Chapter 661 - 549: Slipped Away

Chapter 661: Chapter 549: Slipped Away

With the Lunar New Year just around the corner, Shen Xin found himself buried in work. As the head of a cold case office, he had annual summaries to write and reimbursements to settle with the finance department. There was a lot to do.

He had been in Anjing for a while and couldn’t attend to these matters, but now that he was back, they had to be dealt with.

His personal life was even more hectic and complicated.

He had to buy all sorts of supplies for the New Year, and gifts for visiting relatives and friends had to be prepared in advance as well.

In previous years, Shen Haolin had always been the one to handle these things.

But this year, he was planning to "retire" and enjoy a leisurely life. In his own words, Shen Xin was now engaged and practically a married man. As the only man in the family, he had to step up and take charge.

Last year, Ding Yuwei had chosen to work on the holiday shift.

This was because her mother suffered from severe depression and was living in a long-term care facility.

Her grandmother had gone to spend the New Year with her uncle, leaving her all alone.

This year, however, Ding Yuwei was considering bringing her mother home to celebrate the New Year together, along with her grandmother.

Naturally, Shen Xin would inevitably have to help with her family’s arrangements as well.

After dealing with the people, there were also the animals to think about.

The factory was closing for the holidays, so the donkey had to be brought back. This was no ordinary donkey; it was the one that had saved his life.

Then there were Tian Kui, Celestial Skill, and Sergeant Teddy. The bureau would be busy during the New Year holiday, and they might not be well cared for, so he decided to just bring them all home.

People got to feast on rich food for the New Year; he couldn’t just let the animals eat scraps.

And speaking of animals, there were still the two at the Anjing Zoo.

Meng Lan was attached to him, and now Walnut was the same.

Meng Lan was easier to deal with, since Xu Haisheng was there to look after him.

But Walnut was a different story. Ma Tao and Xu Haisheng still couldn’t get close to him easily.

If Shen Xin was away for too long, the panda was liable to throw a tantrum.

Meng Lan had a history of doing just that.

So before leaving, Shen Xin had arranged to have a video call with the zoo every day.

On the night before New Year’s Eve, while Shen Xin was on a video call with Walnut, Shen Haolin was lounging nearby and scrolling through his phone.

He glanced at the tablet and muttered, "Son, let me be honest. If you really had the skills, if you were some kind of miracle worker who could bring a panda home for me, I’d throw down the cash and open a zoo for you."

The day before, Shen Xin had been idly chatting with him and complained about being too poor to open a zoo.

But if his son could actually get a panda, Shen Haolin felt it would be a different story.

A single panda would be enough to guarantee visitor traffic, allowing the zoo to break even, and maybe even turn a profit.

"Dad, you really overestimate me. We’re talking about a panda here."

Forget bringing one home—even the proposal Shen Xin had submitted to the zoo had been rejected.

One of his goals had been to help Walnut enter the third phase of his development.

In their daily interactions, Shen Xin could sense that Walnut still yearned for freedom.

Therefore, a trip to the Baishui River might serve as a catalyst.

And naturally, the ultimate goal was still for the sake of the case.

It would be like revisiting a crime scene; perhaps the panda could rely on his memory to recall what had happened all those years ago.

This proposal was rejected by Zhu Fengmao and the Jin City Breeding and Research Base.

First of all, the matter involved the question of ownership.

Specifically, the giant panda’s official registration.

In China, giant pandas rescued from the wild have a clear registration status: they belong to the state.

Therefore, Walnut was still officially registered to the Jin City Breeding and Research Base.

The Anjing Zoo, on the other hand, was a rather unique case among domestic zoos, as it possessed independent breeding rights for giant pandas.

Meng Lan and his two brothers, for instance, were registered to the Anjing Zoo.

Thus, Walnut’s current situation was a cooperative effort between the Anjing Zoo and the Jin City Base. The plan was for Walnut to breed with Meng Meng, but they had so far been unsuccessful.

The Anjing Zoo had a significant say in Walnut’s management.

Ma Tao had mentioned before that the Jin City Base was considering rewilding Walnut and releasing him back into the wild.

That was the Jin City Base’s idea.

The Anjing Zoo, however, disagreed. They hadn’t given up on the plan to breed Walnut and Meng Meng.

The pair’s genetics were just too good to waste.

Under these circumstances, of course they wouldn’t agree to Shen Xin’s suggestion.

This was true even though Walnut had already been taken off public display before Shen Xin arrived.

Just as he was lost in thought, his phone rang.

It was Yang Zeran.

Shen Xin quickly stood up and went outside to take the call.

When the call connected, he could hear the noise of a crowd and the sound of a check-in announcement in the background.

Yang Zeran must be at an airport.

They had been in contact over the past few days, so Shen Xin knew Yang Zeran hadn’t given up. He was still in Feng City, trying to track down this person named Ah Gui.

Yang Zeran’s voice was full of exhaustion. "Shen Xin, I have some good news and some bad news. Which do you want first?"

Shen Xin replied, "It’s almost the New Year, so let’s start with the good news."

Despite calling it good news, Yang Zeran sighed. "The good news is that we found that Ah Gui, and we also found out where Yang Guofa went."

Shen Xin was taken aback.

All that hard work had finally paid off; Yang Zeran had actually found him.

Shen Xin quickly asked where Yang Guofa had gone.

Yang Zeran said, "Where he went... that’s the bad news."

Shen Xin’s heart sank. ’Don’t tell me Yang Guofa is dead.’

Yang Zeran continued, "We just found Ah Gui this morning. He told us that back in May of 2013, Yang Guofa used his connections to illegally immigrate to the United States."

"As for whether he made it or died along the way, Ah Gui has no idea. He’s had no contact with Yang Guofa since."

Shen Xin blurted out, "Holy shit."

’This Yang Guofa is one ruthless bastard,’ Shen Xin thought. ’Forget abandoning his parents, he even abandoned his own country and just fled.’

"What about the smuggler? Can we follow that lead?" Shen Xin pressed.

Many people from the Min’an area go abroad to seek their fortune.

And since Yang Guofa had used Ah Gui’s connection, finding the smuggler should lead them to Yang Guofa’s whereabouts.

Yang Zeran sighed again. "There was no smuggler. It was one of Ah Gui’s friends; they went together. It’s the same situation—no one knows if they’re alive or dead, and all contact was lost long ago."

Shen Xin fell silent. Since the man had chosen to be smuggled across the border, the risks were easy to imagine.

"What’s the word from Longzhou?" Shen Xin asked.

Yang Zeran replied, "I’ve reported it to President Wu. He said we should come back for now and revisit the matter after the New Year."

So there was another piece of good news after all: Yang Zeran would be able to make it home for the holiday.

"Alright then. We’ll pick this up after the New Year. You guys travel safe."

With that final word of advice, Shen Xin hung up.

If he were still in the country, as long as he was alive, they could definitely find him if they put in enough effort.

But now that he’d fled the country, things were much more complicated.

They didn’t even know if he was dead or alive.

And even if he was alive, there’s no extradition treaty between China and the United States.

Besides, there was no evidence that the man had even committed a crime.

So even if they found him, they couldn’t bring him back.

When he went back inside, Shen Haolin saw the grim look on his face and asked what was wrong.

"It’s nothing. Just work stuff."

Hearing that, Shen Haolin didn’t press any further.

Shen Xin silently mulled things over.

’It feels like the lead on Yang Guofa is heading for another dead end,’ he thought.

’The only path left open to me is through Walnut.’

Shen Xin considered calling Xu Jinguang to ask him to help coordinate things.

He wouldn’t even have to mention rewilding or release. He would take a step back.

They could just take a trip to the Baishui River, a simple visit to an old haunt.

After all, Anjing provided room and board; that had to be better than returning to the wild.

But just as he picked up his phone, Shen Xin stopped himself.

’Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve,’ he thought. ’Everything can wait until after the holiday.’