Animal Detective

Chapter 291 - 245: The Evil of the Human Heart, More Treacherous Than Mountains and Rivers

Shen Xin crouched down to inspect the cats and dogs in the cages.

Every one of them had a terrified look in their eyes. The moment he got close, they shrank into the corners.

Shen Xin stood up and walked toward the caged area.

An awning hung overhead, and below were several rows of low cages, with twenty to thirty per row.

Some held dogs, others held cats.

A quick glance revealed that the cages at the front were all filled with purebred cats and dogs.

To his right, a husky of excellent stock—its eyes radiating intelligence—stretched a paw out from its cage to greet Shen Xin.

The adjacent cage held several cats.

Among them were a Ragdoll with a tail like a feather duster, a twelve-colored cat, and a Golden Shorthair with a wide muzzle and a chubby face.

There was also a "Beerus"—in other words, a hairless cat.

Shen Xin leaned in for a closer look. ’With this kind of quality, they definitely weren’t cheap.’

The cages themselves weren’t too bad, actually. They had plastic mats on the bottom, litter boxes, and food and water.

These purebred cats of excellent quality most likely came from professional catteries. They had been socialized from a young age, so they were all extremely friendly toward people.

Now, locked in their cages, they showed no fear upon seeing Shen Xin, and even lazily meowed at him.

The inner cages were full. Almost every breed of cat and dog available on the market was here.

But further inside, the situation changed.

Simple iron cages, rusty and filthy, were stuffed with worthless mutts and tabby cats.

Moreover, many of the dogs were injured. It was unclear if they were already like that when they were stolen, or if they had been bitten by their cagemates.

Shen Xin made a circuit of the area and found there were at least a hundred dogs and a hundred cats.

"Shen Xin."

Someone called his name from a distance.

Shen Xin hurried over.

Over there, Cai Huafeng and the others were leading people out of the building and into the yard.

There were seven people in total.

One of them, a middle-aged man in a leather jacket with a gaunt face and thinning hair, was Gu Shaolong.

He wore a golden silkwood bead bracelet, a jade thumb ring, and a large jadeite ring on his ring finger. Two officers escorted him before Xiong Yongjian.

"Captain Xiong?"

Gu Shaolong, crouching on the ground, looked up and recognized Xiong Yongjian. He then corrected himself, "No, you should be the Bureau Chief by now, right?"

’He was already a captain over a decade ago.’

Xiong Yongjian shook his head. "You really think too highly of me. Progress isn’t that fast. I’m still just a deputy detachment leader."

That was no small thing. Yanling was a major city, and his position was already very impressive.

Gu Shaolong, still crouching, rattled his handcuffs. His expression was calm. "Well then, Xiong Zhi, tell me why you arrested me today. So I can have a clear picture."

Xiong Yongjian said, "Do you know Wang Huiquan?"

Gu Shaolong cursed under his breath. "Fine. If that’s how it is, I’ll take the fall."

Xiong Yongjian snorted. "Don’t act so wronged. You know full well what you’ve done. Looks like those ten years you spent in prison were a complete waste."

As soon as he finished speaking, Cai Huafeng emerged from the building, carrying a camouflage air rifle.

And two air pistols.

Liu Baoqing followed behind him, holding a black crossbow.

Xiong Yongjian nodded slightly. ’This is what you call catching a thief red-handed with the loot.’

Gu Shaolong didn’t seem to care. Without even looking, he sat down on the ground and continued, responding to Xiong Yongjian’s point. "It wasn’t a complete waste. After I got out, I came to understand a certain truth."

"And that is, taking the straight and narrow just doesn’t work. The money comes in too slow, and it’s too much trouble."

"Think about it, Xiong Zhi. I’m an ex-con, and I went in for theft. What could I do when I got out? Work in a factory? Who would dare hire me?"

"Back then, I thought, I’m already fucking forty. A man with one foot in the grave. You expect me to go back to slaving away at some hard-labor job? No good food, no good drinks, nothing fun. What’s the point of living then?"

"I figured I might as well live it up for a few years. And hey, I’ve had six good years. It’s like they were a freebie."

Xiong Yongjian shook his head slightly and waved a hand, signaling for them to take him away.

It had been a surprise raid, and in war, speed is paramount. Wang Huiquan had been arrested in the morning, and the raid was carried out just a few hours later.

That’s why the yard was full of evidence.

Air rifles, tranquilizer guns, all sorts of traps for catching cats and dogs, snares, anesthetics—they had everything.

There were also ledgers, all found at the scene.

In a break room on the second floor, there was even a performance chart hanging on the wall, showing the "Performance Star of the Month."

The more they caught, the better their performance.

On the east side of the second floor, there was also a livestreaming room.

According to the employees, streamers they had long-term partnerships with would broadcast from here, selling cat and dog food.

There was another area in the backyard, also used for livestreaming—the kind that plays on people’s sympathies.

This meant that not only did Gu Shaolong supply people like Chen Fang with stray cats and dogs, but he also ran related businesses himself.

In a corner of the backyard, Shen Xin smelled a powerful, foul odor.

Chen Chao’s brows furrowed. "Is that an incinerator?"

Shen Xin moved a little closer. The heavy stench—that distinctive smell of rot mixed with the metallic tang of blood—assaulted his nostrils.

The surrounding concrete ground was covered in layer upon layer of brownish bloodstains.

One could imagine the scene: useless, diseased, or otherwise valueless cats and dogs would be brought here, stabbed to death, and tossed directly into the incinerator to be turned to ash.

Just then, from a small building on the other side of the backyard, a colleague suddenly ran out and began to vomit violently.

Shen Xin walked over to take a look, and then regretted it.

It was a slaughter room.

Inside was a concrete worktable covered with white tiles. The walls were tiled, too. Now, everything was spattered with blood, and the floor was littered with the bodies of numerous cats.