Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 299 Choice
Ah Gao's eyes were fixed on Jian Ge.

But Brother Jian showed no fear whatsoever, only coldly toying with the lighter in his hand. The clicking and clattering of the lighter sounded like the grim glint of death. The flame, igniting and extinguishing, seemed capable of completely incinerating a person.

Zhao Zhigao clenched his fist.

He knew that the most dangerous moment had arrived.

Whether it will end in failure or whether we will do everything in our power to completely overthrow this gang from top to bottom depends on this one step we take.

The initial reaction was already alarming. Even if his refusal wouldn't lead to his group, led by Brother Jian, excluding him would make it absolutely impossible for him to join their inner circle.

In that case, what's the point of my undercover mission?
As a police officer, Zhao Zhigao didn't want to let these people get away with it. Especially the real leader of this gang and the entire drug trafficking network, who were still hiding in the shadows, were truly a terrible scourge on society.

But if the price is turning yourself into a drug addict...

Zhao Zhigao raised his head and stared intently at Brother Jian, saying, "Brother Jian, you know I need money, a lot of money! I don't want to be a pauper for the rest of my life, and I don't want my children to suffer in the future. So I'm not afraid to die! I even dared to kill a policeman, isn't that enough to prove my loyalty?"

"Don't make me laugh!"

Jian Ge waved his hand dismissively and sneered, "Do you think I'm stupid? You stabbed that idiot cop the other day? You think I don't have connections in the police? It was clearly some small-time thug who came looking for trouble. Don't fucking brag about yourself! That's what you call awesome. Three lives on his hands plus an assault on a policeman. That's the kind of guy I like. Who do you think you are? Ah Gao, stop bastarding. I'm only giving you two choices: either... inspect the goods and obediently work with me, and enjoy that god-like feeling; or... you actually find a cop and stab him, and claim credit for the corpse. How about it?"

"..."

Zhao Zhigao frowned and questioned, "I don't mind killing people, as long as I get paid. But Brother Jian, aren't you afraid that killing a policeman will escalate the situation, and then we'll face the police's wrath and end up having no place to stand in Zhangzhou?"

"This is none of your business."

Brother Jian waved his hand, looking at Zhao Zhigao with surprise, and said, "But you've got guts, kid. You'd rather kill a cop than do drugs? Fine! No problem! I won't make things difficult for you. Just find a chance to kill that guy who was chasing you earlier, and that'll be the end of it."

"Okay! Give me three days!"

Zhao Zhigao nodded without hesitation, his murderous look startling Jian Ge and Lin Ge in the distance.

"Holy crap, are you serious?"

Jian Ge stared at Zhao Zhigao in astonishment, unsure whether the guy was genuinely audacious or betting that Jian Ge wouldn't dare agree. However, Jian Ge knew this guy was ruthless. When he recruited him, seven brothers were utterly thrashed by him; his strength was undeniable. If he hadn't genuinely needed such a capable fighter, he would never have tried to bring this outsider into the team.

"I'm scared of you!"

In the end, Brother Jian chickened out. He wasn't stupid; he knew exactly what killing a policeman meant in China.

Waving his hand, Brother Jian turned and left: "No need for the police, just find someone to kill. Like I said, a pledge of loyalty is a must, otherwise why should I trust you? Also... in our line of work, it's impossible to never touch drugs, Gao. Sooner or later, you'll still get involved, so why worry about this asshole now? Come with me, let's take a couple of puffs, nothing will happen, and I'll save myself the trouble..."

"..."

Zhao Zhigao genuinely refused to touch drugs, but judging from Jian Ge's attitude, it seemed that even if he were to actually kill someone, he would still have reservations. After all, these people weren't murderers; they were drug dealers, and drugs were their primary objective.

Besides, how could he possibly actually kill someone? At most, he'd try to get the police to cooperate and cover it up. Judging from the current situation, it seems that one attempt at deception won't completely dispel their doubts.

Taking a deep breath, Zhao Zhigao knew that he actually had no choice at all.

Or rather, from the moment he refused the squadron's lottery and volunteered, something he deeply abhorred was destined to taint him. The righteous knight slew the demon, his body stained with demonic blood, and from that moment on, he was no longer human…

Zhao Zhigao recalled a time when he was on duty at the bureau and saw his colleague's son secretly reading comics and muttering something to him. He felt a deep sense of empathy for the colleague.

"I'll do whatever you tell me to do, I'll listen to you, Brother Jian!"

Zhao Zhigao raised his head firmly.

"Haha...that's more like it!"

Jian Ge patted Zhao Zhigao on the shoulder and burst into laughter.

"..."

Lin Ge watched quietly as the man named A Gao followed Jian Ge leisurely and nonchalantly until they met up with the woman in red.

Jian Ge unleashed a torrent of abuse on the woman in red, but to his surprise, she was no pushover either, stubbornly arguing back against him. Their quarrel attracted the attention of those around them, making Jian Ge extremely uncomfortable, and he could only turn and leave in a disheveled state.

Ah Gao was about to leave with Jian Ge when the woman in red grabbed his arm.

It was clear that this woman cared about Ah Gao quite a bit, or rather, she had taken a liking to him. She jokingly said some nasty things about Brother Jian, and then invited Ah Gao to go drinking together, but Ah Gao politely declined.

Lin Ge could tell from their accents that the woman in red and Brother Jian were from the same place. It was even possible that most of the group came from the same area. This was precisely why their unity and cohesion were unmatched by ordinary criminal gangs. Just like one of the three women named Yingzi who was arrested by the police, the police had yet to fully extract information from her or find any weaknesses in the group.

To be honest, what Lin Ge heard made him very upset.

Watching a policeman being forced to get dirty was a painful torment for Lingo.

But Lingo couldn't step forward to stop him, not only because A Gao was an undercover agent, but also because of his willingness to sacrifice himself to arrest the entire criminal gang. To run out and stop him at this moment would be an insult to his sense of justice.

All Lin Ge could do was remember the appearance, smell, and every detail of the conversations of A Gao, Jian Ge, and the woman in red.

These things must not be told to anyone other than Nie Guoqiang; they must be kept firmly in one's heart until the moment A Gao returns with merit, at which point all of these guys will be captured without exception.

"Mimi?"

After having their fill of fun at Starbucks, Zhang Yining and his group of five came out and found Lin Ge.

Seeing Lin Ge staring blankly at the amusement park, Zhang Yining asked curiously, "Does Mimi want to ride the toy cars? Why don't we all ride them together? Let's agree on one thing: no bumping into each other. These aren't bumper cars; if you break something, you'll have to pay for it."

"I stopped playing with cars that I couldn't crash into when I was five years old."

Zheng Jiacheng smirked arrogantly.

Nie Zhuangzhuang and Xie Zaiqi also expressed no interest. They planned to go to the arcade on the fifth floor to play video games, hoping that the two older women would not bother them.

"I want to play the dance machine!"

Hu Miao's eyes lit up, and she was somewhat tempted.

"Then I'll stay here with Mimi, you guys go..."

Before Zhang Yining could finish speaking, she saw Lin Ge yell at her, then turn around and leave on his own.

Although she didn't know exactly what was going on, Zhang Yining knew that Mimi and Brother Zhang Ke had come with a mission today. Knowing that she couldn't be willful or disturb them at this time, Zhang Yining could only follow Hu Miao and the others back into Wanda Plaza.

Lin Ge was in a bad mood, and Zhang Ke, who came up from the parking lot, was in an equally bad mood.

Although Zhong Kai couldn't tell him much due to regulations, Zhang Ke was still incredulous and distressed that the suspects he had arrested twice were actually undercover agents sent by the Zhangzhou Municipal Narcotics Control Detachment to infiltrate drug trafficking gangs. Just how dangerous is an undercover operation? Leaving aside novels, movies, and TV dramas, even based on the real-world data Zhang Ke knew, the records were filled with bloody statistics.

It's common for undercover agents to deliberately fall into prostitution to gain the trust of the gang, thus ending their careers and preventing them from ever appearing in the light again. Some are forced to retire from the police force, some are even left with disabilities, and many more sacrifice their lives.

No one can tolerate betrayal, and criminals are no exception. Once an undercover operation is discovered, there is usually no chance of escape.

So why did Zhang Keshen tell Zhong Kai this secret now that he hates him so much?

At worst, they could just keep playing the cops and robbers game, and at worst, he'd just be detained in the police station for a couple of days before continuing his undercover work! But now that they know the truth, how can Zhang Ke continue?

Especially when he learned that the undercover agent was Zhao Zhigang's own brother, Zhang Ke found it difficult to even look Zhao Zhigang in the eye.

These past few days, he had been speaking ill of Zhao Zhigang in his heart and in front of Sun Chang, but who would have thought that there was a reason behind everything? Thinking of how Zhao Zhigang had deliberately twisted his ankle for Zhao Zhigao, Zhang Ke couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time.

The human and the cat found each other, looked at each other and sighed together, then looked on in surprise.

"Why are you sighing?"

What the hell?

Lin Ge gave Zhang Ke a disdainful look, then turned and left.

On the other side, Nie Guoqiang also received a personal visit from the leaders of the Municipal Public Security Bureau's Narcotics Control Detachment.

Wu Chengrong, the head of the Narcotics Control Detachment of the Zhangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau, and Lei Hanqin, the head of the Second Detachment, rarely visited together. Nie Guoqiang knew that these two were not here for anything trivial, so he quickly led them to his office and instructed that no one else be allowed to stay.

Wu Chengrong was not polite and had no doubt about trusting Nie Guoqiang. He directly told Nie Guoqiang about Zhao Zhigao's undercover work and the existence of a criminal gang hidden behind Zhang City.

"Are you saying that there really is a criminal organization with extremely serious crimes in Zhangzhou? And that Zhao Zhigang's older brother, Zhao Zhigao, even volunteered to infiltrate the organization as an undercover agent in order to investigate detailed intelligence about it?"

Nie Guoqiang suddenly realized something, but he also found it hard to believe.

In recent years, Zhangzhou City has not seen any particularly serious major cases, so why has it suddenly been targeted by criminal gangs? Moreover, judging from Wu Chengrong's words, this group is involved in everything from drug trafficking to fraud and smuggling.
"This is all thanks to you, Lao Nie."

Lei Hanqin and Nie Guoqiang were quite familiar with each other. Upon hearing this, they smiled and said, "The case at Lanju Island in Zhanghe helped us uncover a corner of this drug trafficking gang. Although we arrested quite a few people at the time, we all knew in our hearts that the source of the drugs remained an unsolved mystery. The results of arresting only the underlings were like water without a source for the police; that group was just a preliminary outpost. We all understood that Zhangzhou City could not have peace until all the masterminds were caught. The only thing we didn't expect was that even with such a strong crackdown by the Zhangzhou Public Security Bureau, they still couldn't back down. The people behind the scenes were more arrogant than we thought, and posed a greater threat to society."

"A bunch of guys who won't learn their lesson until they see the coffin!"

Nie Guoqiang nodded.

"We have never given up on tracing the source of the drugs."

Wu Chengrong nodded and said, "We never gave up on investigating the suspect Zhu Wentao. Then we discovered a coincidence: Zhu Wentao came from the mountainous area near Shaanxi Province in the south, and he was a rare talent who stood out from the crowd there. And Zhao Liang, who was subdued by your cat, also came from a nearby village. You could say that his hometown is only about a hundred kilometers away from Zhu Wentao's hometown, so they can be considered fellow villagers."

"So, was the case of Qin Suya smuggling prohibited drugs also committed by the same group of people?"

Nie Guoqiang thought of something else.

This kind of problem is the most troublesome for a police station.

Once a case is transferred to the municipal or even provincial police department, many updates become delayed. For example, Nie Guoqiang and Jiang Yan are both very concerned about Qin Suya's current situation. However, as members of the police force, they cannot rashly inquire with their superiors and can only wait patiently.

Sometimes, a case is reported by the local police station, but the follow-up work has nothing to do with the police station. Even the police officers at the station, just like ordinary citizens, only learn that the case has been solved through news reports afterward.

Take, for example, the most basic example: every police officer has a police mobile terminal. Different ranks of officers have different access levels and can see different things. While this enhances security, it also makes it more difficult for lower-ranking officers to do more work.

"The Qin Suya case was not committed by the same group of people."

Wu Chengrong shook his head, giving Nie Guoqiang an unexpected answer.

"The gang that Zhao Zhigao infiltrated, although its basic structure consisted of people from other places, secretly developed its base of operations in Zhangzhou City and surrounding cities. However, the Qin Suya case involved a gang from another province. To some extent, the two sides are competitors."

Lei Hanqin sneered disdainfully, "Tch! They're trying to compete with the peace and security of Zhangzhou City. These guys are courting death! Once I arrest both groups at once, let's see who dares to cause trouble in Zhangzhou City and get involved in drugs!"

"If you need any help from the police station, please don't hesitate to ask. Although the Zhanghe Police Station is small, it can still play its proper role."

Nie Guoqiang made a solemn promise.

"I've been waiting for your words!"

Wu Chengrong and Lei Hanqin exchanged a glance, and Lei Hanqin slapped his thigh and said, "Old Nie, there really is something we need your help with. You know, as an undercover agent, how to pass messages to the police is always the most troublesome and easiest problem to expose. The other side is full of inhuman people, and at this time, a slight mistake could very likely bring Zhao Zhigao to his death! So I need the Zhanghe Police Station to send a liaison officer to act as a bridge between us and Zhao Zhigao."

"A liaison officer? Does the Zhanghe Police Station have such an outstanding person?"

Nie Guoqiang was stunned. Of course, he knew the importance of this mission. In some ways, the liaison officer's abilities were even more important than the undercover agent's, as they were a crucial figure who could potentially threaten the undercover agent's safety at any moment.

"Ha ha……"

Wu Chengrong and Lei Hanqin laughed. Wu Chengrong stopped hiding his intentions and revealed the truth: "Zhao Zhigao is being closely watched by the other side and hasn't gained their complete trust yet. We took advantage of Qian Wei's injury to try and contact him. I can only say that the situation isn't very good. We hope to provide him with more help, so we need someone who won't be suspected by the criminal gang, someone who can freely appear around Zhao Zhigao without arousing their suspicion."

Before Wu Chengrong could reveal the mystery, Nie Guoqiang realized what was going on: "You mean, my Mimi? You're planning to keep her with Zhao Zhigao and have her help him pass on messages? Hmm... that's dangerous!"

Lei Hanqin sighed and stared intently at Nie Guoqiang, saying, "I know this idea is actually quite absurd. To be honest, I'm not entirely comfortable entrusting Zhao Zhigao's safety to a cat. But! From the very first day Zhao Zhigao set off to infiltrate this gang, we began a comprehensive investigation and analysis of Mimi, the police cat at Zhanghe Police Station. After all this time, Zhao Zhigao has finally infiltrated the gang, and we have gained a thorough understanding of your incredible police cat. We believe and believe that it is capable of completing this mission. And a cat's identity is much safer than having a friend or someone else relay messages."

Wu Chengrong sneered, "Nie Guoqiang, what crime fighting isn't dangerous? Especially when we're in the anti-drug field, which year doesn't the number of police officers who sacrifice their lives is the highest among all police forces in the country? Old Nie, you feel sorry for your cat, but don't I feel sorry for Zhao Zhigao? Not to mention that Zhao Zhigao is the older brother of Zhao Zhigang from your local police station! Can you bear to see Zhao Zhigao lose his family? In the end, this is all for the safety of Zhangzhou City, and also for Zhao Zhigao's life."

"..."

Nie Guoqiang fell silent.

However, faced with Wu Chengrong and Lei Hanqin's aggressive questioning, Nie Guoqiang calmly raised his head and said, "I will personally ask Mimi what her opinion is. You can understand, right? It's hard to succeed if you're not willing."

"It's up to you! I believe your cat will understand our good intentions."

Wu Chengrong stood up, patted Nie Guoqiang on the shoulder, and then turned and left.

"Old Nie, I'm so sorry!"

Lei Hanqin even bowed to Nie Guoqiang in apology, leaving Nie Guoqiang speechless except for shaking his head helplessly.

On the other hand, it is rumored that the Zhanghe Police Station will receive a collective commendation soon, which is also thanks to the anti-drug brigade.

It's important to understand that while it's easier to earn merit in the police system than in the military, the total number of second-class merits, third-class merits, and even commendations awarded each year is fixed and can only be less, not more.

The Zhanghe Police Station was able to defeat other competitors in the province to win a collective second-class merit award, as well as a second-class merit award for Mimi and third-class merit awards for several others, along with commendations. The anti-drug squad also played a role in this achievement. In this respect, both Nie Guoqiang and Lin Ge owe a debt of gratitude to the anti-drug squad.

(End of this chapter)