"Don't worry about your girlfriend," Officer Xu said with a smile. "They're young girls together, and it's broad daylight, so nothing will happen. Besides... my plainclothes colleagues are around. They all know my daughter, and they'll show up if anything happens."
“…Okay.” Chen Xiao nodded, went over and talked to Ya Ya, and then left with Officer Xu.
"What are you taking me to see?" Chen Xiao frowned.
"Go to the management center of the wild animal enclosure!" Officer Xu pulled Chen Xiao onto a tour bus in the zoo: "You'll see when you get there! That's why I'm so sure this couldn't have been done by some mentally disturbed tourist!"
Chen Xiao nodded, but suddenly, his eyes subconsciously looked around and saw a familiar figure flash by in the crowd. When he searched for the figure again, he could no longer find it.
Huh? Did I see it wrong?
Hmm, I must have seen wrong. There's no reason for him to be here in broad daylight. This henpecked guy should be guarding Zhu Rong in the abandoned street, right?
But... that figure that flashed past in the crowd just now, with a burly and tall build, really did look like Gonggong.
Putting aside his doubts, Chen Xiao temporarily put aside his thoughts and followed Officer Xu all the way to the management center of the wild animal free-range area.
Police have already been stationed in this area.
This is a two-story building, surrounded by a safety barrier and netting.
According to Officer Xu's explanation on the way, the keepers and veterinarians of the wild animal free-range area usually work here, and some necessary equipment is also placed here. They observe the living conditions of the wild animals in the free-range area on a daily basis, and if any accidents occur, such as animals being injured or sick, they will be captured here as soon as possible for treatment.
After entering the management center, we arrived at the veterinary station at the back. The indoor temperature here was very low. On two huge metal platforms pieced together, a large white cloth covered the carcass of an animal.
There were still traces of blood on the white cloth.
The room was filled with a fishy, foul smell. Officer Xu handed Chen Xiao a mask: "Put this on, the smell here is a bit unpleasant."
He then lifted the white cloth covering the surface, revealing an animal carcass on the platform, and turned to Chen Xiao: "Well? Take a closer look, do you have any ideas?"
Chen Xiao stared at the animal carcasses on the platform, and was completely stunned!
Chapter 114 [Birthday Banquet]
This is a wolf—Chen Xiao didn't know much about this, so he couldn't say what kind of wolf it was.
The wolf in front of me had its carcass cleaned, but its once thick fur was now matted together with blood.
The most terrifying thing was that the wolf's carcass had been completely cut into three pieces!
The head and body were separated, and the torso was cut in two at the waist!
"This is how the body was found," Officer Xu explained. "Based on the professional examination, we can confirm one thing: to hack a wolf's body like this, completely severing its limbs, the cuts indicate that a very sharp weapon was used. And... wolf bones are very hard. Even a strong adult man with a sharp knife couldn't hack a grown wolf like this in one stroke! Furthermore, the forensic examination results show that the wolf was hacked alive, not dead first and then dismembered—this was confirmed by blood analysis. Also, such strength is beyond the capabilities of an ordinary person, so we suspect that the perpetrator may have used something like a chainsaw... sharp and with sufficient power."
Chen Xiao didn't say anything.
Officer Xu continued, "When we first received the report, we thought it might have been caused by animals fighting each other at the zoo. But after seeing the body, it was obvious that it couldn't have been caused by animals tearing each other apart. Even the strongest wild beast couldn't have inflicted such injuries... Moreover, there were no signs of animal bites on the wolf's body, not even a single one. So, there's only one conclusion: it was caused by human intervention!"
"It happened at night, and there are patrol staff at the zoo at night. But the patrol staff didn't notice anything unusual, and the dead animal's body was discovered at dawn... This surprised us a lot. You know, although these wolves are kept in a zoo and are not as ferocious as wild wolves—they are still wolves! They are wild beasts! Killing such a wild beast is probably not an easy task. Wolves are not weak in attack, and even if they run away, they are not slow... But it seems that the patrol staff did not notice any fighting sounds."
As he spoke, Officer Xu looked at Chen Xiao with a sneer: "Do you think this kind of thing could be done by some perverted animal cruelty?"
Looking at the wolf's carcass, Chen Xiao suddenly asked, "How many animals were killed in total?"
“That’s quite a lot.” Officer Xu smiled wryly. “Two nights. A total of four wolves were killed, along with two badgers and a brown bear.”
"A brown bear?" Chen Xiao was taken aback.
"It was also cut open like that!" Officer Xu said with a wry smile. "Moreover, only the wolf's carcass was intact. The other dead animals were all missing parts after being cut open. They weren't complete. We even suspected at one point that there might be a mole, colluding with unscrupulous outside merchants... You know, there are always people like that who eat protected wild animals..."
"It's very hot, these bodies can't be kept for long. After the identification is completed, they'll be buried and destroyed," Officer Xu said with a wry smile. "And we're going to be in trouble, spending all our time wandering around the zoo. To be honest, I'd rather be a traffic cop on my motorcycle than do this boring job!"
Chen Xiao thought about it for a moment, and he and Lao Xu came to the same conclusion: this kind of thing doesn't seem like something an ordinary person would do.
The main thing is... the ability to cleave a wild animal into several pieces in one go! And the cuts look very clean and sharp! Such power... is absolutely impossible for an ordinary person! As for the chainsaw...
Are there really psychopaths who use chainsaws to slaughter animals?
"You just mentioned that some animal carcasses were partially lost?" Chen Xiao frowned.
"Yes, that's why I suspect that someone might have killed these animals and sold their meat... But the police haven't found any clues, and... if that's the case, why not just take all the animal carcasses away? It feels like the perpetrators only took what they needed."
Chen Xiao lowered his head and thought for a moment, then looked up at Officer Xu with a meaningful look in his eyes: "Officer Xu, do you mean you want me to..."
"Consider it a favor. I know you're no ordinary person," Officer Xu said with a smile. "The sooner we solve this case, the less we'll have to wander around this zoo."
Chen Xiao hesitated for a moment, then Officer Xu continued, “Chen Xiao, I’ve helped you a lot! Don’t forget that underage girl of unknown origin in your family… Hmph, although the Xu family helped her get a legal identity, I’m in the police system! I haven’t caused you any trouble! Also, about what happened in the little red robe that day, I covered it up completely. Of course, some special departments above also put pressure on us, which is why that incident wasn’t exposed…”
"Then why not let those special departments get involved? Like the special operations team?" Chen Xiao smiled.
“The special operations team won’t be mobilized for something that happened at the zoo.” Officer Xu smiled wryly. “It’s just a few animals that died, not any important people.”
He looked into Chen Xiao's eyes: "Just consider it a favor I'm asking you for, okay?"
Chen Xiao didn't answer directly, but just smiled: "Today is Wednesday. Tomorrow is Thursday... Tomorrow night around eight o'clock, you can go to the coffee shop where I work... You shouldn't have trouble finding the address. Don't wear your uniform, just go alone... Then, maybe there will be an opportunity."
Officer Xu was somewhat puzzled.
Chen Xiao looked into his eyes and smiled, "My friends and I... generally speaking, they don't really want to get involved with government officials. So, if you come to see me tomorrow... if it's Officer Xu, then there's no chance. But if it's just my friend Lao Xu, then we can talk. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Officer Xu chuckled and nodded repeatedly: "I understand... Hehe, extraordinary people do extraordinary things. Good! Don't worry. What you told me is only for Old Xu! I won't tell anyone else."
The two exchanged a smile and then left the dissection room.
After they came out, the officers under Officer Xu who were there couldn't help but be curious as they watched their boss walk out intimately with a teenager. After all, this was a place for investigating cases, so why would their boss bring such a teenager in... and even take him into the autopsy room? This was not in accordance with regulations.
However, Officer Xu seemed much more cheerful, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders these past two days, and he appeared much more relaxed, as if all his problems had been solved. Moreover, his attitude towards the young man was more respectful than friendly, which piqued everyone's curiosity.