Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 373 Wang Jun Disappears
"Wang Jun has disappeared?"

Nie Guoqiang looked surprised, never expecting to hear such news when he saw Wang Dali again.

"I haven't been able to contact you for two and a half days."

Wang Dali said with a bitter face and a conflicted expression, "Originally, this matter shouldn't have troubled the police, but I'm really worried. He said the day before yesterday that he was going to talk to that girl and make things clear, but then he inexplicably went and never came back."

"Completely unable to contact them?"

Nie Guoqiang frowned and said seriously, "Where did he go? Where did the girl meet him? Where does the girl live? Did you go to these places to look for her, or do you know nothing about this information?"

"Our first thought was that Wang Jun was heartbroken after being rejected by the girl, and then he went somewhere to lick his wounds."

Seeing Wang Dali's conflicted and helpless expression, Yang Fan could only step forward and say, "But just in case, we still investigated through the surveillance footage. We found that Wang Jun took a taxi all the way to your jurisdiction. We contacted the taxi driver and learned that Wang Jun got off at a residential area near the Zhanghe Scenic Area. But after that, he completely disappeared from the nearby surveillance cameras and didn't show up even once in more than two days. There was no record of him at nearby hotels or guesthouses either. To be honest, this is a bit exaggerated. Even if he stayed at a girl's house, it's impossible for him to stay there for two or three days without showing up, without going out to buy something or go shopping, right?"

Lin Ge, who had come closer, nodded. These days, unless one deliberately avoids cameras, it's impossible for an average person to hide themselves from all cameras.

Nie Guoqiang rubbed his temples, starting to consider the worst-case scenario. "So, you're worried something happened to Wang Jun? But it shouldn't be that bad, right? Or is it because of that 300,000 yuan? Did Wang Jun take the money with him when he went out this time?"

Wang Dali nodded in annoyance: "I originally thought he really liked that girl, and it would be a good thing if they could develop a relationship. So I agreed to let him bring his bank card. I figured nobody would want to steal a bank card, right?"

Yang Fan added, "There's no problem with the bank card account. Apart from Wang Dali's inquiry in the past three days, there haven't been any other physical or online logins."

"In other words, if there really is a suspect whose target is money, it means that he hasn't succeeded yet. Wang Jun may not have revealed his bank card or his PIN. But as long as the other party's goal is money, Wang Jun is definitely still alive."

Nie Guoqiang breathed a sigh of relief, then changed his mind and said, "Of course, the possibility of murder for money is still not high. After all, most people wouldn't think that a college student would carry 300,000 yuan. So, in that case, the girl is highly suspicious. At least she must have known that Wang Jun had money. Hmm... In addition, we also need to consider whether the whole thing was just Wang Jun's personal behavior. After all, it's possible that a young person is having a moment of despair and doesn't want to contact anyone."

"That's why we came here."

Yang Fan smiled and said, "After all, this is the jurisdiction of Zhanghe Police Station, and you are more familiar with the surrounding area. Whether Wang Jun is missing or deliberately hiding, Lao Nie can only entrust this matter to you."

"Transfer the case to us."

Nie Guoqiang nodded without hesitation.

Whether this is a criminal case or an accident caused by Wang Jun's selfishness, as police officers, there is absolutely no way they can ignore it.

Those claims circulating online that missing persons must wait 24 hours or even two or three days are actually nonsense from the police's perspective. Different situations require different analyses and judgments; the police do not require a 24-hour wait for every missing person case.

The reason for waiting 24 hours is simply that people may be temporarily unreachable for various reasons within a short period, but this does not necessarily mean they are in danger. Allowing a buffer period in such situations, avoiding wasting valuable police resources, etc., is the rationale for setting a 24-hour threshold. However, this does not mean that the police will ignore a missing person even if they know the person may be in danger. Making someone with nothing better to do wait 24 hours is perfectly acceptable. But if a missing person is likely to be harmed, or is in a situation where harm is highly probable, calling the police immediately is the correct option.

It's understandable for couples to slam the door and leave after a fight, and wait for 24 hours; but in a situation like Wang Jun's, where he's carrying a large amount of money and has a serious potential conflict with another person, not calling the police immediately would be incredibly foolish.

"I'm such a big idiot!"

Wang Dali slapped himself hard across the face, saying anxiously and helplessly, "He's been losing his appetite at home, and I couldn't bear to see him like this. So I decided that even if the 300,000 yuan went down the drain, I'd at least try to satisfy him first. After all, money can be earned back, and even if he was scammed, it would make him realize his mistake. It's better than him continuing to be entangled in such a mindless relationship. I thought that at worst, this would only mean losing money, but I never expected that he would get into trouble too!"

"Don't rush!"

Nie Guoqiang quickly stopped Wang Dali and patiently comforted him, saying, "Don't scare yourself. It's not to the point where a grown man like you would cry. Right now, it's just about finding someone. Once we find them, we'll take them back and give them a good talking to and some education. There won't be any more problems."

"You're the one who pees like a cat!"

Lin Ge glared fiercely at Nie Guoqiang, thinking, "What kind of bullshit analogy is this bastard using?"

"puff!"

In the backyard kennel, Sun Chang was training Bei Bei to fetch a ball. Just as she stood behind Bei Bei, ready to throw the ball, Bei Bei suddenly stuck out its rear end and let out a stinky fart, which almost made Sun Chang faint.

……

"Based on Wang Jun's WeChat records, we have found the girl's contact information and real name."

While operating the computer to retrieve Wang Jun's WeChat account obtained from the service provider, Li Yiduo pointed to one of his friends and said, "Wang Jun has many WeChat friends and chat records because he does online game boosting. But there's only one person with over 1,400 chat messages. Hehe... I have to say Wang Jun is quite devoted. Over several months, he sent 1,400 messages, greeting her from morning till night every day. He persisted for over a month, finally getting this woman named 'Listening to the Flowers Bloom' to agree to date him. Their relationship started three months ago, but from then on, the woman began frequently asking him for red envelopes and gifts."

Listening to Li Yiduo's explanation and watching his son's seemingly obsequious words on the computer screen, Wang Dali behind him blushed deeply with embarrassment. In his view, this wasn't dating at all; it was just a fool being played like a puppet by a woman.

Over three months, from the initial inexpensive small gifts to the 520 red envelope transfers, and then to the purchase of mobile phones, jewelry, clothing, bags, and cosmetics, 'Listening to Flowers Bloom's' appetite grew bigger and bigger, and the value of the gifts she asked for also increased.

And Wang Jun didn't ask his old man for even a single penny of these things! He used the money he earned from working hard to level up his character to satisfy the insatiable appetite of a materialistic woman, which only made her desires grow stronger.

Then... that's when 'Listening to the Flowers Bloom' demanded 300,000 yuan from Wang Jun to open a store.

The conversation stalled after that, as if Wang Jun was completely stumped by the 300,000 yuan. But only Lin Ge knew that their communication style had changed from WeChat messages to phone calls to collect the debt, until Wang Jun was rushed to the hospital on the verge of death.

"The most recent message was from Wang Jun. I've received 300,000 yuan. When can we meet? I'll help you open the shop as agreed."

Li Yiduo looked at Nie Guoqiang behind him: "Jingting Huakai didn't reply, nor did she leave a transaction address. It seems the two contacted each other by phone or other means afterward. I'll check that later. But Chief, I found a problem in their contact information. From beginning to end, Jingting Huakai never revealed her name to Wang Jun. At first, they addressed each other as brother and sister, then boyfriend and girlfriend, husband and wife, darling—all vague terms of address. To be honest, this kind of address doesn't fit the way real boyfriend and girlfriend interact. It's more like a premeditated and universally used rhetoric. To give myself an example, I usually call Siyu 'Siyu,' and occasionally jokingly call her 'girlfriend.' But if you ask me to always vaguely refer to her as 'girlfriend,' I don't feel very comfortable with it."

"Well……"

Nie Guoqiang remained noncommittal, but Wang Dali's expression changed. A sales tactic? Could it be a scam?
Chu Ting, who had been eavesdropping the whole time, couldn't help but say, "Wang Jun sent so many gifts, he couldn't have delivered them all by hand, could he? Why don't you check the chat history again to see if there's a delivery address or something?" "I'll try," Chu Ting replied, "I'll search for Zhangzhou City... Oh! I found it! It really is a delivery address in Zhangzhou City's Zhanghe Scenic Area, specifically... Fengkai Commercial Building, Xiagou Road... Room 2501, Building B..."

Li Yiduo easily found the delivery address that Jingting Huakai had provided to Wang Jun; it turned out to be a commercial building, not a residential area. Of course, this didn't mean that no one lived in such a place; the apartments upstairs were rented out to many people who worked nearby.

Let's set off and go take a look!

Nie Guoqiang left without hesitation, grabbing his police uniform coat from the side and striding towards the parking lot inside the compound while putting on his clothes.

Lin Ge quickly followed.

Then Nie Guoqiang called Xie Hua, Zhao Zhigang, Zhang Ke, and Feng Yi to prepare for the surrounding search and inspection later. However, as soon as Zhang Ke arrived, he smiled and complained about the lack of manpower at Zhanghe Police Station, which Nie Guoqiang glared at and shut down.

"Serves her right! She's dating Sun Chang and working in the same place, yet she's still not satisfied and dares to ask for a break in front of Nie Guoqiang?"

Lin Ge watched Zhang Ke's embarrassed look with schadenfreude, knowing that the guy was starting to feel the pressure.

The main reason is that Li Yiduo has already introduced Li Siyu to his father, but it seems his family doesn't approve of his girlfriend continuing to be a police officer. It's not some absurd reason like "matching social status," but rather that if both of them become police officers, they will undoubtedly be extremely busy every day, with very little personal time. Such a relationship, regardless of the family, is unstable and prone to problems. Especially when they're not in the same job, to put it bluntly, they might only see each other a few times a month—how can they possibly have a relationship? As Zhang Ke's parents, they certainly have objections.

"Don't worry, I'll handle this. Besides, what's wrong with being a policeman? I'm very satisfied with my life right now."

Zhang Ke comforted Lin Ge with a smile, his confidence surprisingly high.

"I'm worried about you my ass. Don't flatter yourself, okay? Besides, shouldn't you be saying this to Sun Chang? Coming here to talk to yourself, you're clearly feeling guilty, aren't you?"

Lin Ge glanced at Zhang Ke with disdain, then squatted down in the passenger seat and remained still.

That's one good thing about Mercedes; the heated seats are really comfortable. People like Nie Guoqiang, on the other hand, foolishly insisted on riding in a police car, where the broken air conditioning made them feel hot in the front and cold in the back – not comfortable at all.

"cough!"

Zhao Zhigang, sitting in the back seat, seemed to have nails in his buttocks, unable to sit still no matter how he tried. Seeing that Lin Ge ignored him, he coughed and said, "Mimi, have you visited my brother these past few days? Our family wanted to visit him at the drug rehabilitation center, but he refused. But we're all really worried about these things; Mom and Dad, and the rest of us, are all concerned. If you have some free time, could you go visit him for us and then tell me how he's doing?"

"..."

Lin Ge fell silent.

He was actually very worried about Zhao Zhigao, but he didn't dare to visit him. To be honest, Lin Ge didn't dare think about what drug addicts were like, or how terrifying their withdrawal symptoms were. Zhao Zhigao was such a strong and brave criminal investigator, yet he was forced to imprison himself in such a place. The torment of withdrawal and the pain of rehabilitation made Lin Ge feel distressed and shudder just thinking about it. He only hoped that the Zhao Zhigao he remembered was a strong and brave man, not someone who showed a vulnerable and pathetic side. That kind of image shouldn't exist in Zhao Zhigao; Lin Ge could only deceive himself as if this had never happened.

But that damned Zhao Zhigang, one sentence from him brought Lin Ge back to reality. After all, they were comrades-in-arms; how could he truly not think about it or care?

So Lin Ge glared fiercely at Zhao Zhigang and kept the matter in mind.

When I have some free time in a few days, I really must go see him. No matter how miserable Zhao Zhigao is then, I can at least offer him some encouragement, right?

"call……"

Lin Ge let out a frustrated sigh, realizing that the heated seat beneath him was no longer comfortable. The heating was uneven; it was practically a useless feature!
"Heh... Don't take it out on my car!"

Zhang Ke looked helplessly at Lin Ge, who was scratching at the passenger seat with his paws. He had no way to deal with this willful cat.

Soon the car arrived at the Fengkai Commercial Building near the Zhanghe Scenic Area, a well-known e-commerce hub in Zhangzhou. With the rise of the internet age, many livestreamers and short video creators have opened studios here. Occasionally, a few even collaborate on joint videos, leveraging each other's fame to increase their own followers. Plus, with the Zhanghe Scenic Area right next door, it's quite convenient to find suitable locations for all sorts of outdoor short videos.

As Lin Ge and his group came up from the parking lot, they saw two beautiful cosplayers dressed in thin cosplay outfits, dancing in the square despite the cold winter weather. Seven or eight photographers, some standing, some crouching, were taking pictures of them from various angles, with lights, reflectors, and all sorts of equipment.

Even with his thick fur, Lin Ge felt cold in this weather, but the two beauties seemed completely unfazed by the low temperature, exposing their chests, arms, and legs, doing whatever was most eye-catching.

Lin Ge was taken aback when he saw them.

"Is it really okay to let Zhang Yining and Hu Miao continue doing cosplay? Why do I increasingly feel that so-called cosplayers are gradually becoming a trend of skirting the line and selling sex appeal?"

Lin Ge was somewhat worried and really didn't want these people who weren't truly passionate about cosplay to corrupt Zhang Yining and Hu Miao.

Ever since the two girls first started cosplaying, they've always encountered some rather unpleasant situations. For example, Zhang Yining almost had some bad photos taken of her last time. Who can guarantee that something like that won't happen again?
"But hobbies are innocent, aren't they?"

Lin Ge sighed. He didn't think that just because a few people tarnished the art of cosplay or created a cosplay community, everyone who loves cosplay should be condemned.

There's nothing wrong with the two little girls' hobbies, as long as they don't go to those shady places or come into contact with shady people.

After much thought, Lin Ge decided to pay more attention to, take care of, and spend more time with the two girls to prevent them from being taken advantage of. Or perhaps they could find some truly like-minded people in the future, and having more companions would make them safer.

Although he was just a cat, he already considered himself an elder to Zhang Yining and the other kids. Or maybe Lin Jia and... Qian Siqi should be included too?
Lin Jia is alright; aside from being a bit clingy, she has no other problems. Having learned her lesson, she's now diligently studying and spending time with her parents. A semester has passed, and her grades have steadily risen to the top ten in her class, making Lin Ge satisfied and gratified. Then there's Qian Siqi… he's a good boy, but he has a troublesome father. That bastard Qian Wei just got back to the police station and went out to catch another thief, catching yet another pickpocket who doesn't seem to care about catching a cold in the dead of winter. Speaking of which, we have to thank Qian Siqi for his help this time, otherwise Qian Wei might have gotten another beating! He's not even fully recovered from his injuries and he's already running around acting arrogantly. Does he really think those criminals will surrender without a fight when they see the police?
Lost in thought, Lin Ge followed Zhang Ke into the Fengkai Building.

Nie Guoqiang and his team arrived a little later, so Zhang Ke, Zhao Zhigang, and Lin Ge waited in the lobby on the first floor of the building. Both men were wearing police uniforms, so the building security guards were hesitant to approach, only glancing over from a distance while making phone calls.

Then, a man who looked like a building manager rushed over.

(End of this chapter)