Animal Detective

Chapter 21 Photos
Previously, Li Dongsheng complained that Zhang Jian's old Lavida made shifting gears so difficult that he almost broke the gear lever.

Shen Xin has learned his lesson today.

And it's not just the gear shift; this car, which has already clocked 170,000 kilometers, makes noises everywhere.

On the way, taking advantage of a traffic light, Shen Xin wanted to send Li Dongsheng a text message.

Zhang Jian's condition is clearly not right.

He finally made it to the rank of First Sergeant, and although there was no possibility of further promotion, it was incredibly difficult to rise to the top, but much easier to fall from it.

It's just that I acted impulsively and made a mistake.

But before he could finish sending the message, Zhang Jian stopped him.

"Xiao Shen, I know what I'm doing."

Zhang Jian placed his hand on Shen Xin's shoulder, his expression serious: "In my life, I've handled many cases, but few are as humiliating as this."

The main culprits have all been caught, but the case couldn't be perfectly closed just because of one last slip-up.

"This case must be resolved," Zhang Jian said firmly.

Shen Xin didn't speak, but he could sense that Zhang Jian had some personal motives in this case.

It's rare to encounter such a big case at a police station.

If handled well, honestly, a third-class merit award should be no problem.

With this third-class merit, Zhang Jian might actually be able to advance further in his career.

Of course, this was Shen Xin's own idea.

Moreover, from Shen Xin's own perspective, he didn't want to hand the case over to the Criminal Investigation Brigade.

Having personally arrested Tian Yongjun and Fan Jie, shouldn't we finish what we started? Shouldn't we catch the last suspect first?

Before long, the car arrived at Xianghong Village.

While getting off the bus, Shen Xin sent a message to Li Dongsheng, briefly explaining the situation.

Soon, Li Dongsheng replied with a message.

"Be careful, your application for early promotion hasn't been approved yet."

This is a true master, wholeheartedly considering Shen Xin's well-being, fearing that Shen Xin might be dragged down by Zhang Jian and make mistakes.

Zhang Jian took Shen Xin and headed straight for Wu Zhicun's house.

Wu Zhicun sat in the main room, still listening to the opera.

Zhang Jian was in a great mood, getting straight to the point. He sat down opposite Wu Zhicun, pulled out handcuffs from his back, and slammed them on the table with a loud bang.

Shen Xin's heart pounded; something bad was about to happen.

"Sir, I think Xiao Shen has told you everything that should and shouldn't be said. I just have one thing to say: if you can give me some useful information today, then everything will be fine. If you can't, this matter won't be resolved."

Zhang Jian patted the handcuffs again, his meaning clear.

Wu Zhicun knew who it was as soon as he heard the voice.

Wu Zhicun's response to Zhang Jian's threat was simple and blunt: he simply stretched out his hands, implying "do whatever you want."

Seemingly feeling that this determination was not enough, he went even further and groped for the handcuffs, intending to cuff them onto his own hands.

Shen Xin's heart pounded wildly, and he hurriedly tried to stop him.

"Sir, it's not that serious."

It's easy to put it on, but it's not so easy to take it off.

"Captain Zhang, let's talk this out. I've spent the last few days with Grandpa Wu, and I can tell that he's a reasonable person," Shen Xin quickly tried to smooth things over.

"Bullshit!"

Before Zhang Jian could speak, Wu Zhicun sneered and said, "Don't fucking scare me. I'm 67 years old this year, all alone. To be honest, I've had enough of living. If you're so capable, take me away and interrogate me however you want. If I whimper and beg for mercy, then you'll be the ones who are truly capable."

Shen Xin had witnessed his stubbornness before; he was truly more ruthless than anyone else.

Moreover, Shen Xin believed that he was serious.

At 67 years old, in his seventies, he was also blind and faced financial difficulties.

If my grandson is still alive, then there is still hope in life.

In this situation, I am truly all alone and fearless.

Zhang Jian glared at him: "Sir, I'm not complaining, nor am I trying to make things difficult for you. For the past three days, I haven't stopped for a moment. I've investigated the entire Xianghong Village, leaving no one out and asking everyone I could. One of our police officers even had his high blood pressure flare up and had to be hospitalized. What are we doing all this for? We just want to solve the case and give those victims justice."

"justice?"

Zhang Jian was interrupted by Wu Zhicun before he could finish speaking.

He got impatient and slammed his fist on the table, yelling, "You're telling me about fairness?"

"I only have one grandson, he's only 8 years old! What did he do to deserve this? He's nowhere to be found, neither alive nor dead!" "You say you have it tough, but does that mean I have it easy? Does that mean my grandson has it easy?"

“I’m already this old, I don’t care about anything else. I just want to know how my grandson is doing. If he’s dead, I’ll see him off in his final moments, and then I’ll dig a hole and lie down in it with him.”

"You talk to me about justice, but who will give my grandson justice?"

Wu Zhicun became more and more agitated as he spoke; he wanted to cry, but he couldn't.

His face was flushed, spittle flew everywhere, and he was breathing heavily with excitement.

Zhang Jian was stumped by the question. He stiffened his neck and his tone weakened: "Grandpa, this is not the same thing."

"How can they not be the same thing? You want justice, and I, the old man, also want justice. Will you give it to me?"

He questioned Zhang Jian loudly, his spittle almost splattering on Zhang Jian's face.

Zhang Jian froze, his face stiff and silent.

Wu Zhicun stopped talking and kept wiping his eyes, but not a single tear came out.

Shen Xin quickly pulled Zhang Jian away.

Shen Xin pulled Zhang Jian into the yard and said, "Team Leader Zhang, this won't do."

Wu Zhicun kept repeating the same sentence over and over again. In the past three days, Shen Xin had said everything he could, but it was all to no avail.

"How about we reinvestigate Wu Jiawang's case?" Shen Xin asked tentatively.

Shen Xin also felt there was something wrong with Wu Jiawang's case.

Zhang Jian's face darkened, and he remained silent.

Is it up to him to reopen Wu Jiawang's case?

And seven years have passed, and there are no new leads. Would reopening the investigation be useful?
Frustrated, Zhang Jian stamped his foot and squatted in the yard, sulking.

Shen Xin had no choice but to wait on the sidelines.

A dozen minutes later, just as Zhang Jian had smoked a whole bunch of cigarettes and was about to get up and argue with Wu Zhicun, Song Liang arrived in a hurry with Wang Shuwei.

Upon seeing Zhang Jian, Song Liang glared at him and shouted, "Zhang Jian, if you want to take off this police uniform today, I won't stop you. But if you still consider yourself a people's police officer, then go back now."

These words are extremely serious.

Zhang Jian glanced at Song Liang, then at Wang Shuwei, let out a long sigh, and walked out of the courtyard in silence.

"Old Song, calm down."

Wang Shuwei offered a word of advice and then hurriedly went after Zhang Jian.

Song Liang sighed, walked up to Shen Xin, glanced into the main room, and asked in a low voice, "Is Wu Zhicun really that stubborn?"

Shen Xin shrugged and said, "Why don't you give it a try?"

"Just try it."

Song Liang curled his lip. Back in the day, he was also a skilled interrogator and had seen all kinds of criminals.

He turned and went into the main room, closing the door behind him.

Faintly, I could hear Wu Zhicun shouting something.

Within minutes, the door to the main room was opened.

Song Liang left with a sullen face. Meeting Shen Xin's probing gaze, a hint of embarrassment flashed across his face, and he said in a muffled voice, "Let's go back to the station first."

Shen Xin chuckled to himself and quickly followed.

But just as I stepped out of the yard, my phone vibrated.

The cat recorder's app indicated that Shen Xin's battery was depleted and needed to be charged.

Shen Xin took out his phone, thinking that his method was unreliable. He decided to call Da Mei over later, find the cow cat, and remove the recorder from its neck.

This kind of investigative method seems like a pipe dream.

However, as soon as he turned off his phone notifications, Shen Xin inexplicably opened the latest photo he had taken.

It's a mess, all sorts of photos.

But as he flipped through the pages, Shen Xin suddenly stopped.

Several photos show a cat bowl with cat food inside, indicating that someone is feeding this black and white cat.

More importantly, one of the photos, taken from a bottom-up angle, captures a young man.

He was wearing glasses, had dark skin, and was looking down at the camera.

Shen Xin's heart skipped a beat. Who was this young man?

(End of this chapter)