Animal Detective

The next day at work, Shen Xin followed his usual routine of first feeding Tian Kui, then taking him for a stroll nearby.

And Teddy, too.

Now that it was light out, the ferret was already restless, eager to go out and hunt for Shen Xin.

Looking after him was even more trouble than dealing with Tian Kui.

Chen Wanbin created a separate work group chat, adding Tang Tongxue and Shen Xin to it.

Now, he had to take pictures every day and fill out a daily monitoring report.

For example, how much it ate, how many times it defecated, and what the droppings looked like—all of this had to be photographed for the record.

He also had to take its temperature—rectally.

Occasionally, Chen Wanbin would also send some materials for him to study in his free time, to improve his animal care abilities.

It was a bit of a hassle, but manageable.

Since he’d brought Teddy back, he was committed to taking good care of him.

Besides, knowing a top expert in the field of animal research like Chen Wanbin had its benefits.

If he had any questions about animals, he could ask Chen Wanbin right away.

For example, take the crows confiscated yesterday. Chen Wanbin could find information and talk at length about their habits, how to care for them, and even the science behind how they learn to mimic human speech.

It was like having a personal animal encyclopedia, and the most authoritative kind at that—far more reliable than information found online.

Chen Wanbin had come up with a way to satisfy Teddy’s hunting instincts.

He suggested referencing the method the two poachers had used to trap Teddy: tie a piece of prey with fishing line, anchor the other end to the ground, and let Teddy hunt it.

Just as he was getting busy, Ding Yuwei arrived and came over to help him set it up.

She wasn’t afraid of mice, as it turned out. Once they were done, she stood back a bit, watching the little white mouse scurry around in a panic. A fishing line was tied to its leg, preventing it from escaping.

One of the cleverer mice caught on and turned to gnaw at the fishing line on its leg.

Its will to live was strong.

Their teeth were sharp; it severed the line in just a few bites.

Shen Xin scrambled to grab it.

But he was nowhere near as nimble as a mouse. With a WHOOSH, the little white mouse was gone.

Ding Yuwei said with a laugh, "Looks like your method isn’t working."

Shen Xin slapped his forehead. He realized that Dawag and the others had applied an anesthetic to the mouse.

’The anesthetic must have seeped through its skin. That’s why the mouse was too disoriented to run around or chew through the line.’

After explaining the reason, Shen Xin simply handed the white mouse directly to Teddy.

’Looks like it’s back to being spoon-fed for you.’

Hearing about the poachers smearing anesthetic on the mice, Ding Yuwei pondered for a moment. "Shen Xin," she said, "do you think it could’ve been a similar situation with Guo Jinhua and his wife?"

"Like, take the mouse, for example. What if it had already ingested a large amount of rat poison somewhere else and was in a toxic state."

"Second-generation rodenticides don’t kill instantly. Then, the rat went to Guo Jinhua’s noodle shop."

"Say it then ate some of the food in the shop, contaminating it with the poison. The couple, completely unaware, then ate the toxic food, and that’s how they were poisoned."

"I remember it was recorded in the neighbor interview notes that the couple was usually quite frugal. Maybe after the food was contaminated, they couldn’t bear to throw it out and ate it."

"Or perhaps..."

Ding Yuwei furrowed her brow, speculating on other possibilities.

Shen Xin gave her a gentle tug, leading her toward the annex building. "How is that possible?" he said as they walked. "The dosage would be all wrong."

"Leaving aside whether a poisoned rat can even contaminate other food, look at the difference in body mass. What’s a rat’s size compared to a human’s? How massive would the dose have to be to poison a person?"

"Besides, Guo Jinhua and his wife were poisoned on three separate occasions over four months. In all that time, are you telling me they happened to eat rat-contaminated food every single time?"

"It can’t be that coincidental."

Ding Yuwei sighed softly, falling silent in contemplation.

Shen Xin was now in charge of an office with three people.

As a team, they needed to be molded together, to apply their strength as one.

Therefore, motivation and morale were also very important.

Shen Xin said, "Don’t overthink it. If you have to think, think about the positives."

"This case was shelved for nearly three years. Now we’re reopening the investigation. Isn’t that a good thing?"

"Plus, times have changed. We might have new ideas about things that were overlooked back then."

"So don’t rush. Let’s take it slow. There’s hope."

Ding Yuwei grunted in acknowledgment, then glanced at Shen Xin. "I’ve noticed you’re starting to sound more and more like a leader," she said. "You’ve got all the right lines."

"Oh, really?"

Shen Xin’s eyes lit up. He said with a smile, "I’m going to take that as a compliment."

Ding Yuwei rolled her eyes so fast it was almost a blur.

Arriving at the annex, where the bureau’s property management office was, they ran into a facilities supervisor who started complaining to Shen Xin.

He said that when he left work yesterday, he’d forgotten to tell the night shift that Shen Xin had brought in a flock of birds.

As a result, when the security guard was on patrol that night, he heard someone talking in the corridor.

But the annex was supposed to be empty by then.

The voice was high-pitched and reedy, and it kept repeating, "Let me out."

It scared the daylights out of the guard. He searched everywhere but couldn’t find anyone and thought he’d run into a ghost.

He didn’t find out until later that it was a parrot.

"That would be pretty scary," Shen Xin said, embarrassed.

When they reached the room where the birds were being kept, they must have heard the commotion at the door, because a parrot’s voice immediately squawked from inside.

"Who’s back."

It was Plane talking.

He opened the door to a roomful of chirping and squawking.

Plane was shut in a cage. The moment it saw Shen Xin, it shouted, "Idiot, what took you so long?"

"Let me out."

"Hungry."

It was incredibly mouthy.

Ding Yuwei knew Shen Xin had confiscated a flock of birds yesterday, but she didn’t realize this parrot’s speaking ability was so advanced. She said in surprise, "This one’s just like Broo. It even knows how to curse at people."

Shen Xin nodded and shouted "Dumbass!" at it.