Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 509 A Glimmer of Hope (Bonus chapter for every 1000 monthly votes, please continue to vote)

After walking more than 200 meters along a winding path, a long, thin pipe connecting the factories on both sides of the river came into view of Zhao Zhigang and Lin Ge.

Both ends of the pipeline are buried in the soil of the riverbanks on both sides, and a thin steel bar is attached to the pipeline for safety ropes during maintenance. Therefore, although the pipeline end is curved, there is absolutely no problem for people to walk on it. In fact, even if you hang goods on the steel bar and push them across, theoretically there would be no problem.

In addition, there is a fallen fan-shaped fence on this side of the pipeline, which was originally intended to prevent people from passing over it, but it has now been deliberately removed and left on the ground.

The pipe was a good 700 or 800 meters away from Yixinda's gate. Zhao Zhigang wasn't sure if the police who came to inspect the area had noticed or considered it. Or perhaps the fence was still there at the time, so they overlooked the situation.

In any case, based on the current situation, this is clearly a delivery route worth inferring.

It bypassed the bridgehead in front of Yixinda, creating a logical blind spot and quietly becoming a second route through which Mi Zhi could be led out of Yixinda. More importantly, there would be absolutely no surveillance equipment in this desolate area!
Zhao Zhigang came to the side of the pipe, glanced at Mimi who was still crawling forward, and then turned to look at the environment on this side of the pipe.

The land stretched out into the wilderness, extending beyond the perimeter of Yixinda's factory. Presumably intended for Yixinda's expansion, the wasteland was overgrown with tall reeds, dotted with puddles and littered with industrial waste. A small river meandered sharply around the other side, forming an inverted question mark shape. Furthermore, the other end connected to a village isolated beyond the factory's high walls, making it fair to say that Yixinda was situated on an isolated island.

Therefore, it seems plausible that the police used the bridge with surveillance cameras as the only access route and ignored this narrow pipe.

"Heh... When Boss Nie is working on a case, let alone a distance of seven or eight hundred meters, even a distance of one or two kilometers will be included in the search range! Even if this pipeline is not suitable for vehicles, drug traffickers still need to consider what route to take to transport goods. Chang City won't do!"

Zhao Zhigang shook his head with a mix of pride and arrogance, and once again took a picture of the pipeline and sent it to the group chat.

then……

A series of question marks appeared in the group chat from Director Wang, seemingly a silent, furious rant against his useless subordinates.

But soon, Director Wang excitedly praised Zhao Zhigang in the group chat, thanking him for his persistence and success in finding new clues, while also giving his subordinates a good scolding.

Anyway, no matter what, just when you think you've reached a dead end, a new path opens up before you!
Who would have thought that the truth was right under our noses?

The pipeline connects to a forest on the other side of the river, where a row of houses can be vaguely seen, indicating at least one small village.

Where there are inhabitants, there is a possibility that manufacturing facilities may exist.

It seemed that the whole truth was now laid bare before everyone's eyes. A dark corner, unnoticed by anyone, had actually been overlooked.

At Director Wang's command, the police officers who had rushed over split into two groups. One group headed towards Yixinda, while the other went to the village on the other side of the river.

The village is called Ziling Village, a historically significant village in Changshi. However, with urban development and the city's growing tourism industry, few young people in the village farm anymore; most have gone to work in various tourist attractions and related industries. In addition, due to commuting and other reasons, most have bought houses elsewhere, renting out vacant rooms in the village to workers in industrial parks or other people.

No one bothers to check who rents the houses, and with factories and other places frequented by strangers, no one really knows the details of the village.

At least that's what the middle-aged man carrying the hoe said.

After being apprehended by the police who rushed to the scene, he did not resist and did not even know why he was being arrested.

When the police questioned him about his purpose for being there, he claimed he was simply there to chat with the security guard, a claim confirmed by the guard. It turned out the two were acquaintances, and even the guard himself knew that the metal pipe was accessible.

But unfortunately... people are definitely not allowed to walk on the pipes! It takes a long detour for people from Ziling Village to get here by the main road, so he kept this a secret so that it would be convenient for his good friends in the village to come over.

This answer made several police officers so angry they almost vomited blood!

Although they did not discover that the pipe was a serious oversight and error, the security guard's sense of duty caused the police to work hard for nothing and waste several days.

God knows how much manpower and resources were wasted during this period, and it all turned out to be a waste of time.

Why are you staring at me?

Zhao Zhigang still didn't intend to let the middle-aged man go, because the fact that Mimi had managed to infiltrate him without his knowledge meant that this guy must have done something to arouse her suspicion. In other words, this guy posed a potential threat.

Despite his seemingly innocent demeanor, like that of an ordinary farmer, Zhao Zhigang still felt he was highly suspicious.

Zhao Zhigang was even more relieved at this moment, thankful that he had chickened out earlier! Otherwise, if he had followed Mimi over there carelessly, who could guarantee that he wouldn't have been ambushed by this guy?
"Useless trash! With me here, who can ambush you?"

Lin Ge gave Zhao Zhigang a disdainful look.

Seeing that two police officers from the Municipal Bureau were asking the middle-aged man surnamed Yang to walk through the pipe again, Zhao Zhigang thought for a moment and decided to follow him, to keep a close eye on the guy and see when he would reveal a weakness.

The group quickly returned to the black-painted pipe. Several clearly visible footprints on the pipe made the police officer's expression even more grim. "It's so obvious! Why didn't we take a closer look when we came before?"

Why did the police officers responsible for inspecting this area only find a fence obstructing the way, and then skip the search of the area around the pipes, concluding that there was no path here?

The young policeman was extremely unhappy. He even felt that the bureau's laxity was worse than what Director Wang had described during his rant in the meeting. Although some senior officers were gossiping behind his back about the trivial matter of salary, this policeman felt that it wasn't a matter of pay, but rather a matter of attitude and responsibility.

Looking at Zhao Zhigang's amused expression and the cat beside him, the policeman's face darkened even more. Not only had he lost face in his own department, but he'd also humiliated himself in front of colleagues from out of town—this was truly shameful and utterly humiliating!
"Little Sun, what are you thinking about?"

Hearing Sun Hang's mutterings, his partner curiously came over.

"I'm thinking, how can we police officers laugh and joke when faced with such an embarrassing situation? Such obvious clues were ignored. What kind of police officers are we, and what kind of cases are we solving? Forget it! There's no point in talking nonsense. Anyway, we'll still get criticized for this. I just hope that Director Wang's outburst will bring about some changes in the bureau."

Sun Hang complained to his partner Xiang Zhiming, and seeing that the suspect, accompanied and supervised by Zhao Zhigang, was already walking up the pipe with the help of the steel bars beside him, and even the cat had already gone to the other side of the river, he quickly signaled to Xiang Zhiming and followed.

The group quickly crossed the river and found it to be very smooth, with no difficulty whatsoever. The suspect, surnamed Yang, even stated that he had been using this passage since Yixinda built its factory and didn't understand why the police were giving him trouble over something like this.

No one paid him any attention, and no one listened to his explanation.

Ignoring the man's complaints, the group made him lead the way to Ziling Village. In fact, through the walkie-talkie, they had already heard the main force's voices indicating that everyone was in position and had successfully surrounded Ziling Village, even swearing that this time they would not let any suspect escape.

In fact, all police officers have a sense of shame.

Although some people were lax before, they all learned a lesson after this incident, whether they said it or not. For a police officer to act like this, even if they aren't criticized, they'll still lose face.

So this time, amidst Director Wang's roars and laughter, the police officers on duty were truly giving it their all. You could tell from the voices on the walkie-talkie that they were all furious and loud, a stark contrast to their usual lazy demeanor.

Then, as Zhao Zhigang and his team led the suspect up the hillside, where they could already see the eaves of houses in Ziling Village through the woods, Wang Ju gave the order to begin the operation, searching every single house in the village.

With police and sniffer dogs surrounding the area, the enemy is essentially trapped with no escape. However, the exact location of the target within the village remains unknown. Even now, it's only a possibility; whether the suspect is actually hiding in Ziling Village is also a question.

Then... the question was answered very quickly.

The police dogs started barking as soon as they arrived at the first house at the village entrance. The resident, who was smoking, opened the door and was taken aback to see the police officers outside.

The police were also stunned.

It's quite rare to see someone who looks to be in their sixties or seventies smoking an e-cigarette. The fact that the e-cigarette vapor had a familiar smell to all the police officers present only added to their bewilderment, leaving them exchanging bewildered glances.

Electronic cigarettes containing imizotoxin have somehow appeared right under everyone's noses.

"Not allowed to move!"

"Police! Hands behind your head, squat down! Now!"

Without hesitation, two police officers rushed forward and pinned the dazed old man against the wall. The old man was stunned by the sight and stood motionless as the police barged into his home, still puffing out smoke rings.

"What are you holding? Hand them over!"

Lu Hui was extremely excited, never expecting to catch his target so easily this time. With the Mizhi e-cigarette powder right in front of him, and this thing as evidence, there was no need to doubt that Ziling Village was the suspect.

"E-cigarette! Xiao... Xiao Wang gave it to me! No... Didn't they say e-cigarettes aren't illegal? I... don't arrest me, I won't smoke anymore, okay?"

The old man, finally realizing what was happening, stared wide-eyed and yelled, but dared not struggle, his legs trembling violently. He seemed unaware of what he had done wrong, since in his mind e-cigarettes were indeed legal.

"Is this a regular e-cigarette? Tell me honestly, where did this come from? And who is Xiao Wang?"

"Why...why are you arresting me! That...Xiao Wang, he's a young man from out of town who rents a room in there. He...he's actually a nice guy, officer, are you sure you haven't made a mistake? He's always been very kind to us old folks, and he even gave us his homemade e-cigarettes for free. This...officer! Is there something wrong with these e-cigarettes? I was wondering why they tasted so good, he...he..."

The old man suddenly realized something, and his eyes widened. He seemed to have finally discovered the problem and guessed that what he had gotten for a bargain was probably not a good product.

A new month begins; I'll continue to ask for monthly votes.

As always, I earnestly request everyone's continued support!

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(End of this chapter)