Working in a Zoo with Beast Taming System

Chapter 229: Chapter 160: A Bizarre Case (Part 3)

"Oh, it’s the police. Please, come on in and have a seat. Get some water. You must be tired, working in the middle of the day like this."

"No, no, that’s quite alright, ma’am. We won’t disturb you and Advisor Yang’s lunch," Luo Kaifeng quickly and respectfully declined.

Grandma Yang insisted a few more times, but when she saw they really wouldn’t come inside, she relented.

Luo Kaifeng turned to Yang Qi, his expression growing serious again. He lowered his voice slightly. "Advisor Yang, speaking of which, there’s something I’m afraid I have to be a bit forward and ask for your help with."

"Oh? What is it? Please, go ahead, Captain Luo." Yang Qi was a bit surprised but gestured for him to speak freely.

Luo Kaifeng glanced at Grandma Yang, then pulled Yang Qi a few steps away to ensure the old woman was out of earshot. With a slight frown, he said, "It’s a rather tricky case our county has been dealing with recently. It involves wildlife, but... it’s a bit strange."

"A strange case? Involving wildlife?"

Yang Qi was puzzled.

Luo Kaifeng pulled out a pack of cigarettes, but after a glance toward Grandma Yang, he put it away. He lowered his voice and began to explain.

"It happened over in Dahe Town, in Liujiagou Village at the foot of the mountains, just outside the town."

"It started about three weeks ago. Several families in the village were hit one after another. Their chickens and ducks were being slaughtered overnight."

He paused, gathering his thoughts before continuing. "At first, it was just Liu Fugui’s family on the east end of the village. They lost eight chickens. The people from the Forestry Bureau went to investigate and found weasel tracks and bite marks at the scene. It was handled as a standard case of wildlife damage. They compensated him for some of the loss and told him to reinforce his coop."

"But we never expected that was just the beginning."

Luo Kaifeng’s brow furrowed. "Less than two days later, the Zhang Family on the west side was hit—five ducks dead. Then it was the Li Family, then Wang Laosuan’s House... It was as if it was working its way right along the foot of the mountain."

"As of now, seven households have been affected, with over a hundred chickens and ducks killed in total."

Yang Qi listened quietly.

’It wasn’t uncommon for weasels to prey on poultry, but for it to be this frequent, this methodical...’

"The Forestry Bureau was getting a lot of pressure, so they asked us, the Forest Police, for help."

Luo Kaifeng continued, a hint of exasperation in his voice, "But when we got involved, things got even stranger."

"The creature is unnaturally clever."

He gestured with his hands. "We brought K-9 units, set up surveillance, and ran stakeouts, but it wouldn’t show up at all. The moment we pulled back or were just monitoring from a distance, it would slip in and strike."

"We’ve tried using live chickens as bait and setting traps, but it won’t fall for any of it."

"Our infrared cameras have caught it a few times, but it’s just a tawny blur. It’s so fast you can’t get a clear look."

"But the strangest part is..."

Luo Kaifeng’s tone grew heavy. "It only kills. It doesn’t eat. It gets into the coop, slaughters the birds, and leaves without taking a single one. What kind of predator does that?"

Hearing this, Yang Qi raised an eyebrow.

Not many people were familiar with the formal name *huangyou*, the Siberian weasel, but most knew it by its common name, *huangshulang*.

Beyond that, its folkloric title in the north, "Huang Daxian," was shrouded in even more mystery.

It was common for these animals to prey on poultry, but such methodical behavior—killing without eating—was truly abnormal.

"A Huang Daxian shows up, slaughters chickens and ducks, but doesn’t eat them..."

Yang Qi mused, "That is strange. Wild animals rarely expend that much energy for no reward."

With that, he looked up at Luo Kaifeng and asked, "So, how can I help you, Captain Luo?"

Luo Kaifeng leaned forward slightly, his tone earnest. "Advisor Yang, to be frank, we’ve heard about your expertise in animal behavior—specifically, your special ability to interact with animals and understand their intentions. With this weasel case, we’ve tried all the conventional methods. We’re at our wit’s end."

He paused, a hopeful look in his eyes. "I was wondering if we could ask you to step in and help us catch this weasel? And if you could figure out why it’s doing this..."

"...why it’s killed so many chickens and ducks without eating any of them, that would be even better. We need to give the villagers and our superiors an explanation."

Yang Qi didn’t answer right away.

He was silent for a few moments. It wasn’t hesitation, but deep contemplation.

After a moment, Yang Qi looked up, his gaze calm as he met Luo Kaifeng’s eyes. His voice was very soft.

"Captain Luo, you want me to catch it, and you want to know the reason why... The truth is, you already have a theory, don’t you?"

Yang Qi paused, then said, enunciating each word,

"You suspect this weasel isn’t doing this to hunt. It’s for revenge, isn’t it?"

The question was direct, even a little sharp.

Luo Kaifeng was visibly taken aback.

His Adam’s apple bobbed. He clenched his fist, then slowly unclenched it.

In the end, he didn’t deny it, just let out a long sigh.

"Advisor Yang."

His voice dropped even lower. "In our line of work, sometimes you have to believe everything happens for a reason. Even when you’re dealing with an animal."

"This weasel’s behavior looks too much like targeted retaliation. But we’ve investigated thoroughly and can’t find the ’cause’."

"If we don’t get to the root of the problem, then even if we get lucky and catch this one, who’s to say another one won’t appear? Or what if it just moves to another area and starts all over again?"

His gaze met Yang Qi’s again, and the plea in his eyes went beyond a simple request for "capture."

"So, I’m not just asking you to help us catch the animal responsible. More than that... I’m hoping that with your methods, if you can just understand the motive behind its behavior, maybe then we can truly bring this matter to a close."

"We need to protect the villagers’ property, but we also want to find a proper way to handle this clearly abnormal, protected animal."

His words were both transparent and heavy.

This time, Yang Qi didn’t hesitate. He nodded. freewebnovel.cσ๓

"I can try."

’Killing but not eating... He wanted to know the reason, too.’