Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 24 A Dangerous Cat's Life

At that moment, Zhu Wentao showed incredible gentleness and compassion.

He was like a perfect pretty boy. A middle school girl passing by saw him from afar and couldn't take her eyes off him for a moment; her eyes even felt like they were about to pop out.

Surprisingly, the girl's mother, who accompanied her home from school, wasn't angry. Instead, she whispered something like, "You need to study hard so you can find a boyfriend like that."

Seeing this, even Lin Ge had to admit that, disregarding the man's bizarre inner thoughts and strange behavior, his appearance was truly flawless. No wonder Jiang Yiyi, with her extensive experience in criminal investigation, would have a strong liking for him.

Even so, Lin Ge remained convinced that this guy's motive for coming here to feed the cats was definitely not pure!
Like a calm hunter, Lingo lurked quietly among the flowers. To avoid alerting the enemy, he even abandoned his plan to climb the tree, not caring at all as he hid on the muddy ground, letting his ears sting from the thorns.

Time passed slowly, and cats came and went in waves, one after another, running to Zhu Wentao's side. It seemed like he had an inexhaustible supply of cat food in the cardboard box; no matter how many cats came, he could always provide them with enough to satisfy them.

Most of the stray cats left after they had eaten their fill, but a few lingered around Zhu Wentao, even exposing their bellies for him to pet, making the scene even more beautiful for outsiders to see.

Lin Ge couldn't help but wonder if it was really his senses that were wrong.

"Absolutely impossible! There's definitely something wrong!"

He quickly shook his head.

Suddenly, a sturdy, large orange cat with a notch in its right ear circled around from the roadside not far away.

Seeing the cats gathered there and smelling the aroma of cat food, its eyes lit up and it immediately turned around. This guy, tail held high, swaggered over to the bowl of cat food, and with a twist of its rear, knocked over a black and white cat that was eating.

After monopolizing the food bowl, it lowered its head and began to wolf down its food.

"What an impolite little fellow!"

Zhu Wentao suddenly laughed, which was the first thing he had said so far. He quietly observed the arrogant cat, paying particular attention to its back and limbs, and then took out a disposable bowl from the cardboard box.

Zhu Wentao put the bowl on the ground, then took out a mineral water bottle, unscrewed it, and poured some water into the bowl.

"Little one, don't choke, drink some more water."

The orange cat looked up at Zhu Wentao, seemingly unconcerned about humans and accustomed to being fed and stealing food from other cats. It took another big bite from its food bowl, raised its head, shook it, and chewed vigorously, while slowly walking to the water bowl.

A cat waiting nearby tried to sneak over for a bite, but was chased away by the orange cat baring its teeth and hissing.

Only after that did it begin to lower its head and drink water.

Zhu Wentao still wore a faint smile, but slowly took out a pair of transparent gloves and put them on. Lin Ge's heart tightened, knowing that this guy was finally going to make a move, but before he could guess what Zhu Wentao would do, he saw Zhu Wentao grab the orange cat by the scruff of its neck in a flash.

For some reason, the orange cat didn't move at all. Even with Zhu Wentao grabbing its neck and slamming its head to the ground, it remained in an awkward position, motionless.

Instead, the stray cats around were startled by Zhu Wentao's sudden action. They abandoned their greed and affection and quickly scattered in all directions.

Lin Ge stared wide-eyed as Zhu Wentao lifted the orange cat, its weight of over ten kilograms seemingly effortless for him. He stroked the cat's belly as if examining something interesting, pried open its lips to look at its teeth, and then casually tossed it into the cardboard box.

A soft 'thud' made Lin Ge shudder.

Then, Zhu Wentao slowly picked up the two bowls on the ground, put them into the cardboard box, and closed the box.

After finishing these tasks, Zhu Wentao stood up with a satisfied smile, picked up the cardboard box, and began his return journey.

And all of this went unseen by anyone.

Lin Ge didn't dare to breathe, hiding motionless in the flower bushes. He wondered if he finally understood why there weren't any stray cats near the Pet Hospital, and why Zhu Wentao had traveled all this way to feed the cats.

Feeding the cats is just a pretense; the real purpose is to select and catch them!

Moreover, unlike Zhao Liang, who ran a cat-fighting betting operation, Zhu Wentao's reason for catching cats was definitely more bizarre and terrifying. A cold, scalpel-wielding doctor appeared in Lin Ge's mind, causing his body to tense completely.

Lin Ge quietly followed behind Zhu Wentao, watching him return to the parking lot without looking back, stuff the cardboard box into the trunk, and drive away. This time, he didn't have the courage to continue following.

Or you could simply find an excuse: no matter how fast a cat runs, it can't outrun a car, which would be a valid reason.

He returned to the police station dejectedly.

"Hey! Mimi, you're back! Where have you been playing?"

Zhang Yong was the first to see Lin Ge and greeted him with a smile from the window.

Meanwhile, Nie Guoqiang was in the administration hall, receiving a simply dressed middle-aged man. He turned around after hearing Zhang Yong's voice and immediately saw his own cat walking dejectedly into the yard. A strange glint flashed in his eyes.

But he patiently finished what he was doing before returning to the backyard to find Lin Ge.

"You rascal, I've been looking everywhere for you! What happened today? Jiang Yiyi told me everything. You went to the pet hospital and caused trouble? I'm warning you, don't do anything like that again. Don't bring shame to the police station, you hear me?"

Nie Guoqiang's tone was serious, but that was how he usually treated his subordinate police officers. The fact that he spoke to Lin Ge like that meant he genuinely considered Lin Ge a member of the police station.

Lin Ge flicked his tail without looking up, not in the mood to pay attention to Nie Guoqiang for the time being.

He was considering whether to tell Nie Guoqiang about his discovery today. Nie Guoqiang definitely knew his secret, and he knew he was literate and could send text messages. Since Nie Guoqiang had covered it up for him last time, this time shouldn't be any different.

but……

This incident is different!

Cats are not people!

Stray cats have no human rights!
Even if Zhu Wentao really did catch stray cats and do something to them, so what?
Whether it was illegal or not, Lingo didn't know; after all, he wasn't very familiar with the countless legal provisions. But he did know one thing: those cat abuse cases exposed online hadn't resulted in legal punishment for the perpetrators!
They mostly faced moral skepticism and public condemnation. At most, after their identities were exposed, they were fired or had to move due to various pressures. They did not go to jail for abusing or killing cats.

It's like slaughtering pigs and sheep; it doesn't seem to be illegal.

In other words, human laws offer very limited protection for cats, especially stray cats.

Based on his own judgment and understanding, Lin Ge guessed that even if the law protects pet cats, it is probably based on the fact that pet cats have actual value and owners, and are considered as additional wealth of the victim, which is the reason for having a subject of the case.

And stray cats?
Who will be the plaintiff for the stray cat? Who will help the stray cat report the crime? And who has the right to stand up for the stray cat?

So... even if he told Nie Guoqiang about this, what difference would it make? Putting aside whether Nie Guoqiang has the right to punish Zhu Wentao, given Zhu Wentao's status and profession, he would most likely have countless ways to defend himself.

For example, the current mainstream social view of neutering and releasing stray cats to reduce their reproduction and ecological impact—have these arguments taken into account the opinions of stray cats?

Why should the stray cat be the one to get stabbed?

Because this society belongs to humankind!
Lin Ge knew his anger was unreasonable; after all, this world truly belongs to humans! But as a cat, he still empathized with the fate of stray cats. Or rather, what if they were pet cats? The vast majority of pet cats had no freedom, and only a few moments to spend with their busy owners. And owners, with their phones, games, social media, and countless other activities, how much time could they possibly dedicate to their cats?
When you think about it carefully, you realize that no matter how leisurely and lazy you are, being a cat is not as good as being a human.

Cats are such a boring thing!

Lying listlessly on the grass, Lin Ge remained motionless. He curled up in a ball, his head wrapped around his tail, completely ignoring Nie Guoqiang beside him.

"sick?"

Nie Guoqiang was a little surprised; it was the first time he had ever seen Mimi like this.

Even when Mimi is lazy and doesn't move around much, you can still tell that she has plenty of energy and is in good spirits. But this time, something was clearly wrong with the little guy; her fur looked dull and lifeless.

"Or did something happen today that I don't know about? Is it related to Pet Love Hospital?"

After thinking for a moment, Nie Guoqiang took out his phone and sent a message to Jiang Yiyi.

(End of this chapter)