Chapter 174

This room gave Zheng Tan a feeling: no surprise, but fright came quite violently. Just thinking about the roast duck feet Er Mao mentioned made him shudder.

After installing the camera, Zheng Tan and Er Mao left the room and went to open the other two rooms.

The curtains in the bedroom and study were drawn tightly. In the bedroom there were some work-related documents and a few locked cabinets; probably inside were bankbooks and such, but Er Mao wasn't very interested. As for the study, there was a desktop computer with a password set; Er Mao didn't have the technical skill for that, and he hadn't brought the relevant tools. However, Er Mao also placed a camera in an inconspicuous spot on the bookshelf.

"This person is either overly cautious or inwardly timid; he doesn't want others to know what he's doing, drawing the curtains so tightly, or perhaps he's just psychologically dark." Er Mao muttered.

Zheng Tan didn't smell any cat in those two rooms, perhaps masked by the sprayed air freshener. After Er Mao installed the camera, the man and cat cleaned up some traces and prepared to leave.

When they went out the back door, the black-and-white spotted cat was sitting on the wall watching Zheng Tan and Er Mao, showing little wariness, mostly curiosity, and even a bit of friendliness toward Er Mao, remembering that this person had given it food, which was quite tasty.

Back at Dongqu Dayuan, Er Mao stepped inside first, Zheng Tan followed, squeezing in behind him; he wanted to see what Er Mao would do next. Unfortunately, Er Mao had no intention of letting Zheng Tan observe.

Er Mao tried to shoo him away twice, but Zheng Tan ignored him; seeing that Zheng Tan had no intention of leaving, Er Mao shut the door. He dragged over a chair and sat down, his line of sight almost level with Zheng Tan standing on the table.

"I say, hey, our country's animal protection regulations are incomplete, and there's no clear law forbidding killing cats; otherwise you'd think those cat-meat and dog-meat restaurants wouldn't be able to put up big signs and do booming business. However, killing cats is different from abusing cats. For those who abuse cats and dogs, the only recourse is condemnation. Of course, if condemnation worked, your cats' living standards would probably rise a level. Too bad it doesn't." Er Mao made a helpless gesture, then added: "But nowadays, sons compete with fathers, pets compete with owners. If your cat dad could increase his influence, you could strut everywhere."

These words Er Mao seemed to be explaining to Zheng Tan, and also seemed to be convincing himself.

"Look, take that guy we just saw. Even if you sued him, you'd hardly get results; even if you threw him in the police station, he'd still come out fine, at most getting a mild slap on the wrist. If we really talk about the law, my lock-picking is more serious than his cat-killing and abuse. And not just nationwide—even in Chu Hua Shi there are definitely more than one cat abuser; perhaps many others use even harsher methods, people we don't know about. Still, we need to create some pressure to make them restrain themselves."

Perhaps in a few years there will be related laws, but for now, with no legal basis, law enforcement can't intervene, and the main force is only civilian groups, so we still need to think of other ways to make him uneasy, preferably causing a big stir to draw social attention." Er Mao said solemnly, "Just as my grandfather said, the people's eyes are bright and bright, and the people's power is endless. Believe in the people, rely on the people."

"In a few years there may be relevant laws, but given the current situation, since there is no legal basis, law enforcement cannot intervene, and the main force is only civilian groups, so we still want to find other ways to make him unable to rest peacefully, preferably causing a bigger stir to draw social attention." Er Mao said solemnly, "Just as my grandfather said, the people's eyes are bright and clear, and the people's power is boundless. We must trust the people, rely on the people."

Seeing the black cat on the table tilt its head slightly and droop its eyelids as if thinking, Er Mao reached out and gave it a push, saying, "Let's go back; I'll handle this. Hurry up, hurry up—I want to sleep, don't think about stepping on plastic bottles by my bed!"

Zheng Tan was pushed off the table, chased out the door, and still squatted at the doorway continuing to think about what he hadn't finished earlier; only after mulling it over did he go upstairs.

What exactly Er Mao had done, Zheng Tan remained curious, but each time he went downstairs and upstairs he never ran into Er Mao, and Zheng Tan didn't know how to pick locks, so he could only wait.

The next day, Zheng Tan, taking advantage of the empty house to browse forums online, saw a hot post on the front page from the cat section, which had been bumped to the top due to heated discussion; he clicked in to take a look.

The post's title wasn't long—'Again we see the cat-abusing scum!'

The poster was a user with the ID 'All Good Names Have Been Taken by Cats'.

Richly illustrated with text and images, it vividly described what was seen, heard, and felt; the account was clear, the rendering intense, and with those pictures the post couldn't help but explode. Moreover, just recently a talented cat abuser had appeared, and now another 'social elite' cat abuser showed up, adding fuel to the fire.

The pictures in the post were all familiar to Zheng Tan: the familiar flower bed, the familiar cat paw burned and covered in dirt, the familiar object… only the person inside was mosaicked, no specific name given, just the surname in the form 'X certain'.

Zheng Tan's computer skills aren't great; he used to only know how to go online to watch videos and play games, never learning any advanced techniques, so now he doesn't know the IP address of the user 'All Good Names Have Been Taken by Cats'; he can only see that person's registration time.

The time showed registration three years ago; as for the poster, it's either Er Mao himself or someone Er Mao knows.

As he continued scrolling down the post, he found that more and more people were revealing the occupation, position, and home address of the person in the pictures—either heard from friends, learned through some channel, or even mentioned the Chu Hua Shi Morning Post.

This year the Jiao Family hadn't subscribed to the Chu Hua Shi Morning Post, and Zheng Tan didn't know what the paper had reported. However, from what that netizen said, it seemed the Morning Post only gave it a brief mention, not very specific, sounding like a corner snippet that wouldn't attract attention.

It seems the effort isn't strong. Or maybe Er Mao has another move? I have a feeling that guy won't end things so simply.

Zheng Tan flipped forward a bit, carefully examining the original post.

Several pictures in the post were about that object; in them, the metal mesh at the object's base was electrified with a certain voltage, and the cat confined inside leapt high; when the cat's paw stepped on the metal mesh, sparks would fly.

The cat in the pictures Zheng Tan had seen before—it was one from around there—and he didn't know how the cat's owner would react upon learning the truth.

Besides those cat-abuse evidence pictures, the post also cited a past case where someone was imprisoned for violently protecting cats, telling everyone to 'think twice before acting.' As for where the line of 'think twice' lies, the post didn't mention it at all, and many people already understood implicitly and began pondering how to skirt the edges.

Besides those cat-abuse evidence pictures, the post also cited a past case in which someone was sentenced for violently protecting cats, telling everyone to "think before acting". As for where the boundary of "think before acting" lies, the post didn't mention a single word about it, and many people have already tacitly understood and started figuring out how to skate on the edge.

Before this, if it were up to Zheng Tan himself, he'd definitely just solve it directly, like when he scared that tattooed guy earlier. But now… what does Er Mao want to do? Really make a big fuss?

At dinnertime in the afternoon, Zheng Tan followed Xiao Youzi upstairs when he saw Er Mao coming back with an insulated lunch box. He stopped at the third-floor doorway and stared, not continuing to follow Xiao Youzi upstairs.

"I'll take you to see a play tomorrow morning, don't sleep in." Having said that, Er Mao didn't wait for Zheng Tan's reaction and slammed the door shut.

"I'll take you to see a show tomorrow morning, don't sleep in." After saying that, Er Mao didn't wait for Zheng Tan's reaction and slammed the door shut.

Sure enough, there's another move!

The next day, Zheng Tan woke up early, just as usual, because he had to send Xiao Youzi to school—a rare occurrence. When he went downstairs he saw Er Mao yawning; this guy usually slept straight through to noon, so getting up early like this was uncommon.

After sending Xiao Youzi off, Zheng Tan followed Er Mao toward the old street.

Not far from that person's residence was a rice-noodle shop. Er Mao sat there leisurely eating breakfast, saw a lady in leather shoes tapping her way into the alley, wiped his mouth, and said to the bored Zheng Tan, who was idly waving his tail playing with ants, "Let's go!"

The person inside the house came out fully dressed, hair neatly combed with a bit of gel, briefcase in hand, and happened to see the neighborhood committee auntie approaching with a displeased expression.

The person wondered in his mind; the last time he'd seen this auntie was when the water plant inspection required a day-long water shutdown—what was it this time?

Regardless of what he thought, he still put on his trademark smile, about to say good morning, but before the word 'early' could leave his lips, the auntie in front of him spat a mouthful of saliva onto his face.

"Oh dear, what a sin—how can you bear to do such a thing? Truly, you know the face but not the heart; you're morally corrupt, seriously harming the city's appearance!" Zheng Tan and Er Mao hid nearby, watching as the auntie pointed at his nose and scolded him. Of course, since he held an official position, the auntie's cursing was somewhat refined, lacking vulgar slang, but her words ranged from mental health to social harmony, from the harm done to cats to threats against the nation and the people, and she kept going for ten minutes without stopping.

Sometimes these aunties are actually quite cute. Zheng Tan thought.

Following that auntie, a few more people came over, appearing to be reporters, though Zheng Tan couldn't tell which newspaper they were from.

The man seemed impatient, glanced at his watch, pushed aside the few people blocking him, and hurried away.

Seeing that Er Mao had no intention of leaving, Zheng Tan also stayed there to watch.

Soon, a crowd gathered around the house, as several aunties were blocking the way and some young people didn't dare to just barge in, so they simply waited nearby. Residents living around didn't understand what had happened; they gossiped a bit and were shocked—after all, they had young children at home, and no one could say whether such a cat abuser might use the same methods on kids, and living so close made everyone feel a chill.

"He only moved in a couple of years ago; the original owner sold him the house, but we're not acquainted with him and never talk!" Several nearby residents hurried to distance themselves, saying the people living here are still decent, unlike that cat abuser.

More and more people came this way, a large portion being civilian cat-loving groups; the already narrow alley was filled with people, including reporters. Of course, some came just for the excitement.

At the far end of the alley, a police car was parked at the entrance, two officers in uniform leaning against the doors; they had just received a call reporting an illegal gathering here. But seeing the situation now, after learning the cause, it seemed the matter was somewhat complicated.

The officer by the front car door sighed and said, "You keep watch here; I'm going to buy a pack of cigarettes."

"I'd love to sneak off to pee!" the other replied, rolling his eyes.

"My mother-in-law lives there, and she loves cats—haven't you seen her righteous fury? I'm not good with words; if I upset her, things will get worse. Brother, please help me out!"

"Let your wife come over and take her back."

"Never mind; my wife likes cats even more, and with her temperament she'd probably have to smash that cat abuser to pieces."

Another officer: "…… " (to be continued…)

Forget it; my wife likes cats even more, with her temperament she'd probably make me snap at that cat-abuser.

Another police officer: "......" (To be continued...)

ps: (2.26)