Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 390 The Decline of an Era

To be honest, a macaque embryo is not a big deal.

However, this thing is very likely like termites; once you find one, there's a huge anthill behind it, and a whole criminal industry chain of illegal breeding and sales.

Even if there is only a slight possibility, the police cannot turn a blind eye to it.

Ordinary people find monkeys cute, but to the police... 'monkey brain', a term that somehow entered the public's common sense and the list of foods to be eaten, has long since become something that all police officers deeply abhor, along with tiger bones, grouse meat, and wild mink fur.

At least half of the endangered animals in China are driven to extinction by being eaten. The other half are driven to extinction by their beautiful fur.

Oh! In the past, we also had to add the giant panda's bones and skin.

When Yang Fan was still in the army, he helped the local police solve a heinous case of skinning giant pandas. At that time, thousands of soldiers searched for three days and three nights, climbing mountains and wading through rivers, surrounding the mountains of Sichuan Province, before finally arresting the animal who cruelly killed the giant pandas and skinned them to sell abroad.

"Director Nie, do you think this matter is as we think?"

Yang Fan looked at Nie Guoqiang.

"There are experts here, why are you asking me? Besides, no matter what, as a police officer, can't I just ignore it?"

Nie Guoqiang grunted and glared at Yang Fan, thinking to himself, "Has the Longquan Police Station already gotten into the habit of dragging people down with them? What does the Longquan Police Station's business have to do with me, a mere spectator?"
Yang Fan gave a wry smile.

He was too embarrassed to say that Nie Guoqiang had genuinely misunderstood this time.

Even if the Longquan Police Station is usually very cautious, they wouldn't shirk responsibility when solving a case. The reason for asking was simply to seek Nie Guoqiang's more professional opinion.

Even if experts at the university can identify the fleshy mass, how can they help the police quickly catch the suspect?

"You jerk!"

Lin Ge muttered something.

On this side, Li Ping had already helped Liu Junshu to the recycling bin. However, Liu Junshu didn't immediately start working; instead, Xue Yi squatted down next to the meatball. He didn't have sterile gloves, so he took the disposable plastic bag that Li Ping handed him, turned it inside out, and put it on.

After examining the lump of flesh, Xue Yi calmly and methodically reported his conclusion: "It is confirmed to be a macaque embryo. This can be determined from the head outline, the position of the limbs, and the details of the tail vertebrae. In addition, the embryo's body surface features are normal, with no deformities, wounds, or signs of injury. The embryo is nine to ten weeks old and died naturally, most likely due to maternal malnutrition or miscarriage caused by strenuous exercise. Furthermore, the sex of the embryo is basically confirmed to be male."

"abortion?"

"Not a crime?"

Nie Guoqiang and Yang Fan spoke at the same time, but their expressions were completely different.

Nie Guoqiang looked thoughtful, but Yang Fan urged from the side, "Young man, is your analysis accurate? Solving cases is no joke. Why don't you give up your seat and let this expert take a look?"

"What I'm referring to is all from the second-year professional courses in the biology department."

In his area of ​​expertise, Xue Yi disdained to explain. He simply stood up, made way for her, and handed the plastic bag to Liu Junshu.

To everyone's surprise, Liu Junshu neither answered nor responded, but simply stared at the cat on the recycling bin. The cat was lying there, looking down at the two police officers below who were laboriously prying open the recycling bin door and taking out the old clothes one by one.

The reason we didn't contact the person in charge of the "Love and Care" recycling bin is that these used clothing recycling bins are usually only opened once every two weeks or even every few months. The person in charge basically travels all over the province, collecting, sorting, and processing the clothes inside. They usually wait until they have accumulated enough clothes before processing them all at once, and they don't stay in one city for too long. Therefore, hoping they would come over might mean waiting until the flowers have withered.

Moreover, this thing was originally a charity gimmick; it's only because it's harmless to society and even beneficial to public order that the police choose to turn a blind eye. But if you dare to complain, the police are willing to confiscate all your boxes.

"Tch! Lingerie, huh? I thought it was a tulle skirt."

Finally getting a clear look at the dress, Lin Ge turned his head away in disgust.

It turns out that the gauze skirt that the Baka cat was so attached to was just a revealing mesh lingerie set. Even so, the Baka cat still had its eyes on it. It was only because the police were watching that it would have snatched it away long ago.

Liu Junshu's attitude made Yang Fan somewhat embarrassed. Seeing this, Feng Haibo quickly tried to smooth things over with a smile, saying, "Little Yang, isn't it a bit inappropriate not to trust even your own junior? Besides, Xue Yi is one of our school's top students. What was his ranking in the last national competition?"

Feng Haibo smiled at Yang Fan, then turned back to look at Xue Yi with satisfaction.

"It's not worth mentioning the embarrassing things, after all, we didn't even make it into the top three."

Xue Yi's expression was somewhat unpleasant, as if Feng Haibo's words were not a compliment to him. He gave a weak reply and returned to Li Ping's side expressionlessly.

"Good job!"

Li Ping stared straight ahead with a stern face, but secretly uttered a sentence.

Instantly, all of Xue Yi's dissatisfaction vanished.

"If it's just a stillborn animal without any human traces, then it's simple. There are only a handful of people in the city who have had contact with macaques, and by comparing the footage from nearby security cameras, we can basically determine which idiot did it."

Nie Guoqiang suddenly spoke up, easing Yang Fan's awkwardness.

This guy is something else. You need something from her teacher, yet you doubt her students. What are you thinking?
Besides, Xue Yi has explained the situation so clearly, what else do you have to question? In terms of professionalism, one of him is worth dozens of yours, okay?
Nie Guoqiang sighed inwardly.

"It can only be the."

Seeing the somewhat awkward atmosphere, Yang Fan sighed.

Actually, he hadn't thought that much about it. He simply hoped that the conclusion would be more accurate, that his colleagues would do less useless work, and that the case could be solved as soon as possible. That was all.

But his bluntness often caused him to offend people for no reason.

Putting that aside, after dealing with the embryos and evidence, everyone dispersed.

The next day, the city bureau's information department reported that almost all the macaques registered and witnessed throughout the city were being held at the Zhangzhou Zoo. The zoo had not reported any macaques escaping, nor any information about pregnant macaques breaking out.

However, Jiang Yiyi did provide Nie Guoqiang with a clue.

During the Spring Festival, in an effort to attract tourists, the Zhanghe Scenic Area hired a monkey trainer. The trainer, along with two large and two small monkeys, worked in the scenic area until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. The four monkeys he brought were all common macaques.

"Didn't you register with the local police station or forestry bureau?"

Nie Guoqiang asked expressionlessly.

"Ha ha……"

Jiang Yiyi gave a dry laugh as an answer.

With only a few officers at the police station, it's unrealistic for them to proactively investigate and require people to register. Furthermore, most monkey performers are elderly, homeless, and struggling to make ends meet; damaging their stalls and livelihoods would be somewhat unethical.

So usually, when this happens, everyone just turns a blind eye.

Nie Guoqiang didn't say anything more, after all, it was indeed human nature. Law enforcement should also be humane, and people's lives are not easy, there's no need to make a big deal out of it without considering the circumstances.

"A monkey show?"

Yang Fan paused for a moment on the other end of the phone, mainly because the word was somewhat unfamiliar to people of this era.

“Since it was hired by the Zhanghe Scenic Area, those matters are now also related to my Zhanghe Police Station. I'll leave the investigation at the university to you, and I'll go find that street performer first. I hope it was him, so things don't get any more complicated.”

As Nie Guoqiang spoke, he looked up and greeted Lin Ge.

Lin Ge had been squatting for a while and was getting bored. Hearing this, he jumped down from his desk and quickly walked over to Nie Guoqiang.

Then, Nie Guoqiang assigned the case to Zhu Jun and Yuan Meijuan, a rookie auxiliary police officer who had little presence in the police force.

Not long after, Zhu Jun followed the clues provided by the Zhanghe Scenic Area and found the elderly man he was looking for. He was staying in a very cheap guesthouse near the scenic area, but the monkey that had been with him was nowhere to be found.

The arrival of the police made him appear reserved, and he remained silent for a long time when asked about monkeys. He was still smoking the old-fashioned pipe and tobacco, and Lin Ge tilted his head and noticed that in addition to the strong smell of tobacco, there was also a considerable amount of monkey odor permeating the pipe.

The image of the monkey nimbly filling the old man's pipe with tobacco and lighting it flashed into Lin Ge's mind.

"Where's the monkey?"

Zhu Jun frowned and asked again.

"It's been given away." Finally, the old man spoke.

His face was etched with deep resentment, his wrinkled features tanned a dark red by the sun. Turning to look at the traffic beside him, he murmured, "I can't afford it! I can't even support myself, how can I support monkeys? Guihua is sick and has lost her babies, and I don't have the money to treat her. It's too expensive, too expensive. I can't just watch her die, watch them suffer with me, so I have to give them to a good boss."

"Giving it away?"

Zhu Jun frowned.

Lin Ge was also taken aback.

This old man doesn't seem to be the cold-hearted type, so why would he give away all the monkeys he raised?

But on second thought, it seems understandable.

These days, supporting a person isn't difficult, but monkey shows and other street performances have gradually lost their viability in this age of widespread awareness, thanks to the impact of new trends and the internet. Even if the police turn a blind eye to his unlicensed keeping of protected animals, his skills have lost their competitiveness and market in this era. After all, no matter how beautifully a monkey is performed, it's limited to a few tricks; where can't you find better ones online?
This old man worked hard during the Spring Festival, leaving his hometown to perform at the Zhanghe Scenic Area, but only earned a basic wage of 1,500 yuan for fifteen days. Even though the contract with the scenic area stipulated that all tips from the audience would belong to him, he only earned a little over 800 yuan in fifteen days. It sounds like a lot, but with one person and four monkeys, the daily expenses for food, drink, and lodging were not low. After another half month, the performance ended, and he had no choice but to leave, unwilling to accept his fate.

Just when things seemed to be going well, the cold weather and the fact that the pregnant monkey Guihua was still working caused her unborn child to die unexpectedly. The old man, unable to afford surgery at a veterinary hospital, tried traditional remedies to cure Guihua, but this left her on the verge of death.

The elderly had no other choice but to give them away to someone who was capable of caring for them.

His words, filled with deep resentment and bitterness, moved Lin Ge and Jiang Yiyi, who were standing nearby. Only Zhu Jun remained somewhat indifferent, showing no sadness at the old man's recollections.

Why would someone hide a stillborn fetus in a used clothing recycling bin?

Zhu Jun took notes while asking questions.

In his view, no matter how pitiful the old man was, now was not the time to pity him. Law is law, and sentiment is sentiment; one must fulfill one's duties before talking about sympathy and helping.

And to be honest, police officers across the country have already helped him a lot, both overtly and covertly. Otherwise, given his expired identity information and his unlicensed breeding and even training of wild animals that could harm them, he might have had to pay a hefty fine or even go to jail.

"Recycling bin? Isn't that a trash can?"

The old man looked up at Zhu Jun in surprise, and after a long while, he shook his head and smiled bitterly, "I'm sorry, I don't read very well. I thought that metal box looked similar to the garbage sorting bins in the city, and I had some old clothes thrown in it, so I made a mistake. Is it dirty? I'm sorry, officer, I'll go and clean it for you right away."

The old man was about to stand up when Jiang Yiyi quickly stopped him.

"Sir! No need, we were just asking, we didn't mean anything by it. It's just that, as you know, the thing you lost looked... a bit scary, right? After all, there are students all around, and it wouldn't be good if they got scared and something happened, wouldn't you say?"

Jiang Yiyi was very gentle and polite to the elderly.

With her around, the old man's emotions stabilized considerably. Hearing this, he nodded and said, "Yes, yes, they are all remarkable scholars. If anything really happened, it would be my fault. Look at the mess this has made! Officer, is nothing really wrong?"

Jiang Yiyi shook her head.

She didn't tell the old man that young people these days are all incredibly brave. Forget about discarded items; they'd even dare to sneak a peek at a murder case. Expecting them to be scared was absolutely out of the question.

"Hey! Sir, could you tell me who you sold your monkey to? Are you aware that buying and selling wild animals, especially protected animals, is illegal?"

Zhu Jun continues to play the bad cop.

"Not for sale! And we can't sell! We're all old friends, we've shared meals for so many years, how can we sell them?"

The old man quickly shook his head.

Seeing Zhu Jun's disbelief, he quickly pulled out another piece of paper from his inner pocket: "It's an adoption, an adoption! That person told me he never does anything immoral. He has a big villa, surrounded by good forests. He lacks nothing, except for the liveliness of animals. He's a big boss and thinks keeping a dog is too low-class, so he wants to adopt a monkey and take good care of it. Look, I even signed a contract with him, a written adoption agreement, no money was spent on selling it!"

The old man grew increasingly anxious and aggrieved as he spoke. How could he possibly sell a partner he'd shared so many years of life with?

"Adoption?"

Zhu Jun raised an eyebrow.

This term is hardly a compliment in the current pet industry! Eight out of ten adoptions are scams; the owners aren't responsible for the pet's health or after-sales service. After all, adoption is a free service, and the money ends up going to overpriced junk.

Could it be that……

Sure enough, Jiang Yiyi took the so-called contract and glanced at it, but gave up after reading only two lines and shook her head at Zhu Jun.

Zhu Jun immediately understood.

Do we really need to look closely? You could probably guess it!

It's simply that Party A is exempt from all liability from beginning to end, without having to assume any obligations or provide any notification. Not only does it get something for nothing, but it can also continue to extort Party B.

The unfortunate party B has to bear all the responsibility, often facing exorbitant compensation and penalties. The old man might hand over the monkey to the other party for free, only to have to pay them a large sum in compensation afterward.

Any legal issues that arise will be entirely the responsibility of the elderly, and so on.

"You despicable wretch!"

Zhu Jun cursed angrily.

When the old man finished explaining the traps in the contract to Jiang Yiyi, he was stunned. He was completely dumbfounded when he learned that he had completely lost his four monkeys and might even have to pay compensation or go to jail because of them.

"The monkey hurt someone, so I have to pay compensation?"

The old man pointed to his own nose in astonishment.

"According to the contract, even if they transfer the monkey to someone else for 'adoption,' you will be responsible for whatever happens afterward."

Jiang Yiyi nodded helplessly.

"That's ridiculous!"

The old man angrily began to curse.

He cursed angrily, and sounded very aggrieved.

Having traveled from south to north and east to west for so many years, he's seen a lot of the world. But why is it that this world is becoming increasingly incomprehensible? The rapid changes in cities are one thing, at least that's a good thing. But why are these deceptive practices equally baffling and even illogical?

Where can we seek justice for something like this?
The old man's eyes reddened as he thought about it.

"Shall we file a case for you first? To be honest, it's hard to say what they would do with your monkey if they were to pull off this kind of scam."

Zhu Jun sighed, feeling both helpless and heartbroken for the old man.

The changes of the times have indeed been too cruel for the elderly. After learning a craft all their lives, they couldn't even make a living in the end, and had to painfully part ways with their partners, only to be cheated by a bad person.

It's only because this old man has a strong mentality that he's okay; otherwise, who knows what might have happened.

Seeing the old man thanking her profusely, Jiang Yiyi couldn't help but ask, "What made you decide to give the monkey away? Was it that person who persuaded you?"

The old man stiffened for a moment, then lowered his head and said, "He said that training monkeys is illegal, and if the police find out, I'll go to jail. He also said that these days people don't like watching monkey shows anymore, and that if I continue, I'll only end up starving to death..."

The old man raised his head at this point: "I know that the tips have been getting less and less over the years. Those scenic spots and stuff require all sorts of permits, and they won't let me just set up a stall by banging a gong. My trade is definitely going to end... But it doesn't matter if I die, I'll be in my grave eventually anyway. But what about my monkey? I can't just close my eyes and abandon it! So when they said that again, I... I was confused for a moment, and I agreed!"

The old man closed his eyes, and two turbid tears slowly overflowed from the corners of his eyes.

"Don't worry, we'll help you find the monkey right away."

Jiang Yiyi quickly comforted the old man.

"Thank you! Thank you, young lady."

The old man thanked him repeatedly.

Zhu Jun also offered a few words of comfort to the old man, and instructed him not to leave Zhangzhou City for the time being, but to wait for news from the police, before taking his leave.

(End of this chapter)