Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 501 Unexpected Situations
With Nie Guoqiang speaking up, Lin Ge naturally wouldn't refuse Zhao Zhigang's request again.

Despite his miserable life of constantly exposed to the cold wind, Zhao Zhigang actually had a good relationship with the police at Changshi Airport. When he called the person in charge and told them that the famous police cat Mimi from the pandemic incident could help find that rascal, they were overjoyed and agreed without hesitation. They even pulled three more officers from their already limited manpower to work alongside Zhao Zhigang for Lin Ge.

"There are... armed police?"

Seeing the Northern Jeep that had rushed over and parked on the side of the road, Lin Ge glanced at the young man driving it with some surprise.

His smart armed police uniform made him look imposing, but the fact that even armed police officers were forced to do this kind of search work proved just how scarce personnel were at Changshi Airport.

In the back seat of the jeep were two Changshi policemen, both with prominent dark circles under their eyes. They seemed to have a good relationship with Zhao Zhigang, smiling and greeting him through the open window. They didn't get out of the car, only urging Zhao Zhigang to quickly bring Mimi up.

"Why is it you two again? If I remember correctly, you were just getting off work when I arrived this morning, weren't you?"

Zhao Zhigang carried Lin Ge into the car. Seeing Lin Ge jump onto the dashboard on his own, he fastened his seatbelt and asked curiously, "It's only been a few hours, and you're already back to work. Aren't you afraid of working yourself to death?"

"What can we do? If we don't find that kid soon, who can get any peace of mind? I'm lucky I could go straight to bed and doze off for two hours as soon as I got back, but Ge Hua is in a terrible situation. He just got home and sent his child to tutoring class when he was immediately called over by a phone call. Sigh! It's all a sad story! Zhao Zhigang, is this the Mimi you were talking about? Besides her rather unique personality, I don't see anything special about her."

The young policeman named Li Mengfei gave a wry smile, then mocked the auxiliary policeman named Ge Hua beside him.

Ge Hua was too exhausted to even speak. He glanced curiously at the cat perched on the passenger side, looking around, then shook his head, leaned back in his seat, and closed his eyes to doze off.

Once Zhao Zhigang was seated, the armed police officer in the car slammed on the gas, and the jeep roared off.

The sudden lurch of the car caught Lin Ge off guard, causing him to lose his balance and slide off the plastic dashboard, landing hard in Zhao Zhigang's arms. One of his feet even landed squarely on Zhao Zhigang's groin, causing Zhao Zhigang's eyes to widen in shock.

The people in the car watched as Zhao Zhigang gasped for breath, wanting to scream but unable to, and they couldn't help but chuckle, but they really didn't know what to say.

"Mimi, you're truly my ancestor!"

While grimacing and secretly rubbing his crotch, Zhao Zhigang glared at Lin Ge as he jumped back onto the dashboard. With this leap, the hair on his body scattered like petals, then was blown away by the wind rushing in through the car windows.

Zhao Zhigang choked and kept sneezing.

Soon, the jeep arrived at the hotel in Changshi that was responsible for the quarantine.

Lin Ge looked up and saw that it was quite large. However, because it was located at the entrance of an urban village and surrounded by some residential buildings, it was not really a good choice for a quarantine site.

Furthermore, the hotel room windows did not have security bars, which did pose a possibility that those under quarantine could sneak out. Even though there was a quarantine zone set up downstairs, passersby seemed to disregard it; an elderly woman with white hair ignored police attempts to stop her and lifted the rope of the quarantine zone to try and crawl down.

Despite a policewoman's earnest attempts to stop him, the elderly man only managed a curt "Oh, I know, I'll be more careful next time," before insisting on crossing the hotel entrance through the cordon.

Seeing this, Li Mengfei could only manage a wry smile.

After getting out of the car, Lin Ge sniffed around and discovered that the quarantine hotel didn't even have any police dogs on guard. No wonder that escaped kid was able to sneak out of the hotel from the third floor and disappear without a trace; the lockdown here was indeed not strict enough.

However, the fact that over two hundred people couldn't find the guy afterward was a bit interesting. It was somewhat unbelievable that a professional police force from a prefecture-level city couldn't track down a mere kid.

"The root cause is still the lack of police force. Changshi is not a provincial capital like Chushi. The city's police force, plus the police stations, is already stretched thin. People here aren't even interested in being auxiliary police officers, and we've never been able to recruit enough auxiliary police officers in recent times. This incident happened because we underestimated the self-discipline of those in quarantine, and we only had two police officers on night shift. It just so happened that one of the officers went to the toilet while that guy was on duty, which led to the delay in discovering it. Of course, I'm not making excuses. That long bed sheet was hanging under the window, and it wasn't discovered until almost dawn. It was indeed our dereliction of duty."

Li Mengfei awkwardly explained to Zhao Zhigang, as if she were speaking to Lin Ge as well.

Zhao Zhigang and Lin Ge didn't say much, and could only wait quietly for the hotel staff to bring out the things left behind by the guy named Tong Yang so that Lin Ge could smell them.

They had already entered the hotel lobby, while Li Mengfei, Ge Hua, and a police officer named Jin Haisheng waited outside. Beside Lin Ge were two staff members in full protective gear carrying disinfectant sprayers, who would disinfect everyone entering and leaving.

Then... a middle-aged woman working at the hotel came downstairs carrying a pair of disposable slippers.

"..."

Lin Ge watched speechlessly as the middle-aged woman placed slippers in front of him, as if to say, "You can smell them now." But Lin Ge didn't even need to bend down to smell the strong stench of feet; he was utterly disgusted and really didn't want to get close to that thing.

He's a cat! Not a dog!
You don't need to bring smelly shoes when looking for someone; any worn clothes or bed sheet will do!
Is this cat any good?

The older woman impatiently kicked her slipper a little further in front of Lin Ge, seemingly having no intention of making another trip.

"Just bear with it for a bit?"

Zhao Zhigang chuckled dryly. He was aware of Lin Ge's obsession with cleanliness, but now was not the time to be willful.

Lin Ge turned around and glared fiercely at Zhao Zhigang, then squinted and walked towards the hotel stairs.

The kid's scent was so strong he could identify him without even looking down, so he'd rather avoid smelling his shoes. But right now, Lin Ge was more worried about whether Tong Yang had contracted the Tiger virus. That wasn't something a pair of shoes could confirm; he needed to go to Tong Yang's isolation room and check him thoroughly.

"Mimi?"

Zhao Zhigang was unaware that Lin Ge could even sense the Tiger virus, so when he saw Lin Ge walking straight into the quarantine hotel, he paused for a moment and quickly stopped him.

The people inside might be carrying the Tiger virus. Even if there's disinfection equipment at the entrance, you can't just barge in like that, you silly cat!
Lin Ge ignored Zhao Zhigang, walked past him, and insisted on going upstairs.

Helpless, Zhao Zhigang could only sigh and hurry to catch up. Led by the waitress, the man and the cat entered the boy's isolation room on the third floor. The room was messy and filled with the stench of sweat and rotting garbage.

Heaven knows how Tong Yang spent his time alone in the hotel room. The bed and TV cabinet were covered in trash, and even the TV itself was stained with some unknown grime. It seemed like the kid was venting his resentment about being isolated in this way, even throwing the showerhead into the toilet next to him.

That's despicable!
Lin Ge sighed, unsure how to describe this rude guy.

The good news was that although the room was dirty, messy, and chaotic, it didn't give Lin Ge any reason to be alarmed. In other words, Tong Yang wasn't infected with the Tiger virus, and even if he escaped now, it wouldn't cause any major trouble.

However, this doesn't mean we can just ignore it and let him run around and say whatever he wants.

After all, the infectivity and threat posed by the Tiger virus are undeniable facts. If unsuspecting citizens were to learn that someone still in quarantine had brazenly escaped and had already come into contact with countless people...

Even if the police reiterate that he is not carrying the Tiger virus, the public will still be angry and even panicked. At that point, it won't just be a matter of one or two people; it will lead to massive chaos!
Knowing this, even if Lin Ge judged that Tong Yang posed no danger, the Changshi police still had to find and control him before he acted recklessly, talked nonsense, and boasted, and make him pay some price.

Damn it!
After his entire body was disinfected, Zhao Zhigang gave him a quick wipe down before Lin Ge ran out of the hotel to breathe in the fresh air. The familiar, even somewhat nostalgic, strong smell of alcohol made Lin Ge feel as if he were still in Chu City, still inside Tianchi International Airport, where he had been staying for more than twenty days.

But the sudden scent of the target quickly brought Lin Ge back to his senses.

Looking at the hotel entrance, Lin Ge was slightly taken aback. He never expected that after climbing down from the third floor, the brat wouldn't run away immediately. He even circled around halfway to the hotel entrance and lingered there for several minutes.

Was this arrogance or a guilty conscience? Lin Ge didn't know how to say it for a moment. But the fact that this bastard left the urban village from the hotel's main entrance in a swagger made Lin Ge sigh slightly at the two policemen on night duty.

Although working the night shift is indeed tough, it's not good that the target could leave so brazenly through the main entrance without the police officers on duty noticing at all.

Could it be that he was looking down at his phone while on duty?

Lin Ge muttered to himself, but didn't tell anyone else. However, when he saw Lin Ge walk straight from the hotel entrance to the opposite side of the window, Zhao Zhigang paused for a moment, then shook his head thoughtfully.

Li Mengfei also noticed this, and her expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

He cursed under his breath, quickly caught up with Lin Ge and Zhao Zhigang, and then sent a message on his phone.

There were no security cameras at the hotel entrance, so when everyone realized the child had disappeared, their first thought was that he had bypassed the hotel entrance and left through that alley. Therefore, when the police began searching for him, they started in the opposite direction of Lin Ge's current route. Even though they later requested backup to conduct a detailed search of the entire urban village and surrounding area, this initial delay might be the key reason why they still haven't found Tong Yang.

After all, who would have thought that he would leave from here in front of the police officers on duty at the hotel entrance, right in front of everyone?

After it was discovered that something had gone wrong, the police officer probably didn't tell the truth in order to avoid taking responsibility.

Although it's only natural, Li Mengfei still felt like cursing.

The people following behind Lin Ge had all guessed the truth. But there was no point in talking about it now. Although their faces were grim, they remained silent and simply followed the cat in front of them as they walked deeper into the village.

"That kid wasn't walking in a straight line, and he wasn't going fast either! He was probably walking and observing, observing what? The cameras?"

At the spot where the target had stopped, Lin Ge looked up. Sure enough, there was a camera mounted on a utility pole not far away. Tong Yang had stopped because he spotted this, and then turned to avoid the camera and take another route.

After walking a short distance further, Lin Ge noticed that the target had stopped again. Looking up and around, he saw that, sure enough, another camera was peeking out from a gap in a lush tree in the distance.

"How did they find out? What does that kid do? Most criminals wouldn't have this skill, managing to avoid the cameras so precisely. Hmm... so experienced, could he be some kind of special person?"

Lin Ge pondered this curiously while continuing to sniff with his head down.

Three police officers and one armed policeman followed Lin Ge silently as he wound his way through the complex urban village. After circling for a long time, they actually managed to walk out of the urban village without being detected by a single security camera.

"With that kind of stealth skill, it would be a waste if he didn't become a scout!"

Lin Ge sighed and looked up at the busy street ahead. He could tell from the scent on the ground that the guy had lingered there for a long time, most likely waiting for a car or calling a ride-hailing service. Because the guy's scent had completely disappeared in the distance, and even the last trace nearby was very faint, it meant that he had moved quickly when he left the scent, making it most probable that he had left by car.

"I'll go get the car."

Jin Haisheng spoke in a low voice, then quickly ran back the way he came.

The other three stood quietly at the alley entrance, unsure of what to say. At this point, it was truly a free-for-all; who knew where that car would take that kid?

"Is it really impossible to determine his location over the phone?"

Zhao Zhigang coughed lightly, finally understanding why more than two hundred people had been sent to find a target this time.

Tong Yang is truly a troublemaker; he really leaves no loose ends! He avoids cameras the whole way and leaves by car in a place without surveillance. Where can you find someone like that in a short time?
Perhaps by deploying more manpower and resources to conduct a comprehensive search of the surveillance systems of all institutions and units in the city, we would most likely be able to find him; however, what Changshi lacks most right now is manpower, and the black taxis and black hostels that have sprung up along various tourist routes are also a stubborn problem that Changshi has not had time to deal with.

As a tourist city, Changdu experiences a population flow and tourism-related industries that are unimaginable for ordinary cities. While this has generated economic benefits, it has also brought numerous problems to the police. In such circumstances, even with constant surveillance cameras, it's extremely easy to miss someone. Searching for someone with no specific destination and no idea where they're going is like looking for a needle in a haystack—how easy is that?

Zhao Zhigang glanced at Li Mengfei with schadenfreude, thinking to himself that such a thing would never happen in Zhang City. Not to mention the advanced surveillance equipment his police station had recently acquired, the Zhanghe Police Station was definitely more diligent in managing the population of its jurisdiction than the one in Chang City.

Of course, this can't be blamed on the police, as the two cities have completely different characteristics. Zhangzhou's migrant population in a year might not even equal that in Changcheng in a week. With a larger floating population, the resulting security risks and workload for the police also increase. Given the limited number of police officers, they can't handle every detail like the Zhanghe Police Station.

Ultimately, the problem stems from a lack of manpower, to the point that even a scoundrel can slap the faces of the Changshi police.

"That kid probably has more than one SIM card. The one he registered with during quarantine is already switched off. But the station has already sent people to investigate his specific information, and sooner or later they will be able to find all his online information."

Li Mengfei pursed her lips, showing great reluctance.

"But right now, what we need most is time! Even if Mimi didn't smell the Tiger virus in his room, we can't allow that kid to continue running around recklessly! If people find out, it could easily cause panic!"

Zhao Zhigang sighed.

Jin Haisheng quickly pulled up at the intersection, and Zhao Zhigang hurriedly helped Lin Ge into the car. After Li Mengfei and Ge Hua also got in, Jin Haisheng slowly started walking forward as Lin Ge instructed.

"What exactly does this kid do?!"

Exhausted and taciturn, Ge Hua couldn't help but stomp his foot. This whole thing was incredibly messed up; this brat was about to turn the entire Chang City upside down.

"The captain just sent me a message. Although the young man named Tong Yang was on a flight from Thailand, he actually transited through Myanmar to return."

Jin Haisheng suddenly spoke.

"Myanmar?"

Zhao Zhigang was stunned for a moment; these two words were a very provocative term for police officers.

There are many things only the police know, and many cases involving that country give the police headaches and even anger. In short, that country is not a good place to go; in fact, to some extent, at least five out of ten people who go there are up to something!
"Heh... Could this kid be a big fish? That makes sense! The way he's so eager to escape, even knowing how to avoid surveillance and police searches, is something not everyone can do. No wonder the higher-ups didn't mind bringing in outside help for something so shameful; so that's why! Heh... Don't let me find out he's actually doing something criminal, or I'll make him pay!"

Li Mengfei gritted her teeth and sneered.

(End of this chapter)