Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 279 Big Rats and Poisonous Rats

When you dial Li Hu's number, as expected, you get the message "The user you dialed has been disconnected".

Shao Yongkang obtained Li Hu's address from HR and compared it with the address he left at the police station, discovering they weren't the same location. However, the differences were minor, and they were still in the same residential area, which made the address more credible.

"Go directly to their doorstep?"

Shao Yongkang politely inquired about Nie Guoqiang's actions, but in his heart he was prepared to do the opposite of what Nie Guoqiang wanted.

"Let's split our forces into two groups."

With a blank expression, Nie Guoqiang first called Zhang Yong to take people to Li Hu's address, then turned to Lai Qiang and said, "Take this opportunity to show us your company's raw material warehouse. Let me check the existing materials and their usage and transportation records as well."

"Are you from the anti-drug squad?"

Lai Qiang's expression changed drastically, showing a mixture of panic and dissatisfaction. Why launch a surprise attack? At least give us a heads-up by phone beforehand.

This expression immediately put Shao Yongkang on guard. Without hesitation, he stepped forward and revealed his identity: "First Squadron of the Criminal Investigation Brigade of Zhangzhou Public Security Bureau. I can give you time to call and verify your identity. If there are no questions, lead the way now, or are you planning to oppose the criminal police?"

"Should I...call my boss?"

Lai Qiang immediately put on a pitiful expression.

How could he not know the situation of his own company? It's impossible for the company to be manufacturing drugs, but to say that not a single gram of those key monitored raw materials was missing? Heh heh... Even just putting on a show would require at least half an hour of preparation beforehand.

"Smack him face to face!"

Nie Guoqiang gave General Manager Lai another chance. He really wanted to know what this old company in his jurisdiction, which in some ways was even older than the Zhanghe Police Station, could achieve.

In front of a group of police officers, Lai Qiang dialed a number in his contacts with a grim expression.

He turned on speakerphone automatically without even needing to be reminded.

"Hey?"

A male voice came from the other end, accompanied by the continuous clatter of mahjong tiles and the sounds of several people laughing and joking.

"Mr. Li, the city police are here. They want to inspect the company's raw material warehouse. They need to see it now."

Facing Nie Guoqiang and Shao Yongkang, Lai Qiang dared not say a word more, nor did he dare to say less.

The voice on the other end abruptly stopped.

Lingo's ears perked up, and his tail stood on end. Even though the person on the other end covered the microphone with their hand, he could still hear faint curses. He vaguely heard the sound of mahjong tiles being smashed, followed by the sound of a chair being dragged and someone shouting "Check, please!"

In addition, there are similar words like 'finding someone'.

After a long pause, Mr. Li put the microphone back on and said, "I'll be right back. Mr. Lai, you take the police officers and go ahead. We are a legitimate company, and everything is being done transparently and in accordance with regulations. There's nothing to hide."

"well!"

Lai Qiang nodded repeatedly, his heart finally at ease.

"Is it too late to warn them now?"

As the group walked towards the warehouse, Chen Liang scoffed disdainfully. The warehouse was only five or six minutes from the office building; if something was really fishy, ​​what could they possibly do in that time?
And despite Mr. Li's confident assurances over the phone, everyone knew that some minor issues were undeniably present. However, as is human nature, the police wouldn't deliberately nitpick; they just hoped the company wouldn't go too far. For raw materials like isobutylbenzene and pseudoephedrine, given the company's annual production of thousands of tons of raw materials, slight discrepancies in quantities are normal. But if these figures exceed the bottom line…

Nie Guoqiang didn't mind shutting down this long-established company in his jurisdiction on the spot.

"Ok?"

Suddenly, Lin Ge smelled a somewhat familiar scent. It wasn't Li Hu's scent, but another scent that seemed familiar yet was unfamiliar to him.

This smell... I think I've smelled it before, around the logistics park.

"Is it a coincidence?"

Although he had doubts, Lin Ge kept the matter to himself, but his attitude became more cautious.

"Yang Juan'er! Yang Juan'er!"

As soon as Lai Qiang arrived at the warehouse entrance, he started shouting from afar. A middle-aged woman in a white coat rushed out, pretending to be in a hurry, but her unsurprised expression upon seeing the police made everyone somewhat suspicious.

"Believe it or not, they definitely planned this in the company group chat a long time ago. This act is purely for our benefit, but they have no talent for acting at all, it's so fake."

Chen Liang turned around and complained to Lin Ge.

Why are you telling me?

Lin Ge gave this guy a speechless look.

Upon hearing Lai Qiang's words and his explanation of the police's purpose, warehouse manager Yang Juan was not surprised at all and immediately nodded in agreement, leading the group to the key raw material warehouse on the side.

His decisive manner softened the expressions of the crowd somewhat.

"Wang Chengxiang!"

Yang Juan also started calling for help before even reaching her destination.

This time, however, the warehouse manager named Wang Chengxiang didn't come out so quickly. Lin Ge even heard heavy footsteps coming from the second floor of the warehouse, the metal plates were being stomped on loudly, and someone was lingering up there instead of coming down quickly.

This surprised not only the police, but also Lai Qiang and Yang Juan.

"Go straight in!"

Nie Guoqiang's face was ashen. Without hesitation, he pushed aside Lai Qiang, who was leading the way, and walked straight into the sizable raw material warehouse.

Upon entering, you are greeted by a large surveillance display screen with a total of sixteen screens.

Sixteen screens occupied most of the wall in front of them, displaying the real-time situation on the second floor of the warehouse. A woman dressed in black was nimbly running around on the screens, moving from one surveillance camera to another, and hurriedly marking up the goods stacked in the warehouse. Seeing her hurried and unhurried manner, the expressions of the police officers and the two company executives, Lai Qiang and Yang Juan, all turned grim.

Where should isobutylbenzene be stored?

Nie Guoqiang was not worried about the woman disappearing, nor was he afraid that she would alter the information to the point of being uninvestigable; he simply focused on the key points without hesitation.

"Second...second floor..."

Yang Juan pointed shakily to one of the surveillance cameras, and then Wang Chengxiang's figure appeared in the camera, her head down as she hurriedly scribbled on the sign in front of the isobutylbenzene storage location.

Under the surveillance of high-definition cameras, her every move was clearly visible. Whether it was the initial, unhesitating act of blacking out the paper record or the subsequent alteration of the paper record while looking at data on her phone, it was all witnessed by everyone present.

What about pseudoephedrine?

Shao Yongkang's expression turned even uglier.

Before he could finish speaking, Nie Guoqiang, who was flipping through the raw material records next to him, looked up and said, "That stack over there is it. The rest have all been used up in production. By the way, the consumption of toluene is also a bit abnormal; the tanker truck records are a bit frequent."

‘Poof! ’

Lai Qiang, however, plopped down on the ground.

Yang Juan was equally embarrassed, but at least she remained somewhat composed, stammering, "No...don't misunderstand! It's just...it's just that the records...the records weren't up to standard. The warehouse...the warehouse's shipments are all done according to regulations, it's just that filling out the records was a little slow. Officers...officers, you can check the surveillance footage; there's absolutely no unauthorized movement of the monitored raw materials. As for toluene...that...actually..."

Before Yang Juan could even look over, Lai Qiang raised his hand and said, "The toluene was falsified; half of the transport was done in empty trucks! The truck... the truck is registered in my wife's name. She only embezzled a little money from the company; it absolutely has nothing to do with drug manufacturing! Officer, I confess, please... please don't misunderstand!"

"Heh... So you're scared now?"

Shao Yongkang sneered, making a phone call to the anti-drug squad while gesturing to his subordinates, "Go and arrest that woman! What's the point of covering it up now that it's out? Heh... really... drug precursors, they dare to play around like this!"

"It has nothing to do with drug manufacturing! It's just... taking advantage of the company a little. It's like... buying large quantities of drugs and actually transporting smaller ones. Officer, it's all financial matters, not drug-related. I know what's important!"

Lai Qiang became increasingly calm as he spoke, even showing signs of sharpening his wits. He knew that once he became addicted to drugs, the consequences far outweighed the minor charge of embezzling company funds. Therefore, he preferred to accept the charge of embezzlement without hesitation rather than bear the stigma of drug use. After all… he had earned enough over the years, more than enough for his needs.

He glanced back at Yang Juan, who nodded secretly, but this escaped the notice of the police officers.

"You can explain those things properly when you get to the police station!"

Shao Yongkang naturally wouldn't believe the suspects' one-sided stories, and simply waved for Chen Liang to take the two men into custody.

At that moment, Quan Chenghai, as imposing as a tank, had already dragged Wang Chengxiang down from the second floor. The woman was disheveled, looking like she had fallen more than once. She was still holding a pen in her hand, almost crushing it in her hand.

Following behind Wang Chengxiang was Lin Ge, who had wandered off somewhere.

Lin Ge's cat-like face was serious, even more aloof than Nie Guoqiang and the others. As expected, Lin Ge detected Li Hu's scent on Wang Chengxiang. A very strong scent; their close proximity suggested a close relationship.

Moreover, given her position as a warehouse manager, she shouldn't be qualified to falsify accounts and embezzle company assets like Lai Qiang and Yang Juan, right?

Everyone present knew this perfectly well.

But no matter how she was questioned, Wang Chengxiang remained silent, her eyes closed and her expression one of unyielding defiance.

'555...'

The sirens soon blared, not just from one police car, but a continuous chorus, like a grand symphony.

When police cars stopped at the warehouse entrance and many police officers rushed out and immediately surrounded the entire warehouse, Lin Ge knew that the anti-drug squad had arrived.

Besides the anti-drug police, there were also more than ten large black-backed wolfhounds, each one looking quite imposing.

The anti-drug squad is indeed a well-funded department; even the anti-drug police dogs they selected were all the same color. Lin Ge even saw that these police officers were carrying real weapons on their waists. The leader, wearing sunglasses and looking quite imposing, strode towards the group.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Shao Yongkang and nodding to Nie Guoqiang, the man took over all the work on site without hesitation, leaving Shao Yongkang and the others to stand quietly to the side.

At this moment, no one will complain about it.

"That's definitely too little!"

After checking the warehouse records and comparing them with the actual inventory, a professional clerk said to the officer in sunglasses, "Even putting aside the issue of falsification, just considering the actual inventory, it is about two tons less than the inbound and outbound records."

Is it isobutylbenzene or pseudoephedrine?

Officer Wen Xiaosong, wearing sunglasses, sneered, revealing a set of white teeth. He looked around at the three suspects at the scene and said, "These two things are not the same! Isobutylbenzene can be converted into methamphetamine raw materials, while pseudoephedrine... is itself a raw material!"

Lai Qiang and Yang Juan trembled together, but the cold handcuffs on their wrists and the fierce police officers around them made them unable to muster the courage to argue. They could only stare at Wang Chengxiang with murderous eyes.

Wang Chengxiang is the daughter of Director Wang of the Safety Department, and she's only twenty-seven years old. But looking at her immature appearance, you'd believe she was five or six. If she were even slightly more mature, how could she possibly do something so outrageous?

These officials only dare to act like rats and rake in money, but this idiot actually dares to steal raw materials for making drugs.

Wang Chengxiang lowered her head and remained silent. A pair of round-toed black leather shoes appeared in her line of sight. Wen Xiaosong's voice was colder than ice: "Speak, where did the stuff go? And who helped you transport it out? Ordinary vehicles wouldn't dare to carry this stuff. Who drove it through? Or... who else in this factory is your accomplice? I'm warning you, your crimes are not light! You're still young, it's understandable that you made mistakes, but don't ruin your life."

"..."

Wang Chengxiang kept her head down, her body trembling slightly. Even in this state, she gritted her teeth and refused to confess.

Feelings are a terrible thing.

Lin Ge shook his head and sighed from behind.

"Wang Chengxiang, don't get me killed!"

Yang Juan's voice changed, and she shouted in a broken voice, "Your father asked me to take care of you and find you an easy job! I only asked you to do this job because I saw that all you need to do in this warehouse is manage the surveillance cameras, and you don't even need to keep an eye on things!"

"Ha ha……"

Shao Yongkang, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but laugh.

Why would such an important position, and such a serious matter, be so easily handed over to someone with connections?

It's true that entry and exit here are strictly monitored throughout, and the job only requires checking the computer to approve things—it's easy. But…don't these idiots even consider the consequences if something goes wrong? Oh, and by the way, none of these idiots are good people!
Rubbing his forehead, Shao Yongkang never expected that he would get involved in such a messy matter.

He was only looking for a guy named Li Hu, who was only suspected of using prohibited drugs, not narcotics. How did he accidentally uncover such a troubling case?
Just how many other messy things are going on at this factory?
Nie Guoqiang couldn't help but rub his temples, deeply regretting not paying enough attention to these businesses. Even though the regulation of these things was actually the responsibility of hazardous chemical management agencies and the anti-drug squad, or at the very least, drug regulatory agencies—it had absolutely no place for a small, run-down police station to get involved—Nie Guoqiang, who considered the entire situation in his jurisdiction his mission, still didn't want to see this happen. He felt that if he had paid more attention to this area, perhaps he could have prevented this disaster.

"Ow!"

Lin Ge suddenly moved closer to Nie Guoqiang, not to comfort him, but because there were some things he could only tell Nie Guoqiang.

"Ok?"

When Nie Guoqiang saw Lin Ge's expression, he knew what was going on.

This cat rarely seems so troubled; it would usually point out any clue on the spot. The fact that it's not acting as the conspicuous bag now undoubtedly means that what it needs to convey must be accurately expressed in writing.

So Nie Guoqiang picked up Lin Ge, nodded to Wen Xiaosong, and turned to walk out of the warehouse.

Outside the warehouse, a large number of anti-drug police officers were present, and there were even drug-sniffing trainers with drug-sniffing dogs searching the surrounding area for any unusual activity. Lin Ge didn't know if these police dogs could only smell drugs or could also distinguish the raw materials; at this moment, he was simply led by Nie Guoqiang into the toilet not far away across the street.

"Come."

Nie Guoqiang handed his phone to Lin Ge; the screen displayed a blank document.

"This one……"

When it came to actually showing Nie Guoqiang that he could type, Lin Ge suddenly felt a little embarrassed and awkward.

This revelation of his secret felt like being exposed in front of Nie Guoqiang. Even though he knew perfectly well that Nie Guoqiang knew he could type, he had kept it a secret, burying his head in the sand like an ostrich.

If you're not seen by your own eyes, you're not considered discovered, right?
And now...

"I'll go out first!"

Nie Guoqiang seemed to have guessed Lin Ge's thoughts. Ignoring the dirty bathroom floor, he gently placed his phone on the ground, turned around, went out, and closed the door behind him.

‘Crack. ’

The sound of Nie Guoqiang lighting a cigarette could be heard outside, clearly indicating that the man was not entirely at peace at the moment.

But Lin Ge couldn't care less about that now. After all, this case was more serious than any he had ever encountered before. Even the brutal dismemberment he had encountered in Zhuzhou was nothing compared to this... a leak of drug-related materials linked to a smuggling case involving contraband.

"She had Li Hu's scent on her, very strong."

Lin Ge left these words on his phone, and dared not linger any longer. He quickly crawled out through the gap under the partition and ran past Nie Guoqiang without looking back, only to be grabbed by the neck and pulled up by Nie Guoqiang.

"Damn it! Give me some face!"

Lin Ge roared in shame and anger, struggling wildly with his claws outstretched.

Nie Guoqiang felt a sharp pain in his arm; clearly, this stupid cat hadn't held back at all this time.

But when he grabbed Mimi, opened the door, bent down to pick up the phone, and saw the words left on it, he still put all the pain aside and just stared blankly at the dozen or so words on it.

It seems that everything can be explained now: a man who can get a salary without working, a woman who will do anything to secretly move things that could destroy her, and the seemingly more terrifying drug gang behind the scenes.

"call……"

Without hesitation, Nie Guoqiang used the backspace key to delete all the text in the notepad, then refused to save and closed the notepad. He then dragged Lin Ge back to the warehouse scene and found Wen Xiaosong.

This is an adaptation of a real-life story, not just made up.

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(End of this chapter)