Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 697 Raising a Cat
In the end, Lin Ge still embezzled one of Bei Bei's meals.

However, this large chunk of raw meat was taken from the freezer. He carried it all the way here, and it was so frozen that he was shivering all over. He would have to wait for the meat to thaw slowly before feeding it to the leopard. He didn't know if the taste would be any different then.

The meat was placed in a cat bowl and pushed over. The leopard lowered its head, sniffed it, and took a bite. It snorted several times because it was cold, then shook its head and looked at Lin Ge resentfully.

Lin Ge smiled somewhat awkwardly and could only gesture for Jin Qianbao to wait patiently for a while.

Seeing Lin Ge bring out a hard lump of food to serve the guest, Sun Chang, who was no longer afraid, was stunned for a moment. After realizing what was happening, she quickly put away her phone and waved to Lin Ge repeatedly.

"Mimi, bring it over here so I can thaw it before feeding it to others! This is such a big lump, how long will it take to thaw naturally?"

As she said this, Sun Chang was also somewhat eager to try. After all, she had fed pigs, cows, sheep, chickens, ducks, geese, dogs, and cats in her life, but she had never fed such a fierce and large creature before.

Normally, she definitely wouldn't have had the courage to do that.

However, firstly, Mimi was there and the leopard didn't show any ferocity, and secondly, Zhang Ke had been describing the last time at the zoo and the bond between the leopard and Mimi in the group chat; based on his trust in Mimi, Sun Chang was no longer afraid.

With a feeling that was hard to describe, Sun Chang cautiously approached, squatted down, and stretched out his arm to take the cat bowl away from the leopard.

"Roar!"

The leopard wasn't going to tolerate this thief who dared to steal its food, and it looked up and roared at Sun Chang.

Sun Chang was so frightened that he quickly stopped.

It was only when Lin Ge pulled the cat bowl back and dragged it in front of Sun Chang that the woman felt a little better. She glared fiercely at the leopard, picked up the bowl, and turned to go into the kennel.

"Hululu..."

Now that things had quieted down, the leopard finally had time to take a look at its friend's living environment.

The place is quite large and lively, but there are a lot of complicated smells around. The yard is bare with no hiding places, and the air doesn't smell as fresh as it does back home. However, the good news is that there's nothing here that it feels threatened, which makes the leopard feel more comfortable than in a zoo. If possible, it wouldn't mind staying here from now on, and it thinks its friends probably won't mind either.

"?"

Lin Ge didn't understand what the leopard meant at first, but he felt that the guy seemed to be planning something really serious.

Seeing it yawn and head towards the cat house, Lin Ge thought for a moment and didn't stop it. After all, judging from how it played with the seven kittens, this guy, no matter how wild, wouldn't harm its own kind; it was trustworthy.

So Lingo led the leopard into the cat enclosure, scaring out its two underlings who were hiding inside.

Then, Lin Ge leisurely showed the leopard the various facilities and gadgets in the house. The leopard obligingly jumped onto the cat tree, but unfortunately, it was too big to stand on and had to fall down regretfully. However, it was quite satisfied with a large soft cushion in the room. Sitting inside, it yawned and actually felt sleepy. So it curled up on the cushion, resting its head on its arm, quietly looking around and resting.

"Ow~"

At the entrance of the cattery, the money tree let out a dissatisfied grumbling.

The cat mat that the leopard had its eye on was actually its own, because it was a bit larger than Lingo and the female hawksbill turtle, so the cat mat that was specially bought for it was also larger. But now that it was being snatched away by another cat, the money tree was immediately unhappy.

After comparing the size and intimidation of the two, the Money Tree didn't dare to go up and cause trouble for the Golden Leopard.

On the contrary, the female hawksbill turtle, who had been wary of the leopard, suddenly understood after Lingo brought it into the house. Although she didn't understand the concept of "close family ties," she knew that anyone allowed into the house by her mate was trustworthy.

With a purr, the female hawksbill turtle swaggered into the cat house and even came up to the leopard to greet it.

The leopard stared blankly at the mother hawksbill turtle's audacious behavior, momentarily forgetting to react.

However, it quickly forgot about that, because the seven little ones also rushed in with great enthusiasm. The leopard was undoubtedly a more fun animal than Lingo, and they climbed all over it without restraint, completely unaware of fear.

The leopard also enjoyed this close contact. The reason it liked to escape was because it was afraid of being alone. At this moment, it lay obediently without moving, letting the seven little ones mess around, and even showed a comfortable expression.

Even when Lingo came over and patted its head to scold it for being silly, the leopard acted as if it didn't feel anything.

Sun Chang brought over the thawed raw meat and was greeted by this unbelievable scene. The house cat and the leopard were living in harmony, as if no one else was around, leaving her speechless with disbelief.

Moreover, since the leopard didn't show any threat, Sun Chang wasn't afraid of it. She put the raw meat near the leopard's mouth, then casually stroked its head and neck, feeling its slightly rough texture, which was quite different from that of a cat.

This kind of enjoyment... I estimate that 99.99% of the world's population has never experienced it!
Sun Chang suddenly felt a little proud, took out his phone to take a picture with the leopard, and posted it in the group chat, which aroused envious exclamations from Jiang Yiyi, Li Siyu and the other women.

Yu Zhengwei, Zhao Zhigang, and Huo Guangping, who were standing at the door, all looked like they had a toothache and were speechless.

However, the leopard didn't show any aggression, which relieved them. The worst part would have been if they couldn't touch it; if it were unruly, they wouldn't know how to get rid of it later.

"What did the zoo say?"

Yu Zhengwei asked Zhao Zhigang in a low voice.

“I called them and that’s when they found out that the leopard in the park had escaped again. The staff on duty were terrified when they heard that the leopard had entered the city. They have already notified the park management and the person in charge, and they should be here soon.”

Zhao Zhigang wanted to pet the cat, but he still answered Yu Zhengwei's question honestly.

Just then, the emergency alarm rang outside. He and Huo Guangping exchanged a glance, and could only regretfully turn around and go back to work.

The leopard was startled by the sudden ringing of the bell and hurriedly tried to stand up on guard. However, seeing that Lin Ge and the other cats in the house seemed unfazed, it relaxed and lay back down to eat its meat.

Sun Chang went to the kennel to check on Bei Bei's condition. When he returned, he found that the large piece of meat had been devoured clean by the leopard in the blink of an eye. The leopard lazily licked its lips while pinning a small creature under its paws, letting it struggle but unable to break free, displaying a very arrogant expression. The little creature, unable to move, didn't get angry; it only hissed pitifully at the leopard, then rolled over under its paws, grabbed the leopard's large paw with its front paws, and opened its mouth to bite.

The sight of the two, one big and one small, playing happily melted Sun Chang's heart; it was an incredibly harmonious scene.

However, this leisurely time did not last long. About ten minutes later, the zoo's small truck rushed in. The familiar scent made the leopard wary, but it quickly lay down again without fear.

It seemed to know perfectly well that even if it did something so serious, the zoo wouldn't do anything to it.

It's just making a few noises at most, how could I kill it? Besides, it doesn't think it's done anything wrong; it's just visiting a good friend it hasn't seen in a long time, and it even protected it from being bullied!
The leopard convinced itself and refocused its gaze and large, bell-like eyes on the seven little ones, secretly hatching a plan in its mind.

"Where did that bastard go?"

Tang Li's loud voice rang out from outside, filled with anxiety, despair, and grievance.

Being woken up from bed in the middle of the night is never a good thing. When she found out that the bastard she was in charge of had not only escaped from prison but also run into the city, she was so scared that her heart almost stopped.

If something really happens, not only will that stupid leopard be dead, but I'll definitely come out worse off too.

If someone is injured or even killed, you'll end up in jail!
So Tang Li was extremely unhappy at this moment, and her temper was quite volatile. Her sullen appearance even frightened the male zoo staff following behind her, who secretly took two steps back while carrying the cage.

"Ow~"

The leopard yawned, completely unafraid of Tang Li. To it, Tang Li was just a silly goose, all talk and no action, but otherwise, it wouldn't let him suffer even the slightest loss.

Don't be fooled by how fiercely they're yelling now; they'll soften up the moment you yell back.

So even though the leopard knew it was time to go home, it still had some ulterior motives. Its eyes darted over the seven little creatures, giving the timid little doll in the corner of the room a sudden sense of foreboding.

"Get out of here!"

Tang Li had just run to the cat enclosure when she saw the smelly cat lounging around inside, thoroughly enjoying itself. This guy seemed completely oblivious to having done anything wrong; he even dared to turn away after glancing at her – he clearly had no respect for his owner!
Tang Li was so angry that her chest ached, but she couldn't do anything about the Golden Leopard.

After all, she chose to become a zookeeper because she loves animals. How could someone who truly loves animals bear to do anything to them?
Fortunately... the leopard gave Tang Li some face. Or rather, since it wasn't its first time escaping, it knew exactly what to do. When it saw four familiar zoo employees pushing a large cage over, one of whom was even carrying a net and another had a tranquilizer gun on his back, the leopard lazily got up and walked towards the large iron cage.

Its attitude finally put these people at ease.

It seems that even though this guy ran farther than usual this time, he's still behaving himself, just like before. He's just playing hide-and-seek with everyone. Once caught, he'll obediently go home, at least until the next time.

As for when the next one will be... only God knows!

"Come here quickly!"

Tang Li suddenly noticed that the leopard stopped halfway and even turned back to stare intently at the cats.

"Hey! What do you want to do?"

Lin Ge suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Hooo~"

The leopard roared at Lingo, then arrogantly returned to the cat crawling mat, grabbed a kitten that its sisters were pinning down and unable to move, ignored the little guy's bewildered slight struggles, and turned away with satisfaction.

"Holy crap! Isn't this a bit much, taking food and money at the same time?"

Lin Ge quickly stopped the leopard, completely unexpected that this guy actually wanted to take his cub back. What the hell? This guy, who even needs a zookeeper to take care of him, wants to keep a cat?

"Roar!"

Letting Xiao Lai land on his bottom, the leopard barked angrily at Lin Ge.

The gist of it seems to be, what's wrong with letting your child keep me company? The two kids were kept in different cages before, and they've grown up and aren't as fun as they used to be. So, what's wrong with a single woman without children wanting to find herself a companion?
"This is a huge problem! Is a zoo a place where you can keep cats? Your place has all kinds of wild animals. What if it scares my Xiao Lai? What if it misses home? You'll have to break out of the zoo again and bring it back next time!"

Lin Ge, unwilling to back down, confronted Jin Qianbao. How could he possibly give away his beloved granddaughter to someone else?
"Roar~!"

The leopard roared again, its voice now tinged with grievance.

Lin Ge's heart softened upon hearing this; he knew this guy was genuinely lonely. Otherwise, wouldn't a leopard be better off living a carefree life, leisurely basking in the sun every day? Why would it bother with all this fuss and try to escape?
It is a leopard with its own ideas, completely different from those animals that just drift through life.

But... keeping a cat in a leopard cage seems a bit far-fetched.

If the tourists knew this, who knows what they would speculate and make up! So the zoo doesn't have enough animals, so they just throw in cats and dogs, huh?
Of course, Lin Ge knew that the leopard would never harm Xiao Lai. But... he was still a little reluctant, and the zoo wasn't exactly a suitable place for a cat, not to mention he needed to ask the mother of the kittens' opinion.

Lin Ge looked at the little doll.

The little ragdoll casually licked its fur, completely unconcerned that its kittens had been taken away. Or perhaps, ever since it was weaned, it had grown somewhat impatient with these seven little guys. Aren't they hot climbing all over me all day?!

"I definitely can't let you take them away! But whenever I have time, I'll bring them to play with you."

Lingo decided to take a step back.

As for whether taking these cats to the zoo would be troublesome, Lin Ge felt that given his reputation, it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

"roar~"

The leopard roared again, and this time it took a step back, changing its target to Xiaoxi.

"no!"

Ringo roared.

Sun Chang, Yu Zhengwei, Tang Li, and four other people from the zoo stood at the entrance, dumbfounded as they watched a cat and a leopard fiercely arguing. Neither side would back down, and the argument was so heated and unbelievable.

"So... leopards really are felines, right?"

The armed employee looked at his colleague; otherwise, he couldn't understand how this large leopard and a house cat could communicate.

"Will they fight? I bet our zoo's leopard will win!"

The other person was enjoying the spectacle.

Seeing that the leopard was safe and sound and hadn't caused any major trouble, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. They weren't in a hurry anymore; watching the excitement before leaving wouldn't hurt.

Before he could finish speaking, the group was stunned to see Lin Ge slap the leopard across the face, leaving the leopard momentarily speechless.

"Woo~"

Originally, I thought the leopard would fight back fiercely, but to my surprise, it only whimpered twice and took two steps back, then looked at Mimi pitifully, without any intention of attacking.

This guy is wasting his big frame.

"What the hell!"

The leopard didn't fight back, which gave Lin Ge a headache. The creature squatted there looking pitiful, even attracting the attention of the seven smaller animals who came to comfort it. Those at the entrance were worried that the situation would escalate and cause trouble, as getting it back to the zoo as quickly as possible was their top priority. So Sun Chang and Yu Zhengwei came over to persuade Lin Ge that if things got really bad, he could just let it choose one of the animals to keep it company for a couple of days.

"Pah! Once they're taken away, is there any chance they'll come back?"

Lin Ge glared at these guys who were talking without any sense of responsibility.

"Can I vouch for you?"

Tang Li raised her hand and pleaded with Lin Ge, "Let the kitten coax it back first and resolve this matter today. After I've calmed it down, I'll definitely bring the kitten back to you. I know they're your children and you're worried, but I swear I'll bring it back unharmed."

"Pah! She's my granddaughter! My granddaughter!"

Lin Ge glared at Tang Li.

But given the current situation, if the leopard continues its stubbornness, the only option might be a tranquilizer gun. While effective, tranquilizer guns are dangerous; the tranquilizer is injected internally, and if anything happens to the leopard, he'll regret it. Since nothing seems to work, and it did help a lot today—at least Beibei won't be bothered for a while, right…?

Thinking this, Lin Ge had no choice but to turn around and pretend he hadn't seen anything, letting the leopard excitedly pick up the kitten and run back into its cage.

"roar~"

Seemingly worried that Ringo might change his mind, this guy was even urging the zoo staff to hurry up and leave.

As for the bewildered little Lai, it entered the cage and only then realized something was wrong. No matter how much it struggled, it couldn't escape the leopard's embrace and could only pitifully meow at Lingo and the little doll. But after a while, it discovered that the leopard's belly was soft and warm inside, and sinking in felt like lying in a cradle. Immediately, its attention shifted, and it began to wriggle in the leopard's arms, no longer resisting being taken away.

Even when the cage was being carried into a truck, it was only focused on playing with the leopard and didn't even glance back at Lingo.

"You heartless little brat!"

Lin Ge muttered to himself, "That's all I can do." He'd just treat it as a visit to the leopard's home, and he'd definitely go to the zoo to pick it up in a few days anyway.

"Don't you dare refuse to come back later!"

Lin Ge had a bad feeling.

(End of this chapter)