Animal Detective

Chapter 359: Chapter 295: Reluctant to Let Go

Thankfully, the videos online were all censored. Otherwise, his mom would have found out and given him another earful.

It took a long time to calm her down after the last shootout.

This time, it involved a bomb. If Zeng Wenxi had seen Shen Xin lunging at someone holding a bomb, she would have had a heart attack.

The next day, Shen Xin got up early as usual and drove to the K-9 base.

The first order of business was to walk the dogs.

Tian Kui was still in the lead, with a massive pack of dogs rushing up the mountain behind him.

The nearby residents were long used to it. They could even call out the names of some of the more distinctive police dogs.

As they ambled near the reservoir, on the side closest to the road, a rather tall sign had been erected.

It bore two large words.

NO FISHING!

The local subdistrict office probably put it up. He hadn’t seen it before leaving for Ningshan.

Two people had died in a row at this little reservoir. It was no small matter.

And it wasn’t just a warning sign; a streetlamp had been installed on the post.

It was the solar-powered kind, with a surveillance camera mounted underneath.

If they’d had this thing back then, the case would have been solved in minutes.

Unfortunately, the warning was useless.

Right near the sign, an early-rising fishing enthusiast had already cast his line.

For these guys, it wouldn’t matter if you put up a sign or even a wire fence.

Putting up a sign was practically an invitation for them to come fish here, a signal that there were big fish to be caught.

Shen Xin paid them no mind, took Tian Kui and the others for a loop around the mountain, and then returned to the base.

The person from the Provincial Public Security Department’s propaganda office had already arrived.

He was a young police officer, bespectacled and with a clean-cut appearance.

That was normal for someone with a desk job.

He was also a top student. They’d talked about it during dinner yesterday. He graduated from Pingzhou Communication College, so this was right up his alley.

His name was He Wen Yu, and he was currently holding a camera, taking pictures of the K-9 base’s facilities.

His equipment was professional, and so was he. He was lying in the grass, trying to find the right angle.

Nearby, Sergeant tilted his head, curiously sizing him up.

Seeing Shen Xin returning with Tian Kui and the massive pack, He Wen Yu came over to ask if he could film a few shots of them walking up the mountain.

He was basically asking Shen Xin to take Tian Kui and the others for another walk.

Shen Xin said, "Let’s not. There will be another chance tomorrow morning."

Going up and down the mountain was pretty tiring.

He Wen Yu nodded, then said, "I heard from the others that you and Celestial Skill have... an untold story?"

Shen Xin froze.

’Wait, who’s been spreading that around?’

’What does he mean, "an untold story"? It makes it sound like there’s something going on between me and Celestial Skill.’

Seeing the camera pointed at him, Shen Xin quickly said, "Don’t get the wrong idea. There’s nothing like that between me and Celestial Skill. But... she does have a story."

This was exactly what He Wen Yu wanted. He quickly pulled Shen Xin aside to find a spot for an interview about Celestial Skill’s story.

There wasn’t much to tell, really.

She had been pregnant, in a hellhole for strays where she could have had her legs broken or been thrown into an incinerator at any moment, and he had simply rescued her.

Recalling the scene, Shen Xin’s mind drifted for a moment. He patted Celestial Skill, who was beside him, and said, "I remember when I pulled her out of the cage, her legs were shaking uncontrollably, but she was too scared to even move."

"She was even crying. Really, I’m not kidding you. She was actually crying."

Shen Xin looked at Celestial Skill beside him.

Perhaps in that moment, all Celestial Skill could think about was protecting the puppies in her belly.

Even though she had already been hurt by humans, she still tried to use her tears to move a human, to beg for a chance at survival.

In He Wen Yu’s shot, Shen Xin sat on the grass, looking down at Celestial Skill.

Celestial Skill looked up, gazing at Shen Xin, her eyes filled with devotion.

The scene moved even He Wen Yu. He could genuinely feel the bond between human and animal.

Blinking, He Wen Yu suddenly asked a difficult question. "Shen Xin, I know that Tian Kui and the others are trained to support remote regions. But will you be able to let them go? Especially Celestial Skill."

The question caught Shen Xin off guard.

But he had actually thought about this over the past few days.

To say he felt nothing would be a complete lie.

He had personally selected each and every one of them and spent so much time with them. While Li Jiahui was responsible for their daily training, had Shen Xin really put in any less effort?

Shen Xin could call every police dog by name and knew each of their personalities.

He had an especially deep bond with Tian Kui and Celestial Skill.

Shen Xin said, "To be honest, I’ve thought about keeping them. After all, I trained them myself. Here at the K-9 base, for a handler, a police dog isn’t just a dog."

"They’re inseparable comrades-in-arms. We’ve worked hard together and fought together. So even though I’m not a professional handler, I feel the same way about Celestial Skill and the others."

"But I’ve thought it over. Sending them out to places where they can be put to good use is the best choice for them."

He could, of course, keep them for selfish reasons.

The various branches in Nanjiang, for example, had asked him to help train police dogs back when he was on the special task force.

Fine, so he keeps this batch because he’s attached to them.

What about the next batch? Would he not get attached to them too?

Sooner or later, he would have to go through this.

Keeping them at the Tingyang Branch would be a waste of their abilities, since the branch already has police dogs.

He Wen Yu nodded slightly and then asked about Tian Kui’s story.

"I heard you two even got into a fight?"

He must have heard that from Li Mo.

Shen Xin nodded, called out, and Tian Kui immediately ran over.

"To be precise, our branch’s police dogs, Tiger Stripes and Black Panther, got into a fight with Tian Kui."

Shen Xin explained the situation in detail.

With Tian Kui’s personality, you had to fight him to earn his respect.

"So I’m still a little worried that he might be disobedient after he’s sent away."

Shen Xin looked at Tian Kui.

Only with him was Tian Kui completely obedient. With everyone else, he was perfunctory at best.

Shen Xin couldn’t help but worry that there would be problems after he was sent to his new post.

That’s why he had chosen Tian Kui as the dog he would personally deliver.

He Wen Yu faithfully recorded everything, then had Shen Xin film some shots of Tian Kui and the others during their daily training.

In the morning, the smart helmet manufacturer came to deliver the goods.

Zhao Hongjie was quite generous, purchasing 20 helmets in the first batch.

They were the high-end model, but without the flashy bells and whistles like carbon fiber. Each helmet cost 16,000 yuan.

Twenty helmets came out to over 300,000 yuan.

Not only were the ten dogs being sent away equipped with them, but some were also allocated to the K-9 base’s existing police dogs.

In Tang Changhong’s words, they had Shen Xin to thank for this.

The helmets, costing over 10,000 yuan each, had an amazing build quality and a full suite of features.

Real-time video transmission, voice commands, laser guidance—they had it all.

They came with a dedicated control module.

Shen Xin put them on Tian Kui and the others. He could also group them for unified command.

He used a blue laser to guide the police dogs to their targets.

As Tian Kui and the others chased the point of light, hurtling forward, it felt a little like the time they were hunting for Fan Lei.

After trying them out, Shen Xin was quite pleased.

These things were tough enough to withstand a hammer blow, waterproof, dustproof, and had decent battery life. They were really useful.

Now, everything was ready. All that was left was for the partner units from various regions to arrive tomorrow and pick up their police dogs.

The next day, Shen Xin woke up bright and early, rushing to the K-9 base to prepare.

First, he went to the kennels to see the police dogs.

Celestial Skill was lying there obediently, nursing her several pups.

The moment she saw Shen Xin, she left her pups and ran to greet him.

Shen Xin sat down and played with her for a while before someone entered the room behind him.

It was Li Jiahui.

Li Jiahui crouched down and played with the five little puppies, who were growing cuter by the day.

Watching Celestial Skill continuously lick Shen Xin’s hand, Li Jiahui said, "Shen Xin, can you really bear to send Celestial Skill away?"

She, for one, couldn’t bear the thought of it.

Shen Xin ruffled Celestial Skill’s head and said, "Alright, let’s not talk about this anymore. The decision has been made. Sending them off is what’s best for them."

In their new positions, they can achieve great things.

Maybe in the future, we’ll even see their names on the list of decorated K-9s.

Besides, Shen Xin believed that the places receiving them would definitely take good care of them.

These were police dogs. For remote areas where even police manpower was scarce, let alone police dogs, they would truly be treasured.

Li Jiahui sighed, sat down next to Shen Xin, and said no more, wanting to spend a little more time with Celestial Skill and the others.

At nine in the morning, Zhao Hongjie and the other leaders arrived.

At the same time, representatives from the various partner units also arrived.

One person came from each unit, for a total of nine people.

There were both men and women, and after meeting, there was an inevitable round of thanks.

"If you’re going to thank anyone, thank Xiaoshen."

Zhao Hongjie pulled Shen Xin to his side. This project had been proposed and personally driven by Shen Xin.

Shen Xin sized up the nine people before him.

Two of them had dark, rough skin dotted with sunspots.

They were probably from Suihar on the northern steppes and from the northwestern Anxi Province.

The environments in both those places were harsh and difficult.

The colleague from Suihar was named Lakshen. He was a burly man from the grasslands who slapped his chest and promised that when he took the police dog back, he would make sure it ate the best beef and drank the sweetest milk.

Then, Zhao Hongjie led them on a tour of the K-9 base to see the nine police dogs that were about to be selected.

Shen Xin was walking at the back when someone suddenly came up to him.

He was a similarly dark and lean middle-aged man. His short hair was already streaked with sparse white hairs, and his features were ordinary, but his eyes were bright and full of spirit.

He introduced himself as Pan Chenghai.

He was an anti-drug officer from Simao City in the southwestern border province of Dian Nan.

He smiled, shook Shen Xin’s hand in greeting, and thanked him repeatedly.

He explained that they were located in a remote mountainous area with poor transportation and a tight budget, yet their anti-drug mission was heavy, so they were always short on police dogs.

Police dogs like the ones Shen Xin trained, who could detect drugs and explosives as well as track in the mountains, were multi-talented and perfectly suited for their situation.

Finally, Pan Chenghai cautiously asked how the police dogs would be selected—whether they would get to choose or if the dogs would be assigned directly.

Then he also asked which dog was better at detecting drugs.

Shen Xin had actually considered the allocation method and had discussed it with Tang Changhong and the others.

"We were thinking that if everyone chooses for themselves, we might run into a situation where two people pick the same dog. So, we’re considering drawing lots for a random selection."

"But don’t worry, there’s virtually no difference in ability among these nine police dogs we’ve selected."

The ones chosen were the best of the best, not much different from the champions, Tian Kui and Celestial Skill.

Pan Chenghai nodded repeatedly, saying he understood, and thanked him again.

As they spoke, the group arrived at the training field.

The nine police dogs up for selection were already lined up and waiting.