Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 362 The Era of Internet Celebrities
"My economic crime investigation department's case is going to be on TV?"

Xu Xiangjie pointed to his nose, then to the photographer who was still filming, and then looked at Cao Chen and said, "Cao Chen, are you just going to let this guy come up like this? Who the hell is he? Since when do police officers need to have cameras following them while they're investigating cases?"

"Go tell your old colleague that it was his request!"

Cao Chen stood behind him with his hands on his hips and rolled his eyes.

Seeing that Xu Xiangjie was about to lose his temper, the cameraman quickly chuckled and peeked out, saying, "Hehe... Officer Xu, it's alright, I'll step aside and won't affect everyone's work! If you need anything, we'll blur your face. Besides, we're all working for the police force, to help the public understand how hard we police officers work, right? So, it's good to use the program to maintain a positive image. Besides, it's just a fraud case, they've already arrested the person, haven't they? I'll just film the arrest scene to make a five-minute short video and that's it. It'll also be a good opportunity to educate the audience about the law, so they'll know what to do if they encounter a similar situation..."

"You better not take any random pictures of me!"

Xu Xiangjie couldn't refute it, so he could only warn the photographer. After thinking for a moment, he took out his phone and sent a message to Wang Guofeng about it before turning his attention back to Du Wei.

Du Wei is arguing with Zhuang Tao'er.

The woman insisted on getting into the elevator, but Zhuang Tao stopped her from getting off. She didn't know where she got the courage, but she struggled even as her arm was grabbed.

"Open the door first!"

Xu Xiangjie pointed at Du Wei's front door and said coldly, "Police are investigating a case, please cooperate! I suspect you are harboring a criminal suspect in your house, please cooperate with our inspection! Refusal to cooperate is considered harboring a criminal, and you will be in trouble once we arrest the person!"

"You think you can justify trespassing?

Du Wei showed no fear whatsoever. Upon hearing this, she glared at Xu Xiangjie and said, "I'm leaving now, what can you do to me? Come and hit me if you dare! Hit me in front of the camera! This is a film shoot, isn't it? It'll be a good opportunity for the whole country to see what kind of people the Zhangzhou police are!"

As she spoke, Du Wei rushed to the cameraman's side, grabbed the camera lens and pointed it at herself, then turned around and acted like a shrew, saying, "Come on! The key is on me, come and snatch it if you dare! You even falsely accused me of harboring a criminal in my house, what evidence do you have?"

Xu Xiangjie frowned.

The cameraman, whose camera had been grabbed, wasn't angry at all. He simply loosened his grip slightly, allowing Du Wei more control over the camera's direction. Even when Du Wei pointed the camera at Xu Xiangjie, the cameraman didn't resist.

For him, this scene was incredibly engaging and generated a lot of buzz.

"This boy!"

Cao Chen didn't know whether the cameraman was a policeman or someone from outside. Seeing that the kid was unrepentant, he couldn't help but laugh and was about to take action.

"Go ahead and grab it!"

Before he could react, Zhuang Tao suddenly made the first move.

Zhuang Tao's eyes widened, she bent over, and with a quick step, she slipped to Du Wei's side. She grabbed Du Wei's wrist, pulled, twisted, and pressed hard, catching Du Wei off guard and pulling her hands behind her back, causing her to scream in a classic arresting pose.

"Resisting law enforcement? You really think I won't dare to deal with you?"

Zhuang Tao angrily pressed down on Du Wei, grabbing her hand and gently twisting it, causing Du Wei to let out an even more painful scream. The woman's delicate makeup was quickly ruined, her nose and eyes wrinkled up, and snot and tears streamed down her face.

Xu Xiangjie and Cao Chen were caught off guard and stared in astonishment at the scene, while the cameraman became excited and quickly included Zhuang Tao and Du Wei in the shot as well.

It's a pleasant surprise to get such a viral moment; it's no wonder the show has exploded in views and become a hot topic online.

You better watch out!

Cao Chen blocked the lens with his palm and then covered it with the lens cap. Seeing the camera looking up in displeasure, he sneered, "Don't take yourself too seriously, and don't let yourself lose this job while playing around. I don't know your identity, but you'd better know what you should and shouldn't film. Otherwise, if you accidentally film something you shouldn't and incite unhealthy emotions, you might end up as a criminal yourself, you understand?"

The cameraman's cheek twitched slightly upon hearing this, but he ultimately didn't dare to refute Cao Chen's well-intentioned advice.

"Most importantly, you can't afford to offend this woman, understand? So don't cause us any trouble. A mere Longquan Police Station can't protect you."

Cao Chen whispered something in the cameraman's ear, which startled him so much that he quickly put the camera away.

It was just an order from the station chief anyway; he didn't need to get himself into trouble for it. Besides, he was just an ordinary auxiliary police officer in the propaganda department; he wouldn't get any credit, and he didn't need to worry about anything else.

After figuring this out, the cameraman obediently retreated to the corner.

Seeing that the eyesore had finally disappeared, Xu Xiangjie finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhuang Tao glanced at Cao Chen, and snorted coldly, both annoyed and disdainful at this bastard using her status to intimidate her. She didn't actually think she was using the old man's position for support; as a policewoman, controlling female suspects was simply her job.

So what's wrong with subduing such a scoundrel who resists law enforcement?

"Hand over the key!"

Zhuang Tao, with a fierce expression, reached out her hand to Du Wei.

"It's...it's in the bag! Let...let go...it hurts! I...I know I was wrong...I won't run away..."

Du Wei winced in pain, realizing for the first time that police officers weren't just good at gentle persuasion, but could also resort to violence. This little girl's grip was incredibly strong; the pain made her feel like her arms weren't even her own anymore.

"Humph!"

Zhuang Tao unceremoniously found the key in Du Wei's handbag and then easily opened her front door.

However, when Xu Xiangjie led Jiang Zhong and Zhu Xiubo inside to search, they were surprised to find no trace of Xu Yinghui.

The house, which was fairly well-decorated, didn't have much room to hide. Lin Ge then went in to check and confirmed that Xu Yinghui was not hiding in Du Wei's house.

Upon exiting, Lin Ge saw Xu Xiangjie's questioning gaze and shook his head expressionlessly.

"hiss……"

Xu Xiangjie felt a toothache. Could it be that Xu Yinghui really wasn't hiding here?

"So... what right do you have to arrest me?"

Upon seeing the outcome, Du Wei became arrogant again. She forcefully shook off Zhuang Tao and glared at the group of police officers, saying, "Beating innocent civilians and trespassing! Do you police officers even have the demeanor of police officers? Incompetent cops! Trash! I'm going to report you! I'm going to file a complaint against you! Just you wait, you'll get a summons from the court! Heh... Is this how the Zhangzhou police enforce the law? Well done, you've really broadened the horizons of us ordinary folks..."

Du Wei started cursing, and at some point, the cameraman secretly picked up the camera again and started recording.

Lin Ge even saw that he had secretly turned on his phone and put it in the pocket of his work clothes. The camera on the back of the phone was facing outwards, and a little red light was flashing. It turned out that the phone was also secretly recording video.

"You're really audacious! What are you planning to do with the recordings on your phone?"

Lin Ge, his face stern, stealthily approached the cameraman who was filming with great enthusiasm. Meanwhile, Xu Xiangjie and Cao Chen were still trying to calm Du Wei down, and Zhuang Tao stood awkwardly to the side; no one noticed the cameraman's appalling behavior.

"Ow!"

Suddenly, Lin Ge roared, startling both the cameraman and the enraged Du Wei. Everyone looked over in astonishment, just in time to see Lin Ge swiftly climb up the cameraman's leg, grabbing and slapping his phone out of his chest pocket.

The phone spun twice in the air before crashing to the ground with a 'thud,' bouncing twice.

Although the screen was instantly covered in cracks from the impact, everyone could still clearly see the footage of the camera still working, a sight that made the cameraman's expression change drastically.

Everyone then noticed that the lens cap of the camera he was carrying had been secretly opened once again.

"You...you fool who doesn't know what's good for him!"

Cao Chen laughed in exasperation.

Having been a police officer for quite some time, this was the first time he'd ever seen someone so audacious. They'd already said no recording, yet this guy was still going to great lengths to secretly record? And not only did he pretend to be nonchalantly watching the spectacle, but he also took out his phone to film as well?

Even Jiang Zhong and Zhu Xiubo, who were searched out of the house again, frowned.

This guy has really gone too far.

"Hand over the camera! This thing must be expensive, don't make me break it."

Cao Chen extended his hand to the photographer.

The photographer smiled and didn't resist. With a deft flick of his left hand, he hid the memory card in his palm. Then he handed the camera to Cao Chen, and picked up his phone, looking at the cracked screen with a pained expression. He looked down at Lin Ge, about to explode, but after being glared at by Lin Ge, he cowered back.

With this guy getting in the way, the case was handled intermittently today, and the atmosphere was ruined time and time again. Right now, no one on the sixteenth floor is happy.

Unable to bear it any longer, Xu Xiangjie took out his phone and called Cheng Chengrui.

Soon, Cheng Rui stormed out of the elevator. When he saw the photographer huddled in the corner, his first reaction was to glare at Xu Xiangjie and say, "Hey Xu, what kind of trouble are you trying to cause now? Aren't we supposed to be looking for someone right now? Why are you messing with an auxiliary police officer from my station?"

"Auxiliary police officer?"

The group of people were taken aback for a moment.

"Old Cheng, you don't think like this guy, that the police can just take pictures of anything when they're investigating a case, right?"

Xu Xiangjie wasn't angry, only calmly retorting. He knew Cheng Rui fairly well and didn't believe Cheng Rui would collude with such a person. Perhaps Cheng Rui was involved in the "internet celebrity police station" project, but filming negative aspects of the police and maliciously recording officers being framed was definitely not Cheng Rui's style. Even if Cheng Rui had many ambitions, they were only for climbing the ranks; he would never do anything to dishonor the identity of a police officer.

As expected, Cheng Rui was stunned for a moment after Xu Xiangjie finished speaking, and looked at the cameraman who was looking down with a suspicious look.

"Old Xu, what did he do?"

Cao Chen, standing nearby, scoffed, "This woman is pointing at the camera and calling us trash! Beating innocent civilians, trespassing, and she's even going to sue us! Hah... With a little editing, this kind of footage could make our Zhangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau famous nationwide, right? Chief Cheng, don't question me, this guy from your police station was really into filming. I've repeatedly asked him to stop filming, and he still lets me secretly record? Who gave him that right?"

Cheng Rui's expression darkened further, and he couldn't help but look at Jiang Zhong and Zhu Xiubo.

Jiang Zhong and Zhu Xiubo were still stunned by what they had just witnessed. They hadn't expected that solving a case would escalate into a conflict between the municipal bureau and the local police station. But ultimately, right is right and wrong is wrong, and the two nodded in unison to indicate that Xu Xiangjie and Cao Chen hadn't lied.

Now, Cheng Rui finally understood what had happened.

Looking into the open house, Cheng Rui saw a woman sitting on the sofa in the living room complaining, while a female police officer with a blank expression stared at her and monitored her from behind. He sighed.

"Little Liu, delete all the videos you recorded."

"Huh? Why! Chief Cheng, I bet this topic will go viral online! Our Longquan Police Station program already has two million followers, but I think if we create a few trending topics, reaching twenty million will be a piece of cake! That way, Longquan Police Station can truly become famous, right? Don't worry, I've thought about it. It's not us who will be embarrassed; it's the incompetent police officers from the Municipal Bureau who will be disgraced. It has nothing to do with us!"

The photographer, surnamed Liu, was trying to persuade Cheng Rui. He gestured wildly and had already thought out the future plans and development direction for the Longquan Police Station program.

"Give me the video!"

Unfortunately, Cheng Rui wouldn't listen to his enticements at all. He did agree to make Longquan Police Station a well-known police station, but that didn't mean he would disregard the station's reputation or his own dignity and responsibility as a police officer.

"..."

The photographer lowered his head, remaining silent but not handing over his card.

This defiant attitude made Cheng Rui frown, realizing he had been careless when recruiting the team. Some people seem quite clever and creative in general, but it only becomes apparent when problems arise that their ideas and priorities are completely different from what the police require.

"go."

Xu Xiangjie gave Cao Chen a wink, but Cao Chen didn't move and instead sent a message on his phone.

The elevator, which had stopped on the sixteenth floor, quickly closed its doors and descended, blocking the photographer's chance of escape.

"Tsk tsk! They were just here to arrest Xu Yinghui, so why did a second thing suddenly pop up? And what kind of nonsense is the Longquan Police Station up to? Is this kind of 'internet celebrity police station' really necessary?"

Lin Ge tilted his head as he watched Cheng Rui and the photographer confront each other, somewhat puzzled by the Longquan Police Station's thinking.

These days, all sorts of online celebrities are popping up everywhere, and now even police stations have become "internet celebrity" sites. This kind of thing might have its advantages; it might even help the public better understand police stations and the work of police officers, and appreciate the hard work of the police. But… who will bear the negative effects? Or rather, if this kind of thing lacks regulation, it will become the kind of trouble we see now. If the content is good, the public will naturally praise it. But if the content is inappropriate, criticism will follow!
Has Cheng Rui considered this? He probably has. He's required that all videos be reviewed before publication, but who can guarantee that the review process won't have any flaws?
Or do the reviewers necessarily share the same thoughts as the audience?
Anyway, Lin Ge still felt that this kind of thing was a bit of a frivolous thing to do. Fortunately, the Zhanghe Police Station didn't have similar ideas, otherwise, if anyone dared to say that they would turn him into an internet celebrity cat, he would definitely beat them up without saying a word.

"Hand it over!"

Cheng Rui grew impatient. How could Xiao Liu be so insensible? What the police station needed was positive public recognition, not trouble for other units.

"Hand it over? Heh..."

The photographer's lips curled into a smirk, then he suddenly smiled. He looked at Cheng Rui nonchalantly and slowly took off the ID tag hanging around his neck.

The crowd's expressions changed slightly as they watched him throw his identity token on the ground.

"I quit! Okay? What kind of lousy auxiliary police officer is this? I'm done! I resign and I'm leaving! Goodbye, I'm not playing with you guys anymore!"

As everyone watched in surprise, the photographer put his hands in his pockets, turned around, and walked away. Since the elevator wasn't coming, he simply pushed open the fire escape door and headed for the stairs.

"..."

Cheng Rui's face turned red with anger.

Especially in front of Xu Xiangjie, Cheng Rui felt utterly humiliated. He stomped his foot angrily and turned to Jiang Zhong and Zhu Xiubo: "What are you all standing there for! Grab him and take him under control! This kind of thing... this kind of thing..."

Cheng Rui was so angry he vomited blood. Jiang Zhong and Zhu Xiubo dared not delay any longer and rushed over to start a fight with the photographer.

The man was quickly subdued, shouting, "I'm no longer a policeman, why are you arresting me?" as he was pinned to the ground and struggled desperately.

Unfortunately, his struggles were futile. The memory card and phone he had hidden on his person were quickly found and confiscated by Zhu Xiubo. His ambition to develop this viral content independently was shattered in just a few minutes.

Soon Cheng Rui called his men over, who then took the guy away, leaving behind only a mess.

"..."

"call……"

Xu Xiangjie and Cao Chen exchanged a glance, feeling that they had definitely had a run of bad luck today, otherwise they wouldn't be so exhausted.

Of course, the photographer's aftermath is none of their concern; that's a problem that unfortunate Cheng Rui needs to deal with himself. It's unclear whether this incident will change his mind about the online police station, but now is not the time to focus on that.

"If Xu Yinghui isn't here, could he be here?"

Xu Xiangjie looked at the house across the street. There had been such a commotion outside for so long, yet no one from this house had come out to check. It felt like something was wrong.

As for whether there's anyone inside...

This is not an important question.

Both Mimi's identification and the elevator's security camera footage clearly showed Xu Yinghui exiting from the sixteenth floor. This means that even if he wasn't in this apartment, he must still be hiding in this building!

It doesn't matter! At worst, we can patiently search house by house and eventually catch this rat.

'Clang, clang.'

Xu Xiangjie knocked on the door expressionlessly and stood there waiting.

In the opposite room, Du Wei seemed restless, about to stand up and say something but then abruptly stopping herself. She looked up at Zhuang Tao behind her, then lowered her head and twisted the fabric of her pants, looking extremely hesitant and anxious.

"Ha ha……"

Cao Chen, who had been paying close attention to Du Wei's situation, immediately understood the situation.

"Open the door!"

Xu Xiangjie, growing impatient, knocked on the door again, saying, "If you don't open the door, I'm breaking it down! Xu Yinghui, I know you're in there, come out and turn yourself in!"

‘Crack. ’

A moment later, the door lock slowly opened.

Thank you to reader DrFeng for the 100-coin reward. I would also like to ask for your monthly tickets and subscriptions.

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(End of this chapter)