Animal Detective

Chapter 547: Chapter 450: I Saw a Dead Person

Pan Wenhai quickly slammed on the gas.

Before long, he caught up with the convoy.

In that short time, Nan Ji had already bashed the iron cage until it was deformed. The entire truck was shaking nonstop, and the truck’s driver stood nearby, stomping his feet in distress.

But the moment Shen Xin got out of the car, the rampaging Nan Ji instantly fell quiet, letting out a continuous, mournful cry from inside the cage.

Her trunk poked through the gaps in the bars as if beckoning to Shen Xin.

Elephants have poor eyesight to begin with, and it’s even worse at night.

But their sense of smell is incredibly acute—dozens of times better than a dog’s, ranking second in the world only to bears.

So, the instant Shen Xin stepped out of the car, Nan Ji caught his scent.

Tan Qingming had mentioned before that elephants often rely on their sense of smell to distinguish between humans.

He Jinglin and his colleague hurried over, their expressions troubled.

Shen Xin quickly got on the truck.

As soon as he got close, Nan Ji calmed down completely. She gently pressed her neck against Shen Xin and let out a low rumble, as if to ask why he had left.

"I already told you, they’re good people. Just go with them for now," Shen Xin comforted her.

Nan Ji’s cry changed, as if to say no.

Shen Xin sighed softly and turned to ask He Jinglin what to do.

He Jinglin looked around and said, "Why don’t you come with us?"

In that instant, a thought even popped into his head.

’Forget being a cop. Just come back with me.’

’With your abilities, the rescue center would be your paradise.’

Shen Xin had guessed He Jinglin would say that. "Director He, I’ve got things to do here. I can’t."

He Jinglin knew Shen Xin had a job.

But this mother elephant clearly couldn’t be separated from Shen Xin. Even if they forcibly took her back, who would dare let her out of the cage?

How could they treat her injuries then?

"Just for a few days. Help us get her acclimated to our center," He Jinglin offered as a compromise.

After saying this, he himself lacked confidence.

He knew that young elephants were better at adapting to new environments.

For instance, the baby elephant that had run into the city a while back was now adapting quite well at the center.

But adult elephants were different. He’d count himself lucky if she could even begin to adapt within a month, let alone a week.

Just then, Tan Qingming suggested, "How about we take her to our place in Simao first? Or... we could leave her in Shen Xin’s care for now. See? She’s fine with Shen Xin, at least she isn’t causing a ruckus."

He Jinglin had considered it, but he said with a troubled expression, "But there’s no precedent for this."

’Leave her with Shen Xin? What kind of solution is that?’

Besides, Shen Xin lives in the city. Wouldn’t that mean keeping the mother elephant in the city too?

If Shen Xin couldn’t control her and she went on another rampage, the risk would be immense.

Tan Qingming quickly pulled He Jinglin aside to persuade him.

He explained that in the current situation, taking her back alone was nearly impossible, and even if they did, it would be useless.

But with Shen Xin around, she could at least be controlled.

It would be better to take her back to Simao for now, let Shen Xin look after her, and have their own people assist on the side to handle any incidents as quickly as possible.

For the time being, he felt this was the best option.

He Jinglin crossed his arms and thought for a moment before nodding helplessly. He hurried back and explained the idea to Shen Xin.

It wasn’t that Shen Xin didn’t want to help, but this was no ordinary animal. It was huge! How was he supposed to look after it?

’Take her back to Pan Chenghai’s courtyard?’

’Old Pan’s courtyard is quite large, but for an elephant, it could knock down the walls just by lifting a leg.’

After thinking it over, Shen Xin said, "How about this? Don’t take her to Simao. Just take her to Lianjiang. My work is going to be here for the next while."

The Lai Dehong mission seemed to be in the Lianjiang area.

He Jinglin nodded. Lianjiang, Simao—it made no difference to him.

With that, the convoy set off once more.

Pan Wenhai contacted Wang Feng and asked him to help find a quiet spot in the suburbs of Lianjiang to house the elephant.

After this ordeal, Nan Ji was utterly inseparable from Shen Xin.

She probably figured that if Shen Xin disappeared, no one would be left to find her baby for her.

So, Shen Xin found himself stuck sitting on the flatbed truck, keeping her company.

Guessing that Ding Yuwei wasn’t asleep yet, Shen Xin gave her a call and told her to head over to Lianjiang the next day.

Teddy and the others had to be brought over.

Soon, the vehicles arrived at the Lianjiang Public Security Bureau.

After Wan Xiaoyang learned of the situation, he thought it over and decided the most suitable place was the Public Security Bureau’s main courtyard.

If she were placed anywhere else and escaped, he was afraid he couldn’t bear the responsibility.

If she ran wild inside the bureau, she’d only be messing with their own people.

The Public Security Bureau was in the core area of the county town.

The journey there was incredibly conspicuous. Everywhere they passed, countless people pulled out their phones to take pictures.

Shen Xin, sitting cross-legged in front of the cage, could only cover his face in silence.

They arrived at the Public Security Bureau.

The security guard opening the gate tilted his head back, watching dumbfounded as the elephant drove past him.

In front of the administration building, Wan Xiaoyang was waiting with a group of people.

He knew they had found an elephant and were bringing it back, but when the behemoth actually appeared before his eyes, Wan Xiaoyang was still too stunned to speak.

For shelter from the wind and rain, a garage was temporarily cleared out.

Shen Xin directed Nan Ji to get off the truck.

There were a lot of people at the scene, but with Shen Xin there, Nan Ji didn’t act up at all. She obediently followed him into the garage.

Seeing the situation was under control, Wan Xiaoyang and the others gathered around.

"Shen Xin, thank you for your hard work." Wan Xiaoyang beamed, looking at Shen Xin with growing admiration.

Knowing Shen Xin had been busy all day and was probably starving, he quickly had someone fetch food and drinks.

She couldn’t be left alone.

Meanwhile, He Jinglin was already busy, preparing to treat Nan Ji’s wounds.

But just as Shen Xin got his boxed meal and opened it to eat, Nan Ji lifted her tail and let out a series of farts. PFFT! PFFT! PFFT!

She had eaten, so her intestines were starting to move again. Farting was normal.

But...

Shen Xin held his meal box, on the verge of tears.

Beside him, He Jinglin was even trying to comfort him, saying that being able to fart was a good sign; it meant her digestive tract wasn’t seriously damaged.

External wounds weren’t the main concern; internal problems were what they feared.

He even educated the crowd, explaining that elephants are known as "fart machines." An adult elephant, for instance, farts up to 3,400 liters a day.

That volume is roughly equivalent to what a normal person produces in four and a half years.

"What about poop?" Shen Xin asked, too drained to even complain properly.

Just a moment ago, they had been saying that since Nan Ji couldn’t be separated from Shen Xin, he would just have to put up with sleeping in the garage.

They had even brought in a folding cot.

’With that volume of farts, if I lie here at night, the air quality...’

Shen Xin shuddered violently.

He Jinglin’s eye twitched. "Normally, they defecate eight to ten times a day, for a total of over a hundred kilograms."

Shen Xin’s eyes went wide.

’Over a hundred? And in kilograms?’

Beside them, the expression of Director Chen Huabin of the Lianjiang Public Security Bureau also became strained.

’At this rate, we might as well write off this garage for good.’

Regardless, Shen Xin was forced to take on the job of elephant keeper.

Now, all he could do was pray they found the baby elephant quickly so he could get Nan Ji and her baby back to the wild.

The specific treatment process would definitely require Shen Xin’s help.

While they were busy, Pan Wenhai asked about the interrogation and wasn’t surprised to learn that Cai Xingquan hadn’t said a thing.

He then found Wan Xiaoyang.

"Director Wan, Shen Xin has an idea."

Pan Wenhai eagerly explained Shen Xin’s earlier idea to Wan Xiaoyang.

Chen Ruidong was also present. His eyes lit up as he listened, and he said excitedly, "Never mind the police birds for now, but if we could equip every single grassroots unit with police dogs according to Shen Xin’s idea, it would be a massive help to our anti-drug work."

Wan Xiaoyang nodded in deep agreement.

He knew that Celestial Skill, the dog trained by Shen Xin, had accomplished a year’s worth of work for the checkpoint in just three months.

And that didn’t even count the seizures from cases it helped solve externally.

If the entire Quande Hong region had a large number of police dogs like Celestial Skill, the help they could provide would be immense.

He turned his head to look at the garage in the distance, where everyone was bustling with activity.

Wan Xiaoyang said, "It’s truly wonderful that Shen Xin has such an idea."

"No, I have to report this to Liu Ting and Old Lu. We need to see how we can provide our full cooperation."

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became.

Prevention is better than a cure.

Compared to arresting one drug trafficker after another, prevention and blocking the trafficking channels were far more important.

If they could accomplish this with Shen Xin’s help, then Dian Nan’s anti-drug network would become impenetrable.

After Wan Xiaoyang left, Pan Wenhai quickly grabbed Wang Feng and asked for his help in finding the baby elephant.

"Didn’t those two drug dealers from the bonsai nursery confess? They said that on the 11th of last month, Zhu Kun drove a truck and transported the baby elephant away himself."

According to them, the baby elephant was still small, only about a ton.

It was still nursing.

Probably only a year or two old.

"We should be able to track the baby elephant’s whereabouts by checking vehicle records, right?"

Zhu Kun was driving a box truck at the time. It’s only been a month, so backtracking through road surveillance footage will definitely turn something up.

If they trace it back to the source, there’s no way they won’t find the baby elephant.

Wang Feng said, "Don’t worry, I’ve already assigned people to check the surveillance. I just find something strange."

He briefly described Cai Xingquan’s interrogation.

Cai Xingquan hadn’t confessed to anything. Logically, poaching two elephants was nothing compared to his other crimes.

But he stubbornly refused to talk. In fact, his exact words were that this matter was even less something he could talk about.

That’s why Wang Feng found it so strange.

Since Wang Feng had already started checking the surveillance footage, Pan Wenhai didn’t say more and offered to help.

Although their departments were about to be reorganized, they were still two separate systems for now. His border defense unit had numerous checkpoints and posts that might be able to help.

Wang Feng had wanted to tell Pan Wenhai to get some rest.

But now that he was actively offering to help, there was no way Wang Feng could rest either.

Cai Xingquan wasn’t talking, but they might find something by investigating his social connections and movements.

The surveillance check was going relatively smoothly.

Zhu Kun was transporting an elephant, not drugs, so his guard probably wasn’t as high.

They checked the surveillance near the bonsai nursery and found his box truck.

It left Hudian, followed Route 309, and returned to Lianjiang.

Then it passed through the city, headed east, crossed the Da Lianjiang River, and arrived in Gangmeng Town to the east.

There, the truck stopped.

This was deep in the countryside; the number of cameras was limited, so they lost track of the box truck.

All they could do was search the nearby roads, expanding their search outwards.

The workload increased dramatically.

「After dawn,」 Wang Feng decided to just take a team and make a trip there himself.

They would look for civilian surveillance cameras in the town to see if they could find anything.

Cai Xingquan’s and Zhu Kun’s reactions regarding the elephant were both very strange. They might be covering something up, so Wang Feng was taking this very seriously.

He hadn’t slept all night. He led his team, had a simple meal in town, and then they split up to search everywhere.

He had observed the area on the way and speculated on possible locations, so his first stop was a gas station in town.

Unexpectedly, he hit the jackpot on his first try.

The gas station’s surveillance footage showed Zhu Kun arriving in the box truck and parking it by an empty lot.

There was a sedan in front of him. Two men got out and spoke with him.

"Captain Wang, it looks like they’re making a trade," a team member accompanying him said, pointing at the screen.

The footage showed that the three of them didn’t talk for long.

Zhu Kun left the box truck behind and walked away from the gas station.

One of the two men got into the box truck, and both vehicles immediately drove away.

The team member called out, but Wang Feng didn’t respond.

The team member turned his head and saw Wang Feng’s face had changed drastically, his eyes wide with shock.

"Captain Wang," he called out again, having never seen Wang Feng so flustered.

Wang Feng still didn’t answer. He hastily rewound the footage and repeatedly watched the part where the men got out of the sedan.

Then he paused, zoomed in, and focused on the person who had gotten out of the passenger seat.

After a long moment, he fumbled for his phone to call Pan Wenhai. He had just started dialing when he quickly hung up.

He stared at the screen for another moment, his brows furrowed deeply, then dialed the number again.

The call connected.

Gritting his teeth, Wang Feng said, "Old Pan, I just saw a dead man."

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