Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 199 Three Searches of the Mountain

Lu Zhengqi ultimately had no choice but to agree to Nie Guoqiang's exorbitant demands.

He could only repeatedly console himself that if the case wasn't solved sooner, the money spent would only increase. Take the search of the mountain, for example: hundreds of people were sent up and vanished like water droplets, yet their daily wages were already at least six figures.

It lasted for three to five days. Even if we sent several more police communication vehicles, let alone one, it wouldn't be as much as the money spent on searching the mountain that went down the drain.

So, as long as Nie Guoqiang promised to help solve the case, Lu Zhengqi honestly wouldn't mind being taken advantage of a little. What difference does it make who uses a police car? Aren't the police in Zhangzhou and Zhuzhou all serving the people?

Thinking about it this way, Lu Zhengqi felt much better.

Moreover, since money had been paid, the necessary tasks and services should not be delayed. Early the next morning, following Nie Guoqiang's instructions, Lu Zhengqi once again applied for the third large-scale search of the area around the ancient tomb in recent times.

Just like last time, Lingo was still in charge of leading the police dog team.

The poor police dog handlers, now besides feeding and watering their dogs, aren't even qualified to lead them on missions. These guys are all staring intently at Lin Ge, wishing they could kill him with their eyes.

Ignoring these defeated dogs, Lin Ge led the eighteen police dogs back to the tomb with practiced ease.

Even after a few days away, the calls and images of the two little lynxes were still vivid in his mind. After a few seconds of reflection, Lin Ge put his mind at ease and got back to work.

After all, Nie Guoqiang made it very clear that if you take someone's benefits, you have to produce results.

The ancient tomb area was much busier than when I last visited. A stack of double-layered tombs had attracted many of the top archaeologists from the southern province. These experts brought their students, who in turn brought their professional equipment, making the area very noisy.

These people were quite enthusiastic, directly occupying the tents left by Lingo and his group last time, showing an attitude of preparing for a tough battle, wanting to eat, drink, and rest right there.

The police's return visit sparked discontent among the elderly professors.

The academic importance of this ancient tomb from the Sui and Tang dynasties is self-evident, and the professors would never allow the police to come and cause trouble.
However, upon hearing that they were only searching the surrounding area and had no intention of violently excavating the grave, the elderly men and women put down their phones and abandoned their plan to call and complain. They waved to the police, indicating that they should go away, and then continued their enthusiastic archaeological work.

The police and Lin Ge didn't intend to disturb the old men, and this time the direction of the operation was not the ancient tomb, but to find out where the female lynx would bring the body here.

A full-scale search of the mountain was now a certainty. The police dog unit led by Ling Ge was the first to set off, following the faint scent of lynx and rushing straight in one direction without hesitation.

"If I could turn this major case that alarmed the provincial party committee into two separate ordinary murder cases, the pressure on me would be much less."

Lu Zhengqi watched this scene quietly, hoping that the cat would bring a good outcome.

The municipal bureau official standing next to him nodded without saying a word.

This case puts immense pressure on both Yexian County and Zhuzhou City. Serial murders, multiple dismemberments, heinous tomb raiding, and even the possibility of a fugitive—it's a veritable mountain of obstacles. Any slip-up would be a major disaster for everyone involved.

But... even after all this, you still want a promotion? Isn't that a bit too ambitious?
The municipal bureau official gave Lu Zhengqi a subtle look.

On the other side, Lin Ge led the police dogs on a frantic run, hoping to find the actual body disposal site as soon as possible while the dogs were still energetic and had plenty of stamina.

But as he walked, Lin Ge inexplicably felt that the surrounding environment was becoming familiar.

Upon closer inspection, wasn't this the same path that the two lynxes had led him to the tomb last time? Lingo could even smell his own scent nearby, as well as cat hair blown by the wind to the ground, which puzzled the police dogs.

"Can anyone tell me how long it takes for cat hair to decompose in nature?"

Lin Ge looked rather unwell. The shedding problem had always bothered him. His silver shaded dog was known for shedding its fur twice a year, each time for six months, which made him very embarrassed when he was out, as he always unintentionally caused trouble for other people.

Li Siyu's main job at the police station was dealing with the cat hair that Lin Ge shed everywhere. Lin Ge alone shed more hair than the mother tortoiseshell cat and the three kittens combined, often causing Li Siyu considerable distress. She heard that Zhang Yong was even planning to buy a new robotic vacuum cleaner just to prepare for Lin Ge's next visit.

Shaking his head to clear his mind, Lin Ge slowed his pace and began to carefully discern the scent lingering in the surroundings, a scent distinct from his own and the two baby lynxes's, that belonged solely to the mother lynx.

Only he knew the difference at the scene. For other police dogs, it didn't matter which one they sniffed; whether they returned empty-handed or found the target, it all depended on luck.

The fact that a police dog without a leader is not a panacea is aptly demonstrated here.

Fortunately, Lin Ge was leading the team this time, so after sniffing for a long time, he finally found the scent unique to the female lynx. The scent she left was stronger, and the fishy smell was more pronounced than that of the baby lynx. Of course, this is only in comparison to the olfactory abilities of cats and dogs; other creatures, such as humans, would likely find it almost impossible to distinguish the subtle differences between the two, or the issue of the scent fading over time.

It's fortunate that it hasn't rained these past few days; otherwise, after being washed by the rain, even Lin Ge might not have been able to distinguish between the two.

Sure enough, after searching for another five or six hundred meters, just as they were about to reach the place where Ringo had first encountered the two lynx cubs, the mother lynx's scent suddenly shifted. Instead of heading towards the spot where Ringo had previously observed the mountain, it disappeared into the bushes on the other side.

Lin Ge quickly ducked and chased after them. The police dogs barked at each other and excitedly followed.

Once they arrived here, not only Lingo, but even the others could smell a trace of a corpse. It seemed that the mother lynx had found the carcass nearby and brought it back to its nest in a way that Lingo hadn't yet considered, a way that blocked the smell of the corpse.

After walking for another ten minutes or so, the smell became even stronger. Lingo could even smell the fresh scent of water and more of the smell of wild animals.

"I think I smell the stench of a corpse?"

The police officers, who were struggling to climb through the mountains and forests a few dozen meters behind, sniffed and finally noticed something was wrong.

At this moment, the police dogs in front started barking.

"Has it really been discovered?"

The police officers were overjoyed and, disregarding the hardship of climbing the mountain, hurriedly ran forward.

Soon, they saw a large patch of towering white taro plants growing densely along the edge of a pond. The pond was shallow and not very large, about the size of a basketball court, with half of it occupied by the haphazardly growing, crowded white taro plants and small-leaved sphagnum moss.

Surrounded by a large expanse of towering trees, this pond appears to have become a habitat for wild animals, with many animal footprints and other messy things like droppings visible around it.

A group of police dogs and the police cat had already entered the taro grove. The police could only catch a glimpse of a few of them through the taro stems and leaves that they had parted or broken. These guys stood motionless, barking at something.

Upon approaching, the police officers also spotted something in the distance.

It was a plastic bag completely submerged in the pond, covered in tears and scratches. Looking through the filthy bag, teeming with mosquitoes and leeches, you could see black hair and a round outline, and smell a disgusting stench.

Without a doubt, one of the targets of this mountain search was a human head!
"Hopefully it's the victim's head, and we don't end up with a third unfortunate dismembered body."

A young policeman muttered something under his breath, drawing angry glares from his colleagues. Of course, he was just saying it casually and then fell silent.

"What a perfect place to hide a corpse! I doubt even many locals know about this pond. Judging from our disheveled state, it would be torture for a human to come to a place like this."

An older policeman sighed, glanced at the cat squatting on the bank refusing to get muddy, and then directed the younger policeman to go in and retrieve the body.

"How long would it take us to find this place if we didn't rely on this cat and the dogs?"

The young policeman gave a wry smile, put on his gloves, and stepped into the mud pit.

(End of this chapter)