Animal Detective-Chapter 38: Lele

The live feed had cut out.

However, this cat recorder, which had cost several hundred yuan, had another function.

After the live feed’s battery died, it would reserve a small percentage of its power—just a tiny bit—to maintain the recorder’s GPS function.

This was a failsafe to prevent a situation where the cat couldn’t be found if the battery ran out completely.

And that small percentage of power was enough to keep the GPS active for half a day.

Shen Xin quickly opened the app’s GPS tracking feature.

It had Da Mei’s location, and it wasn’t close.

North of Xianghong Village was National Highway 372, and further north, across the highway, was Houzhuang Village.

But Da Mei’s current location was to the northwest of Xianghong Village, near Yushun Logistics Park, south of the highway.

That area had parking lots, small factories, and residential buildings. It was perfectly normal for a stray dog to be wandering around there.

At the same time, Shen Xin noticed the location was moving.

It seemed Da Mei was following the yellow dog.

Shen Xin immediately got in his car. As he drove toward the location, he gave Chen Chao a call.

"Captain Chen, I found the dog." Shen Xin wasn’t trying to take all the credit; he just figured that if this dog was connected to the human traffickers, it would be best to notify Chen Chao first. That way, he could deploy backup at a moment’s notice if anything unexpected happened.

"You really found it?"

Over the phone, Chen Chao sounded like he was in a meeting. He let out a surprised comment, then immediately told Shen Xin to send him the location, saying he’d head over right away.

Shen Xin agreed and continued tracking.

The location marker moved for a little while, then stopped.

It was near Yushun Logistics Park.

A few minutes later, Shen Xin arrived by car.

On a side road off Ruixiang Road, Shen Xin saw Da Mei. He was perched on the roof of a car parked by the roadside, lazily gazing ahead.

This area was already within the boundaries of Jinyang Village, separated from Xianghong Village by a stinking ditch and a large patch of undeveloped wasteland.

Shen Xin got out of the car and followed Da Mei’s gaze. Just ahead, at the corner of a shop that sold invisible window screens, he saw the dog.

It was lying in the corner, sunbathing.

It was filthy all over, but it was indeed a yellow dog with a white face. It was very thin, and the top half of its left ear was missing.

’That’s got to be it. No doubt about it.’

Shen Xin gave Da Mei a thumbs-up. Song Liang had called himself a lucky charm, but Shen Xin thought that Da Mei was the real lucky cat.

Shen Xin immediately sent his location to Chen Chao. Then, he looked around and went to a nearby convenience store to buy a pack of sausage links.

For stray cats, the power of these things was no less than a nuclear weapon.

Then, Shen Xin walked straight over.

Cats and dogs were different. Stray cats were extremely timid; their first reaction to a stranger was always to run and hide.

But dogs were different. Dogs were more trusting of people.

Many dogs survived by relying on humans for food, unlike cats, which could hunt mice and small birds for themselves.

As he got closer, the dog was startled.

It was quite vigilant.

When it came to dogs, the internationally recognized method of getting their attention was the way to go.

"TSK TSK TSK!"

Shen Xin made the sound a couple of times, which immediately caught the yellow dog’s attention, but it didn’t move.

But the moment Shen Xin unwrapped a sausage link, it shot to its feet and scurried over.

It gave two soft barks and obediently began wagging its tail, trying to curry favor.

Shen Xin didn’t hesitate, offering up a sausage link to get things started.

Seeing how skinny it was, its ribs clearly visible, one could guess it often went hungry.

So it completely wolfed down the food.

Shen Xin took the opportunity to look at its rear. Sure enough, on its left hind leg, there was a fist-sized patch of white fur.

There was no mistake. This was Wu Jiawang’s dog.

After finishing the sausage link, it looked at Shen Xin expectantly.

Shen Xin unwrapped another one for it, then surveyed his surroundings.

First, there was the window and door shop.

The dog had been sleeping at the corner of its wall, so there might be a connection.

But it was just an ordinary storefront. The owner, a man who looked to be in his thirties, was there. Shen Xin decided to walk over, and without revealing he was a police officer, asked if the dog belonged to him.

"No, but I think I’ve seen it a few times, wandering around here. What, you want to adopt it? It’s a stray, might have rabies," the owner kindly warned.

His expression was natural, his reaction normal. He didn’t seem suspicious.

Shen Xin went to a few other nearby shops to ask as well.

Their stories were similar to the window shop owner’s: they had seen the dog, but it didn’t belong to any of them.

The dog started following him of its own accord.

Shen Xin took a closer look and saw that an icon had appeared above its head, showing one bar of affinity.

Shen Xin tossed it another sausage link, pondering his next move.

He’d found the dog.

But it was just like before with the tuxedo cat. He’d found the animal, but he still wasn’t sure what to do next.

He couldn’t very well ask it where its owner had gone, could he?

Wu Jiawang had been missing for seven years, which meant this dog had likely been a stray for seven years too.

Dogs are loyal, but seven years is a long time. It had probably forgotten all about Wu Jiawang.

After thinking for a moment, he decided he could only wait for Chen Chao to arrive.

「Half an hour later.」 Chen Chao arrived, driving an SUV.

When he saw Shen Xin, Shen Xin had already successfully befriended the yellow dog and was even trying to teach it to offer its paw.

"Captain Chen."

Shen Xin quickly stood up to greet him.

Chen Chao nodded, sizing up the yellow dog that was circling Shen Xin. He was amazed.

The half-ear, the white patch on its rear... it really was the dog Li Jin had described.

"Xiaoshen, I’m starting to think you have some kind of superpower," he praised, unable to shake the suspicion that Shen Xin could actually communicate with animals.

A stray dog, with no fixed home, wandering all over the place—and in just a few days, Shen Xin had actually managed to find it.

’If only I really did.’

Shen Xin gave a noncommittal reply and asked Chen Chao what to do next.

Chen Chao looked around and asked, "Did you ask around the area?"

"I did."

Shen Xin relayed what he had learned from canvassing the neighborhood.

After hearing the report, Chen Chao frowned as well.

They had a lead, which was to find the dog. Okay, they’d found the dog. But now what? He was completely stumped.

’I’ve never worked a case like this before.’

It wasn’t like they had found a person of interest who could be brought in for questioning.

How do you question a dog? How do you investigate it?

After a moment of thought, Chen Chao looked at Shen Xin and said, "Why don’t we try the same method you used to find Li Jin?"

He had read the case file. Shen Xin had put a recorder on a cat, and that’s how he’d found Li Jin.

That was what Shen Xin was thinking, too.

After thinking it over, it seemed to be the only option.

"Then I’ll put it on him now."

Shen Xin had another recorder. He’d brought it with him just in case.

He beckoned to Lele.

The name Wu Jiawang had given the dog was Lele. It was a male. Shen Xin had called out "Lele" earlier, but the dog didn’t have much of a reaction.

It had probably truly forgotten its owner, Wu Jiawang.

After half a pack of sausage links, the affinity meter above Lele’s head had increased rapidly, going up another bar.

So, when Shen Xin called, it came running over.

Shen Xin adjusted the strap and put the device on the dog.

It was very well-behaved and didn’t resist, only shaking its head after it was on, as if it felt a bit awkward.

"Good boy."

Shen Xin immediately offered another sausage link, and the dog instantly forgot the discomfort around its neck, gobbling it up in a few bites.

Chen Chao said, "Send it on its way. Let’s see where it goes."

That was what Shen Xin was thinking as well.

They got in their cars and left.

Unexpectedly, Lele started chasing after them.

In his rearview mirror, Shen Xin saw it chase them for a long distance before finally stopping. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

It stood in place, watching in his direction.

Shen Xin couldn’t help but wonder if, seven years ago, it had watched its master get forced into a car by strangers just like this. Did it chase after them, on and on, until the car sped up and it couldn’t keep up, forced to stop helplessly?

And just like that, its master had vanished from its world forever.