Animal Detective-Chapter 62: Strong Light

"Enough talk. Keep after him!"

Song Liang waved a hand, signaling them to press on.

Million hadn’t lost the scent yet, so it was still worth tracking.

Shen Xin nodded and loosened the leash slightly.

While they were talking, Million had turned to look at him, wondering why they had stopped.

Million continued forward, stopping and starting, sniffing all around.

Li Shanjie had deliberately taken deserted routes with little foot traffic, which actually made it easier for Million to track him.

The three men and the dog went deeper and deeper.

They were generally heading north.

Shen Xin had a feeling they were close.

Li Shanjie and Zhang Jian were on foot, and Zhang Jian was still dazed.

Shen Xin speculated that Li Shanjie might have used some kind of illegal substance to drug Zhang Jian, leaving him in a groggy, slow-to-react state.

If he had been completely knocked out, he would have been a dead weight, making him incredibly difficult to half-carry.

Judging from his household registration photo, Li Shanjie looked quite thin; he wouldn’t have had the strength for that.

And considering the distance they had tracked, it felt like they should be there by now.

Sure enough, Million suddenly let out two barks and shot forward.

Shen Xin quickly paid out the leash.

Million ran a few steps and stopped in front of a door.

Yongsheng New Village consisted of old-fashioned, six-story apartment buildings with a row of single-story structures in front of them.

Each was a small, single room, originally used for storing bicycles, miscellaneous items, and so on.

But as the demand for rental properties grew, some owners cleared out these storage units, renovated them, and rented them out as studio rooms.

Now, Million was barking incessantly outside the iron door of one of these rooms.

Shen Xin immediately stepped forward and motioned for Million to be quiet.

The room’s iron door was shut tight. It had no proper windows, only a small transom window set high up on the wall.

Song Liang and Chen Ju were both seasoned veterans. Despite their burning anxiety, they didn’t just break down the door. They simply went up and gave it a gentle push.

As expected, it was locked.

Shen Xin grabbed the edge of the transom window and hoisted himself up to look inside.

The window seemed to be covered with wallpaper, obscuring the view inside. Only a faint light shone through.

"There’s a light on."

Shen Xin said softly as he landed back on his feet.

At the same time, he took out his extendable baton.

Song Liang was even more direct. He had already drawn his pistol and was using his radio to call for nearby units to converge on their location.

Chen Ju pressed his ear to the door and listened carefully. He then shook his head at Song Liang and whispered that there was no sound.

Song Liang had already assessed the situation.

A sealed room like this had only one entrance. Their only option was a forced entry.

Considering the surveillance footage had captured Li Shanjie driving away, it was highly probable that only Zhang Jian was inside.

But they couldn’t rule out the possibility that Li Shanjie had an accomplice.

After all, he had borrowed the car from his cousin.

The main issue was the old-fashioned lock. If it had been a padlock on the outside, they would have known instantly that no one was inside.

In just over two minutes, the nearest colleague arrived at a run.

Song Liang had already conferred with Chen Ju. They couldn’t wait any longer. They would act immediately and pick the lock.

It was an iron-clad door with an iron frame, which would be quite difficult to kick down.

Picking the lock was a safer bet.

An officer from the Hongmei Police Station immediately stepped forward. In just three seconds, he had jimmied the lock open.

The next moment, Song Liang, gun in hand, was the first one to charge in.

The instant the door opened, a brilliant, piercing light almost blinded him.

The officers behind him filed in one after another.

Shen Xin followed, also momentarily dazzled by the intense light.

But through the blur, he immediately saw a person suspended in the middle of the room. It was none other than Zhang Jian.

There was no one else there.

"Zhang Jian!"

Song Liang rushed forward, calling out his name.

Zhang Jian stirred slightly, his voice feeble. "The lights... the lights..."

Shen Xin had already seen them. A circle of high-intensity lamps was arranged on the floor around Zhang Jian, all of them switched on, illuminating the room as if a sun had been stuffed inside.

Chen Ju, with quick reflexes, yanked the plug from the wall socket.

The room went dark.

Immediately, someone switched on a tactical flashlight.

Song Liang was already holding Zhang Jian’s legs to support his weight, while another officer came forward to untie the hemp ropes and lower him down.

Song Liang yelled for someone to call an ambulance and, holding Zhang Jian, started to rush outside.

But he couldn’t lift him right away.

"Song Suo, I’m... I’m okay. Water..."

Zhang Jian waved his hand feebly.

Chen Ju quickly nudged a police officer, telling him to go buy water.

More colleagues arrived one after another.

Dong Yueming was on the verge of tears. He grabbed Zhang Jian’s shoulders and said, "Old Zhang, you scared the hell out of us."

Zhang Jian gave a bitter smile. Just as he was about to speak, the water arrived.

He was dying of thirst. He gulped down more than half the bottle in one go before he started to recover. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Only then did Song Liang have a chance to ask what had happened.

"Don’t even ask."

Zhang Jian sighed. "The man who grabbed me is Li Shanjie. I arrested him back when I was on the criminal investigation team. You have to find him, quickly."

Zhang Jian breathed a sigh of relief upon learning they already knew about Li Shanjie, then asked how they had found him.

It was only after asking that he learned it had only been a little over three hours since he was taken.

"Zhang Jian, you owe Xiaoshen another big thank you." Song Liang pointed to Shen Xin. "It was his idea to bring Million. We were only able to find you this quickly because of him."

In high spirits, he even made a joke, pointing at Million by the door and saying he’d get an extra chicken leg when they got back.

Million seemed to understand, responding with a WOOF.

Only then did Zhang Jian see Million sitting by the door, and a wave of emotion washed over him.

"Xiaoshen, thanks."

He weakly raised his arm.

’This is the second time!’

’I’m running out of ways to repay these favors.’

Shen Xin quickly said it was nothing and asked what the lights were for.

"To shine on me!" Zhang Jian shook his head. "That bastard Li Shanjie didn’t really beat me. He just strung me up, shined the lights on me, and said he wanted me to taste what it’s like to go without sleep. He claimed that’s how he was tortured in prison."

"At the time, I thought, ’So what if I can’t sleep?’ But... it’s honestly worse than death."

Suspended in the air with the bright lights constantly shining on him, even closing his eyes was useless.

In that environment, Zhang Jian felt like time had slowed down. Every second was an agony.

"Toward the end, it felt like a whole day had passed. It was endless."

The officers exchanged glances. Seeing the lingering fear on Zhang Jian’s face, they could imagine just how torturous the experience must have been.

"Good thing we found you in just over three hours. If you’d been hanging there for a whole day... tsk, tsk..."

Dong Yueming grimaced.

Shined on by bright lights for a whole day, suspended, unable to sleep or rest, with no food or water... no one could endure that.

And that way of dying was definitely among the most agonizing.

"Let’s not talk about it." The more Song Liang heard, the more horrified he became. He gestured for the others to help carry Zhang Jian out and get him to a hospital first.

"What hospital?"

Zhang Jian shook his head and surprisingly, stood up on his own.

He had been hit a few times, but not that hard.

He was mostly just thirsty. After drinking the water, he had already started to recover.

He had even sweated so much that the effects of the drug and the alcohol had worn off.

Now, aside from feeling a bit weak, he didn’t have any major problems.

Seeing that Song Liang was still about to argue, Zhang Jian said, "Song Suo, that guy’s not in his right mind. I was already conscious when he strung me up. I asked him what he wanted. From the way he talked, he’s just out for revenge and doesn’t want to live anymore."

"He’s extremely dangerous right now. He’s capable of anything."

At this point, he suddenly remembered something and asked urgently, "What about Zhang Qin? Did we send someone to find her? Li Shanjie’s ex-wife."

"And Chen Zhongyuan. He was the one Zhang Qin had an affair with back then. If Li Shanjie is out for revenge, he’ll definitely go after those two."

Song Liang said quickly, "Zhang Jian, you should go to the hospital first. And call your family, let them know you’re safe. Your daughter was worried sick, wondering what happened to you."

"As for the case, don’t you worry about it. We won’t let this Li Shanjie get away."

It was the same principle as always: anyone who provoked or retaliated against the police would pay the price.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

This wouldn’t be over until Li Shanjie was brought in.

But Shen Xin was currently thinking about something else.

’Li Shanjie left shortly after nine.’

’He didn’t choose to stay and continue torturing Zhang Jian, which can only mean he had something more important to do.’

’So, it’s highly likely, just as Zhang Jian feared, that Li Shanjie is also going to get revenge on his ex-wife and her lover.’

’His ex-wife...’

’Shen Xin initially thought Zhang Qin was just a victim of domestic violence; he never expected her to have a lover on the side.’