Animal Detective-Chapter 66: Ducts

"Go on."

Chen Chao knew that Shen Xin had a quick mind.

It was precisely for this reason that he had chosen to transfer Shen Xin to the Criminal Investigation Division.

Shen Xin was still a little hesitant, but after thinking it over, he realized this might really be an option. "Captain Chen," he said, "do you remember how I found Li Jin?"

Chen Chao caught on immediately, asking in astonishment, "You mean by using a cat?"

Shen Xin’s previous use of a stray cat to find Li Jin had been a stroke of sheer genius in his eyes.

Shen Xin nodded. "Captain Sun also said before that besides the door, this supply warehouse only has ventilation ducts. A person definitely can’t get in there, but a cat can."

"There are also regulating valves inside, which are impossible for a person to get past, but it’s no problem for a cat. What if we put a hidden camera on a cat, let it crawl in, and use it to film the situation inside? Wouldn’t that be feasible?"

"And it’s a cat. Even if it jumped right out of a vent and appeared in front of Li Shanjie, I doubt he would even notice."

Li Shanjie would only be wary of people. Why would he pay any attention to a little cat?

Chen Chao’s spirits lifted. Biting his lip, he thought it over carefully. "It’s possible, I suppose," he said. "The key is, will the cat actually listen to you?"

You tell it to crawl into a ventilation duct, and it’ll just do it?

It’s a cat, not a person.

Shen Xin said, "We can try. It might just work."

’Anyone else would fail for sure, but I should be able to do it.’

’Da Mei is at Stage Two; she can understand what I mean.’

"Alright, go get your cat. I’ll discuss it with the political commissar and the others." Chen Chao knew Shen Xin had an unusually smart stray cat.

It was Da Mei who had found Lele previously.

Shen Xin nodded and hurried to his car.

The problem was, the drive back would take nearly half an hour. A round trip was just too long.

Shen Xin thought about calling his station and asking someone to pick up Da Mei for him.

But Da Mei was wary of strangers. It would be difficult for someone she didn’t know to take her away, especially with her "husband," Evil Bully, on the scene. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

As he stepped on the gas and pulled onto the road, Shen Xin suddenly thought of someone.

Zhang Qian.

He had chatted with Zhang Qian before, and they often talked about Da Mei.

Da Mei was so beautiful she had won Zhang Qian over with her looks alone.

After finding out Da Mei had given birth to a litter of three, she’d even said she wanted to adopt one and had made a special trip to visit, bringing canned food.

Perhaps because Shen Xin had been there to make introductions, Da Mei’s attitude toward Zhang Qian was friendly enough.

On the principle that every second counted, Shen Xin gave Zhang Qian a call.

The call went through quickly.

It was already 2:40 a.m. Although Zhang Jian had called to say he was safe, Zhang Qian was still awake.

The moment the call connected, she asked nervously if something else had happened.

"It’s not like there’s always a crisis," Shen Xin reassured her, then quickly asked her for a favor: pick up Da Mei and meet him partway.

Zhang Jian’s home was also near the police station. From his place to Shen Xin’s apartment was a five-minute drive at most.

"Da Mei?"

Zhang Qian didn’t quite understand why Shen Xin needed Da Mei right now, but she didn’t press for details.

Since Shen Xin was asking for help, there had to be a reason, and she knew better than to pry into police matters.

Shen Xin then told her the passcode for his apartment’s combination lock.

He’d lost his keys coming home last week.

Shen Xin had tried to pick the lock himself, but his skills weren’t up to par, and he hadn’t been able to open it.

In the end, he’d just replaced it with a smart lock so he wouldn’t have to carry a key.

He also asked Zhang Qian to grab a collar to mount the camera on later.

The police-issue cameras were tiny, about the size of a fingernail, making them very hard to spot.

Zhang Qian noted everything and left immediately.

She also shared her location with Shen Xin so they could rendezvous faster.

A little over ten minutes later, they met on the side of the road.

Zhang Qian hadn’t even changed out of her pajamas as she hurriedly handed the pet carrier to Shen Xin.

"Did she scratch you?"

Shen Xin noticed a bloody scratch, several centimeters long, on Zhang Qian’s right arm.

"No, it wasn’t Da Mei. It was Evil Bully. I’m so mad! And after I even bought him dried fish last time," Zhang Qian said, fuming.

"I’ll teach him a lesson for you when I get back!"

When it came to Evil Bully, Shen Xin had taken a different path to get on his good side: submission.

"Thanks. I’ll treat you to dinner later," Shen Xin said, too rushed to say more as he got into the car with Da Mei.

Zhang Qian nodded, just calling out for Shen Xin to be careful before adding, "And my dad, too."

Shen Xin stuck his arm out the window to wave, then sped off with his siren blaring.

On the way, Shen Xin let Da Mei out of the carrier.

Although night was a cat’s most active time, Da Mei now had an owner, and her biological clock had adjusted accordingly. She had likely been forcibly "booted up" from a deep sleep, and her gaze was less than friendly.

"Don’t be mad. I need you to do me a favor."

Shen Xin quickly tried to placate her.

Da Mei instantly perked up and let out a meow.

Shen Xin heard her thoughts. ’Go beat it up. I haven’t beaten it up in a while.’

Da Mei was now at Stage Two with a three-bar favorability rating. As her favorability increased in Stage Two, the thoughts he heard seemed to grow more detailed.

Shen Xin understood at once.

The little rascal was thinking about bullying that tuxedo cat again.

"Don’t keep thinking about that. I need you to go into a duct and help me see what’s inside. I’ll tell you what to do in a minute. Come on, help me out."

When dealing with Da Mei, one had to act like a proper cat owner.

As for Da Mei, she rather enjoyed her status as the top cat. When her underling was in trouble, she was, of course, happy to oblige.

"Fine."

Da Mei let out a meow, her gaze full of resentment.

Shen Xin pulled out his phone and showed Da Mei a picture of Li Shanjie, telling her to remember his face so she could find him.

When he rushed back to the No. 1 Cotton Mill, Chen Chao was waiting for him outside.

"What’s wrong?"

One look at his expression told Shen Xin that something had gone wrong.

"Don’t even ask."

Chen Chao sighed, telling Shen Xin to hurry along with the cat while he explained the situation on the way.

While Shen Xin was gone, Yang Fuming had tried to negotiate with Li Shanjie again. He’d had Li Fenglan talk to him from just outside the warehouse door.

But in the middle of their talk, Li Fenglan couldn’t stop herself from muttering a few complaints about him.

This enraged Li Shanjie.

Soon after, Li Shanjie cut off one of Chen Zhongyuan’s fingers and threw it out, demanding they bring Liu Ying to him immediately.

Otherwise, he said, it wouldn’t be a finger he’d cut off next, but his entire head.

The situation deteriorated rapidly. Feng Kaiwei and his team were already drawing up plans for a tactical breach.

"I told Director Lv and the others about your idea, and they agreed. It’s worth a shot, considering where we are now."

Handing over Liu Ying was out of the question.

It was a stalemate. Shen Xin’s method, however outlandish, was worth a try.

As he spoke, Chen Chao looked at Da Mei, who was gazing around curiously from Shen Xin’s arms, and asked if she would be up to the task.

"She should be fine."

Shen Xin had faith in Da Mei.

When they reached the outside of the dyeing and printing workshop, Lv Youwei was huddled over a blueprint with Feng Kaiwei, discussing the plan for the raid.

Seeing Shen Xin, he quickly waved him over.

Feng Kaiwei also glanced curiously at Da Mei. Using a cat for surveillance... today was a real eye-opener for him.

And somehow, Lv Youwei and the others had actually approved the idea.

It was only after asking that he learned Shen Xin had previously found not only a suspect but also the missing Lele, all with the help of a cat.

He’d even found Zhang Jian by using a regular dog like a police K-9.

"So this is the cat," Lv Youwei said, also looking at Da Mei.

The hero who had found Lele.

Shen Xin nodded and briefly explained his plan.

Clearly, Lv Youwei and his team had already discussed how to execute it in the time he was gone.

He led Shen Xin directly to the west side of the warehouse.

It was an old factory building with a relatively simple design. The supply air duct ran parallel to the fire sprinkler pipes, extending out from the warehouse’s west wall to connect to the main pipeline.

A ladder was already in place, and they had removed one section of the duct.

"There’s a regulating valve over there. I checked. A cat should be able to squeeze through," Feng Kaiwei said, pointing toward the warehouse wall.

He was well aware of a cat’s ability to squeeze through tight spaces.

Without hesitation, Shen Xin attached the miniature wireless camera to Da Mei’s collar.

Sun Zhao held up a tablet and turned it on to check the feed. The angle was good. He nodded at Shen Xin.

They also attached a tiny microphone to her collar to pick up audio.

"Good luck."

Shen Xin lifted Da Mei, placed her inside the duct, and offered a final word of encouragement.

’I know, I know.’

Her lazy thought came through.

Then, she immediately began to move deeper into the ventilation duct.

As expected of a creature with padded paws, she made absolutely no sound.

Everyone quickly gathered around the tablet.

The camera feed was remarkably steady.

A cat’s head has a built-in stabilization system. No matter how its body moves, its head can remain perfectly level.

They watched as Da Mei quickly reached the regulating valve. It was a damper, and it was only half-open, leaving a gap of about ten centimeters.

A person could never have squeezed through, but Da Mei slipped right past it as if it wasn’t even there.

"Amazing."

Feng Kaiwei couldn’t help but exclaim.

This was much better than any remote-controlled robot.

Da Mei rounded the first bend. She should be over the warehouse ceiling now.

The duct forked.

She hesitated at the junction for a moment before randomly picking a path.

Before long, she reached the end of the line.

It was a grated air vent.

From her high vantage point, the situation inside the room became clear.

The room was about sixty to seventy square meters. It was as tall as the main workshop, five or six meters high, with three rows of shelves running north to south that nearly reached the ceiling.

They were empty now.

Between two of the rows, toward the back of the room, sat a rechargeable work light.

In the camera’s view, they could see Zhang Qin, tied with ropes and sitting on the floor, leaning against one of the shelves.

Pacing nearby was Li Shanjie.

Most importantly, just a few steps from Zhang Qin, a person was lying face-up on the ground.

It was Chen Zhongyuan.

He lay motionless in a pool of blood, his face a mess of knife wounds.

He was dead!

Everyone present was stunned.