Animal Detective

Shen Xin glanced at the wall clock.

9:25 AM.

It was the 24th.

The case had broken on the night of the 17th. Exactly a week had passed.

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Qian Zidan had worked backward from the outcome, using his years of professional experience to speculate on the psychological state of this spy, H.

’Whether it was credible or not, he didn’t know.’

Shen Xin didn’t dwell on it. Once they caught H, the whole truth would come out.

But there was one point Shen Xin did agree with.

Because of Wang Liang’s stubborn refusal to talk, National Security had gotten involved too late—at least six days behind H.

’Six days... What if Zhang Zhanhui has already stolen the classified data?’

In fact, Shen Xin was inclined to believe he had already succeeded.

There was a certain logic to it.

Assuming a spy like H existed...

Yesterday morning, Mao Ruiqiang was captured. While trying to escape, he had ample opportunity to message H and inform him that he’d been exposed.

In that case, shouldn’t H have told Zhang Zhanhui to run?

But Zhang Zhanhui didn’t. He stayed home that night, quietly waiting to be arrested.

After his capture, he insisted that Mao Ruiqiang had been the one to try and turn him.

The whole thing was just as Qian Zidan said: he was using Mao Ruiqiang as a scapegoat.

’Then there’s a problem here. If H already considered Zhang Zhanhui a pawn to be sacrificed, why not arrange for him to escape?’

Zhang Zhanhui’s escape would have been the best way for H to stay hidden.

Besides, getting Zhang Zhanhui to stick to the story about Mao Ruiqiang wouldn’t be easy.

From Zhang Zhanhui’s perspective, he was already caught. If he hadn’t stolen the data, he should have revealed information about H to clear his own name, not pin everything on Mao Ruiqiang.

But he cooperated with H.

’So did the two of them reach some kind of agreement?’

Most importantly, Zhang Zhanhui must have been valuable enough for H to make this move.

In other words, Zhang Zhanhui must have had some leverage—a bargaining chip that gave him the confidence to negotiate with H for a significant payoff.

He was finished, destined for prison.

If he received a tangible benefit, like a sum of money in an offshore account, he could serve a few years in prison and still be set for the rest of his life.

That was why Shen Xin leaned toward the theory that Zhang Zhanhui had already stolen the classified data.

The fact that H targeted him meant Zhang Zhanhui must have had a way to get it.

Therefore, there was no time to lose. They had to lock onto H as quickly as possible.

’Institute 57... a military chip research facility, for things like radar. That data can’t be lost.’

With that thought, Shen Xin got out of bed and started to get dressed.

"What are you doing?" Ding Yuwei, who was beside him, quickly tried to stop him.

Shen Xin said, "I have an idea. I’m going to check it out. You all should just stay here."

’One has a fracture, another is injured... I’m the only one in decent shape. As long as I don’t shake my head too much, it shouldn’t be a problem.’

Ding Yuwei kept a hand on him. "Shen Xin, if you had already rested for a few days, I really wouldn’t stop you. But it’s only been one day! The doctor said concussions can have many aftereffects, and we don’t even know what long-term problems it might cause."

"Just don’t go running around. If you have an idea, just tell Zhang Zhi and the others."

Shen Xin shook his head. "No, I’m the only one who can do this."

Everyone has their own methods, and this idea was something only he could execute.

When Shen Xin explained his idea, Ding Yuwei immediately fell silent.

Beside them, Yang Zeran’s eyes lit up. "That’s right! What about the golden retriever?"

Just as Shen Xin said, there was no way it was just a stray he picked up off the street.

What if H gave it to him? They might be able to find H through the dog.

At this thought, Yang Zeran also stood up immediately. "Shen Xin, I’ll go with you."

Zhao Tianxing looked from side to side, then got up with a pained expression.

’I’m in the worst shape,’ he thought, ’but what can I do? The whole crew is going. I can’t be the one left behind.’

Ding Yuwei understood now; this really was something only Shen Xin could do. Still, she said, "How about this? I’ll go. You lie down. Wait for me to find the golden retriever, and we’ll go from there."

Shen Xin waved her off. "No, I have to go. Dogs know their way home. Without me, you won’t be able to find its house."

Shen Xin had thought it through. The worst-case scenario was that the golden retriever belonged to Mao Ruiqiang.

But that was highly unlikely.

When he was walking the dog, Mao Ruiqiang clearly didn’t seem like someone who had owned a pet for a long time.

That left only two possibilities for the golden retriever’s origin. Either he bought it on short notice...

...or someone gave it to him. For instance, H.

Mao Ruiqiang needed a dog as a disguise. Maybe H had a dog at home and just gave it to him.

’So, where did the two of them make the handoff?’

By checking traffic cameras, they could retrace Mao Ruiqiang’s movements from yesterday.

He had appeared the day before yesterday, but he didn’t have the dog with him then.

Once they confirmed his route, they could pinpoint the location where he got the dog.

Dogs know their way home. If they retraced that route, there was a chance of finding its house.

And Shen Xin had to be the one to personally oversee the entire process.

Seeing Ding Yuwei hesitate, Yang Zeran casually slapped Shen Xin on the back and said boisterously, "Come on, Yuwei, don’t worry about Shen Xin. He’s a grown man, tough as nails. He’ll be fine."

Shen Xin nodded in agreement, then turned and dry-heaved into the trash can.

’Right. Can’t shake my head. The moment I do, I feel like throwing up.’

Ding Yuwei sighed softly and came over to help Shen Xin up.

But as soon as he stood, the world started spinning.

A primary symptom of a concussion is a balance disorder, causing instability while standing, much like being drunk.

Ding Yuwei sighed again, helped Shen Xin sit down, and said, "I’ll go get a wheelchair."

She was convinced, but then there was Zeng Wenxi.

The moment she heard Shen Xin wanted to leave the hospital, she flew into a rage, marched over, grabbed his ear, and let him have it.

"Who do you think you are, huh? You think the world stops spinning without you? No way! If you dare walk out that door, you can just forget you have a mother!"

Zeng Wenxi was furious, threatening to call Shen Xin’s superior and complain to Zhao Hongjie. Making him work when he was this injured was simply not right.

Shen Xin quickly insisted he was fine, that he wouldn’t be doing any physical work, just giving directions.

Zeng Wenxi didn’t let go. "Stop bluffing! You’re just a junior police officer, not even a real official. Who are you going to direct?"

Yang Zeran and the other man also tried to reason with her.

Zhao Tianxing pointed to himself, saying Shen Xin could direct him.

Zeng Wenxi ignored them.

This was his own mother, so Shen Xin didn’t take her threats seriously.

But since she was blocking his way, Shen Xin had no choice but to call his dad and tell him to wear the pants for once and talk some sense into Zeng Wenxi.

Then, he contacted Zhang Hancheng.

Just finding the dog would require coordination and manpower.

Usually at home, in front of Zeng Wenxi, you couldn’t get a peep out of Shen Haolin, but when it came to important matters, he could still be the one to make the final call.

After Shen Xin told him how important this was, he didn’t ask any more questions.

Having just received a commendatory visit from Zhao Hongjie the day before, he was brimming with a sense of honor and decisively reprimanded Zeng Wenxi over the phone.

This made Zeng Wenxi fly off the handle, and she started yelling that she was going to deal with him when she got home.

Meanwhile, Zhang Hancheng hadn’t actually gone far.

In fact, Qian Zidan was driving right behind him; the two were traveling together.

When he received Yang Zeran’s call and heard the situation, Zhang Hancheng slammed on the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road.

Qian Zidan decisively pulled over behind him.

Zhang Hancheng stormed out of his car to confront Qian Zidan.

"Qian Zidan, don’t think I don’t know what little game you’re playing! A ’test’? Who do you think you’re testing?"

"And look what happened! Shen Xin is trying to leave the hospital. If anything happens to him, you remember this: I’m not done with you."

Zhang Hancheng was fuming.

Qian Zidan quickly put on an apologetic smile and asked what was going on.

"The golden retriever?"

After Zhang Hancheng explained the situation, Qian Zidan’s mind raced. He was quite surprised.

He had come to see Shen Xin, in the end, because he wanted to recruit him.

Of course, it was mainly because Shen Xin could train high-quality police dogs and even police birds.

The reason he had presented the so-called "test" was to see if Shen Xin had the sharp instincts required for national security work, if he had the potential to become a national security agent.

He never expected Shen Xin to actually come up with his own unique angle—starting with an animal.

He had looked into Shen Xin’s background and knew he had relied on animals to solve cases more than a few times.

Zhang Hancheng stated his position clearly: "Old Qian, I’m not okay with this. You guys can investigate it yourselves. Stop messing with my people."

His main concern was that Shen Xin was still laid up in the hospital. It wasn’t right for him to be running around for a case.

Qian Zidan quickly ran through the possibility of using the golden retriever to find the person behind Mao Ruiqiang. He hurried after Zhang Hancheng, blocking him from getting back into his car.

"Senior, come on, help me out," Qian Zidan said with a fawning smile.

Zhang Hancheng decisively shook his head and tried to close the car door.

Qian Zidan blocked it with his arm, gritted his teeth, and said, "Senior, I’ll be straight with you. Institute 57 really did lose some classified data."

At these words, Zhang Hancheng froze, staring at Qian Zidan in disbelief.

Qian Zidan continued, "It was confirmed at 4 AM. I won’t go into the specifics, but we didn’t find it on Zhang Zhanhui. So the data has likely fallen into H’s hands."

"Senior, this is critical."

His expression was grave.

Zhang Hancheng’s eyes flickered. He pushed Qian Zidan’s arm away and slammed the door shut.

Then he rolled down the window and snapped, "What are you standing there for? Let’s go! I’ll go get him, you go find the dog."

"No, wait. You go get him, I’ll find the dog. If someone’s going to get an earful, it should be you."

He pointed at Qian Zidan, started the car, and drove off.

Without another word, Qian Zidan quickly got in his car and headed back to the hospital.

In the end, after much persuading, Qian Zidan left with Shen Xin, pushing his wheelchair to the car.

As soon as they were in the car, Qian Zidan eagerly asked Shen Xin how confident he was.

Shen Xin, leaning against Ding Yuwei in the back seat, asked, "Section Chief Qian, can you first tell me if data was actually lost?"

Qian Zidan was slightly taken aback and asked Shen Xin why he would ask such a question.

Shen Xin didn’t hold back, laying out the logic behind his deduction.

A flash of admiration glinted in Qian Zidan’s eyes. He glanced at Shen Xin in the rearview mirror and nodded. "That’s right. It was."

Shen Xin was startled. He instinctively wanted to ask how serious it was, but he swallowed the words before they came out.

’What a stupid question. With a classified facility, not a single word of data can be leaked.’

After a moment of thought, Shen Xin said, "Section Chief Qian, we’re several days behind. If this H really exists and has the data, doesn’t that mean it’s already been leaked?"

Once you have the data, you can send it out with a simple click.

If the data was already gone, then even catching the spy wouldn’t mean much.

"Not necessarily," Qian Zidan said, shaking his head. "You don’t understand spies. There’s no loyalty among them, only self-interest."

"If H got the data and sent it out, especially with Zhang Zhanhui already exposed, believe me, the people behind H would definitely abandon him. They’d treat him as a disposable pawn."

"Once a spy is exposed, they’re useless."

"Now that we’ve found Zhang Zhanhui, with the full force of the state’s apparatus, it’s only a matter of time before we lock onto H from the clues left behind."

"So, from H’s perspective, that classified data is his insurance policy. He would never hand it over easily before he’s safely extracted."

"Only by holding onto that data will his organization go to any lengths to get him out."

"Therefore, as long as we find him and keep him in the country, we still have a chance to recover the data."

Shen Xin understood.

’It made sense when he thought about it. An exposed spy is a worthless spy.’

"Section Chief Qian, let’s find the dog first."

’Back then, I was too busy fighting. I have no idea where that dog ran off to.’