Chapter 91

At the special police detachment headquarters, the urgent alarm sounded. The special police officers were already accustomed to this tense lifestyle, quickly dressing and getting their equipment, then boarding the vehicle. They looked up at the electronic clock on the wall: 5:30 AM.

The black Iveco drove towards the foot of Yun Mountain. The early morning roads were sparsely trafficked, and the police car, with its siren wailing, sped through the streets. The special police officers fastened their helmet chin straps, tidied their uniforms, and checked their equipment.

Squad leader Ji Yang sat in the passenger seat and turned to brief the team:

"We received a notification from the 110 command center that two fierce dogs are attacking people. The community police officers couldn't handle it, so they called us in. Everyone, be careful. Try not to use your guns to avoid alarming the crowd and causing a bad influence."

"Understood!" the special police officers responded in unison.

They arrived at the scene quickly, where a Santana police car was already parked by the roadside. Two police officers and two auxiliary police were at a loss, armed only with batons and pepper spray, they dared not confront the fierce dogs.

In the distance, a person lay on the ground, covered in blood, motionless. A large broom lay nearby, and two massive Tibetan Mastiffs, their heads drenched in blood, were standing guard, their cold, merciless eyes scanning the crowd.

"Let's shoot," Liu Handong clenched his fists.

"First, let's understand the situation," Ji Yang stepped forward to communicate with the community police officers. They learned that the two Tibetan Mastiffs had suddenly appeared at a morning exercise site and had bitten a sanitation worker. It was unclear if the person was still alive.

"The Tibetan Mastiffs probably escaped from a nearby villa. We've already contacted the owner, but there's been no response," the police officer said.

"Understood," Ji Yang nodded. "Prepare the riot guns, use lethal rounds."

"Ji, it's best not to use the guns," the police officer advised.

"There are so many people here, and it's already a threat to public safety. Besides, the person might still be alive. How can we just wait?" Ji Yang was puzzled.

"These Tibetan Mastiffs are worth at least one to two million each. Who will be responsible if they are killed? Besides, the sanitation worker is probably already dead. I say, let's wait for the dog owner to come," the police officer whispered, but Liu Handong overheard him.

The police officer was right. These valuable Tibetan Mastiffs were not something ordinary people could afford. They could cost several million, and even breeding them would cost tens of thousands. Tibetan Mastiffs were symbols of status and wealth in Jinjiang and nationwide. Recently, a wealthy man in Jinjiang had brought a purebred Tibetan Mastiff from Tibet, using a Gulfstream private jet and a convoy of Bentleys and Hummers to welcome it, a spectacle even grander than that of a provincial party secretary.

Compared to the value of the Tibetan Mastiffs, human life was worth much less. The sanitation worker might not even have a Jinjiang household registration. If he died, it would cost at most a few hundred thousand, which the Mastiffs could earn back from a single breeding session.

Legally, shooting the dogs would be justified, but if the situation escalated, who would listen to the law? These wealthy and powerful people had connections everywhere. A single word could get a small police officer fired and made to pay compensation. The two Tibetan Mastiffs were worth more than a house.

Ji Yang understood these implications and hesitated.

"Wait another half hour. If the dog owner doesn't show up, we'll call in a zoo trainer with a tranquilizer gun," the police officer suggested. This plan would avoid harming the valuable dogs.

At that moment, the sanitation worker on the ground twitched, causing a commotion in the crowd. A dirty little girl, about seven or eight years old, ran over, screaming, "Grandma, I want Grandma."

The crowd held the girl back, fearing she would be attacked by the dogs.

"Stay calm, don't be impulsive, and don't provoke the dogs," the police officer advised, urging the crowd to remain quiet to avoid agitating the extremely aggressive and unintelligent animals.

Liu Handong couldn't hold back any longer. He grabbed a 97-type riot gun from a colleague, loaded it with lethal rounds, and moved forward.

"Xiao Liu, what are you doing! Stop!" Ji Yang shouted when he saw Liu Handong acting on his own.

Liu Handong didn't look back, aiming the riot gun and chambering a round. The Tibetan Mastiffs sensed his hostility and pounced without warning, like lions on the hunt, agile and powerful, aiming for Liu Handong's throat.

The crowd gasped in shock as the gun fired. Liu Handong, holding the riot gun with both hands, fired continuously, 18.4mm lethal rounds hitting the Tibetan Mastiff's head, causing it to collapse. Liu Handong sidestepped, the riot gun slipping from his hand, and drew his 9mm Type 92 pistol, firing at the other Mastiff.

The 9mm bullets had less stopping power than the riot gun, and the Mastiff, unaffected, continued to charge. Liu Handong fired while retreating, and his teammates rushed forward, firing their riot guns and submachine guns. Dozens of bullets later, the Mastiff's head was a mess.

Liu Handong's pistol magazine was empty, the gun smoking. He ejected the empty magazine, reloaded, and rechambered, all in one smooth motion.

The little girl ran to the sanitation worker, sobbing uncontrollably.

Ji Yang approached, kicking the dead Mastiff, and scolded Liu Handong, "Why did you shoot without orders? What if this causes trouble?"

Liu Handong's face was grim, and he remained silent, blaming Ji Yang for not giving the order to shoot and for lacking leadership.

An ambulance arrived, and the medical staff loaded the nearly lifeless sanitation worker into the vehicle and drove away.

A while later, a man rushed to the scene, his face changing when he saw the dead Mastiffs.

"Commander! General!" The man knelt, deeply distressed, as if he had lost a family member.

The two Tibetan Mastiffs, worth over a million each, were riddled with bullet holes, their eyes open in death.

The man trembled with anger, wiping his tears and standing up to demand, "Who killed my Tibetan Mastiffs!"

Liu Handong moved to grab the man's collar, but his teammates held him back. Ji Yang and the community police officers approached to negotiate. It turned out the man was not the owner but a highly paid caretaker who had been out when the dogs, unable to bear the heat, escaped and attacked the sanitation worker.

"These are purebred Tibetan Mastiffs from Ma Junren's kennel. You're in big trouble! Do you know who these dogs belong to? Boss Li!"

Boss Li, who lived in the Yun Mountain villa, was a major figure in Jinjiang's entertainment industry, owning several nightclubs, bathhouses, and bars. Li Sui Feng, a notorious figure from the 1990s, now had political status as a member of the city's political consultative conference, with vast wealth and influence. He loved luxury, owning several world-renowned cars, a yacht on the Huai River, and even planning to buy a private jet. The two Tibetan Mastiffs were his prized possessions and symbols of his status.

The caretaker's arrogance showed the extent of Boss Li's power. Ordinary police officers dared not challenge him, but this incident had to be resolved. The special police completed their mission and left, leaving the community police to handle the aftermath.

Killing two dogs was not a big deal to Liu Handong. He had other things on his mind, like his job transfer. He took out the business card given by Geng Zhi and called him.

"Geng Captain, this is Liu Handong."

"Have you made up your mind?"

"Yes, I'm willing to do it."

"Good, wait for the notification."

After the call, Liu Handong felt refreshed, confident in his new career in narcotics, a challenging and rewarding field.

The squad was on standby at the base, not patrolling the streets but training all morning. In the afternoon, Liu Handong was called to the captain's office.

"You did well this morning, leading the charge and firing fifty-eight rounds. Not enough practice on the range, so you went to the park to get your fix, huh?" The captain's tone was ambiguous.

"Got my fix," Liu Handong replied.

The captain said, "You got your fix, but you've caused trouble for the team. The dog owner is making a fuss, so we have to suspend you."

Liu Handong didn't care; he had already lined up his next job.

"Go to the narcotics unit and make us proud!" The captain stood up, patting Liu Handong's shoulder, his eyes filled with admiration.

"Understood!" Liu Handong saluted.

Liu Handong was suspended and left the base through the back door, driving his Fukan around to the front gate. Outside, dozens of people were protesting, holding white banners and placards, accusing the special police of violent law enforcement and causing significant property damage. Two large color photos showed "Commander" and "General" sitting in Hummers and Bentleys, their long necks raised in a regal pose.

The crowd's protest left the detachment helpless. They could only negotiate, promise an investigation, and inform the protesters that the temporary worker who fired the shots had been suspended.

"Damn!" Liu Handong spat and drove away, not in a hurry to report to the narcotics unit, planning to rest for a couple of days.

He left without a backward glance, but the captain faced endless trouble.

Boss Li, accompanied by lawyers, confronted Shi Guoping, presenting the Tibetan Mastiffs' bloodline certificates, international competition awards, daily food lists, imported vaccines, caretaker salaries, breeding income, and original purchase receipts. "Commander" cost 1.5 million RMB, and "General" cost 1.8 million RMB, with a total investment of 4.1 million RMB over the years.

The two Mastiffs were two-year-old adults with a life expectancy of over ten years. The annual breeding income alone was over a million, so the total compensation would be at least ten million RMB.

Li Sui Feng and Shi Guoping had known each other for years, but this time, Li gave no quarter. "Shi Captain, the dogs biting people was wrong, but they are animals. Can humans really hold animals to the same standards? With so many special police officers, couldn't you just use a stick to drive them away? Why did you have to shoot, and not just once, but dozens of times? You were just using my dogs for target practice!"

Shi Guoping said, "Boss Li, your dogs attacked people first. No matter how valuable they are, they can't be compared to human life."

Li Sui Feng slammed the table. "You're right, I'm not unreasonable. I'll cover the medical expenses for the sanitation worker, whatever it takes. But I need an explanation. How do you justify your special police officers killing my two valuable purebred Tibetan Mastiffs?"