Chapter 2502: Chapter 2502: The Cat’s Team
Seeing that he deliberately slowed his pace, Bubble Bean looked slightly anxious, because two law enforcement squads were approaching them.
"Let’s go." Xu Huo put away the recorder and led them in another direction.
The three groups moved around this area like they were playing hide and seek, though it was easy for Fengxing City’s law enforcement team to block them.
After a face-off, the leader of one squad came up to greet them, even calling out the name of the person Bubble Bean was disguised as.
Bubble Bean’s expression didn’t change, and when the other party approached with feigned familiarity, he said coldly, "I’m here for business, no time for chit-chat."
The other party saw his rudeness and withdrew their smile. "You come to Fengxing City for business and don’t even give us a heads-up. Isn’t that a bit disrespectful?"
Bubble Bean sneered, "Wait until it’s confirmed that what I’m investigating has nothing to do with your Fengxing City, then come and question us."
Apparently, Fengxing City knew about the medicine field burning, but they weren’t clear about the situation with last night’s law enforcement team. The first-hand information had been blocked by those people last night. Judging by their anger, they had suffered a significant loss.
A member of the Fengxing City law enforcement team, with a look of amusement, said, "We’re all family, if you need help, just ask, don’t be shy!"
Bubble Bean snorted coldly, brushed past the person in front of him, and walked away.
Xu Huo followed behind, and when passing several law enforcement members, he suddenly said, "By the way, during our investigation, someone mentioned seeing one of the suspects, someone from your Fengxing City, possibly a well-known player. We can’t arrest them directly. Could you lend a hand?"
The number of players involved in the tourist route gambling is quite large, and they surely represent more than one or two forces. It doesn’t matter if they are from Fengxing City, as long as they have appeared here.
Xu Huo handed them a photo. "We’re all family, please help us find this person."
So they wouldn’t be idle, let’s give them something to do.
They took the photo, exchanged glances, said, "We’ll think of a way," and then left.
After these people left, Xu Huo and the others continued to investigate in this area. To say it was an investigation was a bit misleading, as they often just lingered aimlessly in one place.
The surface areas had been thoroughly examined; the deeper underground pipes couldn’t be fully seen. If that cat was really as clever and capable as suggested, hopefully, it could detect Old Lady Gui’s scent and come on its own.
"We’ve been here too long," Bubble Bean said. "It might raise suspicion... Are you really counting on an... animal?"
Xu Huo expressionlessly drank some water.
The difficulty lay in the fact that Old Lady Gui’s position in the information chain was too low.
Those she and her deceased grandson came into contact with should be limited and in low positions, otherwise, they wouldn’t pass information by carving it into Cat Whisker Fruits. Judging by the number and attitude of the trackers, this information wasn’t of life-and-death importance; losing those at the bottom who received the information meant it was like a kite with a broken string...
This meant not many people knew about this affair, and even if they followed the bookstore owner and restaurant manager’s network, the people they found, even if in the same camp, might not know about the grandson and the information transmission. How was the information to be passed on?
The Girl in the painting suddenly patted Xu Huo on the shoulder, then pointed to a side alley.
Xu Huo looked over and faintly heard a noise coming from under the lamppost. He opened his spiritual world to take a look, and several cats were crawling out from deep within the underground pipes.
Even though it wasn’t the one Old Lady Gui mentioned, he walked toward the alley.
Just as he reached the vicinity of the lamppost, several cats jumped out one by one from the hole beneath it. One of them circled Xu Huo and the others, sniffed near Old Lady Gui, then bit her pants leg, tugging gently before leisurely walking forward.
"Does it mean to follow?" Bubble Bean was uncertain.
The cats lined up and walked, occasionally one would look back to see if they were following, leading them through several narrow streets to a nearby wetland park.
This park was constructed no differently than a large garden, with scenery divided by pebble paths, tall apricot trees, and various green plants looming amidst thin mist, gradually distancing from the city’s noise.
There were many cats in the park, and as they followed, some occasionally leapt out from the trees or bushes, peering at them as they passed.
Feeling their numbers, Bubble Bean couldn’t help but say, "Any animal in large numbers is a bit creepy."
Even if these were ordinary cats, dozens together were quite unsettling.
These cats had turf consciousness and hierarchy, and it was obvious those welcoming them weren’t the leaders.
When they reached a giant apricot tree, the leading cats stopped and started clawing at the tree.
More than a dozen cat heads popped out, and several had markings similar to what Old Lady Gui mentioned.
"Which one?" Xu Huo asked.
The elderly lady, given her age and time-lapsed memory, could only recall vaguely, not able to distinguish amongst the similarly sized cats.
Fortunately, the cats showed understanding, one jumping down, laying beside her, rolling over to reveal a furry belly.
The lady’s eyesight was sharp and she noticed something hidden in the fur — a very small dyed pattern.
*
They worked on tracking investigations related to the medicine field burning and checking the surrounding conditions.
With Xu Huo’s psychic power, apart from specially reinforced areas, other places were nearly translucent to him, allowing for quick, comprehensive searches.
Unfortunately, after searching everywhere around the hotel, they couldn’t find the cat described by the elderly lady.
The visible disappointment on the lady’s face showed, but she couldn’t think of an alternative method, choosing silence.
"We’ve looked all morning; let’s rest a bit," Xu Huo suggested, choosing a less busy teahouse.
"Could it be dead already?" Bubble Bean speculated. Honestly, for a cat, if its owner’s identity was exposed, surviving would be tough, being casually killed. If the enemy sufficiently understood related personnel information, they’d certainly know the cat’s importance.
Xu Huo said little, only after sitting for a while did he call them to leave. They resumed gathering intel around the hotel, this time more meticulously and focusing on key locations.
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