Animal Detective

Su Xuanqing wasn’t the least bit embarrassed.

He casually sat down on the sofa and tapped the coffee table.

Zou Cong snapped out of it and hurried to pour some water, saying he had some high-quality tea leaves.

"Sigh, who wants tea? Let’s have the red."

Su Xuanqing shot Zou Cong a glance and said, "Didn’t you say you got a bottle of ’86 red wine last time? Open it up. I want to try some."

Zou Cong agreed, but the moment he turned his head, he rolled his eyes dramatically.

He was starting to regret this. He knew Su Xuanqing was unreliable, yet he’d gone to him anyway.

’What a waste of a good bottle of wine.’

He brought the wine and glasses from the cellar, uncorked the bottle on the spot, and was about to pour when Su Xuanqing stopped him again.

Su Xuanqing glared at Zou Cong and chided, "A wine this good needs to breathe."

Resigned, Zou Cong went to get a decanter.

He couldn’t be bothered with it himself. He poured half a glass, downed it in one gulp, and then said, "Old Su, I think I’m in real trouble this time."

"You’ve performed those magic tricks before, right? So you must know something. Help me figure this out. What exactly is going on?"

Su Xuanqing held the cork, sniffing it gently, savoring the aroma, appreciating it.

Interrupted by Zou Cong, he glanced over and said, "Didn’t I already take a look for you?"

Zou Cong shot back, "And?"

’Don’t just look, come up with a plan!’

Su Xuanqing put down the cork. "I told you to install security cameras. Put in a few more. If there’s a problem, you’ll know just by watching the footage."

Seeing Zou Cong roll his eyes speechlessly, he continued, "Old Zou, I’m being serious. You know what my ’abilities’ are really all about."

"Besides, there are no such things as ghosts in this world. You have to trust science."

"If you ask me, you’ve just been under too much stress lately. Psychology says that high mental stress can lead to hallucinations or memory lapses."

"Like that door, for example. Maybe you just didn’t close it properly and were too preoccupied to notice."

"The curtains? The wind blew them. The nightmares are the same thing—also from high stress."

"As for the cat, maybe a stray just got into the house."

"Otherwise, you should get your head checked. Maybe you have a brain tumor. I’ve read medical books, you know. They say a tumor pressing on a nerve can also cause hallucinations."

Zou Cong clearly didn’t believe any of these explanations.

He said he saw the cat appear and disappear without a trace. Could that be a normal stray?

And if it really was a stray, why was it targeting him specifically?

"Old Su, some things really can’t be explained by science," Zou Cong argued earnestly.

Su Xuanqing rolled his eyes too. ’You’re telling me—a guy who pretends to be a mystic—that science can’t explain everything?’

"That’s why I’m telling you to install cameras. Is there a problem or not? Just watch the footage and you’ll know."

After saying that, he lowered his voice and said softly, "Old Zou, I’ve heard about that business of yours, but I haven’t heard any whispers about it. So I think you’ll be fine. Just relax and don’t overthink it."

Zou Cong’s eyebrows furrowed deeply. After a long hesitation, he asked tentatively, "Install cameras?"

Su Xuanqing nodded.

’It’s science. You have to believe in it.’

Zou Cong gritted his teeth, pulled out his phone, and started making a call.

「Outside the villa.」

Zou Cong’s phone was being monitored, so the team immediately knew what he was about to do.

Guan Wenkang’s eyes widened. "So, the ’master’s’ advice was just to install security cameras?"

Hu Mingchuan shrugged, wearing an ’I-told-you-so’ expression.

Shen Xin immediately asked, "Guan Wenkang, is there a way to interfere with his camera feed? You know, like in the movies—replace it, or maybe just erase the sheriff’s movements."

Guan Wenkang thought for a moment. "It’s possible, but only if we’re the ones who install the cameras."

Hu Mingchuan understood instantly and pulled out his phone to contact someone.

"Wait!"

Gao Mingyu, who had been silent up until now, suddenly called out, stopping them.

When all eyes were on him, Gao Mingyu said, "Everyone, let me repeat myself. Right now, we only suspect the target of criminal activity. We have not obtained any concrete evidence."

"If, during this pre-evidence stage, we were to pose as installation technicians, install surveillance equipment in his home, and then manipulate the feed, all without a warrant..."

"...then why did we even bother using a cat for reconnaissance in the first place? Using a cat is a gray area, which is acceptable. But this course of action is absolutely against regulations."

Gao Mingyu’s expression was firm.

Hu Mingchuan froze and slowly lowered his phone.

Zhang Songhao couldn’t hold it in any longer and complained, "We can’t do this, we can’t do that. Then what *can* we do?"

Gao Mingyu didn’t flinch. "You know better than I do what needs to be done," he said in a low voice.

His words left Zhang Songhao speechless.

"Old Zhang, calm down." Seeing the tense atmosphere, Hu Mingchuan quickly tried to mediate.

Then he said to Gao Mingyu, "Xiaogao, let’s not be hasty. We can discuss this further."

With that, he picked up his phone again and called Qin Chunyi.

He got out of the car.

Zhang Songhao got out of the car with a frustrated look on his face, not wanting to be in the same space as Gao Mingyu.

Being shunned like this, Gao Mingyu’s expression didn’t change much.

Suddenly, Shen Xin found himself admiring the man.

’He’s definitely an upright person, to be able to adhere to procedural justice to this degree.’

Sensing Shen Xin’s gaze, Gao Mingyu looked over. His eyes were unwavering, as resolute as if he could withstand any amount of scrutiny.

Shen Xin understood the meaning in his gaze and gave an awkward smile. "I’m with you. I don’t think we should do it that way either."

He averted his eyes after speaking.

’This guy’s righteousness is almost unnerving.’

But as Shen Xin thought about it more, he realized Gao Mingyu had a point.

Doing things that way was, indeed, against regulations.

Besides, Shen Xin felt that from the perspective of a criminal investigation, given the current situation, it wasn’t really necessary to focus on continuing to scare and monitor Zou Cong.