Animal Detective

The sunrise was a sight Shen Xin would never forget, but while it soothed his spirits, his body paid the price.

His legs were still shaking after he came down the mountain.

He had no choice but to get a hotel room to rest. He set off again late that night and finally arrived back in Nanjiang the next morning, weary from the road.

Just as he got off the highway, someone by the side of the road started waving.

Before Shen Xin’s car had even come to a complete stop, a group of people eagerly rushed over.

They craned their necks to peer into the car, the question "Where is it?" written all over their faces.

Chen Wanbin had gotten Shen Xin the permit, but that didn’t mean he was just going to hand Teddy over and wash his hands of the matter.

Shen Xin had a responsibility, but didn’t he have one as well?

What would happen if this precious and incredibly rare bird—a perfect, natural hybrid of a Hunting Falcon and a gyrfalcon—was entrusted to a layman? What if it developed health problems? What if it died?

So when he said he would provide guidance on its care, he really meant he would be involved every step of the way.

He had been in constant contact via phone over the past few days, instructing Shen Xin on how to monitor the Hunting Falcon’s condition.

He had also contacted the people in Nanjiang in advance.

That was why this welcoming party included people from the Bureau of Landscaping and the zoo.

In fact, people from both the old and new zoos had shown up.

This was a pure white Hunting Falcon, an animal so prestigious that no zoo in the entire country had one.

The next moment, the group caught sight of Teddy inside the car, and their eyes lit up.

"It really is pure white."

"So rare. How was it even born?"

Amid their murmurs, Shen Xin got out of the car and grabbed a plastic-wrapped bundle from the back seat.

It was full of something whitish.

Just thinking about it was enough to bring tears of grief to Shen Xin’s eyes.

He was also thankful he’d chosen to drive back. Taking a plane or a high-speed train would have been an absolute nightmare.

The problem was its droppings.

Tian Kui was no problem; he could hold it and Shen Xin could take him to a restroom.

But Teddy couldn’t.

He was a bird, and birds were notorious for their "straight guts." They were the type to lighten their load right before taking flight.

Besides, a dog might go once or twice a day. Teddy, on the other hand? You could add a zero to that number. He went ten, even twenty times a day.

And most importantly, he was a projectile pooper.

What was worse, Chen Wanbin had even asked Shen Xin to collect Teddy’s droppings to monitor his physical condition.

So, during the entire drive, thinking about his new car, Shen Xin had been seriously tempted to just take the bird back to the grasslands and leave him there.

"These are the droppings. Who wants to take them?" Shen Xin asked, holding out the bundle.

The smell was quite strong.

Two veterinarians, one from each zoo, reached out at the same time.

They locked eyes, and sparks flew.

’They’re actually fighting over poop!’

Shen Xin cringed inwardly.

He remembered being on the grasslands, learning about the work at the observation station. He’d even heard Tang Tongxue complain that a huge part of their job was just dealing with the feces of various animals.

In the end, the two of them took the bundle together and spread it open on the spot. They even asked Shen Xin which dropping was the most recent.

"How should I know?" The question nearly made Shen Xin break down.

The pair gave up and took it aside to study.

It couldn’t be helped. This was scientific research.

Chen Wanbin believed that big-city rats had excessive levels of heavy metals, and it would be a problem if Teddy ate them.

Moreover, the complex urban environment wasn’t suitable for his diving style of hunting.

Imagine him spotting a rat on the road and diving, only to get tangled in power lines or hit by a car. Or just as he was about to catch it, the rat scurries into a sewer, and he can’t stop in time and slams into the pavement.

Chen Wanbin found all these scenarios terrifying to even think about.

So his plan was to have Shen Xin train Teddy to stop hunting and switch to being hand-fed.

And just eating meat wasn’t enough; it had to be live prey.

Before he left, Chen Wanbin had given Shen Xin a cage of white mice to get Teddy accustomed to being hand-fed.

That’s why these two veterinarians needed to examine the droppings immediately to confirm Teddy’s health and check for any internal parasites.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group was captivated by Teddy’s elegant form.

The two zoo directors became especially excited when Shen Xin took him out and perched him on his shoulder.

It couldn’t be helped. He was just that cool.

Nearby, even cars coming off the highway began to pull over and gather, with people taking out their phones to snap photos.

After giving Teddy another physical check and confirming he was in good condition, the group finally left, though reluctantly.

The directors of both zoos left their contact information and tried to get on friendly terms with Shen Xin.

They said they were all acquaintances.

And they were.

While working on the Grand Avenue Gold case, Shen Xin had been to the old zoo in the New District and was well-acquainted with Director Hong from their park office.

And during the earlier dolphin case, he had gotten to know Manager Zhou from the Oceanarium.

The Oceanarium and wildlife park in Lishan District were part of the same organization.

Shen Xin understood what they were getting at.

They wanted to house Teddy at their parks.

Even though Chen Wanbin had said it would only be for a few months, that was more than enough time for them.

Summer vacation was just around the corner, which was the peak season for zoo visits.

If they could exhibit the only white Hunting Falcon in the country at a time like this, it would be an even bigger draw than the pandas.

Shen Xin thought, ’If you had a way to separate Teddy from me, I wouldn’t have had to go through the trouble of bringing him all the way back from the grasslands myself.’

This Hunting Falcon was most likely going to be raised at the Municipal Bureau.

He would have to slowly train him, getting him used to the idea that he would leave from time to time, until Teddy could finally live on his own.

After saying his goodbyes, Shen Xin immediately drove back to the Municipal Bureau.

He had sent a message ahead saying he’d arrive today, but when he got to the bureau, no one was there.

’Don’t they want their gifts anymore?!’

The moment the car door opened, Tian Kui shot out.

Shen Xin didn’t have to worry about him. The Municipal Bureau was his home; he could run anywhere and wouldn’t get lost.

With Teddy on his shoulder, Shen Xin walked into the office building, head held high and chest puffed out.

"Damn, Shen Xin! An eagle! So cool!"

Anyone he ran into was immediately captivated by Teddy’s majestic form.

Shen Xin shook his head. "Nope, not an eagle. It’s a falcon. A Hunting Falcon. They’re different."

It felt like he’d just caught a massive fish and wanted to parade it around the entire city.

Unfortunately, the Municipal Bureau was a large place with not many people around.

But that was fine. The news would spread eventually.

Especially after the incident at Taishan.

Shen Xin figured it wouldn’t be long before videos of it were all over the internet.

Reaching the second floor, he pushed open the door to the Cold Case Office.

"I’m ba—"

Shen Xin’s words died in his throat.

The room was empty.

Shen Xin glanced into the conference room and the small office; no one was there either.

’Where did everyone go? I told them I’d be here this morning.’

Just as he was about to call and ask, a colleague from the neighboring Organized Crime Division passed by and saw Shen Xin.

Needless to say, they were completely stunned by Teddy.

Shen Xin asked where his team was and learned they were all on the roof.

He then remembered that he’d asked Ding Yuwei yesterday to help set up a nest for Teddy.

They were putting it on the roof, since Hunting Falcons like to nest in high places.

He took the elevator to the top floor and found quite a crowd had gathered to watch the fun.

Zhang Hancheng said to Deputy Captain Du Yong with a grin, "How about it, Old Du? I told you, at least twenty minutes."

On the rooftop, in a corner away from the various ventilation fans, Ding Yuwei was directing Yang Zeran and the others as they did some woodwork.

"What about twenty minutes?" Shen Xin asked, puzzled, as he greeted everyone.

The other deputy captain, He Jinxiang, was also there. He was a bit on the tall side, but he had a friendly smile. Yang Zeran had mentioned he was easy to get along with.

Political Commissar Xu Daokai said with a smile, "They were betting on how long it would take you to get from your car to the roof."

It dawned on Shen Xin that they must have seen him from the roof when he first got out of his car.

His face flushed slightly. Shen Xin sighed dramatically and said, "It can’t be helped. Zhang Zhi is like the all-seeing Tathagata Buddha; there’s no hiding my little tricks from you."

"Cut the crap."

Zhang Hancheng stepped forward, eyeing Teddy with curiosity, and asked if he could hold him.

Of course, he could.

Shen Xin lifted Teddy and placed him on Zhang Hancheng’s shoulder.

Teddy wasn’t too afraid, just tilted his head, curiously sizing up Zhang Hancheng.

Zhang Hancheng quickly handed his phone to Shen Xin, asking Shen Xin to help him take a picture.

With him taking the lead, everyone else crowded around.

This seemed to spook Teddy a little. With a flick of his wings, he landed lightly back on Shen Xin’s shoulder.

"So damn cool," Zhao Tianxing had already dropped his hammer and run over for a photo with Shen Xin. He joked, "Shen Xin, you’ve got seven million yuan sitting on your shoulder."

Yang Zeran nodded in solemn agreement. "All you’re missing now is a cloth on your head."

Shen Xin had told them about Teddy being worth millions.

Du Yong curiously asked if he could fly.

Shen Xin gave his shoulder a slight shrug. Teddy took the cue, pushed off, and with a single beat of his wings, soared into the sky.

He was incredibly fast, reaching a high altitude in an instant and beginning to circle.

Good. This would let him get familiar with the surroundings and scout out the area.

After waiting a moment, Shen Xin let out a sharp whistle.

Teddy heard it and immediately descended, landing precisely on Shen Xin’s outstretched arm.

’Where is this place now?’

Judging by his thoughts, he didn’t seem too pleased.

But the crowd was staring, wide-eyed.

Zhao Tianxing just shook his head. "Shen Xin, you’re so cool it’s not even fair."

Everyone nodded in agreement, their minds already conjuring images of the Hunting Falcon diving from the sky with a piercing cry.

Having likely seen Teddy flying from his office, even Zhao Hongjie came over after hearing the commotion.

"Shen Xin, nice work."

After a quick word of praise, he eagerly asked to take a photo with Teddy.

Zhang Hancheng nodded in agreement.

Shen Xin’s trip to Suihar wasn’t just to find Tianxiong and bring back a falcon; he had also helped them solve a case.

And it wasn’t a minor case, either.

The Xingle Alliance had sent over a letter of commendation long ago.

For the Municipal Bureau, that was something to be proud of.

For a police officer, solving cases is what matters most.

Speaking of the case, Zhang Hancheng pulled Shen Xin aside and asked, "Shen Xin, about those poachers at the end, did you really find them using the falcon?"

Out of curiosity, Zhang Hancheng had asked around about the case.

He didn’t know all the details, but he could tell that the case itself wasn’t particularly complex.

The main issue was that the two poachers were extremely audacious and had strong counter-surveillance skills.

If not for Shen Xin seeing through their intentions at the end and using Teddy to find the two of them, Dawag and Sangbu might have actually escaped across the border.

That made Zhang Hancheng extremely curious.

"How does this falcon find people? Does he just fly in the sky and look around everywhere?" Zhang Hancheng pointed to the sky and gestured.

Shen Xin couldn’t explain it in too much detail, so he just nodded and said that was more or less it.

He explained that this type of falcon was one of the most intelligent birds.

Otherwise, people wouldn’t train them for hunting.

And since Teddy was a genetic mutation, he was even smarter. He didn’t just recognize people; he could recognize photos and find people based on them.

With his eyesight, he could see everything with perfect clarity from high in the air.

"That’s even better than a drone," Zhang Hancheng said.

Drones were getting cheaper, and based on the experience of other cities, the Municipal Bureau had already started to look seriously at the application of drones in police work.

Zhang Hancheng had also heard that the Ministry might even issue technical standards for police drones this year to push for their widespread adoption.

But they still had many limitations.

Battery life, for example.

Nowhere near as good as this bird, which could fly all day on a full stomach.

Zhang Hancheng continued, "So that means you can also use this falcon for reconnaissance, just like you used the cat before."

Shen Xin nodded. ’Of course,’ he thought. ’He’s a bona fide high-altitude reconnaissance drone.’

Of course, reconnaissance was all he could do.

It would be difficult to expect Teddy to do anything else.

During the three-day drive back, Shen Xin had actually given this some thought, considering the potential difficulties.

For instance, how would he communicate with Teddy and recall him over long distances?

You could just tell him to return after spotting something, but what if he didn’t fully understand?

The only solution Shen Xin could think of involved using equipment.

Teddy could carry off a wild rabbit he’d killed, so carrying a few small gadgets would be a piece of cake.

The only question was whether it was necessary to use him.

These days, with surveillance cameras everywhere and drones filling the skies, it felt like there wasn’t much opportunity for him to be of use.

It wouldn’t be worth deploying the seven-million-yuan Teddy for anything less than a major case.

Zhang Hancheng, however, was extremely interested. After considering it for a moment, he said eagerly, "Let’s give it a try. I’ll ask Old Chen in a bit if he has any major cases."

He was referring to Chen Guanglin, the captain of the Municipal Bureau’s Narcotics Division.