Animal Detective

For example, Yuexiao was expressing his hatred for his current living environment.

He said the pool was too small, that he couldn’t swim freely.

He said he didn’t like performing, that there were too many people, and that the noise was too loud. He hated it so much he wanted to die.

Shen Xin was taken aback and quickly tried to comfort him.

The files he had read did mention that dolphins are auditory animals with extremely developed hearing.

It was said they could hear the sound of human blood flowing from over a kilometer away.

Some people even capture dolphins by herding them with noise.

During the shows at Dolphin Bay, not only was it crowded, but they also played loud, thumping music. To a dolphin, that was just an immense amount of noise.

[Leave this place]

Yuexiao swam closer, rubbing his head against Shen Xin and letting out a low, mournful cry.

[Go with you]

In that moment, Yuexiao’s eyes were exceptionally expressive, conveying a complex mix of emotions that deeply shook Shen Xin.

[Can I?]

The affinity meter increased by another bar, reaching seven bars.

The speed was frightening.

Shen Xin froze.

At that moment, Shen Xin felt he wasn’t communicating with some dumb animal living purely on instinct, but a vibrant individual with its own independent consciousness.

So, Shen Xin didn’t know how to respond.

If he simply said yes, but then couldn’t follow through, he would feel a sense of guilt for deceiving him.

"No, this is your home."

Shen Xin shook his head.

He could clearly see the disappointment in Yuexiao’s eyes.

[This isn’t my home]

Yuexiao leaped backward and instantly sank to the bottom of the pool.

Shen Xin froze, a headache coming on. ’The affinity is probably going to drop to zero.’

He quickly got into the water to check.

Yuexiao seemed angry and depressed, sulking in a corner at the bottom of the pool.

The affinity icon above his head was still there, and it still showed seven bars.

But as soon as Shen Xin got close, he immediately swam away.

At his speed, there was no way Shen Xin could catch up.

Helpless, Shen Xin could only return to the side of the pool.

’If this were Da Mei, she’d never say something like ’take me with you.’ At most, she’d just ask what’s for dinner today.’

Shen Xin recalled the case Yang Zeran had mentioned before.

He had said that dolphins can genuinely fall in love with humans, and when the human leaves, they might even choose to die out of grief.

Shen Xin sucked in a sharp breath.

’Yuexiao isn’t going to "die for love," is he?’

’The problem is, he’s a male dolphin!’

Shen Xin ran his hands through his hair, his head throbbing.

’If this keeps up, the affinity will probably be completely gone by tomorrow.’

But there was nothing he could do.

This was the first time Shen Xin had ever encountered such an intelligent animal.

He had no precedent for this; he had no idea what Yuexiao might become under the influence of his talent.

With a sigh, Shen Xin put on his oxygen tank and got back to work.

The shallow area was small, so Shen Xin helped Chen Sili finish up the deep end.

Throughout the entire process, Yuexiao kept his distance.

It seemed he was truly disappointed.

They worked until almost nine o’clock before they were finally done.

Shen Xin glanced at the pool. Yuebao and Xingbao were already resting, and Yuexiao was nowhere to be seen, submerged at the bottom.

Shen Xin shook his head slightly, deciding not to dwell on it.

’What can I do? Can I really take Yuexiao away with me?’

’An animal this expensive... the Oceanarium would never agree.’

’And most importantly, he’s a male dolphin.’

An inexplicable shiver ran down Shen Xin’s spine. He picked up his oxygen tank and followed Chen Sili.

But Shen Xin didn’t notice that after he turned and left, a head poked out from the surface of the water.

「The next day.」

Shen Xin arrived at the city bureau, yawning.

"What’s wrong? Didn’t sleep well?" Ding Yuwei asked with concern.

Shen Xin nodded. "I had a nightmare."

From the side, Zhao Tianxing said, "You get to go on a paid vacation to the Oceanarium every day and you’re still having nightmares? If you can’t handle it, let me go instead."

Shen Xin ignored him. ’You can have nightmares playing with dolphins too, you know,’ he thought.

Just as he was thinking this, Yang Zeran arrived.

"You’re late," Shen Xin said, tapping his watch to remind him.

He was a full two minutes late.

Yang Zeran shot him a quick eye-roll, hurriedly sat down, and asked Shen Xin about his progress.

"I don’t know."

He had already entered the second stage, so he could have started the scene reenactment.

But dolphins were just too unique.

Every morning was like opening a blind box; who the hell knew if his affinity would drop to zero overnight?

Especially after what happened last night.

Yuexiao was clearly angry and ignoring him.

"Keep it up."

Yang Zeran patted Shen Xin’s shoulder.

He was even more anxious about it than Shen Xin was.

After a brief review of another case, Shen Xin set off alone for the Oceanarium.

Upon entering the Dolphin Hall, he ran right into Li Fusen.

"Morning."

Li Fusen greeted him, then thanked him for staying late last night to help scrub the pool.

Shen Xin, preoccupied with the "blind box" situation, exchanged a few quick words before heading off to check on Yuexiao.

Arriving at the pool, he saw Wang Hui feeding Yuebao and Xingbao.

Chen Sili was there too, holding a fish, trying to feed Yuexiao.

But Yuexiao was just floating on the surface, completely ignoring him.

When he saw Shen Xin, Chen Sili’s eyes lit up. He quickly waved him over. "Shen Xin, you should do it. I feel like Yuexiao is especially close to you now. Look, he won’t even eat when I try to feed him."

After saying this, he felt a pang of awkwardness.

He had raised Yuexiao for over a year, yet the bond he’d formed couldn’t compare to the one Shen Xin had built in just a few days.

Shen Xin took a closer look and sighed in relief.

’Sure enough, the affinity dropped.’

’But thankfully, it didn’t drop to zero.’

It was now at three bars in the second stage.

"Yuexiao."

Shen Xin called out.

Yuexiao definitely heard him, but instead of coming over, he turned his head and dove to the bottom.

Obviously, he was still angry with Shen Xin.

Shen Xin felt helpless. He needed Yuexiao’s cooperation for the scene reenactment later.

He patiently continued to call him.

Finally, Yuexiao resurfaced, watching Shen Xin from a distance.

"Come on, come over here."

Shen Xin called to him. After a moment’s hesitation, Yuexiao finally swam over.

[I hate you]

Shen Xin immediately heard his voice.

And while he was saying "I hate you" in his mind, he couldn’t stop rubbing his head against Shen Xin.

It made Shen Xin’s skin crawl. Why did that sound so damn weird?

After Shen Xin petted him for a while, Yuexiao finally became more active and started to eat.

After eating, he even spun around in circles happily.

[I like this]

Shen Xin had no idea what he liked.

Just then, Li Fusen, who was standing nearby, said, "Officer Shen, seriously, I think if you were a Tamer, you’d be the best one there is."

He felt that Shen Xin had a natural ability to get close to animals.

Shen Xin smiled. He raised a hand, and Yuexiao immediately rushed into his arms, chittering and rubbing against him to show his affection.

Then, to Shen Xin’s surprise, the affinity meter above his head shot up from three bars and... filled completely.

Shen Xin’s eyes widened.

And in the next moment, after the affinity icon above Yuexiao’s head was full, it changed again.

It went from yellow to red.

’Is this... Stage Three?’

The next moment, as he stroked Yuexiao’s cool skin, some strange images bizarrely appeared in Shen Xin’s mind.

It was very sudden.

And in these images, he saw himself being pushed down in the water, and then... Yuexiao was...

Shen Xin gasped and shook his head hard.

’Wait, what are these images?’

’Are these the images Yuexiao is thinking about right now?’

’Does that mean that after entering Stage Three, I can not only hear their thoughts but also see what they’re thinking?’

Shen Xin’s eyes widened. ’Is my talent really that insane?’

At that moment, Li Fusen, who was squatting nearby, also reached out with a smile to pet Yuexiao. He said it was a shame Shen Xin couldn’t stay at the Oceanarium forever, and that Yuexiao would be sad when he eventually left.

Yuexiao heard him and turned his head to look at Li Fusen.

He really did look sad.

Or maybe angry.

Shen Xin heard his thoughts. He was angry.

Then, more images appeared in Shen Xin’s mind.

They were in the pool, but this time there was another dolphin with lighter-colored skin.

And then Li Fusen... was on top of it...

And this perspective seemed to be from underwater, from Yuexiao’s point of view as he watched.

HISS!

Shen Xin took another sharp breath, staring in disbelief at the smiling Li Fusen beside him.

’Wait, what the hell is wrong with this guy?’