Animal Detective

Zeng Wenxi stayed behind to take care of Shen Xin and Ding Yuwei.

She had stepped out earlier when Zhang Hancheng started discussing the case.

When she noticed Qian Zidan running to the nurses’ station to borrow a whiteboard, she pushed the door open and came back in, asking what was going on.

Shen Xin told her to go take a walk for a bit.

Qian Zidan returned.

What he said startled everyone.

Even now, Shen Xin couldn’t quite follow Qian Zidan’s train of thought or grasp what he was trying to say.

Qian Zidan shoved the whiteboard into Zhao Tianxing’s hands for him to hold, then said, "From your perspective, the Li Siyu case is already solved. The killer is Wang Liang, and the motive and sequence of events are all perfectly clear."

"But putting Li Siyu aside and looking at this from our National Security perspective, I believe the situation might look something like this."

"Zhang Zhanhui is a network administrator at a secure facility. He has the means to steal confidential data, which put him on a certain spy’s radar."

"Let’s call him ’H’ for now."

He wrote a single letter on the board to serve as a codename.

’Why not X or M? Why insist on H? Does it stand for something?’ Shen Xin found it odd.

Qian Zidan continued, "H approached Zhang Zhanhui to turn him. It’s not certain whether he was successful, but I believe that as of the time of the incident, he hadn’t been."

"Zhang Zhanhui was accidentally dragged into the Li Siyu case, and because of his own dark impulses, he couldn’t extricate himself."

"For the spy trying to turn him, this was an unexpected development. So, what would H do?"

He tapped the whiteboard, his gaze sweeping over the others as he posed the question.

Shen Xin was slowly starting to follow his logic. A thought struck him, and he said, "Section Chief Qian, are you suggesting that for H, this was not just an unexpected development, but also an opportunity?"

’Qian Zidan himself said he believed H hadn’t successfully turned him before the incident.’

’So what’s the easiest way to successfully turn someone?’

’When you have leverage over them, of course.’

’And what Zhang Zhanhui did was the perfect leverage.’

Qian Zidan nodded eagerly. "Exactly. So H sent Mao Ruiqiang to clean up Zhang Zhanhui’s mess."

He’d always felt that Mao Ruiqiang was just a Little Kalami, and that there had to be someone behind him.

Zhang Hancheng understood now, too. He asked Qian Zidan to get to the point.

Qian Zidan said, "Don’t be so impatient, Senior. Let’s walk through this slowly."

He wrote the number 1 on the whiteboard and said, "Let’s assume I’m H. I get a distress call from Zhang Zhanhui."

"I immediately recognize this as a golden opportunity to get my hooks into him, so I decide at once to help him cover up his crime."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

If this H really existed, that’s exactly what he would have done.

"So what would he do?" Qian Zidan asked and answered his own question. "Zhang Zhanhui was at the scene. He’s caught with his pants down, in a position he can’t explain his way out of."

"The only option is to have Zhang Zhanhui clean up the scene, but he isn’t a professional. H can’t go to the scene himself, so he has to arrange for someone else to go."

Shen Xin nodded.

’He must be talking about Mao Ruiqiang.’

’The only thing is,’ Shen Xin thought, ’Qian Zidan seems utterly convinced that someone is behind Mao Ruiqiang—this H character.’

Qian Zidan continued, "To erase all traces of Zhang Zhanhui from this murder case, there are several key points to consider."

"The body can be dealt with, either by cleaning with bleach or by setting a fire."

"Then there’s the surveillance footage. That’s also easy to handle. He can have Mao Ruiqiang steal the recorder."

"The only problem is the car. Zhang Zhanhui drove his 260 there, and it left a record in the parking garage and surrounding areas."

"Leaving without a trace would be difficult. I can think of a few ways to do it."

"For example, leave the car there and have Mao Ruiqiang pick him up."

"Or they could swap cars. Mao Ruiqiang drives there, has Zhang Zhanhui leave in his car, and then Mao Ruiqiang drives the 260 away."

"That car belongs to his mistress anyway. Even if we traced it, he could come up with a plausible explanation."

Shen Xin nodded repeatedly, unable to resist stealing a few more glances at the unassuming Qian Zidan.

’Such clear logic... and his analytical skills are incredible.’

Qian Zidan turned and wrote a time on the board. "I’ll assume, for now, that this all happened around 11:30, in the period between receiving Zhang Zhanhui’s call and contacting Mao Ruiqiang."

"During this phase, H’s mindset would be to protect Zhang Zhanhui and ensure Mao Ruiqiang’s safe withdrawal."

"But then, H started thinking things through more carefully and realized some problems."

"Because this was an unexpected event, there were many factors beyond his control."

"For example, the relationship between Zhang Zhanhui and Li Siyu. There are records of his donations to her. H wouldn’t know how far things had actually progressed between them."

"This is a murder case. The police would be sure to investigate it with everything they have."

Murders must be solved.

"Zhang Zhanhui spent so much money on Li Siyu, so H would have to assume that sooner or later, we’d notice him."

"And once we discovered a problem with Zhang Zhanhui’s income—a man working in a secure facility—he would be considered exposed."

"To H, the man would already be a lost asset. His only remaining value would be to help steal the confidential data before he gets caught."

"I believe at this point, H’s mindset shifted. This brings us to phase two."

He turned and wrote the number 2 on the whiteboard.

"In this phase, his plan would be to protect Zhang Zhanhui temporarily, but he’d already be treating him as a disposable pawn. At the same time, he still needs Mao Ruiqiang to withdraw safely."

"The reason I make this judgment is because Zhang Zhanhui drove off in the 260 himself."

"Once we tracked that 260 and checked its past movements, we’d definitely discover that Zhang Zhanhui was the one driving it."

"So that action was tantamount to selling Zhang Zhanhui out, leaving a clue that proves he was at the crime scene."

When he finished, he asked the others for their thoughts.

Shen Xin folded his arms, lost in thought. ’Logically, it all checks out,’ he mused.

’Just like Section Chief Qian said, this was an unexpected incident. Some problems are simply unavoidable.’

Zhang Hancheng said, "Old Qian, that sounds a bit too much like speculation."

"One minute he wants to protect Zhang Zhanhui, the next he’s treating him as disposable."

And what about Mao Ruiqiang.

A moment ago, you said Qian Zidan called him a disposable pawn, too.

Qian Zidan smiled. "Senior, I already told you, it’s just a theory. Purely a theory."

"So let’s continue. By this point, Mao Ruiqiang should have already been on his way."

"During that time, H realizes that Zhang Zhanhui is a lost cause and prepares to abandon him. But at the same time, he starts thinking about his own safety."

"Once Zhang Zhanhui is caught, his own frequent contact with him, his attempts to turn him..."

"If no one’s looking, that’s one thing. But if they start digging, the trail of clues will inevitably lead back to H himself."

"So at this point, I believe H had a new idea: not only must he abandon Zhang Zhanhui, he must also cut all ties."

"For him, the best solution is to find a scapegoat. And that scapegoat is Mao Ruiqiang."

"So his plan entered a third phase, where both of them become disposable pawns."

Having dealt with spies for so many years, Qian Zidan knew them well.

When things went south, it was standard operating procedure for these spies to cut their underlings loose and betray them to save their own skin.

Zhao Tianxing raised his hand. "Why?"

’I wanted to ask the same thing,’ Shen Xin thought. ’What piece of evidence makes you think H had that idea?’

’The previous point about Zhang Zhanhui leaving in the 260 seemed reasonable enough on the surface.’

Qian Zidan said, "It’s simple. Wang Liang!"

"Mao Ruiqiang is a spy who does the dirty work. After a job like this, he should have laid low for a while."

"But he didn’t. Instead, he showed up near Wang Liang, tailing him. That’s highly unusual behavior."

"Wang Liang was a prime suspect. He was interrogated for two days and then released. I refuse to believe H didn’t guess you released him intentionally."

"Yet he still had Mao Ruiqiang tail Wang Liang. Something’s not right about that."

"I believe he wanted to throw Mao Ruiqiang to the wolves, to have him take the fall."

"Think about it. In hindsight, Wang Liang chose to fake a robbery scene. This gave H an idea. He rolled with it and doctored the scene even further."

"He even used her phone to text Wang Liang, making him believe Li Siyu wasn’t dead. That way, Wang Liang would be convinced he wasn’t a murderer and could hold up under our interrogation."

"He took Wang Liang’s psychology into account. Because Wang Liang had choked her and stolen from her, he knew that even if Wang Liang believed Li Siyu was alive, he wouldn’t confess those acts to us."

"This way, he could conceal Zhang Zhanhui’s presence and, at the same time, help obscure Wang Liang’s involvement."

"I believe this was his first layer of insurance. As long as we couldn’t pin it on Wang Liang, we’d never get to Zhang Zhanhui."

"But he had to consider the possibility that Wang Liang might break. In that case, Zhang Zhanhui would be exposed."

"It’s a chain reaction. If Zhang Zhanhui is exposed, someone has to take the fall for recruiting him and cleaning up the crime scene."

"And the perfect candidate for that is Mao Ruiqiang."

"Mao Ruiqiang’s family is abroad. He has every reason to take the fall for everything."

"Of course, H would never explain it to Mao Ruiqiang that directly. He’s a sly old fox, playing it by ear while having already planned out all his contingencies."

"So look at the result: Zhang Zhanhui is adamant that Mao Ruiqiang was the one who recruited him, while Mao Ruiqiang refuses to say a single word."

"H is completely in the clear."

This was also a key piece of evidence supporting Qian Zidan’s judgment.

Working backward from the outcome, he deduced that Mao Ruiqiang had been set up to take the fall.

With his family abroad and in H’s clutches, even if Mao Ruiqiang figured it all out, he’d have no choice but to take the blame.

Qian Zidan finished his explanation and looked at the others with a broad smile.

Shen Xin folded his arms, his brow furrowed in silent contemplation.

Zhang Hancheng and Yang Zeran reacted the same way.

Only Zhao Tianxing couldn’t help but raise his hand. "Section Chief Qian, are the spies you guys usually deal with always this smart?"

According to Qian Zidan’s theory, H had considered multiple possibilities and his mindset had shifted three times, all within a very short period.

Qian Zidan chuckled. "What do you think? Not one of the spies who manages to stay hidden is a simpleton."

With that, he turned back to Shen Xin. "Shen Xin, treat this as a test. Think about it. See if my analysis makes sense, and then tell me what we should do next."

A test?

At his side, Zhang Hancheng flinched and snapped back to reality.

’Who does he think he’s testing?’

With that thought, Zhang Hancheng immediately shot to his feet.

"Shen Xin, don’t overthink it. Just get some rest. We’ll handle the case."

With that word of advice, Zhang Hancheng began dragging Qian Zidan out of the room without another word.

Qian Zidan clung to the doorframe, just managing to wave goodbye to Shen Xin as he was pulled away.

The four people left in the room looked at each other, nonplussed.

Yang Zeran asked, "Shen Xin, what are your thoughts?"

With the others gone, Shen Xin slowly lay back down, resting his head on his arms. "I don’t have any thoughts right now. But one thing’s for sure... if Section Chief Qian’s theory is right, doesn’t that mean H is untouchable?"

He executed a perfect cut-off.

Zhang Zhanhui isn’t saying a word about H, pinning all his illegal income on Mao Ruiqiang.

And because his family is overseas, Mao Ruiqiang is stonewalling, refusing to say anything.

Under these circumstances, there are no leads pointing to H.

Then, another thought occurred to Shen Xin.

H’s target was the confidential data from Institute 57. Six days have passed since the incident.

That means Zhang Zhanhui has been under the radar for six days.

H has leverage over him. In those six days, could he have already managed to steal the confidential data?

If they couldn’t lock down and catch H soon, wouldn’t that mean the secrets would be leaked?

Everything else was secondary. This was what mattered most.

Institute 57... a critical, national-level research facility.

The problem was, they had no leads.

Not unless they resorted to extreme measures to pry open Zhang Zhanhui’s mouth.

’No, that’s not right!’

Shen Xin shot upright.

He sat up too fast, and the world spun around him. With a GAG, he turned his head and retched.

He hadn’t eaten much, so it was just dry heaves.

𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

After a couple of heaves, Shen Xin quickly waved a hand to show he was all right.

Then, a thought suddenly struck Shen Xin.

’Zhang Hancheng thinks like a cop, investigating the case from a police perspective.’

’Qian Zidan, clearly, is looking at the whole case from the perspective of National Security.’

’And what about me?’

’I have my own unique angle, too.’

’Animals!’

Shen Xin suddenly remembered something.

What about the golden retriever?

The golden retriever Mao Ruiqiang was walking when he tailed Wang Liang... where did it come from? He couldn’t have just picked it up off the street. It had to have come from somewhere.

Could that dog lead them to a new clue?