82: Can dogs receive a third-class merit award?

Gu Qingcheng said, "Director Xu, Ade is our Police Dog, and he's here to receive an award."

Her words stunned a dozen or so directors around her.

"What did you say? He... he is Ade, whose name is written on this seat?"

"Oh my, Ade is actually a dog. I knew that name looked a bit strange."

"A Police Dog also came to receive an award? Little sister, you're not pulling our leg, are you?"

"That's right, I've been a police officer for decades, and this is the first time I've heard of giving an award to a Police Dog."

Zhao Gang, on the other hand, burst out laughing: "You still don't know, do you? Last month, when that B-class wanted criminal was apprehended, Ade, disregarding his own safety, successfully rescued the hostage from the perpetrator, and he even got injured. So, after discussion, Boss Gu and several leaders from the city decided to award our Ade a third-class merit."

Zhao Gang's words were like a pepper-laced howitzer shell, stunning the dozen directors.

"Even a Police Dog can get a third-class merit, while our dozen Police Stations came up empty-handed. Damn it, I feel a bit ashamed to face people!"

"No, my heart can't take it. This is practically a slap in our faces!"

"I wonder if Director Gu is doing this on purpose, using a dog to motivate us!"

The directors groaned one after another, which made Zhao Gang even more smug.

Besides these directors, there was one other person who was also stunned on the spot.

He was Chen Ao, the police officer who came with the Director of Changshenqiao Police Station to receive the award.

Chen Ao was a veteran police officer who had worked for ten years. During these ten years, he had been diligent, and his biggest dream was to receive a third-class merit in his lifetime.

But for ten consecutive years, he had no chance of winning an award. Just when he was about to give up hope, an opportunity suddenly appeared.

Two months ago, a drunk man held a three-year-old child hostage. At the time, the man was holding a double-edged dagger, and the situation was very dangerous.

Chen Ao was on duty at the time and happened to stumble upon it. Later, during his standoff with the kidnapper, he seized a crucial opportunity.

At that time, Chen Ao almost pounced on the man and directly used his hand to grab the opponent's dagger, successfully rescuing the child.

Of course, Chen Ao paid a huge price; the wounds on his five fingers were deep enough to see bone, and he recuperated at home for more than two months before recovering.

Finally, after a decision by the Municipal Bureau, he was awarded a third-class merit as encouragement.

Therefore, this third-class merit was of great significance to Chen Ao, and could even be said to bring glory to his ancestors. His entire family was happy for a long time because of this third-class merit.

Even his old father specially held more than thirty tables of banquets in his rural hometown.

Now, he found that a third-class merit, just like his own, was actually awarded to a Police Dog!

Of course, Chen Ao didn't feel insulted, after all, Ade also rescued a hostage from a gangster, just like him, and the key was that Ade also got injured.

Although Chen Ao also felt that Ade's third-class merit was fine, he always felt a bit strange.

Especially after Gu Qingcheng took Ade to his seat, Chen Ao felt even more uncomfortable.

Because Ade was sitting right next to him.

Looking at Ade, who was sitting upright next to him, Chen Ao's mood was a mix of emotions.

Time quickly reached 8:55, but Lei Zhen's seat was still empty.

Zhao Gang was a bit anxious, he picked up the phone and dialed again.

The result was still unable to connect.

What's going on with this kid?

Zhao Gang was worried, and Zeng Ke, who was sitting next to him, also noticed his unusual expression.

"Where's Lei Zhen? Why hasn't he arrived yet?"

Zhao Gang could only pretend to be calm: "It's nothing, he probably went to the restroom."

However, Lei Zhen did not appear until the conference began.

At the front of the conference hall was a huge podium. Usually, during important meetings, leaders would sit there.

But today's main purpose was not a meeting, but year-end summaries and awards, so all the tables on it were moved to the first row below, and only a podium was left on the main stage.

The leaders who came today were all big names, including Provincial Party Secretary Feng Haitao and Vice Governor Xue Muchun.

In addition, there were also Jiangcheng City Police Chief Gu Wenhai, Municipal Party Secretary Kang Jianshe, Mayor Huo Tingyao, and so on.

Of course, these big-name leaders all sat in the first row.

The time came to exactly nine o'clock.

More than seven hundred dark blue figures sat neatly, awaiting this solemn and sacred moment.

The voice of the conference host, Jiangcheng Municipal Police Chief Gu Wenhai, spread throughout the venue through the microphone.

"Now, I announce the opening of the Jiangcheng City 2025 Annual Summary and Police Commendation Conference."

As soon as the words fell, the side doors on both sides of the venue were suddenly pushed open, and three flag bearers marched in with precise steps.

The red police flag unfurled in their arms, and the melody of "Song of the People's Police" immediately followed. The police officers, who had been sitting upright, stood up with a whoosh, raised their right hands to their brows, and their gaze followed the flag.

The banner was escorted to the flagpole in the center of the podium, slowly rising with the rhythm of the national anthem... The normal process then followed. Gu Wenhai first took the stage to deliver a year-end report on Jiangcheng City's work in 2025, and gave a speech with the theme 'Upholding Original Aspirations for Peace, Forging Ahead with Banners Flying Towards a New Journey'.

"Comrades, in the past year, we have measured public sentiment with our footsteps. The city's 623 Police Stations have cumulatively visited 720,000 households and resolved over 32,000 disputes..."

Gu Wenhai gave a vivid speech on stage, but Zhao Gang and Gu Qingcheng below became increasingly anxious the more they listened.

Because the meeting had already started half an hour ago, but there was still no sign of Lei Zhen.

Zhao Gang simply called the Qinghe Police Station and asked them to find a way to retrieve surveillance footage to check the whereabouts of Lei Zhen's Xiaomi car.

Ten minutes later, someone from the Police Station called back, saying they found Lei Zhen's car parked in a roadside parking space in the Xiaoshiba jurisdiction, but the person was gone.

Zhao Gang became even more anxious. Could something have happened to Lei Zhen?

This sudden turn of events made Zhao Gang not know what to do.

Why did you have to have an accident today, of all days?!

You know, you are the real protagonist of today's awards ceremony, my dear!!!

How am I supposed to respond when the leaders ask later?

Gu Qingcheng, who was next to him, also noticed Director Zhao's expression was like someone having a difficult childbirth, so she said, "Director Zhao, should I go out and look for him?"

Zhao Gang thought for a moment, already one was missing, he didn't want her to get lost too, so he said, "Forget it, let's wait a bit longer, I've already arranged for someone to look for him."

Because today's conference was very important, it was also broadcast live internally among the police through a network live stream.

So, in addition to the hundreds of directors present, tens of thousands of police officers and Auxiliary Police Officers were also watching the live broadcast at their units.

At the same time, Lei Zhen's matter also spread through internal channels to most Police Stations in the city. Everyone heard that a miraculous man had appeared in a certain Police Station, and the rumors in the streets became increasingly outrageous.

Especially those tens of thousands of Auxiliary Police Officers, everyone wanted to see with their own eyes what this new colleague, known as the 'God of Auxiliary Police', actually looked like.

Some said he was a top student who graduated from the Beijing Police Academy and could have become a police officer directly, but lost his qualification due to soliciting prostitutes. He eventually became an Auxiliary Police Officer after providing clues for solving cases and performing meritorious service.

Others said that this young man was over two meters tall, and because he looked too fierce, he had scared many children to tears.

Still others said that this person was actually the illegitimate son of a high-ranking official and had never attended a police academy, so he was not qualified to be a police officer at all. His father used personal connections to force him to become an Auxiliary Police Officer, so those major cases were not actually solved by him; he was just given a name to gain experience.

They also said he was the male version of Dong Mouying.

Later, it even spread that he was actually an alien, and that he relied on superpowers to catch so many major criminals!

Who would have believed that the most unbelievable rumor was actually the closest to the truth.