Animal Detective

Chapter 74 Files
The next day, Shen Xin dressed neatly and drove to the branch office early to report for duty.

I ran into Zhao Tianxing on my way upstairs.

"Why are you calling me 'brother'? It's too formal."

Zhao Tianxing reached out to take the storage box from Shen Xin's hand.

Shen Xin quickly said no need, adding that he still had to call him "brother," since Zhao Tianxing was, after all, his senior.

Zhao Tianxing took Shen Xin to the political department to complete the formalities. As they walked, he said, "I reckon we'll be in the same group. I've been with Captain Chen for over two years now. He's annoying me, and so am I, especially when we're on stakeout. The songs he listens to, oh my god, Teresa Teng, I don't even know what to say."

Criminal investigators always work in pairs.

"Then I'll have to learn a lot from you, Brother Xing."

It would be great to be able to partner with Zhao Tianxing; we're familiar with each other.

On the way upstairs, Shen Xin asked about Zhang Qin's case.

"It's just going through the procedures. I reckon it'll be another two days, once we've collected all the evidence, it should be ready for handover."

Zhao Tianxing pursed his lips, then hooked his arm around Shen Xin's shoulder and said, "Honestly, after working on this case, I have a profound understanding of the saying that marriage is a man's grave. So brother, listen to me, never get married. Don't give up the whole forest for one tree."

Shen Xin nodded in agreement.

The cases of Zhang Qin and Li Shanjie also deeply affected me.

The political department is already staffed.

Wang Xihai happened to be there as well. He handed the file over to his subordinates to handle, without letting Shen Xin follow along. He then pulled Shen Xin aside and had a good chat with him in his office for a while.

They also asked Shen Xin if he had gone to see Wu Zhicun again afterward.

Not really.

I've been busy these past few days.

“Go visit him when you have time. I took some people to visit him last week, and the old man mentioned you to me,” Wang Xihai said with a smile.

The procedures were completed very quickly.

Then comes obtaining identification documents and personal belongings, such as restraints.

Of course, there were also guns.

But as always, the gun cabinet is locked.

In Zhao Tianxing's words, the most useful function of this thing is that it can tell you in advance how dangerous the task to be carried out today is.

He also told Shen Xin that she didn't need to dress so formally.

Wear casual, loose-fitting clothes, and definitely wear sneakers. You can buy a more expensive pair so that you won't get too tired from walking a lot.

Then buy a bag, instead of those old briefcases that you carry around. Chen Chao and the others don't use those anymore; they're too outdated.

A sturdy backpack, the kind you can swing around as a weapon in a pinch, or even use it to block a knife.

Shen Xin nodded and made a note of it.

Upon arriving at the main office, Sun Zhao, his eyes red, was speaking to Chen Chao.

Chen Chao must have gone back to catch up on his sleep, but his eyes were still red.

"Xiao Shen, do a good job."

Sun Zhao gave a few words of advice and then went to his office to catch up on his sleep.

There was no welcoming ceremony, no formalities, just a simple introduction to the colleagues present.

They were all quite enthusiastic.

Moreover, they were all aware of Shen Xin's ability to solve cases using small animals, and some even asked a few more questions out of curiosity.

Then he gave Shen Xin an empty seat, patted Shen Xin on the shoulder, and asked Shen Xin with a smile how he was using the computer.

Shen Xin said it was fine.

Chen Chao's smile widened, and then he waved.

Zhao Tianxing had already brought over a pile of documents.

The remaining colleagues were clearly prepared, each bringing several documents.

In an instant, the files on Shen Xin's desk had piled up into a small mountain.

"Thank you for your hard work. You're new here, so familiarize yourself with the work process and help us with writing materials. If you don't understand anything, just ask Xiao Zhao." Chen Chao called a colleague and left.

"Thanks, Xiao Shen!"

"You can write it as you see fit. If you have any questions, leave them there and ask me later. Thanks!"

The remaining colleagues also thanked them, and then left one after another, as if they had just clocked in.

Shen Xin was left staring blankly at the pile of folders in front of him.

Zhao Tianxing sighed and said, "Brother, it's okay. Perseverance is victory. Back then, I spent half a year writing materials. I finally got to go out with Captain Chen to handle cases, and I thought I was finally free."

"The result was even worse."

He clicked his tongue in amazement and counted on his fingers, saying, "Investigation, questioning, driving, getting scolded, typing, meetings, in the end, you're either writing reports or on your way to write reports."

"Seriously, just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes."

Shen Xin was dumbfounded.

But then again, it's the same at the police station.

With a long sigh, Shen Xin stretched and got back to work. He ignored the people coming and going around him, focusing solely on his writing.

The good thing is that I can leave work on time.

No one urged Shen Xin.

The number of documents on the table didn't decrease; in fact, it increased.

The good thing is that Zhang Qian has been contacting me a bit more these past few days.

Zhang Jian then treated me to a meal.

His kidnapping by Li Shanjie was obviously exposed. According to Zhang Qian, the couple had a big fight, and Shen Yuemei even shouted that this time Zhang Jian would have to resign even if he didn't get out of the police uniform.

Because of this, Zhang Qian visited the branch office twice to bring Shen Xin delicious food.

Shen Yuemei asked me to deliver it.

Before you know it, half a month has passed.

That day at work, Shen Xin had just sat down and hadn't even started writing when Chen Chao suddenly came over and said he had something to say.

"Is there a case?"

Shen Xin's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly asked.

Shen Xin has been writing reports for the past two weeks and is feeling nauseous.

"There isn't a case...."

Chen Chao smiled and led Shen Xin to the branch office's archives.

"Old Lin."

The archives administrator was a middle-aged policeman with gray hair, wearing reading glasses, a square face, and a stern expression.

He then introduced Shen Xin and said he would find Shen Xin a room.

Old Lin called Lin Huajun. After thinking for a moment, he led the two deeper into the area and finally opened a door.

It was probably a storage room; the room wasn't big, and it was filled with old tables and chairs, office supplies, and other odds and ends.

Many things were covered in dust, and there were no windows. Opening the door would send up dust and make you cough.

"How's it here?" Old Lin asked.

Chen Chao peeked over and nodded, saying it was good.

Then he said to Shen Xin, "Shen Xin, for the next period of time, you will come here every day and find all the unsolved cases that our branch has accumulated. You can ask Lao Lin where he is later and find them all."

"Take a look first, and then organize it by category."

"Finally, based on your own ideas, see which cases might still have the conditions for being handled, and then prioritize those."

"In short, compile everything; it will be useful later."

"You don't need to rush, take your time, there's plenty of time."

Shen Xin couldn't help but open his mouth wide and look at Chen Chao with resentment.

When you were putting on an act to fool yourself into coming here, that's not what you said.

He spent half a month writing materials, which wasn't enough, and now he's started organizing unsolved cases.

So you've got to work with words, huh?

Chen Chao wasn't embarrassed at all, and laughed, "Don't rush, there's plenty of time. You'll have plenty of cases to handle in the future, until you don't want to handle them anymore. At that time, you might even miss this time."

It's time to leave work on time; it's even more relaxing than working at a police station.

After saying that, without giving Shen Xin a chance to argue, he patted Shen Xin on the shoulder and quickly left.

Shen Xin sighed deeply and could only ask Lao Lin where the unsolved case files were kept.

"follow me."

Without wasting any words, Lao Lin led Shen Xin deeper into the archives.

He walked all the way to the back of the shelf before stopping and pointing to the bookshelf on his left, saying, "This is it."

"An entire bookshelf?"

Shen Xin's eyes widened.

This bookshelf has six shelves and is four or five meters long; it is estimated to hold hundreds or even thousands of files.

"What are you thinking? Cold cases? You really think we police officers are just sitting around doing nothing?"

As he spoke, Old Lin stepped forward, carried down a stack of files from the third floor, and handed them over.

One stack wasn't enough, so I carried several stacks in a row.

"It's not much, but over the years, it's accumulated quite a bit."

"Many people still remember them and come back to look at them from time to time, sigh..."

He sighed.

Unsolved cases are like a thorn in the side of the police officers handling the case.

Sometimes, this thorn may not be removed even until retirement.

Shen Xin fell silent, suddenly realizing the weight of the dossier in his hand.

Oh, I just remembered something. I wanted to clarify that even though the world in the novel is fictional, and I've adjusted the timeline to 17, it can't completely follow reality. It just involves some investigative procedures and such. Also, regarding the surveillance issue, I've written about it before; it's not as comprehensive as it is now. So, I've pointed out areas I thought might be plot holes. Please forgive me.
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(End of this chapter)