Animal Detective-Chapter 72: The Police Are Not Omnipotent

It wasn’t that complicated, actually.

You just had to be ruthless. Harden your heart, grab a piece of the broken bottle on the floor, and stab. In Zhang Qin’s words, it was just for a moment, and it was over quickly.

"I even looked it up back then. I found that to meet the standard for a serious injury, something like losing the function of a limb was too difficult. I couldn’t pull it off, and you police would be able to tell."

"The eye was simpler. Besides, he was always hitting me and smashing things anyway."

In the monitoring room.

Hearing this, Zhang Jian broke out in a cold sweat.

He had been the one to handle this case back then. Now, it meant he’d gotten it wrong—a miscarriage of justice.

This was no small matter.

Sun Zhao noticed and patted his back, saying in a low voice, "We’ll deal with this later."

Zhang Jian nodded bitterly.

This had been his last case with the Criminal Investigation Division. He had decided to leave precisely because he’d empathized too deeply with Zhang Qin’s miserable marriage.

He never thought a problem would arise from his very last assignment.

Zhang Qin continued, "It’s a shame I was so foolish."

"I thought Chen Zhongyuan was as brave as I was, but he chickened out. All because his wife was raising hell and refused to divorce him."

"His family was against it, too."

"His mother even came to the factory to cause a scene. She called me a homewrecker and a hideous monster, accusing me of seducing her son."

"I was in so much pain at that time."

Zhang Qin shook her head in anguish, then looked up. "Officer, seriously, if you can avoid having an affair, you should."

"When you meet, you’re inseparable. It’s all sweetness and passion."

"But you both have your own families. I wanted to be with him, but it was impossible because our love was stolen. It couldn’t see the light of day."

"That possessiveness was driving me mad. I told him, ’Let’s just leave. Go to a city where nobody knows us. Just the two of us. We can start over.’"

"And what happened? He backed out."

"It was only then that I realized how stupid I had been. I’d already been hurt once, yet I still fell for that crap."

She gave a self-deprecating laugh.

The corner of Chen Chao’s eye twitched.

’What’s with the "if you can avoid having an affair, you should"? Why are you telling me this?’

"Oh, right."

Zhang Qin looked up and asked, "Will Li Shanjie get the death penalty? He won this time. I don’t want him to live anymore."

Her gaze was calm. A chill ran through Chen Chao again. He didn’t answer, instead asking her about the details of the night she was kidnapped.

At this point in the interrogation, everything was clear.

In the monitoring room, Sun Zhao and the others had strong reactions. They all fell silent, lost in thought.

Shen Xin also sighed with emotion. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

’A marriage like Zhang Qin’s is a complete nightmare. It’s horrifying.’

As he mulled it over, Shen Xin’s thoughts suddenly turned to Zhang Jian.

Five years ago, Zhang Jian had essentially mishandled the case.

’If this goes badly, it’s serious enough for him to lose his badge.’

The key now was whether the chain of evidence had been complete when Zhang Jian handled the case, and whether he had been derelict in his duty during the investigation and evidence collection.

The police aren’t omnipotent, after all.

In a case like this, Zhang Qin’s deception had been perfect. At the time, all the evidence had lined up.

Even though Li Shanjie repeatedly pleaded his innocence, you couldn’t know if he was truly wronged or just trying to argue his way out.

You still have to rely on the evidence.

After a long silence, it was Sun Zhao who finally spoke. "Alright, whatever the case, the truth is out now. You’ve all been working all night. Go home and get some rest."

As he spoke, he saw Shen Xin, patted his shoulder, and praised him, "Good work."

Then he led Zhang Jian out of the room.

Shen Xin glanced at Zhang Qin as she signed her statement, his heart still heavy.

’Honestly, if she’d just divorced him from the start, none of this would have happened.’

’But in the end, how many lives did it ruin?’

After leaving the monitoring room, Shen Xin thought of something else.

After Li Shanjie had kidnapped Zhang Jian, he hadn’t killed him on the spot. Instead, he’d chosen to shine a bright light on him.

There was also his intense reaction to the topic of prison, as if something terrible had happened to him while he was locked up.

Shen Xin wanted to mention it to Chen Chao.

But on second thought, he figured he didn’t need to. Li Shanjie would definitely be interrogated again, and everything would come to light then.

’This case just felt off. There was no joy in solving it whatsoever.’

Shen Xin thought about leaving the police car from their station for Zhang Jian to drive back.

But it turned out Zhang Jian’s situation was quite serious, and he wouldn’t be able to leave for a while.

He got in the car and was about to drive out of the precinct when he slammed on the brakes, slapping his forehead as he remembered.

’I forgot about Da Mei, the hero of the hour!’

He hurried back to look for her.

When he got back to where he’d left her, there was no sign of Da Mei.

He asked colleagues in nearby offices, but no one had seen her.

Normally, Da Mei was very obedient and wouldn’t wander off. Even if she did, she knew how to find her way back.

But who knew how long it would take for her to return.

Just as he was thinking this, Shen Xin’s phone suddenly vibrated.

It was an unknown number.

He thought for a moment before answering.

"Xiaoshen, it’s me, Lv Youwei."

The voice on the other end of the line made Shen Xin jump.

"Director Lv."

Shen Xin greeted him quickly and asked for his instructions.

"No instructions. Just get over to my office and get your cat. She’s taken over my chair," Lv Youwei said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

A cold sweat broke out on Shen Xin’s brow, and he immediately ran toward Lv Youwei’s office.

The moment he walked in, his vision went black.

Not only was Director Lv there, but Wang Xihai was as well.

There were even colleagues peeking in curiously from outside.

And Da Mei? She was curled up on the back of Lv Youwei’s swivel chair, dozing lightly.

Shen Xin panicked.

’Da Mei, what in the world are you doing!’

’That’s the boss’s throne!’

Seeing Shen Xin, Lv Youwei quickly waved him over. "I must have forgotten to close my door, and she just wandered in. The problem is, she’s quite fierce. No one dares to get near her. They were about to try and shoo her away with something, but I stopped them."

After all, Da Mei was the hero of the day.

Shen Xin nodded repeatedly, rushed forward, and scooped Da Mei up in his arms.

He faintly saw a few scratch marks on the back of the leather chair.

"Director Lv, I’m so sorry."

Shen Xin apologized profusely.

Lv Youwei reclaimed his seat, smiling and waving a hand dismissively. "Don’t worry about it. This cat is so clever. Xiaoshen, take good care of her. We might need her help again someday."

He had, after all, seen Da Mei in action that night with his own eyes.

If a similar situation arose in the future, they might just need to call on Da Mei for help again.

Shen Xin nodded quickly, not daring to linger, and made a swift exit.

"Da Mei, you’ve got some nerve, stealing the director’s chair," Shen Xin scolded.

Da Mei just meowed, not even bothering to acknowledge him.

Even when Shen Xin promised to reward her with dried fish snacks today, she remained completely unfazed.

He got in the car, and just as he was about to leave, his phone vibrated.

It was a message from Zhang Qian.

She was still worried about Zhang Jian, asking if the case was finished and when he would be able to come home.

The question about Zhang Jian made Shen Xin sigh.

’Zhang Jian might really be in hot water this time.’

’But Shen Xin believed Zhang Jian would probably be fine.’

’He was so meticulous in his casework; there shouldn’t have been any oversights.’

’In the end, it just came back to the same old saying: the police aren’t omnipotent.’