Animal Detective

Chapter 333: Chapter 271: Fate

"So, did he fall for it?"

Liu Baoqing asked quietly.

"What do you think?"

Fan Lei shot a question back, then continued, "Anyway, he definitely fell for it that night. I took a video, and when I went back to the dorm at the construction site, he was waiting for me outside."

"I showed him the video. He didn’t say anything, just gave me the gold and left."

"He found out the next day and called to chew me out. So I just told him I might have killed the wrong guy and that I’d help him kill the right one later. What could he do? It’s not like he could call the police and report me for scamming him, could he?"

He gave a contemptuous smile.

Just as he’d said, he wanted to use Huang Weili’s life as leverage over Yang Xing.

His casual tone made Liu Baoqing’s brow furrow even more.

In the crowded observation room, someone muttered, "Bastard."

Shen Xin remained silent.

Back at the Hongmei Police Station, Lao Gao had said that Fan Lei was a decent, down-to-earth man who was good to his family.

That was all well and good.

But at the same time, he also had a cold-blooded, cruel side. He had a complete disregard for human life.

Inside, Fan Lei continued to recount how he had killed the two men.

And it wasn’t a surprise attack, either.

When it came to killing Huang Weili, he’d first inquired about Xu Rulin’s situation. Then, he stood next to Huang Weili and chatted with him for a good while.

Fan Lei had been stalking Xu Rulin for a long time.

According to him, he had chosen to work at the Fengyu Mountain and River construction site specifically because it was in Nanzhu, closer to Xu Rulin’s home.

He had been planning for a long time and had even considered a home invasion.

That was why he’d been fishing at the reservoir for a long time; he had become very familiar with Huang Weili and the others.

Huang Weili would have never dreamed that an ’acquaintance’ he saw regularly, someone he even swapped fishing tips with, would suddenly murder him.

It was the same story with Xu Rulin.

Even though Huang Weili had been murdered, it never occurred to Xu Rulin that the killer could be Fan Lei.

Fan Lei just walked right up, stood behind Xu Rulin, and watched him fish for a bit. Then, when Xu Rulin wasn’t paying attention to him, he simply bashed him to death with a rock. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

Without a shred of hesitation.

’And Shen Xin felt that Fan Lei’s murder of Huang Weili probably wasn’t, as he claimed, a last resort after being pushed to the brink by Yang Xing.’

’The guy had demanded two payments.’

The price he’d negotiated with Yang Xing was five kilograms of gold, which was over a million.

After Yang Xing found out he’d been tricked, Fan Lei sweet-talked him, saying he’d find another opportunity to do the job.

Then he demanded more money.

He said it was one payment per life; he couldn’t be expected to work for free.

Helpless, Yang Xing could only agree.

And that led to Xu Rulin’s death.

’So Shen Xin suspected that when Fan Lei decided to kill Huang Weili, he had already planned to use it as an opportunity to extort a second payment.’

Inside, Liu Baoqing asked about Yang Xing’s motive for wanting Xu Rulin dead.

Fan Lei shook his head. "Don’t know, don’t care. Something to do with business, I think."

After speaking, he hesitated for a moment, then said, "Don’t give my wife and son a hard time. This has nothing to do with them. It was my decision to do this."

"When Yang Xing approached me after the New Year, I didn’t want anything to do with him. After all, I’d spent so many years in prison. I know crime doesn’t pay."

"But who would’ve thought my luck was so bad? I was diagnosed with stomach cancer."

Fan Lei’s stomach had often been hurting last year. He just bought some over-the-counter stomach medicine and didn’t bother getting it checked out.

After the New Year, the pain became unbearable, so he finally went to the hospital. Who would’ve known it’d turn out to be stomach cancer?

"So I went back to Yang Xing. I just wanted to leave some money for my wife and kid. With my son’s current situation... to be honest, I bear a lot of the responsibility. I’ve always felt I owe them."

"What a pity..."

He let out a long sigh and trailed off.

"A pity?"

Liu Baoqing snorted. ’A pity you didn’t hide that gold well enough, is that it?’ he thought.

Slamming his hand on the table, Liu Baoqing said, "You’ve already had it good enough. You committed so many crimes back then. Li Fanwang, Zhu Mei, Chang Siyuan—have you forgotten those names?"

"When you hurt them, did they ever complain about having bad luck?"

"You went to prison, and the law gave you a chance to start over. Your wife stuck by you, waited ten years for you, and helped you raise your son. You had a chance to live a good life."

"But did you cherish it?"

Liu Baoqing demanded loudly.

Fan Lei said nothing, biting his lip hard.

Liu Baoqing continued, "When we found your wife, she was so distraught she was crying. She swore to us that you’d been to prison, that you’d reformed and would never do anything wrong again. And what was the result?"

"When you were killing Huang Weili and Xu Rulin, did you think about your wife? You say you’ve got bad luck, so what about Huang Weili? Did he have good luck? Did he deserve to be killed by you?"

Fan Lei waved his hand, a pained expression on his face. "I’m begging you, please stop."

Liu Baoqing suppressed his anger and continued the interrogation.

In the observation room, Zhao Hongjie turned to Zhang Hancheng, his expression serious. "The murderer is in custody, but the case is only half-solved. We can’t let this Yang Xing get away."

"He knew perfectly well that Fan Lei killed the wrong person, but he didn’t stop. He insisted on having Xu Rulin killed. That’s just vicious."

Fan Lei’s crime was premeditated murder.

But Yang Xing’s actions were even more heinous. He was willing to pay twice, just to ensure Xu Rulin was dead.

Zhang Hancheng nodded, immediately stepped out of the observation room, and called Du Yong to ask about the situation with Yang Xing.

Back inside, Fan Lei revealed another detail.

The video he’d shown Yang Xing was on a different phone.

Yang Xing had bought that phone specifically for him, along with a number purchased online, for the two of them to communicate.

When he showed Yang Xing the video, Yang Xing deleted it on the spot.

But Fan Lei, ever cautious, had kept a copy of the video on his own phone.

His plan was to maybe use it to blackmail Yang Xing again later, or to keep it as a trump card to prevent Yang Xing from trying to get rid of him once his usefulness was over.

And now, that video would become a crucial piece of evidence.

However, Fan Lei’s confession was already so thorough that it was enough to convict Yang Xing even without the video evidence.

The interrogation concluded.

Zhao Hongjie stood up and lavished another round of praise on everyone.

Although it wasn’t yet time to hand out official commendations, Zhao Hongjie felt he had to go see the heroes of the hour: Tian Kui and Odin.

And naturally, Shen Xin had to accompany him.

At the K-9 base, Tang Changhong had clearly also heard about how Tian Kui and the others had hunted down Fan Lei. He was pointing at them and showering them with praise.

"Director Zhao, to be honest, I’ve been training police dogs for nearly thirty years, and I’ve never seen dogs that are so attuned to people, so intelligent."

"Just imagine the sight." Tang Changhong gestured grandly. "Dozens of police dogs, fanning out across the landscape. What criminal could possibly escape that?"

The more he spoke, the more excited he became.

He regretted not being on-site to witness the spectacle with his own eyes.

"Xiaoshen, you’re incredible."

He looked toward Shen Xin again, wanting to lavish him with praise, but for a moment he was at a loss for words, so he just gave him a forceful thumbs-up.

Zhao Hongjie laughed heartily and told Shen Xin it was a rare sight to see Tang Changhong this worked up.

He hadn’t been on-site either, but he had heard about the manhunt from Zhang Hancheng and the others, and had also seen the drone footage.

The sight of the police dogs streaking through the mountain forest—it made his blood boil with excitement, too.

In the past, whenever a criminal fled into the mountains, organizing a search was a massive undertaking that would wear everyone out.

But this time, using the police dogs, just as Tang Changhong had said, gave the criminal nowhere to hide. frёewebnoѵēl.com

Thinking of this, Zhao Hongjie said to Shen Xin, "Xiaoshen, this is an excellent case study. It’s powerful proof that police dogs can play a huge role in criminal investigations."

"Later, you should have a good talk with Director Tang and the others to exchange ideas and summarize the experience. See if you can put together a report. I’ll organize a team to study it in depth."

"I think this could absolutely be a new method, a new approach to handling cases."

"You’re young and sharp. Put that mind to work and see if you can find a way to promote these experiences more widely. If you have any requests or run into any difficulties, don’t hesitate to bring them to me. I’ll figure out a way to solve them."

Shen Xin nodded repeatedly, unable to contain his excitement.

’A report? And he’s going to organize a team to study it?’

’What is that, if not a major achievement!’

"Director Zhao, I will absolutely coordinate with Director Tang to get the summary done right," Shen Xin said at once.

An idea suddenly struck Shen Xin.

He thought for a moment, then, seizing the opportunity while his superior was present and in a good mood, Shen Xin said, "Director Zhao, I actually have an idea I’d like to run by you."

Zhao Hongjie said, "Oh?" and told Shen Xin to go ahead.

Shen Xin said, "I heard from the technical investigation guys at our branch that over in Songpu, they have a kind of smart helmet for police dogs."

"These helmets have integrated cameras that can transmit a live feed. I think if we’d had helmets like that for this pursuit, our efficiency would have been even higher."

This piqued Zhao Hongjie’s interest, and he asked for more details about the helmet.

Shen Xin didn’t actually know the specifics.

But as long as the helmet had image transmission capabilities, Shen Xin felt it would be a huge convenience.

Zhao Hongjie nodded. "Alright. I’ll have someone look into it and see what the deal is. If they’re effective, we’ll procure a batch."

Having agreed, he asked Shen Xin if he had any other ideas.

Riding high on his good mood, Zhao Hongjie was practically granting every request.

After personally giving his regards to Odin, Tian Kui, and the other dogs, Zhao Hongjie finally left the K-9 base.

As they watched the sedan drive off into the distance, Tang Changhong turned his head and fixed his gaze on Shen Xin.

The intensity in his eyes was almost palpable.

"Xiaoshen, I’m serious, you should just stay here. In the field of K-9 training, I really think you could go far."

After this manhunt, Tang Changhong finally understood the meaning of the word ’talent.’

It was people like Shen Xin.

He even pulled Shen Xin aside and lowered his voice. "Xiaoshen, think about it. How hard is it to get promoted in criminal investigations? But the K-9 unit is different."

"We’re in a technical track. As long as you have the skills, promotions come very quickly. Like I’m telling you, if you put down roots here and work hard, I guarantee you’ll be wearing a white shirt by the time you’re in your thirties or forties."

The old man was directly tempting Shen Xin with the lure of power.

How could Shen Xin not be tempted?

That was a white shirt, after all.

Making it to the white shirt ranks by fifty was already considered a fast-track promotion.

To wear one in your thirties or forties, like Director Tang was suggesting, was simply unimaginable.

"Director Tang, please, don’t try to persuade me. My heart is set on criminal investigation. Anyway, things with the task force aren’t over yet, so I’d better get going."

Shen Xin hastily took his leave.

A white shirt from the technical track and a ’real’ white shirt like the one Director Zhao wore were two completely different things.