Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 397 The Great General King
Lin Ge stood like a majestic general on a command platform, with a densely packed group of loyal soldiers below him.

The cats, summoned by Lin Ge from various places, walked past him in a roughly orderly yet slightly chaotic formation. They each sniffed the iron cage beneath Lin Ge, precisely locking onto the scent of the three monkeys.

Afterwards, most of the cats understood what Lin Ge meant. They looked up at Lin Ge, meowed, and then turned and ran out of the police station compound, heading in whichever direction they wanted to wander off to.

One by one, the cats, though well-behaved, continued this behavior with a touch of impatience, before darting out of the police station's courtyard. Their continuous exodus transformed the Zhanghe Police Station into a veritable cat-producing factory, drawing curious onlookers from nearby. Upon seeing the numerous cats of various kinds lined up inside, they were all amazed and began to discuss the spectacle.

They didn't know what the Zhanghe Police Station was up to, nor did they know where these cats came from.

Moreover, these cats included both wild cats and exceptionally beautiful pet cats. Some of them were even incredibly cute long-haired breeds, with adorable looks and eyes that melted the hearts of several elderly women at the door.

They wanted to ask the police station for one, but ultimately didn't have the guts. So they could only squat at the gate of the courtyard and use a leaf to lure it in, hoping to trick a fool into walking into their trap.

Unfortunately!
All the cats present knew that they actually had owners! Under Ringo's watchful eye, there might be some who would try to cheat or be cowardly, but it was absolutely impossible for them to betray Ringo and try to curry favor with other cat owners!

A little Chinchilla puppy, probably not even a year old, adorably toddled out, its eyes fixed straight ahead, intently memorizing the scent it had just managed to catch. A leaf extended by a nearby woman disturbed it, so it quickly turned and took a couple of steps away.

The little guy glared at the foolish human with displeasure, but when it came to its senses, it found that the scent in its memory had become blurry. It squatted by the door for a long time, thinking, but still couldn't figure out what the monkey's scent was. It lowered its tail in grievance, dejectedly returned to the group, and plunged headfirst into the group of cats.

With nearly two hundred cats, Lin Ge was dazzled by the sight.

At this point, aside from the dozen or so familiar ones, Lingo couldn't retain any impressions of the others in his mind. But that didn't matter; as long as he could recognize their scents, it wouldn't make much difference if he couldn't remember their faces.

Therefore, when he saw a small Persian cat pushing its way forward in the group of cats, disrupting the hard-won order, Lin Ge was taken aback.

The cat's scent was already lingering in his nostrils, meaning the little guy had just been there. Why didn't it hurry back to its chores to get some treats, instead of squeezing into the line and causing trouble again?
Lingo jumped down from the iron cage, startling the three monkeys inside who were already terrified by the large number of cats. The three monkeys huddled together in a corner, trembling, but at this moment, no one cared whether they were actually frightened.

Hmph! That thieving monkey is here!

Even Huang Qi, watching the three monkeys' unfortunate state from afar, just sneered and didn't help.

Three rascals were brought to his clinic yesterday. Huang Qi, feeling sorry for them, opened the cage and released the monkeys. However, the three rascals were only well-behaved for less than half an hour before unleashing their true nature, causing all sorts of mischief and scattering cat and dog food and various pet supplies all over the floor. These three wretched creatures became surprisingly bold after teaming up; Huang Qi and Meimei's attempts to chase them away didn't frighten them at all, but instead made them even more arrogant. The little monkey, Peach Blossom, seemed very interested in Meimei's cosmetics and climbed over the stair railing to the second floor. By the time Meimei caught up, her dressing table had already been attacked, and all the perfumes and cosmetics on it were destroyed.

If it weren't for the butcher from next door coming to help, who scared the three monkeys into kneeling and surrendering with a butcher's knife, it's hard to say how badly the clinic would have been damaged.

"You bully who picks on the weak and fears the strong!"

Huang Qi grunted, still worrying about how to deal with Mei Mei's almost 24-hour manic episode when they got back.

"Mi~"

Little Chinchilla finally nudged itself in front of Lingo, let out a pitiful cry, and then turned to glare at the growing crowd of onlookers at the gate of the yard, hoping that its leader could quickly drive them all away.

"You, are you from Li Yiduo's family?"

Lin Ge was stunned for a moment; it was the first time he had ever seen this Chinchilla. But he had to admit, this cat was incredibly cute, definitely no less so than those two show-quality Ragdolls.

Where did this cat come from?

Huang Qi, standing not far away, paused for a moment. He had already neutered all of Li Yiduo's cats, yet he had absolutely no recollection of this Chinchilla. Moreover, with his professional veterinarian's eye, he could tell that the cat hadn't been spayed or neutered.

After delivering the cats, Li Yiduo settled the transportation and cleaning fees for the bus and quickly got back to work. This time, he even brought Li Siyu along, seemingly distressed by the prospect of his girlfriend having to care for nearly two hundred cats at once.

But as a result, Lin Ge couldn't even find anyone to ask.

If a Chinchilla joins the team out of nowhere and is carelessly assigned tasks, losing it would be an even bigger headache.

So Lingo thought for a moment and gestured for the little guy to step back behind him, and then just follow him.

"Like a chosen concubine."

Huang Qi looked at Lin Ge and the cute little Chinchilla behind him, and suddenly burst out laughing.

"you wanna die!"

Lin Ge instinctively glanced at the mother hawksbill turtle squatting below, disciplining the little tiger cub, then glared fiercely at Huang Qi, his eyes killing the unreliable fellow instantly.

Time passed slowly, and after a little over half an hour, all the cats in front of Lin Ge finally left. Even the little tabby and the snow-clawed tabby joined in the fun, leaving only Lin Ge, the little tortoiseshell cat on his left, the little chinchilla cat on his right, and the limping cat who had been hiding somewhere until now, sneaking out to fawn over Lin Ge, bowing and scraping before Lin Ge kicked him.

Even without Huang Qi saying anything more, Lin Ge had already pictured the emperor, eunuchs, concubines, and princesses in his mind.

"Damn it! It's all because of this cowardly cat. It has such a strong eunuch look! How come I never noticed before? This stupid cat, apart from being a little stupid, a little timid, a little possessive of its food, and a little sycophantic, actually has the talent to be a servant cat."

Lin Ge thought angrily, but could only patiently stay at the police station to wait for news.

The biggest problem right now is that cats can't transmit messages over long distances. So Lingo can only stay in the central command, waiting for each cat to find a clue and run back before he goes to investigate personally or go straight for the enemy leader.

These cats were scouts, while he was the general facing off in single combat. The general, imposing and awe-inspiring, was ultimately responsible for the outcome of the battle. This mobilization of so many cats, attracting so much attention, had made the Zhanghe Police Station and himself the subject of much discussion. If the murderer were successfully apprehended afterward, that would be one thing! But if everything fell apart, Lin Ge would truly lack the courage to create such a commotion again.

To put it another way, these nearly two hundred cats only gathered together and risked their lives to run around because they trusted him, Ringo.

With so many cats, Lingo definitely had to be responsible for their safety. No matter what happened during this time, he hoped that in the end all the cats would return here unharmed and complete to attend the cats' victory celebration.

"Meow!"

Suddenly, a meow came from the courtyard gate. It was an ordinary country cat, blending in with the rest of the cats. It ran into the yard and ran towards Lin Ge while meowing.

"Have you found a clue?"

Lin Ge's eyes lit up, and he couldn't wait to go to meet him.

"Meow~"

The cat had its tail wagging and its mouth bulging, and its meows sounded rather strange. Under Lin Ge's expectant gaze, it opened its mouth wide, grunted twice, and spat out a wet sparrow that had already been scared to death, pushing it in front of Lin Ge like a treasure.

"..."

Lin Ge was speechless.

Although he knew from the start that these guys were unreliable, the fact that the first one to report the news was such an idiot still left Lin Ge feeling quite helpless.

But after all, this little brother had worked hard to catch sparrows for Lin Ge, even sacrificing his own food and playtime to offer them to the general. Lin Ge could only accept its kindness, leading it to the cage for another stroll, encouraging it to keep up the good work.

Before long, more cats returned one after another.

Most of them didn't take Lin Ge's orders seriously, or simply didn't understand what he wanted them to do from the start. They followed the lead cat out for a stroll, and when they got tired and bored, they came back to rest. The high walls of the Zhanghe Police Station compound blocked both the wind and human prying eyes. Coupled with the large amount of cat food and treats that Li Siyu had kindly left for them, these guys were practically taking advantage of Lin Ge.

Lin Ge tolerated it. After all, there was only one suspect, an old man, and there was likely only one lucky cat. As for the other cats, well, they had all worked hard! Anyway, they might need to be used again in the future, so giving them a little treat in advance wouldn't be a loss.

On the other side, Huang Qi pinned a cat to the ground with one hand and was quickly shaving its fur, ignoring its struggles.

The eyebrow razor that Meimei had someone buy for her was indeed very useful, and Huang Qi had already developed a new function for it. With a few swift strokes, Huang Qi had shaved the unfortunate yellow cat's head into a mangy scalp. Only then did Lin Ge notice that the shaved areas of the mangy yellow cat showed signs of severe skin disease. But being a stray cat, it couldn't expect a human to treat its illness, so it could only watch helplessly as the skin disease worsened and spread to other areas.

Will this skin condition eventually kill the cat? Lin Ge wasn't sure.

But what Lin Ge knew was that if Huang Qi hadn't discovered and treated it today, this cat would definitely have lost all its fur. In the end, skin ulcers and the like would have been an unbearable ordeal for it.

Seeing that Huang Qi was still thinking about getting the cats treated even at a time like this, Lin Ge decided to let it go. Of course, Lin Ge wouldn't help with that expense; he was just a lowly police officer with a fixed salary—how could he possibly support nearly two hundred cats?
Huang Qi made a living by working for the Zhanghe Police Station.

As time went by, more and more cats returned.

Most of the cats didn't bring any information, and Lin Ge didn't blame them. After all, Nie Guoqiang and his men had been working in vain for two days. How could a few cats easily find clues that even professional police officers hadn't been able to find?

"Ouch!"

A cat making a strange meow rushed into the police station compound on all fours.

This guy was very familiar with this place. He climbed up a tree by the gate like a parkour enthusiast, then kicked off and landed in the group of cats. His sharp claws almost sparked as he scratched the ground, and finally he arrived in front of Lingo.

"Stupid... thing..."

Lin Ge stared speechlessly at the Snowclaw Tiger. This guy not only dared to imitate his, Lin Ge's, calls, but he even dared to do parkour on top of so many cats in the yard.

A sense of foreboding washed over Lingo.

Sure enough, when they saw the Snowclaw Tabby's outrageous behavior, the other cats who stayed in the yard to rest or who had completed their tasks on their own became excited instantly.

It was already dark, and the darkness intensified the cats' excitement. Their daytime drowsiness had vanished completely, and these creatures grew increasingly active, their night owl instincts long since unleashed. Previously restrained by Lin Ge, they had now become excited at the sight of a cat leading the way. As the first cat stealthily climbed a tree, the others scattered across the yard.

"Yeah! I guess you could call it a side effect of working."

Lin Ge didn't care about them. As long as they didn't do anything bad or go near the office building, they could play however they wanted. Of course, this was on the condition that the other cats who hadn't returned found the murderer; otherwise, these guys were all fired tomorrow!

Lin Ge was already prepared to turn his back on the cat.

"Ouch!"

Seeing that Lin Ge was ignoring him, the Snowclaw Tiger Spotted Tiger howled anxiously.

"What's wrong? Don't tell me you found that old man?"

Lin Ge was somewhat incredulous; what a coincidence!

"Ouch!"

The snow-clawed tiger got angry and rammed its head into Lin Ge, but stumbled as it did so.

"Alright, I'll go with you for now. But I'm warning you, this isn't the time to mess around. If you take me to some random place and waste my time, I'll beat you up when this is all over."

Lin Ge still doted on this guy, and with a sigh, decided to go along with it for now.

The snow-clawed tabby cat couldn't wait to run out of the yard, and when it saw that Lin Ge was walking slowly, it impatiently turned back to urge him on. After Lin Ge followed, the few cats that had been idly daydreaming in the yard also got up after a moment's thought, and followed Lin Ge curiously.

A group of a dozen or so cats, plus the cats they encountered on the way back, making a total of twenty or thirty, followed Lingo and the Snowclaw Tiger slowly forward.

The further Lin Ge walked, the more puzzled he became. Why were they heading straight for the commercial street?

Zhangzhou City has many commercial streets, especially with Wanda's expansion across the country, bringing forth a series of brand-new commercial areas. But for Lin Ge, this old street, which runs directly from the Zhanghe Police Station and has been bustling with activity for decades, is the true commercial district of Zhangzhou that doesn't need a prefix to be called a 'commercial street'. His first encounter with Lin Jia, his first collaboration with Nie Guoqiang, and his first work with Qian Wei all happened on this street.

Therefore, Lin Ge simply couldn't believe that Ma Dongzhi would be hiding so close to the Zhanghe Police Station. Perhaps he did it because of the principle of "the darkest place is under the lamp," but wasn't he clearly underestimating the police in Zhangzhou?
"However, it must be said that the complex old streets and alleys behind this street are indeed the place with the fewest cameras. The old street was built 30 or 40 years ago, and at the beginning, no one even thought about cameras. Now, it would be very inconvenient to install them."

As Lin Ge followed the snow-clawed tiger, he pondered to himself.

As time went on, several more cats joined the line. The long and exaggerated queue attracted the attention of some pedestrians still strolling on the street. Of course, taking photos and videos was inevitable, but Lin Ge was already used to this.

"Meow!"

Snowclaw Tiger urged again, but this time it unconsciously reverted to its original call.

As we entered the commercial street, the crowds grew larger and larger. Around 8 or 9 pm, it was the time when people were digesting their meals and hadn't yet gone to sleep. The crowds and night market vendors completely blocked the wide avenue. But when a large group of cats arrogantly strolled over like thugs surveying their territory, both pedestrians and vendors quickly made way. The cats, looking around excitedly at this sight, seemed to have become the masters of the street.

"Ok?"

Lin Ge's ears twitched, and amidst the cacophony of the mall's loudspeakers, he could vaguely hear the voice of the female hawksbill turtle.

Besides the female hawksbill turtle, there also seemed to be a money tree and a white cat, who were letting out piercing and angry roars at something.

"Meow?"

The second one to hear it was the little Chinchilla following behind Lingo. Even before the little hawksbill turtle had heard its mother's voice, the little Chinchilla was already making a questioning meowing sound at Lingo with its big, watery eyes.

Lin Ge paused, then quickly sped up and ran over.

Before he even got close, Lin Ge spotted the two little white cats, Xiao Si and Xiao Wu, frantically darting around among the countless legs in the crowd. The two little guys seemed to have been frightened by someone and were now only concerned with running away as fast as they could, like headless flies.

Only when Lingo got close and they could clearly see him did they hurriedly stumble over and burrow under his belly.

"Serves you right! Who told you to run around like that!"

Lin Ge gave the two little guys a few uninspired criticisms, then glared at the gloating snowclaw tiger next to him before walking past them toward a circle surrounded by people.

But once inside, Lingo realized that the female hawksbill turtles had chosen the wrong target.

Before him stood a man with one leg missing, a sallow complexion, tattered clothes, and a sickly appearance. He was half-lying on the ground begging, but was forced to prop himself up and struggle to shoo away the female tortoiseshell, the money tree, and the white cat.

That was what Lin Ge initially thought, and the surrounding crowd was also discussing it, expressing sympathy for the disabled man and criticizing the mother hawksbill turtle and the others.

But when Lin Ge squeezed in, or rather, when the crowd in front of him was startled by the large group of cats and quickly made way, Lin Ge approached the disabled man and was surprised to find that he could indeed smell a very faint scent of the three monkeys on him.

(End of this chapter)