Chapter 702: Where Have We Ended Up Again? (Part 2)

‘Woof woof, where have they brought us?’

‘Woof woof, I don’t know.’

‘Woof woof, Boss, where are we?’

Many of the dogs were calling out to Tian Kui.

As the Dog King, Tian Kui had the “big shot” act down pat, lying calmly outside the cage.

He was the only one allowed to roam free.

He barked twice, and the cacophony of barks immediately fell silent.

‘So noisy.’

Tian Kui lay back down, his eyelids drooping.

‘Look at them all, making such a fuss. Can’t they just be calm for once?’

The barking had stopped, but the chirping of birds was now incessant.

Tian Kui’s eyelids shot up. He rose and walked over to Teddy’s cage.

‘Hey, do something about them.’

Inside the cage, Teddy turned his head away.

‘Can’t understand them.’

He actually did understand, he just didn’t want to get involved.

‘They’re not even the same species, and they’re all black as lumps of coal. I’m not getting involved.’

Unlike Tiger Stripes and Da Mei, he had no desire to be a leader.

Teddy was just wondering if he could use this trip to the United States to take care of a major life event.

Shen Xin was always saying he’d find him a wife, but a year had gone by without so much as a shadow of one.

Of course, he’d gotten used to it.

After being single for so long, it was actually pretty great.

But before they left, Shen Xin had mentioned it to him again.

He’d said there were gyrfalcons in North America.

Shen Xin had previously asked Chen Wanbin to help find a suitable Hunting Falcon, but with no luck.

So he’d set his sights on gyrfalcons instead.

Genetically, the Hunting Falcon and the gyrfalcon are the closest relatives among falcons. Private breeders even cross-breed the two.

That’s why Shen Xin had joked with Teddy, saying that on this trip to the United States, he might be able to coax a gyrfalcon to come back with him.

North America has subspecies of gyrfalcon, including the beautiful Hai Dongqing.

If he really wanted to throw caution to the wind, he could even snag a Bald Eagle—the national bird of the United States—or even a Red-tailed Hawk, the famous “voice actor” for other birds of prey in movies.

Otherwise, Shen Xin wouldn’t have been so keen on bringing Teddy to the United States.

Seeing Teddy’s inaction, Tian Kui turned his head and barked a few times at the flock of Ravens.

None of the birds paid him any mind.

‘We’re not even in the same chain of command. Why should we listen to you?’

One Raven nearby even spoke in human words, “Stop barking.”

Tian Kui’s eyes widened. ‘You’re the ones making all the noise!’

He was so angry he immediately started pawing at the latch on its cage.

The Raven that had spoken immediately changed its tune. “Hey, don’t do that!” it squawked. “I’ll report you!”

Tian Kui rammed the cage twice before finally backing off.

After driving west on Interstate 80 for a little over 200 kilometers, they crossed the state line into Nevada.

From there, they headed northeast on Highway 233 for another forty to fifty kilometers before finally reaching a small town called Monteiro.

Through the window, Shen Xin sized up the small town.

This area wasn’t quite a desert yet; as far as the eye could see, there were still patches of green.

The town was truly tiny, no more than a kilometer from north to south. It sat beside Highway 233, with a railway line running parallel to it.

There were no buildings over two stories high, but they weren’t the Old West-style structures from the movies, either—just ordinary American houses, most of them made of wood.

They were dilapidated, too. At a glance, he couldn’t see a single soul.

It was utterly desolate, to say the least.

The group’s destination was the town’s police station, where some of Griffin’s team members were waiting for Shen Xin.

The reason they had come here was because last year’s case had occurred nearby.

The cars stopped, and everyone got out.

Da Mei, nestled in Shen Xin’s arms, poked her head out.

Speaking of which, the ancestors of cats came from the desert, which is why they dislike bathing.

So, upon arriving in this semi-desert environment, the dry heat actually made Da Mei feel quite comfortable. She squinted, looking around curiously.

York and Griffin walked over to brief Shen Xin.

“That mountain range to the east is the border between the two states. It’s called Vulture Mountain.”

A continuous mountain range was visible in the distance.

It was about 15 kilometers away.

To the west was another range called the Murdoch Mountains, about the same distance from the town and also visible to the naked eye.

York then pointed northeast. “Follow this road for about 25 kilometers and you’ll hit the state line, where it connects to Utah’s Highway 30.”

“The victim’s body from last year’s case was discovered 4.7 kilometers north of the highway at the state line.”

Shen Xin nodded slightly.

On November 5th of last year, the victim, Erin Vasquez, was a 27-year-old single woman.

Her hometown was the small town of Park Valley, Utah.

Following the Highway 30 York had mentioned for about 100 kilometers would take you to her town.

Gambling is legal in Nevada, and to make a living, she worked at a casino in Wells City, in Elko County.

That city is on Interstate 80, just a little over forty kilometers from where Shen Xin’s group had turned onto Highway 233.

The 5th was a Monday, right after Halloween.

Erin had requested time off and was driving alone back to Park Valley to reunite with her family.

Her colleagues confirmed that she had left by car shortly after eight in the morning on the 5th.

Before setting out, she had contacted her parents to let them know she was coming home and asked them to have lunch ready.

Normally, the drive should have taken her about three hours.

But after she set out, she never made it home.

Later that day, her parents filed a report. The local Park Valley police department dispatched officers to search along Highway 30 and quickly found her car parked on the side of the road near the state line.

The car was there, but she was missing.

A search began immediately, and the state police were contacted. However, the search was suspended that night due to darkness.

It wasn’t until noon the next day that Erin’s body was discovered inside the Nevada border.

The M.O. was nearly identical.