Animal Detective

Chapter 563: Chapter 465: I’m Still the Same Me

"Captain Huang, who were you calling for?"

Qian Feng turned his head and asked.

Everyone looked at him. Even Min Juekan furrowed his brow in confusion, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Huang Delin shook his head, signaling that it was nothing.

But his reaction didn’t look like it was nothing.

’Fan Liping?’

Shen Xin wondered to himself, looking at the drug traffickers up ahead. ’Who was he calling for?’

Wang Feng and Pan Wenhai had told Shen Xin about the whereabouts of the little elephant, but they hadn’t disclosed anything about Fan Liping, so Shen Xin had no idea who he was.

He was curious but kept it in check.

After another arduous trek, they finally saw the road.

As he sank into the soft car seat, Shen Xin let out a long sigh, already daydreaming about a big, soft bed.

"Exhausted?" Ding Yuwei, who was sitting next to him, handed him a drink.

Shen Xin took it and said nonchalantly, "I’m fine. But you... you shouldn’t have come along. You went through so much for nothing."

Ding Yuwei didn’t reply. She had already made up her mind before leaving: wherever Shen Xin went, she would follow.

The group returned quickly, heading straight for the Dehong City Bureau.

When they arrived, Wan Xiaoyang was already waiting. He immediately showered Shen Xin with praise.

Then he urged Shen Xin to go get some rest right away.

Shen Xin didn’t stand on ceremony. His mission was complete, and the follow-up work would have to be handed over to the team in Dian Nan anyway.

Only after Wan Xiaoyang saw Shen Xin off did Huang Delin hurry over.

"Director Wan, do you remember Fan Liping?"

The name made Wan Xiaoyang pause for a moment. "Isn’t that the one who..." he trailed off.

The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t quite recall.

Huang Delin picked up where he left off. "His father was Fan Xiaochuan, Old Pan’s former squad leader. He died in the line of duty in ’03."

Wan Xiaoyang nodded quickly. That was the connection. A flicker of sadness crossed his eyes before he said, "But I remember Fan Liping died too, didn’t he?"

It had been several years, but Wan Xiaoyang still remembered.

Huang Delin nodded and said gravely, "Director Wan, I saw him. One of the traffickers with Min Juekan... I think it’s him."

Wan Xiaoyang was stunned. "Are you sure?"

After a moment’s hesitation, Huang Delin nodded.

He was almost certain.

The resemblance was uncanny. And that reaction... something was off.

"No, how could that be? He’s dead. I remember... what’s-his-name... admitted to killing him with his own hands."

Wan Xiaoyang’s brow furrowed deeply. He asked urgently, "Have you contacted Wenhai?"

Huang Delin shook his head. He had wanted to ask Wan Xiaoyang for his thoughts before contacting Pan Wenhai.

He knew Pan Wenhai and Fan Liping had a special relationship.

Wan Xiaoyang immediately went inside the city bureau to see the man for himself.

The man had already been taken to an interrogation room and was sitting in a chair, his face expressionless.

"The resemblance is striking,"

Wan Xiaoyang muttered.

He looked similar—or rather, almost identical. Only his demeanor had changed.

Wan Xiaoyang folded his arms, lost in thought.

He knew what was worrying Huang Delin.

Pan Wenhai could probably confirm the man’s identity, but the problem was, what if it was confirmed that this really was Fan Liping?

Why wasn’t he dead?

If he’d been lucky enough to survive, why hadn’t he contacted Pan Wenhai?

And now he’d reappeared in a drug ring. Why? Was he pulling the same stunt again—going undercover on his own?

Fan Liping was a special case.

He wasn’t an undercover agent sent by the police; he couldn’t even be classified as an informant or special operative.

The police often cultivate special operatives, especially in narcotics cases.

They even pay their informants.

In practice, they often used these operatives to find leads or conduct stings.

But Fan Liping was truly different.

The path he chose was to fight fire with fire. He became a drug trafficker himself and then passed clues on to the police.

This behavior meant that he was committing crimes in the name of fighting crime.

So the question was, shouldn’t he be targeted as well?

Back then, he’d become a big-time drug trafficker and had sold a significant amount of drugs.

He claimed he never sold any domestically, but no one knew if that was true or not.

He killed people to seize territory.

He walked in darkness, yet claimed his heart belonged to the light.

Back then, the police had actually suspected his motives, wondering if he was just using them to eliminate his competition.

It was something they were never able to confirm before his supposed death.

He himself must have known where the problem lay, which was why he always operated outside the country.

Whenever he entered the country, it was always by sneaking across the border.

Now, it was the same situation all over again. How were they supposed to handle this?

After a long moment of thought, Wan Xiaoyang said in a low voice, "Contact Wenhai. Let’s get a positive ID first."

After all, they still weren’t certain.

Pan Wenhai had returned to the checkpoint a few days ago but had been closely following the search for Fan Liping.

Wang Feng had participated in this operation but had been sent to Mengmao.

Therefore, Wang Feng was one of the first to return to the city bureau.

He recognized Fan Liping at a glance, so shocked his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"Old Wang, you hid this from me,"

Huang Delin demanded with a glare.

Although Cai Xingquan’s case was primarily investigated by the Simao department, Huang Delin knew some of the details because Zhu Kun was in Lianjiang.

This was especially true since they were also investigating the little elephant’s whereabouts.

So he knew that Zhu Kun had gone to the gas station, completed a transaction, and that the other party had smuggled the little elephant out of the country.

But he’d had no idea the person involved in that transaction was Fan Liping.

He had watched the video footage, but it wasn’t very clear. At the time, he hadn’t considered the possibility, so he hadn’t recognized him.

Wang Feng, looking guilty, said, "We were investigating it! Besides, we only thought the man looked like him. We hadn’t confirmed anything yet."

Huang Delin snorted. ’So how are you so sure now?’ he thought.

Wang Feng gave an awkward, apologetic laugh and asked if they had notified Pan Wenhai.

Upon getting an affirmative answer, Wang Feng frowned as well.

Finding the man was a good thing.

Pan Wenhai had said that if he was alive, they had to find a way to bring him back.

Well, now he was back, except he’d been brought back under arrest as a drug trafficker.

Before Pan Wenhai arrived, Wang Feng requested permission to interrogate the suspect first.

Wan Xiaoyang thought for a moment and agreed, but he stipulated that Wang Feng shouldn’t rush to prove the man’s identity as Fan Liping.

He could start with the transaction with Zhu Kun.

Wang Feng indicated he understood and went to prepare.

Meanwhile, Wan Xiaoyang arranged for a team to interrogate Min Juekan.

He was the key figure.

In the interrogation room.

Wang Feng pushed the door open and entered.

From the moment he entered, Wang Feng was observing the suspect’s expression.

They knew each other. He was an uncle-figure to Fan Liping, after all.

Unfortunately, Wang Feng saw no flicker of recognition on the man’s face.

"Name."

Wang Feng sat down and began the interrogation.

The man said nothing.

Wang Feng didn’t waste any more words. He told him directly, "The amount of drugs you were smuggling this time is enough to get you executed a hundred times over."

The man looked at Wang Feng calmly, refusing to take the bait.

Just then, a noise came from the adjacent observation room.

The man’s eyes darted in that direction.

Wang Feng guessed Pan Wenhai had probably arrived.

Pan Wenhai had indeed arrived. The moment he saw the man in the interrogation room, he lost control of his emotions.

He had raised the boy like his own son. Others might get it wrong, but he never would.

"It’s him. It’s really him."

"Why? Why didn’t he contact me?"

"And what on earth is he trying to do...?"

Pan Wenhai’s face was etched with pain.

To be arrested now, as a common drug trafficker.

Huang Delin held Pan Wenhai tightly, telling him to calm down.

But how could Pan Wenhai possibly calm down? Remembering his old squad leader, his eyes began to turn red.

Back in the interrogation room.

Wang Feng was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "They say your name is Dan Wen. In that case, who is Qin Maosheng?"

At that name, the man’s gaze wavered.

Wang Feng caught it.

As they had discussed, the trail of the little elephant had led them to a performance company, providing traceable clues.

The domestic investigation had turned up a key middleman.

After interrogation, this man admitted that his contact was someone from Mianguang named Qin Maosheng.

He identified a photo—it was Fan Liping.

At the border crossing, they had found entry and exit records for Qin Maosheng.

There were records from the same time period when the little elephant was smuggled out of the country.

But the authorities in Mianguang had found no trace of him.

Without a doubt, it was a fake identity.

As for the performance company involved, the investigation in Mianguang was progressing slowly, and they still hadn’t tracked it down.

But they could confirm that Fan Liping was using the alias Qin Maosheng.

"What, does that name ring a bell?"

Wang Feng retorted, pulling out the surveillance footage from the gas station and even his border crossing records.

"This is you, isn’t it?"

"That means you’re connected to Cai Xingquan’s case, too. And the little elephant... smuggling an elephant is no small crime."

"Of course, compared to your other crimes, that’s barely worth mentioning."

"So tell me, are you Dan Wen, or are you Qin Maosheng?"

Wang Feng stared intently at Fan Liping.

Dead silence.

After a long moment, Fan Liping suddenly smiled.

Taking a deep breath, Fan Liping smiled. "Uncle Wang, it had to be you. You’ve got a photographic memory. Truly amazing."

He gave Wang Feng a thumbs-up.

Wang Feng’s heart skipped a beat. ’He admitted it?’

In the observation room, Pan Wenhai staggered as if he’d been struck by lightning.

The expressions of Wan Xiaoyang and the others changed dramatically as well.

Fan Liping turned to look toward the observation room. "Uncle Pan must be here too, right?"

He pressed his lips together, his gaze wavering for a moment.

But the next moment, his expression firmed. He turned back to Wang Feng and said, "That’s right. I am Fan Liping."

"I’m not dead. I’m still alive. And what I’m doing now is the same as all those years ago—I’m going to destroy this drug ring."

"It took me several years just to get close to the core of this ring."

"I was planning on finding the right time to pass information to you soon. I never thought you’d arrest me first."

"Uncle Wang, I’m willing to cooperate with you to take down this trafficker named Angdu."

After he finished, he turned his head again, looking toward the observation room.

He couldn’t see Pan Wenhai, but he knew he was back there.

"Uncle Pan, don’t worry. I’m still me."

His tone was resolute.

That single sentence was enough to make tears stream down Pan Wenhai’s face.

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