Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 548 Big Cat
Rubbing the back of her head, Jiang Yiyi got up, found a blanket in the cabinet next to her, and gently covered Zhu Jun with it.

I turned off the apps on Zhu Jun's phone so he could sleep more peacefully.

After Zhu Jun fell asleep, someone had to stay on duty at the site, so Jiang Yiyi couldn't take a nap with him. She could only sigh and return to her desk, taking out a political study test from her drawer and slowly working on it.

Fortunately, they didn't receive any more police reports, and the two had a relatively peaceful night.

The next day, Zhanghe Police Station was just as busy.

Zhu Jun and Jiang Yiyi, who should have gone home to rest, had to finish solving the case here before they could go home because of the dozen or so people detained at the police station.

They took statements from each person, educated and persuaded them, helped mediate and negotiate compensation issues, and also had to deal with the parents and relatives of the dozen or so people who rushed over after hearing the news. The two were extremely busy.

By the time I had almost seen the person off, any sleepiness I had felt had completely vanished.

Despite the help of Hu Lijun and the auxiliary police officers who took over the shift, it was already past 11 a.m. when the case was finally finished. According to regulations, they had to be back at work by 2 p.m., so how could they possibly sleep?!

The two of them simply went to the snack alley hand in hand to grab a bite to eat, then returned to the break room for a short nap. They were refreshed and ready to continue working in the afternoon. Their assigned task was routine patrols, and Huo Guangping was left to drive, which allowed them to at least get some rest.

Lin Ge didn't give Nie Guoqiang and Zheng Mingxing another chance to conscript men. After taking a nap in the cat shelter in the morning, he quickly slipped out of the police station in the afternoon and went to the white cat's place.

When Lin Ge arrived at the abandoned, unfinished building, he found that the old dog was still hiding inside, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

To be honest, Lin Ge's biggest worry during this stray dog ​​catching operation was whether the old dog would be discovered and caught. However, after the Baimiao Police Station assigned the search task to Lin Ge's men, they didn't anticipate the possibility of preferential treatment among the cat population. Therefore, the old dog's existence was successfully concealed. When all the stray dogs in the city were cleared out, only the old dog remained, thanks to the cover provided by an inside man, becoming the sole survivor.

Even so, the old man was quite frightened this time.

When Lin Ge found it, it was hiding inside the pipe hole, too afraid to come out, and just pitifully meowing at Lin Ge.

It was only after Lin Ge patiently told it that the matter was over and that the police and urban management officers would no longer cause it any trouble that it cautiously crawled out and sneakily went to find something to eat to quickly fill its stomach, which had been empty all day.

"Meow!"

The big white cat suddenly appeared out of nowhere, meowed at Lin Ge with a majestic expression, and then slapped the white cat that was running towards Lin Ge, making it stumble.

"What's wrong? Why are you getting angry at me?"

Lin Ge was puzzled, not understanding what was wrong with the old man.

But it doesn't look like it's joking.

Lin Ge even noticed some very fresh wounds on the white cat's body, especially on its right front leg where a large tuft of fur had been removed, revealing a slightly reddish skin color.

Did he get into a fight with someone?
Lin Ge felt as if he had guessed the truth.

"Ow~"

The big white cat roared at Lin Ge again, flicked its tail, turned around, and walked outside.

Lin Ge squinted and followed, but the white cat, who was about to follow as well, was stopped by a slap and could only squat in place and meow helplessly. Its five little kittens also looked frightened, hiding behind their mother and not daring to make a sound.

"Looks like Big White got bullied by the intruder!"

Lin Ge guessed to himself.

Following the big white cat, they walked in silence for more than half an hour. Just when Lin Ge thought they were about to leave the city, the big white cat led him to a secondhand market street located on the outskirts of the city. After walking in, they stopped in front of a used furniture recycling shop.

At this point, without the white cat needing to say anything more, Lin Ge smelled a rather strong male cat scent. This scent even brought an unexpectedly strong sense of oppression, causing Lin Ge's ears to twitch and his expression to turn serious.

Soon, a large cat with an exaggerated size, especially an exaggerated amount of fur, like a majestic lion, glared with eyes wide open and exuding a wild aura, and arrogantly walked out of the house.

Lin Ge didn't immediately recognize the breed, only noticing that its thick, long fur on its chest really resembled that of a large lion. Its upper body was brownish-black, while its lower body was dirty white, and with the massive amount of fur bulging out, it looked like a burly and exaggerated behemoth.

"roar~"

Upon seeing its opponent appear, the big white cat roared fiercely at it, then poised to attack.

"This is the guy who bullied Boss Bai!"

Although Lin Ge had expected it, he was still somewhat surprised to see such a large cat appear. How could a used furniture recycling shop possibly afford to keep such a formidable-looking cat?

It's not that people can't afford it, but looking at how dirty the cat is and how its fur is all matted, you can tell it's not being treated very well.

Moreover, it had a dirty leather collar around its neck, so tight it made its neck look very thin. A long iron chain was attached to the collar, extending into the room. Lin Ge strongly suspected that the cat had been stolen from somewhere by this shop; after all, how could a family that could afford to keep such a special breed of large cat not treat it with care?

Not to mention using a chain to lock a cat; how tight would the chain have to be to keep a cat under control?

For some reason, the cat didn't resist despite being treated this way. It quietly walked out of the house, staring at Lin Ge with calm eyes, ignoring the big white cat beside it.

"roar~"

This made the big white cat even angrier, but it seemed to have already learned its lesson and didn't dare to attack again, so it turned and roared at Lingo.

"Hiss... Do you really want me to fight it?!"

Lin Ge had a headache.

The cat didn't show much hostility, and Lingo didn't have the habit of fighting with people for no reason.

"..."

The long-haired cat glanced at Lin Ge, then turned and went back inside. Soon it emerged carrying a dead rat, tossed its head, and the rat arced through the air before landing in front of Lin Ge.

"Is this an invitation to dinner?"

Lin Ge was speechless. How could he possibly eat a dead rat alive?

However, this also gave Lin Ge a clue as to why the cat was kept in the store. Perhaps it was stolen, or perhaps it was bought; ultimately, the store probably brought the cat back simply to deal with the rats that were destroying the furniture.

And the cat lived up to expectations; despite being chained up, it managed to get rid of the rats hiding in the shop.

Yes! In short, he is indeed a fierce guy.

"Meow~"

The long-haired cat meowed at Ringo, trying its best to be friendly. But its attitude was only directed at Ringo; Big White was completely ignored.

This made the big white cat both ashamed and angry, but knowing it was no match for him, it could only vent its frustration on Lingo.

Lin Ge wasn't angry. With a flick of his paw, he tossed the dead rat under his feet to the side of the big white cat.

The white cat paused for a moment, looked at Lin Ge and then at the long-haired cat with a calm expression. It stopped talking for a while, picked up the dead mouse, turned around and started tearing it apart.

The long-haired cat's eyes visibly softened.

"This guy isn't some kind of nasty scoundrel!" Lin Ge breathed a sigh of relief, deciding in his heart whether to help the cat find its original owner, rather than letting it stay here like it was in prison, chained up.

Curious, he took a few steps closer, entering the long-haired cat's attack range. The cat simply watched him quietly without launching an attack. Even when Lin Ge peeked into the shop from the entrance, the cat just stayed put and didn't stop him. It even wagged its tail and went in first, as if inviting him to.

The shop was dimly lit, with all sorts of wooden and iron furniture piled up to the ceiling. In the middle of the room were beds stacked one on top of another, and even the aisle was filled with small stools and bedside tables, leaving no space for people or cats to move around.

There were only two stainless steel bowls in the corner behind the door. One bowl still contained a little water full of dirty particles at the bottom, and the other contained uneaten and hardened rice. In addition, Lin Ge noticed that the chain around the long-haired cat's neck was wrapped twice around the leg of a wooden table next to the rice bowl, further reducing its range of movement.

"You've really had a miserable life."

Lin Ge swaggered into the house and meowed at the long-haired cat. Suddenly, he noticed that the little water left in its water bowl was at least three days old, and Lin Ge could even smell the raw smell of tap water in it.

In other words, the owner of this shop is too lazy to even prepare boiled water for the big cat, and it probably only eats some leftovers.

The large white cat, which had cautiously entered, showed off to the long-haired cat, seemingly surprised that the creature that had bullied it was now in such a miserable state. However, when the long-haired cat turned to look at it, it quickly turned its head away in alarm.

Lin Ge took a quick walk around the shop and determined that the long-haired cat had been there for no more than half a month. Seeing that it ignored him and was instead squatting in place with its head down, pawing at its collar, he guessed what it was thinking.

Then he saw the big white cat go over to help the long-haired cat tear at the iron chain. Lin Ge couldn't understand the relationship between the two cats, nor was he sure why the big white cat had called him over.

However... there's definitely nothing wrong with rescuing it!
The owner of this shop could absolutely not be the real owner of this long-haired cat of unknown breed! Someone who can keep this kind of cat would definitely not just feed it tap water and leftover rice.

Lin Ge wandered around the shop a bit more, and looked at the other shops on both sides, but couldn't find the shop owner. However, if he walked a little further along the river, Lin Ge could hear the sound of mahjong tiles and smell the owner's presence.

So, while the shop owner was still away, Lin Ge quickly went up to the long-haired cat and carefully examined the thick leather collar around its neck.

It was basically a very tight leather belt with sturdy buckles; a cat wouldn't be able to open it easily. Even Lingo, with its paws, would have a hard time untying the belt, because there wasn't even a finger's width between the belt and the cat's neck. Heaven knows if the cat's breathing was affected; it must have been uncomfortable. Lingo even saw that the skin inside the collar was a bit red and swollen.

Of course, that doesn't mean there's no way to save it.

Lin Ge observed patiently and soon found a detached buckle on the long iron chain dragging on the ground. He pried it open with his claws, making Lin Ge wince in pain, but at least he managed to widen the buckle opening a little.

Feeling a bit of pain, Lin Ge simply walked over, scooped up the big cat's water bowl, poured out the water, and then used the edge of the bowl to pry open the gap, widening the gap in the buckle again.

The big white cat and the long-haired big cat watched Lin Ge busily working, not understanding what he was doing, but seemingly able to tell that he was trying his best to help. They didn't know what they could do either, so they didn't bother Lin Ge and just waited quietly by the side.

About five or six minutes later, Lin Ge was panting heavily when he finally managed to stretch the buckle enough to remove the chain.

After tossing aside the messy water basin, Lin Ge patiently removed the hooked clasps from the gaps, and the long-haired cat was officially freed.

"Meow!"

The long-haired cat looked surprised to see the chain broken in two.

It quickly stood up and walked outside, dragging the still over a meter-long iron chain further than usual, its eyes widening and even jumping around like it was having a blast, revealing an excited expression of regaining its freedom.

"What are you dawdling for? Run!"

Lingo had already run quite a distance when he turned back and called out to it.

The two cats understood what Lingo meant and ran away without a word. Sure enough, less than two minutes later, the shop owner's roar came from behind. It was the owners of the surrounding shops who had noticed the big cat had run away and were quickly alerting the man.

But by this time, the big white cat had already led Lingo and the long-haired big cat more than a hundred meters away, and under its guidance, they disappeared into an alley and quickly vanished from the shop owner's sight.

The long-haired cat dragged a chain over a meter long, making a loud clanging noise that attracted a lot of attention. Adding to the difficulty was the need to prevent the chain from getting caught on anything, as some of the narrow paths and walls were hard to traverse. So, seeing the shop owner chasing after them on a motorcycle, Lin Ge quickly turned around and ran towards the Baimiao Police Station. As he ran, he glanced back at the white cat and the long-haired cat, who, after a moment of surprise, bravely followed.

After estimating the speed of the electric scooter, Lin Ge wasted no time taking the back roads. He sped straight down the main road, with his two cats following closely behind, ignoring the stares of passersby. As the grumbling motorcycle gradually closed the distance, Lin Ge ignored it all and kept running forward with his head down. He could already smell Liu Shengyou's scent; it was just ahead at the entrance of the shopping mall, and from there he could see the flashing red and blue lights on the police car.

All police officers are busy during the May Day holiday, and police stations are no exception. Lin Ge was certain that the police officers from Baimiao Police Station would be patrolling and on duty in the jurisdiction, which is why he refused to run away and went directly to the nearest police station for help.

The large, long-haired cat, resembling a lion, was quite eye-catching; three cats doing parkour on the road was also a rare sight. Liu Shengyou quickly noticed the situation, and after recognizing Lin Ge, he led two policemen out of their car to greet him.

"Whew...Whew...I'm exhausted!"

Lin Ge braked in front of Liu Shengyou, stopping breathlessly. The big white cat and the long-haired cat, who were about to continue running, were taken aback when they saw Lin Ge stop in front of a human, but ultimately chose to trust him and cautiously came up behind him.

The two cats turned back and stared at the way they came, watching warily as the motorcycle quickly caught up.

Upon discovering his cat running in front of the police, the motorcyclist reflexively braked and slowed down.

He hesitated for a moment, but then he remembered that the cat was his own and couldn't talk, so he mustered up his courage and parked the car in front of Liu Shengyou.

"Officer! This cat is mine, but these two cats took it away."

The middle-aged shop owner pointed to the long-haired cat and then to the iron chain around its neck, indicating that it belonged to someone.

"Oh."

Liu Shengyou gave a perfunctory reply.

How could he possibly believe this guy instead of the police cat Mimi? Seeing Lin Ge staring warily at the shop owner, Liu Shengyou glanced at the long-haired cat also warily staring at its 'owner' and immediately understood what was going on.

The police station sees far too many cases of cat and dog theft; every year there are dozens of such disputes.

So Liu Shengyou didn't waste any time and pointed directly at the big cat, asking the shop owner, "What breed is this big cat? Where did you buy it? Does it have a health certificate? Has it been vaccinated?"

"Forehead……"

The middle-aged shop owner paused for a moment, his expression changing slightly, and quickly said, "I didn't buy it! My friend gave it to me! I'm not sure what breed it is, maybe a Norwegian Forest Cat? Anyway, it was a gift from my friend, so I don't know if it's real or not. As for the health certificate and stuff, I didn't buy the cat! Friends give each other gifts, where would I get such things! Officer, I'm not a cat dealer, I just keep it in the shop to keep the mice away. Look, I even have it on a leash, it won't hurt anyone."

"A Norwegian Forest Cat? Those cats aren't cheap."

Liu Shengyou pursed his lips, unsure whether he believed the middle-aged shop owner. He simply waved his hand, his expression indifferent, and said, "Who gave it to you? When did they give it to you? Give me their contact information, I'll investigate. I can't just return the cat to you because you say it's yours, can I? What if you're lying to me, or the cat's real owner comes looking for it? Where am I supposed to find the cat and return it? Right? You don't even have a health certificate as evidence, it's just empty talk!"

The middle-aged shop owner's expression changed slightly, but he still obediently took out his phone, opened WeChat, and showed the chat history to Liu Shengyou.

Liu Shengyou quickly glanced through the messages and found it was from a conversation between the man and a cat dealer. This man had discovered mice in his shop and contacted a cat dealer he'd met while playing cards, asking if he knew of any cool cats that could catch mice. The dealer sent him pictures of large, long-haired cats and offered a heavily discounted price of 300 yuan. However, Liu Shengyou noticed something odd about the background of the Norwegian Forest Cat's photo; the area looked strangely familiar.

"Hey? Isn't this inside the municipal party committee's residential compound? I vaguely remember this rockery."

Wang Jiaxuan, who was traveling with them, suddenly spoke up.

"The municipal party committee's family compound?"

Lin Ge and Liu Shengyou were both stunned. That couldn't possibly be where the cat traffickers lived, could it?

That leaves only one possibility: this Norwegian Forest Cat originally lived in the compound. One day, a cat trafficker discovered it, took photos, and since the shop owner needed it, he managed to steal it.

"Heh... you've gone so far as to steal from an official?"

Wang Jiaxuan's lips twitched.

(End of this chapter)