Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 467 Tiger
Lin Ge originally imagined that the police dog competition would be a lively and exciting event, where police dogs and their handlers would sweat it out on the field, and where they would fight fiercely and push their limits at all costs.

Of course, the actual competition was indeed very exciting. There was a constant stream of cheers and encouragement, the trainers' roars, and the competitors' shouts of approval. Whenever a police dog performed exceptionally well, the cheers were so loud they seemed to shake the clouds. Watching such a scene was exhilarating; you almost wanted to participate yourself and have a competition with these outstanding dogs, to see who was better.

Unfortunately... Lin Ge can't see it.

The stage where he and Li Siyu were located was in a rather secluded spot, constantly obscured by people walking around. So much so that while Lin Ge could hear the cheers and applause, he couldn't see anything even when he stood on tiptoe.

The more lively it was outside, the more curious he became. He really wanted to sneak over and get closer, but Li Siyu was determined not to let him do anything reckless. Whenever Lin Ge tried to sneak away, she would grab him by the tail without hesitation and drag him back.

This was the first time Li Siyu had ever been so arrogant in front of Lin Ge. While Lin Ge was speechless and helpless, he could also tell from the sticky sweat on the girl's palms just how nervous she was.

The people around her were all important figures to her. This made Li Siyu, who had only ever met the highest-ranking official in Zhangzhou City's Public Security Bureau, extremely cautious. She sat up straight, afraid of bringing shame to the police station. Even though she was also worried about Yu Rong's behavior, she didn't dare to go closer to take a look.

With a whoosh, another police dog completed its mountain tracking exercise. Successfully catching the target posing as a criminal and blocking their escape route signifies a successful completion of the exercise.

In this project, the more time wasted on the climbing aspects in the early stages, the farther the criminals can escape, and the longer it takes to catch them. Simply put, a slow start leads to a slow finish; to win, every step must be extremely fast from beginning to end, with no mistakes allowed. Especially in the simulated tracking phase, each incorrect choice by the police dog results in a significant deduction of time points, posing a tremendous challenge to the on-the-spot judgment of both the police dog and its handler.

Judging from the applause around him, it was clear that the trainer from Chu City had done an excellent job with the project. His coordination with the police dog was superb; they even used a gliding motion on the sandy downhill section to save a significant amount of time. This kind of gliding is actually very difficult for dogs and requires extensive training to master.

The leaders of Chu City were naturally generous with their applause and praise for their outstanding contestant, which made Li Siyu, who was sitting next to them, feel even more nervous and helpless.

Just as she was fidgeting, someone gently patted her shoulder.

Li Siyu looked up curiously and found that it was the same staff member who had invited her over before.

"Could you please bring Mimi over for a moment? My boss needs to talk to Mimi about something, it won't take too long."

Wei Zhengxun bent down slightly and spoke in a low voice, making the person sitting next to Li Siyu twitch their ear. Their expression changed slightly, but they forced themselves to pretend they hadn't noticed anything.

Li Siyu didn't dare to refuse and quickly stood up. But when she looked up, she realized it was almost Sun Chang's turn, and she could only regretfully follow Wei Zhengxun away.

Lin Ge followed curiously, and under Wei Zhengxun's guidance, they left the competition venue and went straight to the office building behind the podium, then went straight up the stairs.

Once inside, they found it extremely quiet; there wasn't a soul in sight, as if the entire building were deserted. Wei Zhengxun remained silent, and Li Siyu dared not ask any questions, so she nervously followed him up the stairs to the fourth floor.

Wei Zhengxun stopped in front of a door with the words "Comprehensive Conference Room" written on it. He looked back at Li Siyu and Lin Ge before gently turning the handle to open the door and gesturing for them to go in first.

Upon entering, they found the conference room slightly filled with smoke. The old policeman who had been sitting at the head of the table, along with several other leaders and a few unfamiliar policemen, were all quietly smoking. The sound of Li Siyu and Lin Ge entering made them all turn to look at them. The sharp, scrutinizing gazes made Li Siyu's breath catch in her throat.

"Li Siyu, right? And Mimi too! Come, please have a seat."

The old leader smiled and gestured for Li Siyu and Lin Ge to sit in the conference room, without revealing his identity. The others remained silent, their gazes fixed on Lin Ge, which slightly surprised him.

Judging by their ages and epaulets, each of these people looked like a high-ranking official. But for such important figures to specifically summon a lowly police cat like him to a place like this suggested it couldn't be just a simple greeting. Lin Ge had a feeling he was about to be ordered on some dangerous mission at any moment—terrorists or an alien attack?
"lead!"

Wei Zhengxun led three staff members in, each carrying two iron boxes. He placed the boxes on the open ground next to him, took out more than a dozen bottles and jars from them, and then stood up to greet everyone.

"Mimi, I've heard you're very capable, especially with your incredibly keen sense of smell. Hmm! You also have a knack for commanding police dogs, and the results are even better than when the handlers give them orders themselves, is that true?"

The old leader continued to smile at Lin Ge, like a weasel eyeing a plump hen, making Lin Ge feel a little uneasy.

He simply pretended to be stupid and remained silent.

But Li Siyu, caught a glimpse of her old boss, quickly nodded and said, "Reporting to the boss, Mimi's sense of smell is indeed quite good; she can detect many subtle scents or even those from a great distance. However, when it comes to commanding the police dogs... perhaps it's because she's so friendly, the police dogs do seem to like being near Mimi, but of course, she can't really command them..."

Li Siyu tried her best to explain the anomaly to Lin Ge, but the old leader wouldn't listen to her explanation at all. He nodded slightly and pointed directly to the bottles and jars over there, saying to Lin Ge, "Mimi, go smell those things over there and see if you can identify them. Hmm... don't overthink it, just see how capable you really are."

Various guesses raced through Lin Ge's mind, but he remained outwardly calm. After all, everyone present was a leader from the Chu Province police system; they wouldn't dare to try anything against him. Most likely, some real-world problem needed solving, and for such high-ranking leaders to take the initiative, it must be something extremely important. Lin Ge knew what was important in such matters and certainly wouldn't act impulsively regardless of the situation.

"The feeling of being watched that I had before was probably because they were observing me, right?"

As Lin Ge pondered this, he walked over to the bottles and jars.

A cursory sniff revealed nothing unusual; the only lingering scents were ordinary human odors and disinfectant. Some of the bottles contained liquid, others sponges, and still others were simply live fish or shrimp. Approaching closer, a jumble of unpleasant smells filled the air. Lin Ge looked back, wondering what they wanted him to smell.

"Is there no warning intended?"

A middle-aged leader sitting to the side sighed.

"what?"

Lin Ge froze for a moment, not immediately understanding what he meant. When he finally realized, he was so terrified he almost jumped up, looking at the bottles and jars as if they were demons. Holy crap, what's inside? Why are they demanding he give a warning the moment he gets close?

Upon closer reflection, it became clear that when Wei Zhengxun led the group over carrying these items, everyone was wearing gloves! Apart from Wei Zhengxun, the other three were wearing white coats and white masks. Could it be that there was some kind of virus inside?
Lin Ge felt a cold sweat breaking out. Why were these people so unreliable? Why didn't they warn him about the danger beforehand?
"No, no, Mimi's just a cat. Don't exaggerate her abilities. Our country emphasizes materialism, and the scope of our experiments is based on a cat's capabilities." The old leader proactively defended Lin Ge, then looked at him with a smile and said, "Mimi, come closer and sniff these things inside. See if you can find anything! Don't worry, there's no danger. Aren't we here with you?"

Lin Ge thought about it and realized it made sense. If something were truly dangerous, it certainly wouldn't be placed in the conference room so casually, especially in front of these high-ranking leaders without any protection.

So, although curious about what was going on, Lin Ge obediently moved closer, lowered his head, and slowly sniffed the bottles and jars. The gaze from behind made him a little nervous.

But in the end, his curiosity and sense of responsibility prevented him from backing down. Instead, he focused all his attention on the tip of his nose and patiently searched for commonalities among the smells.

However... the liquid inside the bottles was transparent, colorless, and odorless, so Lin Ge didn't get anything.

The two bottles containing what appeared to be either sponges or seaweed gave Lin Ge a very strange feeling. His brain was urgently warning him to move a little further away, but the sense of danger wasn't particularly strong.

Then, when it was the turn of the two shrimps that were locked in the glass bottle, Lin Ge's ears suddenly twitched.

For some reason, these two shrimp gave him a very strange feeling. Although his nose didn't detect anything unusual, his brain was telling him that these things were absolutely not to be eaten, or even touched!
This feeling had been present when he was smelling the algae earlier, but it wasn't nearly as strong as with these two shrimp. It was only because they were submerged in an unknown liquid and appeared to be dead that Lin Ge felt an urge to run away at this point.

"Ok?"

Lin Ge's angry glare at the shrimp bottle startled his old boss, who had been watching him intently, causing him to pause and look somewhat surprised.

The others exchanged glances, all showing expressions of surprise.

"They...they can actually smell it? Why? This isn't scientific! Logically speaking..."

One of them muttered to himself.

The old man smiled and shook his head, saying, "Science can't explain everything, isn't that normal? This isn't a problem with science, but rather with the level of technological development. In short, it's enough that we've proven this cat can sense these things. Using police dogs and cats to identify targets, without causing any disruption to the outside world, is the only method we can use right now. Among all the tested subjects, Mimi has the highest reaction speed and autonomy. This means our previous plan can be realized. If we can also confirm its ability to lead the police dog team, we can at least quickly create a qualified dike."

The others thought about it and nodded in agreement.

The biggest problem right now is the lack of time; otherwise, they wouldn't be pinning their hopes on these animals that can't communicate well. A mere threat is nothing compared to the power of the state apparatus, but its sudden and rapid emergence is a different story. If given just two more months, the state's resources could easily render this threat a joke. For now, all they can do is focus on building a strong defense.

"So... what exactly is going on?!"

Lin Ge was still completely confused. The only thing he was sure of was that his next task was related to these bottles and jars and the contents inside them.

Could it be some kind of virus threatening the country? Or is the target they're about to search for or lock onto related to this strange-sounding thing? The serious expressions on these people's faces made Lin Ge nervous. He even suspected that this province-wide police dog competition might be a rehearsal for the trouble that was about to unfold. The old leader's mention of 'all test subjects' also sparked some thoughts in Lin Ge's mind.

"..."

Li Siyu secretly pricked up her ears, listening to the conversation among the leaders, a sense of tension welling up inside her. She suspected she was involved in a particularly important event, and Mimi seemed to be the key to resolving a certain crisis.

why?
Just because it sniffed at those glass bottles next to it and then took a step back? Isn't that a bit ridiculous?

"It seems we need to explain to Comrade Li Siyu what exactly happened."

Although the old leader said this with a smile, his gaze remained fixed on Lin Ge, who was squinting. He seemed to know that Lin Ge could understand human speech, and he didn't seem to treat him like an ordinary police cat.

Amid Li Siyu's flattered expression, the old leader beckoned to Wei Zhengxun and said, "Xiao Wei, explain this to Comrade Li Siyu, and let us old folks remind ourselves of the seriousness of the matter."

"Yes!"

Wei Zhengxun stepped forward again, walked to the computer in the corner of the conference room, and opened a PPT by projecting the screen.

"The whole thing started with an American medical journal last April. Professor Danielle, an American infectious disease expert, published a paper in a specialized medical journal detailing her discovery of a novel virus sample with extremely high infectivity and the ability to damage human cells. She named this virus 'tiger,' meaning as fierce as a tiger. Furthermore, at the end of the paper, Professor Danielle solemnly warned that once a person is infected with this virus, there is currently no effective cure in the medical field. This paper immediately caused a sensation in the global medical community, with many medical experts calling it another terrifying demon threatening human survival after AIDS. A large number of medical experts called on Professor Danielle to completely destroy her discovery to prevent an unstoppable and terrible disaster for all humanity..."

As Wei Zhengxun spoke, he displayed various professional documents entirely in English on the projected screen.

Although Li Siyu's English was terrible, she understood the seriousness of the matter just from Wei Zhengxun's explanation. A virus with no cure, like AIDS, was definitely what these leaders were fretting about.

Even though the leaders present had heard this PPT many times before, they still looked solemn and nervous.

"A month after the sensational publication in the journal, Professor Danielle stated in an interview that the original sample of the tiger virus had been completely destroyed. However, to prevent the virus from recurring and posing a threat to humans, she retained three weakened viral variant samples and indicated that she would continue to study them. Many medical experts still questioned Professor Danielle's motives and linked it to American hegemony. But Professor Danielle ignored these opinions and insisted on continuing her tiger virus-related research at her Danielle Infectious Disease Research Center. Then, on June 14th of last year, a fire broke out at the Danielle Infectious Disease Research Center."

Li Siyu's face suddenly turned deathly pale. This kind of plot development was all too common in American TV series and novels. Earth faced the threat of destruction due to humanity's reckless and utterly disrespectful actions, until superheroes saved everything…

Ringo's expression also turned serious. He knew that from this moment on, this matter would definitely be connected with the country beneath his feet.

Wei Zhengxun switched the projected screen, and a brightly lit white building ablaze stood out. The image was still entirely in English, seemingly taken from an American news website, with the word "disaster" written in bold black at the top.

"After the fire was extinguished, almost all the experimental samples and data from the Daniels Research Center were reduced to ashes. To this day, neither the US authorities nor Professor Daniels himself have publicly stated whether the fire was caused by human intervention or an accident. Just when everyone thought the Tiger incident had subsided, on July 7th, a world-renowned terrorist organization suddenly released a video on the largest online platform in the United States, claiming that they had obtained a 'great' Tiger sample!"

Lin Ge's heart skipped a beat. He never expected things to take such a turn; the virus had actually become connected with a terrorist organization.

Li Siyu's legs felt weak.

What defines a terrorist organization? It means they're capable of anything! These people not only spread fear but also have no qualms about causing death!
At this point, Wei Zhengxun paused to give everyone time to process the information. Only after his former leader waved to him again did he continue: "On July 17th, a suspected case of the Tiger virus was discovered in Idaho, USA, resulting in 64 subsequent infections within the next two days. Whether there were any deaths is currently unknown. On August 4th and 5th, similar suspected cases were discovered in Michigan and Ohio, with over 200 people infected through human-to-human transmission. At this time, Professor Danielle publicly stated that the symptoms of this infectious disease were indeed very similar to the weakened Tiger virus she was researching, immediately causing panic in the United States. Subsequently, the US government deleted all related information and concealed the true destructive power of the Tiger virus. To date, we still do not know how many people have been infected with the Tiger virus. However, one thing is certain: the Tiger virus has become a problem for a certain ruling party in that country, and this problem could become a global problem at any time!"

(End of this chapter)