Animal Detective-Chapter 61: Time Difference

Speed was of the essence. They arrived at Yongsheng New Village just after 12:30 a.m.

Shen Xin got out of the car, leading Baiwan.

He was also carrying a piece of clothing he’d grabbed from the on-duty dorm—it was Zhang Jian’s.

A short-sleeved police uniform shirt that hadn’t been washed yet.

During the day, a girl who’d been dumped by a playboy had threatened to jump into the Hengxi Canal. Zhang Jian had stood under the blazing sun for nearly an hour talking her down, his uniform soaked through with sweat several times over.

So, the smell was incredibly strong.

"Xiaoshen, why did you bring Baiwan?" Song Liang asked, surprised to see Shen Xin leading the dog.

The moment he asked, he realized why.

"Are you planning to use Baiwan as a police dog? Brilliant! You’ve got a sharp mind, kid." Song Liang gave him a thumbs-up and told Shen Xin to walk with him.

Reinforcements had also arrived from the Hongmei Police Station.

Station Chief Chen Ju, nicknamed "Director Chen."

He was also getting on in years, with salt-and-pepper hair.

But he had a powerful presence and walked with purpose. He came forward, raising a hand to stop Song Liang’s pleasantries. "Old Song, let’s skip the chatter and get to work. This guy is getting way too bold!"

he said, his voice filled with a deep-seated hatred for crime.

If Li Shanjie got away with this, it would be a disgrace to all eleven thousand police officers in Nanjiang.

"Here’s my thinking," he continued. "We know this area well. I brought over twenty men. We’ll split up, partner with your people, divide the area into zones, and conduct a door-to-door search."

"We can’t miss a single one. A lot of people rent around here, many with roommates. The suspect might have a rental property here."

Yongsheng New Village was an old, run-down residential complex, but it was zoned for Hongmei Primary School. Many people who bought property here didn’t live in it, choosing to rent it out instead.

Song Liang nodded. He had been thinking the same thing.

As they spoke, Chen Ju’s gaze shifted and landed on Baiwan, who was being led by Shen Xin.

"Whoa, Old Song, impressive. Your station has its own police dogs now?" he asked, surprised.

A police dog was a rare sight.

Plus, there was only one, and it wasn’t wearing any gear. It was obviously not a K-9 unit reinforcement.

"I don’t have that kind of pull," Song Liang explained as they walked. "One of our officers brought him back from an arrest scene during a previous case. No one claimed him, so we’ve been looking after him. Turns out, the dog’s got an amazing sense of smell. He can even sniff out drugs."

"You’re kidding!"

Chen Ju’s eyes went wide.

The average police dog could handle tracking, searching, and finding evidence like bloodstains.

But only the most elite, hand-picked dogs could be trained for narcotics and explosives detection.

Those were the truly rare ones; there weren’t many in all of Nanjiang.

If his station had one of those, meeting the drug bust quotas would be a whole lot easier.

"Old Song, you’ll have to let us borrow him sometime," Chen Ju said. "We didn’t meet our quota last quarter and got chewed out for it."

"Of course, of course."

They had come all this way to help; he had to return the favor.

The group immediately split into teams and divided up the area to begin the search.

Yongsheng New Village covered 0.46 square kilometers and was divided into three districts, with Hongmei Primary School and Yongsheng Vegetable Market situated in between.

District Three was the largest, with a building area of over 200,000 square meters and more than 3,000 households. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

The workload for this search was truly immense.

"Xiaoshen, think he can do it?" Song Liang asked, leaning on his knees as he watched Baiwan continuously sniff Zhang Jian’s police shirt.

Chen Ju hadn’t left either. He stood nearby, watching intently.

"It should be fine."

Shen Xin had already tested it out on Da Mei. Ever since the icon entered its second stage, he could not only hear animals’ thoughts but also felt a much closer connection with them.

’This connection must be mutual.’

So, an animal that had entered the second stage could understand his intentions more easily and accurately.

Take Da Mei, for example.

After Shen Xin showed her how to flush the toilet just a few times, Da Mei had actually learned to press the button.

On the way here, Shen Xin had repeatedly explained the situation to Baiwan. The dog had met Zhang Jian before, so he should be able to understand what was needed.

"Get a good sniff. This is the scent. It was here earlier."

Shen Xin was standing right where Zhang Jian had gotten out of the car.

The next moment, Shen Xin heard Baiwan’s thought.

’Got it.’

Shen Xin quickly ruffled the dog’s head. He looked into his eyes and gave him a serious word of encouragement. "Go, Baiwan. This is really important. You have to try your best. Don’t let me down."

Baiwan let out a BARK.

Miraculously, the icon above his head gained a bar.

’It’s probably because of trust,’ Shen Xin thought.

Baiwan immediately sprang into action. Head down, he sniffed around and started moving in the same direction Li Shanjie had gone when he disappeared from the surveillance footage.

"It’s working," Song Liang said, his eyes lighting up.

Chen Ju’s eyes also gleamed with excitement as he hurried to keep up.

Baiwan had never undergone professional police dog training; he was running purely on instinct.

Shen Xin also discovered that, at this moment, he could hear a constant stream of Baiwan’s thoughts.

’This way.’

’Not this one.’

’Here.’

’Got it.’

He could feel how incredibly focused Baiwan was; his mind was a flurry of activity.

Most importantly, he had really picked up the scent.

He led the three of them—Shen Xin, Song Liang, and Chen Ju—sniffing the ground all the way. He entered Yongsheng New Village’s District Three through a south-facing entrance and followed a narrow path forward.

He seemed to be getting better at it, learning how to quickly distinguish the target scent from the chaotic mix of smells. His pace quickened.

Whenever he reached an intersection, he would pause for just a moment before turning decisively.

As Shen Xin followed, he paid close attention to the path they were taking.

Unlike other planned communities that are enclosed, Yongsheng New Village was open-plan. The narrow alleyways between buildings served as convenient shortcuts into and out of the complex.

Li Shanjie must have brought Zhang Jian in through an entrance just like this.

And then headed deeper inside.

And it felt like Li Shanjie had been taking a winding route, deliberately avoiding the main roads and sticking to the paths between buildings.

Just then, Chen Chao’s voice crackled over the radio.

By reviewing surveillance footage from the surrounding roads, they had spotted Li Shanjie.

At 9:46 p.m., a traffic light camera at the intersection northeast of Yongsheng New Village had captured a van. The driver was wearing a mask, but after careful examination, they confirmed it was Li Shanjie.

The license plate registration showed the vehicle was owned by Li Jiuliang, Li Shanjie’s cousin.

Chen Chao now suspected that Li Shanjie had abandoned his original car in Yongsheng New Village, switched to another one, and driven off with Zhang Jian.

They were now tracking the van’s route.

"They found him?" Chen Ju asked, panting from the run. "What do we do now?"

Should they continue the search here?

Since they had footage of Li Shanjie driving away, it seemed to prove he hadn’t stayed in Yongsheng New Village.

His target was Zhang Jian, so he would definitely keep him close.

In that case, there wasn’t much point in continuing the ground search here.

Finding the victim was the ultimate goal.

Song Liang obviously understood this, but after glancing at Baiwan, who was still sniffing the ground intently, he hesitated and asked for Shen Xin’s opinion.

"Xiaoshen, what do you think?"

Shen Xin had a quick mind, and now that he’d been transferred to the sub-bureau, he was considered a criminal investigator.

"Chief Song, I remember the surveillance footage showed Li Shanjie getting out of his car at 9:14, right?"

Song Liang nodded, then asked what he was getting at.

Shen Xin continued, "But look, he wasn’t spotted driving the van until 9:46."

That intersection wasn’t far from here; you just had to cut through Yongsheng New Village to get there.

"Assuming Li Shanjie planned to switch cars, from the spot where he got out, entered Yongsheng New Village, got into the pre-staged van, and then drove through the complex... I’d say that would take six or seven minutes at most."

"But he didn’t appear there until 9:46. That’s a gap of 32 minutes—a full half-hour."

"The timeline doesn’t add up, right? That means he must have stayed here for a while."

Song Liang’s brows furrowed instantly.

Chen Ju, standing beside them, had a sudden realization. "That’s right! And look how far we’ve walked. If I were Li Shanjie and I wanted to switch cars here, I wouldn’t have parked the van so far away. The farther you walk, the more people might see you."

"Exactly!" Shen Xin nodded eagerly. "Look how far we’ve twisted and turned following Baiwan. If he just wanted to switch cars, he could have parked the van in a spot right by the entrance. He could have left immediately. Why go this deep into the complex?"

"It doesn’t make sense."

"Could he have left Captain Zhang here and then driven off to do something else?"

Otherwise, there was no way to explain the time discrepancy.

As he was speaking, Chen Chao’s voice came over the radio again.

"Chief Song, continue your search. I suspect Li Shanjie and Zhang Jian are separated."

Song Liang was taken aback. Shen Xin and Chen Chao had arrived at the exact same conclusion.