Chapter 61: The Zhang Family Is a Total Mess
When they learned that no one knew how much explosive had been buried under the Zhang estate, every officer’s vision went black—they nearly passed out on the spot.
If Lin Jiangye hadn’t discovered it, if that man had suddenly lost his mind and pressed the remote, then the hundred-plus people present would have been blown to pieces.
Even if they weren’t killed by the blast, they would have been crushed by collapsing buildings.
If the killer truly had no conscience, they all would have died right here.
But… why?
“Yeah, why?” Lin Jiangye was the calmest person there. “You can figure that out yourselves. I’m not getting involved in this part.”
Of course, it was also possible he had already finished being shocked.
He told the police the two suspects the white-tailed sea eagle had seen, and told them to investigate Zhang Xun’s first wife first.
Hopefully there was only one bomb remote. Otherwise their actions might spook other accomplices, and if someone pressed the button, they’d all be dead.
Looking at the unconscious veterinarian on the ground, Shang Yongyi felt a headache coming on. He desperately wanted to grab his brother by the collar and ask whether he knew Lin Jiangye was this wild.
If he knew, why didn’t he warn him earlier?
Shang Yongyi’s focus had already shifted from “a vet trying to blow up a hundred people” to “Lin Jiangye knocking him out with one punch.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you act alone? Did you consider what would happen if that punch didn’t knock him out—”
Before he could finish, Lin Jiangye cut him off. “Impossible. No one can withstand a full-force punch from me. Not even your brother.”
Before Shang Yongyi could react, Lin Jiangye continued, “Right now we don’t know whether the vet has accomplices, and we don’t know if any accomplice has another remote. What if they do? Your detectives are definitely being watched. I’m being watched too, but my excuse was airtight, wasn’t it?”
He hadn’t lied. The sea eagle was indeed in bad shape and truly injured. If he didn’t look for the vet then, who else could he look for?
And once the vet was in front of him, he simply handled it himself.
Shang Yongyi went silent.
Hearing Lin Jiangye’s logic, he suddenly wanted to call his brother and ask what the hell was going on with this guy’s combat power.
Shang Fuyan… are you just a bit too weak?
But after checking the vet’s condition and seeing how miserable he looked, Shang Yongyi had to admit Lin Jiangye was right.
That punch really was terrifying. Forget his brother—Shang Yongyi himself probably couldn’t take it either.
“No matter what, thank you.” Shang Yongyi let out a slow breath and managed a smile again.
Lin Jiangye’s methods were wild, but his thinking was thorough.
And because he did what he did, more than a hundred people were pulled back from the edge of death.
“I’ll report this to my superiors. They’ll give you a bonus.” Shang Yongyi thought for a moment and decided this needed to be made known to the people outside too—so everyone would owe Lin Jiangye a favor.
There was no way they wouldn’t owe him. Even Shang Yongyi owed him. The rest couldn’t pretend nothing happened. 🙂
And since Lin Jiangye was his brother’s friend, Shang Yongyi also wanted to take care of him. Several guests present were investors, and Lin Jiangye happened to be building a zoo, wasn’t he?
But Lin Jiangye cared far more about the word “bonus.”
“How much is the bonus?”
Shang Yongyi froze, then eyed him suspiciously. His brother said this guy was rich—why was he suddenly fixated on a bonus? Did he run out of money after buying land? But even if they gave a bonus, it wouldn’t be much…
Lin Jiangye seemed to understand the doubt and waved it off. “That money is for the sea eagle.”
The white-tailed sea eagle, hearing itself mentioned, widened its eyes and looked over. Seeing how skinny it was, Lin Jiangye sighed silently, rubbed its head, and continued.
“It was the one that told me about the vet burying things. It also led me to where the explosives were. So that money should belong to it in the first place.”
The sea eagle tried to speak, but Lin Jiangye pinched its beak gently. “I know what you want to say. But since you’re coming home with me, there are things you must understand.”
“In my home, every little one who earns merit gets a bonus. Any bonus the police give goes entirely to you. In the future, if you see something you like, you use your bonus to buy it.” Like the crows’ shiny things, the tabby’s toys, the German Shepherd’s double-layer dog bed, and so on.
Sure, Lin Jiangye often bought things for them too. But if he bought too much for one, it could easily become unfair—especially since there were more and more little ones in the house.
But if they used their own little stash, it was different. That was money earned with their own merit. They could spend it however they pleased.
Shang Yongyi was surprised by Lin Jiangye’s approach. And although the sea eagle didn’t fully understand, it caught one key point—its earned bonus could buy anything it wanted.
[Then can eagle buy a warm nest?]
Lin Jiangye froze, then nodded hard. “Of course! As big as you want! You saved so many people—your bonus is definitely going to be generous, right?”
He directed the last two words at Shang Yongyi. Shang Yongyi’s mouth twitched, but when he met the sea eagle’s hopeful little eyes, he nodded with helpless amusement.
It would be generous.
Even if the internal police bonus wasn’t large, Shang Yongyi believed the guests in this estate would properly thank the sea eagle.
They were all big shots. Surely they could afford a thank-you fee.
After Lin Jiangye passed all known information to Shang Yongyi, he decided to stay put and not go out again, waiting quietly for the police investigation.
As for whether there were accomplices involved in planting the explosives, Shang Yongyi thought it over seriously. Personally, he leaned toward “no,” but to be safe, he decided to run a provocation test anyway.
He returned indoors and swept his gaze across the room. Someone noticed he’d been gone for a while and had finally come back, and asked curiously, “Captain Shang, judging by your expression, you’ve got a lead, right?”
That one line instantly drew everyone’s attention.
Shang Yongyi glanced at the speaker. The man was one of the Zhang family’s business partners—well, strictly speaking, a former partner. The man was on the brink of bankruptcy, and the Zhang family no longer wanted to work with him.
Speaking of him…
Shang Yongyi withdrew his thoughts. With a faintly complicated expression, he looked at the crowd.
“Like this—just now, I received a message…”
——
Meanwhile, Lin Jiangye was carefully treating the white-tailed sea eagle’s wounds in the vet’s room. There were injuries at the base of its wings and on its talons. Judging by the scabbing, they were likely from its earlier escape.
The sea eagle’s condition was slightly better than the gyrfalcon’s—only slightly. Compared to standard healthy weight, both were malnourished.
And the sea eagle being a little plumper before was only because it had been carrying chicks and had eaten more food then. Plus, the Zhang family hadn’t had the energy to mess with it during that period, so its days were a bit easier.
But after the incident, it flew off. In the scenic woods it couldn’t find much to eat, and it quickly grew thin again.
“Tsk. I really don’t know what this family is thinking.” To get their hands on a Class I protected animal, the Zhang family must have spent a lot of money. But in their eyes, rare animals were probably just tools for showing off.
And if it was just a tool, then even if it got ruined, so what? They’d just replace it.
The more Lin Jiangye thought about it, the angrier he got—so angry he practically wanted the Zhang family’s faces to slap themselves onto his palm.
Nope. Definitely not because he wanted to punch anyone.
After treating both birds’ wounds, Lin Jiangye cleaned them up, then started rummaging through the room looking for food.
He turned the whole place upside down and still couldn’t find a single snack. In the end, he had to take out his own dried meat and tear it into pieces to feed the two little ones.
A while later, just as Lin Jiangye was holding the two birds and dozing off, a commotion suddenly erupted outside.
Three pairs of eyes snapped open at once, all turning to the snowy ground outside the window.
They saw Zhang Xun’s first wife holding a small knife, the blade aimed straight at Zhang Xun’s throat.
“Don’t come closer! Or I’ll kill him!” The woman was wildly agitated. Even as her children tried to talk her down, she didn’t loosen her grip.
Zhang Jingming and his mother stood to the side watching like it was a show—watching with real enjoyment.
Because if Zhang Xun died at the hands of his first wife, the two of them would firmly sit as the company’s top power.
“Mom… let go, Mom!” Zhang Guanyu couldn’t understand why his mother had become so crazed.
After it was exposed that his mother had also been involved in the killing, Zhang Guanyu had thought she merely didn’t want that 8% to fall into someone else’s hands.
But now it looked like there was something deeper.
Behind them, the guests stared wide-eyed at the Zhang family tearing each other apart.
With so many people watching, Zhang Guanyu’s heart sank completely. Whether the old man lived or died, and no matter what the will said, the Zhang company’s stock was going to crash.
Lin Jiangye and the two birds crouched on the windowsill, quietly watching.
But the longer Lin Jiangye watched, the more he felt it wasn’t just agitation—her mind seemed genuinely broken.
He narrowed his eyes, assessed her, then returned indoors and whispered to the two birds.
“Babies, the chance to earn merit is here!”
The gyrfalcon snapped its head up, its little eyes shining—clearly dreaming of earning money like the sea eagle and filling its own tiny stash.
Lin Jiangye explained quickly. “Right now, the most dangerous thing is that knife in the female’s hand. Her attention is focused on the human in front of her. She can’t really watch her surroundings.”
What the two birds needed to do was simple: one would deliberately draw her attention, and the other would seize the moment to rush in and snatch the knife away.
No knife—no danger.
The two little ones nodded repeatedly, patiently waiting for Lin Jiangye’s signal.
Downstairs, the woman was still in a standoff with police. While they argued back and forth, Lin Jiangye flicked his hand—
And the two birds shot out the window.
The white-tailed sea eagle screeched, instantly drawing everyone’s attention. Even the vigilant woman instinctively glanced up at the sky.
“Now!” Lin Jiangye’s clear voice guided the gyrfalcon. The freshly adult bird burst forward at 120% speed—so fast it was almost invisible—and ripped the knife straight out of the woman’s hand.
Because it snatched it by force, the woman’s hand was naturally clawed by the falcon’s talons.
[Falcon did it!!!] The crisp birdcall rang across the sky.
The moment Shang Yongyi saw the sea eagle appear, he immediately understood what Lin Jiangye was doing.
As soon as the knife was gone, Shang Yongyi rushed out and slammed the woman to the ground.
“AHHHHH!” Realizing her plan had failed, she let out a tortured howl. Her bloodshot eyes glared viciously at Zhang Xun, who had fallen aside.
“I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!”
Zhang Xun had barely gotten up when he saw his wife staring at him like a demon.
Zhang Xun couldn’t understand it. Why would she kill their youngest son and then come for him too?
These years… he hadn’t treated her poorly.
“Not poorly? Hahahaha! Eating my entire family’s inheritance and calling that ‘not poorly’?” Du Qing spat the words like she wanted to spit in his face.
Hearing those words, Zhang Xun’s eyes darted away guiltily—but he forced himself calm again. “If your family’s assets weren’t handed to me, who would manage them? You? Do you even have that ability?”
Du Qing’s breathing turned harsh. She looked around—at her children’s pained faces, at the mistress and bastard’s gloating expressions, and at Ruan Lingyan’s hateful stare—then let out a short laugh, as if surrendering all strength.
“Let me tell you… a few good things.”
A deep unease hit Zhang Xun. He remembered the guests hadn’t left, and he tried to cover her mouth—
But he was too slow.
“Ruan Lingyan is the daughter I had with my lover.”
Everyone sucked in a sharp breath.
Only Lin Jiangye and the two birds tilted their heads blankly. “Who is Ruan Lingyan?”
Hearing the voice above, Shang Yongyi hesitated, then chose not to explain in front of everyone that Ruan Lingyan was Zhang Yushu’s mother.
Most people here already knew anyway.
“Zhang Jingming isn’t your biological son either. He’s Jiang He’s child with the butler. If you don’t believe it, get a DNA test right now.” Du Qing’s laughter rang bright with vicious satisfaction as she saw the mistress’s shocked face.
Youngest son dead. Second son not his blood. And he’d slept with the first wife’s illegitimate daughter…
That was more than enough to crush the already fragile Zhang Xun.
He dropped to his knees, eyes bulging, stunned.
After a long moment, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed.
“Dad! Dad!” Zhang Guanyu rushed forward immediately—what a filial son.
If the smile tugging at his lips hadn’t been so obvious, it would’ve been perfect.
Jiang He froze in place. She couldn’t understand how this could have been exposed—she’d hidden it for over thirty years.
And Ruan Lingyan, equally devastated, lunged at Du Qing and slapped her hard.
Du Qing seemed full of guilt toward her. She didn’t resist at all, letting her hit her until police pulled Ruan Lingyan away.
“I wronged you.” If she hadn’t abandoned that child back then, she wouldn’t have been preyed on by that old bastard and forced to bear a child.
But she didn’t regret what she did.
Zhang Yushu could not be allowed to live.
Ruan Lingyan’s chest heaved violently. Then her breath caught—and she fainted on the spot.
In an instant, the entire estate erupted into chaos, leaving Lin Jiangye and the two birds blinking in stunned disbelief.
“Wait… don’t die yet…” Lin Jiangye muttered. The gyrfalcon and sea eagle had saved Zhang Xun’s life—shouldn’t they get paid?
He didn’t even bother lowering his voice. The blunt meaning made Zhang Guanyu, who had been crying, choke mid-sob.
Once the crying stopped, it was hard to restart, so he gave up and focused on sending the barely-alive old man to the hospital first.
Then he looked up at the young man on the second floor, his gaze complicated. “The Zhang family won’t forget Consultant Lin’s reward. Rest assured.”
Lin Jiangye’s lips curved slightly—then he forced them back down, trying not to look too openly delighted.
When Shang Yongyi came upstairs, Zhang Yushu’s case was basically wrapped up.
“The six killers—besides Du Qing and the vet—also included a servant from the Zhang household, a former business partner, and two parents of students from Zhang Yushu’s school.”
As for motives…
The vet and Ruan Lingyan used to be lovers. He came here deliberately for her. Killing Zhang Yushu was revenge for Ruan Lingyan’s ‘snobbery’ and pursuit of wealth.
Lin Jiangye frowned, clearly struggling to accept it. “Then why target the entire Zhang family?”
Shang Yongyi rubbed his forehead. His voice turned hoarse. “He says it’s because he can’t stand the Zhang family abusing animals. But honestly… I think he’s just rich-hating.”
Yeah. That fits.
Lin Jiangye remembered his earlier question. “If the vet planned to blow everyone up, why did he still participate in the killing yesterday?”
Shang Yongyi had a guess. “I suspect Du Qing discovered his relationship with Ruan Lingyan and used it to force him into the murder. And once the vet heard that, he realized it would make Ruan Lingyan suffer—so he agreed.”
First make you suffer, then blow you up. That’s “satisfying,” right?
Lin Jiangye went silent. Then his face slowly twisted into disgust. “Is he sick in the head?”
Shang Yongyi nodded heavily. “I suspect he has a persecutory obsession.”
“…Fine.” Lin Jiangye was completely speechless.
Du Qing’s motive didn’t need explanation. Zhang Yushu blocked her child’s??, and he also disgusted her deeply.
The former business partner killed because Zhang Yushu had humiliated him. The servant and the two parents did it because Zhang Yushu bullied their children.
With three insiders, the other three slipped into the estate easily.
As for the two deep “claw marks” across Zhang Yushu’s chest, they’d meant to stage it as a beast attack, not specifically to frame the sea eagle.
But their staging was too crude. The marks didn’t match bird talons, and didn’t match other predators either—so it was obvious at a glance.
Maybe they didn’t care. Their “effort” wasn’t spent on staging. It was spent on how to torture Zhang Yushu.
Lin Jiangye rolled his eyes and rubbed the sea eagle’s head—the poor thing had suffered for nothing.
“Then what was the weapon?” he asked.
At that, Shang Yongyi smiled—coldly. “Guess who provided the weapon.”
“The vet.”
Shang Yongyi’s eyes widened slightly, surprised by Lin Jiangye’s sharpness.
“When you said he doesn’t actually like animals, your tone had that faint contempt—meaning you already knew something concrete. And… there’s perfume scent in here.” By “here,” Lin Jiangye meant the animal clinic.
Animals have keen senses. Most human perfumes are harsh and irritating to them.
If that vet truly loved animals, he wouldn’t tolerate perfume being sprayed in a treatment room.
In fact, the perfume might even have been sprayed by the vet himself.
Otherwise Lin Jiangye wouldn’t have had to open the windows to ventilate in freezing weather.
He was practically freezing to death.
Shang Yongyi’s eyes held a trace of approval. Then he explained how the vet used special bear-paw gloves as the weapon—each person put them on and raked a vicious claw through the victim.
When they found those gloves, even the detectives were shocked. It was the first time they’d seen a weapon like that.
Lin Jiangye nodded. That was all he needed to know.
Just as he was about to leave with the two birds, Shang Yongyi stopped him.
“One more favor, alright? After we woke the vet, he refused to tell us where the remaining explosives are buried. Can you find a way to locate them?”
Then he quickly added, “We’ll investigate too. We won’t dump everything on you alone.”
Right as he finished speaking, another loud commotion rose in the distance.
They turned—and saw bomb-disposal officers arriving. A whole group was carrying thick bomb suits, ready to act at any moment.
“Wait—what is this? Who are they?” The guests’ hearts sank when they saw the gear.
The bomb-disposal team was just about to speak when Shang Yongyi cut them off. “Hold on. Let us evacuate these people first.”
Earlier, using a provocation tactic, Shang Yongyi had successfully gotten the veterinarian to admit that he was the only one who buried the bombs. Now that the suspect was in custody and the remote was in their hands, even if they were preparing for the worst-case scenario, the Zhang estate couldn’t be left with too many people.
So even though everyone was itching with curiosity, the police still escorted them out one by one.
As for the Zhang family members—those with crimes were taken back to the station. Those without crimes were also escorted out of the estate.
After hearing too many shocking revelations in such a short time, quite a few people remained dazed even after leaving the front gate, their minds still not fully catching up.
Once everyone had been cleared out, a bomb-disposal officer stepped forward and extended his hand to Shang Yongyi.
“Hello. We’re the EOD unit. I’m the team leader, Wen Zhao. Where are the explosives located?”
Shang Yongyi wore a faintly bleak smile. “All around the estate. We’ve only found one so far. How many there are in total—we don’t know yet.”
“???” The entire EOD team was stunned.
Earlier, they’d thought Shang Yongyi was making a fuss. Now they realized he’d been protecting that noisy crowd.
If those people found out the entire Zhang estate was riddled with bombs, they would have stampeded each other trying to escape. And then it wouldn’t matter that there were a dozen officers—there’d be no way to maintain order.
“Consultant Lin—take us over.”
Following Shang Yongyi’s voice, the EOD team looked toward the young man standing to the side.
They saw an eagle perched on his shoulder and a medium-sized raptor cradled in his arms. He looked utterly lazy.
And he really was lazy—Lin Jiangye was starting to feel sleepy.
He’d landed a little after ten in the morning. He’d grabbed a few bites at noon. Then he’d been busy with that murder case until five in the afternoon.
Now, to locate all the buried bombs, he would probably be working into the night.
Lin Jiangye thought it over carefully and decided it was better to finish fast.
After all, he hadn’t come to the capital only for this case.
“Go. Take them to the places you know. I’ll go check the animal yard.” Lin Jiangye was already thinking of using the keen noses of cats or canines to locate more explosives hidden underground.
Besides, he could also check how the other “pets” were doing—and if their condition was bad, he would “incidentally” take them away.
He’d saved the entire Zhang family—asking for a few pets in return wasn’t excessive, right? 🙂
Led by the gyrfalcon, Lin Jiangye quickly arrived at the animal yard. It was called a “beast yard,” but in reality, birds were kept there too.
[There are many like Falcon inside. Can we take them away too?]
Faced with the gyrfalcon’s request, Lin Jiangye didn’t agree immediately. “That depends on their condition.”
If they were wild animals recently brought in, he would try to release them back into the wild. Only those completely domesticated—those who had lost the ability to survive outside—might be taken.
And even then, “taken” didn’t necessarily mean taken to his own home.
The gyrfalcon looked confused; it didn’t really understand what Lin Jiangye meant.
The young man smiled and kissed the top of its head. “It’s okay. You’ll understand when the time comes.”
It was the first time the gyrfalcon had ever been kissed by a human. It instinctively pulled its neck back. Thankfully, it was covered in feathers—otherwise it probably would have turned red all over.
Seeing its neck feathers slightly puff up, Lin Jiangye’s eyes curved in amusement. He stopped teasing the little one and continued forward.
The animal yard was near the side building. The moment Lin Jiangye got close, a heavy stench hit him in the face.
The musky stink of animals, the smell of waste, the raw meat odor from pet feed—all of it mixed together and slammed into his nose.
The gyrfalcon looked completely used to it, as if it had long grown accustomed.
But when Lin Jiangye truly stepped inside and saw the situation, he fell into a deep silence.
The Zhang family was wealthy, so they could get their hands on protected animals. Not only the white-tailed sea eagle and gyrfalcon—two Class I protected species—there were also Siberian tigers, Asian lions, lynxes, and other predators.
Yet now these beasts had no wildness left at all. Every single one looked listless, drained.
Some were even covered head-to-toe in flies, skinny as skeletons, as if they’d never had a full meal.
Worse still, some small animals were clearly disabled. For example, there was a red panda missing its tail. The area above its rump was scarred—obviously someone had forcibly removed the tail.
Lin Jiangye closed his eyes, forcibly suppressing the urge to charge back out and beat every Zhang family member into the ground.
What was wrong with these people? They spent money to acquire protected animals and then didn’t treasure them at all—so why buy them in the first place?
His knuckles cracked. A hostile aura radiated from him, scaring the gyrfalcon into curling into a ball.
Fortunately, Lin Jiangye quickly steadied himself.
Now wasn’t the time to explode. Once everything was over, he’d have plenty of ways to make the Zhang family pay.
Besides, judging by how they operated, none of them were clean. If they weren’t clean, there would be no shortage of “handles” to grab.
He glanced back at the estate’s glossy, glamorous buildings. No one knew how much filth was hidden inside.
By coincidence—or perhaps inevitability—after Shang Fuyan learned of the Zhang family’s absurdity from his brother, he also began investigating.
His angle was completely different from Lin Jiangye’s, but in the end it produced a 1+1>2 effect: not only did it shrink the Zhang family’s assets by more than half, it also tormented them into sleepless nights until they finally sold everything and retreated back to their hometown.
But that was later.
Right now, Lin Jiangye was scanning every animal, checking their condition. If any were truly in terrible shape, he would need to stabilize them first.
Fortunately, none were at death’s door yet.
Though there was also a possibility that any that were dying had already been thrown away…
Lin Jiangye pushed the thought aside and began introducing himself to the animals.
At first, they were lethargic. But the instant they heard they might be able to leave this place, they all lifted their heads.
“I can guarantee this: every single one of you can leave here. But first, I need you to help me with something. Only after this is handled can I leave—and only then can you leave with me.”
The gyrfalcon tucked inside Lin Jiangye’s clothes immediately poked its head out, chirping excitedly that this human was absolutely trustworthy.
The animals here clearly recognized this little falcon. After hearing it, many animals stood up, their dull eyes beginning to spark with tiny points of light.
That was the hunger for freedom—for survival.
Looking at their bodies—still skin-and-bones even as they stood—Lin Jiangye’s eyes reddened instantly.
Damn the Zhang family!
Perhaps after years of human cruelty, about half of the animals still didn’t believe the falcon.
Not because they didn’t trust the falcon—but because they believed the falcon had also been deceived by humans.
If it weren’t for the warm, gentle aura on this human, they would have roared in fury.
Lin Jiangye didn’t argue further. He simply laid out the situation plainly.
“So right now I need to deal with those stinking things first, and only then can I take you away. Whose nose is the most sensitive?”
As he spoke, his gaze landed on the two North American gray wolves.
They were among the few who still retained some wildness. Their eyes were filled with sharp vigilance and hostility.
The animals stayed silent, their gazes full of struggle. The gyrfalcon couldn’t understand why no one was supporting this human.
[He didn’t lie! He found the white-tailed one too! He treated the birds and gave them food! He’s a very, very good human, not like those bad humans!]
Lin Jiangye suddenly chuckled. He walked straight to the Siberian tiger, untied the wrist cord, opened the small glass bead containing Tiger Mom’s fur, and held it under the tiger’s nose.
“This is a gift a wild Siberian tigress gave me. Smell it.”
His wrist was nearly pressed against the tiger’s mouth. If the tiger opened its jaws, it could bite his hand off instantly. One paw could smash a human skull.
But unexpectedly, the tiger did nothing.
Not only did it do nothing—its wariness rapidly faded.
[How… do you have tiger fur?]
That tuft of fur carried no scent of blood, no strange odors—only a warm, familiar aura mixed with the clean, icy freshness of snow.
This wasn’t something torn off a wild tiger by force.
“Because the Mountain God is my Tiger Mom.” The young man’s smile was impossible to hide.
He opened his phone. The wallpaper was a group photo of him with Tiger Mom and all the little ones at home—every single one of them smiling brightly.
The animals trapped here were extremely sensitive to emotion. They could tell the little ones around Lin Jiangye were happy and cherished. Their glossy coats and chubby bodies proved it—those animals lived well.
After showing the photo, Lin Jiangye pressed the tiger fur against his chest and swore to all of them:
“If I hold even the slightest malice toward any of you, then let the Mountain God tear me to pieces, and let my flesh and bones become fertilizer for the soil.”
The animals didn’t understand “oaths.” They all looked toward the Siberian tiger that had smelled the fur.
After hesitating, it gave a small nod.
[Can… trust.]
It was torn. If this human was also evil, wouldn’t it be delivering its companions straight into a demon’s hands?
But then it remembered what that tuft of fur conveyed—a powerful, robust, confident wild tigress. If even she considered this human safe to approach, why shouldn’t they take the risk?
Besides, staying here meant they probably wouldn’t live much longer anyway.
When Lin Jiangye opened the gate holding the North American gray wolves, they still looked wary—but their hostility had eased a lot.
At least, Lin Jiangye no longer had to worry they’d attack him from behind.
“Let’s go. The sooner we finish this, the sooner we can leave.” This time, Lin Jiangye didn’t rashly reach out to touch their heads.
Besides the two gray wolves, Lin Jiangye also brought the Tibetan Mastiff and a lynx.
When he returned with four predators, the white-tailed sea eagle had already led Shang Yongyi and the others to search the four known bomb pits.
Seeing the predators behind Lin Jiangye, Shang Yongyi and the others backed up several steps in reflex, afraid the beasts might suddenly pounce.
“They won’t attack humans. Once this is resolved, I’m taking every animal the Zhang family bought and leaving.” That last line wasn’t a request. It was a notice.
Even if the Zhang family tried to sue him later, he would still take every animal from the yard.
Shang Yongyi sighed helplessly. But seeing how gaunt they were, remembering the Zhang family’s awful reputation, he pressed his forehead and sighed again.
“Understood. I’ll help.”
If these animals stayed here, they truly had only one road—death. For someone like Lin Jiangye, how could he tolerate that?
Lin Jiangye let the animals sniff the scent residue from the explosives, then had them circle the estate searching.
Wen Zhao and the EOD team split into two groups: one to dismantle bombs, the other to sweep the grounds with metal detectors.
Lin Jiangye and Shang Yongyi also kept busy. Each took a metal detector and searched their assigned sectors one by one.
Thankfully, the vet hadn’t buried the bombs too deep, which made scanning easier.
But the Zhang estate was enormous. Even with all the officers and several animals, it took a full four hours to sweep it clean.
“All of them are here. Twenty-seven bombs, spread across the estate. If detonated, no building inside would survive.” Shang Yongyi was reporting to his superiors.
Hearing that a murder investigation had turned into a bomb case left the other side both speechless and terrified.
If something like this happened in the capital, it wouldn’t just be the local station—an entire bureau might be held accountable.
From the photos Shang Yongyi took, the bombs weren’t advanced devices at all. They were crude, handmade.
Which raised the real question: where had the vet gotten that much raw material?
The Zhang case looked “solved,” but in truth, there were countless threads police still had to pursue—and none of them could be delayed.
No one knew how many other extremists like that vet were out there.
“I understand.” Shang Yongyi exhaled slowly. Under the moonlight, he watched Lin Jiangye rolling into a pile with the animals, and his gaze softened.
Thank his brother—he had sent him an excellent helper.
Without Lin Jiangye, the capital would have had a disaster on its hands.
Ah… maybe he should just keep Lin Jiangye here. The capital bureau could use a special consultant too.
Author’s Note:
Big Brother Shang: Bro, let’s discuss something, yeah? [Let me see]
Captain Shang: Get lost. [Cracking]
Big Brother Shang: I didn’t even say it yet. [Let me see]
Captain Shang: Even if you’re my real brother—get lost!!! [Angry][Angry][Angry]
Suddenly popping in: Hong Xingwang & Li Wei: What about us? [Please][Please][Please]
Captain Shang: sharpening knife ing.jpg
