Animal Detective

Chapter 84 Taxi

Shen Xin nodded.

Then sit down and ask about the details of what happened.

Guo Chunping sorted through his memories and then said, "Regarding the surveillance upgrade, I talked to the police officer who was handling your case, I think his surname was Qin, many times."

"It's just that one of the transformers in our building malfunctioned. It's been around for so many years, so the voltage is unstable. Plus, the wiring is old, and it almost caused a fire."

"The fire department also notified us to make rectifications, and after considering it, the property management simply upgraded the wiring."

"The specific company that bids is none of my business; it was found by higher-ups."

“I pointed out at the time that our building was in disrepair, many of the surveillance cameras were broken, the coverage was insufficient, and the images were not clear enough.”

“At that time, there were also homeless people breaking in and stealing things. The company upstairs also called the police, so I submitted a report saying that I should take the opportunity to change jobs.”

"The old consoles were too old, so we didn't think much of it and just sold them as scrap."

That's roughly the situation.

His account was consistent with the case file.

Shen Xin then asked him if there was anything unusual on the day of the incident.

Guo Chunping said, "Officer, I've said this many times already. I just finished my shift normally the night before and arranged some patrol work. But to be honest, although we were asked to bribe the patrol officers, the security guards below were just going through the motions."

"Their wages are not high, so you can't expect too much from them."

"Anyway, every company upstairs has a door, and they're all locked, so it's not a big problem."

"So I really don't know what happened that night. It wasn't until I came to work in the morning that I heard they said something had happened on the 14th floor, that someone had been killed, and then the police came and you started the investigation."

Shen Xin nodded.

It matches the case file perfectly.

"If it's convenient, could you take us to the 14th floor to take a look?" Shen Xin asked again.

Guo Chunping stood up and said, "It's convenient, but that place has been rented out for a long time, changed hands several times, and the layout seems to have changed as well."

Shen Xin said, "It's alright, we'll just take a look."

In the case file, Qin Chuanwang and his team deduced a possible route to avoid surveillance, and Shen Xin wanted to take it and see.

Take the elevator to the 14th floor.

1402 has now become a trading company, which has also rented 1403 next door and connected them together.

Shen Xin identified himself and went inside to take a look.

The company owner was also alerted; he was a slightly overweight middle-aged man who immediately assured them that they were operating legally.

Shen Xin didn't mention the murder case, but judging from the office layout, it had changed.

At the time of the incident, the office was in the northeast corner, but that area has since been demolished and turned into an open-plan office area.

Shen Xin asked him who changed this situation.

When asked about this, he took the initiative to bring up Liu Laibin's case, saying that he had heard about it from others, and that the rent here was cheap because of this case.

However, fearing it would be bad luck, he demolished the office where the deceased had previously worked.

Then everything has completely changed, and not a trace of the case remains.

Although this is a murder case, it doesn't seem like the death occurred at home, so the crime scene may be able to be sealed off indefinitely.

Liu Laibin rented the office; there is a lease agreement.

The case file also records that the incident occurred on September 7th, and the on-site investigation continued until the end of January of the following year.

The lease had just expired.

Qin Chuanwang and his team spent several months searching through all the physical evidence they could find, making sure nothing was missed, before lifting the cordon at the scene.

It's not realistic to keep it sealed off indefinitely.

The relevant physical evidence has been kept in the evidence room. This is a murder case, so it must be permanently sealed.

So Shen Xin came here just to check out the scene and then walk along the escape route that Qin Chuanwang had predicted.

Stepping out of office 1402 and walking along the corridor deeper in, just before the public restrooms, you'll find the low-voltage electrical room on this floor.

I asked, and they said that because the power supply is unstable and the circuit breaker trips frequently, the door to the low-voltage room is always open to make it easier to turn the circuit breaker back on.

There are security cameras in the hallway now, but there weren't at the time.

The surveillance cameras on this floor are located near the elevator.

There are also some in the stairwells.

However, since many of the buildings here are companies, employees often sneak into the stairwells to smoke and slack off. To avoid getting caught, they often adjust the security cameras so they can't be seen.

Several floors were also damaged, so there are many gaps.

Guo Chunlai said he had reported the repairs, but the property management company didn't want to pay for it, thinking it was the tenant's fault and that they should pay for it.

With so many tenants, it's impossible to find out who broke it.

After much back and forth, it ultimately became a mere formality.

Walk down the stairs to the first floor, then take the freight elevator and exit from Exit 3. From there, you'll find Tiancheng Alley behind the building.

Shen Xin stopped and looked around.

The alley isn't long, and it's pretty much the same now as it used to be, lined with small restaurants. Back then, there were even street vendors at night.

It's a mess. There are surveillance cameras, but only in the streets and alleys. There are also side streets all around, making it easy for Sun Kai to escape by wearing a baseball cap and avoiding the surveillance cameras.

Moreover, Qin Chuanwang had also investigated and found nothing.

"Manager Guo, thank you. We'll contact you again if there are any problems." Shen Xin sighed inwardly, said goodbye, and left.

It seems the only solution is to try and find a solution with the parrot, Blue.

Given the normal investigative approach, Qin Chuanwang and his team must have investigated everything.

If you want to make a discovery, you have to find another way.

I drove back to the branch office and clocked out.

Shen Xin drove directly to the zoo.

On the way, Shen Xin stopped briefly at a nearby snack shop and bought some nuts.

Food is still the best way to increase favorability.

Things like macadamia nuts are quite expensive.

We arrived at the zoo at 6:40.

The parking lot outside the zoo was empty.

Shen Xin parked the car and got out, about to walk towards the zoo, when suddenly he felt something and turned his head to look.

On Ronghu Road in front of the zoo's main entrance, Shen Xin saw a taxi slowing down at the zoo's parking lot entrance, across the green belt.

But it didn't stop; it accelerated again and drove away normally.

The indicator light on the top of the taxi is red, indicating that there are passengers in the car.

I only caught a quick glance and couldn't make out the license plate number.

Moreover, it was only when it slowed down that it attracted Shen Xin's attention. When it drove away again, Shen Xin frowned slightly, then looked away and walked towards the zoo.

The zoo closes at 6 p.m.

However, they also need to recycle animals and clean up, so employees usually don't get off work until after 7 p.m.

Director Hong was quite surprised to learn that Shen Xin had come again.

"I want to see that parrot again. Look, I even brought a gift." Shen Xin waved the nuts in his hand.

Director Hong looked curious and couldn't help but ask Shen Xin what exactly was going on.

Shen Xin, of course, wouldn't explain; he only asked Director Hong to help out and cooperate.

Completely bewildered, he had no choice but to take Shen Xin to the bird area.

Li Xiaobing hadn't even finished get off work yet, but he had already brought several macaws back to their cages.

There are patrol posts in the park. Shen Xin planned to spend some time with Brudo and let them do their own thing. He would just leave when it was time to go home.

The two of them found it even stranger.

But considering that Shen Xin was just a policeman, he wouldn't do anything bad, and Director Hong was in a hurry to leave work, so he left first.

Li Xiaobing opened the door, and Shen Xin went inside.

A small glass cage.

There was a frame, and on top of that was a suspended, hidden shack.

Blue didn't rest. Standing on the wooden frame, it tilted its head and curiously looked at Shen Xin as he entered.

Li Xiaobing followed behind, wary that the parrot might catch Shen Xin.

Macaws have a strong sense of territoriality and may attack strangers.

Its claws are deadly; one scratch from them could be quite painful.

Shen Xin grabbed a handful of macadamia nuts, slowly approached, and then tried calling out, "Bru."

This is the name Liu Yuting gave it.

Li Xiaobing, standing behind him, paused for a moment, then noticed with surprise that Blue was happily jumping around on the shelf, making loud clattering sounds.

This sound and this action indicate a very happy reaction.

And the next moment, the parrot actually spoke again, saying, "Tingting, I like Tingting."

Shen Xin's eyes lit up.

Sure enough, Bru still remembered Liu Yuting.

Moreover, Shen Xin immediately noticed that a favorability icon had appeared above Blue's head.

First of all, let me clarify that this isn't an abandoned project. With 500 subscriptions, I can still write. The reason for the late updates is that I'm currently working on two projects simultaneously. My other book is doing better, with over 2,000 subscriptions, so I have to prioritize updating that one. Writing 10,000 words a day already takes me until 5 or 6 PM, leaving me to write another 4,000 words at night. 14,000 words a day is my limit, so please forgive me. If you're interested in the other book, you can take a look. I originally wrote sports novels, but I wanted to switch to urban fiction, so I started writing this one. Sorry about that.



(End of this chapter)