Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 680 Police Cat
The foolish behavior of the middle-aged man was causing trouble for the investigators and the investigation work.

His actions caused the police to completely misjudge the suspect's modus operandi and deviate from the direction of the subsequent investigation.

If this guy hadn't been discovered by Lingo and surrendered in time, the police might have wasted time following the wrong investigation route, allowing that damn guy to escape.

Fortunately... there's still Ringo.

Fortunately... it was discovered in time.

For Lingo, the things the middle-aged man did were irrelevant; his explanation was simply a matter of elimination for Lingo.

Three minus two equals one!

After removing the two invalid options, the remaining one is the correct answer!

Lin Ge successfully located the target scent.

This sounds simple, but in reality, only Ringo can do it. Only someone with both intelligence and ability can use scent to eliminate possibilities. Dogs, who also have a keen sense of smell, can detect scents, but they have no idea how to handle such a complex problem.

While humans possess sufficient judgment, they are unable to transform the various residual smells from the outside world into a substantial entity sufficient to support their judgment.

In the olfactory world, invisible to the naked eye, shielding us from the creations of the real world and eliminating the doubts left by others, what remains is a single, clear path.

It is real and will not collide with any obstacles in the real world. Lingo only needs to follow it to replicate the person's route from last night without any deviation.

Of course, Lin Ge couldn't guarantee that his judgment was correct. But that didn't matter at all! There were enough professionals on site, and other areas were handled by others, so there wouldn't be any oversights.

So Lin Ge didn't linger any longer and followed the scent of the target all the way there.

"Mimi!"

Seeing Lin Ge turn and leave, Li Siyu quickly followed.

She didn't even need to ask Mimi what she had discovered; her face already showed an excited and thrilled expression.

Because for so long, whenever Mimi exhibited this behavior during a case, it meant she had locked onto the target! All that was left was to follow her, chase and chase, catch up with the target, and subdue her, and the case could be successfully closed.

too easy!

It's as if they're wearing a lock-on cheat code; no matter how desperately the suspect struggles and resists, they can't escape the Zhanghe Police Station's special methods.

This is a miracle that only Mimi can perform!
Many cases remain extremely difficult to solve, even with elite police officers and the use of modern technology. Some cases even require a certain amount of luck to have any chance of finding a breakthrough.

However, there are some cases that become much simpler once Ringo gets involved.

This is the value of the police cat, and the irreplaceable significance of Ringo! Even if technology advances to the point where it can scan and analyze the residual scents at the scene, it still cannot completely replace Ringo's efficiency.

Just like now, an invisible thread led Lin Ge forward, heading straight ahead after leaving the research institute.

Trusting Mimi, the Zhangzhou police dispatched an entire squadron to follow her. No one felt it was a waste of time; each was confidently prepared to arrest the suspect at any moment.

Even if the target gets into a car, Lin Ge can still lock onto it perfectly. Because cars are larger and have a wider variety of scents, they are easier for Lin Ge to track.

He simply made a phone call to Zhang Ke, who then drove the motorcycle that originally belonged to Zhu Jun. A cat was perched on the fuel tank, Zhang Ke sat in the front, and Li Siyu sat in the back. They continued their pursuit along the embankment road.

"Isn't this the way we came from?"

Holding onto the storage boxes on either side, Li Siyu quickly realized something was wrong. Following Mimi's directions, they were getting closer and closer to the place where Zhong Gerui had been rescued.

"Could it be... that Zhong Gerui saw the suspect?"

Zhang Ke was somewhat surprised.

Lin Ge was also taken aback when he heard this.

He never imagined this case would be connected to Zhong Gerui, especially if the child had actually seen the suspect's face...

"It can't be that much of a coincidence!"

Although he thought this way, Lin Ge still felt there was a possibility. Especially after the motorcycle, guided by Lin Ge, went down the embankment and was indeed heading towards the pine forest. If the timing was right, there was indeed a possibility that the two sides could meet.

"Ow!"

Lin Ge suddenly roared.

Zhang Ke suddenly slammed on the brakes, and the motorcycle lurched forward a few steps before coming to a sharp stop. The momentum pushed Lin Ge off the motorcycle, who then flipped over and landed steadily on the ground.

Lin Ge glared at Zhang Ke, then stared at a clear black skid mark on the cement ground, lost in thought.

Damn it... I ran into her!
Just ahead of this tire track, the scent left by Zhong Gerui and the fishy smell of the Zhanghe River were very clear.

The smell lingered in the middle of the road for quite some time, suggesting that Zhong Gerui originally intended to stand in the road and pray for passing vehicles before calling for help.

In other words, when the suspect drove here, Zhong Gorui happened to be blocking the road in the middle of the road, which startled the suspect so much that he braked quickly and was blocked by Zhong Gorui.

then……

"He got off the bus!"

Ahead of the skid marks, the suspect's scent became strong again. The child blocking the road annoyed him, and he walked towards Zhong Gorui.

"The two exchanged words."

With his eyes closed, Lin Ge judged and guessed what had happened by observing the intermingling of scents left at the scene.

"But it seemed the suspect had no intention of helping. Zhong Gorui took a step forward, as if the suspect was about to turn away, and he was trying to plead. Then... the suspect stopped, and their scents mingled..."

Lingo suddenly opened his eyes and slowly walked towards the farmland beside the road, following the scent.

Soon, under the blazing sun, a very clear mud mark appeared in Lin Ge's line of sight on the edge of the farmland. Judging from the round shape of the mark and the shape of the handprint next to it, the suspect had grabbed Zhong Gerui and thrown him into the field.

"This is……"

Zhang Ke, Li Siyu, and the city police officers who followed behind but didn't know what had happened all saw the mud marks on the paddy field ridge.

Judging from the terrible state of the mud and the several footprints that had been trampled into the field further ahead, someone must have fallen in there, struggled for a while, and then limped across the field to the distance.

"This was... left behind by Zhong Ge Rui?"

Zhang Ke showed a look of heartache.

Only the police officers from Zhanghe Police Station at the scene could guess what had happened. The car wasn't there, so the suspect couldn't have abandoned it and fled. The only person who could have left footprints was someone else who had been in contact with him, just as Zhang Ke had guessed earlier.

"That guy... not only did he leave Zhong Gerui to die, he also threw him down!"

Li Siyu gritted her teeth.

"It's already good enough that he didn't kill him to cover it up! Perhaps it was because Zhong Gerui's condition was already very bad at the time, so he judged that Zhong Gerui would definitely not survive, so he left him aside to fend for himself."

Lin Ge looked up and glanced at Li Siyu.

But at this point, Lingo had another point of doubt.

Why did the suspect dare to meet with Zhong Gorui so openly? At least when Zhong Gorui first blocked his way, he shouldn't have been able to immediately assume that Zhong Gorui was doomed.

So why did he get off the bus at that moment?

Unless his appearance is absolutely innocuous, or he is confident that he will not be associated with the institute theft.

Lin Ge thought of this crucial question.

Of course, the specifics will come to light once we find and catch this guy.

“Zhong Gerui is out of danger, but he hasn’t woken up yet. So we’ll have to wait a while to find out what he saw last night from him.”

Zhang Ke hung up the phone, his expression somewhat gloomy. He sighed and said, "The hospital said that the child's right toes are basically necrotic, and there's a risk of amputation. Even if blood circulation is restored, his right foot might become inflexible. He walked barefoot all the way to the pine forest; heaven knows how many wounds he sustained along the way. It's a miracle he survived, but if someone had rescued him there..."

"This guy... he's a thief and a spy! How could he possibly have a change of heart and save a child!"

Li Siyu shook her head, then gritted her teeth and said, "When I catch him, I'll definitely interrogate him properly about why he stood by and watched the child die! Seeing the child's condition, he still threw him into the field; that's tantamount to murder! That damned bastard!"

This damned guy has added another layer of sin to his list.

"Keep chasing!" Lin Ge jumped back onto the motorcycle expressionlessly.

Zhang Ke and Li Siyu knew that the important matter was paramount; the longer they delayed, the greater the chance the data would be transferred. Therefore, although they were annoyed by Zhong Gerui's predicament, Zhang Ke quickly started his motorcycle and continued the chase as instructed by Lin Ge.

Time passed slowly, the sun rose overhead, and the temperature gradually became hot.

The motorcycle had already left the reservoir area and was speeding towards the suburbs.

Continuing forward, there's a national highway leading to a neighboring city, and even a highway entrance a dozen kilometers ahead. Now, we can only hope that the suspect definitely got on the highway, and didn't take the national highway with its countless possible routes off into some unknown direction.

Yes! It's simple once you're on the highway!

The cameras at highway toll gates capture the face of every driver passing through a vehicle with crystal clarity. Locating a vehicle or pinpointing the location of another vehicle using the numerous cameras along the highway becomes effortless.

As for abandoning the car and climbing over the railing, the police would prefer that.

Unfortunately... this guy was more cunning than expected.

Lin Ge sighed regretfully.

The car's smell passed the highway exit ramp without hesitation, heading straight for the neighboring town of Ma. More than twelve hours had passed since the incident; heaven knows where he had gone in his frantic rush.

Furthermore... despite the ongoing pursuit, the police have yet to obtain detailed information about the vehicle.

Even at night, there are still many vehicles on the national highway; checking the specific license plate number of the other vehicle and the faces of people in the roadside cameras is a very time-consuming task. After all, it is impossible to determine the exact time the other vehicle arrived, so it is necessary to check each vehicle one by one.

By the time they find out, it'll be too late!

"Ow!"

As they passed a gas station, Lin Ge suddenly roared again.

Zhang Ke understood, turned the motorcycle around, and drove straight into the gas station.

That's it! The other person's car needed gas. Perhaps he didn't think the police could track him down so quickly, or perhaps he wasn't well-prepared and his car was low on fuel; in any case, this person went into the gas station.

"Police! Are the security cameras at the gas station working properly? How many cars came to refuel after 10 p.m. last night? Let us check!"

The police officers who followed took over the gas station's surveillance system.

Should we continue the pursuit?

This task only requires two or three people. The police officers from the Second Squadron of the Criminal Investigation Brigade, who were getting out of the police car and taking the time to warm up, all looked at Lin Ge.

Lin Ge nodded.

Although the wind made him dizzy from riding the motorcycle, and he was physically and mentally exhausted, Lin Ge was still able to persevere.

Most importantly, in his view, the target couldn't possibly just keep running along the national highway like that.

That would be too conspicuous and too easy to be targeted.

The traffic police's monitoring system is networked. From Zhanghe Reservoir all the way to Mazhen, there are very few cars that pass most of the cameras along the way, especially during that nighttime period.

As a professional thief capable of orchestrating such a major incident, he would undoubtedly be aware of or prepared for such a situation. Therefore, he will most likely choose to take a detour through a side path or hide in a place he deems safe.

Running around nonstop is the stupidest thing to do, as it will undoubtedly expose you to the traffic police.

This place is more than 50 kilometers away from Zhangzhou City. Even the most cautious person would consider this distance to be quite safe for the time being. Getting out of the sight of surveillance cameras first, and then escaping from another location, is the smart thing to do.

Just as Lin Ge had guessed, after walking another five or six kilometers, the target's aura turned into a country road in this town.

Lin Ge directed the turn and continued tracking for over a kilometer until a red Jeep SUV, parked haphazardly beside the stone bridge like a fisherman, finally came into view.

"Finally... I caught up with him!"

Lin Ge gave a tired smile.

The suspect probably never imagined that the police would track him down without making a single mistake, as if they had a surveillance camera on him.

From Zhangzhou to here, there are countless forks in the road and countless directions of escape. Even this car parked here looks perfectly normal. That's how fishermen are; they just park their cars by the river in the countryside and that's it, nothing strange about it.

So if it weren't for Ringo, who knows if the police could have tracked him down to this place, or how long it would have taken.

But thanks to Lin Ge, the police's pursuit went without any mistakes or wasted time.

"Captain! We've found the car. The license plate number is *******."

The police at the gas station called.

"Yes! That's him! The gas station must have taken a picture of him, right? Send it to all relevant departments and lock him down!"

Zhai Xiaojun looked at the car in front of him and gave a somewhat speechless affirmative response.

"?"

The policeman at the gas station looked puzzled.

What does "that's him" mean? Does it mean the traffic police have also identified this car? This time, the efficiency is unusually fast!
But now is not the time to talk about that. The policeman just smiled wryly and said, "There's no way to identify his face! He was wearing sunglasses and a mask, and his body was completely covered up. With the resolution of the gas station's cameras, we can only confirm that he is a tall male."

"Oh!"

Zhai Xiaojun responded, but his attitude showed no disappointment.

After all, Mimi is more efficient here, and the target vehicle has already been located. Moreover, the suspect has abandoned the car, so whether they walk or hide nearby, how can they escape Mimi's incredible tracking methods?
Besides, wasn't it expected that the suspect would conceal his face?

If he's so capable, he might even be able to completely hide his own scent! Or perhaps he's learned teleportation and escaped to the ends of the earth! Otherwise, no matter how hard he tries to conceal it, he can't possibly escape Mimi's little nose!

Zhai Xiaojun looked at the cat looking around in front of him with affection.

Zhai Xiaojun had already cooperated with Mimi on several cases and had heard of the incredible cases it had solved. He had no worries about the cat's abilities.

Furthermore, if this case can be resolved today, then even if those awful and foolish things happen at the research institute, Zhangzhou City's reputation can still be preserved.

And all of this is thanks to this cat; its existence is like a superpower bestowed upon the Zhangzhou Public Security System by God.

"What happened?"

The wailing of the police siren attracted the attention of two fishermen below the bridge.

Although the fishing rods in their hands were more important, the two men, who were completely covered in sun protection clothing, couldn't help but look up at the police officers on the bridge, their expressions a mixture of curiosity, doubt, and a little nervousness.

"Damn it, surely fishing isn't prohibited in these little streams too?"

One of them let out a complaining curse.

Does this mean we can only fish for stupid fish in those artificially fed, expensive, and unpalatable fishponds? It's so hard to find a good spot for wild fishing these days; you can even get chased by the police if you go to such a place!
The other person also grunted and began to silently pack up his fishing gear.

If fishing isn't allowed, then let's just leave!

"Comrades, do you know whose car that is?"

Several police officers carefully slid down the slope.

They didn't intend to delegate all the work to a cat, so while Mimi rested, they quickly seized the time to investigate clues. As police officers from the city's criminal investigation team, they weren't going to be mere decorations following Mimi around like a tail.

"do not know!"

The two fishermen shook their heads in unison.

"When I came here late at night, this car was already parked here. But when I came to dig for bait yesterday afternoon, this car wasn't here! Officer, is something wrong?"

One of them looked curious.

"Thank you for your cooperation."

As a police officer, how could I possibly reveal such a shameful incident that happened in Zhangzhou? Besides, it hasn't even been confirmed whether it's an espionage case yet! What if it's a traitorous dog bribed by a spy? Wouldn't that be even more disgraceful?
"Ok?"

After resting for a while and catching his breath, Lin Ge looked down at the two fishermen at the bottom of the slope and suddenly blinked.

(End of this chapter)