Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 331 Happy New Year

As the song "Starting Over" played, Zhao Zhigao's mood gradually improved.

No one knows what the future holds, but Zhao Zhigao is undoubtedly satisfied at this moment. He has successfully completed the task assigned by his superiors, successfully wiping out almost the entire drug trafficking gang. The few remaining fugitives will likely not have a good New Year, and as the branch's police force is gradually freed up, they will be tracked down and arrested one by one, bringing a relatively perfect end to this anti-drug operation that lasted for half a year, from investigation and undercover work to arrests.

"Alright, stop sending me any further. I'm going to a drug rehabilitation center, not to receive an award. It'll make me feel awkward if you guys come with me."

After getting off the car at the deserted entrance of the drug rehabilitation center, Zhao Zhigao refused Zhang Ke and Sun Chang's request to continue accompanying him.

Two staff members were already standing at the entrance of the drug rehabilitation center, seemingly having been notified in advance. Even though it was Lunar New Year's Eve, everyone was still working overtime; it's tough for everyone.

Looking at the two people standing by the car, and then at Lin Ge who got out of the car with them, Zhao Zhigao stretched and said, "To be honest, I feel great now that I'm free, so I might as well take this opportunity to rest and recuperate. When we meet again next time, please don't pretend you don't know me."

"No way! It's an honor to know such an outstanding role model as you!"

Zhang Ke saluted with a serious expression.

"Stop talking nonsense! Oh, and tell Zhao Zhigang for me to wish him a Happy New Year first, and then tell that idiot to hurry up and find a girlfriend. Seriously, the old man is still waiting to hold his grandson! Okay, bye, Happy New Year to you two, Happy New Year to Mimi!"

With a wave of his hand, Zhao Zhigao turned and walked forward without looking back.

"Ow!"

Lin Ge suddenly yelled at Zhao Zhigao, but the bastard didn't even turn his head, just waved his hand, and followed the two people at the door into the drug rehabilitation center.

The two people and the cat watched silently as Zhao Zhigao's figure disappeared.

Everyone was in a bad mood, and even Sun Chang lost the will to chat with Lin Ge. They returned to the police station in silence and parked their car in the somewhat messy courtyard.

"It seems like... it's been a long time since I've been back."

Lin Ge got out of the car and felt that everything in the yard was somewhat unfamiliar. It seemed quite different from what he remembered, especially the messy building materials, which made him feel like he had come to a strange place.

"Meow?"

Little Tortoiseshell, who then jumped out of the car, didn't notice any changes and just excitedly urged Lin Ge to hurry home.

"Meow!"

Just then, two urgent and excited meows came from afar. When Lin Ge turned his head, he saw the little tabby and the snow-clawed tabby rushing towards him like wild horses.

Both cats were incredibly fast, running in a way that wasn't even in a straight line. The tabby cat's hind legs were faster than its front legs, even forming an 'L' shape as it ran. In a state of extreme excitement, it rammed headfirst into Ringo, knocking him over.

"Fuck!"

Caught off guard, Lin Ge was actually pushed over by the little tabby. The little tabby even stepped on Lin Ge's belly, looking down at him and meowing, while the snowclaw tabby next to him kept circling around Lin Ge, looking very anxious.

The two cats' caring expressions touched Lin Ge, but how dare this brat step on them?
"Get down here! You little rascal!"

Lin Ge slapped the little tabby over, then got up again and shook his fur. Seeing the little tabby roll on the ground and keep coming closer, he pressed a paw on its head, pinning it to the ground so it couldn't move.

"Meow~"

The little tabby let out a pitiful cry, its eyes looking up at Lin Ge, wanting to struggle but also somewhat afraid.

"You idiot, I just got back and you've already embarrassed me?"

Lin Ge glared at the little tabby cat, and seeing that the guy stopped fooling around and just obediently followed behind him, he then looked at the other two cats that were slowly walking over.

A female hawksbill turtle, and... a money tree.

"Why is this guy here?"

A question mark popped into Lin Ge's head.

"Meow!"

The mother hawksbill turtle didn't explain, but just lazily moved closer to Lin Ge.

It rubbed its head against Lingo as a greeting, then moved to the side to talk to the little hawksbill turtle. The mother and daughter licked each other's fur and made various cooing noises, leaving Lingo aside.

"Hiss... what's with this ominous feeling?"

For some reason, Lin Ge suddenly felt a little guilty. Especially when the female leopard cat, Money Tree, cautiously walked towards him, then raised her tail and lowered her head to meow at him twice, he suddenly felt two gloating smiles behind him.

Looking back, Zhang Ke and Sun Chang were standing close together, winking at him!
"Mimi, well done! You're got two women on your hands!"

Sun Chang gave a nasty thumbs-up.

"I'll have you wrapped around my arms on both sides! Believe me or not, I can bewitch Zhang Ke into having you wrapped around both arms, turning you from a girlfriend into a mistress!"

Lin Ge glared back fiercely.

Sun Chang laughed even louder.

"Meow~"

Seeing that Ling Ge was ignoring it, the money tree felt a little aggrieved, and its tail drooped. It looked at Ling Ge, then at the two little tabby dogs playing on the other side, and could only obediently lower its head and squat in place without moving.

"You're making me feel like a heartless man."

Lin Ge was innocent, but also very troubled.

Judging from the situation, he guessed that Money Tree had probably been adopted by Nie Guoqiang as well. Although he didn't know why that guy was so enthusiastic about adopting stray cats, he couldn't refuse him. So Lin Ge called out to Money Tree, acknowledging its status as a member of the family.

For some inexplicable reason, the money tree ignored him and obediently stayed by the mother tortoiseshell's side.

Lin Ge was completely confused.

"Scumbag cat!"

Sun Chang made an unreasonable assessment without any evidence.

Lin Ge was utterly speechless. He simply flicked his tail at Sun Chang's rear end and ignored her. No matter what the woman said, he pretended not to hear it. Lin Ge surveyed the surroundings, taking a look at what had become of his territory.

It has to be said, the changes are quite significant; the cattery has been completely razed to the ground. I wonder what the cattery will look like when the new house is built next year.

"Mimi!"

Nie Guoqiang's voice came from afar and grew closer.

"Director!"

Zhang Ke and Sun Chang quickly greeted each other.

Nie Guoqiang nodded, a slight smile playing on his lips: "Thank you for your hard work! Make a note of the situation and then head home. Today is Lunar New Year's Eve, go home early to reunite with your family. Oh, Sun Chang, you chose to work overtime on the second and third days of the Lunar New Year, aren't you planning to go home?"

"It's too far and too troublesome."

Sun Chang pouted, then grinned and said, "Anyway, I've already video-called my parents and wished them a Happy New Year. It's inconvenient to travel during the Spring Festival because of the traffic, so I'll wait until after the New Year to go back home. That way, I can avoid visiting relatives and such."

"Relatives should still visit each other, otherwise the relationship will become distant."

Nie Guoqiang said a few more words to Sun Chang, then pointed at her and Zhang Ke with his finger, making the two young people's faces blush slightly.

After that, Nie Guoqiang looked at Lin Ge and revealed a genuine smile.

"Mimi, you did a great job! You deserve a lot of credit for taking down this gang of thugs entrenched in Zhang City. Oh, by the way, Brother Yang was shot dead. That guy dared to resist when surrounded by the police and was eventually shot to death."

"Killed?"

Lin Ge, Zhang Ke, and Sun Chang, who hadn't left yet, were all taken aback.

After all, the three people in front of him were all involved in the case, so Nie Guoqiang didn't hide anything and nodded, saying, "That guy is fearless and charged out despite the police's encirclement. The homemade pistol he had was also a big threat, so Captain Lei had no choice but to use force."

At this point, Nie Guoqiang frowned slightly: "The power of the police pistol was still too weak, and this guy almost managed to retaliate. It was only thanks to his gun suddenly jamming unexpectedly that there were any casualties."

"That's why he deserves to die. It's just a pity about all the information Brother Yang had."

Zhang Ke shook his head regretfully. "It's already a great achievement to arrest Brother Yang unharmed. Brother Xiao Yang was just a participant, not the mastermind, in many things. The information he had was not as important as the safety of our police officers."

Nie Guoqiang, however, took it all in stride.

The three men and the cat chatted for a while longer until the cats that had been waiting to fawn over Lin Ge got impatient. Only then did Nie Guoqiang signal Zhang Ke and Sun Chang to hurry up and get back to get off work.

After the two left together, Nie Guoqiang chatted with Lin Ge for a few more minutes. His advice to stay obediently at the police station and not go out until the anti-drug squad had arrested all the suspects before venturing out was completely ignored by Lin Ge.

Then Nie Guoqiang took Lin Ge to the duty officer's office, ignoring Zhu Jun's complaints and went straight to the bathroom.

Find a large basin, adjust the water temperature, and then take the shower gel that someone left behind. Wet Lin Ge's whole body and lather it up with foam. Carefully remove the fake hair and other disguises and rinse it clean. Only then did they leave Lin Ge to soak in the basin slowly.

"call……"

The warm water made Lingo feel comfortable all over, and the individual hairs floating in the water made him feel light.

All the tension and anxiety he had felt during this period were dispelled by the hot bath, leaving Lin Ge feeling completely refreshed. The scent of the police around him also put him at ease, allowing him to slowly savor the moment.

Nie Guoqiang waited for a while, and seeing that the cat showed no intention of getting out of the basin, he added some more hot water to the basin and went off to do his work.

Lin Ge ignored him and simply rested his head on the edge of the basin, pretending to doze off.

Feeling his beard was a bit slippery, he reached out and pressed the shower gel bottle cap twice, squeezing out some to rub on his face slowly, covering his entire face with foam, but he was too lazy to rinse it off.

"Gululu..."

Once the water cooled down a bit, Lin Ge buried his entire face in the basin, closed his eyes, and rinsed away all the foam.

Not caring if anyone saw him, he jumped up and turned on the shower, then squatted under the showerhead to wash himself clean. He found a towel that someone had left behind the door and used it to absorb some of the moisture before finally walking out, satisfied.

Unexpectedly, a guy named Zhu Jun was standing outside the door, glaring angrily at the cat that came out.

"You've stomped all over the place, you're a living ancestor! Don't go yet, the boss told me to blow your hair out! Holy crap, you took my towel, used it, and then threw it on the ground? And you used my shower gel? You... you've gone too far, you bastard, and you even dared to glare at me?"

Zhu Jun, holding a hairdryer, glared at Lin Ge, who retorted with a sharp stare. "What? I've only been gone a few days, and you've already forgotten who's in charge here? What's wrong with using a towel and shower gel? So stingy!"

The wild cat's unreasonable gaze quickly defeated Zhu Jun.

"I'm really fed up with you! Fine, you can have this towel, it's covered in cat hair, how am I supposed to use it?"

Muttering to himself, even though he was annoyed, Zhu Jun could only obediently dry Lin Ge's fur. He didn't want to see the cat get sick or catch a cold. Complaining aside, who could truly be indifferent to this guy?

Zhu Jun was very patient, muttering to himself as he dried Lin Ge's fur. Seeing the cat's fur become fluffy and smooth, he couldn't help but show a look of admiration.

"Hey! Mimi, you've had a tough time these past few days. Going undercover in a criminal gang is dangerous just thinking about it. What was Boss Nie thinking, letting a cat like you do something so dangerous? Luckily, you came back safe and sound."

"Hmph! So you know how hard I've worked, huh?"

Ling Ge flicked his tail, stood motionless, and closed his eyes to enjoy the warm breeze. Seeing that Zhu Jun was only focused on talking and was not moving around, he opened his eyes and glared at him fiercely, telling him to hurry up and get to work.

"..."

Zhu Jun's sentiments vanished instantly.

But since it was the cat ancestor of his own police station, Zhu Jun could only helplessly say, "I'm off tomorrow. Do you want to come over to my place? Jiang Yiyi went home, and I'm quite bored by myself. Why don't I treat you, my great hero, to a meal?"

"Are you so kind?"

Lin Ge noticed Zhu Jun's shifty gaze and knew that the guy probably needed his help with something. But considering that the guy was being quite attentive, Lin Ge thought for a moment and nodded in agreement, just to avoid being bored during the New Year holiday.

"It's a deal! I'll pick you up tomorrow! Don't worry, there'll be plenty of cat treats, toys, and canned cat food!"

Zhu Jun was overjoyed.

The day passed by slowly like that.

The eve of the Lunar New Year seems to have nothing to do with Lin Ge, a cat.

After leaving the bathroom, he went to the makeshift cat shelter deep in the yard. He found that the conditions there were indeed quite basic; the area was much smaller, and many of the previous cat trees and other items could only be piled up in a corner. Even the floor was concrete, with dust that was always scattered on the ground. There was even a faint musty smell in the room, and some unidentified small insects that hadn't even frozen to death despite the snow.

Lin Ge walked around the room and, finding nothing interesting, squatted by the door to watch the three tabby cats run off to the construction site to play around. The rows of scaffolding became their cat climbing frames, and they jumped up and down happily.

He didn't know if the three little ones' excitement was partly due to his return. But seeing them play for a while and then come over to him to linger, he felt quite satisfied.

The relationship between the mother hawksbill turtle and the money tree was inexplicably good. Lin Ge had initially worried that they would fight, but now he realized he was overthinking it. The money tree seemed to treat the three little tabby cubs as its own children. While the mother hawksbill turtle lazily let her three cubs run around, it kept a close eye on them, looking very worried that they might encounter danger. Especially when the little tabby cubs dared to run to a high place, the money tree would stand up nervously and meow loudly. Unfortunately, the little tabby cubs didn't listen to it at all, getting more and more excited as they played, and Lin Ge had to rush over and give it a good beating before it would obediently climb down.

After some time apart, the little tabby had grown quite a bit, its chubby flesh making it perfect for a good spanking. Even when Lin Ge spanked it, it didn't get angry; its grievances only lasted a few seconds before it was back to its usual whiny, affectionate self around Lin Ge.

The money tree followed behind the little tiger, looking nervous and pitiful. Thinking of its cub's accident, Lin Ge felt some sympathy and gave the little tiger another beating.

"Woooo..."

The little tabby, clutching its head, was completely bewildered and had no idea what it had done wrong.

"Meow!"

On the contrary, the Money Tree felt extremely sorry for the little tiger cub and took the initiative to protect it and stop Lin Ge. It looked a little timid, but it rarely showed a maternal love that surprised Lin Ge.

"Meow?"

The little tabby looked at the big cat protecting it, blinked with some emotion, and carefully rubbed against the money tree, making the guy visibly excited.

The money tree turned around to lick the little tabby's fur, but the sudden movement startled the tabby. Without a word, it took off running, leaving the money tree frozen in its bowed position, staring blankly at the little tabby's retreating figure with a wronged expression.

"You can't blame me for this, right?"

Lin Ge flicked his tail and calmly shifted the blame, since it was the money tree that failed to seize the opportunity, and it had nothing to do with him.

But to Lin Ge's surprise, the snowclaw budgie seemed to really like the money tree. Seeing the money tree squatting alone in the corner, pitifully staring at the little budgie in the distance, it curiously came over, tilted its head, and stared at the money tree without blinking.

It's not usually like this; when Lin Ge isn't back, it hides from the money tree all day, too afraid to get close. It's only because its father is here that it dares to show its curiosity now.

"Meow~"

The poor money tree dared not move, even though the snowclaw tiger stripe was right in front of it, it was afraid that if it moved, it would scare the snowclaw tiger stripe away.

Surprisingly, the snowclaw budgie was even bolder than the little budgie in this respect.

Seeing that the money tree seemed to pose no threat, and with its father backing it up, Snowclaw Tiger boldly rolled over, exposing its belly, then curled up its limbs and swayed its tail slightly.

"Here, have some more!"

"Meow!"

The money tree's excited tail stood upright like a flagpole.

Looking at the snowclaw tiger-striped hawksbill turtle, and then back at the mother hawksbill turtle who seemed completely unconcerned about the scene, lazily gazing at the snowy landscape outside the door, Money Tree cautiously approached the snowclaw tiger-striped hawksbill turtle. Seeing that the little guy didn't flinch at all, it timidly lowered its head.

'Slurp~'

'Slurp, slurp...'

Both cats looked satisfied.

"Hehe... I guess you got what you wanted, right? I never thought that this money tree would be liked by the Snowclaw Tiger."

Lin Ge laughed.

'Boom! '

A firework suddenly exploded in the distance, but no one knew which bastard dared to defy the city's ban on fireworks and firecrackers. But it must be said, the firework was truly beautiful; a group of cats stared in astonishment at the vibrant colors, each one forgetting to even blink.

Unfortunately, Zhu Jun's cursing soon followed as he jumped into the police car and sped off.

(End of this chapter)