Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 367 Alive
Slow down! Be careful!

"Hold on tight, don't rush! Hey, Xiao Liu, help him!"

"A little further ahead... Alright! Got it!"

A group of police officers stood around a large camphor tree, looking up as two of their colleagues carefully climbed up a branch.

A black garbage bag was hanging in mid-air, some of the way out of the branches. As the police carefully approached and used a stick to pry it out and then hook it back, the crowd below erupted in excited cheers.

"That was really helpful; I didn't even have to lift a finger. Thanks for your hard work!"

Lin Ge lazily squatted to one side, watching with satisfaction as the police successfully secured this important piece of evidence. However, it would have been more convenient for Lin Ge to handle this, but he found the trash hanging on the tree too messy, so he ignored Chen Liang's request as if he hadn't heard it.

Watching Chen Liang and a young policeman from Longquan Police Station carefully climb down from the tree again, Lin Ge slowly approached.

He didn't even need to look; he could smell Chen Jian's scent on the garbage bag. There were even some strongly smelly tissues and similar items inside, which was one of the reasons why Lin Ge stubbornly refused to work.

"It really is a stun gun! And it's an old model; I saw it in a storybook when I was a kid!"

Shivering from the cold wind blowing from the treetops, Chen Liang excitedly addressed the approaching crowd, saying, "With this evidence, Chen Jian's subjective suspicion of murder is irrefutable! No matter how he tries to explain, he can't explain why he attacked Xu Yinghui with this item. To put it more realistically, Xu Yinghui was knocked unconscious by him with an electric shock, not by Ai Qing's sleeping pills. In this respect, Chen Jian bears greater responsibility!"

"Are you sure this is the stun gun? Mimi, please check if there's a mistake in who owns the trash bag."

Standing outside the crowd, Shao Yongkang looked down at Lin Ge, relying on Lin Ge's exceptional sense of smell to ensure they hadn't targeted the wrong person. To be honest, these old-fashioned stun guns are quite rare these days; where did Chen Jian get his hands on this treasure?

Seeing Chen Liang holding up the garbage bag and walking towards him like he was presenting a treasure, Lin Ge quickly took two steps back, gave it a perfunctory sniff, and then wagged his tail and let out a "woof" at Shao Yongkang.

Shao Yongkang smiled with satisfaction: "Hehe... He's really lucky! Such crucial evidence, and that guy just casually threw it downstairs. I was worried he'd destroy it, but it turns out he's just a stupid guy who got greedy for money."

"Give this thing to me! Even if Mimi confirms it, we still need to find Chen Jian's fingerprints or even Xu Yinghui's tissue cells on it before we can send it for testing."

Qian Weiyi smiled and took the garbage bag from Chen Liang, showing no disgust at the various kinds of trash inside. She was especially relieved when she discovered that the stun gun hadn't been contaminated too much.

Wearing gloves, he took out the device, which was slightly larger than his palm and should actually be called a stun gun, without wiping off the stains, and put it directly into the evidence bag that had been prepared beforehand.

Qian Wei didn't leave any of the other trash behind. Including the few wads of tissues that might have semen stains, the mysterious lubricant liquid, the unfinished pizza, a beer can, and some cigarette butts, he sorted and packed them all away without any hesitation.

As a crime scene investigator, Qian Weiyi never complained about having too much evidence. Often, seemingly unrelated items obtained by chance would inexplicably become new clues or even lead to the discovery of new cases. Qian Weiyi's favorite pastime was collecting various items from crime scenes and suspects' homes. His most glorious moment at the Zhangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau was when he uncovered a murder case from ten years prior by using an ordinary item from a suspect's home.

Qian Weiyi's ability to take over Old Wu's position as a young man and establish himself in the Zhangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau was due to his stubbornness in not giving up any possibility.

"The rest is up to you. Don't let me down!"

Shao Yongkang patted Qian Weiyi on the shoulder with satisfaction, then looked at his other subordinates and said, "Sweep the scene one more time. We can call it a day after this. Tonight we'll have a welcome dinner for Xiao Tao'er. No bastards are allowed to take leave except those on duty!"

"Is that girl going to join our First Company?"

A muscular young policeman's eyes lit up. Heaven knows how long it had been since he'd had any normal contact with a normal girl!
"The person I set my sights on will never escape my grasp!"

Shao Yongkang smiled proudly.

"Long live the boss!"

Immediately, Shao Yongkang's young bachelors cheered; not a single one chose to go home. Who would go home to lift weights when there are girls around? Isn't chatting with girls much more interesting than doing presses and dumbbell exercises at home?
"Oh! And Mimi, you're here too... Hey?"

Shao Yongkang did not miss the opportunity to recruit Lin Ge, but when he turned around, the cat had already disappeared.

"Who would want to eat with a bunch of grown men like you! Maybe Zhuang Tao'er originally wanted to transfer to the criminal investigation department, but because of your drunken and unruly behavior, she was scared and hurried back to Wang Guofeng's side!"

Lin Ge maliciously cursed Shao Yongkang's ambitions, hoping they would not succeed, and then slowly walked back to Zhanghe Police Station.

Looking at the bustling city life in the Longquan Police Station's jurisdiction, Lin Ge honestly felt that the Zhanghe Police Station was actually more realistic and closer to him. Even though Longquan had a stronger urban atmosphere, and countless more skyscrapers, after witnessing Xu Yinghui's infidelity, women willingly becoming his mistresses for money, Ai Qing's young prostitution, Chen Jian's exploitation of his body, and the way upscale neighborhoods treated lower-level ones like garbage dumps… after experiencing all this, Lin Ge still felt that the Zhanghe Police Station was more humane.

Even as Zhangzhou's economy and development gradually shift towards Longquan or even the more environmentally friendly Yuehu area, and even though Zhanghe is foreseeably becoming increasingly remote, Lin Ge still feels that the latter is the more suitable living environment for him.

Even between the two police stations, there are differences. Longquan Police Station is more refined, better developed, and has more people, but Lin Ge still feels that Zhanghe Police Station is more humane.

Throughout the entire case, Lin Ge's only regret was not being able to find any trace of the Kan Ke brothers, and also Ai Qing, that foolish, blind, pitiful, and pathetic silly woman.

Shao Yongkang's investigation revealed that Chen Jian hadn't found a job at all; he was just an unemployed bum who lived off women. Ai Qing's perception of his hard work was nothing more than him spending his days in bars. Even the dirty tissues in the trash bag didn't smell like Ai Qing. Regardless of the true nature of Chen Jian's relationship with that woman, it was clear that he had absolutely no romantic feelings for Ai Qing anymore.

Chen Jian, true to his name, is a despicable scoundrel. And Ai Qing has already lost her love.

"It's only past noon, and the case is already closed. Although I'm very annoyed by Shao Yongkang's various despicable behaviors, I have to say that his First Squadron is quite capable. I reckon even without me, solving this case would have been a piece of cake, right?"

Lin Ge sighed, then shook his head to shake off the image of Shao Yongkang that had surfaced in his mind.

He boarded a bus with practiced ease, ignoring the driver's complaints, and immediately ducked under a seat reserved for the elderly, weak, and disabled to doze off. To be honest, although only half the day had passed, he realized how severely exhausted he was. That perfect use of his sense of smell was indeed incredibly impressive, but the demands and energy it placed on him were simply outrageous. Lin Ge didn't necessarily want to skip a meal with Shao Yongkang and his group, but he knew he needed rest more than anything else.

"By the way, where did the white cat go? And what about the female hawksbill turtle and the money tree? They've been going out a lot these past few days. What have they been up to? I hope they haven't run into any danger. Why didn't you tell me if something happened?"

While dozing off, Lin Ge let his thoughts wander and soon fell into a deep sleep.

"You stinky cat, get off the bus!"

He vaguely heard someone shouting beside him and someone pushing him. Half asleep, Lin Ge impatiently opened his eyes.

Upon seeing this, Lin Ge's vision went black.

The bus driver was mopping the floor when he spotted Lin Ge and poked him with the wet mop. Lin Ge quickly scrambled to his feet, dodging another shove of dirty water from the mop, glared at the driver, and jumped out through the open back door.

But when I got off the bus, I realized that I was in yet another unfamiliar place.

It seemed to be the final stop for this bus route; four or five buses on the same route were parked along the side of the not-so-long alley. Several drivers waiting to depart were huddled together, smoking and chatting, and they all paused for a moment when they saw a cat get off the bus.

Seeing the driver get off the bus carrying a mop, one of them laughed from afar, "Hey! Old Wei, why did you bring back a special passenger?"

"This little guy boarded the bus near Times Square this afternoon, and hid as soon as he got on, so I forgot about him. I only realized he was still there when I took these two buses back!"

The driver, surnamed Wei, went across the street and washed his mop in front of the public restroom while replying, "This cat isn't afraid of people at all. It can sleep like a log even in a crowded bus. To be honest, it's just not very good-looking, otherwise it would have been taken away long ago. Hehe... But it's wearing a collar around its neck, so it must have an owner. I just don't know how carefree its owner is to let a cat run around like that."

"Hey! Old Wei, you'd better hurry up and find it for them, otherwise they'll be heartbroken to lose their cat!"

A driver chuckled as he caused trouble for Lao Wei.

"What the hell? I'm off work!" Old Wei walked over and hung the mop in the crack in the wall next to the back door. Looking back at the cat still standing there, seemingly confused, he sighed helplessly, "Hey cat, are you planning to just stand here all night? Let me tell you, there's no way I'll take you home! But if you don't mind, you can go back home for the night. It's almost dark, so be careful not to get eaten by the stray dogs around here."

"Stray dogs?"

Lin Ge was stunned for a moment. He had been calculating how far this place was from Zhanghe Police Station, but he quickly came to his senses.

To be honest, stray dogs are still quite rare in the city, unlike stray cats which are everywhere in every neighborhood. But in the countryside, it's the opposite; stray dogs and free-roaming dogs are everywhere, while you can hardly see a single stray cat.

As for stray dogs, Lin Ge wasn't actually afraid of them. With his current speed and strength, one or two dogs were no match for him.

Even if he could win, being bitten would hurt for a long time! Besides, rabies is something that's hard to prevent. Fighting a wild dog would not only be of no benefit, but he would also have to get a shot. After thinking about it, Lin Ge gave up his plan to spend the night in the wild.

As for the driver who invited him to his home... he seemed quite kind, and he didn't really chase away a cat that was riding in the car, so he shouldn't be a bad person, right?

Lin Ge was thinking seriously when he saw Lao Wei lock the bus door, pick up a bag, and head home. He quickly jogged a few steps to catch up with him.

"Oh, you actually followed me?"

Old Wei was startled by Lin Ge's actions. He had only said those words to save face for his colleagues; he had no intention of finding himself a cat ancestor.

But seeing Lin Ge just standing behind him, quietly staring at him with a look of disdain in his eyes, he suddenly couldn't bring himself to shoo the cat away. This cat gave him a strange feeling; it seemed to truly understand human speech.

"Fine! You can come with me if you want! But let me make this clear first, my family is pretty poor, so if you don't like it, get lost. And when you get home, don't run around or rummage through things. If you break anything, I'll be very rude to you."

Old Wei kept talking, and seeing the cat following him without any fear, he became more and more puzzled.

He wasn't unfamiliar with cats; there were plenty of stray cats of all sizes around his house. Often, one or two would disappear every few days, but a new litter would appear without warning, and they never completely disappeared.

But compared to this rather special-looking cat in front of him, those stray cats were indeed quite different. While the stray cats weren't afraid of people, they weren't friendly either. Unlike this one, it was like a stubborn leech, impossible to get rid of.

"Hmph! The more you try to make me leave, the more I want to see what you're really up to!"

Lin Ge ignored Lao Wei's rambling and quietly followed behind him. Lin Ge also noticed that this guy seemed to enjoy communicating with a cat, but he couldn't understand why he could talk so much.

"Hey! Old Wei, you're off work!"

As he was walking, he heard a greeting from the side. Lin Ge turned around and saw a shop selling cooked braised meat. The middle-aged man in the shop seemed to know Lao Wei very well, and greeted him from afar.

"Okay! Time to get off work! It's Chinese New Year, so I'll get off work a little earlier."

Old Wei gave a brief response and then fell silent, his indifference contrasting sharply with the shop owner's enthusiasm.

The shop owner wasn't angry and still smiled, saying, "Old Wei, don't be in such a hurry to leave. Look at this freshly braised pig's head meat, why don't you take some back for your aunt? Let me tell you, your aunt has been eating pig's head meat from my family's 40-year-old shop, she'll definitely want more."

"Thanks, but no need."

Old Wei's attitude became even colder. After saying something casually, he turned around and walked straight past the entrance of the braised meat shop without looking back.

"Hey……"

The shop owner sighed and took the braised meat back.

Lin Ge glanced at the shop owner, then at Old Wei, whose mood seemed to have turned somber, and wondered what was wrong. Seeing that Old Wei had walked quite a distance, he quickly quickened his pace to catch up.

"Hey cat, we don't have any pork head meat at home. If you're craving some, you can go ask Old Du for some now. He usually loves cats and dogs the most; he feeds at least half of the stray cats and dogs around here."

Old Wei suddenly spoke up.

"..."

You're too lazy to talk to the shop owner, but you're going to bother talking to a cat like me, huh? Lin Ge stared speechlessly at the guy's back.

"If you really have no owner and want to find another home, I also suggest you try to please Old Du. His wife is also a good-natured person. As long as you are well-behaved and know how to be cute and catch mice, you can definitely be fat and well-fed in his house."

Old Wei continued rambling, but this time it was Lin Ge's turn to ignore him.

The stranger this guy acted, the more curious Lin Ge became. If he spoke so highly of Old Du, the shop owner, why did he treat him that way?

The two, a person and a cat, walked and talked, and soon arrived at an old, self-built housing community. The houses here looked to be decades old, with most of the walls peeling and faded, and some even hadn't been painted at all, revealing the original color of the red bricks.

Then, there were many people in the neighborhood, and they all greeted Lao Wei when they saw him. But Lao Wei, who had been nagging about a cat just moments before, was now completely silent, as if his mouth had been sewn shut, and he just walked past his neighbors with his head down.

"Hey! Old Wei..."

"Poor thing..."

Lin Ge overheard some whispers and became increasingly curious about Old Wei.

Finally, the road in the residential area came to an end, and around the corner was a narrow alley at the very end. When this area was originally planned and constructed, they certainly didn't consider the problem of so many private cars decades later. Two rows of cars were parked on the side of the road, completely blocking the already narrow alley. I wonder how they're going to get out of there; will they have to wait in line, starting from the outermost one, to go to work?

Just as Lin Ge was lost in thought, he suddenly noticed that Lao Wei's pace quickened.

Looking up, I saw a wheelchair parked between the last two cars at the end of the alley. Sitting in the wheelchair was a little girl who looked only eleven or twelve years old, quietly watching Old Wei without saying a word.

"Hey! Lili! Why did you come out in this cold weather?"

Old Wei walked over anxiously and scolded the little girl with displeasure. As he spoke, he touched the little girl's hand that was holding the wheelchair, and her cold little hand made his heart ache.

"Grandma came out too!"

The little girl glanced curiously at Lin Ge following behind Lao Wei, then turned back and pointed to her own front door, saying, "Dad, we've come to take you home."

"Hey!"

Old Wei stamped his foot anxiously, then looked at an old man with a cane at his doorstep who was quietly smiling at him.

Seeing Old Wei hurriedly turn his daughter's wheelchair around and push it over, the old man, leaning on his cane, stood up shakily: "Wei Li, she misses you terribly. She's already finished her winter vacation homework, but she doesn't want to watch TV because she's worried about wasting electricity. So we decided to just come out and greet you!"

The old woman walked very unsteadily, and Lin Ge could clearly see that she couldn't put any weight on her right foot. But even so, she slowly walked up to Old Wei and took the small cloth bag he was carrying.

(End of this chapter)