Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 398 Spider Web
This is a genuine disabled person, not the kind of scoundrel who fakes disability to scam money, has hands and feet but is too lazy to work.

The man's right leg was completely severed, clearly cut off at mid-thigh. Unlike those faking disability, his trousers had numerous thick patches in some areas, extra reinforcement to withstand wear and tear.

Generally speaking, a person missing a leg has a very low capacity to commit crimes. However, Lin Ge clearly smelled the scent of a monkey on him, meaning that even if he wasn't Ma Dongzhi, he had recently had contact with Ma Dongzhi.

This alone was enough to make Lingo overjoyed.

"Go away!"

The disabled man had no idea what was going on, nor did he understand why the cats were hissing and threatening him, and even seemed about to pounce on him.

He had absolutely no recollection of these cats, and there was absolutely no way he would do anything to threaten them for no reason. So when the female tortoiseshell, the money tree, and the white cat all bared their teeth at him, he was both shocked and angry, yet helpless.

"Good job!"

Ignoring the disabled man's predicament, Lin Ge squeezed through the crowd and went straight to the mother tortoiseshell. He awkwardly patted the mother tortoiseshell's shoulder, but she glared at him and backed away.

"Meow~"

The mother hawksbill roared at Lin Ge, seemingly very angry at his distant actions.

"If you don't want to touch it, then don't. Why get angry?"

While pretending to be stupid and muttering to himself, Lin Ge walked to the front of the three female cats. In front of him was the disabled man begging on the cart. Now, as he got closer, he confirmed that he did indeed have Ma Dongzhi's scent on him.

Judging from the faint smell of alcohol still lingering on this person, he must have been drinking with Ma Dongzhi at least last night.

"See, here comes the clue, doesn't it?"

Lin Ge felt a surge of excitement. Seeing that the man was about to leave with his hands on the ground and turning his car around, he quickly took two steps forward and blocked his way.

"What the hell are you cats trying to do?!"

Hao Qiping's face turned red with anger. He'd never realized how annoying these cats were. He still couldn't understand why they were bothering him. Damn it, they even bullied a disabled person! These cats were too despicable!

"Ow!"

Lin Ge yelled, signaling the guy not to leave. He needed to go to Zhanghe Police Station to confess everything he had done yesterday.

What's going on with these cats?

Are you bullying a disabled person?

"so bad!"

The onlookers whispered amongst themselves, especially as the large group of cats who had come with Lin Ge gradually noticed the target's scent on Hao Qiping. Excitedly, they jumped and leaped, completely surrounding Hao Qiping, causing some onlookers to retreat in fear. Of course, they wouldn't listen to the accusations directed at him; sympathizing with a disabled person was never wrong. And these cats… look at what they've done! It's outrageous!
Unfortunately, with Lingo backing them up, the cats completely ignored the people pointing fingers and whispering.

Thirty-odd cats formed a thick circle around Hao Qiping, seemingly ready to pounce. It was only because Lin Ge hadn't given the order that they could have easily bullied a disabled person with limited mobility.

"What the hell is going to happen to me today!"

Hao Qiping sighed and took out his phone from his pocket to call the police for help. Of course, he also knew that the moment he took out his phone, it would definitely be inconvenient for him to continue begging here.

Amidst the astonishment and whispers of the crowd, Hao Qiping dialed 110. But before he could even finish listening to the automated message, two tired-looking young police officers in uniforms pushed their way through the crowd into the area where the cats were.

Lin Ge's actions, involving so many cats, were clearly known in the Zhanghe Police Station's WeChat group. No one had ever witnessed such a large-scale operation with nearly two hundred cats. Photos taken by several colleagues on duty through the window were unbelievable and only fueled their curiosity. However, when they saw Nie Guoqiang working with Mimi to bring the monkeys back, everyone understood Mimi's purpose and knew how to proceed.

Therefore, when Lin Ge led the large group away from the police station compound, a message was sent in the group chat urging nearby colleagues to catch up quickly.

Sure enough, Zhang Ke and Sun Chang arrived just in time.

"Mimi, what happened?"

Sun Chang glanced at the large group of cats that were almost blocking traffic with some surprise, then at the disabled man surrounded by them, a strange light flashing in his eyes.

"It's him? No way!"

As soon as Zhang Ke arrived, he immediately suspected Hao Qiping. However, after confirming that the man was indeed disabled, he could only shake his head and rule him out. What they were looking for this time was an elderly man who, although frail, was still healthy and capable of traveling around performing in circuses, and who had a prior murder conviction. Judging from Zhu Jun's description, the old man had a distinct northern accent, not the local disabled man whose cursing was tinged with Zhanghe dialect.

Hao Qiping was taken aback when he saw Zhang Ke and Sun Chang arrive. The 110 operator on his phone was still asking what they could help with; how did the police suddenly appear as if by teleportation?
Hao Qiping didn't respond to the 110 call, rudely hung up the phone and hid it again, then looked up at Zhang Ke and said, "What are you all standing here for? Can't you see these cats bullying people? Hurry up and chase them away, you're so incompetent!"

This guy was constantly swearing and cursing, but being disabled, he wasn't afraid of being bullied by the police. Even if he made a small mistake, the police would just give him a perfunctory scolding and then respectfully drive him home. Sometimes, when he couldn't get a ride home, he would often call 110 for help. It's only natural for the police to serve the people, right? What's wrong with a disabled person calling the police when he needs something?
Therefore, Hao Qiping was extremely arrogant when facing Zhang Ke and Sun Chang.

However, to his surprise, Zhang Ke showed absolutely no respect for the disabled man. Not only did he not chase the cats away, but this guy actually pulled out his phone and started filming him in the face?

"You...what do you mean?"

Hao Qiping was stunned for a moment, and a sense of foreboding suddenly welled up in his heart.

"I am a police officer from Zhanghe Police Station. Please show me your ID card. This is our police station's police cat, currently on duty. There must be a reason it stopped you. We suspect you are involved in a case, please cooperate with the investigation."

Zhang Ke spoke loudly, addressing Hao Qiping while also explaining to the surrounding crowd. Cats bullying people, and the police ignoring it—this was unacceptable. So even though many people were taking pictures, and even though Zhang Ke anticipated the story would be distorted and fabricated and posted online, he still needed to be responsible to the people around him. At the very least, he needed to make it clear to everyone that this time, these cats were firmly on the side of justice.

"hiss……"

Sure enough, as soon as Zhang Ke finished speaking, the onlookers gasped in surprise. This disabled person was a criminal suspect? That wasn't so surprising! But all these cats were police cats from the local police station? What kind of police station? An animal police station?

The crowd was somewhat incredulous, but as Sun Chang showed his police ID and pulled out handcuffs, indicating that he would handcuff Hao Qiping if he didn't cooperate, the crowd gradually quieted down.

Are the police arresting people?
Even if you don't believe it, even if you have doubts in your heart, you definitely can't cause trouble.

"I'll go with you..."

Hao Qiping, dejected and resigned, suddenly gestured with his hands towards Sun Chang and said, "If I confess honestly now, can that be considered turning myself in? What I did wasn't a serious crime, right? If I turn myself in, cooperate actively, and have my disabled status, I won't have to go to jail, right? Hey! Officer, can I report this and get some credit? There aren't any disabled people in movies who go to jail, right? Look at me, I only have one leg. Why don't I do some good deeds and you guys help me offset my crimes? So many people have seen this, my attitude towards turning myself in is definitely positive enough, right? Please be understanding and give me a way out, sister!"

Poor Sun Chang, who was encountering such a bizarre situation and bizarre person for the first time, listened to Hao Qiping's rambling in a daze.

Not only her, but the surrounding crowd was also stunned. A commotion erupted, with everyone saying something. Some expressed disgust, some sympathy, and others, who had just given him alms, were eager to get their money back. The scene quickly descended into chaos.

It took Zhang Ke and Sun Chang a lot of effort to transfer Hao Qiping to the police car.

Fortunately, they came in a police car this time. Otherwise, even though the Zhanghe Police Station is not far away, the image of two policemen escorting a disabled person on the road might have become a hot topic online.

Lin Ge returned victorious with his pack of cats, and many people in the station had already returned after receiving the news. They lazily fed the cats in the yard, quietly waiting to see if the person the cats had caught could bring any good news.

Meanwhile, Nie Guoqiang and Zheng Mingxing huddled together, looking at the increasing number of cats in the yard, and began to ponder.

"Is there any potential?"

"It's hard to say! This whole thing depends on Mimi; we can't really help much."

"But then I thought, this ability is amazing! Finding criminals and investigating crimes relies on the eyes, nose, ears, mouth, hands, and feet! We have the Skynet surveillance system for our eyes, the public's support for our ears, legal education and persuasion for our mouths, and the police's methods and hard work for their hands and feet. Only the nose... to be honest, it's very special! Many things are quite complicated for us, and we can't figure them out. But for animals with a keen sense of smell, they can investigate related things through scent. Take this guy named Hao Qiping, for example. Who would have thought, who would have the logic and reasoning to deduce that he actually had direct contact with Ma Dongzhi? Two completely unrelated people, right? But the cat was able to find him..."

Zheng Mingxing spoke with shock, feeling that Mimi's importance and specialness had risen several levels in his eyes.

A cat with intelligence, a keen sense of smell, and strong fighting ability is actually quite ordinary. But if this cat can also mobilize a pack of cats to investigate suspects through smell—a route absolutely impossible for humans—that ability is almost supernatural! Most difficult cases stem from the fact that no traces were left at the scene. But unless you're in full protective gear, is it possible to leave absolutely no scent behind?
Next, by using the cat population to narrow down the suspects, even without concrete evidence, it can reduce the scope and alleviate the workload of the police. It can even detain those potential suspects to prevent them from escaping or committing further crimes…

For some current cases, achieving this step makes subsequent interrogations, evidence collection, and ultimately, solving the case much easier.

"..."

Nie Guoqiang fell silent, looking at Zheng Mingxing speechlessly.

How did this guy go from being the most despised and suspicious person of Mimi in the police station to becoming this completely crazy cat fanatic?

Is he still the same Coach Zheng who, like Hu Zhengping, hates unruly cats?

Furthermore, what this guy said is theoretically possible! In fact, to some extent, police dogs are trained specifically to target the "nose" among the 'eyes, nose, ears, mouth, hands, and feet'!

Unfortunately, communication between animals and humans is always a significant barrier. In crime-solving, even the slightest oversight can lead to enormous trouble and mistakes, so police dogs can only play a supporting role, primarily used for checking contraband and tracking escapees. As for actually participating in the investigation… perhaps only Mimi, that cat, could do it? But what Mimi can do doesn't mean all cats can!
Expecting all cats to be as smart as Mimi is just wishful thinking.

Nie Guoqiang shook his head. Zheng Mingxing, now fully awake, realized he was being delusional and could only sigh regretfully.

"Officer, I don't think I've done anything wrong, have I?"

In the other interrogation room, Hao Qiping was completely at ease. His disability was his biggest shield, and besides, he felt he hadn't done anything terribly wrong. Could the police really do anything to a cripple like him?
Do you know this person?

Xie Hua gestured to Hu Zhengping, who then stepped forward and handed Ma Dongzhi's photo to Hao Qiping.

"do not know!"

Hao Qiping shook his head without hesitation.

“Look closely! We’ve already arrested you because of what happened to him. What’s the point of denying it now? You were just saying in public that you wanted to turn yourself in, and now you’re playing dumb with me?”

Xie Hua glared and shouted sharply.

"Huh? You weren't looking for me?"

Hao Qiping was stunned for a moment, only then realizing that something seemed amiss. Could it be that those cats and these idle cops weren't there to arrest him? Was he just implicated by that old geezer from yesterday?

With a fluctuating expression, Hao Qiping began to consider whether or not to confess honestly.

Xie Hua immediately understood what was going on when he saw him like that. Or rather, from the moment Mimi had her eye on him, Xie Hua no longer doubted whether this guy was honest or not.

Seeing that he was still hesitating, Xie Hua gently added weight to the argument, saying, "Take your time to think it over, and figure out what to say. Let me warn you first, this guy is a murderer! He has more than one life on his hands! If you get involved with him, you need to carefully consider whether it's worth it to help him cover it up! What have you done for him? Is it worth it for him to kill you to silence you? Can you even escape with one leg? Think about all of that carefully in your mind."

Upon hearing this, Hao Qiping's face turned deathly pale.

Even bad people wouldn't want to encounter a serial killer, right? Besides, Hao Qiping felt he was living a good life, making money easily by begging, and didn't want to end up in his grave so early.

Without further hesitation, he quickly confessed everything he knew.

"You mean, this guy is a reseller of identity information?"

Nie Guoqiang, after taking the interrogation records from Xie Hua, paused for a moment before realizing what was going on. For a fugitive, the most important thing is undoubtedly concealing his identity. A complete and authentic identity document would allow him to escape further.

"Yes! He acquires various identity information and related SIM cards, bank cards, etc. through various channels. These identity documents obtained from college students or gamblers are genuine and valid, and the profit is high from buying low and selling high. Ma Dongzhi contacted Hao Qiping last night and bought a set of elderly people's identity documents at an extremely high price, including an ID card, SIM card, bank card, and even a complete set of social security information. Because such a complete set is rare in Hao Qiping's possession, he remembers it very clearly."

Xie Hua nodded, a slight sense of relief washing over him. Although they hadn't found Ma Dongzhi yet, they had at least discovered his latest disguise. Following this identity of 'Xu Daqiang' might lead to faster leads than facial recognition.

However, on the other hand, the resale of identity information is also something that the police fear most when solving cases in recent years.

Such documents are extremely useful in the hands of both fraudsters and fugitives, causing considerable trouble for police investigations. It's impossible for the police to investigate every ancestry of anyone they see, so identification information is the quickest way to determine if a target has a criminal record. However, if the ID card in the person's possession is fake, but essentially genuine and even identifiable by instruments, it will create significant problems for the police. It's not that the police are helpless with such things, but rather that it adds a greater workload and increases the probability of errors in police work and criminal investigations, making it one of the most abhorrent forms of identification.

However, many people sell their personal information for a little money. This is especially true of some elderly people or students who believe they haven't committed a crime and don't care how much trouble this will cause the police.

"Tell Li Yiduo and the Municipal Bureau's Information Team to focus on investigating Xu Daqiang's recent registration records. Our people should also go back to those small hotels and short-term rentals to see if there is any information about Xu Daqiang checking in."

Nie Guoqiang was very troubled.

Most people who rent out their properties will check the tenant's identity information, but they won't proactively inform the police that their property has been rented out. Therefore, whenever they need to locate someone, checking all rental properties in the city is one of the most time-consuming and crucial tasks for the police. Finding properties that have notified the community or posted advertisements outside is manageable, but for the police, finding properties deep in alleys or illegally converted single rooms is practically a matter of luck.

Everyone was already exhausted, but now that they had obtained another rare and valuable clue, Nie Guoqiang had no choice but to order everyone to work hard again.

"Director Nie! The cats are making noise again!"

Li Siyu rushed over and knocked on the door of Nie Guoqiang's office.

Although the girl didn't have a police officer's official position, she had already gained the approval of everyone in the station. She had worked tirelessly alongside the team on the recent cases. Everyone assumed she would get an auxiliary police officer position and treated her as a colleague.

(End of this chapter)