Chapter 64: The Kennel of Human Bones

Now that the stench of a corpse had been detected at the dog farm, it could no longer be ignored.

Seeing Officer Xiao Xu lead Mo Fei to the cafeteria, Officer Tang gathered his colleagues to assign tasks.

The presence of corpse stench indicated the existence of human remains, meaning there was a victim. Officer Tang instructed everyone to cross-reference the dog farm owner’s social circle with the list of missing persons, checking for any overlapping names.

Anyone who both knew the dog farm owner and was missing was highly likely to be a victim. Recently, with the surge of human trafficking, the number of missing persons had increased. However, narrowing the search to the owner’s acquaintances would make it much easier.

“We should also borrow some veterinary anesthetics from the animal clinic, and it would be best to get all the equipment from the dog-catching unit,” Officer Tang continued thoughtfully. “And bring the police dogs as well.”

A young officer raised his hand and asked, “But if we act like this and there’s nothing wrong at the farm, won’t we get complaints?”

“And is it even possible for people to still feed dogs with human flesh these days?”

To ordinary people, such things were simply too horrific to imagine—like scenes from a movie.

Officer Tang shook his head. “If you look it up on your phone right now, you’ll find that ten years ago, there was a real case abroad where a murder victim was fed to pigs.”

“It’s a true case, not fiction.”

“And the key reason we’re taking action is that a report was filed,” he said, meeting the young officer’s eyes. “We must respond to every report we receive, even if eighty out of a hundred are misunderstandings and ten are pranks. That still means we could help ten people, doesn’t it?”

The young officer’s gaze grew resolute, and he nodded firmly.

In the cafeteria, as Officer Xiao Xu watched Mo Fei eat, he worried about what to say if Mo Fei asked about the smell he’d detected.

But his worries proved unfounded.

The moment Mo Fei entered, he switched into “eating mode.” His eyes saw nothing but the food, bowls, and chopsticks.

The cafeteria’s elder staff were always delighted to see Mo Fei: a young man who ate heartily and was pleasant to look at—what elderly person wouldn’t like him?

After making a round at the serving window, Mo Fei was even handed an extra bottle of milk.

If the cafeteria staff had police credentials, Mo Fei probably wouldn’t have been able to eat in peace.

Officer Xiao Xu, meanwhile, was absentmindedly poking at his rice, his mind entirely preoccupied with the dog farm affair.

He was supposed to be off today, but he could always return to duty.

His mentor had assigned tasks; he wanted to do his part too. Officer Xiao Xu sighed.

Mo Fei, cheeks puffed as he chewed, looked up and saw Officer Xiao Xu’s troubled face across the table.

Eating, he thought, was something to be enjoyed—what was there to worry about?

He swallowed, sipped his milk, and asked, “What’s on your mind? The shredded pork in garlic sauce is especially good today.”

“It’s nothing,” Officer Xiao Xu replied, snapping back to attention. “Where’s your filming location? I’ll take you there later.”

“Are you daft? I’m not an eight-year-old,” Mo Fei replied, giving him a look reserved for fools. “If you’re busy, then go handle your work. I can take a cab—I have savings, I can afford it.”

Officer Xiao Xu’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

“Why not? If you have work, then go,” Mo Fei said nonchalantly, returning to his meal.

“Alright,” Officer Xiao Xu grinned, eating much more quickly.

After they polished off their plates, each went their separate way: Mo Fei to hail a cab, Officer Xiao Xu to ask Officer Tang for assignments.

As for the officers’ odd behavior after he’d sniffed the jar, Mo Fei had his own suspicions. Anything that made the police lose their smiles and act as if facing a formidable enemy could only be one thing.

Either someone had died, or someone was about to.

Which meant what he’d smelled was either the scent of death or of murder.

Neither was good.

Mo Fei didn’t consider himself especially noble and had no intention of involving himself in their work. Not making trouble was the best help he could offer.

He knew his place.

By the time he reached the set, Xiao Qian was already sipping iced tea and flipping through the script.

Seeing Mo Fei arrive, Xiao Qian called out, “Good timing! You’re both the screenwriter and the lead actor—join us this afternoon to help screen the cast.”

Compared to yesterday’s frantic costume changes and filming, today’s actor auditions—which just required sitting and watching performances—were far more relaxed.

“I left in a hurry yesterday and took the costume home. Should I wash it and bring it back?” Mo Fei sat down smiling, pointing at his black overcoat.

Xiao Qian glanced over. “Don’t worry about it. If you like, pick a few more outfits from the wardrobe to keep—they’re all your size anyway.”

New designer clothes, just handed over like that...

What luck! Lü Chunqiu had just been saying he needed to get him new outfits; now he wouldn’t need to spend a cent.

Mo Fei’s smile grew even more ingratiating.

This wasn’t Xiao Qian—it was the God of Wealth in disguise.

“You said you weren’t feeling well yesterday. Are you alright now?” Xiao Qian asked, making a few notes on the script.

Mo Fei shook his head. “Just some aftereffects from poisonous mushrooms—nothing serious.”

“That’s good,” Xiao Qian replied with a kind smile. “You’re the backbone of our crew—we’re all counting on you, so you can’t collapse.”

Mo Fei chuckled, about to reply with a few polite words, but then he paused, suspecting something. “Director Qian, are you just flattering me?”

“Of course not,” Xiao Qian replied sincerely. “Every word is the truth.”

“Well, that’s true,” Mo Fei grinned, nodding happily.

...

The cross-check between the missing persons and the dog farm owner’s social circle was assisted by the household registration police. A group of policewomen worked together to verify the information, and soon the final results were handed to Officer Tang.

“After checking, we found two missing persons connected to the dog farm’s manager, including relatives, and one more—a creditor of his girlfriend,” one of the policewomen reported, placing the files beside Officer Tang. “We also had an unexpected discovery.”

Officer Tang flipped through the files, scanning quickly.

The policewoman pointed out a line. “Here: the brother of the pig farm owner’s ex-wife—whom we rescued earlier—used to run a hotel and was a former business partner of the dog farm owner.”

“They never had any obvious contact. If we hadn’t been told to check the dog farm owner’s connections to missing persons, we would never have dug this deep.”

Officer Tang exhaled, closed the file, and smiled at the policewoman. “Thank you all—you’ve been a huge help.”

“We’re just doing our job,” she replied with a smile. “Shall we bring firearms?”

“We’ll need to file another report for that. Tian Sheng!” Officer Tang handed the files to Officer Xiao Xu. “The sooner, the better.”

“We shut down a human-blood pig farm—now let’s take down this human-bone dog farm!”