Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 496 Let’s start again

Lei Hanqin's thinking was very simple: that factory couldn't fly, so it definitely couldn't escape.

Once we use this cat to pinpoint the target's location, the rest might be easier than finding poisonous insects normally.

However, the same logic applies: if they can't quickly identify their target, they'll be forced to conduct a massive, aimless search throughout a prefecture-level city and its surrounding industrial areas. Aside from the workload, the chances of alerting the enemy are high. A legitimate company like theirs likely has connections in various circles. And manufacturing equipment based on Mizhi could easily be converted back into their original products. If they end up empty-handed or are kept in the dark by the enemy, it would be a real laughingstock.

Leaving aside whether it's a joke or not, it's just that if it turns into a complicated, protracted, and exhausting tug-of-war operation that leaves the police exhausted, it will be a real problem.

The entire country is currently facing the threat of the Tiger virus. With insufficient police resources, any operation that takes too long is likely to cause accidents and lead to problems in the investigation process.

Therefore, Lei Hanqin now only wants a quick victory, and to achieve this, he needs Mimi's help. At least Mimi has proven her ability through her achievements over a long period of time and has gained the full trust of all the police officers in Zhang City.

"You've gone this far, what can I say?"

Lingo lowered his tail somewhat helplessly.

"Let's just treat it as a trip! Changshi's tourism industry is probably the most developed in our Chu Province, right? Even the provincial capital, Chu City, doesn't have as many attractions as Changshi. They say Bashan and Chushui are beautiful, so it would be nice to find some time to see them."

Zhuang Tao'er was responsible for taking Lin Ge home, and she comforted him like this along the way.

But to be honest, no police officer ever likes to go on business trips, and Zhuang Tao'er is well aware of this.

Traveling is free? The meager allowance the bureau gives us for each business trip is barely enough to cover the cost of a hotel; how could we possibly have extra money for leisure activities? Not to mention, not only Changshi, but Zhangshi is also facing a severe shortage of police officers. This trip to Changshi will most likely be a quick trip back to work, finishing the case and returning to continue working overtime. Why would the higher-ups possibly grant even half a day for a relaxing vacation?
"Since you know that, how dare you try to fool me?"

Lin Ge glared at Zhuang Tao'er speechlessly. This girl has already gone astray following Shao Yongkang!
Silent all night.

The next day, as expected, the Zhanghe Police Station received a request for support from the Municipal Public Security Bureau, specifically requesting that the Zhanghe Police Station's police cat, Mimi, cooperate with the Municipal Anti-Drug Brigade to carry out a drug enforcement mission in Changshi.

Although ethiritam is not currently listed as a narcotic, the Zhangzhou City police have already classified all related crimes as narcotics. Along with the support notice, the city bureau also issued a reply letter regarding the ethiritam-related information submitted to higher authorities. Provincial leaders are handling this matter with special urgency, expediting the procedures for adding ethiritam to the narcotic list, hoping to obtain approval from the Ministry of Public Security as quickly as possible.

In other words, if they're lucky, when they catch the suspects in Changshi this time, they might be prosecuted for manufacturing drugs, rather than for the less serious crime of illegally manufacturing pharmaceuticals.

Given the efficiency of a legitimate drug manufacturing plant and the provisions of criminal law regarding drug penalties, this case might not even be finished with a dozen peanuts, and could even be more than doubled.

Thinking about it this way, everyone's mood inexplicably became somewhat pleasant.

"They sent over a transfer notice directly, as if they're afraid we won't agree to lend Mimi out! They're really underestimating us and our Mimi!"

As Zheng Mingxing flipped through the contents of the notification letter, he reminded Lin Ge to be careful when he went out.

Furthermore, when Li Siyu fell ill, Sun Chang was still in Chu City, and the police station couldn't even send out a trainer who could take care of Mimi. In addition, with the international media buzzing about the Tiger virus, many people in China learned about the situation through bloggers and short videos and spread the information widely; paranoid people hoarded supplies, causing unrest among some residents and requiring continued police control.

The Zhanghe Police Station was already short-staffed due to various transfers and was very busy at the moment, so it was even more impossible for them to spare anyone to be Mimi's nanny.

Therefore, even though Zheng Mingxing was worried that Mimi would be bullied in Changshi, he could only repeatedly tell her to pay attention to her food, water, and hygiene, not to run around, and to call if anything happened.

"Well! How about I go with Mimi instead?"

A pale-faced Li Siyu appeared at the office door, her legs trembling, yet she insisted on going to work. Behind her stood a helpless-looking Jiang Yiyi, who quickly clasped her hands together in an expression of innocence when she saw Zheng Mingxing looking over.

This girl needs help to walk, how could we possibly let her do any work?
Zheng Mingxing knew that Li Siyu had suffered greatly while with Mimi in Chu City. The past ten or twenty days had been incredibly tough, both day and night, and she contracted the illness during her menstrual period. The young girl was delicate; if she didn't take proper care of herself, she might suffer lifelong health problems.

How could Zheng Mingxing allow something like this to happen?
Therefore, despite his concern for Mimi, he resolutely refused Li Siyu's request to accompany him.

Zheng Mingxing first told Jiang Yiyi to quickly send Li Siyu back to the hospital, and then called Shao Yongkang and Lei Hanqin for a long time to threaten them. After receiving Lei Hanqin's promise to send someone to take care of Mimi, he reluctantly signaled to Lin Ge that he could leave with the car waiting at the police station.

Because Changshi is not far from Zhangshi, this time they didn't take the train or chartered a bus, but instead drove directly in their police cars. This was good news for Lin Ge; at least he could have his own seat and wouldn't have to worry about strangers bothering him or making noise that would disturb his rest.

After picking up Ling Ge, the car that was supposed to meet him met another police car near the highway exit. The group of six people plus a cat made up the entire team heading to Changshi.

Inside the police car, Lin Ge sat in the back seat, next to a middle-aged policeman named Ding Biao.

Through Ding Biao's self-introduction, Lin Ge learns that he was actually Zhao Zhigao's work partner before he accepted the undercover mission. Lin Ge, in turn, was Zhao Zhigao's undercover partner during the mission; the two are truly destined to meet.

Because of this connection, and given Lin Ge's reputation in Zhang City, Ding Biao treated him fairly well throughout the journey. He not only brought Lin Ge several bottles of purified water for the road, but also somehow managed to get a bag of dried fish, which he kept feeding Lin Ge along the way.

Sitting in the passenger seat was a young policeman named Xie Yanbing, who was also Ding Biao's newly accepted apprentice. He had been transferred to the anti-drug squad when Zhao Zhigao set off on his undercover mission. He was a bit arrogant, but also a good young man.

The police officer driving the car was named Xiang Jinquan, also a veteran of the anti-drug squad. In some ways, he had served in the Zhangzhou anti-drug squad longer than Lei Hanqin, but unfortunately, due to his personality, he liked to argue with his superiors and had a rather bad attitude towards drug dealers and addicts, so he was always unable to get promoted.

However, compared to the lively atmosphere of the Criminal Investigation Division, the atmosphere in the Narcotics Control Division is indeed much more oppressive. After all, they usually deal with dangerous drug dealers and addicts, and often witness scenes of unbearable suffering during drug withdrawal, as well as tragic cases of families torn apart and destroyed by drug addicts. Under such circumstances and in such an environment, few narcotics officers can maintain a cheerful attitude; they all wish they could kill all drug dealers and become executioners.

"Mimi, do you want me to take you to the toilet?"

While resting in the parking area, Lei Hanqin took the initiative to approach Lin Ge and curry favor with him. In some ways, this guy was an anomaly in the anti-drug squad; he was meticulous, had a strong mentality, and wasn't crushed by the work environment, which was why he was able to rise to the position of squad leader.

Lin Ge ignored Lei Hanqin's unsolicited kindness and instead found a clean and secluded spot to take care of his personal matters.

He never wanted to go to the restrooms in the parking area again after just one visit. Many unhygienic animals didn't flush after using them, and the floor was always wet. The environment and smell inside were a nightmare for a cat.

As for urinating or defecating outside, and what if someone steps on his landmine? Lin Ge said he didn't care!

He's just a cat, who can ask him to do anything?
"This guy has a problem with me!"

Lei Hanqin watched as Lin Ge finished tidying up and got into the car, then turned to Ma Zhou beside him and pretended to complain.

"Who told you to trick it, Captain Lei? It just got back from a tough trip to Chu City, and you conscripted it the very next day. It's only because Mimi is a cat; anyone would be lucky not to secretly give it laxatives." Ma Zhou joked with Lei Hanqin, not being particularly polite to his boss. After all, they were all in the same drug enforcement unit, sharing the same fate; although there were differences in titles, what mattered most was their camaraderie and cooperation.

"Hehe... If I can kill these guys who're into new drugs, I'll accept it even if Mimi gives me laxatives!"

Lei Hanqin wasn't angry, but sighed and said, "Damn it! Every time a new type of drug appears, it's a completely new challenge for us anti-drug police! Before each new drug is completely contained, who knows how many people it will harm! This time we were lucky; the one dealing with tequila wasn't a professional drug lord, so we caught him in time. If it were a real big drug lord who had been to Southeast Asia, this would be a million times more troublesome. Heh... These days, everyone, good or bad, is thinking about making quick money, completely disregarding the lives of ordinary people. Although the addictiveness of new drugs isn't as high as that of old drugs, their fatality rate is dozens of times higher, you bastards!"

In the end, Lei Hanqin couldn't help but curse a few times.

Ordinary people even check the dosage when taking cold medicine, so when they're hooked on drugs, they wouldn't consider whether continuing to take it would kill them. That's the most hateful thing about drug addiction; it can completely make people lose their minds and turn them into stupid pigs!
When the topic of drug addiction came up, none of the group had any interest in chatting.

Those of us in this line of work have witnessed far too many tragic scenes. Countless people have been driven insane and ruined their families by drug addiction; we've even seen people kill their wives and children during withdrawal. As for those who self-harm or commit crimes for money, the numbers are countless. This kind of thing shouldn't exist in the human world; it can even be said to be the root of a large portion of criminal activity! Which narcotics officer doesn't want the country to be free of drugs? But achieving that is incredibly difficult!
"Even a basic small-scale chemical plant, with all the necessary equipment, can easily produce several tons of chemical poisons a day. These things should be eradicated as soon as possible; if they're allowed to spread, who knows how many people they'll harm!"

Zhong Kai sighed.

"Then let's hurry up, let's finish this cigarette and then set off!"

Lei Hanqin was the first to throw away his cigarette butt and strode into the police car. The other police officers quickly took a couple of puffs each, and then the police car roared towards Chang City.

Throughout the journey, Lin Ge mostly slept and enjoyed Ding Biao's care. Despite his fierce-sounding name, this veteran policeman had a surprisingly kind personality. He even patiently removed the heads from the dried fish, feeding Lin Ge only the fish meat. And he always noticed when Lin Ge was about to doze off. The police car was well-stocked with blankets and quilts for constant surveillance. Ding Biao would cover Lin Ge with a blanket after he fell asleep and then signal to the driver, Xiang Jinquan, to turn the radio down.

The radio was broadcasting news, and the announcer was talking about the Tiger virus. The government had officially informed the public about the existence of the Tiger virus and urged everyone to stay home and avoid gatherings. They were also told to report any unfamiliar foreigners or people returning from abroad who hadn't undergone airport or community quarantine to the police immediately. The news also stated that a team of domestic experts led by Mao Qixian had successfully developed a drug that could cure Tiger virus infection, urging the public not to panic. Furthermore, related immunotherapy research was underway and a second round of clinical trials had already begun…

"With this news coming out, police stations across the country are probably going to be overwhelmed with calls."

Xie Yanbing sighed, turned down the radio, and said with a wry smile, "Ordinary people don't care how busy the police are; they only care about whether there's a potential virus threat around them. At this time, let alone whether someone is from abroad, they'd probably call the police immediately if a stranger barged into their neighborhood. There's a saying, 'Better safe than sorry,' right? Anyway, they'll just hand it over to the police and protect their own safety first."

Xiang Jinquan turned the steering wheel to the slow lane, giving way to a private car that was clearly speeding, before replying to Jie Yanbing with a sigh: "I reckon from this moment on, police officers in all police stations across the country can forget about going home. The calls are coming in 24/7; police officers are either answering calls or on their way to answer calls every day. It's like that virus outbreak in the south a few years ago. The actual number of people truly threatened wasn't that many, but the number of police officers who were exhausted was more than just a few dozen or a few hundred. I remember back then, even the economic crime investigation and criminal investigation teams went to help the police stations answer calls, working day and night for over half a month, almost collapsing from exhaustion. Haha… It's just that our anti-drug squad's duties are a bit special; otherwise, we might also be assigned to patrol the streets, busy all day long. But then again, as long as the epidemic can be resolved, it's okay for police officers to work a little harder."

"Yes! Safety is the most important thing!"

Xie Yanbing nodded and sighed.

"..."

Lin Ge secretly opened his eyes, hiding his head under the blanket, quietly listening to the discussion of the three people in the car, and then listening intently to Mao Qixian's repeated solemn promise on the radio that he would not allow the Tiger virus to threaten national security.

To be honest, Lin Ge feels it was a bit too early for the government to expose Tiger's situation at this time.

Because to this day, Chushi Tianchi International Airport has maintained a very successful and stringent prevention and control system, preventing even a single suspected case from entering the airport. Under such circumstances, why cause panic? Wouldn't it be better to continue keeping it from the public?

Lin Ge pondered this question and guessed three possibilities.

The situation abroad is extremely dire, and it's likely that many countries beyond the US are also affected by the Tiger virus, with its spread becoming very severe. Only when the Tiger virus becomes a global catastrophe will a country be forced to call on its citizens to cooperate, rather than relying solely on the police and military to deal with this crisis.

Of course, there's another possibility: with the conclusion of the Military World Games, the Tiger virus, or rather, foreign tourists, may no longer concentrate in Chu City, but instead disperse to other large and medium-sized cities across the country. It's quite possible that a city's prevention and control measures were inadequate, allowing the virus to successfully infiltrate the country and pose a risk of spreading nationwide. In this scenario, the government would be forced to declare comprehensive prevention and control measures and require all citizens to be on high alert…

There is also a third possibility: the country has actually mastered a complete immunization program, and therefore is confident in announcing this information and engaging in various negotiations and exchanges with foreign countries...

Lin Ge was unsure which possibility it was.

Now there's only one thing: domestic police, especially police stations, are definitely going to be on edge again. Leaving aside whether the 110 emergency hotline will be overwhelmed with calls, at least in terms of proactive patrols, just as Xiang Jinquan said, nobody will have a moment's rest all day long.

"What a troubled time!"

Xie Yanbing sighed.

"Being a police officer this year is tough!"

Lin Ge sighed as well, and could imagine the tense situation in Zhang City after this news was broadcast. The Zhanghe Police Station was already short-staffed; now they'd probably have to split one officer in half.

"Hey?"

Suddenly, Xie Yanbing heard a news item on the radio that caught his attention, so he quickly turned the volume up a little.

According to US news reports, US coast guard officials claimed to have seized a shipment of smuggled goods from my country bound for New York on September 21st of last year, some of which were illegal products without permits. They even found suspected tiger virus on two of the smoked bamboo rats. US spokesperson Yochakin stated at 10:00 AM US time yesterday that China should bear full responsibility for the tiger virus outbreak that has affected the entire US, and demanded an explanation from China, as well as discussions regarding an apology and compensation… Our spokesperson publicly expressed opposition to and condemned this malicious defamation by the US…

"Hold!"

The three people inside the car all started cursing.

No one expected that the Americans would be so shameless as to try to shift the blame or even the crime onto this side.

Everyone knows that the Tiger virus first broke out in the United States, but these bastards have dragged the timeline back to six months ago.

Damn it!
If the epidemic had broken out in China six months ago, how could things be so calm now?

They even use smuggling as a pretext; what a despicable scoundrel!

This chapter has consistently failed the intelligent review, so many words have been changed to similar words; please interpret them on your own.

Okay, please let this through manual review.

Continuing to ask for monthly votes.

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(End of this chapter)