Animal Detective

「Meanwhile.」

Back at the municipal police station, Ding Yuwei finished organizing her case files and got up, ready to head home for the day.

Zhao Tianxing had already bolted.

Yang Zeran, however, hadn’t left yet.

After confirming his transfer to the Cold Case Office, he had quickly moved his things over.

At that moment, Yang Zeran was standing with his arms crossed, his expression so grave it looked like he was pondering the meaning of life.

"Yang Zeran, you’re not heading out?" Ding Yuwei asked.

Yang Zeran shook his head and waved her off, signaling for her to go on ahead.

Ding Yuwei turned to leave, but just then, her phone buzzed.

She glanced at it instinctively, and her expression changed dramatically.

It was a message from Shen Xin.

Just three words.

"Come. Bring gun."

He didn’t say where to go, but the phrase "bring gun" said it all.

In an instant, Ding Yuwei’s heart began to pound. She quickly showed the message to Yang Zeran.

"Holy crap!"

Yang Zeran yelped, practically leaping out of his chair. He grabbed Ding Yuwei and rushed out of the office.

「Inside the Oceanarium.」

Shen Xin had changed into his diving suit.

Li Fusen brought over the scuba gear. "Officer Shen, why don’t you let me do it myself?"

Shen Xin said, "It’s fine. I’ve already changed. Don’t say that now. Let’s just hurry up. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can go home."

Li Fusen nodded and helped Shen Xin put on the scuba gear.

The two of them went to the dolphin pool.

Li Fusen told Shen Xin to clean the deep end of the pool, saying there wasn’t much of a problem over there. If he saw anything dirty, he should just scrub it clean.

He would clean the shallow end.

"My apologies. It was my first time doing this job," Shen Xin said apologetically.

The problem must have been in the shallow area he had cleaned yesterday.

Li Fusen quickly said it was no problem, and with a SPLASH, he jumped into the pool first.

Shen Xin’s eyes quickly scanned the surrounding security cameras. He bit down on his regulator and jumped into the pool.

In an instant, the world seemed to fall silent.

Not far away, Li Fusen had already started working. Yuexiao and the other dolphins hadn’t gone to rest yet and were still swimming around.

Yuexiao immediately swam over and began circling Shen Xin.

Shen Xin patted him, then continued to sink, getting to work.

The deep end was nearly seven meters deep. With only a few lights on in the Oceanarium, it was somewhat dim at the bottom.

But it was still bright enough to see clearly.

Shen Xin started working, beginning in a corner.

Time ticked by, second by second.

Scrubbing a pool this deep underwater was truly no easy job. With the weight of the oxygen tank and the pressure of the water, moving around wasn’t easy.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed—it felt like only ten minutes or so—when Shen Xin suddenly found it difficult to inhale.

He couldn’t draw a breath.

’The oxygen tank is empty.’

Without hesitation, Shen Xin immediately started to ascend.

’It’s less than seven meters deep. This shouldn’t be a problem.’

But just as the surface was within reach, something suddenly grabbed his foot and yanked him violently downward.

Shen Xin snapped his head down.

A hand was clamped around his ankle.

Li Fusen!

Somehow, he had already taken off his own scuba gear. He gave another tug.

Underwater, he was far more agile than Shen Xin. He circled behind him, wrapped an arm around his body, and instantly tangled his legs with Shen Xin’s.

Then, with a powerful twist, he flipped over, forcing Shen Xin underneath him.

Shen Xin threw a punch, trying to hit him.

He missed, then reached back to pry his wrist away.

But Li Fusen used Shen Xin’s momentum to do a barrel roll in the water before violently shoving him away.

The world spun around him. Shen Xin flailed his arms and legs to stabilize himself.

Just as he tried to ascend again, Li Fusen swam toward him like a fish. It was the same move as before: grab the leg and pull down hard.

Then he maneuvered around him, yanking on the scuba tank to drag him deeper.

He didn’t stay in close contact with Shen Xin. Instead, he used his superior swimming skills to prevent him from surfacing.

He wasn’t wearing any scuba gear, yet he moved with complete freedom underwater.

Shen Xin, on the other hand, was out of oxygen and an average swimmer at best. He couldn’t last much longer.

This seven-meter pool was about to become Shen Xin’s grave.

Shen Xin couldn’t help but choke on a mouthful of water. After the intense struggle, his lungs felt like they were about to explode. He couldn’t hold his breath any longer.

He made another attempt to surface, and Li Fusen charged at him again.

The same tactic.

Underwater, his face was expressionless, his eyes unnervingly bright.

He figured Shen Xin would lose the will to resist in thirty seconds, at most.

Just then, a dark shadow shot toward them like a bolt of lightning.

Yuexiao!

He was so fast that Li Fusen had no time to react before Yuexiao rammed him hard in the ribs.

The blow sent Li Fusen flying a great distance.

Yuexiao didn’t bother to give chase, rushing to Shen Xin’s side instead.

He tried to wrap his pectoral fins around Shen Xin.

Shen Xin immediately grabbed onto him, and in the next moment, his body shot upward.

SPLASH! Water flew everywhere.

Air flooded into Shen Xin’s bursting lungs, providing instant relief.

Yuexiao supported Shen Xin, swimming rapidly toward the edge of the pool.

’Don’t...’

In that moment, Shen Xin could even hear Yuexiao’s anxious thoughts.

The next moment, Shen Xin grabbed onto the edge of the pool.

Yuexiao nudged Shen Xin’s body with his head, not stopping until he had pushed him onto the poolside. Then, he let out a sharp cry.

’Not die.’

’Good.’

Shen Xin lay sprawled on the side, gasping for air.

He turned his head and saw Li Fusen, who had surfaced in the distance, screaming in pain.

That ram from Yuexiao had been anything but light.

But Shen Xin felt it wasn’t just a scream of pain, but also of frustration.

Yuexiao was still crying out anxiously, continuously nudging Shen Xin with his head.

"It’s okay, boy. I’m fine."

Shen Xin weakly reached out to soothe him, unable to stop himself from silently cursing. ’That bastard is a damn good swimmer.’

’And he thought of everything.’

Gasping, Shen Xin stared at Li Fusen.

He was also looking at Shen Xin, his face contorted in pain. The next second, he shouted anxiously, "Officer Shen, are you all right?"