Chapter 659 - 547: Different Reactions

Chapter 659: Chapter 547: Different Reactions

"What’s going on?!"

Ma Tao shouted as he rushed over, but was immediately intercepted by Xu Jinguang’s men.

Due to the sensitive nature of the case, the zoo staff were not present.

Ma Tao knew how well Shen Xin and the panda got along. He also knew that Shen Xin genuinely loved animals and would never hurt a panda, so he hadn’t had any major objections to the arrangement.

But this was different.

The commotion was too loud; anyone who didn’t know what was happening would have thought they were slaughtering a pig.

"Walnut, it’s me, look at me!" Shen Xin was frantic, shouting loudly through the bars of the cage to get Walnut’s attention.

If Walnut weren’t a bear, Shen Xin would have charged right in.

The loud shouting had an effect. Walnut gradually stopped, gasping for breath.

"Walnut, look at me. I’m right here. Come here."

Shen Xin stretched his arm out, calling out tensely.

Witnessing Walnut’s reaction, Shen Xin felt a pang of regret.

’Maybe I should have waited... really waited until we reached phase three.’

But on second thought, it would have been the same even if they’d waited for phase three.

It was like ripping off a scab; there was bound to be pain.

He could only curse Wang Shulin and the others for whatever they did back then to leave Walnut with such deep psychological trauma.

Walnut turned his head, gave a low cry to Shen Xin, and slowly shuffled over.

Through the iron bars, he tugged at Shen Xin’s arm, as if seeking comfort from his touch.

Shen Xin threw caution to the wind and hurriedly opened the cage.

The moment the cage opened, Walnut rushed in to hug Shen Xin, rubbing his head against his chest and letting out low whimpers.

’Bad.’

’Don’t.’

’Hungry.’

’Hate.’

In an instant, Shen Xin heard a torrent of feelings, chaotic and jumbled, with no idea what they meant.

"It’s okay, I’m here." Shen Xin quickly crouched down to comfort him. He then led Walnut to a corner, positioned himself with his back to the smashed television, and waved for the others to hurry and clean up the scene.

Walnut was terrified. For such a large bear, he was acting like a child, constantly trying to burrow into Shen Xin’s arms for comfort and warmth.

Ding Yuwei and the others were also badly shaken, but they quickly began to clean up the mess.

"Is his mouth alright?" Ding Yuwei asked quietly, seeing that the TV screen had been bitten through.

Shen Xin gently opened Walnut’s mouth to check, then shook his head.

Thankfully, there wasn’t a major problem.

His paws were fine, too; their thick pads had protected them, and he wasn’t bleeding.

Under the circumstances, they clearly couldn’t continue.

Xu Jinguang told Shen Xin to focus on calming the panda, then led Secretary Chen outside the building.

Wu Kaiwei was also on the line.

It had basically turned into a video conference.

"What are your thoughts?" Xu Jinguang asked after a moment of reflection.

Chang Zhigang immediately spoke up. "Director Xu, based on what we’re seeing now, I think Xiaoshen and Xiaoyang’s theory is very plausible. Walnut’s reaction just now was incredibly violent."

"I’d even venture to say that Wang Shulin and the others murdered his mother right in front of him."

Walnut was just over a year and a half old at the time—still just a cub.

They chained him up and sadistically murdered his mother right in front of him.

Blood flowing freely, his mother’s tragic screams, her calls.

And all the while, Wang Shulin and the others laughed maniacally. A scene like that... Walnut would remember it for the rest of his life.

Xu Jinguang said nothing, instead asking Wu Kaiwei for his thoughts.

Wu Kaiwei folded his arms, his brow deeply furrowed. After a long moment, he said, "Director Xu, Zhigang’s theory seems very plausible on the surface."

Wang Shulin and the others murder a female giant panda, then use Walnut to file a report and take credit, and they do, in fact, reap the benefits.

Logically, it’s completely sound.

Later, the three men are killed one after another. Especially after Liu Baoli is killed, Wang Shulin and the others don’t dare turn themselves in and seek police protection. Why? Because they’ve already committed a felony by killing a giant panda.

"But the problem is, these three men are the victims. Who’s seeking revenge?"

"Judging from Walnut’s reaction, those three definitely did something back then. But the thing is, Walnut can’t take revenge. It has to be a human."

"But who could it be? Who would go so far as to kill six people over a single giant panda?"

"If this person knew the truth and couldn’t live with their conscience, they could have just reported them. Why kill?"

Yes, giant pandas are precious. They’re national treasures.

But at the end of the day, they’re still animals. Human life is more precious. Killing six people for one giant panda... Wu Kaiwei felt it was logically indefensible.

Yang Zeran chimed in, agreeing with Wu Kaiwei’s deduction.

He then offered a theory: what if it was Yang Guofa?

As things stood now, Yang Guofa was also implicated.

"What if some conflict arose among the four of them? Say, Wang Shulin and Wang Erpeng killed Liu Baoli first."

"And what if Liu Baoli and Yang Guofa were in it together? Yang Guofa then killed Wang Shulin, either for revenge or in self-defense."

"Think about it, you guys. The M.O. differs between the first and second cases. One involved a hammer, the other a knife."

"What if that’s not an escalation of the M.O., but two different perpetrators at work?"

"After killing Wang Shulin, Yang Guofa immediately fled, found work in another city, and lived under an assumed name. Then, he later found an opportunity to kill Wang Erpeng."

"There’s one more thing. I noticed earlier that Walnut reacted to both Liu Baoli and Wang Shulin, but his reactions were different."

"His reaction to Liu Baoli wasn’t as strong. He even reached out to touch the screen, almost as if he had some sort of affection for the man."

"But with Wang Shulin, he lost all control, filled with rage. So, could it be that Liu Baoli had tried to protect Walnut, and Wang Shulin was the main aggressor?"

"The motive is there, too. Liu Baoli’s conscience got the better of him, and he wanted to report Wang Shulin. Wang Shulin, afraid of being exposed, killed Liu Baoli and then went to threaten Yang Guofa."

"Think about it, sir. After the panda was reported, Yang Guofa and Liu Baoli had an argument that was witnessed by Zhou Huayong."

"Could it be they were arguing over reporting Wang Shulin? Then, after the first murder, Yang Guofa went to find Wang Shulin again."

"Could that have been to confront him, because he suspected Wang Shulin had murdered Liu Baoli?"

"Then, once he confirmed it, he killed Wang Shulin for his own self-preservation before fleeing justice."

"And then, possibly to silence a witness, he killed Wang Erpeng."

Wang Erpeng knew Wang Shulin had been killed, probably guessed Yang Guofa did it, and then tried to threaten him.

For Yang Guofa, killing one was no different from killing two.

After burying the body, he created a completely new identity and vanished.

Xu Jinguang nodded slightly. He, too, had noticed Walnut’s different reactions to Liu Baoli and Wang Shulin.

As for Yang Zeran’s theory, he felt it was logically sound as well.

After a brief moment of thought, Xu Jinguang said, "This man, Yang Guofa, is a key figure. We have to find him."

As things stood, it was highly likely that Yang Guofa was involved.

The panda couldn’t talk, after all. They could only make deductions based on his reactions.

The answer had to come from the people involved.

Finding the right person was the only way to figure out what really happened back then.

Just then, Shen Xin came out.

Walnut’s mood had stabilized.

"Director Xu, did you notice Walnut’s different reactions to Liu Baoli and Wang Shulin?" Shen Xin asked as soon as he joined them.

He soon learned that they had all noticed.

Xu Jinguang briefly summarized their ideas and asked Shen Xin what he thought.

Shen Xin glanced at Yang Zeran.

’His theory is actually pretty solid.’

’Still, it comes back to the same thing. Find the man first.’

"Director Xu, how about this? Later, when Walnut is feeling a bit better, I’ll have him try to identify Yang Guofa. We need to confirm whether or not he was actually involved in this incident."

Confirming that point was crucial.

"As for whether our theory is correct, I think we can start with Yang Guofa’s alibi and try to reconstruct his movements at the time of the crime."

Yang Zeran was only speculating. His logic was sound, but in the end, it all came down to evidence.

"Think about it, sir. Even though Yang Guofa was also a Patrol Officer and had access to Wang Shulin’s patrol routes, he would have had to plan this in advance."

"He would have to pick an ambush spot and prepare ropes. We also theorized before that to subdue two adult men, the suspect might have used a firearm."

"So if Yang Guofa did it, he would’ve had to prepare all those things, had the time to commit the crime, and then find a way to dispose of the tools he used."

"If we investigate from those angles, I think we can at least confirm whether Yang Guofa is a viable suspect."

Let the evidence do the talking.

If Yang Guofa has an alibi for the time of the murder, then no matter how reasonable Yang Zeran’s theory is, it’s still just a theory.

Xu Jinguang nodded repeatedly.

On the video call, Chang Zhigang couldn’t help but praise Shen Xin’s quick thinking and sound reasoning, agreeing that they should first use external evidence to confirm Yang Guofa’s potential as a suspect.

"Let’s do that, then."

Xu Jinguang didn’t overthink it. He would proceed according to their discussion.

"We have a breakthrough in the case now, and I’ll be taking personal command. If anyone messes up, I won’t be lenient."

Xu Jinguang added in a stern voice, reminding Wu Kaiwei and the others on the call.

Chang Zhigang looked invigorated. "Don’t worry, Director Xu," he said at once. "If it’s really that son of a bitch, I sure as hell won’t let him get away with it."

This case had been gnawing at him for nine long years.

Six lives were lost. If Yang Guofa was really the one behind it, he would go to Tianya Haijiao to drag the man back.

"Shen Xin, take good care of Walnut. He did very well today."

With that final instruction, Xu Jinguang took his leave.

After seeing Xu Jinguang off, Yang Zeran started a video call, wanting to discuss his ideas further with Shen Xin.

"Shen Xin, I think we’re onto something. This Yang Guofa guy is a genuine suspect."

Yang Zeran felt his theory was perfectly logical; there were no holes in it.

"It would be great if it’s him," Shen Xin said.

Shen Xin couldn’t bring himself to be as optimistic as Yang Zeran, but he agreed that finding Yang Guofa first was the right move.

Shen Xin shared a few of his own thoughts.

Following the established clues was one way to go.

But they could also start by running a comparison on the household registration database.

"I doubt the guy would’ve gone so far as to get plastic surgery."

He disappeared sometime between ’11 and ’12. Back then, people forged documents, and there were loopholes in the household registration system.

For a little money, people could assume a false identity, or even take over the identity of a deceased person.

But the person would still be the same person.

"Now we have facial recognition and DNA collection. Let’s run a comparison first. We might just find the guy."

After exchanging a few more words, Shen Xin ended the video call and went to check on Walnut.

When he got there, Walnut was still huddled in the corner.

The moment he saw Shen Xin, he immediately came forward.

After this whole ordeal, Walnut’s affection level had surprisingly increased by another point.

"Don’t be scared. I’m here with you."

Walnut now seemed like a child dependent on his parents.

’Don’t go.’

Walnut looked up and let out a cry.

Shen Xin patted his head. What could he say? He had no choice but to agree.