While waiting for Ding Yuwei, Chen Chao and Old Qian had already done a sweep of the area around the scrap yard.

"Strange. I asked the residents around here, and no one has seen any children at the scrap yard."

Old Qian looked puzzled. He had even specifically asked the elderly men and women in the neighborhood.

They often collect cardboard to sell at the scrap yard, so they know what goes on there.

According to them, the scrap yard owner’s surname is Li. The woman is his wife, and the old lady is the owner’s mother, though they don’t know her surname.

"Logically, if they’re taking kids out to beg, and it’s not just for a day or two, someone should have seen something."

The scrap yard has been open for over a year, and no one has ever seen children coming or going. It was very strange.

Chen Chao had gotten the same story. He folded his arms, glanced at Tiger Stripes squatting by Shen Xin’s feet, and refrained from making any rash judgments. "Let’s wait for Xiaoding to get back. We’ll do some reconnaissance before deciding anything."

Listening to Old Qian, Shen Xin also found it strange.

But while the two of them were out gathering information, Shen Xin had questioned Tiger Stripes again in detail.

By listening to his thoughts and asking targeted questions, he repeatedly confirmed what Tiger Stripes truly meant.

Shen Xin had asked many times about the first time the dog came to the scrap yard, but he couldn’t give a clear answer.

He had no concept of time.

Da Mei was the same. She remembered events, but had no specific concept of time.

He had met a child who played with him, and he was very happy.

Then he came back more than once, because he was often active in this area, palling around with stray dogs.

He would occasionally run over to play with the child at the scrap yard.

Regarding the number of children, Shen Xin rephrased his questions and confirmed there were three.

Animals don’t lie. Since Tiger Stripes said so, then three children must have appeared at the scrap yard.

That contradicted what the local residents said.

The residents had no reason to lie, and Tiger Stripes wouldn’t lie either. There was only one explanation: this group was hiding the children extremely well.

As for how they managed it, that was unknown.

Just as Chen Chao had said, they needed to do some reconnaissance first.

It was almost eleven when Ding Yuwei returned.

Shen Xin put the collar on Da Mei.

He had considered using Da Mei for reconnaissance occasionally, so he had made improvements to the collar.

It was a technical solution from Cai Zhe and his team, using a police-grade micro-camera integrated with a wireless module.

Shen Xin’s family factory made small crafts and had molding equipment. Shen Xin had someone make a mold, so while the current collar’s battery life was shorter, it was also much more compact.

On Da Mei’s neck, it just looked like a common collar. It was made yellow, making it quite hard to spot.

Da Mei was more receptive and understood him better than Tiger Stripes.

Shen Xin and Chen Chao went near the scrap yard. After carefully instructing her to find the children, avoid being seen by adults, and run if she was discovered, they let her into the scrap yard.

The reception range was only 80 meters, but it was enough.

The two of them retreated to the perimeter and watched the live feed on a phone.

They saw Da Mei leap onto a windowsill and quietly watch the situation inside through the window.

The scrap yard owner was lolling on the bed, still watching the Spring Festival Gala, while the woman was washing her feet beside him.

Other than them, there were no children in sight.

After washing her feet, the woman carried the basin outside.

Da Mei silently hid in the shadows.

The woman tossed out the water and returned to the room, completely unaware of Da Mei’s presence.

Da Mei paused for a moment, then went to the next room.

The lights were off inside, and it was pitch-black. Nothing was visible.

"It’d be great if this thing had night vision," Chen Chao muttered.

’You’re asking for a lot, Captain,’ Shen Xin thought.

However, thanks to the intermittent flashes of light from fireworks being set off in the distant sky, they could vaguely make out the situation inside.

It seemed to be the old woman’s room.

The old woman was already asleep in bed. There was no sign of any children.

Da Mei’s vision was better, so she probably saw the situation clearly long ago. She jumped down from the windowsill, paused briefly at the door of the next room without lingering, and went directly to the last of the single-story buildings.

A cat’s nose is just as sharp, and its hearing is even more sensitive. Da Mei could probably even hear human breathing.

She leaped onto the windowsill of the last room.

Pinning down a plastic film, she used her paws to pull it open and squeezed inside.

She pressed against the window and peered inside.

The camera was almost right up against the glass. The room inside was also pitch-black, and they couldn’t see a thing.

BANG.

Across the main road, in a residential complex, a firework blossomed in the sky.

It was close. In the camera’s view, the light from the firework flooded the room in an instant. Shen Xin squinted, vaguely seeing something.

Another firework exploded, illuminating the night sky.

"Is that someone on the bed?" Ding Yuwei said softly.

Chen Chao nodded slightly. He had seen it too.

Fireworks continued to shoot into the sky. Da Mei remained motionless, staring. On the feed, the room flickered between light and shadow.

Shen Xin could also see clearly now. There was a large bed in the room with a quilt on it. Judging by the lumps, there were three of them.

The weather was cold, and there was no heating or air conditioning, so they were all huddled under the covers with only half their heads showing.

But looking at the lumps, there was no mistake. It had to be the three children.

"Don’t get ahead of yourself. We can’t confirm they’re children," Chen Chao said, immediately signaling for patience when he saw Shen Xin look up at him.

Da Mei jumped down from the windowsill and tried to find a way in.

But the door was closed, and there were no other entrances. She wandered around in a circle, gave up, and then nimbly leaped onto a pile of scrap to wait quietly.

She had enough patience.

’Looks like there won’t be any results for a while. The door is closed, so there’s nothing Da Mei can do.’

But that glimpse in the light of the fireworks was enough.

"Captain Chen, what’s the plan?" Shen Xin was getting impatient, wanting to rush in right now and pin down the man, the woman, and the old lady.

"Don’t be rash."

Chen Chao waved his hand, thought for a moment, and said, "We need to catch them in the act. Here’s the plan: we’ll have people keep watch. Tomorrow is the first day of the Lunar New Year. There will be activities and large crowds in many places—a good opportunity for begging."

"If they take the children out to beg, we can secure evidence. And we can see if they have any accomplices."

This practice is rarely an individual act; there’s often an entire human trafficking ring behind it.

"Then we’ll investigate the owner’s personal background and check the nearby surveillance cameras to see if we find anything."

"And let me tell you, some people really do take their own children out to beg, or they ’borrow’ disabled children from others."

"These kinds of situations are very tricky. We should try to confirm everything as clearly as possible before we act."

"In any case, they’re right here. We’ve got them under surveillance. They’re not going anywhere."

Chen Chao was more thorough in his thinking.

Shen Xin nodded and volunteered to stay and conduct surveillance.

"Alright."

Now that this unexpected situation had developed, Shen Xin wouldn’t be going home after all.

Leaving Shen Xin’s car behind, Chen Chao and Old Qian returned to the branch office.

Shen Xin pulled the car over to the side of the road, to a spot with a clear view of the scrap yard’s exit. He turned his head and told Ding Yuwei to rest first; they would switch shifts later.

"Why don’t you rest first? I’m not tired yet."

Ding Yuwei shook her head slightly, glancing at Shen Xin from the corner of her eye.

"Alright, then. Wake me up when it’s time to switch."

Shen Xin nodded, climbed into the back seat, and lay down.

Ding Yuwei silently rolled her eyes. ’And here I was, thinking we could chat for a bit since neither of us is tired.’

But Shen Xin, on the other hand, had gone straight to sleep.