Animal Detective

Deng Meixing beckoned to Ah Bao.

Ah Bao glanced back at Shen Xin, broke free, and ran over, wagging his tail enthusiastically.

Deng Meixing smiled as she stroked him. "When I was little, my dad favored boys over girls. My mom’s body was damaged when she gave birth to me, so she couldn’t have any more children."

"So my dad often beat my mom. Eventually, she couldn’t take it anymore. In a moment of desperation, she drank pesticide."

"My dad found fault with everything I did anyway. Sometimes, I really felt I was less important to him than the dog he kept."

"I was completely disillusioned with him, with this land. I wanted to leave him, to get far, far away. So I did everything I could to go abroad, to a place of equality and freedom."

Hearing this, Shen Xin frowned.

’Equality and freedom? Yeah, right. You’ve been reading too much Yi Lin, haven’t you?’

Deng Meixing continued, "Of course, thinking about it now, I was so naive back then. Equality and freedom my ass. During my time abroad, I lived a life worse than a dog’s."

"Later, they recruited me, trained me to be an obedient dog, and sent me back."

"All these years, I’ve been like a lapdog. I do whatever they tell me to do."

"Section Chief Qian, you should know. For people like me, my only value is sleeping with people."

"Over the years, I’ve slept with all sorts of men, putting on a fake front to satisfy their bizarre fetishes."

"Many times, they’d put me on a dog leash and walk me around. Only then did I realize that I’m still a fucking dog."

"You know, if I were a real dog—eating, sleeping, playing when I wake up, completely oblivious—that would be one thing."

"But the problem is, I know everything. And yet, I can’t do anything about it. I have to be this dog. Isn’t that tragic?"

After she finished, she waved at Qian Zidan and asked for another cigarette.

She lit it and took a long, lonely drag, letting the smoke envelop her.

Ah Bao backed away in distaste.

Seeing Qian Zidan remained unmoved, Deng Meixing said, "Section Chief Qian, I’ve poured my heart out to you. Give me some kind of reaction. How about trying to persuade me to defect?"

A flicker of light crossed Qian Zidan’s eyes.

Spies were different from ordinary criminals.

First, a spy’s career is over once they’re exposed. It’s tantamount to unemployment; they can never be sent out to infiltrate again.

For the side that catches the spy, neither throwing them in prison nor executing them was the best option.

Locking them up is a waste of food, isn’t it?

Therefore, when it came to dealing with spies, every country’s approach was more or less the same.

The first step was usually to extract every secret they had, then try to turn them into a double agent.

The high-value target is just sitting there.

If you catch one spy, the other side will just send another to continue the infiltration.

Getting caught means the spy was either unlucky or stupid enough.

So it’s better to keep them, develop them into a double agent. Not only can you protect the high-value target to some extent, but you can also infiltrate the enemy and obtain their secrets.

Even if the conditions weren’t right to turn them, the cost-benefit of imprisonment was still low.

It was better to hold onto them; you might be able to use them for an exchange later on.

Failing that, publicizing the spy’s identity could serve as a warning, expose the other side’s crimes, and achieve certain political objectives.

In short, sentencing them to prison, let alone executing them, was always the last resort.

After a moment of thought, Qian Zidan turned to Zhang Hancheng. "Senior, it’s almost noon. Why don’t you guys go find a place to eat? Get something good, my treat."

He was trying to get them to leave.

Zhang Hancheng snorted. It’s not like he was dying to know about State Security’s little secrets.

"Let’s go."

Zhang Hancheng called out and led the way out.

Although Shen Xin was very interested in what was going on behind the scenes, sometimes, it was better not to know too much.

Just like with the Songpu case, Shen Xin had no idea what happened from start to finish.

In any case, the person was found and the case was solved. That was enough.

Shen Xin walked slowly out the door.

Unexpectedly, Ah Bao followed him for a few steps, reluctant to see him go.

And his owner was standing right there.

Deng Meixing shook her head slightly, completely resigned.

Downstairs, there weren’t many onlookers.

It was State Security, after all. They didn’t make a huge commotion.

Shen Xin found a planter and sat down on his own accord.

Yang Zeran came over and asked, "Shen Xin, who do you think that ’H’ is?"

He didn’t think it was Deng Meixing.

"Think about it. If it were Deng Meixing and she wanted to turn Zhang Zhanhui, she could have just done it herself. Would she really have let Zhang Zhanhui get that desperate?"

Zhao Tianxing strongly agreed with Yang Zeran’s assessment. He nodded repeatedly and added, "Speaking of which, that woman’s life is pretty tragic."

Living like a dog.

Shen Xin countered, "Brother Xing, you can’t lose your principles just because she’s pretty."

"She’s a spy who stole our country’s classified information. Besides, you believe all that stuff she said? She’s a professional actor; there might not be a single true word coming out of her mouth."

Zhao Tianxing mulled it over and nodded. "True. It was probably all an act."

As for who H was...

Shen Xin crossed his arms and thought for a moment. "I actually have a suspect in mind."

A few steps away, Zhang Hancheng, who was talking to Liu Baoqing, overheard and came over to ask who Shen Xin was guessing.

Shen Xin looked up at everyone, then said, "This is just a guess, but I think it’s Hu Bin."

At the mention of this name, both Zhang Hancheng and Liu Baoqing were stunned.

Yang Zeran frowned in thought.

Zhao Tianxing exclaimed, "Her top supporter?"

Beside them, Ding Yuwei said, "Shen Xin, why would you think it’s him? We already ruled him out."

Shen Xin said, "We only ruled him out for the murder of Li Siyu."

We confirmed it with Celestial Skill and also established his alibi through the security footage from his residential complex.

"One reason is that his surname is Hu, which starts with an H."

Shen Xin felt that Qian Zidan’s choice to use ’H’ to refer to this spy was a deliberate hint.

And among all the people related to the case, only Hu Bin’s surname initial was H.

"Second, if I remember correctly, this Hu Bin has a background of studying abroad."

According to the information they’d gathered earlier, Hu Bin was from Songpu, had studied abroad, and attended a diploma mill.

That was enough.

Shen Xin had discovered that Mao Ruiqiang and Deng Meixing both had overseas experience.

This didn’t mean everyone with overseas experience was a spy. Rather, it meant that a spy was highly likely to have overseas experience.

Liu Baoqing said, "Shen Xin, isn’t that a bit of a stretch?"

Shen Xin subconsciously shrugged, then quickly held his head. "It’s just a guess. No guarantees it’s true."

Everyone nodded. Right, it was just a guess.

Liu Baoqing said, "If it really is him, then we can’t let him off easy."

He gritted his teeth.

It had started as a simple case: a crime of passion arising from a relationship dispute.

If H was Hu Bin, his intervention, misdirection, and concealment had managed to make the case so complicated.

Zhang Hancheng nodded in deep agreement.

A case that could have been solved in a day.

And now? They’d set up a special task force, and the promise to solve it in three days hadn’t been met.

Shen Xin and the other three were injured, and he himself had taken a lot of flak.

All because of this ’H’.

After waiting a while longer, there was still no sign of anyone coming down.

Zhang Hancheng glanced at the time and decided to just take everyone to eat.

They would have a big meal, and they would make Qian Zidan pay for it.

Putting everything else aside, if Shen Xin hadn’t noticed the Golden Retriever, Qian Zidan and his team would still be having a major headache.

The large group trooped over to a nearby restaurant.

Shen Xin had no appetite and would likely throw up if he ate, so he just drank water.

Seeing this, Zhang Hancheng grew even more furious.

They were almost finished eating when Qian Zidan finally rushed over.

He immediately insisted on paying the bill.

"No one’s fighting you for it," Zhang Hancheng huffed, then asked about the situation back there.

Qian Zidan said, "Making an arrest, of course."

Seeing the unconcealable joy on his face, it seemed there was a result. Liu Baoqing seized the opportunity to ask who they were arresting.

Qian Zidan’s gaze hardened, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes. "Hu Bin."

Yesterday, while arresting Zhang Zhanhui, Qian Zidan had already begun to suspect Hu Bin.

He made this judgment based on two things. First, his years of work experience and intuition.

Second, he had always believed spies were like rats; when they appeared, there was bound to be a target nearby.

And once a target was identified, their shadows were sure to be lurking nearby as well.

Hu Bin had appeared in this very case.

And he had a background abroad.

"Holy shit, Shen Xin, you guessed right!" Liu Baoqing exclaimed, looking at Shen Xin.

Everyone else also turned to look at Shen Xin in unison.

Even Shen Xin himself was surprised. He hadn’t expected it to actually be him.

Qian Zidan was also taken aback. He asked what was going on, then said in amazement, "Shen Xin, your intuition is incredible. Why don’t you just come and work for State Security?"

Zhang Hancheng coughed loudly and grumpily told Qian Zidan to go pay the bill.

"I’m serious, Shen Xin, think about it!" Qian Zidan yelled even as he was being pushed out of the private room.

Zhang Hancheng looked exasperated. "Shen Xin, don’t listen to his nonsense. State Security work is exhausting."

Especially for field agents like Qian Zidan, who were worked even harder than officers at a local police station.

Shen Xin wasn’t particularly interested in joining State Security. Surprised that his guess was correct, he asked if they should go along for the arrest.

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Zhang Hancheng said without hesitation, "Of course we’re going. Why wouldn’t we?"

Hu Bin fabricated evidence and misled the special task force’s investigation. He had to be interrogated for that as well.

Only then did Shen Xin learn that Qian Zidan had had Hu Bin under surveillance ever since Zhang Zhanhui’s arrest the day before.

The man hadn’t fled. At this time, he was at his company.

The group headed straight for Xinbei District.

Shen Xin and the others didn’t go upstairs. The entire arrest was over very quickly.

According to Liu Baoqing, who had followed them, when Qian Zidan’s group burst in, Hu Bin didn’t even put up a fight. He just surrendered without a struggle.

Quite a dignified way to go.

New District Branch Interrogation Room.

At Zhang Hancheng’s request, the suspect had been brought here.

Through the one-way glass, Shen Xin watched Hu Bin.

He had seen him before and thought he had a good disposition.

Now that he’d been brought in, he was the same as ever, sitting there quietly without a hint of panic or frustration on his face.

Qian Zidan came in and got straight to the point.

"Hu Bin, we’ve arrested Deng Meixing, and we’ve recovered the item. So, what are your thoughts?"

He had the air of a victor.

Surprise, annoyance, and finally, anger flashed across Hu Bin’s face.

"Thoughts?" He sneered. "Honestly, I do have a thought. And that is you really can’t work with idiots."

"Take this Wang Liang, for example. What was he thinking? If he had just stuck to his guns and denied everything, he would have been completely fine."

"And Zhang Zhanhui... fuck."

Hu Bin swore outright, an expression on his face as if he were having an allergic reaction to stupidity. "He’s supposed to be a smart guy, so how could he be so stupid? The body, for God’s sake."

His face was the very picture of exasperation from being unable to carry his idiot teammates.