Working in a Zoo with Beast Taming System

Chapter 316: Chapter 189: Battle of Wits and Courage

"This area is accessible from all sides and close to the market’s interior," Yang Qi analyzed. "The scents are all mixed together, and there’s a ready supply of animal feed. It’s an ideal short-term hiding spot."

"Search! Comb this area thoroughly. Every crevice, attic, and basement big enough to hide a person—don’t miss a single one!" Zhang Cheng ordered over the walkie-talkie.

"Yes, sir!"

A large number of plainclothes officers immediately flooded the market and the surrounding area, launching a dragnet search.

But by nightfall, all they had found were a few more suspected stopping points and some discarded feed packaging. There was still no trace of Li Jiahao.

It was as if this "animal killer" had vanished into thin air again.

Back at the municipal bureau, the atmosphere was tense.

The killer’s cunning and elusiveness put an intangible pressure on the task force.

Yang Qi sat alone in his office, frowning in thought.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

’Li Jiahao’s choice of the flower and bird market is logical,’ he mused. ’But considering how cautious he is, would he really stick around an area where clues have already been found, especially after the police began a large-scale search?’

’Or could it be that the flower and bird market itself, or the fact that he was "discovered" there, is also part of Li Jiahao’s plan?’

’A feint to draw the police’s attention?’

At this thought, Yang Qi opened a map. His eyes darted back and forth between the flower and bird market and the homes and workplaces of the three remaining protected targets.

Suddenly, Yang Qi noticed that the West District, home to the flower and bird market, was separated from the North District, where one of the targets, Sun Dayong, lived. Between them lay a large, undeveloped riverfront and several logistics parks. The direct distance was not short.

’But at night, with the help of the complex terrain and a vehicle...’

A bold theory formed in his mind.

’Could Li Jiahao be pulling a classic misdirection?’

’He could be deliberately leaving clues at the flower and bird market to draw the bulk of our forces there, using the night and our distraction as a window to sneak toward his real target.’

With this in mind, Yang Qi found Tang Yuan and shared his theory.

"That’s a real possibility!"

Zhang Cheng, who was still in the conference room, turned pale. "Most of our mobile units are tied down near the flower and bird market. If Li Jiahao makes his move now..."

"Immediately notify the surveillance team in the North District to raise their alert level. Also, I’m dispatching an elite squad. Zhang Cheng, you’ll lead it. Head to the North District for support now!" Tang Yuan ordered decisively.

"Director Tang, I’d like to go along. I might be able to help," Yang Qi offered.

"Well..." Tang Yuan frowned.

"You’ve probably heard about what Xiaojiu and Bai Wan can do, Director Tang," Yang Qi continued. "With them there, we might just catch that chameleon."

Tang Yuan hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Alright. Then I’ll have to trouble you, Advisor Yang. Zhang Cheng, make sure Advisor Yang is well protected."

"Yes, Director Tang!"

...

Immediately, Yang Qi, along with Xiaojiu and Bai Wan, quickly got into a car with Zhang Cheng and his men.

The car tore through the night, speeding toward the North District.

The atmosphere inside the car was heavy, broken only by the low rumble of the engine and the occasional, brief communication crackling over the radio.

Yang Qi closed his eyes and focused, mentally running through Li Jiahao’s possible movements over and over.

One of the targets, Sun Dayong, was the owner of an auto repair shop.

The man’s social circle was relatively small. He lived in an ordinary residential complex in the North District, built over a decade ago.

The police had already set up both overt and covert surveillance posts around his home and advised him to minimize his nighttime outings.

"What’s the situation at Sun Dayong’s place?" Zhang Cheng asked into the car’s radio.

"Reporting, Captain Zhang, everything’s normal. Sun Dayong returned home at seven p.m. and hasn’t gone out again. The lights are on in his apartment. The outer sentries haven’t spotted anything unusual, and the community surveillance hasn’t recorded any suspicious individuals," the North District team replied.

"Maintain the highest level of alert. We’ll be there in twenty minutes."

Zhang Cheng ended the call, his brow still furrowed.

Yang Qi suddenly spoke up. "Captain Zhang, is Sun Dayong’s auto repair shop far from his apartment complex?"

"Not too far. It’s about two blocks away, maybe a fifteen-minute walk."

Zhang Cheng replied, "Why do you ask?"

"Is anyone on duty at the repair shop at night? What’s the layout like?" Yang Qi pressed.

"There’s an old man who works as a night watchman. The shop isn’t large, but it’s piled high with scrap parts and old vehicles, making the terrain complicated."

Zhang Cheng replied, then immediately understood what Yang Qi was getting at. "Advisor Yang, are you saying Li Jiahao might make his move at the auto repair shop?"

"Exactly."

Yang Qi nodded. "If Li Jiahao wants to stage an ’accident’ that looks work-related—say, faulty repair equipment or a falling vehicle—it would be much easier to disguise at the repair shop than at home."

"I suggest we split our forces. One team goes to the residential complex to ensure Sun Dayong himself is safe, and another team goes to check the auto repair shop."

After a moment’s thought, Zhang Cheng nodded in agreement. "Good idea. Old Xia, you take half our people to the complex. Advisor Yang and I will go to the repair shop. Keep communications open."

"Yes, sir!"

Old Xia, who was in the same car, responded.

...

The convoy split in two at an intersection near the North District.

Yang Qi, Zhang Cheng, and four special police officers in two vehicles turned toward the auto repair shop.

Dayong Auto Repair Shop, in the North District, was situated at the end of a relatively secluded side road. Its iron gate was shut tight. A light was on in a small, single-story building next to it—the watchman’s quarters.

The shop grounds were pitch-black, with only a few dim yellow lamps outlining the vague shapes of stacked tires, scrap car frames, and the repair workshop. The air smelled of motor oil and rust.

Zhang Cheng signaled for his team to spread out and secure the perimeter, while he walked up and knocked on the watchman’s door.

A bleary-eyed man in his sixties opened the door. When he heard they were police officers investigating a case, he quickly assured them that everything had been normal all night and that he hadn’t heard any strange noises.

Yang Qi paid no attention to their conversation, his focus drawn to the environment inside the repair shop’s grounds.

He had Bai Wan stand guard at the entrance while he took Xiaojiu and tiptoed to the iron gate, peering through a crack into the yard.

In the darkness, the auto repair shop looked like a crouching, steel beast.

Intersecting shadows of all shapes and sizes offered countless hiding spots for a potential lurker.

Yang Qi focused his mind.

Pushing his perception to its limit, he began to sense for any signs of life within the yard, aside from the old watchman.

Rats scurried through piles of parts with a RUSTLE, a stray cat watched warily from atop a wall, and insects chirped in the background...

All of this was normal.

But near a corner by the side of the repair workshop, where old batteries and oil drums were piled up, Yang Qi detected a faint sense of "stillness" that felt utterly out of place.

It wasn’t an inanimate object. It felt more like a living being that was deliberately suppressing all of its biological signals, as if it had entered a state of mimicry or hibernation.

"Captain Zhang, something’s not right over there."

Yang Qi whispered to Zhang Cheng, discreetly pointing toward the corner.

Zhang Cheng immediately gave a hand signal. Two special police officers silently began to flank the area, their high-powered flashlights and gun barrels aimed at the patch of shadow.

The instant before the beams of their flashlights could illuminate the corner—

WHOOSH!

A long, thin shadow, its color nearly one with the grimy, oil-stained ground, shot out from behind the scrap batteries like a released spring!

It didn’t lunge for the officers. Instead, it moved in a dazzling, zigzagging path, darting with lightning speed onto the roof of a nearby scrap van. From there, it launched itself again, aiming straight for a half-open transom window on the repair workshop.

At almost the exact same moment, Xiaojiu, on Yang Qi’s shoulder, moved!