Animal Detective

Chapter 108: Da Mei Tames Black Panther

"Should we do something about him?"

Ding Yuwei asked awkwardly. She knew that Shen Xin had brought the two dogs out to train their tracking abilities.

Shen Xin snorted, closing the video. "We’ll leave him for now," he said. "I’ll deal with him later. If he doesn’t shape up, he’s going straight to a shelter."

He had only considered taking Tiger Stripes in because he thought the dog was smart and trainable.

But since he was so wild and wouldn’t learn, he’d just send him to a shelter. Whether he was adopted or put down wouldn’t be his problem.

Ding Yuwei nodded and quietly ate her congee, her face still flushed.

After breakfast, the two split up to canvass the area, each taking a different direction.

When they met up at noon, they had, unsurprisingly, found nothing.

Ding Yuwei suggested they go take a look at the crime scene, but Shen Xin decided against it after some thought.

’The case was six years old. It happened next to a national highway. The area must have changed, and who knows how many times the road has been repaved. It would be useless to go look now.’

And then there was his truck.

Once the forensic examination was complete, it had been returned to Xiao Hong’s wife, Gao Liyun, a few months later.

"We’ll just have to keep asking."

’Guo Chunping investigated for a whole year. I’ve only been at it for a day. It’s still early.’

Ding Yuwei nodded. It wasn’t that she was tired; she was just wondering if there might be another way.

Like offering a reward.

"Shen Xin, I know what you’re thinking," she began. "You’re hoping to find a truck driver who happened to pass by when the crime occurred. Maybe someone saw the robbery."

"But it’s possible they didn’t speak up at the time, or perhaps they were just a driver passing through. And it wouldn’t necessarily have to be a truck driver—it could have been a regular motorist."

It’s not like only trucks use the national highway.

"That makes the scope way too big. Back in 2011, the internet wasn’t as widespread. Now, it’s much more accessible. Maybe we could post a reward online to find any drivers who saw something back then."

Ding Yuwei laid out her idea.

Shen Xin folded his arms and thought for a moment.

’He had to admit, Ding Yuwei’s analysis was spot on.’

’First, the witness didn’t have to be a truck driver; it could have been a regular motorist.’

’That meant the scope of the investigation would be much larger.’

"Is it more likely the witness was just passing through? Back then, Captain Sun and his team posted a reward on TV and in the newspapers."

Back then, the best methods for cracking a case were canvassing and mobilizing the public.

"So, if it had been a local driver, they should have seen the reward. The fact that nothing came of it means it was most likely someone just passing through."

"And like you said, the internet wasn’t developed back then. But now it is, and communication is easy. We might find something if we use the internet."

Shen Xin reasoned aloud.

Ding Yuwei nodded repeatedly. That was exactly what she had been thinking.

Shen Xin said, "Let’s stick to canvassing today. We’ll ask Captain Sun and the others for their thoughts tomorrow before we decide anything."

If they were to post a reward, they would need funding.

Shen Xin checked the GPS tracker again.

Da Mei had wandered even farther away. She was now 11 kilometers away as the crow flies.

And Black Panther had already managed to track her down. The GPS showed their locations overlapping.

Shen Xin switched on the camera on Black Panther’s collar. The dog was strolling down a road, but Da Mei was nowhere in sight.

Switching to the view from Da Mei’s camera, Shen Xin realized that she was currently lying on Black Panther’s back.

Ding Yuwei had often heard Shen Xin say how smart Da Mei was, and now she was seeing it firsthand. "Should we go get them?" she asked. "It’s been a while. They must be hungry."

"It’s fine," Shen Xin said. "With Da Mei around, they won’t go hungry."

The GPS showed they had wandered into a small town.

With more people around, Da Mei’s good looks meant she would have no trouble getting food and water.

Sure enough, just as he said it, Da Mei—with her long fur, symmetrical face markings, and chubby round cheeks—had already caught the attention of two girls passing by. They started calling out to her, "Here, kitty, kitty!"

Seeing Black Panther continue to stride forward proudly without even turning his head, Da Mei smacked him right on the head, signaling him to stop.

Only then did she turn to the two girls and let out a few meows.

She was a master of the cutesy act.

Unfortunately, she was to be admired from a distance, not touched.

Da Mei still resisted being touched by strangers, and she also remembered Shen Xin’s instructions.

The two girls discussed her conspicuous vest, wondering if she had an owner, completely missing Da Mei’s point.

At this point, Da Mei was getting impatient. She leaped to the ground, waddled into a roadside shop, and then meowed at the two girls from the doorway.

The two girls finally realized that Da Mei wanted something to eat.

"She’s so smart!" one of the girls exclaimed.

As the pair approached, Da Mei was already sauntering into the store on her own. Black Panther hesitated for a moment, then waited outside.

On camera, Da Mei wandered around the store before, as expected, stopping in front of the ham sausages.

Even the shop owner was clicking his tongue in amazement, saying he’d never seen such a smart cat.

One of the girls picked up a ham sausage and placed it in front of Da Mei.

Da Mei didn’t take it. She shook her head and extended a paw, pointing to a thicker sausage.

"No way, this cat is a genius!" one of the girls exclaimed, already pulling out her phone to record.

The other girl quickly grabbed the sausage and put it in front of Da Mei.

Da Mei meowed at the shop owner, as if to say, ’Don’t look at me, they’re paying,’ then trotted out with the two sausages in her mouth.

She tossed the thick sausage to Black Panther and started gnawing on the smaller ham sausage herself.

The two girls and the shop owner followed them out, marveling at the scene.

Ding Yuwei didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "No wonder you weren’t worried," she said. "So this is how she gets food for herself."

Shen Xin nodded. He was genuinely astounded by how high Da Mei’s intelligence had become.

On the camera feed, Black Panther looked down at the sausage but didn’t eat it.

Shen Xin had trained him not to eat food given to him by strangers.

’He was a police dog, after all. Couldn’t have him getting bribed by a criminal with a couple of sausages.’

Da Mei meowed and nudged the sausage forward.

Black Panther still refused, even turning his head away.

Da Mei paused, then suddenly leaped up and smacked Black Panther on the head with her paw.

It was as if she were saying, ’I’m trying to be nice here, and you won’t even eat it?’

Cats are fast.

Black Panther, stunned by the blow, was about to pounce on Da Mei.

But Da Mei’s reflexes were lightning-fast. She took off in a flash.

Black Panther immediately gave chase.

Da Mei was agile and incredibly quick, diving directly under a parked car.

Unable to reach her, Black Panther barked a few times in frustration.

Da Mei meowed back, as if they were having an argument.

Shen Xin, exasperated, was about to turn off the video. Clearly, Da Mei was used to being the boss, while Black Panther, who didn’t know her well, wasn’t having any of it.

They were just squabbling, though. It was probably fine.

Ding Yuwei quickly stopped him. "This is so interesting!" she said. "I’ve never seen such a smart cat."

On the feed, it looked like the two girls had followed them.

After trying to get at her for a while, Black Panther seemed to give up. He lay down on the ground, staring intently at Da Mei.

Da Mei then slowly emerged, tentatively stretching out a paw to poke at Black Panther. When he didn’t react, she moved closer.

Black Panther sulkily turned his head away.

Da Mei circled around to his front again. Their eyes met for a moment, then she went back, picked up the sausage, and dropped it in front of him once more.

By now, a small crowd of passersby had stopped to watch.

"Is she trying to train Black Panther?" Ding Yuwei said, starting to understand.

Shen Xin nodded. "Looks like it."

’She’s probably treating Black Panther like the dog from Tom and Jerry.’

’After all, Tom was always teasing Spike.’

Black Panther feigned a pounce.

Da Mei shot away in a flash.

When she saw Black Panther stop, she returned and once again pushed the sausage in front of him.

It seemed she wouldn’t rest until he ate it.

Black Panther stared at Da Mei for a long moment, then finally relented and lowered his head to eat the sausage.

Only then did Da Mei approach, satisfied. With a nimble leap, she hopped onto Black Panther’s back.

Black Panther didn’t resist. He quietly bit into the sausage. He knew how to spit out the casing, so it wasn’t a problem.

After eating most of it, Black Panther resumed his stroll with Da Mei on his back.

Shen Xin turned off the video.

Ding Yuwei looked like she wanted to see more. "Shen Xin, your cat is a true prodigy. She’s just too smart."

Shen Xin’s thoughts turned to Tiger Stripes.

’What’s that guy up to now?’

Checking the GPS track, he saw Tiger Stripes was surprisingly still wandering around near Dongtou Village.

He switched on the camera and found Tiger Stripes snoozing in a patch of grass. Lying right beside him, amazingly, was another dog.

Even more surprisingly, it wasn’t the white dog from that morning, but a yellow one he’d never seen before.

It was skinny, and he couldn’t quite tell its gender, but if Shen Xin had to guess, it was probably a female.

Shen Xin couldn’t help but chuckle.

’Well, I’ll be damned. You’re just out there carousing, aren’t you?’