Animal Detective-Chapter 67: Action

Although it was a miniature camera, the image was reasonably clear.

The scene was horrifying.

Blood could be seen splattered everywhere.

Li Shanjie was covered in it, and a lot had spattered onto Zhang Qin as well.

Everyone fell silent.

Just then, Da Mei pawed at the vent grille. Finding it wouldn’t budge, she paused for a moment before turning and walking away.

The officers on site were all silent.

It wasn’t because Chen Zhongyuan was already dead. It was because his murder meant the situation had escalated to the one outcome everyone had dreaded most.

Furthermore, having now committed murder, Li Shanjie had proven he was completely unhinged. He was capable of anything.

The chances of persuading him to change his mind were practically zero.

In the camera’s view, Da Mei rounded a fork in the vent and headed down the other path.

At the end was another identical grille.

She glanced at it, then immediately turned back the way she came.

Feng Kaiwei couldn’t help but remark, "She’s certainly thorough."

Her objective was just reconnaissance. All Da Mei had to do was lie down and record a clear view, which was really enough.

But no, she just had to find an exit.

The other path was, as expected, a dead end.

Da Mei seemed to be getting frustrated. She stuck her paws through the grille, stretching desperately to get out. When she realized she couldn’t, she gave up, lay down at the opening, and quietly watched Li Shanjie below.

The camera angle shifted, and now only Li Shanjie and Chen Zhongyuan’s body were visible.

Zhang Qin was in a blind spot and could no longer be seen.

At that moment, Li Shanjie crouched in front of Zhang Qin, toying with a blood-stained kitchen knife.

"What do you think? Not scared, are you? I told you I’d kill this bastard sooner or later."

Li Shanjie’s voice came through.

He continued, "Later, when that female doctor gets here, I’ll chop her to death too. Then we can start our new life."

He raised his hand.

It was impossible to see what he was touching, but they presumed he was caressing Zhang Qin’s face.

Shen Xin frowned slightly.

’Start a new life?’

’At a time like this, Li Shanjie kidnapped Zhang Qin not for revenge, but to start a new life with her?’

’What a hopeless romantic.’

Zhang Qin’s voice, slightly hoarse, came through. "Li Shanjie, do you really think the police are going to bring that doctor over? They’re just lying to you."

It was the first time she had spoken.

Upon hearing her words, several people on site furrowed their brows.

Shen Xin glanced at Chen Chao.

Chen Chao also wore a thoughtful expression.

It wasn’t because Zhang Qin was stating a fact, but because something about the way she said it felt wrong.

Her tone clearly seemed to be siding with Li Shanjie.

Li Shanjie snorted. "Don’t worry. I have this. They won’t dare."

He patted the explosives strapped to his body.

Zhang Qin said, "That thing’s a fake."

Everyone was suddenly startled.

A fake?

Sun Zhao looked up, quickly exchanging a glance with Lv Youwei, and continued to listen.

They heard Li Shanjie say, "I know it’s fake, but the cops outside don’t."

Shen Xin could clearly feel everyone on site let out a collective sigh of relief.

Shen Xin’s own tense heart also relaxed a little.

If the explosives were fake, the operation would be much more straightforward.

With Chen Zhongyuan now dead, Zhang Qin was the only bargaining chip Li Shanjie had left.

And Shen Xin sensed that Li Shanjie seemed to want to rekindle their old flame. If they stormed the place, Li Shanjie might be reluctant to harm Zhang Qin.

Of course, in an extreme situation, there was no predicting what he might do.

But it was possible he would hesitate.

And a single moment of hesitation would create an opportunity to take him down on the spot.

The camera feed twitched; Da Mei must have yawned.

But the audio was still coming through. Zhang Qin was heard saying, "Forget it, Lao Li. Let’s just go. There’s no point in killing that doctor. Didn’t you already lock up the cop who arrested you? Isn’t that enough?"

"You have me. The police won’t dare do anything to you. Let’s just get in a car and drive far, far away, to a place where no one knows us. Then we can start over, okay?"

She tried to make her voice sound gentle.

Even Shen Xin thought it was all bullshit. ’You’ve committed such a huge crime, and you think you can just walk away?’

Unexpectedly, Li Shanjie actually bought it. He took out his phone and really did call Yang Fuming.

A phone vibrated.

Yang Fuming’s expression changed slightly as he looked toward Lv Youwei.

"Answer it," Lv Youwei said in a low voice, signaling to mute the tablet to prevent Li Shanjie from hearing the audio feed.

The call connected.

Yang Fuming took a deep breath and said, "What is it, Li Shanjie? Have you changed your mind? Really, I think we can still talk this through. You just got out of prison. I’m sure you saw all sorts of people in there. Do you really want to go all the way down this dark path?"

Yang Fuming stuck to the standard negotiation script to avoid arousing Li Shanjie’s suspicion.

But unexpectedly, the mere mention of prison sent Li Shanjie into a sudden rage.

"Don’t you fucking mention prison to me! I’d rather die than go back there!"

On the tablet’s video feed, Li Shanjie also appeared extremely agitated.

He vented for a moment, then yelled, "I don’t want any doctor! I’m coming out now! All of you, get out of my way! If I see any of you, I’ll kill Zhang Qin."

Yang Fuming frowned slightly, a puzzled look on his face, but he didn’t stop talking. "What about Chen Zhongyuan? You cut off his finger. How is he doing? We can pull back, but you have to guarantee Chen Zhongyuan’s safety."

"Him?" Li Shanjie sneered. "He’s just fine. Don’t worry, one hostage is enough for me. I’m telling you, I’m serious. The second I see any of you, I’ll chop Zhang Qin to death, set off the bomb, and take you all down with me. I don’t want to live anyway."

"Calm down," Yang Fuming quickly urged. "Let us consider it. Three minutes. Just three minutes, and I’ll give you an answer."

He was trying to buy time.

But Li Shanjie gave him no chance, roaring, "Fuck you, do you think I’m negotiating with you? I said, all of you, get the hell out! If you don’t, I’ll start killing right now!"

With that, he hung up the phone.

Yang Fuming quickly looked at Lv Youwei and asked in a low voice what to do next.

Lv Youwei’s brow furrowed deeply, but he didn’t speak immediately.

It was Sun Zhao who spoke up, saying quietly, "Director Lv, I feel like Zhang Qin’s reaction is a bit off."

Chen Chao nodded in agreement.

Lv Youwei thought for a moment, then looked at Feng Kaiwei and said, "Let’s move. We’ll pull back. When he comes out of the workshop, we make our move. Sniper from a distance, prioritize injuring the hand holding the knife. If the situation goes south, take the kill shot without hesitation. Have men in ambush on the roof. As soon as a shot is fired, they rush in."

Now that they had confirmed the explosives were fake, removing the biggest risk, Lv Youwei decided after some thought to act directly.

He also felt that Zhang Qin’s reaction was strange, but now was not the time to dwell on it.

The priority was to get Li Shanjie under control.

Feng Kaiwei nodded slightly and immediately rushed out to make the arrangements.

Everyone else moved at once.

One group would remain in the factory building.

There was equipment here they could use for cover.

The rest would go to the perimeter of the workshop exit.

As soon as a shot was fired, they would rush out to subdue Li Shanjie.

Only then did Yang Fuming pick up a megaphone and shout toward the warehouse, "Li Shanjie, we can pull back, but like I said, you have to guarantee the hostage’s safety. As long as the hostage is safe, everything is negotiable. You’ve been to prison; you should know that."

"Then get lost!"

Li Shanjie’s yell came from behind the warehouse door.

Shen Xin was pulled along by Chen Chao into a greenbelt directly opposite the workshop.

The area was overgrown with weeds, making it easy to hide a few people.

Chen Chao had already drawn his pistol, checked it, and chambered a round.

Seeing Shen Xin only take out a telescopic baton, he asked, "Where’s your gun?"

Shen Xin gave a wry smile. "It’s locked up at the station."

The day had started with a search for Zhang Jian. The whole station was mobilized, but only Song Liang had been specifically assigned a firearm. There was no way someone like Shen Xin would have been carrying one.

After they found Zhang Jian, they came straight here from Yongsheng New Village, with no time to go back for his gun.

Chen Chao realized and said, "No worries. In the future, you’ll carry it every day, until you get sick of the sight of it."

For most police officers, a gun was like a bomb; carry it on you, and you never knew when it might go off.

"In that case, you just stay put later. Don’t go rushing out."

Chen Chao added as a warning.

As he spoke, he clapped Shen Xin on the shoulder with a grin, as a sign of encouragement.

It was Shen Xin’s idea to use the cat for reconnaissance that had confirmed the explosives were fake.

Because of that, if today’s incident could be resolved perfectly, Shen Xin would deserve a great deal of credit.