Animal Detective

Chapter 289 - 244: A Business (Part 2)

This was why speed was crucial.

Make the arrest first; it wouldn’t be too late to supplement the investigation afterward.

Shen Xin went back to the branch to get his gun.

Sun Zhao and Chen Chao already knew that Wang Huiquan had fired an air rifle.

Just before he left, Sun Zhao pulled Shen Xin aside, urging him to be extremely careful. He told him to just stick to observing.

He was practically traumatized from lending out his men.

The last time he’d lent Shen Xin out for Zhu Tianshun’s drug case, it had resulted in a shootout that became infamous throughout the city. The incident had nearly scared him to death.

Now this case involved a gun too, and even though it was just an air rifle, he was still on edge.

Speaking of which, Sun Zhao shot a glare at Chen Chao and ordered him to go along.

He wouldn’t feel at ease unless Chen Chao went with them.

The interrogation, coordinating with Yanling, conducting preliminary investigations, and drawing up an arrest plan took until almost four in the afternoon. Only then did the team set out for Yanling.

In the car, Chen Chao and Liu Baoqing made idle chitchat.

A little over an hour later, the team arrived at their destination.

Wutang District, Yanling.

Shen Xin had been here before, during the Xiao Hong case.

But this time, they were in Luxi Town.

The area was right next to the Ningdong Expressway, and the team’s destination was near the Luxi exit.

By the time they arrived, dusk had already fallen.

The team parked their car on the side of the road.

After waiting a while, two cars drove up from behind.

Shen Xin recognized the man who got out of the car.

Xiong Yongjian.

During the Xiao Hong case, Shen Xin had helped arrest Sun Yongxi, and in the process, helped them solve a cold case. Xiong Yongjian had come to the Tingyang Branch to thank them for it.

’He’s the Deputy Chief of the Yanling Criminal Investigation Division. I can’t believe he came in person.’

Accompanying him was Cai Huafeng, the captain of the Wutang District Criminal Investigation Brigade.

The moment they met, Xiong Yongjian spotted Shen Xin immediately.

"Well, if it isn’t Xiaoshen."

He immediately waved at Shen Xin.

"Xiong Zhi," Shen Xin said, hurrying forward to greet him.

Xiong Yongjian asked curiously, "Isn’t this a New District case? How did you guys get involved?"

He saw Chen Chao.

After learning that Shen Xin had been the one to first discover the problems at Chen Fang’s shelter, Xiong Yongjian’s attention shifted completely away from the shelter itself.

Xiong Yongjian said, "So, you’re helping the city bureau train police dogs now, kid?"

The last time he came to the branch, he had been particularly interested in the police dogs. He’d pestered Sun Zhao, wanting to see Dou Dou and the others, but Sun Zhao had put him off, so he never got the chance.

Shen Xin, unaware of his interest, gave a brief overview of the city bureau’s K-9 project.

Xiong Yongjian’s eyes lit up again.

’Nanjiang is kind enough to provide police dogs to remote areas... shouldn’t they help out a neighboring brother city too?’

Chen Chao cut in, "Xiong Zhi, let’s stick to business for now."

Xiong Yongjian glanced at Shen Xin again. In any case, he knew about the project now.

The Yanling side hadn’t been idle either.

Using the Skynet system, they found that Wang Huiquan’s car had departed from the distant Shao Long Breeding Farm at 8:19 this morning, bound for Nanjiang.

At the same time, they searched the homes of Wang Huiquan and Xu Zhicai.

They found lead pellets at Wang Huiquan’s home, but not the camouflaged air rifle.

He wasn’t married and lived with his parents.

His parents were heartbroken whenever they spoke of him. They said he was just messing around, and they had absolutely no control over him.

The key was this Shao Long Breeding Farm.

According to its business registration, it was a company that specialized in breeding purebred dogs.

The company’s legal representative was named Han Huimin.

There was nothing wrong with her. The problem was with her ex-husband.

Gu Shaolong.

Speaking of him, Xiong Yongjian grew somewhat wistful. "You could say he and I are old acquaintances."

"His nickname is ’Two Fingers.’"

Xiong Yongjian wiggled his index and middle fingers.

"A thief?" Liu Baoqing asked.

Xiong Yongjian nodded, then said, "Back in the nineties, we had a thief king in Yanling, nicknamed Limp Tan in the criminal underworld. You’ve all probably heard of him, right?"

Shen Xin had been just a kid back in the nineties, so he knew nothing about it.

But Liu Baoqing and Chen Chao had clearly heard of him.

Chen Chao said, "I remember he’s dead, right?"

Xiong Yongjian nodded. "That’s right. Back in ’01, a gang from the south came down and got into a conflict with them. He was gunned down and died on the spot."

"Back then, I was still the deputy captain of criminal investigation at the Yanning District Branch. We were the ones who investigated that case."

"And while we were at it, we cracked down on Limp Tan’s entire crew."

"Gu Shaolong was one of the ones we caught back then. He was Limp Tan’s apprentice. He was sentenced to ten years for theft and assault."

"He didn’t get his sentence reduced. Got out in ’11. I never heard anything about him after that."

"To be honest, there are fewer thieves these past few years. It’s not as rampant as it used to be. I thought he might have gone straight, but I guess he’s back to his old ways."

He shook his head slightly.

As he spoke, the group drew closer to the breeding farm.

It was on the outskirts of a village. They followed a small path further in until they reached the farm at the very end, which was backed by a river.

It was surrounded by high walls, with no other factories or homes nearby.

Even from a distance, they could smell a faint stench in the air and hear the sound of barking dogs.

The farm’s gate was shut tight, but light was visible from within.

A man emerged from a nearby corner. He was a colleague from the Wutang Branch on surveillance duty.

The guiding principle for the day was speed, which meant many details hadn’t been fully investigated yet.

The priority, however, was to arrest their main target: Gu Shaolong.

Wang Huiquan had already confessed that the air rifle he used was purchased by Gu Shaolong through his own channels.

And it wasn’t just the air rifle. There were also crossbows and tranquilizer guns.

Therefore, the arrest plan was to get Gu Shaolong first. He was the ringleader. Once he was in custody, the others wouldn’t be able to get away.

The investigation by the Yanling police, along with confessions from Wang Huiquan and his accomplice, revealed that the breeding farm operated mostly at night. They had their days and nights reversed.