Animal Detective

Chapter 170: She’s a Bad Woman

The icon gave Shen Xin a bit more courage.

He waved at the young man, signaling for him to toss over another frozen chicken.

The kid hadn’t been telling the truth; the crocodile clearly wasn’t full.

The young man tossed over a frozen chicken.

’It’s a frozen chicken carcass,’ Shen Xin thought. ’There’s hardly any meat on it. No wonder she’s not full.’

The female crocodile reacted again when she saw the frozen chicken carcass in Shen Xin’s hand.

Thanks to the icon, Shen Xin’s perception of the animal’s emotions was much clearer. He could feel her staring at the frozen chicken carcass in his hand.

The male crocodile beside her remained motionless.

Shen Xin took aim and tossed it again.

The female crocodile snapped it up and slowly swallowed it down.

The affinity level didn’t increase.

She drew a little closer. He could tell she still wasn’t full.

Shen Xin waved, and the young man tossed another frozen chicken carcass over.

She had quite the appetite. He ended up feeding her five more chicken carcasses before she was finally satisfied and lay down to digest.

Then her affinity increased by one bar.

’That was fast,’ Shen Xin thought. ’It’s probably because this is the first time, but I also suspect that the more I use the icon’s ability, the stronger it gets, just like leveling up a skill.’

Emboldened, Shen Xin edged a little closer.

Even when he was only a meter away, she still didn’t react.

’Looks like the icon is working,’ he thought.

’So what now? How do I keep increasing her affinity?’

’Just keep feeding her?’

’I read online that a crocodile can go ten to fifteen days without eating after a single meal.’

’So besides feeding, how else can I interact with her to raise her affinity?’

’It’s not like I can pet a crocodile the way you’d pet a cat.’

Staring at the crocodile’s bumpy hide, Shen Xin silently abandoned the thought.

Just then, Ding Yuwei suddenly yelled, "Watch out!"

Shen Xin flinched. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the male crocodile charging toward him.

Shen Xin immediately took back his earlier thought.

’Those short legs are surprisingly fast on land.’

Shen Xin whirled around and bolted.

He ran as if he were back at the police academy, sprinting the 100-meter dash.

He covered the distance in a few large strides, planted a foot on the concrete pool wall, grabbed the railing, and vaulted over the enclosure.

The entire sequence was a single, fluid motion.

He could feel the adrenaline coursing through him.

But when he landed and looked back, the male crocodile hadn’t pursued him. It had stopped beside the female.

Shen Xin started to understand. It was probably trying to protect its mate.

He’d heard that crocodiles were quite family-oriented. After the female lays her eggs, the male helps guard the nest.

’That alone makes them better than many males in the animal kingdom.’

"Are you okay?" Ding Yuwei rushed over, her voice tight with worry. "Shen Xin, let’s just stop. This is way too reckless."

She thought it was too dangerous.

The young man nearby also watched Shen Xin nervously, explaining, "Normally, the male doesn’t just lunge at people like that."

Shen Xin waved a hand to show he was fine. Watching the two crocodiles lying together, he felt stumped.

’It’s like crocodiles don’t have any emotions,’ he thought.

’Otherwise, where would the expression ’crocodile tears’ have come from?’

’I feel like even a tiger would be easier to get friendly with than a crocodile.’

’Still, it wasn’t a complete waste. At least I got the affinity icon to appear.’

’Worst case, I can just come back and feed them some more later.’

Besides, Ding Yuwei had a point earlier. He didn’t have to fixate on these two crocodiles.

There were plenty of other animals in this amusement park—cows, pigs... especially pigs. They’re supposed to be really smart.

And there were the monkeys.

He had just seen one, in fact, following Yang Huixia around.

Putting his jacket back on, Shen Xin pulled Ding Yuwei aside. While keeping an eye on the two crocodiles, he quietly shared his theory about why Yang Huixia had stayed on at the farm.

"Do you think she might have buried the body and stayed here specifically to stand guard?" Shen Xin asked in a low voice.

Ding Yuwei thought for a moment before replying, "Her staying on is certainly unusual, but there could be a reasonable explanation for it."

"Besides, if she did choose to bury the body, I doubt she would have done it on the farm. A burial leaves traces that are difficult to completely conceal. Old Zhou and his team conducted a thorough search of the farm back then. If there were any signs of digging, they would have found them."

"So if she was going to bury it, why not do it up on the mountain?"

It’s a desolate mountain. If you buried something randomly up there, it would be incredibly difficult to find.

"So, to your point, staying behind just to guard a body doesn’t seem very logical. She later borrowed money to keep the farm running for another two months, right? She would have had ample time to move or dispose of the body."

"If I had to find an explanation..."

Ding Yuwei mused, "maybe she just couldn’t bear to leave. After all, they ran this place together for many years."

They got married at twenty-four and started their business a few years later, raising pigs and cattle.

Through all the ups and downs, they toiled on this farm for over a decade. They must have been emotionally attached to it.

By staying, even though everything had changed, she could still hold onto her memories of the past.

Shen Xin didn’t comment on this theory. He looked at the two crocodiles and griped, "Actually, that animal expert back then wasn’t very reliable either."

Something had occurred to Shen Xin while he was feeding the crocodiles.

A crocodile’s stomach acid is astonishingly strong, far more so than a human’s. It can dissolve bone.

But what about teeth?

Teeth are covered in enamel, which is much harder. Maybe they’d corrode away over a long period, but after just a couple of weeks? They might not have dissolved completely.

If they had cut the crocodile open back then, they might have been able to confirm whether it had been used to dispose of the body.

And the remains probably weren’t excreted, either. Old Zhou and his team had checked the crocodile’s droppings and found nothing.

"How about this," Shen Xin said. "Let’s start by re-interviewing everyone in the case file."

The investigation had just started. It was only the first day, so there was no need to rush.

They would start by re-interviewing all the relevant people from the file.

For example, the four former employees, the police officer from the station who took the report, Zhu Guishen’s parents, and all the social contacts they had initially investigated.

With the passage of time, new details might emerge.

Ding Yuwei nodded. Interviewing people was a lot safer than feeding crocodiles.

The two of them took their leave.

Shen Xin was shrewd. He gave the manager his phone number and asked him to keep an eye on Yang Huixia, telling him to call if anything came up.

It was just like with Guo Chunping, who got spooked and let his guard down the moment he heard the investigation was being reopened.

After leaving the park, the pair went to the Dingshan Police Station to question Ding Candong, the officer who had originally taken the report.

Ding Candong was quite surprised to learn the case had been reopened.

Then he said, "We always figured that Zhu Guishen was either dodging his debts or trying to pull off an insurance scam. When the insurance didn’t pay out, he didn’t dare show his face again."

Insurance fraud is a crime that carries a prison sentence.

For a two-million life insurance policy, the amount is exceptionally large. The minimum sentence is ten years.

Even an attempted fraud wouldn’t get you much less time.

Shen Xin had considered this possibility, but he still felt it would be difficult for a grown man to completely disappear.

Especially when he had parents and a child.

’If Zhu Guishen were alive, could he really resist contacting his parents and child even once?’

It seemed all the more necessary to pay a visit to Zhu Guishen’s parents.

Aside from that, Ding Candong offered no other valuable clues.

The case had been handed over to the sub-bureau; to him, it was just another routine report that he never followed up on.

After taking their leave, Shen Xin and Ding Yuwei immediately drove to Zhu Guishen’s home.

It was in Hutang Town, Northeast of Dingshan.

It was an old, two-story house. By the time they arrived, it was already past five in the afternoon.

The timing was perfect. Zhu Guishen’s son was eleven now, a fifth-grader, and should be home from school.

They found Zhu Guishen’s house using the address number.

But the door was shut tight.

Shen Xin knocked, but there was no answer.

Instead, a voice called out from the side, asking who they were.

He turned to see a tall boy in a school uniform with an armband on his shoulder.

’A single bar,’ Shen Xin noted. ’A squad leader, no less.’

"Young man, are you Zhu Yuchen?" Shen Xin asked.

He was tall for his age, with a large frame, a round face, and a big nose—he looked a lot like Zhu Guishen.

The boy started, asking in surprise, "How do you know my name?"

’So it is him.’

Shen Xin took out his police ID. "We’re police officers. Young man, are your guardians home?"

Zhu Yuchen eyed Shen Xin and Ding Yuwei strangely and said his grandparents were out working in the fields and would be back soon.

Seeing that the boy had no intention of opening the door and letting them in, Shen Xin decided to just question him outside.

This was a good chance to ask if he had ever seen Zhu Guishen anyway.

’If Zhu Guishen was just pulling an insurance scam, he would have surely been tempted to see his son.’

"Young man, we’re here to investigate your father’s case. I’d like to ask you—"

But before Shen Xin could finish his question, Zhu Yuchen’s expression suddenly twisted.

He roared in anger, "What’s there to ask? My mom killed my dad! If you’re really the police, why haven’t you arrested her? She’s an evil woman!"

Shen Xin and Ding Yuwei were stunned, not expecting such a vehement reaction from the boy.

And why would he say his father had been killed by his mother?