Team One primarily handled major criminal cases and oversaw five squadrons. Its captain, Cao Yiman—a tall man with a square face and a muscular build—was the person Bai Yiyi saw most often and knew best. In his estimation, Cao was one of his master’s most loyal and capable right-hand men.
Team Two focused mainly on drug busts and smuggling operations, commanding four squadrons. Its captain, Zhao Guangren, appeared to be around the same age as Bai Yiyi’s own idol. He was of average height and wore a modest, polite smile that gave him a refined and scholarly air.
Team Three specialized in pickpocketing crackdowns and anti-trafficking efforts, with some involvement in sweeping out organized crime. It was the largest and most down-to-earth of the teams, divided into eight squadrons. Its captain, Ding Ning, was a lean, dark-skinned man in his early forties. His eyes, brimming with vigor, stood in stark contrast to his weathered face, radiating a sharp competence at a single glance.
The remaining two were Fang Ping, head of the Technical Group responsible for forensics, and Zhao Ge, the administrative instructor. They were somewhat familiar faces, but Zhao Ge in particular held a special place—after all, he was a classmate of Bai Yiyi’s idol, which made him practically family in Bai Yiyi’s eyes.
Like most corporate meetings, this one followed a standard format: each department gave a brief on last month’s work and next month’s plans, followed by the host’s summary and assignments.
Everything proceeded smoothly. Bai Yiyi, taking advantage of his bird body’s convenience, nestled quietly inside the coconut shell and listened to the city bureau’s criminal investigation work meeting from start to finish.
As he listened, his mind wandered. What if all these detectives in the room suddenly realized that the unofficial attendee wasn’t a bird but a living, breathing person? Would they immediately draw their sidearms and riddle this “birdman” spy—suspected of eavesdropping on state secrets—with bullets without a second thought?
About an hour later, Yan Tuo finished outlining the key points for the coming month. The meeting was drawing to a close when Captain Zhao Guangren’s phone on the coffee table suddenly buzzed to life, vibrating loudly against the glass surface.
Calls coming in at this hour were likely urgent work matters, so Yan Tuo paused and gave a slight nod, signaling him to take it.
It seemed to involve a case. Zhao Guangren hung up after a few curt exchanges, his expression darkening. Yan Tuo didn’t mince words. “The 420 smuggling case? Hasn’t Jiang Xing’s detention been extended by four days already? Still no breakthrough?”
Zhao Guangren coughed dryly. Yan Tuo’s earlier warning to proceed with caution still rang in his ears, and sure enough, it had come to pass just days later.
He gathered his thoughts and reported, “It’s a new development. After we got the arrest warrant for Jiang Xing, we pried information from one of his underlings. Turns out he’s been acting erratically lately. The latest batch of smuggled goods apparently contained a massive haul of drugs—over five kilos, by our estimate. This was completely off our radar.
“Finding this batch of drugs is now the key to the case. It’ll make a huge difference in sentencing. According to the underling, the drugs have been separated from the smuggled chips and stashed alone in a container at the port. But he doesn’t know the exact location.”
Yan Tuo’s voice grew grave. “Request assistance from the Police Dog Squadron.”
Zhao Guangren’s eyes flickered, his tone dropping. “Already did. After getting the tip last night—it was nearly dawn by then—I didn’t want to disturb your rest, so I cleared it with Captain Li instead. The whole squadron’s six dogs are on site. But we just got word: progress is dismal. The port’s backed-up containers are piled like mountains, and the terrain isn’t dog-friendly. They’ve been at it all night and haven’t even cleared a tenth.”
The rest went unsaid. Everyone in the room was a seasoned detective; they knew what it meant. At this rate, they might not find it before Jiang Xing’s detention expired.
Bai Yiyi was the only one who didn’t fully grasp the implications. What really got under his skin was Zhao Guangren’s line about not wanting to disturb Yan Tuo’s rest. A people’s police captain, head of a whole team, acting this wishy-washy? Too polite to bother his direct superior, but fine with waking up a leader away on training?
Yan Tuo tapped the table lightly with his palm. “Old Cao, Old Ding—each of you, pull a squad to assist.”
Once they acknowledged, he continued, “As I always say, details decide success or failure. A serious, rigorous attitude is the foundation of getting the job done. That wraps up this month’s meeting, more or less. Zhao Guangren, hang back a moment. Everyone else, back to work.”
Once the room cleared, Yan Tuo’s face turned icy, the white scar at the corner of his eye lending him an even fiercer look. “Didn’t I remind you to secure the full evidence chain before arresting? Is smuggling ordinary goods on the same level as drugs? How did you miss this entirely?”
Zhao Guangren knew he was in the wrong and explained in a low voice, “We’ve been on this guy for nearly half a year. The informant who tipped us is a veteran in the trade, and we’d gotten no whiff of anything before.
“I did suspect something, but his own younger brother died of a drug overdose, so he hates dealers with a passion. None of his prior cases involved drugs. Who could’ve guessed this final sweep would turn up… Who knows, maybe one of his underlings hid it on their own.”
Yan Tuo’s eyes narrowed slightly, his trust in the man eroding further. His words carried a skeptical edge. “Regardless, we need to find those drugs first and confirm… In the port container yard?”
Zhao Guangren assured him at once, “That much is solid. The suspect’s details line up on several points. He just doesn’t know the precise spot for this shipment.”
After a brief pause, Yan Tuo stood and began gathering his things. “What kind of drugs? Borrow a sample from evidence. Prep it—we’re heading to the port in ten minutes.”
So he didn’t trust them and was coming to oversee personally? Zhao Guangren smirked inwardly but flashed a grateful smile. “Got it, Deputy Detachment Captain Yan. I’ll make the preparations now.”
Yan Tuo ignored him and strode straight to the birdcage, where he began giving his beloved pet some mental prep.
“Didn’t expect to need your help this soon, Tangyuan. When we search for the drugs later, give it your best shot. No pressure to nail it on the first try, but at least follow orders and don’t freeze up from fear when we get there.”
Yan Tuo finished in one breath. The little guy’s round eyes stared back as it chirped “Tweet tweet.” He had no idea how much it truly understood.
He knew how absurd this idea would sound to outsiders. But only he, who spent every day with Tangyuan, truly knew its unique abilities. Their history of good communication gave him the confidence to make this seemingly outlandish decision.
Yes, he was taking his little golden canary along on the mission.
On the ring road highway speeding toward the port, inside a flashing police cruiser, a tall man sat with his long legs awkwardly folded. A laptop lay open on his knees as his fingers danced across the keys.
A white phoenix-headed golden canary perched on the two-bars-two-stars insignia of his shoulder epaulets. Right now, it sported a grayish-black “pot-lid” hood and gazed quietly at its owner working.
Yan Tuo sent off two emails, closed the laptop, and rubbed his slightly sore eyes. In the lull, he sensed his pet’s good behavior nearby and casually poked its white belly.
Zhao Guangren had held his tongue the whole ride, but now he couldn’t resist. With a hint of mocking sarcasm, he said, “Deputy Detachment Captain Yan, your little pet is awfully obedient. Taking it on a mission without even a leash? Not worried it’ll fly off?”
Yan Tuo turned to him and replied earnestly, “This is Tangyuan. It’s here to help today. Haven’t you heard its name, Captain Zhao? Your intel’s a bit behind the times.”
What help could a palm-sized pet bird provide? Sing and dance to entertain the team? Zhao Guangren’s face was a mask of question marks.
Up front in the passenger seat sat Squadron Leader Liu Bin, pulled from Team One to assist—Old Cao’s longtime partner. He chimed in, “Yeah, Captain Zhao, how haven’t you heard? It’s our office mascot, the hero that cracked the poisoning case: the Divine Bird Tangyuan! Not just any bird—it’s a police bird, one of our comrades.”
Zhao Guangren glanced skeptically at the white fluffball. “Really? I’ve been swamped lately and missed the office gossip. Now even birds are solving cases? Guess us cops can kick back from now on.”
He chuckled at his own wit, adopting the air of someone humoring tall tales without calling them out.
No one bothered arguing. Yan Tuo had shut his eyes to rest after the intro, Liu Bin didn’t know him well enough to press—and was outranked besides—and the driver was focused on the road, oblivious to the banter.
Bai Yiyi dearly wanted to roll his eyes, but in bird form, with his almond-shaped black peepers, he lacked the anatomy for it. Instead, he hopped from his master’s left shoulder to the right, putting some distance from the guy to show his disdain.
Half an hour later, the port loomed into view. Container “mountains” of every color hugged the coastline, stretching endlessly.
They disembarked, and the officer handling intel updates reported at once, “Over 110,000 containers in this yard. We’ve cleared about 13,000 so far.”
Zhao Guangren flushed, snapping irritably, “Didn’t you say on the phone we’d excluded nearly 20,000? How’s it dropped after just an hour?”
The young team member with a 28 side-part hairstyle and obvious acne scars on his face explained in a soft, delicate voice: “In our previous calculations, we excluded the old containers that had been detained for over a year. But the latest info from the interrogation side says that because time was so tight, the person who hid them didn’t rent the container themselves—they just randomly picked one, pried the lock open haphazardly, and tossed them inside.. Even if that person came looking for it now, it’d probably take them two or three days to identify it. So, we need to expand the search area again.”
“What about the Police Dog Squadron?”
“The six police dogs worked through the night last night and have basically cleared the containers on the bottom layer. Now, the ones closer to the middle are much harder to access—they’re suspended in mid-air, neither touching the sky above nor the ground below, so we have to wait for forklifts to shuttle them up and down, which has slowed our progress considerably.”
Yan Tuo didn’t ask any more questions. He had Zhao Guangren take out the sample, opened it for the white fluffball on his shoulder to sniff, and then gave some tactical guidance: “There look like so many, but don’t be afraid—do it bit by bit, and you’ll find the target. The freezer is by the ventilation fan; the door gaps on the other cabinets should let you catch the scent. Focus on the ones with pry marks on the locks.”
After finishing the instructions, he cradled his beloved pet in his hands and finally said: “If you get tired, come down and rest. I’ll be right below following you the whole time. Go!”
With a light toss of both hands, White Dumpling borrowed the momentum to leap into the air, spread its wings, and shot straight toward the mountains and seas of containers like an arrow.
