Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 347 Mud Crocodile

Yang Ye didn't continue communicating with this person, only exchanging information with Zhai Xiaojun after they finished searching the zoo, and ignoring the person.

After all, there's always the possibility that zoo staff could commit the crime.

Regardless, the black market for leopard bones, leopard skins, and even leopard meat remains very attractive to those who disregard the law. From this perspective, the possibility of insider involvement cannot be ruled out.

Moreover, the zoo's management has flaws, which is an undeniable fact.

Even if this incident was indeed full of coincidences and the leopard was indeed exceptionally intelligent, and even if the surveillance system couldn't be extremely sophisticated, the fact that the problem with the leopard's cage wasn't detected in time is proof of the zoo's negligence. If routine management and maintenance were more meticulous, and problems in the cage were detected promptly, how could they have discovered the escape of a predator? Even if the probability of an escape is low, it's not an excuse for laxity.

"But... the glass railing and the wire mesh were just replaced before the Lunar New Year! We checked them carefully during the inspection! There was no gap at that time, and I still don't know who did it!"

Tang Li, who was in charge of the leopard and the two lynx cubs, was extremely aggrieved. Could someone tell her what exactly happened with this gap?

"Oh dear, girl, you deserve all the trouble and bad luck you've had after encountering a leopard like that."

Lin Ge heard Tang Li's words from the tree and sighed inwardly.

He knew that the blame couldn't be entirely placed on the zoo management, after all, that leopard was a unique and special specimen.

Lin Ge still remembered clearly how the cunning leopard had personally instructed the two lynx cubs on how to pry open the barbed wire. The sturdy bolts and wire meant that for a patient leopard, breaking through was only a matter of time. Lin Ge didn't know when or where the creature had learned this technique, but there was no doubt that with intent comes intent; unless its leopard cage was completely without any gaps, it would eventually find a way to breach it.

At the time, considering that it had helped subdue the prisoner and that it seemed to have no interest in escaping, Ringo did not tell anyone else about it.

Who would have thought that such a small oversight would lead to this stupid leopard causing such a big problem?

Lin Ge now only hoped that the leopard had simply wandered off and would return on its own later. Otherwise, if it encountered any danger, Lin Ge felt he would also bear some responsibility.

"Ok?"

Suddenly stopping in his tracks, Lin Ge's expression turned somewhat grim.

Right at the treetop, the leopard's scent suddenly stopped. It stopped climbing and instead landed directly on the ground. This is undoubtedly unusual for an animal; normally it would have descended from the side of the tree.

Lin Ge nimbly jumped down, looked around and sniffed, and soon found a few leopard hairs in the gaps in the grass nearby.

He even smelled a stranger's scent from this spot, and judging from the intensity of the mixed scents, this person and the leopard had been in contact for quite some time. Whether there was a struggle is unclear, but at least they had close contact. If we speculate that the leopard was subdued in this location, then everything becomes clear. This leisurely stroller ultimately got tricked.

"These should definitely be leopard fur. Judging from their freshness, they should have fallen directly from the leopard's body, rather than being blown in by the wind. Also, there are signs of crushing here, and the way the grass stems are broken doesn't seem right."

Qian Weiyi followed Lin Ge over and quickly determined that this was the scene where the leopard was subdued. He even found a thin plastic strip from a woven bag nearby, as well as several fresh footprints in the grass.

The zoo is closed, so there are no visitors. These footprints either belong to an employee or the suspect. By using a process of elimination, we can quickly determine the answer.

"Did someone spot the leopard, follow it, and subdue it?"

Yang Ye frowned, sensing that something was amiss.

If the leopard's escape was merely a coincidence, how did the suspect prepare tools to subdue the beast beforehand? That creature wasn't some kitten or puppy; it was a large predator, over a meter long and weighing 70-80 kilograms (excluding its tail). Such a beast would be impossible for a human to handle, even in a two-on-one fight. Even if it had been kept in a zoo and lost its ferocity, it would still be a formidable opponent for an ordinary person. Furthermore, leopards have an exceptionally keen sense of smell and speed, making it easy for them to escape danger. Unless the suspect possessed the means to subdue it instantly, Yang Ye didn't believe things were that simple.

"No uniform! The leopard seemed to be injured, then it ran away."

Lin Ge sniffed again and faintly smelled blood.

It wasn't a human scent, and he'd never smelled leopard blood before. But judging from the smell alone, the leopard quickly scrambled back up a tree after landing and then ran in that direction.

Lin Ge used his sense of smell to simulate the scene, and then followed the scent of the leopard and blood back up the tree. This time, he could clearly feel that the leopard's speed and movements had slowed down, whether due to injury or being anesthetized.

"The suspect probably had a gun, possibly a tranquilizer gun or an air gun! And judging from his behavior, he doesn't seem to be a zoo employee, otherwise they would have better and safer ways to capture leopards."

Zhai Xiaojun made a similar judgment to Lin Ge.

Yang Ye nodded, keeping his eyes fixed on Lin Ge's movements, and patiently continued walking forward below.

"According to the investigation, in the past few days, apart from the staff on duty, only the workers who previously carried out the renovations at the zoo had the possibility of freely entering and leaving. They were involved in the construction and installation of the leopard cage in detail, and may have known the leopard's movements at some point. If the leopard left the cage on its own, then it is very likely that this was not the first time it had done so. It is also possible that it was accidentally seen by the suspect, which led to its decision."

Zhai Xiaojun continued his reasoning, using his most proficient method to further narrow down the range of suspects.

"Moreover, it must be admitted that the workers who do manual labor are generally not highly educated, so it is not surprising that they have all sorts of ideas. The police station often receives various complaints about construction workers stealing cats and dogs to eat, or even taking things from their employers. This is very common. Moreover, these people are usually temporarily recruited near the market, and there is no fixed company involved, so supervision is naturally very lax."

Nie Guoqiang added, "This line of work involves all sorts of people, and some of them even choose this because they have criminal records and can't find stable jobs. In short, they are the prime suspects."

"Holy crap! I hired a legitimate construction and renovation company, why did they send me all sorts of random people?!"

The zoo leader who had been following them immediately jumped up and started cursing.

Yang Ye glanced at him without saying a word, only indicating to Zhai Xiaojun to investigate the company and all its workers. This wasn't particularly difficult; after all, there was on-site surveillance footage, and they couldn't escape the police's grasp.

Lingo listened silently to the conversation of the people below from his treetop, and his mood grew increasingly worse.

He found it hard to imagine what would happen to the leopard if it were actually caught. Just like Yang Ye had said before, the thought of it being skinned, gutted, and sold for money was chilling.

Now, the only hope is that the creature will be a little smarter. There's no evidence yet that it's been caught; we can only hope it just escaped and wasn't captured, and that it's safe and sound.

"Ok?"

Lin Ge suddenly stopped and looked around from the treetop.

They were nearing the African animal exhibit, with open grasslands and haphazardly arranged fences in front of them. Ringo was standing on the last tree; if they continued forward, they would have to run on the ground.

The smell here is even worse; elephants, hippos, rhinos, and the like defecate and urinate everywhere. Add to that the lack of sufficient plant matter and the lack of sunlight in winter, and the combined stench nearly made Lingo faint.

Of course this is not the point!
The key point is that the scent of leopards becomes inexplicably very faint here.

Lingo only smelled it come down from the tree and engage in a second struggle with the suspect. After that, the leopard's scent remained unchanged, as if it had finally escaped to the end and been caught by the suspect, who then took it away directly from that location.

After all, it's just an animal. No matter how powerful it is, how can it defeat a human with weapons?

Ringo jumped down from the tree and looked around, noticing that there were very few security cameras in the area. This was probably because animals like rhinos, hippos, and elephants are unlikely to approach or be harmed by humans; there were only a few cameras near intersections and animal enclosures. The spot where Ringo was standing—the place where the leopard had once again fought the suspect—was conveniently in a blind spot of the cameras, ensuring he wouldn't be seen.

There was no cover in front of them, and their view was completely unobstructed, yet there was no trace of the leopard. Its scent seemed to linger only here, but they couldn't find it; it appeared to have been taken away by some method.

Lin Ge's mood couldn't help but sink.

"Oh! Poor, foolish creature! Running around playing every day, now it's getting its comeuppance, isn't it? It would have been fine staying in its cage, why did it have to court death?" Lin Ge sighed deeply. He knew perfectly well that the suspect hadn't captured the leopard to keep it as a pet; he wouldn't let it live. What good could come of that unfortunate creature falling into the hands of a greedy person?
"Idiot! Ouch~~"

The more Lin Ge thought about it, the more frustrated he became, and he started howling in annoyance.

In the mud not far away, two ears quietly perked up. The muddy, wet ears twitched twice and slowly regained their vitality. Then, a pair of gloomy eyes lit up from the mud, their eyelids lifting the mud covering their bodies, and their pupils gradually brightened.

It stared silently at the cat howling madly ahead, its eyes gradually gleaming with greed. Unnoticed by the surrounding humans, the mud began to slowly churn, and shadows crept silently towards Lingo.

"Ok?"

Suddenly, Lin Ge felt a chill and instinctively turned around and ran back, quickly climbing up the big tree next to him.

The next second, a huge black shadow shot out of the mud. Countless streams of mud and water splashed in all directions as the mud-covered animal viciously lunged at Lin Ge. The crocodile enclosure's meter-high fence was no match for it; with nimble agility and undiminished speed, it leaped over the fence, then quickly chased after Lin Ge, climbing up a tree and forcing him onto a helpless branch. Then… it opened its massive jaws and roared fiercely.

"Roar!"

The sudden appearance of the ferocious beast and its deafening roar caused Yang Ye and the others to change their expressions drastically, and Zhai Xiaojun instinctively reached for the pistol at his waist.

But the next second, the beast violently shook its body.

Countless mud droplets splattered in all directions like rain, covering the stunned Lin Ge from head to toe like a mud monkey. Lin Ge couldn't even open his eyes as clumps of mud pelted him relentlessly. With nowhere to retreat, Lin Ge could only endure the baptism of this bastard. The creature even brazenly opened its massive mouth and, to Nie Guoqiang's speechless gaze, swallowed Lin Ge's entire head, curling its tongue before spitting it out.

"..."

Lin Ge, his face full of unspoken thoughts, was soaking wet and filthy. But looking at the leopard that was hiding in the mud, seemingly unharmed except for a small chip on the tip of its ear, he couldn't help but feel fortunate.

That's great that he's still alive!

Although it's unclear how it disguised itself as a crocodile, or how it hid in the crocodile pool without being attacked by real crocodiles, the fact that it's safe and sound is enough.

'Slurp!'

The excited leopard licked Lingo's head hard with its large tongue. It seemed to be in a very good mood, but it turned Lingo into a slovenly cat with its head covered in drool and its body covered in mud.

"Phew...that scared the hell out of me!"

Zhai Xiaojun speechlessly lowered his pistol, almost ready to attack. To be honest, when this leopard appeared, no one really reacted. Who the hell would have thought it would be hiding in the crocodile pool?
This dog really doesn't value its own life! If there were even a crocodile around, how could it possibly escape?

"Hehe... Da Hua is very smart; she won't get caught by the crocodiles." Tang Li felt her heart pounding. She explained, "Crocodiles are cold-blooded animals, highly sensitive to temperature, and almost never leave indoors in winter. So, when Da Hua is threatened, hiding in the crocodile pool is its smartest choice! To exaggerate a bit, the crocodile pool is the only safe place around here at this time; the other rhinos and hippos would attack any intruders..."

"A creature that can escape from a cage and even evade human pursuit is indeed clever."

Nie Guoqiang nodded, watching the leopard rubbing against his cat, Mimi, turning the white cat into a lump of mud. Mimi tried her best to fight back, wildly punching the leopard with her claws, but she couldn't hurt it at all.

The size difference between the two is too great, even though they are both felines...

"Woooo..."

Several police dogs whined in the distance, envious that the big cat could be so close to their leader. They also wanted to lick their leader like that, but unfortunately, their trainers held them back and they couldn't move at all.

Qi Guai turned around and glared fiercely at Yuan Qu, determined to teach this guy a lesson when they got back.

"Tsk tsk..."

Yuan Qu just clicked his tongue, marveling at the friendship between the cat and the leopard, completely unaware that his own dog was plotting a rebellion.

On the other side, Lingo finally got fed up with being licked and jumped off the tree.

As a result, the leopard jumped down without hesitation. It glanced coldly at the humans around it, its eyes softening only when it saw Tang Li. But it quickly pounced on Lin Ge and pinned him down, continuing its relentless antics.

"Get away!"

Seeing that the creature had just suffered a loss, Lin Ge initially remained patient and tolerant. However, he eventually grew impatient with the harassment and struck the leopard hard on the jaw with his paw, incredulously flipping it to the side.

"When did these two meet and become friends? Did Mimi know the leopard just because it lived opposite those two lynxes?"

Watching the two of them bickering, Nie Guoqiang was puzzled.

Of course, there's still a problem. This leopard seems like a real handful; how can we get it back to its cage safely? Wait a minute! The hole in the cage hasn't been patched yet; if it goes in, it could escape at any moment.

"What should we do? Prepare tranquilizer darts?"

Zhai Xiaojun looked at the zoo leader next to him. They couldn't just let this leopard roam around here, could they? This thing was still a wild animal, and if it hurt someone, it would be big news.

"Oh, oh! I'll go to the storage room to get it right away!"

The zoo manager, who had been staring blankly at the interaction between the leopard and the cat, suddenly realized what was happening and quickly turned around and walked back.

"Wait a minute, let Mimi handle this!"

Nie Guoqiang smiled and stopped him, then looked up and said loudly to Lin Ge, "Mimi, take your new companion back. But its cage needs to be set up before it can live there. Do you think it should stay in the lynx enclosure for a few days first?"

This last sentence was said while looking at several zoo staff members.

"Hey?"

The zoo director was taken aback. What did this guy mean? But after thinking about it, he could only nod in bewilderment.

"Hey you, Tang Li? Find a few people to deal with those two lynxes. Put them in a cage temporarily to make room for the leopard."

"Oh!"

Tang Li nodded and was about to leave when Lin Ge led the golden leopard slowly towards them. The group had no choice but to stop and quickly move aside, watching with trepidation as the lazy-looking leopard dragged its tail past them.

This guy seemed completely fearless, but only Lingo could tell that he had become much more wary after suffering a loss once.

In the past, when was its tail not as supple as a noodle? When would it ever expose its claws, or even make a sound when stepping on the stone pavement? It's a leopard, after all; when has it ever resorted to such a head-on confrontational tactic?

It means it trusts Lingo enough; otherwise, having suffered at the hands of humans, it would never have walked on the main road in front of so many people.

Lin Ge sighed, hoping that this guy would learn from his mistake and not be careless when he acts recklessly in the future.

(End of this chapter)