Animal Detective

Chapter 347: Chapter 283: Taking Action

The alluring night was the perfect time for an operation.

At ten o’clock at night, Xin Zifeng answered a call, grunted a couple of replies, and patted the driver’s shoulder. The car immediately set off.

Then he turned and asked Shen Xin and Yuan Mingtao who would go first.

’So we’re competing separately.’

’Looks like they’ll be raiding two places. Who knows how many families will be losing sleep tonight.’

Yuan Mingtao looked nervously at Shen Xin.

Seeing his hesitation, Shen Xin took the initiative. "I’ll go first."

Then he told Yuan Mingtao that when the operation started, he didn’t need to bring Qiuqiu, but should just follow him and observe.

As a technical police officer, he’d never raided a place like this before. He should follow along and get familiar with the process first.

At least then he’d learn the ins and outs, and which places were likely to hide filth.

Yuan Mingtao nodded, but then thought for a moment and shook his head. "Shen Xin, how about I go first? I’ll scout it out for you. This year’s competition is too bizarre. God knows what kind of tricks they’ll pull."

Li Yinjiang chimed in, "That’s right, Shen Xin. Let Mingtao go first and check out the situation. We’ll have two people backing one up to guarantee your score."

The one competing later would definitely have an advantage. Since Shen Xin’s score counted for Nanjiang, Li Yinjiang had no choice but to sacrifice Yuan Mingtao.

Shen Xin understood what they meant and nodded in agreement.

Just as they were speaking, the driver slammed on the brakes. They had arrived.

At the same time, several police cars pulled up outside.

A resplendent, glittering building stood before them. Shen Xin’s eyes swept over it, the large characters for "Jinlun Hall" standing out prominently.

Seeing that name, Shen Xin already had a good idea of what was going on.

Generally, legitimate places, or at most those that offered "half-service," would have clearer signs.

For example, they’d be called something like "So-and-so SPA Club" or "So-and-so Foot Massage," making it clear at a glance what kind of establishment it was.

But places with ambiguous names, like this one...

You could roughly guess what kind of place it was from the exterior decor.

But from the name, you couldn’t tell if it was for karaoke or foot massages. The whole point was to attract those in the know.

And places like this usually had something shady going on.

At the same time, if the police were raiding it, it meant they had one hundred percent received a tip, investigated the situation, and were now waiting for the right opportunity to act.

Xin Zifeng stretched out an arm, stopping Yuan Mingtao, who was about to get out of the car reflexively.

Shen Xin said, "Wait a bit. It’s chaotic right now. We’ll go in after they’re done."

If they rushed in now, all they’d see were bare asses.

Xin Zifeng glanced at Shen Xin curiously. ’He seems to know his stuff.’

Shen Xin said, "I interned at a local police station. I’m a criminal investigator now."

Xin Zifeng had a moment of realization.

’He interned at a local station, so of course he’d be familiar with this stuff.’

"Then how did you end up training police dogs?" Xin Zifeng asked, curious.

It was common for an officer to be transferred from a local station to criminal investigations, but for a criminal investigator to be transferred to a K-9 unit as a handler... that was a pretty big leap.

Shen Xin thought for a moment and said, "A hobby."

Xin Zifeng shot him a sideways glance. ’Some hobby, to be good enough to enter a competition. That’s pretty impressive.’

It was quite lively outside.

An operation like this was planned in advance. With a raid from the front, the back door blocked, and even the rooftop being useless for escape, they would definitely catch everyone in one fell swoop.

A little over ten minutes later, Xin Zifeng received a notification and nodded at Yuan Mingtao.

Yuan Mingtao took a deep breath and got out of the car, leading Qiuqiu.

Shen Xin handed Celestial Skill over to Li Yinjiang to look after and followed them inside.

The lobby was so luxurious it was dazzling.

"Damn, whoever came up with this slogan is a real genius."

Shen Xin immediately spotted the slogan on the several roll-up banners by the elevator.

The top line read: [Jinlun Hall’s Shocking Return].

The bottom line read: [Get Ready for a Big Bust!].

Xin Zifeng saw it too and nodded in agreement with a grin.

Yuan Mingtao must have been a pretty straight-laced guy; he didn’t get it at first. It wasn’t until they took the elevator to the second floor that it clicked. "Holy shit," he blurted out, "I get it now."

He then asked why they weren’t searching the first floor.

Shen Xin said, "Even in a bathhouse, you go upstairs to bathe. Who would conduct their shady business on the first floor?"

The first floor was definitely all legitimate business.

Yuan Mingtao said, a bit embarrassed, "I’ve actually never gone to a second floor to bathe. I always thought it was dirty."

"Dirty is the point."

Shen Xin chuckled and reminded him it was time to get to work.

Yuan Mingtao glanced at the referee and set off with Qiuqiu.

The referee was the person they had met on the first floor. He hadn’t said a word in the elevator and was now holding a phone on a gimbal, presumably to record Qiuqiu’s performance.

The second floor was all private rooms.

The lighting in the corridor was dim and suggestive, and the air was thick with the heavy scent of cheap perfume.

This would be a major distraction for the dog.

Yuan Mingtao chose to search the rooms one by one.

The rooms were well-decorated. The first one had a round, motorized bed. When Yuan Mingtao led Qiuqiu in, the bed was still creaking and rocking.

A man and a woman were squatting in the corner.

When the man, who was getting dressed, saw the referee filming with a phone, he quickly covered his face.

Yuan Mingtao instinctively glanced at the woman in a uniform, then quickly directed Qiuqiu to begin the search.

The trash can was a key area.

They didn’t find anything.

Just as Yuan Mingtao was about to lead Qiuqiu out, he noticed Shen Xin making a sign to him with his eyes.

The people!

Shen Xin reminded him with a look.

’The smell of a drug user never really goes away.’

It dawned on Yuan Mingtao. He quickly led Qiuqiu over to the man and woman.

The man frantically covered his face, trying to hide.

’And during his zodiac year, of all times.’

The woman was probably a veteran at this. She understood what was happening and looked up. "Officer, I don’t mess with that stuff."

The colleague standing guard over the pair immediately snapped, "Who’s your uncle? Stay down."

Qiuqiu went forward to sniff them, let out a bark, but didn’t indicate a find.

Yuan Mingtao backed out.

The next room was dark, and Yuan Mingtao was about to skip it when Shen Xin coughed to get his attention.

’You have to search the empty rooms too. There could be a lingering scent.’

Realization dawned on Yuan Mingtao, and he quickly entered the room.

As they passed each other, Shen Xin reminded him again in a low voice, "The bathroom."

’You have to search the bathroom, too.’

Yuan Mingtao caught on, hurried back to the first room, and searched the bathroom.

Only after confirming there was nothing there did he go back to search the second room.

He searched high and low, even finding a few jelly cups. He had never seen any like them before and asked curiously why they had a spiral pattern.

"The girls get tired from giving massages. They eat some jelly to replenish their energy."

Shen Xin chuckled, went forward to search as well, and found a few packets of popping candy.

Shen Xin quite liked popping candy.

He handed a packet to Xin Zifeng, who accepted it without ceremony.

Seeing Shen Xin and Xin Zifeng eating candy, Yuan Mingtao looked at the spiral-patterned jelly cup. It was a brand he’d never seen before, and it looked like fruit jelly, so he subconsciously tore it open.

He wanted to eat it!

Shen Xin quickly stopped him. "That’s for... external use."

Yuan Mingtao froze, instinctively wanting to say, ’But you just said the girls ate it to replenish their energy.’

Shen Xin leaned in close to his ear and quietly explained its purpose.

A wave of disgust washed over him, and he hastily threw it away.

Finding nothing in the room, they continued their search.

They searched room after room, but found nothing.

Yuan Mingtao cast a pleading look at Shen Xin.

He wasn’t sure if there was nothing to find, or if Qiuqiu was distracted and had missed it.

Shen Xin gestured with his eyes toward the deeper part of the floor and signaled for him to be patient.

Since the public security bureau had launched a raid and brought them all here for a competition, they must have received solid intelligence beforehand that someone had used drugs here.

If it wasn’t the clients, then it had to be the employees.

Clients generally wouldn’t do drugs in a place like this, and the club wouldn’t allow them to.

The risk was too great.

Therefore, Shen Xin deduced that it was most likely an employee who had used drugs and been discovered by the narcotics division.