Animal Detective

Yang Zeran stayed for a while before Shen Xin sent him away.

He was to meet up with Zhao Tianxing and the others to investigate another cold case.

Shen Xin didn’t need him here; it was useless for him to stay.

Shen Xin planned to change his strategy. The specific method was quite simple.

He would play only with Yuexiao, right in front of Xingbao and Yuebao.

For example, water volleyball.

All three dolphins loved to play with the ball. When a Tamer tossed it, they would leap out of the water to headbutt it, never tiring of the game.

And now, Shen Xin was deliberately tossing the ball only to Yuexiao, right in front of Xingbao and Yuebao.

Yuexiao naturally sensed that Shen Xin was interacting only with him. With his intelligence, he could perceive his own special status.

This would give rise to a sense of vanity.

Shen Xin had used the same method when training Tian Kui and the others before.

The effect was astonishing.

One could only say that dolphins were emotionally rich creatures.

In the water, Shen Xin continuously tossed the ball to Yuexiao.

Yuexiao, excited, kept leaping up to headbutt the ball.

Beside them, Xingbao and Yuebao, seeing that Shen Xin wasn’t passing to them, surfaced and cried out.

Their calls were urgent, likely expressing their dissatisfaction.

Yuebao, the most active and with a worse temperament, saw Shen Xin not tossing him the ball and charged over to snatch it.

Shen Xin immediately shouted to stop him.

This rebuke was like poking a hornet’s nest. Things took a bad turn.

The 7-bar affection icon above Yuebao’s head vanished instantly.

Then, he charged straight at Shen Xin.

He didn’t dare to actually ram Shen Xin, instead swimming rapidly past him and slapping his tail fin hard, splashing a huge amount of water.

Shen Xin thought, ’So petty,’ and tossed the ball to Yuexiao anyway.

Yuexiao leaped high, headbutted the ball back, and upon re-entering the water, spun in place with excitement.

The affection meter above his head shot up from 6 bars to 9.

Clearly, the strategy was working.

Yuebao still held a grudge.

He didn’t dare ram Shen Xin, but he did dare to ram Yuexiao.

Xingbao was also a troublemaker and joined him in chasing Yuexiao.

Shen Xin quickly called Yuexiao over. With him there, Yuebao and Xingbao wouldn’t dare do anything.

Yuexiao swam over swiftly and hid behind Shen Xin.

Shen Xin slapped the water, scolding the two dolphins. They cried out intensely a few times, then turned and swam away.

Evidently, the affection icon above Xingbao’s head had also disappeared.

Shen Xin was helpless. With three dolphins, it was a drama, and there was no way to please them all.

Seeing Shen Xin "spoiling" him alone, Yuexiao was thrilled.

He poked his head out of the water, calling out eagerly, as if telling Yuebao and Xingbao, ’Come at me if you dare! I’ve got backup now.’

Then he circled Shen Xin again, rubbing his head against him.

bars of affection.

Cherishing the opportunity, Shen Xin played surfing with him for a while longer, making sure he used up enough energy before feeding him more treats.

Unfortunately, the affection level didn’t increase.

That last bar to reach stage two wasn’t so easy to fill.

In the afternoon, Shen Xin and Yuexiao partnered up for another performance.

After this show, Yuexiao and the others’ work for the day was considered finished.

In the evening, after the Oceanarium closed, Shen Xin volunteered to stay behind and clean the pool.

This way, he could have more time to interact with Yuexiao.

This dolphin was too independent and fickle. If he had 9 bars of affection tonight only for it to drop to nothing by tomorrow morning, Shen Xin would be dumbfounded.

Li Fusen quickly said, "Officer Shen, don’t! That job is exhausting."

Wang Hui didn’t talk much, but after a few days of interaction, Shen Xin found him to be a pretty honest person.

"Exactly, let us do it ourselves," Wang Hui said.

It was supposed to be his and Chen Sili’s turn to clean the pool today anyway.

Shen Xin said, "It’s fine. I’ve caused you a lot of trouble these past few days. Let me lighten your load as a thank you."

The strategy was working. At this rate, he could probably start the scenario reconstruction in a few days.

So, Shen Xin couldn’t stay for too long.

Li Fusen hurriedly said, "Officer Shen, please don’t say that. You’ve helped us a lot these past few days."

"Besides, haven’t you noticed? The dolphins love playing with you. With you here, they’re much more manageable."

Shen Xin waved his hand. "Alright, that’s settled. Wang Hui, you need to be with your son tonight. And Li Fusen, didn’t you just get set up on another date? Go spend more time with the girl, try to get out of the single life soon."

The two hesitated for a moment, then finally relented.

However, Li Fusen still stayed behind specially to teach Shen Xin how to use the diving equipment.

He also instructed Chen Sili to take good care of Shen Xin.

He waited until Shen Xin was in the water and, after confirming there were no problems, finally left.

Shen Xin cleaned the shallow area.

The work wasn’t difficult, just troublesome and tiring.

After cleaning about half of it, the two of them stopped to rest.

Seeing Yuexiao pestering Shen Xin for pets, Chen Sili, who was next to him, said, "Officer Shen, you seem to be particularly concerned about Yuexiao."

Shen Xin nodded openly and asked Chen Sili if he had any good methods for getting closer to Yuexiao.

He’d been a Tamer for so long, and his most frequent partner was Yuexiao. Maybe he knew some special tricks.

"Closer?"

Chen Sili had a strange expression. After a moment’s thought, he asked softly, "Officer Shen, is what you’re doing related to the investigation?"

He’d long suspected that Shen Xin staying behind must have something to do with the case.

Otherwise, why would an active-duty police officer have so much free time to hang around the Oceanarium every day, cozying up to a few dolphins?

Shen Xin was noncommittal, only asking if he had a solution.

Chen Sili thought for a moment and said, "Actually, there is a way. Wang Hui taught it to me."

He moved a bit closer and pointed to the two slits on Yuexiao’s belly.

Male dolphins have two slits on their belly: one for excretion, and one that hides their "weapon."

Females only have one.

"You know, dolphins are lecherous, so you can... give him a little rub." Chen Sili made a gesture.

Shen Xin froze for a second, then it dawned on him, and his eyes widened.

’You’ve done that?’

Seeing Shen Xin’s reaction, Chen Sili himself felt embarrassed. He said awkwardly, "I’m just saying, but it really works. When I first came here, I wasn’t familiar with Yuexiao, so I just... rubbed him a lot, and we slowly got used to each other."

Shen Xin glanced at Yuexiao by his feet.

The dolphin also looked up, gazing at Shen Xin.

Then, as if he understood, he flipped over, belly up.

’Get lost.’

Shen Xin pushed him away in annoyance and asked Chen Sili if there were any other methods.

"Other methods?"

Chen Sili hesitated, then nodded. "Actually, there is. I heard Li Fusen and the others mention they’ve played like this before."

"You know pufferfish? The kind that puffs up into a ball when it gets angry."

Shen Xin nodded. Of course, he knew. He’d even eaten a farm-raised one before. The taste was incredible.

Chen Sili continued, "Li Fusen and the others saw some news report somewhere that said dolphins like to play with pufferfish."

"They provoke the pufferfish until it inflates, then they bite it—but not to kill, just a gentle bite. Then the pufferfish releases a toxin, and the dolphins get high on it."

"Then, like a cat with catnip, they get really excited."

"Don’t we have a lot of pufferfish here at the Oceanarium? They went and caught one to try with Yuexiao and the others, and it seemed to work."

After finishing, he asked if Shen Xin wanted to give it a try.

Shen Xin looked at Yuexiao in disbelief.

’And here I thought you were so cute. Turns out you’re into lechery and getting high... you’ve got a whole host of bad habits.’

But this was indeed a potential method.

When he was raising Da Mei’s affection level, Shen Xin had used catnip.

And seeing the eager look in Chen Sili’s eyes, Shen Xin realized he was probably curious and wanted to try it himself.

Shen Xin said, "That’s not a very good idea."

After all, the pufferfish was an asset of the Oceanarium. If they provoked it too much, it might get angry enough to die.

He’d heard that pufferfish could literally die from anger.

Chen Sili said, "It’s fine. In the breeding area, they also play with the pufferfish to tease them."

Shen Xin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

’The lives of you Oceanarium employees are quite eventful,’ he thought.

’Lin Zenghui uses dolphins to pick up girls after work, and now there are people playing with pufferfish.’

Seeing that Shen Xin didn’t object further, Chen Sili said he was going to get a pufferfish and hurried off.

A short while later, he returned with a bucket.

Inside was a pufferfish.

"Wanna try?" Chen Sili asked, looking eager.

’You already brought it all the way here, so we might as well give it a shot,’ Shen Xin thought.

But he had to do it himself.

Otherwise, the affection points wouldn’t go to him.

Shen Xin called Yuexiao over, then, right in front of him, poured the pufferfish into the pool.

Yuexiao had already spotted the pufferfish. His eyes brightened, and he let out an excited cry.

As soon as the pufferfish hit the water, it dove to the bottom with a WHOOSH.

But in the water, how could it possibly escape a dolphin’s pursuit? Yuexiao shot after it with a WHOOSH.

Shen Xin jumped into the pool.

He could see clearly that Yuexiao had already intercepted the pufferfish. The fish immediately got "angry," its belly beginning to inflate.

Yuexiao circled it, gently nudging it with his snout to provoke it.

Then the pufferfish swelled up into a ball.

Yuexiao didn’t hold back, taking a bite of the pufferfish.

His movements were surprisingly gentle. It seemed he had experience and knew how to "play" with the pufferfish.

Just then, Yuebao and Xingbao noticed and charged over at high speed.

Shen Xin couldn’t stop them.

Yuexiao swam off with the pufferfish in his mouth. After a short distance, he suddenly let go, tossing the inflated pufferfish to Yuebao.

Yuebao snatched it first.

Beside them, Xingbao looked on eagerly.

Shen Xin watched in amazement. Nature truly was incredible.

It was like a cat catching a mouse but not eating it, instead playing with it like a toy.

And dolphins were the same, having clearly evolved beyond basic survival needs to pursue spiritual ones.

Orcas, too.

Shen Xin had seen videos online showing orcas toying with seals in all sorts of ways while hunting them, tormenting them for fun and never getting tired of it.

"Officer Shen, look! It’s really working!" Chen Sili shouted, pointing at Yuexiao.

Shen Xin had noticed.

Stimulated by the toxin, Yuexiao was completely high.

He floated beside Shen Xin, his tail flicking up and down. His big mouth was open as if in an intoxicated smile, and his eyes had a dazed look.

Then, he fixed his gaze on Shen Xin in the water and swam over.

He constantly rubbed his body against Shen Xin, circling him.

The affection icon above his head filled up almost instantly, then turned from green to yellow, entering stage two.

’Success!’

Shen Xin was overjoyed.

But the surprise wasn’t over yet.

After breaking through to stage two, the affection level was still rising.

bar, 2 bars, then up to 4 bars.

Moreover, Yuexiao was clearly extremely agitated. No longer satisfied with just rubbing against Shen Xin, he straightened his body and lunged at him.

His pectoral fins even tried to embrace Shen Xin.

_Like._

Shen Xin immediately heard his inner voice.

"Alright, alright, I know, I know."

Shen Xin tried to push him away.

This guy weighed over two hundred kilograms and was incredibly strong. He could lift a person with no effort at all. So with this lunge, he nearly pinned Shen Xin underwater.

But he couldn’t be pushed away.

Shen Xin continuously heard his inner voice saying, _Like, like._

Then Shen Xin sensed something was wrong, and his expression changed.

’Wait, what the hell is this bastard trying to do?’