Chen Guo was also there, standing with his colleagues.

Seeing the reaction of all the puppies inside the enclosure, he immediately pointed and said to his colleague, "See? I’m telling you, it’s like he has some kind of superpower."

He had told his colleagues before about how Knight had been incredibly affectionate with Shen Xin from the moment they met.

But hearing about it was nothing compared to the shock of seeing it firsthand.

Meng Fuqiang and his group were just as shocked.

Meng Fuqiang pushed up his glasses, his face a mask of confusion.

He’d heard that some people were natural animal magnets, but he had never seen such an extreme case.

He was suddenly beginning to understand. The reason Shen Xin could train a stray into a police dog wasn’t because the stray was exceptional, but perhaps because the man himself was.

You could spend all your energy, patiently teaching a puppy over and over again to build conditioned reflexes.

But then you have Shen Xin, who was just born with a knack for getting along with cats and dogs. With just a few words, he could make a stray understand what he meant.

When it came to carrying out missions, wouldn’t that make him invincible?

Just like with Da Mei.

Meng Fuqiang had heard all about her—so smart it was practically supernatural.

Thinking about it now, the cat’s intelligence was one thing, but the bigger factor was Shen Xin.

Inside the enclosure, Shen Xin was very pleased with the results.

And with a single glance, he had already spotted favorability icons appearing above the heads of two puppies.

’This must be the Innate Saintly Body of Human Affinity.’

"This one, and that one. Write them down first," Shen Xin said to Li Jiahui.

A Malinois and a Labrador.

Li Jiahui looked at Shen Xin in surprise. ’You just made a few clicking sounds and you can already tell which puppies are better?’ she thought.

’Isn’t that a bit too hasty?’

But despite her doubts, her trust in Shen Xin led her to quickly jot down the two puppies’ numbers.

Since he was already going off-script, Shen Xin decided he might as well just do things his own way.

"By the way, did any of you bring snacks?"

Shen Xin turned his head to ask the group of kennel managers outside the enclosure.

They all looked at each other, still in a daze.

What Shen Xin had just done had really startled them.

"I did."

A young woman with long hair, narrow-rimmed glasses, and an intellectual air spoke up.

As she spoke, she pulled a handful of jerky-style chew sticks from the bag at her feet and asked Shen Xin if they would do.

Shen Xin took them, tore open the package, and with a little shake, sent the puppies swarming toward him.

Shen Xin fed every single one of them, making sure not to miss any.

Many of the kennels had brought snacks, so there were plenty to go around.

After making a full round of feeding, Shen Xin looked over them again.

"This one, and that one, and... that one..." Shen Xin quickly pointed out five more puppies.

These were all puppies that had icons pop up over their heads right after eating.

’Call them Half-Step Innate Saintly Bodies of Human Affinity, I guess. After all, we just met.’

Li Jiahui noted each one, her expression still one of bewilderment. She had no idea how Shen Xin was making his selections.

She couldn’t see any difference between the puppies he picked and the others.

She was curious, and so was Zhang Qian, who was watching from outside the enclosure. Zhang Qian directly asked Shen Xin how he chose them and what was so good about these particular puppies.

Shen Xin couldn’t explain, so he just said, "They just looked right to me."

Zhang Qian was left speechless.

Meng Fuqiang and Tang Changhong, who had walked over for a closer look, froze on the spot.

The two of them exchanged wry smiles.

’Isn’t this a little too arbitrary?’

Seeing her superiors’ reactions, Li Jiahui immediately tried to explain for Shen Xin. "I think what Shen Xin means by ’looked right’ is, um..."

She paused for a moment, her mind racing. "It’s like being in a crowded train station, full of people, but with a single glance, my eyes are immediately drawn to a handsome guy."

She shot a quick glance at Shen Xin before continuing, "Yes, that’s what I mean. The puppies Shen Xin picked must have a quality that makes them stand out from the crowd, like a crane among chickens."

Meng Fuqiang looked thoughtful.

Even Shen Xin was surprised. He whispered, "Are you serious?"

’Is this an example of that saying from the internet? "Once you succeed, scholars will line up to justify your methods."’

Li Jiahui’s face flushed slightly as she urged Shen Xin to continue.

Shen Xin grabbed a jerky stick.

The pack of greedy puppies instantly swarmed him again.

The eager ones even tried to paw at his pant leg.

These were untrained puppies, so they were a bit more mischievous.

"Quiet down now. Whoever is quiet gets a treat."

Shen Xin muttered as he waved the jerky stick over the heads of the many puppies.

Then, he quickly observed each puppy’s reaction.

This was a good way to test their obedience.

Some actually seemed to understand, immediately lying down or sitting still.

Of course, their eyes never left the fragrant jerky stick in Shen Xin’s hand.

Shen Xin tried this a few more times until he had a general idea.

He fed the puppies that had quieted down.

Icons immediately appeared above the heads of a few more puppies.

Just then, Shen Xin suddenly noticed one particular puppy.

It was on the outskirts of the group, standing apart, not eagerly pushing its way into the inner circle.

Yet Shen Xin could feel that its attention was entirely on him.

But it was quiet, as if it had a naturally melancholic air about it.

When Shen Xin looked over to observe it, their gazes met, and he found he could clearly read its eyes and understand its emotions.

This was an ability Shen Xin was familiar with; it usually only appeared after he had established a high level of favorability with an animal.

The problem was, there was no icon above its head.

’A little strange.’

Shen Xin’s interest was piqued.

It looked like a Bloodhound—black and tan, with a glossy coat, large ears, and sagging jowls. Its overall quality seemed excellent.

Breeding Bloodhounds in the country seemed to be relatively rare, as their looks weren’t very popular.

"Come here."

Shen Xin beckoned to it.

It hesitated for a moment, then squeezed past the other puppies, struggling to make its way to Shen Xin.

Amidst the commotion of the other puppies, it simply tilted its head up and looked at Shen Xin quietly.

Shen Xin stuck a jerky stick in its mouth.

It ate with great relish.

After finishing, it looked up at Shen Xin.

Shen Xin could clearly feel its affinity for him.

But miraculously, no favorability icon appeared above its head.

Shen Xin silently noted its number and then performed one last obedience test.

’Friendliness toward people is the foundation.’

’You can’t even begin to train a dog that isn’t friendly. And even if you could, it would be twice the effort for half the result.’

’Next is testing obedience.’

’Finally, once the favorability icon appears, I use my talent to sense what’s behind those little eyes.’

’An intelligent gaze is always unique and leaves a lasting impression.’

With these three criteria, Shen Xin felt he had what he needed.

Besides, he couldn’t test for too long. If he did, his own ability would influence them, and he wouldn’t be able to gauge their true nature.

"Did you get all that?" Shen Xin turned his head and asked Li Jiahui.

She nodded. Out of 46 puppies, Shen Xin had selected a total of 9.

That was about one-fifth, which was not a low ratio.

If they had been selected according to the police dog base’s standards, they might have picked out a third of them.

But this was just the beginning. More would be eliminated during subsequent training, and in the end, they might only produce two or three qualified police dogs.

It was even possible that all of them would be washed out.

But Li Jiahui knew that Shen Xin’s selection criteria were different from the base’s. The fact that he chose nine puppies meant that these nine met his standards.

’Shen Xin’s standards shouldn’t be low.’

At this moment, Meng Fuqiang began to applaud, walking over with a smile. "That was truly eye-opening."

Shen Xin quickly acted modest, but inwardly he thought, ’This guy is just spouting nonsense with a straight face.’

’I’m basically like some heretical cultivator from a novel. He’s probably still completely baffled.’

Of course, Shen Xin still had to explain his reasoning.

He started with the three criteria: friendliness, obedience, and intelligence. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Meng Fuqiang nodded at each point, exchanged a quick glance with Tang Changhong, and said, "Let’s go with Xiaoshen’s standards then. Let’s give it a try."

They had witnessed Shen Xin’s ability and were willing to trust it.

Besides, they would find out in a few months if it worked.

As for the investment involved, it wasn’t a big issue.

Puppies that washed out of the police dog base were actually very easy to place.

As for how the two organizations would divide the nine chosen puppies, Shen Xin didn’t concern himself with it.

Seeing the kennel staff enter the enclosure and start gathering the puppies that hadn’t been selected, Shen Xin made a point of walking over.

"Hello."

Shen Xin greeted the young man in front of him.

He was the owner of the Bloodhound puppy.

He was from a kennel called Rulin Nier.

Shen Xin had a strong feeling that this Bloodhound was special.

Sun Zhao had told him to keep the best one for himself.

This Bloodhound—Shen Xin prepared to buy it for himself.