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墨書 Inktalez
When they returned to Dragon City, it was already past midnight. As they made their way to the City Public Security Bureau, they noticed that most places were closed. The lights in the bureau were mostly turned off, yet none of the members of the special task force were resting. They sat silently in the conference room until one person pushed open the door and walked in.
"Have we cast the net?" The speaker was Old Shao, addressing Captain Liu, who had just entered.
Captain Liu nodded and replied, "The net has been cast, but it may take some time to find those dogs. There are five legitimate dog markets in the city, and we have contacted the local police stations to investigate. If a large number of pet dogs enter the market tonight, it should be easy to trace."
Old Shao gently set down his tea cup and said, "The Criminal Consultant must know we are investigating the dog markets in Dragon City. He probably wouldn’t bring the dogs into the market. However, with a truckload of dogs—there could be over ten or even twenty—they need a place where he can keep them without being discovered."
Captain Liu sat nearby as Xu Yiman poured him a cup of water.
After taking a sip of hot water, Captain Liu said, "That makes it difficult to find. Dragon City has too many such places; any basement or abandoned hospital or school, or even a residential building under demolition could serve as a temporary hiding spot."
Old Shao slowly added, "He has legitimate paperwork showing that those dogs came from official channels. We should trace this line back to find their source."
"Understood," Captain Liu nodded.
At that moment, Guan Deng pulled Jiang He’s arm, urging him to look at his computer. Jiang He turned to see that Guan Deng had found a news article: "Man publicly abuses dog, skins it alive; dog owner weeps and faints multiple times."
Jiang He glanced at the article; it reported an incident that had occurred just half a month ago.
"Abusing dogs?" Xu Yiman asked. "Skins it alive in public?"
The others were drawn in by Xu Yiman's words and turned their attention to Guan Deng's computer.
"Is there a video?" Elder Shao asked. "Let’s take a look."
Guan Deng nodded and clicked on the video link.
The background of the video appeared to be in an alley. During the filming, a dog was hanging from a tree branch, while a man in the video was using a knife to skin the animal. The man looked to be around thirty years old and appeared quite lean.
From the video, it was clear that the dog's mouth was tied with a rope.
The knife in the man's hand dripped with blood as the dog struggled in the air, unable to break free. There were quite a few people around; some were watching with morbid curiosity, others offered verbal criticism and advice, while some couldn't bear to watch the gruesome scene and stood aside, cursing.
"This is sick! What is he doing?"
"That dog is so cute; why be so cruel?"
"Call the police! There’s still hope for that dog!"
Yet no one dared to step forward. The man had bloodshot eyes and hair that looked like a bird's nest. With a bloody knife in hand, he resembled a terrifying murderer. No one knew if they would end up being killed if they tried to intervene.
The man continued to slice at the dog's skin. In moments, half of the dog's skin was removed, revealing its red and white flesh underneath. The dog emitted whimpering sounds, rising and falling, as if it could no longer endure. Occasionally, it struggled in mid-air, its legs kicking desperately, trying to escape but finding no way out.
The crowd grew larger, and more people attempted to dissuade him, yet still no one stepped forward. Finally, a woman appeared in the video. She seemed to be in her thirties, wearing a Mink Coat and holding a Leather Bag. At first, she joined the crowd to watch, but then she shouted, "Who are you? What are you doing? Are you insane?"
Standing behind the man, she jumped up in distress: "Let go of our baby! Let go of our darling! You’re crazy! Why are you killing my dog?"
At that moment, the man turned his head and saw her. Suddenly, he burst into laughter: "Is this your dog? I’m killing your dog! I’m going to skin your dog alive! I’ll drink your dog's blood! I’ll make hot pot out of your dog! I’ll torture it to death!"
These words cut through the woman’s heart like knives. Hearing them made her collapse onto the ground, speechless for a moment. All she could say was, "How can you kill a dog? Dogs are man's best friend! How can you do this? That’s my child!"
The man ignored her and continued his gruesome task.
Just then, several security guards pushed through the crowd.
"What are you doing? What are you doing?" a security guard shouted. "Put down the knife, or we'll call the police."
The man glanced at the guard and then viciously slashed at the dog's neck. With one swift motion, a deep gash opened up, leaving only a thin strip of skin connecting the head to the body. Blood erupted from the wound like a fountain. At that moment, the dog was already dead.
The female owner witnessed this horrific scene and fainted on the spot. People around her hurried to support her, pinching her nose and performing CPR.
"Come with us!" the security guard ordered. "Drop the knife!"
The man looked at the dog one last time before stabbing the knife into the nearby garden, where it sank deep into the bare ground. He waved his hand and followed several security guards away.
Finally regaining consciousness, the female owner looked at her dog. However, due to gravity, that thin strip of skin could no longer support the dog's weight, and its body fell away from its head, blood splattering everywhere in a gruesome display.
Seeing this sight again caused her to faint once more. In the ensuing chaos, those filming quickly turned off their cameras, ending the video abruptly.
After watching the video, Xu Yiman couldn't help but exclaim, "That person is too cruel. Killing that dog in front of its owner—perhaps she treated her pet like her own child."
"What kind of dog is that?" Yuan Jun asked. "It seems like many people are willing to raise them; I see them everywhere on the streets."
"Teddy, also known as Toy Poodle," Xu Yiman replied, looking at Yuan Jun. "This type of pet is popular among girls; they are small and relatively easy to care for."
"Could that be why?" Yuan Jun speculated. "Is Criminal Consultant going after this dog abuser next?"
Old Shao nodded and asked, "What’s the view count on this video?"
"Millions," Jiang He replied after checking.
"Look at the comments," Old Shao added.
Criminal Consultant wanted to kill someone, and naturally, it was essential for others to understand why this person had to die. If the reason for killing Wang Yedan was that everyone believed Wang Yedan was responsible for Luben's death, then the motive for killing this person was likely because they had killed someone’s pet dog in front of the protagonist.
Guan Deng scrolled through the comments and found that they were overwhelmingly one-sided.
"People like this are potential murderers; they deserve to be executed a hundred times."
"If I ever meet him, I would punch him to death."
"I hate people like this the most."
"A dog is a man's best friend; why not kill your own mother instead?"
"My heart aches for the dog owner; just look at how heartbroken they are. This person is truly twisted."
Old Shao looked at these comments and suddenly had a thought; they were almost identical to the comments made when Wang Yedan had his incident. Old Shao felt there must be some connection between the two events, and he began to speculate on what Criminal Consultant intended to do, though he wasn't yet brave enough to voice his conclusions.
"That's basically it," Jiang He said. "This news is indeed linked to the dog incident, and it happened in Dragon City. The video has garnered a lot of views, and Criminal Consultant is very likely to kill this person. We need to see him immediately."
Shao the Elder: "Find out where this person lives and what their name is. Contact the local police station; they should have filed a report."
Captain Liu nodded in agreement.
After more than half an hour, Captain Liu returned with good news: "We found him. He lives in Peony District, is thirty-two years old, married, and has a three-year-old daughter. His name is Zhang Zong."
"Is that all?" Seeing that Captain Liu had stopped speaking, Old Shao asked, "What about any further details?"
"There’s nothing more on this end," Captain Liu replied, shaking his head while holding the documents.
"What does no follow-up mean?" Old Shao asked.
Captain Liu scratched his head. "At that time, the dog owner did report it to the police, but later he voluntarily withdrew the case. The police hadn't even had a chance to coordinate before this case was closed. If the party involved isn't pursuing it anymore, the police won't file a case. So, there was no follow-up on this matter; that's how it is."
Old Shao rubbed his tea cup and said slowly, "Then this is problematic. This situation must be more complicated than what the video shows. Right now, we need to go to Peony District and meet this person."
"Now?" Yuan Jun replied. "It's already past two in the morning."
"Exactly, now," Elder Shao insisted. "If I'm guessing correctly, this person could die at any moment. We have to act immediately and set off."
"Understood." Everyone nodded.
A group of them drove to Peony District, and after about an hour, they arrived at Zhang Zong's doorstep.
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