Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 658 Night Owl

"Mimi, you just love causing us trouble!"

Zhao Zhigang gave Lin Ge's head a hard rub, then sighed helplessly.

But since Mimi questioned whether there was more to the case, Zhao Zhigang couldn't ignore it. Quieting things wasn't the Zhanghe Police Station's style; if someone dared to commit arson or even try to take advantage of a scapegoat, then they had to be found.

Moreover, this whole incident is no longer just about a few cars being burned; it's about someone showing contempt for the police and treating them like fools.

Despite it being late at night, Zhao Zhigang immediately reported to Zheng Mingxing, the officer on duty, and was authorized to conduct an in-depth investigation into this seemingly simple case.

Subsequently, the traffic police sent over the dispatch record from yesterday afternoon, confirming the traffic accident case involving Yan Yun and food deliveryman Xu Sanhe.

According to the police officers who responded to the scene, Yan Yun and Xu Sanhe did indeed have a heated argument. Yan Yun, who claimed to be honest and never get into conflicts with anyone, not only failed to recognize his mistake immediately after the traffic accident, but also ridiculed Xu Sanhe, saying things like, "You'll never be able to afford this kind of car in your life," "Poor bastard, just stay to the side and don't rub against me," and "It's all your fault, who told you not to give way to me?"

Some of the things this woman said were so bad that even the traffic police officer was embarrassed to repeat them. In short, she was simply a rude person who made a mistake but blamed the other party.

If Xu Sanhe's electric vehicle hadn't been modified and no longer met the electric vehicle standards, and if he hadn't also not had a motorcycle driver's license, which constitutes clear unlicensed driving, Yan Yun should have borne full responsibility for this accident.

However, precisely because Xu Sanhe's car was not qualified to be driven on the road, he had to bear the main responsibility even though he did not make many mistakes during the incident.

As a result, Xu Sanhe's electric scooter was impounded by the traffic police on the spot. Although there were still undelivered takeout orders in the trunk, Xu Sanhe had to find other ways to transport them, and his subsequent work was out of the question.

From this perspective, he had reason to hate Yan Yun and also had a motive to commit the crime.

"But surely he shouldn't have done something like this? Setting someone's car on fire, how much compensation would that cost? He's just a food delivery guy, did he even consider the consequences?"

Feng Yi was somewhat confused.

In his view, Xu Sanhe did have a motive, but that was all he had. Why would an ordinary person burn someone else's car? That's a crime punishable by imprisonment.

"Xu Sanhe was originally a person who was released from prison and re-employed."

Zhu Jun, who had just been looking at Xu Sanhe's file, looked up and said, "To be honest, it's really hard for people with criminal records like them to find jobs. Only a profession like food delivery, which has almost no requirements for identity and doesn't require social security or serious registration, doesn't care about the delivery driver's past identity. Besides, I just called the station where Xu Sanhe works and learned another piece of information. The electric bike that Xu Sanhe's traffic police impounded wasn't his own; he rented it from a food delivery rental company."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhigang's expression immediately turned ugly.

People with criminal records are indeed more likely to re-offend than ordinary people, not to mention that Xu Sanhe also has to compensate the car rental company for the car this time. The car rental company definitely took a deposit, and Xu Sanhe probably won't get that money back.

Anyone with a bad temper would have lost their temper in this situation. Moreover, Xu Sanhe has a history of assault, making retaliation a possibility.

Therefore, Xu Sanhe is indeed a suspect in the crime.

"Furthermore, Xu Sanhe probably also feels wronged. The modifications to the car he rented, which increased its speed, weren't done by him. These modifications were pre-installed when the car was rented, a default setting to help delivery drivers earn more money. In other words, aside from not having a driver's license, Xu Sanhe is actually the most innocent party in this accident. Yet, he ended up suffering the most losses, so how could he possibly swallow this anger?"

Zhu Jun then mentioned another incident, which made Zhao Zhigang, Feng Yi, and even Lin Ge, who were standing nearby, feel sorry for the unfortunate guy.

So, these days, you can do anything, just don't break the law and end up with a criminal record. It's really hard for people with criminal records to find new jobs. Xu Sanhe finally found a job, but then someone took it away from him.

"In short, Xu Sanhe does indeed have the potential to take advantage of the situation and frame someone else. The person arrested earlier was most likely used as a shield for him. I knew that a mere amount of alcohol couldn't have caused such a large fire!"

Zhao Zhigang stopped questioning and even started cursing through gritted teeth.

If such a scoundrel were to escape justice, setting aside the question of fairness and justice, he would at least see the police as idiots. And with such contempt for the police, who knows what audacious things he might do in the future?
"Shall we investigate Xu Sanhe now? We have his home address in our files. After all, our police station was the one that received the report and handled that assault case back then."

Zhu Jun looked up at Zheng Mingxing.

"Ok?"

Zheng Mingxing was stunned for a moment.

"I thought Xu Sanhe looked familiar before, and then I remembered after looking at his file. This guy was arrested by me and Chief Nie three years ago. The reason he committed the crime was simple: he was drinking at a small table outside a late-night snack shop when a passerby looking at his phone knocked the table over. He was drunk at the time, and he smashed the person's head open with a bottle. After a medical examination, the court sentenced him to two and a half years, even after he actively compensated the victim and obtained their forgiveness. Counting the time, he was just released in the first half of this year! Heh... It's only been a few days, and he's already causing trouble again?"

Zhu Jun sneered.

"Call him and ask him to come to the police station to assist with the investigation!"

Zheng Mingxing waved his hand, indicating that he did not intend to arbitrarily conclude that Xu Sanhe was the murderer based solely on motive without evidence.

"The number you dialed is not in service."

Zhu Jun glanced at Zheng Mingxing, then called the food delivery station to ask for Xu Sanhe's work number. However, this time, no one answered, and when he called again, the phone was switched off, which seemed like an attempt to cover up the truth.

"Looks like he didn't learn anything good in prison! Zhu Jun, Zhao Zhigang, and Feng Yi, you guys act immediately, find and take control of Xu Sanhe!"

Zheng Mingxing decisively issued the order.

Police investigations also require consideration of time and local conditions; the methods used during the day are completely different from those used at night.

If the same case is handled during the day, the police station would not mind using a more reliable method to find more evidence before taking action to make an arrest.

However, when it's nighttime, and especially in serious cases where there's a risk of the suspect escaping, there's no time for such considerations. Taking the person into custody first and then investigating at a later stage is a more practical approach.

Sometimes you really can't blame the police for waking people up in the middle of the night to ask about the case; they really have no other choice. If they waited any longer, the murderer might escape and never be found again.

"Boss Zheng, now that we're all gone, what will the police station do if they need to dispatch officers again?"

Zhao Zhigang was somewhat worried.

"I'm still here, aren't I? You don't think I'm just an office worker who knows nothing about police work, do you? Besides, I left Mimi with me, so there's nothing to worry about with her help."

Zheng Mingxing smiled confidently.

"But I'm planning to go back to sleep..."

Lin Ge looked at Zheng Mingxing speechlessly, indicating that he had absolutely no interest in working the night shift.

"How can a night owl not work the night shift?"

Zheng Mingxing chuckled as he suppressed Lin Ge's protest, and even went to his office to get a few packets of cat treats, which he then placed in front of Lin Ge to tempt him.

"..."

Lin Ge accepted it without saying a word.

It wasn't that he was tempted by Zheng Mingxing, but rather that the police station genuinely needed someone on staff. Zhao Zhigang and his team were busy with this heinous arson case, and Lin Ge figured he couldn't be too selfish. Besides, Zheng Mingxing didn't seem like a capable fighter, and they really needed a strong enforcer to subdue the criminal.

In this respect, Lingo is undoubtedly the best.

And to be honest, he wasn't particularly sleepy at the moment. He had felt exhausted and tired in the southern province, but those negative emotions quickly dissipated after returning home. That's why they say home is a haven for the soul; Lin Ge truly felt that everything was rapidly recovering after he came back. Plus, night owls are indeed more energetic at night than during the day, so it wouldn't be a problem for him to spend some time with Zheng Mingxing.

"You little tsundere!"

Zheng Mingxing watched Zhao Zhigang and the others' police car disappear from sight, then lowered his head and chuckled at Lin Ge before heading from his office to the duty area on the first floor.

Lin Ge followed him over and was surprised to see Zheng Mingxing lean back in his chair, stretch, and then take out his phone and a bag of sunflower seeds that he had somehow gotten his hands on, and start watching short videos while eating them.

Zheng Mingxing, who always appeared very serious in front of his subordinates, revealed this side of himself in private. Instead of pretending to write documents while on duty, he openly slacked off and passed the time.

This was exactly the same demeanor as other police officers on night shifts—lazy and completely unproductive. Or rather, all police officers are the same when they're not on duty: smoking, playing on their phones, playing games, watching videos, and reading novels. Jiang Yiyi and Sun Chang, for example, liked to watch live streams and do some online shopping, while Hu Lijun would often find special question types for various subjects that Hu Miao needed and forward them to her phone for her to study on weekends.

Faced with Lin Ge's disdainful gaze, Zheng Mingxing didn't offer any further explanation.

He's human, not an iron man. The police station has enough energy with one energetic monster like Nie Guoqiang. Right now, he's focused on writing documents. If a real emergency occurs later, he won't have the energy to deal with it.

There are rules for night shifts at the police station. As long as it doesn't interfere with receiving calls, it's okay to play on your phone or even take a nap, as long as you don't take off your clothes and get into bed.

Of course, in reality, very few people can truly relax and rest during their shifts. With so many people in the jurisdiction, anyone could need the police's help in some way. Just now, Zheng Mingxing had gotten up to find a charger when the emergency call bell rang.

Zheng Mingxing quickly answered the call and, after listening to the description, learned that it was an old man who was wandering around outside in the middle of the night for some reason and couldn't get home, so he had to call 110 for help.

When Zheng Mingxing hurriedly brought Lin Ge to the scene, he learned that the old man was not lost and couldn't find his way home, but that his electric wheelchair had run out of power.

In the dead of night, with no lights on, the old man couldn't find a place to temporarily charge his phone, so he slowly moved forward by pushing the roller with his hands. However, there was a steep uphill slope, and after struggling for over an hour, he still couldn't get up it, leaving him completely exhausted.

Having exhausted all other options, he called the police for help, and soon Zheng Mingxing arrived with a cat.

"Uncle, you're in such high spirits late at night! Luckily there aren't many cars around tonight, otherwise your family would be worried sick if something happened!"

Zheng Mingxing chatted happily with the old man.

The original plan was for the elderly man to ride in the police car to get home, but the electric wheelchair couldn't be folded up and wouldn't fit in the trunk. So Zheng Mingxing had to push the wheelchair himself to take the elderly man home, and the police car was temporarily parked on the side of the road.

“I told my son to charge the battery properly during the day, but it seems he forgot.”

The old man explained and thanked Zheng Mingxing again. After pushing Zheng Mingxing up the steep hill for more than half the distance, he saw that Zheng Mingxing seemed to be having a hard time, so he stood up from his wheelchair on his own initiative.

"Let me get down and walk a few steps, so it will be easier for you to push me, comrade."

"Oh? Your legs are alright?"

When Zheng Mingxing saw the old man walking steadily on the ground, even faster than him, he was stunned for a moment before looking down at the wheelchair he was pushing.

"My legs are perfectly fine! Last month, I even went on a race around Zhanghe with the guys from the guild, and we came in eleventh place!"

The old man spoke with a touch of pride, then turned and saw Zheng Mingxing's speechless expression. He immediately realized his mistake and said somewhat awkwardly, "What is this? It's just a means of transportation! My son bought it for me because he was worried I'd get too tired walking. It doesn't need a license plate or a driver's license, which is great! Plus, its four wheels are very stable, and it knows to yield to cars and such! So, comrade, I think you could buy one for your father too, to show your filial piety!"

Just as Zheng Mingxing was about to politely decline, Lin Ge suddenly jumped into the wheelchair and sat down, immediately silencing Zheng Mingxing's intended reply to the old man.

"So this old man wasn't unable to go home, but was worried about his car getting stolen if he left it outside, so he called to find a laborer to do the work! I wonder how far his home is from here. After dropping him off, we'll come back to get the car... It'll be hard work again."

Lin Ge sighed silently as he watched the old man's retreating figure, then turned back to look at Zheng Mingxing with pity.

He knew that many of the police station's dispatches were actually these kinds of trivial, non-dangerous incidents. These days, you can call the police for anything, and the police, upon receiving a report, must rush over no matter the situation. For example, this old man actually lived with his wife, son, and daughter-in-law; he could have simply called his son, but he insisted on having the police help him.

“My son and daughter-in-law are too tired from work during the day, so I let them get a good night’s sleep. Even my granddaughter is being taken care of by my wife. I can’t sleep at night and don’t want to bother them, so I came back for a stroll.”

The old man spoke in a very happy tone, boasting about his harmonious family and his care and love for his son...

Zheng Mingxing didn't have much to say, he just smiled wryly and continued to chat idly with the old man.

After walking for more than half an hour, we finally arrived at the old man's building. The old man skillfully took out a lock from under his wheelchair and locked it in the carport, then pulled up the charging cable and other things before thanking Zheng Mingxing.

What can Zheng Mingxing say?
All I could say was that it was our duty, and that I should be careful next time I went out, before leading Lin Ge away to say goodbye.

He jogged to find the police car, and another twenty minutes or so passed. Fortunately, he didn't receive any other calls during that time, and Zheng Mingxing breathed a sigh of relief.

However, after finally getting back to the police station, before Zheng Mingxing could even sit down, the emergency call bell rang again.

This time, a resident called the police for help, saying that the people upstairs were still dancing at a disco late at night. He couldn't sleep at all because of the noise, and when he went upstairs to knock on the door, no one answered. He also had to go to work the next day, so he had no choice but to call the police for help.

Zheng Mingxing led Lin Ge over again, met the person who had called the police, and followed him upstairs. Sure enough, they heard the sound of rousing rock music coming from under the door.

After knocking on the door for a long time with no response, and calling the other party also going unanswered, I could only contact the property management while continuing to wait at the door and knock.

About ten minutes later, a deliveryman arrived at the family's door with dinner. Only then did the door open, and a young man, shirtless and wearing only underwear, walked out. He was startled to see the police standing at the door, and both sides remained silent.

After being criticized, the person acknowledged their mistake, quickly turned off the stereo, and promised not to disturb the neighbors late at night again.

Zheng Mingxing called the property management to apologize, and then led Lin Ge to say goodbye and leave.

"Ah woo~"

Lin Ge yawned, feeling particularly tired today.

Turning his head to look at Zheng Mingxing, who was exhausted but driving diligently, Lin Ge had to admit that the guy was having a rough day. Even on a busy night shift, it wouldn't be all this kind of ridiculous nonsense.

Sometimes, a serious case can make a person more energetic. But when you keep running into this trivial trouble, even the most vigorous energy will be completely drained.

For the next two hours, Lin Ge and Zheng Mingxing ran around again, finally managing to make it to eight o'clock in the morning.

The night shift is finally coming to an end.

At this moment, Zhao Zhigang, Zhu Jun, and Feng Yi returned. They successfully arrested Xu Sanhe, but the case took an unexpected turn. As a result, Zheng Mingxing had to continue working overtime.

(End of this chapter)