Animal Detective

Chapter 39 Grave

After driving a short distance, they pulled over to the side of the road, and Chen Chao also stopped, got out of the car, and walked over.

He got directly into Shen Xin's car and immediately spotted Da Mei.

He probably wasn't a big fan of cats and dogs, but he still complimented the cat, saying it was beautiful.

"Is this the cat that helped you find Li Jin?" Chen Chao sat in the back row and reached out to touch Da Mei's head.

Da Mei is still the same as ever. Apart from Shen Xin, she keeps strangers at bay and will bite if she turns her back.

Chen Chao quickly withdrew his hand.

Of course, Da Mei didn't really intend to bite. Given a cat's reaction speed, if she wanted to bite, Chen Chao wouldn't have been able to dodge at all.

Shen Xin quickly grabbed Da Mei, held her in his arms, and nodded, saying, "That's right, it's her. We found that dog Wu Jiawang this time thanks to her."

I posted missing dog notices for three days without any luck, but Da Mei stepped in and found it immediately.

"sharp."

Chen Chao gave a thumbs up, beckoned to Da Mei with his finger, and then said, "This cat is practically a genius."

Shen Xin told her to find the dog, and she found it. What else could it be but a spirit?

As he spoke, he urged Shen Xin to look at the footage from the recorder.

He was very interested.

This was the first time he had ever experienced this method of investigation.

Shen Xin opened the mobile app, connected to the recorder, and immediately received real-time footage.

The camera is angled upwards and remains motionless.

It looks like Lele has gone back to sleep.

After watching for a few minutes without it moving, Shen Xin suggested, "Why don't we stop watching for now and check its location? If the location changes, we can watch it again. That way, we can save some battery power."

Simple positioning doesn't use much power.

Chen Chao was finding it boring.

Staring at a sleeping dog is more boring than squatting down to watch it.

He simply rolled down the car window, stuck his feet out, and lay down, saying he would take a nap first, as he had been busy investigating a case of intentional injury and had stayed up all night yesterday.

Shen Xin naturally had no objections, and even wanted to ask Chen Chao what case it was.

Shen Xin was curious about criminal cases.

Da Mei also started to sleep.

Shen Xin also wanted to sleep, but he was worried about Lele's condition, so he checked the location every few minutes.

There has been no movement.

It seems like they fed it too much ham sausage earlier and are just digesting it.

It wasn't until almost 1 p.m. when Chen Chao woke up, but there was still no movement from Lele.

"eat first."

Chen Chao was patient.

During the meal, he also told Shen Xin that if Shen Xin wanted to become a criminal police officer in the future, the first thing he had to do was to be patient.

Don't always think that you can catch the suspect in just two episodes like in movies and TV shows.

They also said things have gotten better in the last two years, with surveillance cameras everywhere.

In earlier years, solving a case could easily take several months, or even a year.

“Once, we conducted a cross-regional tracking operation in the three northeastern provinces. We staked out the suspect’s mother’s house, thinking that since it was almost Chinese New Year, the suspect would definitely go back to his hometown to see his mother. In the freezing cold, we staked out the house until after the New Year. It was an extraordinary ordeal.”

"But there's still no result; the person hasn't come back at all."

When these past events are mentioned, Chen Chao just shakes his head.

While Chen Chao was talking enthusiastically, Shen Xin couldn't help but ask him if there was any hope for him to become a criminal police officer in his situation.

"You're quite something, buddy. You managed to hold back for so long before asking," Chen Chao said with a smile.

He had heard Song Liang and Zhang Jian mention it and knew that Shen Xin wanted to be a criminal police officer.

After a moment's thought, Chen Chao said, "Normally, it involves going through procedures, which is a bit troublesome."

Criminal police are a specialized police force. Since Shen Xin didn't study criminal investigation, if he were to go through the normal procedures, he would definitely need to have a position in the criminal police team, and then he would have to go through an audit and assessment. It would really take one or two years to have any chance.

“But,” Chen Chao changed his tone, “if you want it to be faster, there is a way.”

"To perform meritorious service".

He held up a finger and said, "In our line of work, we don't lack people. Professional skills are the most important thing. If you can make meritorious contributions, especially great ones, when the leader meets with you and asks, 'Young comrade, what are your wishes?' If you say, 'I want to be a criminal police officer,' then it's just a matter of the leader saying a word."

He gave me a knowing look.

Shen Xin understood, but said with a troubled expression, "But I'm at the police station."

Opportunities for police stations to earn merit are few and far between.

Most awards and commendations are for those who have steadfastly remained in their posts for many years, making extraordinary contributions in ordinary positions. This is not the kind of merit Chen Chao was referring to.

"Alright, you're acting all innocent after getting the benefits." Chen Chao laughed and scolded, "You haven't even been officially promoted yet, and you've already earned a third-class merit, putting you ahead of 99% of the people. When I was your age, I was still following my master around, fetching water for him."

Shen Xin smiled sheepishly, then thought it made sense. How many probationary police officers who hadn't yet been officially appointed could earn a third-class merit like he had?

Just then, my phone vibrated.

A notification from the app.

The app allows you to define a range, and it will alert you if the dashcam goes outside that range.

"Lele has moved."

Shen Xin quickly replied.

The location on the phone representing Lele started moving north, along Ruixiang Road in front of us.

The two watched as the location drew ever closer.

Then, through the window of the fast food restaurant, I saw Lele running along the side of the road.

"Follow."

Chen Chao immediately got up, got into Shen Xin's car, and followed him all the way.

Lele is a dog, unlike people.

The paths it took were inconvenient for people to walk in many places.

But with a location, there's no fear of losing track of them.

Chen Chao held his phone and turned on the live video.

Watching Lele linger in several trash cans, she jumped in and rummaged through the garbage.

Then head east along National Highway 372.

With cars coming and going on the national highway, it's quite dangerous for him to cross the road.

We also encountered other stray dogs along the way.

Lele seems to be very timid and always avoids others.

They followed slowly for a while, and finally stopped by a small road.

Shen Xin looked to his right.

Beyond the roadside trees, weeds grow rampant.

This area is the wasteland between Jinyang Village and Xianghong Village.

It has a large area.

The road in front of us is an underpass of National Highway 372. It's an unnamed path that only familiar truck drivers usually use.

The location data shows that Lele entered the wasteland from this spot.

"Walk."

Without hesitation, Chen Chao got out of the car and followed.

It's called wasteland, but there's no real wasteland in the city.

Many residents in the vicinity have moved into apartment buildings after their homes were demolished, but they can't stay idle. For example, this wasteland has been turned into vegetable gardens by many elderly people in the vicinity.

The area was overgrown with weeds, and the only walkable paths were a few small trails worn by people.

Chen Chao paused briefly, pointed southeast, and asked Shen Xin if that was Xianghong Village.

Shen Xin nodded. Crossing this wasteland would lead to Xianghong Village.

The location showed that Lele was just ahead, and then stopped.

"Let's go take a look," Chen Chao called out.

There must have been people living here before, as you can still see the old houses with their dilapidated walls and ruins.

I also saw a grave.

This area used to be farmland, so when burial was practiced, people were naturally buried in their own farmland.

Some graves have been abandoned and are overgrown with weeds.

Some of them still bear traces of worship.

They trudged through a thicket of grass, and just as they were about to reach the stinking ditch to the south, Chen Chao grabbed Shen Xin and pointed ahead: "There it is."

Shen Xin saw it too.

There are two graves outside a grove of trees.

There is a low wall made of red bricks around the perimeter, and a monument stands there. Two cypress trees, which have grown very tall, are planted on the left and right sides.

Right at the base of the wall, lying there was a dog—none other than Lele.

Judging from its appearance, it seems to have gone back to its old lair.

(End of this chapter)