Animal Detective

Teddy gently nuzzled Shen Xin.

Shen Xin saw a series of images.

There were images of Teddy soaring freely through the sea of clouds at The Peak of Mount Tai, and also the simple, everyday moments they had spent together after following Shen Xin to Nanjiang.

These were memories that belonged to Teddy and Shen Xin.

It couldn’t exactly be described as sweet and intimate; Shen Xin himself was just too busy with too many things to do.

But seeing these memories and recalling all the little moments from the past, Shen Xin realized that they had unknowingly created so many memories together.

Sighing softly, Shen Xin stroked Teddy’s head and looked toward Chen Wanbin. "Professor Chen, what do we do about this?"

Chen Wanbin also let out a long sigh and once again asked the million-dollar question, "Why is it so uniquely fond of you, of all people?"

They say this Hunting Falcon’s intelligence is decent, and it’s a practitioner of monogamy in the animal kingdom, so it’s quite loyal.

But it’s cross-species!

Its eyesight is so good, how could it not tell that Shen Xin isn’t one of its own kind?

He couldn’t figure it out. Chen Wanbin really couldn’t figure it out.

"Forget it." Chen Wanbin waved his hand dismissively. In a situation like this, where they couldn’t even shoo it away, what was the point of releasing it? "Shen Xin, you might as well just keep it. We’ll make a special exception. Just take good care of it."

It had latched onto Shen Xin and refused to leave, and they couldn’t just lock it up in a zoo.

So what could they do? They could only let Shen Xin raise it.

As for whether it was compliant with regulations, they could only make a special exception.

Fortunately, while this Hunting Falcon is a Class I protected animal, there are quite a few of them in the country—several thousand—so an occasional exception wouldn’t have a major impact.

But after saying that, Chen Wanbin quickly backpedaled, adding, "Of course, I mean you should keep it for now, not forever."

"You can keep it until April or May of next year. That’s the Hunting Falcon’s breeding season. We’ll arrange another release then and find it a mate."

In Chen Wanbin’s mind, Teddy probably still saw Shen Xin as its partner.

Releasing it now would be a bit like breaking up a happy couple.

It would be better to wait until next year’s breeding season, when its reproductive instincts would take over, and then try releasing it.

Shen Xin nodded.

Shen Xin was naturally touched that Teddy couldn’t bear to part with him and didn’t want to leave.

But deep down, Shen Xin knew that the best choice for Teddy was still to be returned to the wild.

’It can live for ten-odd years. What a waste if it never gets to experience a full bird’s life.’

After a bit more small talk and another round of thanks, Shen Xin prepared to leave.

He had another mission on this trip to the grasslands: capturing Ravens.

Although it was called capturing, it couldn’t be as crude and simple as what poachers do. They had to use gentle methods to ensure the Ravens’ safety.

So Chen Wanbin and his team had provided a great deal of help.

Chen Wanbin waved his hand, saying it was nothing, and just reminded Shen Xin to take good care of Teddy.

Shen Xin then turned to thank Duan Zijie.

This trip to the grasslands had taken him to many places, with the final stop being the Xingle Alliance.

And Duan Zijie, the captain of the criminal investigation division from the local banner, had personally brought his men along to accompany Shen Xin everywhere.

It had been like this at the previous stops as well; wherever he went, the local police department would inevitably assign people to accompany him.

It made him feel rather... important.

Shen Xin had asked and was told it was an arrangement from the provincial department.

Duan Zijie smiled and asked if Shen Xin still wanted to go to Huergan.

Shen Xin said, "Of course I have to go."

How could he come all the way to the grasslands and not visit Lakshen and Tianxiong?

After a trip to the Huergan Border Police Station and an overnight stay, Shen Xin set off on his return journey early the next morning.

After returning to Nanjiang, Shen Xin focused all his energy on training the police dogs and police birds.

Time flew by, and soon it was early November.

November 7th.

On this day, Shen Xin woke up bright and early.

"Yuwei, where’s my shoe polish?" Shen Xin searched all over the shoe cabinet.

Ding Yuwei poked her head out of the bathroom, her mouth full of foam, and mumbled its location.

By the time she came out after washing up, Shen Xin was already meticulously polishing his leather shoes.

Seeing how focused Shen Xin was, Ding Yuwei said with amusement, "Alright, they’re shiny enough. Any more polishing and you’ll rub the leather off."

With that, she called Shen Xin over for breakfast.

Shen Xin didn’t move. He huffed a breath onto the shoe’s surface and gave it another vigorous brushing with the shoe brush. "This is different. Such an important occasion, with such a high-ranking leader. The details matter."

Ding Yuwei silently rolled her eyes. Nibbling on a steamed bun, she teased, "Honestly, I’m curious if you’ll be this serious when we get married."

Under Zeng Wenxi’s fierce pressure to get married, the two of them had discussed it and come up with a preliminary plan.

They would hold an engagement ceremony at the end of this year, depending on the situation.

Just to make it official.

Then, they would look for a time to get married, again depending on the situation.

In other words, Zeng Wenxi would have to wait a while longer before she could be upgraded to a grandmother.

This was also the idea Shen Xin and Ding Yuwei had agreed on: while they were both still young, they should focus on building their careers first.

They figured they’d get married and have kids when they were approaching thirty.

Shen Xin picked up a shoe, admiring the gleam of light reflecting off its surface, and said, "What are you talking about? That’s a completely different thing. Don’t worry, when we get married, I’ll put my heart and soul into preparing, and I’ll give you the most perfect wedding."

Ding Yuwei just smiled and urged Shen Xin to eat.

Shen Xin quickly finished his meal and began to change.

Although he had later been transferred from the sub-bureau to the municipal bureau and had a desk job, his work was still primarily operational.

So he didn’t actually have that many days to wear his dress uniform.

A crisp autumn/spring dress uniform.

Ding Yuwei was in the same attire. She stepped forward to personally adjust Shen Xin’s tie, then took a step back and applauded obligingly. "Handsome."

Shen Xin looked at himself in the mirror, the corners of his mouth turning up uncontrollably. He waved his hand and said, "Stay low-key, stay low-key."

Ding Yuwei was secretly amused. She picked up the medals from the nearby table and asked, "Are you sure you don’t want to wear these?"

One third-class merit medal and two second-class merit medals.

Normally, one could wear medals when attending important events, as a display of honor.

Shen Xin pursed his lips, then shook his head. "Nah. I have a demonstration segment later and will have to change anyway. Besides, it’s a bit too flashy. Low-key, it’s better to be low-key."

’I’ve been in the spotlight too much lately.’

’Besides, leaders probably prefer people who are down-to-earth, low-key, and willing to work hard.’

"Put them away safely," Shen Xin added.

Ding Yuwei nodded, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Shen Xin picked up his police cap, put it on, and gave a sharp salute to the mirror.

The posture was a little lacking.

SNAP. He brought his feet together, straightened his body, and saluted again.

’That feels a bit more like it.’

"Celestial Skill, am I handsome or what?" Shen Xin turned his head to ask Celestial Skill, who was lying nearby.

Celestial Skill barked once.

[The most handsome]

"Sergeant?" Shen Xin then looked at Sergeant, who was curled up in Celestial Skill’s embrace for warmth.

Sergeant yawned, not even bothering to give him a proper look.

Ding Yuwei finished packing up and called for Shen Xin to get going. "Let’s hurry. Any later and we’ll hit traffic."

Realization dawned on Shen Xin, and he hurried out.

He let Ding Yuwei drive. After getting in the car, Shen Xin seized the time to take out his cheat sheet and review the speech he had to give later.

He was the main star today. He had to give a report and present the situation; making a mistake was not an option.

While waiting at a red light, Ding Yuwei said, "Shen Xin, you’re not getting nervous, are you?"

Shen Xin thought for a moment and said, "Actually, I am a little. After all, such a high-ranking leader came all the way to Nanjiang and specifically asked to see me. It feels like a dream."

Logically speaking, Shen Xin had met his fair share of leaders.

Even provincial department heads.

But the leader coming this time was another level higher.

The Fifth Bureau of the Ministry, also known as the Criminal Investigation Bureau.

Its director, who was also an Assistant Minister, a Level 1 Police Commissioner, Xu Jinguang.

One could say that was the highest position a criminal police officer could ever reach, a position Shen Xin wouldn’t even dare to dream of.

This time, he had personally rushed to Nanjiang to attend the acceptance ceremony for the first batch of police dogs and police birds.

To be sure, the Fifth Bureau was responsible for planning and guiding police dog work nationwide.

But for a major director like him to come in person, he was really giving them a lot of face.

Or rather, he placed great importance on this project to double the number of drug-sniffing dogs.

So no amount of importance was too much.

At this thought, Shen Xin began to mentally run through the entire acceptance ceremony procedure again.

They had already rehearsed the day before yesterday, but he was afraid there was some detail he hadn’t considered thoroughly, which might cause a last-minute problem.

A little after eight, the two of them arrived at the police dog base.

At the intersection where the road turned right and went up the mountain, traffic police colleagues were already on duty, directing traffic.

When they reached the entrance, they saw Li Jiahui and others sweeping up.

Tang Changhong was on-site, directing them to ensure there were no unsanitary blind spots.

Seeing Shen Xin arrive, Li Jiahui started to complain that they had been running around for a whole week because of his "big show."

"Thank you for your hard work. I’ll treat you all to a meal later," Shen Xin said, too busy to say more as he hurried inside the base to prepare.

For the first batch of police dogs, Shen Xin had selected 612 dogs from various places.

He had managed to capture 200 Ravens.

In the end, after a process of selection and elimination, the first batch consisted of 441 police dogs that met the standard.

There was no standard for the Ravens, so Shen Xin created his own: they had to be capable of the most basic verbal communication—that is, able to say "yes" and "no," understand right from wrong, and follow basic commands.

And they had to be able to pass various tracking and searching training exercises.

Of the 200 Ravens, 161 ultimately qualified.

The ratio wasn’t low, which was also a testament to Shen Xin’s extraordinary talent.

Just as he finished inspecting the kennels and aviaries, Deputy Chief Xu Xinyao of the municipal bureau arrived. He was there to both check on the final preparations and get ready to welcome the leadership.

Xu Jinguang wasn’t the only leader coming.

He was representing the ministry.

And the recipients of this first delivery included three provinces and two municipalities.

First was Ningjiang.

Being a Nanjiang project, it was only natural to prioritize Ningjiang.

Then there was Pingzhou to the south and Anzhou to the west.

In addition to the two directly-administered municipalities, Songpu and Anjing.

It was equivalent to five provinces.

Each province would receive 50 drug-sniffing dogs, a number sufficient to double the quantity of drug dogs in an entire province.

Then, among the three provinces and two municipalities, there were a total of 72 municipal-level units, and each city would receive a pair of police birds.

A total of 144 Ravens.

These were the numbers for the first delivery, which was why all three provinces and two municipalities had sent representatives.

Besides, they also had to accompany Xu Jinguang.

So it was no exaggeration that traffic police colleagues were standing guard outside; a lot of leaders were really coming this time.

"Shen Xin, it’s all on you now. Don’t drop the ball." Seeing that it was almost time, Xu Xinyao led Shen Xin to the base entrance to greet them, unable to resist adding another reminder.

After all, they were coming for Shen Xin.

It would have been better if he hadn’t said anything. The moment he did, Shen Xin really did start to feel nervous.

But there was no more time to think. They were here.