Chapter 505 - 243: Unhinged

Chapter 505: Chapter 243: Unhinged

Sirens blared.

Several police cars sped into the apartment complex in the South District where the incident had occurred.

The community garden had been sealed off with police tape, and several forensic technicians were carefully examining the scene.

Yang Qi and Chen Jifeng, along with several officers, were led to the center of the garden by an officer from the local precinct.

The garden wasn’t large. It had a slide, a swing set, and a small patch of lawn.

"It’s this tree."

The precinct officer pointed to a thick, horizontal branch on a willow tree not far from the slide and explained, "According to a resident in the building opposite, around five in the evening yesterday, they saw a rather large crow land on this branch. It stayed for over ten minutes, cawing every now and then."

"Later, the child came here on a scooter, stopped, and looked up at it. Not long after, they disappeared. By the time the parent came looking, both the child and the crow were gone."

Chen Jifeng looked up at the branch, then scanned his surroundings.

The garden had a relatively open view, but several small paths led to different buildings, and there was a dense thicket of holly, all of which could have been used as escape routes.

Yang Qi crouched down, his gaze sweeping over the ground.

The dirt ground was covered in a mess of footprints—a child’s, adults’, and even a pet dog’s.

A moment later, he stood up and looked toward the willow tree, his gaze sharpening.

Using his Spiritual Eye Technique, he spotted several faint scratch marks on the bark of a branch.

"Xiaojiu, go take a look," Yang Qi called softly.

Xiaojiu, who had been perched on his shoulder and eager to go, landed lightly on the ground at his command. It darted to the base of the willow tree, sniffed upwards, and then scrambled up the trunk like a black bolt of lightning, landing steadily on the horizontal branch.

It lowered its head, its nostrils flaring rapidly and its whiskers twitching slightly as it carefully parsed every trace of scent lingering in the air.

A moment later, it looked up at Yang Qi.

"Meow~!"

Xiaojiu meowed, signaling that it had found a lingering scent.

The next moment, with a nimble leap, it soared three meters through the air to another tree and darted off toward the garden’s western wall.

"Captain Chen, Xiaojiu’s found something."

Yang Qi immediately shouted to Chen Jifeng and ran after Xiaojiu.

Chen Jifeng was instantly energized. His years of investigative experience kicked in, and he snapped into action, rapidly giving orders over his radio.

"All units, the target may be moving west! Perimeter teams, converge on the west side immediately! Tech team, follow me!"

With a wave of his hand, he led several officers to follow closely behind Yang Qi.

Xiaojiu moved west, following the line of trees inside the perimeter wall.

Though small, it was incredibly agile, leaping like a blur between branches several meters off the ground, never losing the faint scent.

Yang Qi hurried to keep up on the ground below.

Captain Chen and his men also ran at full speed.

Even after leaving the apartment complex, Xiaojiu didn’t touch the ground.

It continued to leap nimbly onto the branches of roadside trees, using the connected canopies, street-front shop signs, and low awnings to forge a unique tracking path suspended above the city.

At times it swung from one tree to another; at others, it leaped lightly across an alley to land on a rooftop.

Watching this miraculous tracking method, Captain Chen and his men were both startled and filled with immense admiration for the specialist, Yang Qi, and for Xiaojiu.

High above, the Beaked Eagle, Horn Carved Qi Zai, circled and glided in silence. Its sharp eyes, like a scanner, surveyed Xiaojiu’s route and the surrounding area below, ready to respond to any sudden developments.

The pursuit continued for about twenty minutes. They passed through several relatively busy streets, and the surroundings gradually grew more chaotic and run-down.

The group entered an old neighborhood filled mostly with low-lying, single-story houses awaiting demolition. The alleys were narrow and winding, like a maze.

Xiaojiu slowed down, its focus and vigilance sharpening.

It led them deep into the heart of the old district, finally stopping at the edge of a vacant lot piled high with old doors and windows, ruined sofas, and discarded building materials.

Across from the vacant lot stood a row of low, red-brick houses. Their walls were mottled and peeling, and most of the windows were sealed shut with wooden planks or yellowed plastic sheets.

Just as the group was about twenty meters from the houses—

"CAW~!"

A coarse, ear-piercing caw suddenly shattered the silence.

On a leafless old elm tree in front of one of the houses, a large-beaked, pitch-black crow with dark red eyes perched on a branch. Its neck feathers were bristled as it shrieked a warning at the intruders.

After its cry, it launched into the air without the slightest hesitation, powerfully beating its wings as it flew away.

Almost simultaneously, the tattered cloth hanging over one of the house’s windows was flung aside from within.

A slightly smaller, equally black crow burst out in a panic, flying after the first one.

"MREOWW—"

Xiaojiu reacted in a flash.

The instant the second crow burst from the window, before it could even fully extend its wings, Xiaojiu became a black blur, pouncing through the air.

Its sharp claws glinted as they sliced through the air.

TSSK!

Feathers flew, followed by a short, pathetic cry.

Xiaojiu tackled the second crow out of the air, slamming it to the ground. Its front paws pinned the crow by the base of its wing and its neck, immobilizing it.

And at the very instant Xiaojiu pounced, Qi Zai moved from high above!

Like a bolt of golden lightning locking onto its prey, it dove with a shriek that tore through the air.

The first crow had barely risen three meters from the tree when Qi Zai’s massive, steel-like talons snapped shut around it like iron pincers. The crow went limp before it even had a chance to struggle.

In the blink of an eye, both key targets were neutralized.

"Someone’s in the house!"

Captain Chen roared the instant the second crow burst from the window.

He drew his pistol and charged toward the house, staying low, with several of his officers right behind him.