Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 338 Cat Paradise
In a convenience store, five children and a cat are playing happily around a table.

The table was piled high with various braised dishes, snacks, and drinks, all paid for by Hu Lijun. After all, they were the ones who helped with today's events; if they hadn't made the contact and brought Lin Ge over, it's hard to say what would have happened.

So the five little ones have undoubtedly made a great contribution and done Hu Lijun a huge favor. They will certainly receive a commendation from the school when school resumes after the winter break.

Therefore, the little ones ate this delicious meal with great joy and satisfaction.

While enjoying his meal, Nie Zhuangzhuang munched on his food and joked around with Zheng Jiacheng. Hu Miao and Zhang Yining petted the cat and whispered to each other. Xie Zaiqi secretly started brainstorming case details, planning to turn them into a document when he got home that night.

Yes! Super Cop Officer Xie is about to receive everyone's adoration online again!
'Didi.'

Hu Miao's phone rang. Looking down, she saw it was a WeChat message from Hu Lijun. The message said he would definitely be working overtime today and wouldn't be able to come home, and told the five of them to stop fooling around outside after they finished eating and to hurry home.

"Going back like this?"

Zheng Jiacheng was somewhat unwilling; he hadn't had enough fun yet. Furthermore, Zheng Mingxing was working overtime today, and no one was home. His mother, the county magistrate, didn't expect to see him during the New Year holiday either; the quiet house offered none of the liveliness that came from outside.

"Shall we go to the arcade and play some more?"

Zhang Yining made a suggestion, which was immediately echoed by the other four. Of course, Zhang Yining also laid down three rules: everyone had to be home before nine o'clock, and no one objected. As children of police officers, they were quite sensible in this regard.

Besides, it's the Lunar New Year, and parents are unusually lenient with their children, so why not have some fun now?

She tried to invite Lingo to join her, but Lingo shook his head and refused.

Lin Ge was exhausted after a busy day. Even though the police would handle the rest and he didn't need to worry about it, he still wanted to go back to the police station to catch up on sleep.

After both sides had eaten and drunk their fill, they parted ways. Lin Ge waved and watched the five little ones ride away on their bikes, while he leisurely found a bus stop, dozing off and waiting for a bus he could hitch a ride on.

"Fuck!"

A cold wind howled in front of the bus stop, leaving Lin Ge bewildered and speechless. He had been squatting there waiting for a bus for ten minutes, but hadn't seen a single one. It wasn't until someone next to him muttered as they got into a taxi that he realized the bus drivers were only working half a day today.

The buses run on time from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Now it's almost 6 p.m., no wonder there isn't a single bus in sight in any direction.

"I should have let Nie Xiaopang take me back!"

Speechless with his head down, Lin Ge could only wag his tail and slowly shuffle towards the Zhanghe River area.

I don't know how long I walked, but it gradually got dark.

The cold winter night evoked a sense of loneliness, yet inexplicably filled Lingo with a feeling of freedom and impulse. It seemed that cats were naturally creatures that moved in the dark, and his entire body's nerves were quietly activated as if he were in control of the entire world.

Lin Ge found it hard to describe exactly what kind of thought this was, but when he heard the meowing of cats not far away, he suddenly had the illusion that the night in this world belonged to cats.

Curious, I turned my head and discovered it was a sports park. Besides a towering tiered basketball court, there were tennis courts, basketball courts, and other facilities. In the darkness, I could vaguely see several small black dots climbing on the wire mesh surrounding the court, some even playing and falling off – all incredibly lively. On the grass outside the court, several cats were chasing and playing, their meows sounding very excited.

Lin Ge roughly estimated that there were at least twenty cats playing here.

This was an incredibly large number; Lin Ge had never seen so many cats gathered together in Zhangzhou. A typical cat group consists of only five or six cats, at most seven or eight with their kittens, and that's about it.

Because the food available in any given location is limited, and the number and generosity of cat lovers are equally limited, a neighborhood can barely support ten cats; any more would lead to concern and expulsion from humans. Meanwhile, in spacious cities with countless apartment buildings, cats can easily find food by foraging separately, ensuring they are well-fed. Therefore, it's rare to see cats crowded in one place. They can easily find a more suitable new home by walking a few more steps, so why would they need to suffer together? Furthermore, cat social groups are inherently loosely organized; gatherings and departures are common occurrences. Therefore, seeing so many cats huddled together in one place truly seemed unbelievable to Lin Ge.

Lin Ge curiously approached, and was quickly noticed by several cats playing on the periphery. But surprisingly, these cats only glanced at Lin Ge and then ignored him, seemingly lacking the territorial instincts of ordinary wild cats.

However, they don't quite look like pet cats. Judging from their fur color and breed, these cats are undoubtedly more like mixed-breed cats that haven't undergone any human intervention, and they also carry the mixed scents unique to wild cats.

"Meow!"

A kitten that looked less than a year old was rolling around on the ground. Halfway through, it spotted Ringo and meowed at him while its belly was up.

There was little hostility or fear in the kitten's voice, and Lin Ge wondered if it was his own affable nature at work again. Seeing the kitten roll over, shake off the bits of grass, and run towards him, Lin Ge stopped.

The moment this cat moved, it attracted the attention of two other cats nearby. Upon noticing Ringo, they ignored him and continued their playful antics.

"Completely lacking in territorial awareness?"

Lin Ge was puzzled.

The kitten curiously approached Lingo, only to discover that Lingo was larger than it had imagined. A hint of fear flashed in its eyes, but it quickly regained its courage, and the little guy raised its tail and meowed at Lingo twice more.

After calling, it turned and ran back before Ringo could respond. Halfway there, it turned back again, urging Ringo to catch up.

Lin Ge then took a step and followed the cat into the park.

Upon entering, he discovered there were far more cats than he had imagined. There were definitely more than twenty or so; at least thirty or forty.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that among these cats, in addition to the ordinary-looking stray cats that were initially assumed, there were also some breeds including Ragdolls, British Shorthairs, American Shorthairs, Munchkins, Siamese cats, Persians, and Garfield cats.

These once-precious cats were now all filthy and disheveled. Especially the Ragdolls and Persians; their once clean and beautiful long fur was now matted and stained with all sorts of dirt, making them look like feline refugees, completely lacking the elegance of pedigree cats. Yet, these cats showed no wariness upon seeing Lin Ge. The timid ones kept their distance, while the lively and bold ones even approached him. One little blue cat, while playing with its companions, even bumped headfirst into Lin Ge in its panic, remaining dazed for a while before finally getting up. Seeing Lin Ge's superior position, it immediately wagged its tail ingratiatingly.

Lin Ge gave it a push, helping the little guy successfully roll over. Once it got up, the little guy clung even more to Lin Ge, ignoring its companion's urging to continue playing, and followed Lin Ge enthusiastically, staring at Lin Ge's tail.

This caused the other cats' hostility to disappear. Seeing that Lingo didn't seem to be there to cause trouble, they all resumed their lazy demeanor.

"Meow?"

Seeing that Ling Ge was standing there, not knowing where to go, the two kittens quickly stepped forward to lead the way.

Lingo thought for a moment, then walked past the cats' line of sight, past where they were playing, and continued forward. Led by two kittens, he soon arrived at the foot of the sports field and stopped near a row of doors that were all closed.

Why are you gathered here?

A question mark popped into Lin Ge's mind. Although the sports park was spacious and suitable for animals to play, it wasn't a residential area with many residents. Looking around, even the nearest residential area was hundreds of meters away, and one even had to cross a busy main road, which was still quite dangerous for a cat. It would be incredibly foolish for a cat to risk being run over by a car every time it went there to forage for food, just for a space to roam freely.

Unless... they don't need to worry about food for the time being.

Lingo looked around and noticed that although the nearby cats looked dirty, they didn't seem to have been hungry for a long time. Judging from their leisurely playfulness in the dead of winter, food probably wasn't their biggest problem.

"So, why is that?"

Lin Ge still didn't quite understand.

But then a gust of north wind suddenly blew by, bringing with it a stench so foul it made him want to vomit. It smelled like hundreds of pounds of cat feces and urine had been left unattended and fermented, a terrifying odor that almost made Lin Ge vomit.

what's the situation!
Lin Ge couldn't believe that such a terrifying smell existed in the world, but when he looked up at the two kittens in front of him, they seemed to be used to the smell.

Then, Lin Ge suddenly heard the sound of glass being struck. The impact was very clear in the darkness, muffled yet rhythmic. The sound came abruptly, but the two kittens in front of him didn't seem startled. It seemed the sound was normal to them, nothing to be surprised about.

Upon hearing the sound, the two of them excitedly ran towards the direction from which the stench also originated.

Lin Ge was completely confused and quickly followed.

After circling half of the huge sports stadium, Lingo finally spotted the source of the stench and the sound.

There were two sturdy glass display windows, decorated with cat images, various advertisements, and prices. The darkness couldn't obstruct Lin Ge's vision; he could clearly see that besides a terrifying stench emanating from the dark shop, the interior was in complete chaos. Along the walls on both sides of the room were rows of iron cages. But now, almost all the cage doors were open; only a few were securely locked, and inside, cats were struggling…

There were even two cats making a mess in the room, trying to open the cage door while enduring the stench.

Furthermore, in the lower right corner of the shop window, Ringo noticed a hole. This was precisely the source of the stench and the reason the cats had escaped from it.

Although he didn't know who broke the shop window, Lin Ge immediately understood what had happened.

This is a cat pet store.

no doubt.

However, for some unknown reason, the pet shop owner abandoned the shop or was temporarily unable to attend to it. This resulted in the cats being left unattended inside, and their excrement and urine gradually accumulated to a terrifying level.

Lin Ge didn't know if there was any food left inside before they escaped. But it was probably not, because he could see that several of the pedigree cats were very thin, as if they hadn't had a proper meal for some time.

In short, barring any unforeseen circumstances, these cats will likely starve or die of thirst.

Then, somehow, the accident happened. The glass window of the pet store was broken, whether by someone or by accident, creating a passageway for cats to enter and exit.

The two cats struggling in the cage were a long-haired Welsh cat and a common local tabby. Lingo guessed that the cat that had been trapped inside had met up with a stray cat that had unexpectedly appeared and received help from the tabby and its companions. While it's unclear how the cat opened the cage, the fact remains that the vast majority of pet cats were rescued.

This is why you often see two types of cats gathering outside, pet cats and stray cats playing together. They originally belonged to two different "bosses."

"Meow!"

Seeing that the cage door was impossible to open, the Welsh cat let out a dejected meow and its ears drooped.

The yellow tabby cat was even more boorish, relentlessly pounding on the lock with its paws the whole time, and was now panting heavily. Seeing the little Maine Coon inside the cage was already weak and exhausted, the two cats were anxious and helpless.

They are, after all, just cats.

Even if you're lucky and get rescued by various coincidences, you still can't solve everything on your own.

Lingo even found a large bag of uneaten cat food deep inside the room. The seal was torn open, and round kibble was scattered all over the floor, even mixed with cat feces. Several other bags of cat food piled up nearby also had many scratches and bite marks, but none of them had been torn open.

They were lucky; there was still an opened bag of [something] in the store. Otherwise, even if the local yellow dog had been able to rescue these cats, many would probably have starved to death or died tragically while searching for food.

"But these idiots, why don't they know to take the cat food outside before eating it? At least move it to the door! Mixed with poop and pee, it's only a matter of time before it spoils."

Lin Ge sighed helplessly.

The two cats in the room looked over when they heard the noise. They didn't recognize Lin Ge, but they thought he was one of his subordinates, so they didn't pay much attention to him for a moment.

But when Ringo carefully squeezed through the hole in the shop window, he was chased away by Wales and Yellow. It seemed the two cats understood the importance of the food in the room; any cat not allowed to enter was forbidden.

"Idiot! I wouldn't even look at the cat food on the ground!"

Lin Ge slapped the yellow dog impatiently, sending it staggering. Welsh, standing nearby, was even more timid, tucking its tail between its legs and leaping away to the side.

Actually, Lin Ge didn't want to resort to violence, but the situation inside was worse than he had imagined.

The little Maine Coon in the cage was nearing its limit; it could barely keep its eyes open. Meanwhile, there were at least a dozen other cages in the room that hadn't been opened, and Lin Ge had to deal with them one by one.

Besides rescuing them, there are also issues of food and water, and the ownership of these cats that Lin Ge needs to help these fools with. Relying solely on this one or a few bags of cat food will eventually lead to their demise, and they'll all eventually scatter like birds and beasts.

Under the watchful eyes of Big Yellow and the Welsh Cat, Ringo approached the Maine Coon's cage. A quick inspection revealed it was a combination padlock; no wonder the two cats couldn't open it no matter how hard they tried.

Upon further inspection of the other cages that remained locked, it was discovered that they all wore the same padlocks. Furthermore, the cats inside appeared to be of more expensive breeds or had more valuable fur than those that had already escaped. No wonder the shop owner had taken extra precautions to prevent theft.

Unfortunately, this lock also became a death knell for these unlucky cats.

The problem is, I don't know the password either!

Lin Ge frowned, looking somewhat worried.

Imagine him trying to punch the lock, the slam of his paw making the entire cat cage on the wall shake, and startling Wales and Big Yellow in the corner, causing them to arch their backs in a rounded arc.

Even so, the padlock remained secure.

Lin Ge, in a fit of rage, bit down on the padlock and pulled desperately backward. But even pulling so hard the cage almost tipped over, he still couldn't pry open the lock. After all, the cat inside was very valuable, so the shop owner's caution seemed understandable.

"What the hell!"

Lin Ge roared in frustration.

At this moment, because of his commotion, the dozen or so cats trapped in the cage opened their eyes one by one. Even though they were weak, they still looked at Lin Ge with pleading eyes, making Lin Ge feel even worse.

In this world, nothing is more cruel than being starved or thirsted to death!
Lin Ge had no idea what had happened to the shop owner, but all he wanted to do was curse that guy to die! At first glance, this cattery looked like it had at least forty or fifty cats, and if it weren't for the accident in the window, probably none of them would have survived!
The thought of so many cats staring at each other in full view of everyone, dying of hunger and thirst, sent chills down Lin Ge's spine.

Forget about hiding his special nature, Lingo first ran to the scattered cat food on the ground, took a bite without caring about the dirt, and then climbed to the cage door to spit the cat food in his mouth. Saliva and such didn't matter at the moment; he just wanted them to eat a little to save their lives.

Wales and Big Yellow stared in astonishment at Ringo's actions, only realizing what was happening when the weak cat in the cage began to laboriously lick the cat food that had been vomited up everywhere.

Seeing Lingo start feeding the second one, the other two, forgetting their fear, quickly followed suit and helped. At first, they couldn't quite get the pellets into the cage accurately, but after a few tries, they started to get it right. Even if it was only two or three pellets at a time, it still had an effect.

Before anyone knew it, more and more cats had gathered outside the shop window. Everyone watched quietly as the three cats busied themselves inside, each one obediently crouching outside, motionless.

Some greedy stray cats, though tempted by food, would become docile after being beaten up by their companions.

After a long and arduous process, the dozen or so cats in the cage were given some food to temporarily fill their stomachs, allowing them to last longer.

Then Lingo turned and walked towards the inner room of the cat house.

A flurry of activity as they rummaged through the area caused the cats outside to tilt their heads and wag their tails in curiosity. A short while later, Lin Ge emerged from inside, carrying a claw hammer in his mouth. His menacing gaze silenced the cats completely.

(End of this chapter)