"Second, Liu Fu is a victim itself. The organization Li Jiahao belongs to subjected it to inhumane modifications. Its body is in pain, its mind was forcibly controlled, and it was forced to harm other living beings. It holds no malicious intent."
"Third."
Yang Qi looked at Tang Yuan and said solemnly, "I have now successfully tamed Liu Fu, and we have established a stable connection. I can personally and professionally guarantee that it will never harm anyone again."
"Therefore, I would like to formally request permission to adopt Liu Fu, to allow it to leave its past behind and have a new beginning."
Yang Qi knew that, with his methods, he could have easily made Liu Fu maintain its camouflage or even slip away quietly, and they could have regrouped later.
But doing so would leave Liu Fu in a precarious position.
A "missing" dangerous, modified creature would create loose ends for the police’s follow-up work and would also betray Tang Yuan’s trust.
Furthermore, as a piece of living evidence, Liu Fu’s ownership needed a clear and legal resolution.
According to standard procedure, as a "dangerous biological specimen" involved in the case, Liu Fu would most likely be sent to a qualified zoo or research institution for isolated care and observation.
Yang Qi himself was a zookeeper at the Donghua Zoo, a key contributor to solving the case, and a special consultant for the municipal police. For him to propose adoption and guarantee its safety was perfectly reasonable and more easily acceptable, both from a professional and a personal standpoint.
Just as he expected, after hearing Yang Qi’s explanation and request, Tang Yuan’s gaze lingered for a moment on Liu Fu, which was perched obediently on Yang Qi’s shoulder. He then looked into Yang Qi’s clear and confident eyes and, without much hesitation, nodded readily.
"Done! Advisor Yang, I trust your professional judgment and your guarantee. This chameleon... Liu Fu, I’ll leave it to you to take it back and care for it."
"As for the related paperwork, I’ll have someone expedite it through a simplified process."
As he spoke, he couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement.
"Advisor Yang, your skills are simply incredible! Not only can you help us find and catch people, but you can even flip the enemy’s most powerful ’weapon,’ taming it and turning it into an ally!"
"I’ve been handling cases for decades, and I, Lao Tang, have never seen anything like this."
Hearing this, Captain Guan, Shen Ruiping, and the other officers at the scene all broke into smiles. Their gazes toward Yang Qi were filled with admiration and disbelief, and they began to chime in, echoing Tang Yuan’s sentiments.
Shen Ruiping whispered to Zhang Cheng beside him, "See that? Now *that’s* what you call an expert! We catch the bad guy, but Advisor Yang disarms him and even makes the ’blade’ follow him willingly!"
Zhang Cheng nodded in deep agreement.
Tonight’s events had completely redefined his understanding of the term "Animal Expert."
The atmosphere at the scene, lightened by the capture of the killer and the interlude of Yang Qi "flipping the enemy’s weapon," became much more relaxed and congenial.
The pressure that had been hanging over the task force for days largely dissipated as Li Jiahao was escorted into the police car.
Yang Qi humbly responded to everyone’s praise, then left the auto repair shop with Bai Wan, Xiaojiu, and the new member, Liu Fu, following the police car.
A portion of the forensics team and investigators remained at the scene to conduct a thorough search of Li Jiahao’s temporary hideout.
In the car on the way back.
Yang Qi took out his phone and sent a short message to Teacher Song Chunfang.
[Teacher, the serial ’accident’ case here in Binjiang, the killer was caught tonight. I was lucky enough to be of some small help.]
A moment later, Song Chunfang replied.
[That’s wonderful. But Xiaoqi, even though the killer has been caught, you still need to be careful. That secret organization from overseas is very troublesome.]
Yang Qi replied, [Understood.]
[By the way, Teacher, the ’murder weapon’ animal the killer was carrying, that modified chameleon—I applied to the Binjiang Police to adopt it.]
[The chameleon itself isn’t venomous, and it’s also a victim.]
Song Chunfang: [??]
[You child, take that chameleon for a detailed examination immediately. A modified animal like that is bound to have a tracking device on it.]
Yang Qi replied: [Okay, Teacher. Don’t worry, Teacher. I’ll have the Binjiang Police help remove any potential problems.]
Only then did Song Chunfang feel at ease. She gave him a few more warnings before getting busy with her own affairs.
Yang Qi put away his phone and smiled.
He had only said that to give her a heads-up.
In truth, Yang Qi had already detected all the foreign objects inside Liu Fu’s body with his Magical Power, then used the Small Transport Technique to extract them and crush them into powder.
’The organization behind Li Jiahao wants to control Liu Fu again?’
’They can try again after another century of technological development!’
The next morning, the sun burned hot.
As arranged, Yang Qi went to the Binjiang Zoo with Xiaojiu, Bai Wan, and Liu Fu.
He was there to perform a relatively formal, though unofficial, "handover" and a basic check-up for Liu Fu.
After all, Liu Fu was now Yang Qi’s "responsibility animal."
Minister Wang was already waiting at the zoo entrance. When he saw the chameleon perched quietly on Yang Qi’s shoulder, its color changed to almost perfectly match the light blue shirt, a look of amazement crossed his face.
"Advisor Yang, is this Liu Fu?"
Minister Wang did his best to make his tone sound natural.
"Yes, this is Liu Fu."
Yang Qi smiled and nodded, gently patting his shoulder. "Liu Fu, this is Minister Wang. Say hello."
Liu Fu was very obliging. It lifted its head slightly, looked at Minister Wang with its pale yellow eyes, and let out a faint, gurgle-like sound from its throat by way of a response.