Animal Detective

"What’s wrong?"

Noticing the strange look in Shen Xin’s eyes, Li Fusen asked subconsciously.

"Nothing."

Shen Xin quickly averted his gaze.

Li Fusen let out a soft "oh." He turned his head, about to say something else, but the words caught in his throat.

His eyes widened as he whipped his head around to look at Shen Xin.

Just then, Shen Xin turned to look at him as well. Their eyes met for a split second, and Shen Xin immediately said, "Yeah, I’m already finding it hard to part with Yuexiao."

"By the way, are these dolphins for sale?"

Shen Xin was just making small talk. Even if the Oceanarium did sell them, he couldn’t possibly afford one.

Li Fusen was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled. "Well... I wouldn’t know about that," he said quickly. "But I can tell you they’re incredibly expensive."

Shen Xin nodded, stroking Yuexiao and continuing to feed him.

The dolphin seemed to understand that Shen Xin would be leaving soon. It stopped eating and kept nudging Shen Xin with its head.

[Don’t go]

[I like you]

These thoughts echoed in his mind repeatedly.

Then, images of himself playing with Yuexiao flashed continuously through Shen Xin’s mind.

’So it’s true,’ he thought. ’After entering Stage Three, my ability lets me see what animals are thinking at this very moment in the form of images.’

Shen Xin was secretly astounded. This was all too incredible.

’But it makes sense when I think about it.’

’Stage Two was hearing their thoughts. The next stage would naturally be an advancement from just hearing to seeing.’

’After all, images convey much more information.’

"I’m not going, I never said I was going," Shen Xin quickly reassured Yuexiao, who was nudging him insistently.

The dolphin stared straight at Shen Xin.

[Really?]

Shen Xin nodded and said with a laugh, "See? He still doesn’t believe me."

Buying Yuexiao was obviously unrealistic. He would just have to come visit him often.

And Broo, too.

He had told Liu Yuting he would take her to the zoo to see Broo often.

But he’d been so busy with work he hadn’t found the time at all.

Li Fusen smiled. "Officer Shen, Yuexiao really likes you."

After sitting for a little while longer, Li Fusen got up to start his day’s work.

Watching him leave, Shen Xin immediately hugged Yuexiao and asked if he remembered Lin Zenghui.

[Who?]

[You’re really not going?]

’A dolphin’s mind works so fast,’ Shen Xin thought. ’It can think about so many things at once.’

"I’m not going, I’m not going," Shen Xin soothed, then began to describe Lin Zenghui.

With just a simple description, Yuexiao remembered.

Shen Xin saw images of Lin Zenghui feeding Yuexiao, scrubbing him down, and performing with him.

"Yes, yes, that’s him."

Shen Xin nodded eagerly. Being able to see Yuexiao’s thoughts made communication much easier.

Yuexiao stared with wide eyes.

[He’s dead. Hua Zi.]

Sometimes, the information conveyed by thoughts alone isn’t comprehensive enough.

But images were different.

An image suddenly appeared in Shen Xin’s mind.

It was from Yuexiao’s perspective.

He was underwater.

Not far away, a naked Lin Zenghui was suspended motionlessly at the bottom of the pool. Hua Zi was circling beside him.

The scene changed. Now it showed Hua Zi grabbing Lin Zenghui’s arm and dragging him toward the bottom. Lin Zenghui struggled desperately, frantically pounding on Hua Zi.

But it was useless. Underwater, a human’s strength was no match for a dolphin’s.

There were more images.

Shen Xin even saw Hou Shishi. Lin Zenghui had brought her into the pool to interact with Hua Zi.

The last image, which flashed by in an instant, was of Lin Zenghui taking off his underwear and trying to assault Hou Shishi.

Shen Xin realized the images he was seeing were fragmented and non-linear. He was simply seeing whatever came to Yuexiao’s mind.

But it was enough for Shen Xin to figure out what happened back then.

It was Hua Zi who had dragged Lin Zenghui down and drowned him.

"Why did Hua Zi do that?"

Shen Xin quickly asked for the reason.

Living in the same pool and being so intelligent, Yuexiao might know why.

But this question was clearly beyond Yuexiao’s comprehension.

Shen Xin saw a flood of images.

There were images of Yuexiao interacting with Hua Zi, and even images of the two dolphins mating.

There were a lot of those mating images, in particular.

He also saw images of Yuebao and Xingbao fighting over Hua Zi and then bullying him.

There was even an image of Hua Zi sinking to the bottom of the pool, motionless.

That image might be of Hua Zi’s death.

Shen Xin was gradually beginning to understand how his ability worked. By asking a question, he could trigger the animal’s memories.

For some questions, the animal understood and could recall specific memories.

But for questions it didn’t understand, it would flash fragmented, related memories instead.

In those moments, Shen Xin had to guide it.

For example, he could first ask Yuexiao if Lin Zenghui and Hua Zi usually got along.

Then he could guide the questioning, asking why Hua Zi attacked Lin Zenghui.

He could add other conditions to his questions.

For instance, did Lin Zenghui bully Hua Zi? Had Hua Zi done something similar before?

Maybe she had attacked before, but this time it was just more ferocious.

With this guidance, more images appeared.

Then, Shen Xin saw an image.

In the pool, Hua Zi was dragging Li Fusen.

Shen Xin was startled.

’Li Fusen was attacked too?’

’That can’t be right. After their relationship, their bond should have been very deep.’

Shen Xin quickly asked why Hua Zi had attacked Li Fusen.

[Playing]

Another pile of images surfaced.

The images continuously showed Hua Zi dragging Li Fusen.

Dragging him by his hand, by his foot, and even by his clothes when Li Fusen wasn’t wearing a wetsuit.

So these "attacks" had happened more than once or twice.

From Yuexiao’s perspective, Li Fusen was probably just playing with Hua Zi. There was even an image of Yuexiao trying to join in, only to be shooed away by Li Fusen.

As Shen Xin watched, his heart suddenly leaped.

’This isn’t right!’

A chill ran up Shen Xin’s spine and straight to the top of his head.

’This wasn’t simple interaction. This was training.’

’Training Hua Zi to attack people.’

’So Hua Zi’s attack on Lin Zenghui wasn’t an accident?’

Shen Xin whipped his head around, searching for Li Fusen.

He was standing in the distance, talking with Wang Hui.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

But...

’The images I’ve seen go far beyond the scope of normal training.’

’And the previous images confirmed that Li Fusen’s relationship with Hua Zi wasn’t just good; it was good in a way that crossed a line.’

’In that case, Hua Zi would have no reason to drag Li Fusen like that.’

Shen Xin stroked Yuexiao and asked for more memories related to Li Fusen.

A huge number of memories appeared.

Li Fusen swimming with Hua Zi in the water, stroking her, interacting with her, and even...

Shen Xin looked up again, gazing at Li Fusen in the distance.

’No.’

’What is this, the Baskerville Hound?’

Shen Xin looked away, horrified by the thought.

He tossed a fish into Yuexiao’s mouth, sat by the edge of the pool, and continued to probe for details.

He had to admit, a dolphin’s memory was truly impressive. It allowed him to see much more information.

And the more he saw, the more shocked he became.

All the images pointed to the fact that Lin Zenghui’s death was no accident.

It was the result of Li Fusen intentionally training Hua Zi and then guiding her to attack.

Just as he was thinking this, Li Fusen walked over and asked, "Officer Shen, are you still going to be in the morning show?"

Shen Xin suppressed his emotions and nodded. "It’s pretty fun. Since I’m here anyway, I might as well help you out with a few more shows."

Li Fusen agreed, saying Shen Xin’s performance was very effective.

Shen Xin continued feeding Yuexiao.

Li Fusen showed no unusual reaction.

That was to be expected. He couldn’t possibly imagine that Shen Xin could see images from two years ago through a dolphin.

After he finished feeding Yuexiao, Shen Xin gave Li Fusen one last look, then got up and went back to the locker room.

He got his phone and went outside the Dolphin Hall. Shen Xin called Ding Yuwei and asked her team to investigate the relationship between Li Fusen and Lin Zenghui.

"A peripheral investigation. Try not to alert him."

"That Tamer?" Ding Yuwei asked quizzically over the phone. "Shen Xin, why are you investigating him? Is there something wrong with him? I remember the case file verified his alibi."

On the day of the incident, Li Fusen had left work on time and gone straight home.

And the surveillance footage confirmed he had left the Oceanarium.

Shen Xin said, "Just investigate him first. I have a feeling something’s off about him."

He hung up the phone and stood there, lost in thought.

Suddenly, a thought struck him.

Shen Xin recalled Li Fusen’s unnatural reaction when they were talking by the pool earlier.

He replayed the scene in his mind.

Shen Xin felt that for a fleeting moment, Li Fusen had revealed a look of shock and astonishment.

But given the context of their conversation at the time, he shouldn’t have had that reaction.

It was as if...

Shen Xin whipped his head around.

There were only tourists behind him. Nothing else.

Shen Xin’s gaze darkened slightly as he turned and went back into the Dolphin Hall.

The morning show went on as usual.

Shen Xin even partnered with Li Fusen to perform a crisscrossing aerial trapeze act.

At noon, they went to eat together at the Oceanarium’s cafeteria.

Wang Hui wasn’t very talkative, but Chen Sili was. During the meal, they mostly gossiped about the Oceanarium.

Li Fusen would chime in from time to time, laughing and joking. Everything seemed completely normal.

Shen Xin observed Li Fusen silently. His behavior was so normal that it made Shen Xin wonder if he had been overthinking Li Fusen’s earlier strange reaction.

Before the afternoon show, Yang Zeran called Shen Xin to ask about the investigation into Li Fusen.

Yang Zeran said, "Shen Xin, you don’t actually suspect this Li Fusen guy killed Lin Zenghui, do you?"

"That’s impossible. The evidence shows no trace of a second person at the scene besides Hou Shishi. There weren’t even signs that it had been deliberately cleaned."

"There’s surveillance on the perimeter. If someone climbed the wall, it’s almost impossible they wouldn’t have left a trace."

Shen Xin said, "I just asked you to check it out. So just check it out."

"No, something’s not right."

Yang Zeran trusted that Shen Xin wouldn’t do something for no reason.

They had already decided to use the dolphin for a situational reenactment, so a sudden request to investigate Li Fusen could only mean he was a suspect.

Just then, a flash of inspiration struck Yang Zeran like a bolt of lightning. He gasped and said, "Holy crap, Shen Xin, you don’t think it’s a Baskerville Hound situation, do you?"

He followed it up with a few more curses.

Shen Xin quickly said, "Whoa, I never said that."

That’s what he said, but inwardly he was shocked.

’What kind of brain does this guy have?’

"That’s all for now." Shen Xin hung up.

He had just put down the phone.

Shen Xin suddenly turned his head.

Behind him, Chen Sili appeared outside the hallway, calling for Shen Xin to get ready for the show.

"Okay."

Shen Xin nodded and returned to the locker room to put his phone away.

Just as he put it down, the phone vibrated. A message had come in.

It was from Yang Zeran.

Just one word: "Careful."

Shen Xin frowned slightly and put the phone back.

The afternoon performance went smoothly.

After the show, the workday was nearly over.

Feeding the dolphins, scrubbing them down, and then a short break, and it would be about time to clock out.

Shen Xin wasn’t in a hurry to leave.

’After Yuexiao entered Stage Three, his icon still shows 10 slots. That means I can still increase his favorability.’

Shen Xin couldn’t help but wonder if there was a Stage Four.

After finishing the final cleanup, Wang Hui and Chen Sili clocked out. Shen Xin changed his clothes, also preparing to leave.

Just then, Li Fusen walked in.

Seeing that he was still in his wetsuit, Shen Xin asked, "You’re not getting off work yet?"

Li Fusen picked up his phone and nodded. "You go ahead, Officer Shen. I noticed the pool wasn’t scrubbed clean, so I’m going to stay behind and give it another once-over."

He smiled at Shen Xin and looked down at his phone.

It looked like he was ordering takeout.

In the small locker room, the only sound was the WHIRRING of the ventilation fan.

Shen Xin stared intently at Li Fusen for a few seconds before quickly saying, "Then I’ll stay and help you."

Li Fusen was startled and quickly shook his head. "No need. It’s just a quick scrub, I can handle it myself."

"It’s no problem."

Shen Xin smiled. "Besides, it’s our fault for not cleaning it properly yesterday."

"Officer Shen, that’s not what I meant," Li Fusen said hastily.

Shen Xin waved his hand, indicating he didn’t need to explain.

As he spoke, he also took out his phone, preparing to order some takeout himself.