Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 330 The dust has settled
To prevent any accidents, the elderly person inside the vehicle was not immediately evacuated. After all, any attempt to escape would create chaos, so it was better to patiently wait until this last threat disappeared.

Lei Hanqin had to protect these people while also dealing with the most ruthless or vicious member of the gang, putting him under immense pressure.

"Sister Hua, you've been arrested!"

Little Ma suddenly grinned.

He flipped his hand, and the butterfly knife reappeared. But unexpectedly, he tossed it at Zhao Zhigao, saying, "Ah Gao, we've known each other for a while now, so here's a gift for you! Remember, you once had a friend named Little Ma! Oh, don't panic when you encounter difficulties, there's always a way out! If you can't continue working as a policeman, just take another path! I'll bless you on your journey to the underworld, wishing you peace and good fortune from now on."

After patting Zhao Zhigao on the shoulder, Little Ma walked past him as if he had decided to turn himself in.

With a wicked smile, he slowly reached his right hand into his robes.

"Don't move! Take your hands out!"

Lei Hanqin's eyes widened; Little Ma's eerie words gave him an ominous premonition.

"Yes, I'll take it out right away! A good thing... for you!"

Little Ma grinned menacingly and suddenly pulled a slightly rusty iron pineapple from his pocket. He elbowed the stunned Zhao Zhigao hard, sending him sprawling, and then forcefully ripped off the safety pin.

Then, Little Ma raised the grenade, and quickly reached for the pin with his other hand.

The appearance of the grenade shocked everyone. If it exploded in this confined space, who knows how many people it would kill.

However, given their distance from Little Ma...

"Ow!"

A piercing scream suddenly exploded in Little Ma's ear, followed by a dark shadow sweeping over his head and entangling itself in the grenade.

Just like bouncing a ball, Lin Ge slapped the grenade hard.

The iron lump was hard, and the cat's claws were heavy. With a powerful hammer blow, Lin Ge knocked the grenade out of Little Ma's hand.

His claws were fast and powerful; Little Ma couldn't grasp them at all and didn't have time to react. The grenade slammed into the glass behind him with a loud 'bang' before bouncing back and landing in the arms of an old man behind him.

The old man stared in astonishment at the unexpected visitor before he could even see what it was, when Zhao Zhigao snatched the grenade away again.

"Everyone get down!"

Zhao Zhigao roared, quickly clutching the grenade to his chest before kneeling down and remaining motionless. If the grenade exploded at that moment, his body would become the last protective barrier, safeguarding the lives of everyone inside the vehicle, whether innocent or his own colleagues.

"Zhao Zhigao!"

The anti-drug squad members gasped in surprise.

"Get away from me!"

Zhao Zhigao responded sullenly.

One second!
Two seconds!

Time seemed to pass extremely slowly, but thankfully, the grenade still hadn't exploded by this point.

Zhao Zhigao knelt on the ground, clutching the grenade, too afraid to move. Only the occasional twitch of his shoulder proved he was still alive. He took a deep breath, raised his head, and gave a very strained smile.

"Kill this bastard!"

Still shaken, Lei Hanqin roared in fury. Zhong Kai, reacting swiftly, shoved Little Ma over the ground. Several angry police officers nearby joined in, pinning him down and immobilizing him completely.

At this point, Zhao Zhigao finally stood up shakily, holding the grenade in his hand—the one whose safety pin had been pulled and whose rope had been cut.

"call……"

Seeing that the grenade hadn't exploded, Lin Ge, whose legs were still trembling, let out a long breath.

Holy crap, that scared the cat to death, you bastard!

If he hadn't kept a close eye on Little Ma from beginning to end, if he hadn't known Little Ma was a lunatic, if he hadn't been fast enough, and if his claws hadn't been sharp enough, he probably would have succeeded if he had been a second later.

Who would have thought that this bastard would even commit suicide together with his opponent?
"Phew! Well done, good job! Zhao Zhigao, hand over the stuff to me."

Lei Hanqin put on gloves and carefully took the grenade from Zhao Zhigao's arms.

Patting Zhao Zhigao, who was struggling to stand up, on the shoulder, Lei Hanqin refused any help or even anyone getting close to him. Holding the grenade as if it were a precious treasure, he slowly carried it out of the car and then found an empty police car to put it inside.

Then, all the car doors and windows were locked.

At this point, there should be no more danger.

Lei Hanqin felt his heart pounding, unable to imagine what kind of nightmare this small grenade would have created if it hadn't been for that cat.

Looking at the beasts who were tightly controlled and unable to move, their pent-up anger and murderous intent surged outwards.

"Except for the two Yangs, everyone else has been arrested."

Zhong Kai approached Lei Hanqin.

Lei Hanqin let out a long breath, then shook off the thoughts he shouldn't have. "Let's stick to the previous plan and force them as far out to the suburbs as possible. We absolutely cannot let them go to any populated areas. Also, don't fire unless absolutely necessary. Slowly compress their escape space until we completely block them off."

Now that the case is nearing its end, whether it will be a perfect success or leave regrets and flaws depends on the final action.

"This time, I really have to thank Zhao Zhigao and that police cat from Zhanghe Police Station! If it weren't for them... who knows what would have happened this time! Really... it was just a hair's breadth away, damn it!"

Lei Hanqin looked at Mimi not far away. It had hurriedly run out of the bus and was rushing into the arms of a young girl for comfort.

The girl had also heard about the grenade and was quite frightened. She hugged the cat and tried to comfort it, while another young man beside her gently comforted the girl. The scene looked unexpectedly harmonious and brought a touch of warmth to the chaotic and tense battle.

Lei Hanqin knew that these two men were also police officers from Zhanghe Police Station.

Compared to the burly, reckless men of the anti-drug squad, their plainclothes attire was more suitable, and they undertook the crucial task of surveillance along the way. Even the information about Zhao Zhigao and Mimi's sabotage of the bus's fuel line was provided by them in a timely manner.

In other words, without the help of these two, the anti-drug squad would have had a very difficult time to time their arrival. Furthermore, any further complications could have ruined Zhao Zhigao and Mimi's risky operation.

"Well done!"

Lei Hanqin murmured to himself, but didn't have time to praise the two people and the cat.

The suspects at the scene have been largely apprehended, and the traffic jam has been cleared, allowing vehicles to resume flow. The next step is to bring these individuals back to the city police station and arrest the desperately resisting Yang brothers, and the matter will be closed.

As for the rest, whether it's the two Yangs, Brother Simba, or Sister Hua's henchmen, it's only a matter of time before they are arrested as the case is solved step by step.

"But... is it really all done?"

Lei Hanqin was still pondering what Little Ma had said earlier, and his strange expression. He had a feeling that there was something more to what the guy had said, as if the Sister Hua who was arrested by the police wasn't the real Sister Hua, and that there was another, more deeply hidden figure behind the scenes.

Of course, it's also possible that Little Ma was instigating and bluffing Zhao Zhigao, but who would dare to draw conclusions about such a thing?
He looked towards the vicinity of the bus, where Zhao Zhigao stood alone.

Although several familiar police officers approached Zhao Zhigao to greet him, Zhao Zhigao responded with great difficulty. While everyone else was busy, he stared into the distance, lost in thought.

Lei Hanqin knew that perhaps Little Ma's words had indeed affected Zhao Zhigao.

However, this matter is indeed not so easy to resolve.

As Brother Ma was right, Zhao Zhigao's drug addiction is a serious problem that urgently needs to be addressed. Until this problem is solved, even if the narcotics officers trust him implicitly, they will likely still harbor some doubts…

this is the truth!
It's cruel!
Even if Lei Hanqin could vouch for Zhao Zhigao, he couldn't allow Zhao Zhigao to continue bearing police responsibility as a drug addict. And when it comes to drug rehabilitation, no one else can help; it's entirely up to Zhao Zhigao himself…

"Hey!"

Lei Hanqin was starting to regret it. Should he not have sent any undercover agents in the first place? Little Ma said that undercover agents were just expendable resources, and those words were really hurtful.

"Don't worry, I'm fine! Even such ruthless drug dealers couldn't break me, how could I lose to a mere drug addict? Everyone, just wait patiently for me to come back. When I do, I'll be wearing a first-class merit medal on my chest, so don't be envious." Zhao Zhigao smiled easily, dismissing yet another comrade from the detachment who came to comfort him.

But after the man left, Zhao Zhigao's expression turned somber. Clutching his slightly aching chest, he stared blankly at the distant barren fields. A few snowdrifts remained, their mixture of snow and mud on the field ridges a stark contrast to the sparse snow.

The pure white snow mixed with the dirty mud looked extremely ugly and disgusting.

"Hello, thank you so much for your hard work this time!"

Zhang Ke and Sun Chang walked over together, with Lin Ge nestled in Sun Chang's arms.

Even though Zhao Zhigao's expression wasn't great, Zhang Ke still cheerfully extended his hand and said, "I'm Zhang Ke, an auxiliary police officer at Zhanghe Police Station, and also your brother Zhao Zhigang's partner. I've always heard from him how outstanding and remarkable his older brother is, and now I see he really is. Oh, by the way, my Mimi has also benefited from your care these past few days! This girl is willful and reckless, and if she caused you any trouble before, I apologize here."

"Xiao Gang's colleague?"

Zhao Zhigao blinked, smiled, and grasped Zhang Ke's hand: "No! It was Mimi who took care of me many times and saved me several times. To be honest, if it weren't for Mimi this time, let alone successfully solving the case, the grass on my grave would be overgrown by now, right? You may not know, but although I'm the undercover agent, most of the important work was actually done by Mimi. She's an incredible cat, and it's my luck to be able to work with her."

"Whoosh..."

Sun Chang couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh.

What luck! This cat might be reliable when it's doing serious work, but it's also willful, lazy, stubborn, mischievous, and disobedient on ordinary days—it has practically every bad habit imaginable! Who in the entire Zhanghe Police Station hasn't been bullied by it, even though we work together!

As the pet owner of Zhanghe Police Station, Sun Chang is well aware of Mimi's status within the station.

If before, Yu Zhengwei was in charge of Zhanghe Police Station, Nie Guoqiang did the work, and Zheng Mingxing was the bottom line, then ever since Mimi arrived, it has become the true boss of Zhanghe Police Station. Fearless and audacious, it has bullied the station chief, deputy chief, and instructor more than once. Who in the entire Zhanghe Police Station doesn't treat this cat like royalty? Whose cat would be tolerated eating at the dinner table with everyone else? Only this shameless cat loves to bully people.

"Ok?"

Lin Ge glared at Sun Chang, thinking, "Are you cursing me in your heart, you stinky woman?"

"Silver shaded cats shed a lot. Thanks to them, all the police officers at our Zhanghe Police Station are now inevitably covered in cat hair. You probably can't imagine how embarrassing it is when you're out on duty and people see your uniform covered in cat hair. And cat hair is so easy to get stuck in wool, even lint remover doesn't work. In the end, everyone just gave up and left it at that! We clean ourselves when we have time, and when we don't, we just go to work covered in cat hair. We've all gotten used to it. Because of this, we get quite a few complaints every month."

Zhang Keyong spread his hands helplessly, which made Zhao Zhigao unable to suppress a smile.

While it's hard to imagine what kind of mess this cat has made of the Zhanghe Police Station, I'm sure everyone is actually quite happy and dotes on it, right? Plus, with this cat's abilities, we can even work with peace of mind.

"I'll visit your Zhanghe Police Station after I get out of the drug rehabilitation center."

Zhao Zhigao first noted this down for himself, then apologized to Zhang Ke, saying, "I'm sorry about what happened before! I really didn't expect that it would be my brother and you who came to arrest me. But it's not easy to infiltrate a gang, so I could only cause you trouble at that time."

"Hehe... Not at all! On the contrary, Brother Zhao's skills really opened my eyes! He jumped out of the second-floor window without warning, and I couldn't catch up even with all my strength. As expected of an elite police officer from the anti-drug squad, his skills are truly remarkable."

"Where, where..."

The three exchanged pleasantries for a while, which soothed Zhao Zhigao's lonely and uneasy feelings.

It wasn't that the other colleagues in the anti-drug squad were truly indifferent to Zhao Zhigao. It was simply that there were too many things to handle at the moment. It wasn't just about catching the Yangs and their gang; there were also the weapons, drugs, and other contraband hidden in their car, the control of their communication devices to prevent them from alerting others who hadn't been arrested, reopening the highway, collecting nearby evidence, sorting through the luggage and belongings of innocent passengers damaged by Lin Ge's actions, and investigating the identities of these individuals—countless things to do, far more than just catching these few people.

Even the grenade Lei Hanqin left in the car required special riot police to handle. With so many things to do, there was no time for leisurely conversation.

Everyone was busy for more than three hours.

Meanwhile, the police who were tracking and arresting Da Yang and Xiao Yang finally cornered the two in an empty house in a farmland.

The house belonged to an elderly couple who had gone to the city to help their son take care of his child. The two Yangs broke into the house, locked the door, and continued their desperate resistance, but ultimately had no chance of escape.

Dozens of police officers had already surrounded the area, and it was only a matter of time before they arrested the two men.

Of course, this was something Lin Ge didn't need to worry about.

If the anti-drug squad can't even catch two trapped beasts, then all the hard work he and Zhao Zhigao have put in over the past few days has been for nothing.

Having been away from home for many days, and with today being Lunar New Year's Eve, Lin Ge was quite eager to return. When Zhao Zhigao asked Lei Hanqin if Zhang Ke and Sun Chang could take him to the drug rehabilitation center, Lei Hanqin showed a pained yet troubled expression.

"Are you really not going home for the New Year? It's not a big deal to go after the New Year. Don't you think we don't trust you?"

Lei Hanqin looked at Zhao Zhigao intently.

"No need! To be honest, if the old man sees me like this, it will only make him upset. What if he suddenly has a drug relapse or something? Then no one will have a good New Year. So let's just go there. It's the same whether we celebrate the New Year there or not."

Zhao Zhigao acted very casually.

"Well then... good luck! Your colleagues are all looking forward to your return! After these guys are arrested, the drug problem in Zhangzhou will be much better. Then we'll put in a lot more effort and restore a drug-free environment to Zhangzhou. Comrade Zhao Zhigao, thank you for your hard work!"

As Lei Hanqin spoke, he gave Zhao Zhigao a very serious salute.

"Serve the people!"

Zhao Zhigao stood up straight without hesitation and returned a flawless salute.

"Ah Gao, come back soon!"

"Zhao Zhigao, don't embarrass the anti-drug squad! You're still a real hero after you come out of the drug rehabilitation center!"

"come on!"

"We're waiting for you to come back to the team!"

Everyone bowed to Zhao Zhigao, offering various words of comfort and encouragement, which brought tears to his eyes.

He really didn't want to witness this scene any longer, nor did he want his colleagues to see him in such a weak state, so he waved his hand, quickly turned around, got into the car, and closed the door.

When Zhang Ke got into the driver's seat, he saw Zhao Zhigao with his head down, hands on his knees, face covered and motionless.

He seemed to be crying, but Zhang Ke, with a serious expression, didn't disturb him. After Sun Chang carried Lin Ge in, he waved to the people outside the car and drove away, turning at the gate ahead and speeding towards home.

The little hawksbill turtle had been cowering fearfully in a corner of the car until Lin Ge came in, at which point it finally stopped being afraid. Before Lin Ge could jump out of Sun Chang's arms, it lunged and crawled under Lin Ge's belly, pawing at him and meowing incoherently.

"Okay, okay, I'm back now."

Lin Ge, with a mixture of helplessness and patience, comforted the clever little cat, who had also worked hard and made significant contributions to the case during this period.

"I probably... can no longer be a narcotics officer."

Watching the two cats playing and cuddling beside him, Zhao Zhigao suddenly murmured something.

"Different positions and different responsibilities, so what? As long as I can still be a policeman and serve the people, I think it makes no difference where I work."

Being men, Zhang Ke didn't try to brush him off. He also knew that the chances of Zhao Zhigao continuing as a narcotics officer were extremely slim. It wasn't that he wasn't qualified, but rather that the personal issue of having used drugs made personal honor and disgrace insignificant compared to the greater good and the rules.

This is the price Zhao Zhigao had to pay as an undercover agent.

Everyone knows this. Zhao Zhigao sacrificed far too much to arrest this ruthless drug trafficker gang. He worked in the anti-drug field for almost ten years, but ultimately had no choice but to give up everything he had achieved.

"Brother Zhao, why don't you come to my Zhanghe Police Station? We're short-staffed here."

Sun Chang suddenly spoke up, saying seriously, "Moreover, to some extent, the functions of the police station are different from those of the municipal bureau. Our division of labor is rather vague. As long as it's within our jurisdiction, we're responsible for it. Since Brother Zhao likes to crack down on drug dealers, why don't he be in charge of that kind of operation in the police station? We might not be able to handle the big cases, but we can let Brother Zhao have a taste of those drug users, nicotine addicts, nitrous oxide, and ecstasy, and have a little bit of fun."

"Heh... It's not like that at all. Catching drug users is our job, it's not about whether it's enjoyable or not..."

Zhao Zhigao awkwardly turned his head away.

"Hehe, the atmosphere in the station is pretty good. Brother Zhao, you can consider making a name for yourself in our police station again."

As Zhang Ke spoke, he operated the car's infotainment system again, selecting a song that was somewhat appropriate for the occasion.

Yesterday, all the honors... have become distant memories... Half a lifetime of hard work has passed... Tonight, I step into the storm again... I cannot drift with the tide... For my beloved family... No matter how bitter or difficult, I must be strong! Just for those expectant eyes...

(End of this chapter)