Animal Detective-Chapter 56: Double Act

He followed Chen Chao and the other man out of the office.

"Alright, Xiaoshen. Go back and get ready. Wait for our notice," Chen Chao said, smiling as he patted Shen Xin on the shoulder.

Shen Xin nodded blankly.

He replayed the events that had just unfolded in the office.

Everything had gone so smoothly.

Lv Youwei had asked what he wanted, and he’d said he wanted to be a detective.

Lv Youwei and Wang Xihai exchanged a few words, and just like that, they agreed in principle.

It was so smooth it was almost unbelievable.

Sun Zhao spoke with a serious expression, "Xiaoshen, as Director Lv just said, the work of the Criminal Investigation Division is completely different from that of a local police station. To be honest, I personally wouldn’t recommend you transfer directly."

At a local station, you spend all day dealing with trivial matters. It’s tedious, but not very dangerous.

The worst you’ll see is a couple of drunks getting into a fight.

But the Criminal Investigation Division is different. You have to face truly vicious criminals, and your life will be on the line.

"But you’ve expressed a strong desire, so I’m willing to give you a chance. Let me be blunt, though: if you don’t perform well, I’ll send you back anytime," he warned sternly.

Shen Xin nodded. Looking at the two of them—one stern-faced, the other smiling—he opened his mouth, but in the end, said nothing.

’These two are definitely playing good cop, bad cop,’ he thought. ’And back in the office, too. No matter how you looked at it, they were putting on an act. What kind of leader just asks you what you want? As if the director is a magic lamp!’

"Go on back, then."

Chen Chao waved his hand.

Shen Xin said, "Oh," and hurried away, his mind already on the clinic case, no longer dwelling on the meeting.

The outcome was good, anyway.

That was enough.

Watching Shen Xin leave, Sun Zhao hesitated for a moment before saying, "Old Chen, I get the feeling that kid knows exactly what’s going on."

"You think?"

Chen Chao laughed, then complained, "It’s all Director Lv’s fault. His acting is terrible. ’What do you want to do?’ If it were me, I would’ve figured it out immediately."

Sun Zhao immediately turned his head and said, "Regardless, Xiaoshen is a good kid, a promising candidate. How about this: when he transfers over, we’ll have him start by organizing the cold cases. That can count as fulfilling our duty to Director Lv."

A case becomes a cold case for all sorts of reasons.

You can’t just decide to reopen an investigation and expect it to work.

After so many years, the conditions for an investigation are long gone.

Chen Chao nodded. He was thinking the same thing.

Shen Xin had just finished his probationary period and lacked experience. Throwing him into a case to face vicious criminals head-on was too risky. If anything happened, no one could bear the responsibility.

Let him mess around with the cold cases first, get some experience under his belt, and then they’d see.

「Elsewhere.」

Shen Xin arrived at the parking lot.

Old Zhou was waiting patiently, scrolling through his phone.

He was enjoying a small break amidst his busy work.

Seeing Shen Xin, he immediately asked if they were heading back to the station.

"Not yet. Let’s go to Jinmei Garden first."

"Again? You have an idea?" Old Zhou asked.

Shen Xin nodded and explained his thoughts.

They would start by investigating Jiale Clinic.

On the way out, Shen Xin had thought it over again. The more he considered it, the more likely Jiale seemed.

To put it bluntly, Chi Yidong’s behavior was basically dancing back and forth over the red line of fraud. He didn’t need anyone to remind him to keep a low profile.

He also hadn’t been in Nanjiang for long, so it was unlikely he would have offended anyone for no reason.

As for revenge from one of his clients, Shen Xin thought it was improbable.

It was a private matter; no one would want to make a big fuss about it.

Besides, Shen Xin had also figured out the "miracle drug."

’For it to be so effective, it must have had something extra added to it.’

Shen Xin had encountered a similar case before.

A few years ago, his dad, who had a desk job, suffered from a herniated disc and severe back pain.

Later, his mom heard from somewhere that there was a "miracle doctor" in Bailian Town in Ji Port who specialized in treating back and leg pain. One dose of his medicine, and the pain would disappear instantly.

She urged his dad to go see him.

At the time, Shen Xin was still in the police academy and had repeatedly warned his father that this kind of doctor wasn’t reliable.

And what happened later? The doctor was investigated.

At the trial, it was revealed that he had been secretly adding massive amounts of painkillers to the medicinal powder he sold.

No wonder one dose made the pain go away instantly.

Applying that logic, Shen Xin guessed that Chi Yidong’s miracle drug was probably laced with something to enhance male performance.

It was a scam targeting those who believed in things like "ancient brewing methods" and "ancestral miracle cures."

"Old Zhou, when we get there, I’ll play the good cop, you play the bad cop. But don’t actually scare him. Control the intensity—just be a little stern. After all, it’s just a suspicion," Shen Xin added.

’He was putting what he’d just learned into practice,’ Shen Xin thought to himself.

Old Zhou had been an auxiliary officer for over a decade. He was older and looked imposing enough, making him perfect for the bad cop role, unlike Shen Xin, who was too young.

"Got it." Old Zhou made an ’OK’ gesture. This kind of thing was a piece of cake for him.

Soon, the two drove back to Jinmei Garden.

Jiale Clinic was open.

There were no customers. The owner, Zhang Zhengde, was behind the counter, propping his head up with his hand and dozing off.

Shen Xin scanned the clinic.

He noticed the clinic’s furnishings were rather old. For instance, the sign detailing the treatment procedures, which was stuck on the aluminum-alloy door of a partitioned-off treatment room, was peeling and yellowed.

"Sir."

Shen Xin knocked on the counter.

Zhang Zhengde jolted awake. Seeing it was Shen Xin, he immediately said, "Officer, why are you... back again?"

His tone was a bit unnatural.

But that could just be because they had come once already and were now back for a second time.

When the police come looking for you twice, it’s definitely not for anything good.

Shen Xin made eye contact with Old Zhou, who immediately spoke up in a deep voice, "You tell us why. If we’re here, we obviously have our reasons."

Even though he was just an auxiliary officer, after so many years on the job, he really did have a certain intimidating presence without even trying to be angry.

Zhang Zhengde’s expression changed slightly, and his tone weakened as he asked what they wanted to know.

"What do you think?" Old Zhou tossed the question right back at him, his voice stern. "Don’t think this is some small matter. Smashing a window, stealing medicine... The victim reported to us that he lost at least a hundred thousand yuan worth of medicine. A situation like this could be classified as a home-invasion robbery."

Shen Xin’s gaze flickered as he glanced at Old Zhou.

Zhang Zhengde’s face changed again, and he blurted out instinctively, "He lost medicine, too? How is that possible!"

"What do you mean, ’how is that possible’? Just because you say it wasn’t stolen, that makes it true?" Old Zhou immediately pressed loudly.

Zhang Zhengde fell silent, his expression wavering.

Shen Xin knew it was his turn. He put a hand out to stop Old Zhou and continued, "Dr. Zhang, my colleague is just a bit anxious, and his voice might have been a little loud. I apologize on his behalf."

"But he has a point. Look, this wasn’t a big deal to begin with. It’s just a couple of panes of glass, not worth much. To be honest, neighbors get into fights, lose their temper, and maybe smash a window. As long as no one gets hurt, it’s fine, right?"

"Normally, you’d just pay for the damages, give a sincere apology, and that would be the end of it."

"Honestly, I don’t believe he lost over a hundred thousand yuan’s worth of medicine either. What kind of medicine is that valuable? But you know, a guy who sells that kind of stuff, he’s full of hot air. Who knows what he might claim..." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Shen Xin watched the changes in Zhang Zhengde’s expression.

From shock to indignation.

’This is looking more and more likely,’ he thought.

"Anyway, this matter... it’s not big, but it’s not small either. It all depends on how the other party decides to pursue it. What if he insists that medicine was stolen? What can you do then?"

"What if this ends up on your record and affects your kids or something? That would be a huge loss, wouldn’t you agree?"

Shen Xin asked in return.

He’d said so much, and Zhang Zhengde still hadn’t refuted any of it. There was no doubt now; it was him.

Shen Xin stared at him, feeling that his mental defenses were on the verge of collapsing. He just needed one final push.

As expected, the experienced Old Zhou immediately said, "Xiaoshen, like I said, let’s just take him back to the station for questioning."

Sure enough, that sentence was the last straw that broke the camel’s back, crushing Zhang Zhengde.

"Really... will just paying for it be enough?" he asked nervously, his expression tense.

Shen Xin and Old Zhou exchanged a glance. ’Got him.’

"It mainly depends on the other party, and on our attitude," Shen Xin said, careful not to make any promises. He then asked, "But why on earth did you smash his window in the first place?"

"Why do you think? He sells fake medicine!"

At the mention of the reason, Zhang Zhengde suddenly flared up, his eyes wide as he shouted, "Don’t think I don’t know what’s in that bullshit ’miracle drug’ of his! To put it plainly, it’s just laced with sildenafil! He’s a disgrace to us doctors! I just couldn’t stand by and watch."