Strange Life of a Cat
Chapter 391 - Chapter 391 Chapter 379 That Cat Knows

Chapter 391: Chapter 379: That Cat Knows Chapter 391: Chapter 379: That Cat Knows “Poker King knew some people, all of whom had made their fortunes by gambling with Gambling Grass, and now several of them had fortunes exceeding hundreds of millions. They stayed in touch with Poker King, occasionally discussing the latest news in the Gambling Grass circle. Orchid-related topics were also frequent, and ‘Jade Cat Fairy’ was currently a hot topic among them.”

“Poker King had picked up some pieces of information he deemed useful and shared them with Liu Ba, including that two orchid cultivation experts had suddenly gone off the grid. According to Poker King, either these two had met with a mishap, or something important had come up that made them want to avoid contact with the outside world.”

Linking this to the recent orchid theft case, Poker King speculated that these two were probably taken away by someone–after all, growing orchids, especially one that set a new price record like ‘Jade Cat Fairy’, was not an easy task.”

“Beyond the two orchid experts, Poker King also mentioned a suspect nicknamed ‘Mole’–who just so happened to be on the list of suspicious individuals provided by Ye Hao.”

Upon seeing the name, Liu Ba frowned, “This person… several parties are looking for him now. Is he still in Chuhua City?”

“Probably not after tomorrow, so you have to act fast. That guy is slippery; he can escape quickly. If you can’t catch him this time, it’ll be harder to find him next time,” Poker King said.

“I’ve looked for this person before and couldn’t find him.”

Hearing Liu Ba’s words, Poker King raised his hand and someone behind him passed over a folder. Poker King opened the folder, took out a piece of paper, more precisely, a partial image cut out from a map.”

Zheng Tan could catch a glimpse of Liu Ba receiving the paper from Poker King. He desperately wanted to see what it was, but he had to remain serious and steady to play the part of a secret weapon. As Liu Ba had mentioned before, Poker King liked to put on airs, so he also judged people and situations with the same attitude. If you appeared profound, he might think more highly of you and invest more effort in his actions. However, if you were too casual and your feelings were easy to read, Poker King would likely think about fobbing you off. Having played the role of a secret weapon for quite some time, Zheng Tan, despite his curiosity, continued to sit there solemnly, staring straight ahead.”

Zheng Tan felt a tinge of tension as Poker King glanced in his direction. Indeed, even he did not overlook the presence of a Cat. Luckily, Zheng Tan kept up his act.”

After finishing their business and tea in the private room, Liu Ba left with Zheng Tan.

Only once they emerged from the teahouse and returned to the car did Zheng Tan finally get a good look at the piece of paper. As suspected, it had been cut from a city map, an area Zheng Tan had studied in detail before. It was where Weasel Boss would pass while picking up his goods.”

Having found a lead, Liu Ba planned to go back and thoroughly review the information. Zheng Tan also needed to show his face at home, lest Mr. Jiao start making phone calls looking for the Cat.”

On the way home, Zheng Tan sent Liu Ba a text message. He remembered following Weasel Boss on a goods pickup when they had encountered a police and thief altercation. That young Officer Liao had left a strong impression on Zheng Tan, and both Weasel Boss and Ermao had mentioned that he was decent. So, Zheng Tan figured if Liu Ba couldn’t handle it alone, could they possibly ask him for help? After all, he seemed to catch criminals quite efficiently, and hadn’t Poker King said it–if they didn’t catch ‘Mole’ this time, he would escape.”

Although Zheng Tan didn’t know Officer Liao well, to find the orchid quickly, he decided to trust Weasel Boss and Ermao this one time. As for Liu Ba’s side, with a little effort, they should be able to make contact, right?”

After receiving Zheng Tan’s text message and suggestion, Liu Ba did some digging on Officer Liao, and he actually unearthed something quite interesting. Liu Ba thought to himself, no wonder that Cat recommended this officer.”

Zheng Tan didn’t know how Liu Ba managed to contact that Officer Liao, Liu Ba just said, they would go catch the “Mole” tonight.

Liu Ba had made a deal with Officer Liao, who liked to catch thieves, and “thieves” didn’t only refer to those who stole petty things but also included people who committed serious crimes. However, there were always people getting in his way, so Officer Liao let Liu Ba gather some dirt on those who obstructed him, thinking that with this dirt, those people might think twice and not always interfere with his thief-catching.

Liu Ba even joked with Zheng Tan, saying Officer Liao was quite interesting, daring to use dirt on his superiors, not caring about promotions but only liking to catch thieves. In Officer Liao’s own words, he was “cat-like” and enjoyed catching mice for fun, therefore, promotions and money didn’t attract him much.

Liu Ba mentioned that tonight’s thief-catching would make it quite late to return home, so Zheng Tan thought about asking Liu Ba to call Mr. Jiao when the time came.

At half-past ten in the evening, near a commercial street by the Second Ring, a police car was parked at the entrance of an alley, with two people sitting inside, one of them being Officer Liao.

The person in the driver’s seat was in a police uniform, just like Officer Liao. There had just been a burglary reported in a nearby residential area, the call was from a female student of a prestigious nearby school, and she had a pretty voice.

“The female students at that school are generally of high quality, intelligent and attractive. Just by her voice, she’s already melted half of you, Xiao Liao. Believe it or not, she’s definitely a beauty. Don’t say Brother Liang is nagging you, you’re at the age to find a partner. If you come across a good one, you should seize the opportunity. I know a guy who got together with a girl who reported a theft, now they’re discussing marriage, heh heh. However…”

Click!

Officer Liao looked at the handcuffs on his hand with a surprised expression and then glanced at Liang in disbelief. One end of the handcuffs was on his hand, the other on the steering wheel, and the owner of the handcuffs was, obviously, Liang.

“Kid, after all this time you still haven’t improved, how can you catch thieves with such slow reactions? Your skills are lacking. Learn from your brother here, you need to practice more, so you don’t end up getting handcuffed by a thief instead of catching one. Consider this a lesson. Speaking of which, this report doesn’t need two people; I can go alone. You wait in the car for me. Don’t think of snitching, now. We can’t betray each other, you know?” Liang said with pride, then opened the door to get out.

However, as soon as Liang stepped one leg out, he felt a cold sensation on his wrist and a sharp pain due to the tug. Turning his head, Liang was astonished to see the handcuffs meant for Officer Liao now fastened on his own wrist!

“Liao Shi, you!”

“Sorry, Brother Liang,” said Officer Liao with a sincere and apologetic smile, “I also feel like my skills need more work and it would be better to practice on my own this time.”

With that, Officer Liao got out of the car, went to a nearby drink shop that was about to close, bought a cup of coffee, and thoughtfully placed it in the car for Liang.

“Brother Liang, have some coffee first. I’ll be back after I deal with that situation over there.” Having said that, Officer Liao tipped his hat and walked into the alley.

“Fuck! Liao Shi you motherf…” Liang, handcuffed inside his own car, was so furious that he felt like spitting blood, yet he dared not curse loudly, lest he be overheard by the public and make a bad impression.

Hurriedly fumbling for the keys… gone!

Calling for help, checking pockets… still gone!

“Damn!” Officer Liang cursed under his breath, bashing the steering wheel with the hand that wasn’t handcuffed, thinking about what to do next.

File a report? He’d be an idiot to do that. According to the Ministry of Public Security regulations on the carrying and use of police equipment, handcuffs are restraints used in law enforcement, and even police officers must adhere to strict guidelines when using them. This time, he was the one who handcuffed his colleague first. If he talked about it, he would certainly be criticized and have to write a self-criticism report. If someone behind the scenes pushed a little, could he kiss his promotion goodbye?

Damn it, he had planned to teach the kid a lesson, but he ended up screwing himself over instead. His colleagues even said Liao Shi was as reliable as his name suggested, reliable my ass!

Glancing at the coffee cup set aside, Officer Liang snorted, grabbed it, and took a sip.

“Damn!” Iced!! Didn’t he know the temperature was going to drop tonight?! Shouldn’t he have bought something warm instead?!

Officer Liang, frustrated, slammed the steering wheel again.

When Zheng Tan and Liu Ba arrived at the agreed location, Liao Shi’s operation had already concluded. Four people were lying on the ground, three of whom were very young, possibly laborers or students. The fourth, in his thirties, was not very tall and slightly overweight: he was the “Mole” Zheng Tan and his team were looking for.

The “Mole” had planned to flee that very night. In the hope of making his escape smoother, he wanted to deal with some “merchandise” he had on hand. What he didn’t expect was that, during the trade, he would be disrupted by a young man in a police uniform, and before he could make a successful getaway, he was knocked out cold.

“Here’s your guy, just remember to send me the stuff later,” Liao Shi said, pointing at the “Mole” sprawled on the ground and looking at Liu Ba.

Liu Ba nodded, “I’ll remember.”

After getting assurance, Liao Shi asked, “Are you going to interrogate this guy?”

“Hmm, there are some things I want to find out,” Liu Ba replied.

“Oh,” Liao Shi paused before adding, “If it’s something more important or urgent, it might be a bit troublesome, as this guy isn’t easy to crack. He’s been through a fair share of interrogations before.”

“So?” Liu Ba looked at Liao Shi.

“So, I suggest that you might find someone to help.”

“Who?”

“That cat knows.” Liao Shi pointed at Zheng Tan, who was squatting not far behind Liu Ba, in a shadow, with a smile full of sincerity.

Zheng Tan: “…” Why point at me? I know shit!

Always encountering people who talk in half-sentences and never clarify what they mean, yet bizarrely, these folks seem to understand the intended message from the half-sentences. This caused Zheng Tan to question his own intelligence.

“Considering the information you’ve provided,” Officer Liao took out a notebook, wrote down a string of numbers, and handed it to Liu Ba, “that’s his number, but if you go alone, he won’t pay attention to you. Take that cat with you, and your chances of success are higher.”

After saying this, Liao Shi tipped his hat and walked away, not even bothering about the other three stripped and shivering on the ground.

Liu Ba injected the “Mole” with a syringe of medicine, ensuring he would remain asleep.

After stuffing the “Mole” into the trunk of the car, Liu Ba turned to Zheng Tan, “Who was Liao Shi talking about just now?”

Zheng Tan was equally perplexed. Damn it, how would I know who Liao Shi was talking about?

After carefully considering the people he knew and those Liao Shi might know, Zheng Tan guessed, could Liao Shi be talking about the Weasel? Weren’t the two of them not close? But besides the Weasel, who else could it be? Ermao? Or someone else?

Liu Ba dialed the number left by Liao Shi, raising his voice slightly on purpose.

Zheng Tan hopped onto the back of the chair, ears perked, listening intently.

A groggy voice that sounded like someone not yet fully awake picked up after a long series of rings.

“Hello.”

Just one word, and Zheng Tan knew for sure it was the Weasel from the grocery store. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (NovelFire.net) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.NovelFire.net.)

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