Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 359 Rare Resources

To their surprise, although Wang Guofeng was furious, he didn't criticize Zhuang Tao'er even once more.

"You mean Zhuang Tao'er? What's the situation with her?"

Cao Chen tossed Xu Xiangjie a cigarette, but instead of lighting it himself, he waited for Xu Xiangjie to take out a lighter and light it for him.

The two men squatted in the emergency exit, puffing on their cigarettes, and wondering what had happened in the meeting room earlier. How could just an ordinary young girl, recently assigned there, have managed to control Wang Guofeng?
This eel is so slippery. If it were that easy to catch, why would our colleagues who are sent all over the country have to work so hard?
Cao Chen exhaled a smoke ring, which was perfectly round and floated slowly.

Xu Xiangjie waved away the smoke ring, equally curious about Zhuang Tao's identity, but said coldly, "She probably has some kind of background, the kind that even Wang Guofeng had to compromise with. In any case, it's best to keep your distance from this girl in the future. I remember you made a dirty joke to her a few days ago. Thinking about it now, you really are lucky. Heh... Even Wang Guofeng doesn't dare to mess with her, and you actually went up to take advantage of her. You really don't know what's good for you."

"I asked her, and she said she doesn't have a boyfriend."

Cao Chen wasn't scared at all. He squatted down and scratched his ankles: "I'm neither married nor have a girlfriend. What's wrong with chatting with her for a bit? Besides, you know I like women with good figures. So don't worry, someone like Zhuang Tao isn't on my hunting ground."

The guy spoke so casually that Xu Xiangjie was completely speechless.

Cao Chen didn't consider his hobby a problem, and simply waved his hand to continue, "Let's not talk about Zhuang Tao'er for now. Why are you, a married man, always talking about other women? Let's get back to the case. Do you think the real culprit is Xu Yinghui or the Kanke brothers? The names on their ID cards are Yan Kan and Yan Ke, but the Zhanghe Police Station believes their actual names should be Ye Kan and Ye Ke. The pronunciations are quite similar, but the nature of the crimes is completely different."

Xu Xiangjie stubbed out his cigarette under his foot: "Was it premeditated or accidental? I personally lean towards the name Ye Kan Ye Ke. After all, it's a bit too arrogant and illogical for someone who does something like this to use their real name all the time."

"I don't think it's that simple. Cough! Cough cough..."

Seeing Xu Xiangjie stand up, Cao Chen glanced down at the half-burnt cigarette, put it in his mouth, and took a deep, forceful breath. The remaining half quickly burned out, producing a large amount of smoke that choked Cao Chen, causing him to cough repeatedly.

"If you keep playing like this, you'll get lung cancer sooner or later."

Xu Xiangjie frowned slightly.

"It doesn't matter! I've been exposed to secondhand smoke from you guys for years, and I got addicted to smoking because of you. If I get lung cancer, you're 80% responsible."

Cao Chen casually snapped the cigarette butt off with his fingers, threw the cigarette butt into the nearby trash can, and left the remaining bit on the ground to burn slowly.

"In short, let's wait for news! Fortunately, the Criminal Investigation Division has enough manpower, so it should only be a matter of time before we capture Xu Yinghui, who didn't have time to escape from Zhangzhou City. As for Ye Kan and Ye Ke, we can only arrange for their capture online."

"You don't think they're in Zhangzhou City?"

"Isn't that obvious? Even a rabbit won't eat the grass near its burrow!"

The two clapped their hands and returned to the office.

"..."

"..."

In Wang Guofeng's office, a man and a woman stared at each other.

Both of them stared intently at each other with stern faces, neither willing to speak first. But in the end, Wang Guofeng was the first to give in, sighing helplessly and leaning back in his office chair.

"You're putting me in a difficult position."

"I was just trying my best to solve the case, and I don't think I did anything wrong. Besides, why won't you let me participate in this case? I've been working here for so long, and have you ever let me participate in a complete case? Every time, I'm either helping with the cleanup and taking statements, or you assign me to do odd jobs in the logistics department. And this time, you actually dare to send me to the police station? Wang Guofeng, aren't you going too far? I'm a police officer! Not a little rabbit that needs your protection!"

Zhuang Tao did not back down in the slightest, nor did she give Wang Guofeng any face.

Wang Guofeng couldn't look Zhuang Tao in the eye, and could only helplessly look at the window behind her: "Investigating cases is a very dangerous thing! Little rabbit, I just hope you can train for a while longer, get familiar with the procedures and environment, and then officially start working. Although we are in economic crime investigation, to be honest, no matter what bad things criminals do, aren't they all extremely vicious? Do you think investigating cases is interesting? But do you know how many police officers are injured because of it every year?"

"So what? We're all police officers. Why should I be able to comfortably hide in the back and enjoy safety? I know that handling cases is dangerous. If it weren't dangerous, I wouldn't be here! Let me tell you, you're looking down on me, you know?"

Zhuang Tao was not afraid at all, nor was she angry at being called 'little rabbit'.

Wang Guofeng lowered his head and reached for the cigarettes. But when he looked up, he saw Zhuang Tao glaring at him, so he had no choice but to put the cigarette pack back in the drawer.

"Sigh! I should never have let you take the police academy entrance exam back then."

"Go tell that to my mom!"

Zhuang Tao sneered, "Back when I wanted to go to the Central Academy of Drama, who hid my ID card when I was about to take the entrance exam? So you regret it now, huh? Let me tell you, old man! Now that I've followed in my father's footsteps and become a policeman, don't even think about restricting what I do!"

At this point, Zhuang Tao choked up, her eyes reddening as she glared at Wang Guofeng, saying, "And another thing! I changed my name to my mother's surname so that I wouldn't take advantage of you in the slightest! You be my branch captain, and I'll be my junior officer. We have no private relationship in the Public Security Bureau, understand? I, a junior officer, can only obey the orders given by the branch captain! But if you go too far once, twice, or three times, don't blame me for playing dirty tricks on you at home!"

With that, Zhuang Tao turned and left angrily, giving Wang Guofeng a moment to finally smoke.

As she reached the door, she bumped into Cao Chen, who was about to knock. She glared at him fiercely, then shoved him aside without hesitation, and stormed into the interrogation room.

"So... Zhuang Tao'er should actually be called Wang Tao'er!"

Cao Chen clutched his arm, suddenly realizing what was happening. Looking back at Zhuang Tao's retreating figure, he found the little rabbit rather adorable, albeit somewhat fierce. He suddenly felt a surge of interest: wouldn't it be incredibly challenging to turn his boss's precious daughter into his girlfriend?
"You must not tell anyone about Zhuang Tao!"

Wang Guofeng glared at Cao Chen, then took out a cigarette and said, "Actually, I didn't hide it from the bureau; quite a few people know. But outside, we're father and daughter; inside, we're colleagues. Xiao Tao'er keeps that distinction very clear, so I didn't want to put her in a difficult position. You've seen her personality—impulsive and thoughtless. If anything happens in the future, keep an eye on things for me. Since she insists on getting involved in this case, I'll arrange it with you. Not having to go on business trips is my only selfish reason."

"Don't worry, boss, I'll take good care of Tao'er."

Cao Chen quickly took out a cigarette and respectfully lit it for Wang Guofeng. This guy had a gold-plated Zippo lighter with an eagle engraved on it, but he kept it hidden from Xu Xiangjie and refused to take it out.

"I don't need you to take care of me!"

Wang Guofeng glared at Cao Chen but didn't say anything. She knew he liked mature women. Her own daughter was as thin as a skeleton, so she didn't need to worry about this scoundrel Cao taking advantage of her.

"hey-hey……"

Cao Chen smiled without saying a word. Seeing that Wang Guofeng was about to explode again, he quickly said, "Boss, we need to hurry up with this. Although we asked the Criminal Investigation Detachment to help us find Xu Yinghui, it's still our case, and it's hard to say whether they'll be fully committed. Everyone's busy with their own things. Do you expect them to put down their work and just work for us? So... we need to get involved ourselves. Even if there are only a few of us left in the detachment, they can still squeeze me and Xu Xiangjie out, right? Should we borrow a dog from the police dog unit, or borrow that cat from the Zhanghe Police Station? That cat has seen Xu Xiangjie before, and judging from its previous achievements, it might be able to easily take down someone."

Wang Guofeng hesitated for a moment, then frowned.

To be honest, he agreed with Cao Chen's opinion. Why object to subordinates being willing to work more? Moreover, Cao Chen was right about one thing: the key to this case wasn't the fraud itself, but the timeframe and the potentially more serious consequences. If Xu Yinghui and the Kanke brothers could be arrested in time, this case would just be another ordinary economic case among countless others handled by the Economic Crime Investigation Division. But once the video leaked…

It's only a matter of time before it develops into a new type of fraud scheme that affects the entire country.

Because the requirements for scammers are not high—they only need to hold a piece of paper and read the lines from the video—this type of scam may become even more troublesome than overseas telecom fraud.

Without further hesitation, Wang Guofeng nodded and said, "In that case, I'll leave it to you and Xu Xiangjie to handle. I'll contact the Longquan Police Station and the Zhanghe Police Station to borrow the police officers involved and the cat to help. Hmm... let's bring Zhuang Tao along too. This girl always feels that I don't let her go out on field duty. This time, let her run around the city with you two."

"understand!"

Cao Chen nodded with a smile, understanding the unspoken meaning behind Wang Guofeng's omission of the word "urban area".

"So... I've been seconded to the Economic Crime Investigation Division again?"

The next morning, Lin Ge squatted speechlessly in front of the Municipal Bureau. He wasn't in a particularly good mood, and the surrounding temperature was rather cold. So, while accepting greetings from several acquaintances, Lin Ge was nonchalant and looked annoyed, glancing sideways at Jiang Zhong and Zhu Xiubo, who were looking quite excited beside him.

The two were quite excited about being seconded to the municipal police bureau; after all, what police officer wouldn't want to solve a major case?
As a local police officer, it's common to do menial work for the municipal bureau. However, being deeply involved in a major case as a supporting actor rather than an extra makes a world of difference.

Zhu Xiubo was the most excited, even squatting down to tempt Lin Ge, saying, "Mimi, you have to be extra careful from now on. Tell me as soon as you find any clues, and we must solve this case quickly. Hehe... I'll treat you to cat food then."

"Pah! Cat food cans!"

Lin Ge rolled his eyes, inwardly cursing Zhang Yong. This guy brought him to the Municipal Bureau and then ignored him, going off to work at the Criminal Investigation Team while he left this cat here in the cold wind.

But on the other hand, Lingo was also somewhat excited.

It wasn't that he'd run into another case, but rather that he'd finally received news of the two bastards again. Those two had given him a lot of trouble back then, and he thought they'd disappeared without a trace, but now a big one had struck.

These two brothers were quite a lucky match for Lin Ge, and because of them, Lin Ge even got to know old man Chen Zhe.

It's a pity that the old man went abroad and hasn't come back yet. Lin Ge had strolled around that neighborhood several times when he had free time, but he never saw the little courtyard open again.

"Speaking of which, these two brothers were tricked so badly by the old man, how come they still dare to continue being swindlers?"

Lin Ge thought to himself, somewhat puzzled.

Why are you wearing police uniforms?

When Cao Chen, Xu Xiangjie, and Zhuang Tao came out of the annex building, they saw two policemen and a cat standing foolishly at the door, shivering in the cold wind. The two idiots were shivering in the cold wind, but they didn't even think to find a place to shelter from the wind.

Unlike the two officers dressed in bulky winter police uniforms, Cao Chen and the other two were all dressed in ordinary down jackets and casual clothes. Zhuang Tao, in particular, was wearing a hat with bear ears, making her look cute and youthful.

"Huh? Is it okay to wear casual clothes?"

This was Zhu Xiubo's first time working on a case with the Economic Crime Investigation Team, and he was surprised to find that their usual attire was so casual.

Jiang Zhong understood that the Economic Investigation Brigade often had verbal exchanges with suspects, and wearing plainclothes could lower their guard and reduce pressure. Hearing this, he simply laughed and said, "Our Longquan Police Station has strict rules. Not wearing a police uniform during working hours will result in punishment. Haha, if we're caught, we have to buy a drink for every colleague, and for field officers, it's always Red Bull. It's more severe than a fine, so we've gotten used to wearing uniforms every day."

"Tsk tsk! Cheng Rui still has so many messy and ridiculous rules! Rigid and unforgiving."

Xu Xiangjie seized the opportunity to sneer and mock.

Jiang Zhong and Zhu Xiubo's expressions stiffened, and Cao Chen quickly smoothed things over, saying, "That's fine! Without rules, there's no order. Police officers should wear uniforms! We need to conduct interviews everywhere today, and to avoid making the public nervous, that's why we chose to wear civilian clothes. Ah! Actually, it doesn't really matter. It's getting late, everyone should hurry up and set off. We'll only be driving one car today, and you both have driver's licenses, right? We'll take turns driving and resting later, while the others are responsible for the interviews and investigations?"

The group exchanged glances, none of them objecting.

Even Zhuang Tao was eager to try it out. She had been with the Municipal Bureau for so long but had never driven a police car before! Everyone said that police cars were old, dilapidated, and didn't even have air conditioning. Now she wanted to see if that was really the case.

"Huh? Such a new car?"

When Zhuang Tao arrived at the parking lot, she was stunned to see Cao Chen unlocking a brand-new Hongqi police car with a key.

"Hehe... After all, we are the Economic Crime Investigation Division, so we have quite a bit of funding. Division Chief Wang treats us very well. We can't really afford to have a few police cars like the Criminal Investigation Division, which have only two or three hundred thousand kilometers on them."

Cao Chen smiled and explained, then got into the driver's seat first.

As the only girl, Zhuang Tao naturally sat in the passenger seat. Cao Chen cheekily offered to help her fasten her seatbelt, but Zhuang Tao slapped his hand. She gave Cao Chen a disdainful look, then reached out and pulled Lin Ge, who was about to climb onto the dashboard, into her arms.

"It's so peaceful..."

Lin Ge, standing close to Zhuang Tao, paused for a moment. He looked back at Zhuang Tao's chest and then up at the woman's youthful face, and couldn't help but suspect that she might actually be under twelve years old.

Otherwise, it's impossible for it to have absolutely no flexibility, right?
Cao Chen is utterly depraved to even lay a hand on a woman like that.

"What's wrong? Am I holding it wrong? I'm sorry, I've never held a cat before, and my family doesn't allow us to have one. After all, my parents are both very busy, and if we had a cat, they might starve to death if no one was home for a few days."

Zhuang Tao looked down at Lin Ge, wondering why the cat was looking at her with that kind of gaze.

"Hey! Girl, keep it up! Besides, small breasts are an irreversible and rare resource, so you must stick to your unique features."

Lin Ge nodded heavily to Zhuang Tao, then obediently squatted on her lap. This guy's thigh muscles are quite solid; his explosive power is probably not weak. No wonder he's an outstanding talent who was directly parachuted into the city bureau after graduating from police academy.

"Tsk tsk!"

Cao Chen seemed to guess what Lin Ge was thinking and clicked his tongue. Poor kitten, can't even find a place to knead, right? Zhuang Tao's future children might have a tough time~
"satyr!"

Zhuang Tao didn't know what Lin Ge was thinking, but she guessed what Cao Chen was thinking. The more she looked at this guy, the more displeased she became, and she couldn't understand why her father had such a scoundrel under his command.

Just now when he left, this guy was confidently saying that Captain Wang had entrusted him with his care?

Pshaw! How could that be!

The three people in the back seat looked at each other, bewildered, as they stared at the two people and the cat in front.

However, the car soon quieted down after Cao Chen stopped nagging and drove off. It's just that some jerk had mixed in a few disco songs with popular music, causing Cao Chen to occasionally accelerate excitedly, and the police car's frequent gear changes made Zhuang Tao a little carsick.

"asshole!"

Seeing that Zhuang Tao's expression was not good but she was holding back, Lin Ge slapped Cao Chen's hand hard.

"hiss……"

Cao Chen then noticed Zhuang Tao's condition, quickly calmed himself down, and apologized repeatedly.

"Need not!"

Zhuang Tao swore that she would never ride in the same car with Cao Chen again, no matter what! Being next to that guy was pure torture in every way, and even if she was stupid, she would never make the same mistake.

As expected, the health product store was sealed off, and similar shops in the vicinity were also filled with anxiety due to the incident involving their competitors. When the group parked their car and arrived, almost all the stores on both sides were closed, like birds startled by a shot.

"Sniff."

Lin Ge tilted his head back and sniffed at the entrance of Zhang Yanxia's shop, frowning as he noticed that Xu Yinghui's scent was very fresh.

The shop was shut down yesterday afternoon, but Xu Yinghui's scent seemed to belong to at least this morning. In other words, this audacious fellow had been here not long ago, though his purpose remains unknown.

Lin Ge then turned his head to look in the opposite direction from which they had come.

That guy didn't even use a vehicle; he left on foot from here.
His courage is unexpectedly great.

(End of this chapter)