Animal Detective

Chapter 143: Seems Like a Dismembered Body

Xiong Yongjian’s eyes lit up, but alarm bells instantly went off in Sun Zhao’s head.

Especially when Xiong Yongjian kept saying with a grin that he just wanted to "take a look."

Every city’s police department was short on K-9s.

"Come on, Captain Xiong. You rarely get to visit, let’s focus on the case first." Sun Zhao stepped forward and grabbed Xiong Yongjian, trying to pull him away.

He also shot Chen Chao a look.

Chen Chao got the hint and grabbed Shen Xin.

"You just stay out of it. And don’t talk to him," Chen Chao warned.

Shen Xin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "Captain Chen, you’re not worried he’s going to try and get me transferred to Yanling, are you?"

"Heh!"

Chen Chao raised an eyebrow and slung an arm around Shen Xin’s shoulder. "Kid, don’t you even think about it."

Just for the fact that Shen Xin could train police dogs, he would be a treasured prize anywhere he went.

’My home is in Nanjiang,’ Shen Xin thought. ’Where would I even transfer to?’

"By the way, how’s Dou Dou? Is she trained yet?" Chen Chao asked.

It had been a while, after all.

’I’d need to have the time for that,’ Shen Xin thought.

"Almost."

Dou Dou was about to reach stage two. Once she reached stage two, their communication would be on another level, and everything would be much easier.

"Then go get busy." Chen Chao waved Shen Xin off.

’He really doesn’t want me to show my face in front of Xiong Yongjian.’

He went to the training field.

He whistled, and Black Panther and Dou Dou immediately rushed out.

There was no sign of Tiger Stripes; Shen Xin had no idea where he had run off to.

When it came to him, Shen Xin was constantly wavering between giving up and not giving up.

’The plan was for one K-9 per major division—Criminal Investigations, Narcotics, and SWAT. But Criminal Investigations and Narcotics are in the same building, so what’s the point of such a clear-cut division?’

’Once Dou Dou is trained, she can search the mountains and track suspects. Why wouldn’t she be able to do narcotics work too?’

’It’s not like they’re needed every day.’

"Did you miss me?" Shen Xin sat down, and Dou Dou burrowed right into his arms.

He had been busy these past few days, so others had been taking care of Dou Dou and the rest.

Dou Dou let out a bark and licked Shen Xin’s hand incessantly.

Just then, the icon above her head suddenly changed, and the last bar was filled.

Stage two.

Shen Xin was slightly taken aback. ’Could it be because she hasn’t seen me for so long? Is this a little burst of joy from our reunion?’

[So happy]

The next moment, Shen Xin immediately heard Dou Dou’s thoughts.

"Good girl."

Shen Xin hugged her and gave her a good scratch, then looked over at Black Panther.

He was still at 8 bars of affection and would probably reach stage two soon as well.

’Shen Xin figured that while specific situations could be used for a quick boost of affection, the slow, steady stream of daily companionship was just as effective at raising it.’

’It’s just that my apartment is too small. Otherwise, I’d bring these two dogs home to spend more time with them.’

In the end, Xiong Yongjian didn’t get a chance to see Dou Dou and the others.

Sun Yongxi’s yard had been turned upside down, but the murder weapon was not found. He himself couldn’t clearly say where he had thrown the folding knife.

When he was taken to the shelter, it was during a city-wide beautification project.

Sun Zhao went to great lengths to find the city management officer who had originally found him. According to the officer’s recollection, he had found Sun Yongxi under an overpass. When he tried to persuade him to go to the shelter, Sun Yongxi suddenly bolted.

They gave chase and only caught him after a great deal of effort.

Then Sun Yongxi started a fight with them, which was why they called the local police station to have him forcibly taken away.

In the chaos, no one paid any attention to his belongings, let alone a small folding knife.

After five years, where could it possibly be found?

Therefore, the case was missing the most crucial piece of physical evidence.

As for Xiao Hong’s phone, it was even more impossible to trace.

However, Sun Yongxi gave a detailed confession of the crime, which matched the medical examiner’s conclusions. The testimonies of Song Shifeng and Liu Shuying also served as corroborating evidence.

Coupled with the characteristic of having six fingers, and considering it was a six-year-old cold case with limited means, the case was ultimately transferred successfully.

As for the subsequent psychiatric evaluation and how the trial would proceed, that was for the courts and the prosecutor’s office to worry about.

As far as the precinct was concerned, the case was considered solved.

Gao Liyun came for a visit.

She brought her son with her again.

After listening to Sun Zhao’s explanation, she was silent for a long time. After a good while, she suddenly burst out, "Just because he cursed at him?"

she demanded loudly.

Over the years, she had considered many reasons for Xiao Hong’s murder.

But she had never imagined this would be the reason.

No one could answer her question.

"Mom."

Xiao Haitao, a little scared, tugged on Gao Liyun’s pant leg.

Gao Liyun stared blankly at everyone, then collapsed back into her seat and, covering her face, began to sob.

Shen Xin watched in silence, unable to fathom what was going through Gao Liyun’s mind at that moment.

’Relief?’

’Who could ever truly find relief from something like this?’

After a long while, Gao Liyun finally stopped crying, but then she hugged Xiao Haitao and began to weep again.

She wiped her tears and said, "It’s for the best, I suppose. At least now I know how he died. Thank you. Thank you for never giving up."

She stood up, pulled Xiao Haitao along, and bowed to everyone.

Sun Zhao quickly stood up to stop her.

He wanted to say something, but the words died on his lips.

For six years, she had come to the precinct time and time again to ask about the case’s progress, only to leave disappointed every time. Perhaps all she wanted was an answer, but now that the answer was laid out before her, she had never considered if she was truly ready to accept it.

The group walked the mother and son to the door.

This time, they did not leave disappointed.

But Gao Liyun’s steps were still heavy as she led her son away, their figures slowly shrinking into the distance.

...

For a detective, solving one case only means there’s another one waiting.

「The next day.」

On the training field, Shen Xin, wearing a bite suit, shouted, "Right arm!"

More than ten meters away, Black Panther shot forward.

He was as fast as a bolt of black lightning, lunging forward with thunderous momentum in a single, flying leap.

Shen Xin felt as if he’d been violently slammed by someone and was knocked uncontrollably to the ground.

Then his right arm was clamped tightly in Black Panther’s jaws.

Shen Xin struggled to get up, trying with all his might to pull his arm free, but it wouldn’t budge at all.

Black Panther’s strength was immense.

To make matters worse, Tiger Stripes had somehow rushed up and started biting his butt.

Shen Xin kicked him away.

’That bastard is definitely doing this on purpose, looking for a chance to get revenge.’

"Release!"

Shen Xin ordered again.

Only then did Black Panther let go.

Not far away, Ding Yuwei, holding a camera, gave Shen Xin an "OK" sign and then came over to ask if he was all right.

"I’m fine."

Shen Xin shook his arm and patted Black Panther’s head with satisfaction.

Of course, he couldn’t forget to give Tiger Stripes a couple of smacks.

He was just causing trouble.

Then the training escalated. Shen Xin picked up a rubber baton.

In a moment, after Black Panther bit him, he would have to strike the dog.

For real.

This was because in a real fight, a suspect might not be knocked down immediately and could still fight back. If the suspect were to counter-attack, shout, or threaten the dog, the training would be a failure if the K-9 let go out of pain or fear.

A true police dog has to be trained to the point where once it has a bite on a suspect, it won’t let go—no matter what—unless its handler gives the release command.

Just as they were about to start, Ding Yuwei’s phone rang.

"Shen Xin, stop the training! We’ve got a case," Ding Yuwei shouted, rushing over to help him take off the bite suit.

Back at the office building, the team was already about to leave.

Sun Zhao was leading the team, which included forensics technicians, a medical examiner, and more than a dozen people in total.

Shen Xin hurriedly got into a car.

"Old Zhou, what’s the case?" The driver was Zhou Zhongyi.

Just as he finished asking, Kang Bin from the technical department—an assistant researcher in charge of crime scene photography—also squeezed into the car.

He was a big guy, well over two hundred pounds, and when he plopped down, he almost squeezed Ding Yuwei into Shen Xin’s lap.

Without turning his head, Zhou Zhongyi said, "Seems to be a dismemberment."

"Dismemberment?"

Shen Xin’s eyes lit up. This was a classic type of case in criminal investigations, an unavoidable staple in movies and TV shows.

"What do you mean, ’seems to be’?" Ding Yuwei leaned forward and asked.

Zhou Zhongyi started the car and followed the others. "Well, how should I put it? I’ve been a detective for over a decade and have seen plenty of dismemberment and body-dumping cases, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen someone dispose of a body using takeout containers."