in the west. She estimated it was already past six o’clock.

’One person, one horse, no phone, no food or water... if I really end up in the uninhabited zone, I’ll be in big trouble.’

Glancing back at her relentless pursuers, Doniya didn’t dare stop. She could only charge ahead, hoping they would give up.

They ran like this for over half an hour.

The two men had fallen far behind, but they still hadn’t stopped. They were still chasing her.

The sun was just a silhouette on the horizon.

Doniya grit her teeth, changed direction, and headed Southern.

She planned to make a wide loop back toward Huergan.

To be honest, Doniya wasn’t very familiar with the terrain here. If she kept going, she was afraid she’d get lost once it got dark.

As Doniya turned, the two men behind her immediately turned as well.

"Bro, it’s getting dark."

"I know."

The man with the pencil mustache was just as anxious. Once it was dark, how would they find her?

"Fuck, this is all your damn fault."

The man furiously pounded on his brother’s back.

If he’d just let Doniya run off earlier, none of this bullshit would have happened.

"Bro, I didn’t do it on purpose."

The gunman begged for mercy as he dodged the blows.

His evasive movements were a bit too big. Just as they hit a bump, the driver, holding on with only one hand, lost his grip.

CRASH! The motorcycle toppled to the side.

Luckily, it was grassland, so the fall wasn’t too bad.

The man with the pencil mustache stormed over in a rage, kicked his brother twice more for good measure, then finally stopped, righted the motorcycle, and continued the chase.

But they could only watch as the last embers of the sun were slowly swallowed by darkness.

Hong Gu’er was a black horse to begin with; as the sky darkened, he became even harder to make out in the distance.

After chasing for a while longer, the man slammed on the brakes, bringing the motorcycle to a halt.

Furious, he threw down the handlebars, grabbed his brother, and unleashed another volley of vicious kicks.

"Bro, I was wrong, I was really wrong."

The gunman hastily pleaded for forgiveness.

Only then did the man with the pencil mustache stop. He looked again in the direction Doniya had fled.

There was only some afterglow left on the horizon. She was already out of sight, far away.

He stomped his feet furiously and let out several roars at the sky to vent his frustration before finally calming down.

The gunman asked cautiously, "Bro, are we still going after her? I can drive, if you want."

The man with the pencil mustache shot him a vicious glare, righted the motorcycle, and said in a low voice, "We’re not chasing anymore."

The gunman was stunned. "Don’t say that, bro! It’s a million bucks! In USD!"

Those words made the man with the pencil mustache want to kick him all over again.

Gritting his teeth, the man said, "We’re not chasing. Now that it’s dark, we’ll never catch her."

"Let her run. The drug will wear off soon. Once that falcon wakes up, she’ll definitely let it go. We’ll just catch it again then."