Chapter 324 The murderer is found!
Xu Ying's eyes lit up instantly. The White-tailed Raven—a bird known as the "Ghost of the Desert," renowned for its elusive movements and remote habitat—is a coveted photographic subject for countless birdwatchers.
As soon as she took a step forward, four crows immediately puffed up their feathers and fluttered their wings in panic, flying onto the nearest branches. [Humans are coming! Run!]
A ground crow screamed.
Xu Ying quickly stopped and pulled a bag of specially made bird feed biscuits from his backpack. A sweet aroma filled the air, and the crows in the trees suddenly became agitated. [Wait, that smell!]
A crow twitched its nose.
"Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you," Xu Ying said softly, taking out a biscuit and gently tossing it under the tree. With a "plop," the golden biscuit landed on the sand, emitting an enticing aroma.
Four pairs of round black eyes blinked between the branches, full of vigilance and curiosity. [Looks like it's delicious.]
The smallest crow swallowed.
Finally, the boldest one flew down first and carefully took a bite of the biscuit.
Its eyes immediately lit up: [Oh my god! This is better than any breadcrumbs I've ever eaten!]
Seeing this, the other crows also flew down one after another, surrounding the biscuits and pecking at them one by one. Xu Ying took the opportunity to slowly approach and squatted about a meter away from them.
"My dears," she asked softly, "have you ever seen a young man?" She gestured and described, "He had a green jade pendant hanging around his neck, sparkling diamond earrings in his ears, and he was secretly filming you with a large black cylindrical camera?"
[click, click]
The crows pecked at the biscuits while tilting their heads in thought.
"Ah! That sparkly human!" A crow suddenly raised its head. "The sparkles on his ears and neck are so beautiful! I want to steal them to decorate my nest!"
Xu Ying smiled. Crows generally have a "collecting habit" and like to collect reflective objects such as glass gems and bottle caps.
Xu Ying scattered another handful of biscuits and continued to ask, "Where have you seen him?"
[It’s in the back garden of the desert resort in the northeast!]
Another crow said as he ate, "There are always a lot of tourists there, and the food dropped there is the most."
"We were hiding well," the third crow interjected, "but he still found us. He tried to take a picture of us, but luckily we were quick and flew away."
It puffed out its chest proudly. [He was so disappointed that his camera dropped.]
Why are you looking for him?
The crow at first suddenly asked vigilantly. Although it was still pecking at the biscuits, its black eyes were staring straight at Xu Ying.
Xu Ying explained solemnly, "Because he's a bad guy who harms birds. He was using a drone to track a white crane, and it's very likely that due to poor operation, the drone's propellers directly severed both of the crane's legs."
She clenched her fists. "Now the murderer has escaped to the resort. I have to catch him, otherwise the other birds will be in danger."
After hearing this, the four white-tailed jays' fluffy feathers puffed up. [Oh my God! How cruel!]
The crow with the fluffiest feathers on its head screamed, "How dare you hurt Mr. White Crane!"
The cleverest crow flapped its wings and said, "We can go to the back garden again! That bad guy will definitely show up when he sees us."
It tilted its head and added, "But there are several humans at the resort photographing birds with large black cylinders. They seem to know each other and will inform each other."
[You have to keep us safe!]
The smallest crow spoke timidly, with worry flashing in its black pearl-like eyes.
Xu Ying nodded solemnly and took out a few more cookies from her bag: "I promise you, I will protect you."
She gently stroked the feathers of the smallest crow and said, "Once we catch the bad guys, I'll bring you more delicious cookies."
Under the golden sunset, four white-tailed jays fluttered their wings and gracefully landed on the saxaul trees in the resort's back garden. Their signature "Shamatte" feathers swayed gently in the breeze, and their black and white wings shone like a metallic luster in the sunlight.
"Look! It's a white-tailed raven!" a tourist exclaimed.
Almost instantly, the sound of shutter clicks echoed around them. A man wearing a baseball cap and carrying a telephoto lens's eyes lit up, and he immediately pulled out his phone and made a call: "Usual place, come quickly!"
In less than ten minutes, three equally well-equipped photography enthusiasts hurried over.
Xu Ying hid behind a nearby palm tree, her eyes fixed like a hawk on the youngest man among them—a buzz cut, earrings, and a jade pendant hanging around his neck! Her pupils suddenly constricted: It's him!
"Captain Chen, Boss Qi," Xu Ying immediately lowered his voice to contact his teammates, "The target has appeared in the northeast corner of the back garden, a gang of four."
Chen Su hurriedly responded from the other end of the phone: "It seems that Boss Sand Rat has discovered the wreckage of the drone and is tugging at my trouser legs. You and Qi Xiao go first, I'll be there soon!"
"Got it." Qi Xiao's voice came from the intercom, steady and powerful, "I'm on the way."
At this moment, four "photographers" were concentrating on photographing the crows. The man with a crew cut adjusted the camera parameters, his lens greedily following the birds' every move.
The other three surrounded him from different angles, and the sounds of shutter clicks could be heard one after another.
Xu Ying is now a little famous and always wears a baseball cap and a printed mask when going out.
She approached the buzz-cut man calmly. She adjusted her mask and spoke in a deliberately admiring tone, "Hey, what kind of bird are you photographing? It looks so special! Can you tell me about it?"
She pointed to the professional camera hanging around his neck. "You have so much equipment, you must be very knowledgeable, right?"
The young man's lips curled up unconsciously upon hearing this. He adjusted his camera and boasted, "This is a white-tailed jay, nicknamed the 'Desert Ghost.' They're usually elusive and hard to photograph." He pointed to the little birds preening their feathers in the tree. "I didn't expect to be so lucky today to encounter a group of them at the resort."
"Wow!" Xu Ying's eyes curved into crescents, her voice filled with wonder. "You're so knowledgeable at such a young age. Are you a professional ornithologist?"
Although she was wearing a mask, the man could tell from Xu Ying's bright eyes that she was a beautiful girl. He waved his hand modestly and said, "It's just a hobby. I just know a lot about this."
"That's amazing!" Xu Ying gave a thumbs up, and the sincere praise made the man feel a little elated.
(End of this chapter)
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