Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 172 The Amazing Maine (10,000 words, 3rd update, please vote)

Lin Ge was both ashamed and angry, but after thinking about Nie Guoqiang's suggestion to send the two lynx cubs to Zhangzhou Zoo, he did not agree.

Because these are things that the lynx cubs need to decide for themselves, rather than having their future imposed on them by others.

Even for Lingo, he believed that lynx cubs shouldn't live in cages, but rather roam freely in the mountains and fields. Even if a free life brings danger and hardship, at least they would live like a lynx, not a pet cat with a peculiar appearance.

Lin Ge himself shared this attitude; otherwise, why would he have stayed at the Zhanghe Police Station and worked so hard to follow Nie Guoqiang on cross-provincial missions?
With his intelligence and ability to charm people, he could live a good life as a pet cat in any family, enjoying a life of comfort and ease until his natural death.

But is this kind of life really meaningful?

Is being alive really more important than being free?
Qian Wei would rather be infamous than notorious than fail to catch bad guys; Zhang Ke would rather temporarily give up his privileged life as a rich kid than not pursue his dream of becoming a policeman; Luo Jue would rather face his disliked father alone than let his family be the reason for his actions; Hu Zhengping would rather offend the entire police station than give up his hatred for Lin Ge in order to mourn his dog…

Every person is an independent individual with their own thoughts, and animals are no exception.

Lingo didn't intend to make decisions for the two lynx cubs.

Of course, if they were willing to leave the mountain with him, Lingo would be happy to accept and would be willing to find a way to do so.

The next day, the support team from Zhuzhou Municipal Bureau and the professor from the Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Bureau rushed to the ancient tomb early in the morning and successfully met up with the Yexian police who had been bitten by mosquitoes all night.

The police officers, covered in bites from poisonous mosquitoes, warmly welcomed the visiting comrades from the Cultural Relics Protection Bureau.

The leading expert in cultural relic preservation was an elderly man with white hair.

He was already quite old and had a very difficult time getting there, requiring the assistance of two young students to reach his destination. However, after only a short rest, he hurriedly began the archaeological investigation, leading his students to examine the ancient tomb that had already been looted.

The inspection results were somewhat disappointing. The ancient tomb was only from the Ming and Qing dynasties, and its quality was only that of a commoner's tomb, not reaching the level of the Qin and Han dynasties that inspire fear.

What's infuriating is that this tomb has been raided by grave robbers more than once. Based on the composition and characteristics of the soil near the entrance, the professor determined that it had been excavated at least three times in the past twenty years. Furthermore, due to the grave robbers' destructive excavation, which disregarded scientific principles and conservation, and the fact that it was discovered too late to implement subsequent protective measures, the tomb has been severely damaged. Even before it has been excavated, the professor believes it has likely lost its academic value.

The students who were traveling with the group were somewhat disappointed, but the police officers' eyes lit up.

For tombs that do not possess cultural relic value, excavation is much less troublesome. Unless someone can provide evidence that their ancestors are buried there, the police can directly handle the tomb according to the law, without having to worry about any troublesome issues.

Lin Ge was somewhat disappointed with the result, because the faster the tomb was dealt with and the case was solved, the sooner he could leave the two lynx cubs.

It's highly unlikely that he'll wait until the two lynx cubs grow up before leaving.

Lin Ge peeked back at the lynx's den and found the two little rascals happily eating inside, showing no sign of coming out. Lin Ge felt much relieved. As long as they weren't discovered by the police and the professor of cultural relics, they were safe.

Back at the ancient tomb, Lin Ge saw the old professor's student arguing with a police officer.

Curious, I listened for a moment and learned that the students were dissatisfied with the police's excavation methods. They believed that even if an ancient tomb had lost its value, it should be excavated using scientific methods, rather than violently destroying the entire tomb.

"We're not here to accompany you on your archaeological excavation! This ancient tomb most likely contains the remains of a victim, and it must be found as soon as possible to provide enough clues to catch the criminals quickly!"

The criminal investigation team leader patiently but with some dissatisfaction explained to the female college student.

"However, this ancient tomb dates back to the Ming and Qing dynasties, and is at least two or three hundred years old! Even if it has no academic value, from a historical perspective, it is still a cultural relic and a piece of history that must be protected!"

The female student remained defiant, even demanding that the police operate with care, preferably using small shovels and brushes, to protect any valuable items inside as much as possible.

This is utter nonsense, and everyone is having a terrible headache.

However, the old professor standing nearby smiled without saying a word, showing no intention of helping the police persuade his student.

Haha... No matter which university, it's lucky for archaeology students to have three to five archaeologists each year. The old professor finally got two treasures; how could he possibly let his students down?

Besides, as an expert in the field of archaeology, he was unwilling to see the ancient tomb being crudely and completely destroyed, even if it was worthless.

As a result, the police had a headache.

The professor disagreed with exhuming the grave. But how could the case be solved without exhuming it? And even if the victim's family were found, would they be willing to accept the compromise of having their loved one's remains dumped in someone else's grave?

Moreover, so many police officers are gathered at the scene, all busy with this matter. If this continues, what will happen to the work? What about the safety of the jurisdiction? And who will be responsible for the expenses incurred by staying here every day?
The junior leader from the municipal bureau was somewhat regretful, regretting that he had come to deal with this mess after hearing about the ancient tomb.

Seeing that the matter was still unresolved, another male student, feeling bored watching his companion arguing with the police, quietly went for a stroll around the area.

"Xiao Ye!"

A moment later, he rushed over, whispered something in the female college student's ear, and showed her what he was holding.

"Really?"

Xuan Ye was taken aback, her eyes suddenly lighting up. But the male classmate didn't have time to explain in detail, and ran to the old professor to tell him what he had discovered.

"Are you sure it's from the Sui or Tang Dynasty? Wait, it really is..."

Taking a dark, dirty piece of metal from the boy's hand, the old professor lost his composure. After a brief look, his hands and feet trembled slightly: "Qin Zihao, where did you find this? A Sui and Tang dynasty artifact found near a Ming and Qing dynasty tomb, do you know what that means?"

All the police officers stared in astonishment at the agitated old professor.

Qin Zihao nodded excitedly and said, "Of course I know! This means that there might be a Sui or Tang dynasty tomb under or near this Ming or Qing dynasty tomb! Maybe, by coincidence or for some other reason, the tomb was dug up, and later generations, unaware of this, buried people on top of it..."

"..."

What kind of strange chain of tombs is this? Were the ancients so careless?

The police officers were dumbfounded. "This is outrageous?"

Lin Ge, forgetting to lick his paws, looked up in astonishment to eat the melon. But before he could even take a bite, he suddenly noticed a strange smell emanating from the piece of scrap metal in the professor's hand…

"Oops!"

A sense of foreboding welled up in Lin Ge's heart.

The old professor took a deep breath, gestured for Xuan Ye to come closer, and then calmly said, "Judging from the patterns on this fragment, it is indeed from the Sui and Tang dynasties. But where did you find it? If you could find it so easily, how could the tomb raiders who visited several times have missed it?"

"Hehe... I was just strolling around and spotted a Maine Coon cat. I don't know which cop brought it here, but it's quite cute. It was tearing at this thing, and I got curious and snatched it from its mouth."

Qin Zihao proudly recounted his mischievous experiences.

Seeing the disbelief on everyone's faces, and their disbelief that any Maine Coon cats would appear in this desolate place, Qin Zihao hurriedly turned around and went to the other side. Half a minute later, he came back carrying a transparent acrylic box that was shaking continuously.

The box was tightly bound with a gift ribbon, and inside was a cramped, tan-colored kitten that filled the entire box.

"Holy crap! It really was you, you idiot!"

Lin Ge was instantly paralyzed with fear.

What kind of Maine Coon is this? Isn't this my stupid godson? What was he thinking, and how did he manage to run out like that and get stuffed into this weird gift box?
Lin Ge stood up dejectedly and quietly walked towards Qin Zihao.

He couldn't just stand by and watch the little lynx get caught. At this point, the ancient tomb and the fragments didn't matter; the little lynx's safety was the most important thing.

As for why it got out...

After thinking about it, Lin Ge realized that it might be his own problem.

He sent so much human food to the nest that the baby lynx, smelling the human scent on the food, ate its fill and lost all wariness of humans. The temptation of delicious food was irresistible to a little creature without a mother's guidance and who had never seen the world. This fool, who had never seen humans or had ever had close contact with them, was too careless, fed too many treats by Lingo, and began to trust everyone there.

Then... before they could even resist, they were captured in one fell swoop by the audacious Qin Zihao.

"It really is a Maine, it looks quite imposing."

Xuan Ye leaned closer, curiously peering into the transparent box at the struggling cat inside.

Seeing the little lynx looking so pitiful and unable to move, she turned back with displeasure and said, "Qin Zihao, why did you lock it in here? It didn't do anything to you, and it even helped you find such an important and precious artifact! Ugh, this box..."

"Oh! I took it from you. I couldn't find anything good to put it in, so I opened the gift my boyfriend gave you."

Qin Zihao spoke casually, but his eyes held a wicked cunning.

The surrounding police officers instantly understood that it didn't matter where this guy kept the Maine Coon cat; destroying the gift from the girl's boyfriend was probably his original purpose.

"You guy..."

Xuan Ye was both angry and amused, and she was well aware of Qin Zihao's ulterior motives. However, for the sake of the adorable little Maine Coon in front of her, she decided to forgive this bastard this time.

"Little cutie, I'm coming to release you, just a moment."

Xuan Ye snatched the box from Qin Zihao's hand and squatted down to untie the ribbon.

"Wait a moment!"

Just as Lin Ge quietly slipped behind Xuan Ye, the old professor suddenly adjusted his glasses and walked over.

He glanced at Lingo, then bent down to examine the baby lynx in the box for a while. He frowned and said, "What's wrong with you two? This isn't a Maine Coon at all! Look at its tail, this little guy is clearly a lynx!"

"Lynx?"

The onlookers gasped in surprise.

"Lynx?"

Xuan Ye was startled and quickly put the gift box on the ground, then hurriedly dodged away.

"real or fake?"

Qin Zihao looked down at his hands. It was so easy to catch this little guy just now. It even came closer and cried out. Is it really a wild animal?
Just then, Lingo finally moved.

Before anyone could react, Lingo ducked and charged at the gift box, then headbutted it. He used his two front paws to forcefully pull the ribbon aside, tearing a slit in the box, and the lynx inside slithered out fiercely.

"Whoa!"

The lynx glared at Qin Zihao and roared, its imposing stance lasting only half a second. But then it glanced around and saw strangers everywhere, and instantly became timid. It quickly hid behind Lin Ge, burying its head under his rear end, almost knocking him over.

"Fuck!"

Everyone was shocked by the scene. When they came to their senses, Lin Ge, who was watching over the little lynx, and the little wild beast who regarded Lin Ge as its guardian, were both momentarily stunned.

A fierce lynx seeks protection from a cat?

Seeing that the little fool didn't run away, Lin Ge sighed regretfully. All his wild thoughts from the previous night had been wasted. The little lynx, which had misjudged the threat to humans, had already lost its right to survive in the mountains.

(End of this chapter)