Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 668 Emergency

The dog named Huahua is a tall, thin, short-haired mongrel.

It had disappeared somewhere, but suddenly appeared from a short distance away, barking as it rushed towards them. This creature looked lean, but its desire to save its master filled it with strength. It swam and ran, cutting through the water, its head tilted back as it quickly approached.

Just as Lin Ge could no longer hold on and had to step back to catch his breath, Hua Hua rushed over in time, grabbed the little girl by the back of her neck and pulled her up.

Lin Ge felt the pressure ease, so he quickly took a step back and floated up again, his head breaking the surface as he gasped for breath.

"Huahua?"

The little girl, who had been grabbed by the dog, was both surprised and delighted, but she eventually calmed down. With Hua Hua's help, she managed to stand up in the water.

"Flower!"

The little girl was so shaken by the water that she could barely stand, so she quickly grabbed Huahua's neck.

Both the man and the dog were soaking wet, but now that they were pressed together, they forgot their fear.

Actually, the water level here was less than half a meter high. After the little girl stood up straight, it barely reached her thighs. With Hua Hua's help, she quickly regained her balance, and the two of them, human and dog, hurriedly stumbled back.

Thankfully, nothing else went wrong, and the little girl managed to crawl back to her front door safely.

She managed to get ashore using both her hands and feet, collapsing onto the ground with a thud. Looking back at the still raging floodwaters in front of her house, she was filled with lingering fear and suddenly burst into tears.

"Wang!"

Hua Hua shook its fur vigorously next to her and barked twice in a comforting manner, finally calming the little girl down a bit.

"Who saved me back then?"

Looking back now, I realize that when I fell into the water, something did indeed stop me and pull me out. Just when I was terrified, it was that thing that pulled me out of the water.

Hua Hua hadn't arrived yet, so it shouldn't be it. But if it wasn't Hua Hua, then who else could it be?
The little girl knelt on the ground, racking her brains. But at that moment, she was swept away by the waves and nearly scared to death; how could she possibly know what had happened?

"Dodo, what's wrong? Didn't I tell you to go to bed early... Holy crap!"

A somewhat young voice came from behind, yawning, but stopped abruptly halfway through its sentence.

It was only then that the man of the house finally noticed his daughter's disheveled appearance and the water stains that had spread from the doorway into the house. He may not have known what life-or-death situation the little girl had just experienced, but her soaking wet appearance was enough to shock him.

He quickly picked up his daughter.

About ten hours later, a video titled "Flood is merciless, but animals are compassionate; dog bravely saves its little owner" began to spread wildly online.

Countless people cheered on Zhangzhou City amidst the floods, while also praising the loyal dog that rescued its young owner from the floodwaters. A mix of reactions—complaints and relief—made the video a trending topic online.

"Wow, this little girl is really lucky!"

Jiang Yiyi scrolled through the news pushed to her phone, and after watching the edited video of the dog saving its owner, she couldn't help but sigh.

Many people only saw the dog saving its owner and the little girl surviving. But how many noticed that, according to the timeline at the top of the video, the little girl waded alone in the river for at least five minutes before losing her footing and falling in? From that moment until the dog pulled her ashore, another two minutes or so passed. Then, several more minutes passed before her father found her. In other words, for at least ten minutes, she received no supervision whatsoever.

A little girl, about four or five years old, was playing alone at the door. She even dared to run into the floodwaters without being noticed by anyone.

Perhaps it's because adults think the water level at the doorway is only knee-deep, so how dangerous could it be? But they seem to have forgotten the story of the little horse crossing the river, and they've forgotten that if the water level is high enough to submerge a person's mouth and nose while lying flat, that level of water could drown them.

"Wait a minute! Was this video edited? The way the little girl stood up while holding onto the wall doesn't look right!"

Zhu Jun, who was passing by, approached Jiang Yiyi from behind and handed her a cup of hot milk tea. At the same time, he immediately noticed something that didn't make sense.

The little girl was waving her arms and legs, how did she manage to stand steadily in the water and keep her head above water?
"Floating?"

Jiang Yiyi thought for a moment, and an image of a person who had fallen into the water thrashing about with their hands and their head above the water surface, calling for help, came to mind.

"It seems like something is lifting her up, but the dog isn't here yet, is it? Oh, it will be another forty seconds or so before the dog appears in the frame."

Zhu Jun rested his head on Jiang Yiyi's shoulder, as if he were hugging her from behind. He fast-forwarded and rewound on Jiang Yiyi's phone, but was pushed away by her in disgust before shaking his head to make a definitive judgment.

"There's something wrong with the video. There's at least one other person who wasn't in the shot, but saved the child before the dog. Of course, to put it bluntly, it could also be staged! For example, there's an adult in a diving suit supporting her below, but the little girl's expression doesn't seem like she's acting. Sigh! The video quality isn't great, so we'll have to ask the people involved to know for sure. But at least it's something positive, so let's just watch it as it is!"

"Who asked you to analyze all this?"

Jiang Yiyi rolled her eyes at Zhu Jun, then couldn't help but ask worriedly, "How are you recovering? If you're tired, rest a bit more. Leave the police calls to me."

Zhu Jun turned to look at the still-drizzling rain outside in the night sky and shook his head.

Seeing that Jiang Yiyi insisted on not going to the rest room to sleep, Zhu Jun chose to stay in the duty room with her and chat with her about something else.

"Ah!"

Lin Ge suddenly sneezed, and snot and bubbles flew out, even forming a small bubble on the tip of his nose.

Liu Shuangquan, reclining in the passenger seat with his legs draped over the dashboard, glanced back at Lin Ge but remained silent. The cat had seemed listless since the start of his shift; had it gotten sick from working too hard and getting caught in the rain these past few days?

Thinking that this cat was both a colleague and a beloved pet of everyone at the police station, Liu Shuangquan pulled his legs back, sat up straight, and then turned to look at Lin Ge.

"Mimi, shall I take you to the hospital to get checked out?"

"Need not!"

Lin Geqiang shook his head, trying to stay alert. The patrol work took two hours each way, more than fifty minutes round trip. There was no time to waste on his personal matters.

Moreover, it's already past midnight, where can you find a veterinary station that's still open?
However, Lin Ge knew his own condition well; he knew he definitely had a cold.

After rescuing the little girl during the day, he was soaked to the bone and didn't dry off in time. Coupled with the damp, cold wind, his body reacted. Although he had used a towel to dry himself after returning to the cat shelter in the heavy rain, the chill that seeped into his body still caused him discomfort.

This has nothing to do with physical fitness; it's simply a matter of catching a cold.

Maybe a good night's sleep or a couple of days of rest will be enough to recover.

Now, Lin Ge can only sniffle and endure his physical exhaustion to continue working despite his illness.

"Tsk! These days, being a cat or a dog isn't easy! Even being a well-behaved pet means risking your life to save your owner, paying for your little master's whims, and getting criticized online. It's just too difficult!"

Liu Shuangquan also came across the video news from earlier that day.

However, as time went on and public opinion developed, the question of whose fault it was that the little girl almost drowned actually sparked a debate online. Some blamed the child's parents, some blamed the little girl herself, and some blamed the dog named Huahua. After all, the video begins with the little girl wading into the water and calling out Huahua's name; in other words, if Huahua hadn't been so willful and disobedient, the little girl wouldn't have needed to go into the water to look for it.

Although Flower saved the little girl at the last moment, this whole thing would never have happened if it hadn't been for its mischief, right?

Is Hua Hua a heroic dog or a troublemaker?

Such utterly ridiculous and absurd comments began to appear online. Lin Ge glanced at them briefly, then ignored them.

Anyway, the video was blurry, and his body color blended into the surging water, so he hasn't been discovered yet.

Furthermore, the person who posted the video only focused on editing the scenes of the little girl falling and struggling, as well as Hua Hua saving her, while most of the scenes related to Lin Ge were cut out, making it even less likely to be noticed.

As long as it didn't involve him, Lin Ge would just watch the show. His only hope was that the little girl's parents wouldn't blame the brave dog that saved her because of public opinion, and that they wouldn't do anything to harm the dog.

"Ah woo~"

After yawning and sniffing, Lin Ge turned his attention back to the scene.

The water level under the bridge has risen again compared to yesterday, and now it's only a little over a meter below the riverbank. At bends and in some narrow places, it's almost overflowing the riverbank.

The river's carrying capacity could reach its limit at any moment, but the government and river management departments have not yet issued orders for the evacuation of downstream residents. This is because the weather forecast indicates that the heavy rains will only last for the next two days, and even if the river overflows its banks, as long as the flooding isn't too severe, it shouldn't cause a major disaster. Numerous farmlands, ponds, and ditches downstream have a certain carrying capacity, and the water supply network in the industrial area is still functioning…

Of course, if the area is indeed flooded, these factories will likely have to stop production and relocate, a decision already made by the government and the industrial park leadership.

"Only two days left! You have to hang in there!"

Lingo clung to the side window, cheering on the river below, but there was nothing else he could do.

Moreover, the situation in Chu City is more critical than in Zhang City. It is said that the Yangtze River's water level has already overflowed the riverbanks, turning the entire area around them into a vast expanse of water. Only in the deeper parts of the river is the water level still manageable; otherwise, a quarter of Chu City's population would have had to be urgently evacuated.

On Liu Shuangquan's phone, experts were discussing whether or not flood discharge was necessary downstream.

Regardless of whether the actions of Baochu City in causing harm to surrounding cities and villages are immoral, if the rain stops in a couple of days and the damage to Baochu City is not so serious, these experts who proposed diverting floodwaters from the surrounding areas will probably be condemned by everyone.

'Boom! '

After getting out of the car and looking around, Liu Shuangquan, still damp and drenched, ran back into the car, returned to the driver's seat, and closed the door.

"Mimi, sit still. Let's go check around again. I feel like the water flow is a little faster than before. I don't know what's going on. We need to check again to be sure."

Liu Shuangquan had a solemn expression. After greeting Lin Ge, he started the car and drove up the riverbank.

Lin Ge hadn't noticed the problem before, but after Liu Shuangquan pointed it out and he took a closer look, he quickly realized something was wrong. Indeed, the water flow below the riverbank was much stronger than before. Half an hour ago, the water level was about one to one and a half meters high, but now it was only seventy or eighty centimeters. Moreover, there was more silt and various floating debris in the river, as if water from somewhere had accidentally mixed in.

Whether it will become the straw that breaks the camel's back is anyone's guess. But since an unexpected situation has been discovered, it must be inspected!
The man and the cat stopped talking; one focused intently on driving, while the other stared intently at the riverbank.

When we reached the narrow river channel, the water had already overflowed from the embankment into the park on the other side. Just moments ago, we were saying that the Chu City riverbank was a vast expanse of water, but now the lawns in this park were completely submerged, with only a shimmering expanse of water visible under the streetlights.

The road was completely submerged, but Liu Shuangquan focused on wading through the water. Luckily, the engine was fine, and the car didn't veer off course.

After passing this dangerous section, the road ahead is relatively safe. The riverbank here is higher than downstream, but the surging water inside looks incredibly powerful. Even without close comparison, it's obvious that the water flow speed and volume are significantly abnormal, and definitely don't conform to the logic and curve of a normal water level rise. This is likely water from somewhere that shouldn't be flowing this way; there's probably a serious problem somewhere.

"Not here!"

Upon reaching a confluence of rivers, Liu Shuangquan braved the rain to run down and inspect the area. He discovered that the water flow was abnormal and that they needed to continue searching upstream.

His expression grew increasingly serious.

When they got back to the police car, they discovered that Mimi had actually dialed his collar phone and was talking to Zheng Mingxing in a completely incomprehensible way.

After glancing at the cat, Liu Shuangquan quickly informed Zheng Mingxing of his discovery, adding that a very bad situation could arise at any moment.

If the abnormal water flow originates from upstream of Zhangzhou City, it means that if a major problem occurs in any of those areas, a raging flood could submerge the entire city at any time.

“I’ll contact the water resources and river management departments immediately! But there are dedicated duty and inspection personnel arranged upstream and in various parts of the city. If there were any obvious issues, they couldn’t have missed them. Forget it! Now is not the time to pray for peace, nor can we take chances or be careless. We have to investigate thoroughly no matter what. Liu Shuangquan, you and Mimi continue to look for any abnormalities. I’ll bring the police from the local station and come after them right away.”

Zheng Mingxing made a decisive decision, gave orders to Liu Shuangquan and Lin Ge, and then hurriedly hung up the phone.

"..."

Liu Shuangquan didn't say much and silently continued driving forward.

Lin Ge shook his head to clear his mind, his eyes wide as he stared at the water flow below the riverbank.

At this moment, not only him and Liu Shuangquan, but also the personnel in other departments responsible for patrols and duties, all noticed the abnormality. They hurriedly checked for problems everywhere, racing against time and against a huge disaster that could affect the entire Zhangzhou City.

"The water level in the four main canals has dropped!"

When Liu Shuangquan arrived at the starting point of the river embankment patrol section under the jurisdiction of Zhanghe Police Station, he had just gotten out of the car to check the situation when he heard a gasp from above.

"what?"

He suddenly looked up and discovered that the person making the phone call under the eaves was a police officer from Longquan Police Station who was also on patrol duty.

The man also saw Liu Shuangquan, but he didn't have time to greet him.

"Didn't the sluice gates of the Fourth Main Canal open to divert water? Why is the water level dropping? No wonder the water level here is rising. The rain that should have been diverted to the Fourth Main Canal is now flowing back to the Third Main Canal and absorbing urban rainwater as it washes down?"

He understood the reason for the incident in an instant, and Liu Shuangquan's face turned ashen.

Fortunately, the intersection of the fourth and third main canals and the location of the control gate were not far from here. Liu Shuangquan quickly ran back to the car, started the car and drove there, while having Lin Ge call Zheng Mingxing again to tell him the reason for the incident.

"I already know."

Zheng Mingxing was in a bad mood, and Lin Ge could also hear police sirens and Zhu Jun's cursing from his side.

Both sides were rushing to the scene. After listening to Zheng Mingxing's explanation, Lin Ge finally understood what had happened.

The area near the sluice gate of the Fourth Main Canal was relatively spacious, with few residents and little oversight, so it was used as a free parking lot by many used car dealers. However, the road there was sandy, and with more than ten days of torrential rain, the soil had become soft and loose... In short, no one knew exactly what happened, but ultimately three cars parked on the sand were swept into the riverbed. The three cars were carried downstream by the river and ended up blocking the entrance of the Fourth Main Canal.

The opening of the Fourth Main Canal is wider and longer than a small car and an SUV, but somehow those three vehicles got into trouble and blocked the canal opening, blocking most of the river water that should have flowed this way.

The surging river water was blocked on the Fourth Main Canal side, so it naturally flowed towards the Third Main Canal, which led to the rapid rise in the water level of the river in the jurisdiction of Zhanghe Police Station.

"What a coincidence!"

Lin Ge gritted his teeth in exasperation. What kind of idiot would park their car on the riverbank during a massive flood? Knowing full well that the riverbank might be submerged, why would they park there if they had too much money or simply didn't care about the consequences?
Moreover, the fourth canal is more than 20 meters wide, and the sluice gate is more than 10 meters wide. How could three cars possibly block the sluice gate?
I just can't understand these things no matter how I think about them.

However, once he arrived at the scene, Lin Ge finally understood what had happened.

It's no wonder the accident happened; it turns out there were several thick iron chains in the canal that were responsible for raising and lowering the sluice gate. These chains blocked the vehicles at the canal entrance, acting like a sluice gate to prevent the water from flowing.

Of course, the river management department vehemently denied this. They argued that during the design phase, who the hell would have considered accommodating vehicles in the river? As a result, the gaps between the chains were a bit narrow, and the three vehicles, swept downstream, didn't travel in a straight line, thus blocking three-quarters of the canal entrance. The surging river water, encountering congestion on this side, naturally flowed towards the third main canal, causing the water level there to rise rapidly to a dangerous level.

(End of this chapter)