Jiang Xuan nodded and said, “Alright, Expert Ruan, please follow me.”
He led Ruan Xingyao and the others into the dog farm, where nearly a hundred dogs were locked in cages.
Different breeds and ages were crammed into dozens of large cages.
Most of them were puppies.
Ruan Xingyao glanced over them roughly.
From what she’d pulled from the puppy’s memory earlier, about half of the young dogs had ultra-micro cameras implanted in their eyes.
These puppies looked like they’d already been trained — each one obedient and quiet; even the playful ones only wagged their tails.
If an ordinary person saw this scene, they’d most likely think these dogs had good genes and were perfect as pets — low-maintenance, not destructive, and not noisy.
You couldn’t ask for better.
But for Ruan Xingyao, these puppies were suffering.
One of their eyes was blind; a camera had been implanted, and even a micro-camera was an alien object that made them decidedly uncomfortable.
On top of that, their early domestication had already stripped them of much of what a dog should be.
Worse off than the micro-camera puppies were the older dogs — especially the females.
From a cursory look, Ruan Xingyao could tell they’d been forced to breed continuously; their bodies were deformed, and even their vital signs were poor.
She heard that some dogs only five or six years old already resembled seventeen- or eighteen-year-old dogs, and their vital signs were severely weakened.
Ruan Xingyao’s hands at her sides curled tightly into fists.
She looked at Jiang Xuan and asked, “You’ve taken the people who ran this farm into custody, right?”
Jiang Xuan: “Yes. Our officers are interrogating them now.”
Ruan Xingyao said, “Make sure they stay locked up for a long time.”
She wanted them to be taught a lesson.
Jiang Xuan replied, “As long as we have the evidence of their crimes, we will handle it according to the law.”
He worried those people might be too cunning, which would complicate the investigation.
Ruan Xingyao didn’t press him.
Instead she said, “I need to communicate with them — please all of you step outside.”
She planned to search the memories of all the dogs at once; after she consolidated the information, she could provide Jiang Xuan and his team with actionable leads.
Jiang Xuan hesitated a little. “Expert Ruan, can’t we stay and watch?”
He was genuinely curious how Ruan Xingyao was going to do it.
Although by now probably every police department in the country, big and small, had a file on Ruan Xingyao, very few had actually worked with her directly.
Because of that, her abilities were still something people were curious — and skeptical — about.
Seeing that Jiang Xuan was genuinely curious, Ruan Xingyao thought for a moment.
There was nothing to hide anyway, so she nodded and said, “Alright then, you can watch — just don’t disturb me.”
Jiang Xuan replied, “Of course, Expert Ruan. We’ll cooperate fully.”
Ruan Xingyao walked to the center of the area so she could cover all the cages around her.
Her expression grew solemn, as if she were gathering her strength.
After about ten seconds, she closed her eyes and made a hand gesture.
In an instant, nearly a hundred dogs began to grow restless.
They seemed to be in pain, scratching anxiously at their cages; a few even started barking.
But before the noise could spread further, Ruan Xingyao made another gesture, and the dogs suddenly calmed — as if soothed — and lay down peacefully.
Everyone present was stunned.
Chen Yu had seen Ruan Xingyao search through Buguo’s memories before.
He still remembered vividly how the dog’s painful cries had made his heart ache.
But now, as Ruan Xingyao searched through the memories of all these dogs, they had only been agitated for a brief moment before settling down comfortably.
Chen Yu didn’t know how or why, but he immediately realized Ruan Xingyao must have done something different.
His gaze involuntarily fixed on her face.
He saw her complexion turn visibly pale.
Sweat beaded densely on her forehead — it was clear she had become extremely weak.
Chen Yu couldn’t help but guess: Ruan Xingyao was using her own strength to soothe the dogs!
He almost rushed forward to stop her, but he didn’t.
Because this was something Ruan Xingyao had chosen to do, he had no right to interfere.
Besides, if he stopped her now and caused her efforts to go to waste, wouldn’t it only make things even harder for her next time?
Chen Yu couldn’t stop his mind from spiraling.
Ruan Xingzhuo and You Huan had also noticed that something was wrong with Ruan Xingyao.
But like Chen Yu, they didn’t dare approach or interrupt her — they could only watch anxiously.
As for Jiang Xuan and his colleagues, who barely knew Ruan Xingyao, they were completely at a loss — they didn’t understand what on earth she was doing.
Finally, Ruan Xingyao finished searching through all the dogs’ memories and slowly opened her eyes.
Her whole body went limp, collapsing toward the ground.
Her once rosy lips were now completely drained of color.
“Xingxing!” Chen Yu reacted instantly, rushing forward to catch her before she fell.
He didn’t know if it was his imagination, but she felt even lighter in his arms — as if she had truly burned herself out.
Completely exhausted, Ruan Xingyao rasped hoarsely to Chen Yu, “Water… give me some water.”
Her throat felt like it was about to split open.
Chen Yu was still holding her up, so he could only turn his head toward Ruan Xingzhuo and You Huan for help.
Fortunately, the two had already rushed over.
Hearing Ruan Xingyao’s weak request, You Huan immediately pulled a bottle of mineral water from her backpack, twisted the cap open, and handed it over.
However, Ruan Xingyao no longer even had the strength to lift her arm and take it.
Just as You Huan was about to feed her herself, Chen Yu took the bottle first, carefully bringing the mouth of it to Ruan Xingyao’s lips.
She drank directly from his hand, taking in more than half the bottle before finally regaining a bit of color.
Then she said weakly, “Hungry… I need food.”
This wasn’t the Beast-Taming Sect — she couldn’t directly replenish her spiritual energy.
The only thing she could do was eat to recover a little physical strength; it wouldn’t help much, but it was better than nothing.
You Huan immediately started rummaging through her backpack again — first pulling out a chocolate bar, then a small bag of bread, followed by gummies, cookies, and beef jerky…
All the snacks she had hastily stuffed into her bag while packing earlier.
As she took them out, she handed them to Ruan Xingzhuo.
Ruan Xingzhuo tore open each wrapper one by one, and Chen Yu took them from her hands to feed to Ruan Xingyao.
It somehow turned into an assembly line.
Ruan Xingyao didn’t refuse anything — whatever reached her mouth, she ate without hesitation.
By the time You Huan’s backpack was completely emptied, Ruan Xingyao looked at her pitifully and said, “Huanhuan, more. I need more.”
Normally, that amount would have been more than enough to fill her up.
But after what she’d just expended, it barely restored even one percent of her strength.
— The end of the Chapter–
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