The person Wei Leng was calling was the police officer Zheng Tan had encountered during a previous outing and Wei Leng's own senior brother.
Zheng Tan had heard Wei Leng calling the person "Hetao" on the phone before, but he didn't know the senior brother's actual name. However, Zheng Tan had heard that "Senior Hetao" could get a promotion if he solved this case.
Originally, Senior Hetao could have been promoted last month, but he was so stubborn, just like the phrase he once said, he wouldn't feel right getting promoted without solving this case first.
Zheng Tan thought the man must have been kicked in the head by a donkey—the groundwork for his promotion was all laid out, just waiting for him, yet he insisted on being so stubborn.
Wei Leng tried calling "Senior Hetao" several times, but the line remained off. This made Wei Leng look worried. After a moment of thought, Wei Leng made another call, but not to "Senior Hetao," rather to another person.
Their conversation involved some jargon only they could understand, and Zheng Tan couldn't make heads or tails of it and wasn't interested in continuing to listen. He had helped as much as he could, and he wouldn't bother with the rest. Let Wei Leng worry about it himself.
Yawning, Zheng Tan ran back to the living room, jumped onto the sofa, and prepared to catch up on some sleep.
Cats naturally sleep for long hours, and Zheng Tan usually got up at the same time as Jiao Yuan to run and exercise, starting at seven. Waking up an hour early today meant he had to catch up on twice the sleep, or else he would feel like he'd lost out.
Maybe it was a kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder?
Who cares, right now, I'm a cat, Zheng Tan reminded himself countless times. And what does a cat do? Eat when hungry, sleep when tired, frolic outside, and cause trouble at home.
Although "Senior Hetao" had turned off his mobile phone, it seemed that the brothers had other ways to track each other's location, probably some kind of tracking device. Wei Leng was now looking for someone to help him find it.
Ten minutes later, Wei Leng found out about the approximate location of "Senior Hetao."
After finishing the call, Wei Leng quickly grabbed his jacket and headed out. Just as he reached the door, he turned back and asked Zheng Tan, "Wanna go out for a spin?"
Zheng Tan, who was trying to doze off on the sofa, heard this and immediately got up and ran to the door. He was very willing to take a trip outside. Being in the Chuhua University campus all the time, seeing the same scenery every day, made him feel his living space was too narrow. Psychologically speaking, this wasn't a good sign.
As for the kids, Jiao Yuan and Gu Youzi, Mr. Jiao had two classes in the second half of the morning and would pick them up after class, so they didn't need Zheng Tan. Jiao Ma was doing a lot better after two days and was recovering well, with no life-threatening issues. She could have her stitches removed in another week. There was a student interning at the hospital that Mr. Jiao knew. He had met the student last year while working on a collaborative project with a teacher from Chuhua University Medical College, so Mr. Jiao had asked the intern to help take care of Jiao Ma while he was teaching.
Having decided to take the cat out, Wei Leng still called Mr. Jiao to let him know. As expected, Mr. Jiao didn't object and only instructed to be careful and asked Wei Leng to keep an eye on Zheng Tan.
Since Wei Leng was in a hurry this time, he decided to use the motorcycle that was usually parked in the family quarters' bike shed.
The motorcycle didn't look particularly special, its appearance was plain and inconspicuous, but Zheng Tan felt that was only superficial; its performance was surely good. Wei Leng had modified it, and at least it wasn't going to drop its chain like Yi Xin's second-hand bicycle.
Zheng Tan walked up to the motorcycle and examined the front. There was no basket! Looking towards the back, there wasn't even a storage box! So, Zheng Tan jumped straight onto the seat. Pressing down on the seat with his paws, Zheng Tan found it quite comfortable.
After Wei Leng put on his helmet, he saw the Black Cat already squatting on the seat. He looked at his motorcycle, then went over to the guardhouse and came back with a worn-out, big red travel bag with two holes in it.
"Good thing there was a bag with the guard," said Wei Leng as he straddled the motorcycle, patting the opened zipper of the travel bag behind him, "Hop in."
Zheng Tan twitched his ear, reluctantly jumping into the ragged-looking travel bag. He guessed it hadn't been used for a while, as it still smelled musty, and there were some stains on it that hadn't been washed off.
Within the courtyard, the motorcycle's speed was quite gentle, but once they left the Chuhua University gate, Wei Leng sped up.
Zheng Tan didn't know where Wei Leng was heading, the route was unfamiliar, and he had never taken it before. The buildings around were all unknown. Zheng Tan poked his head out of the travel bag, looking at the quickly passing street scenes.
For vehicles, the trouble with the city area was the numerous traffic lights. Even if the motorcycle could go fast, it couldn't beat those red lights.
While waiting for the green light, a bus leisurely swung by, stopping next to Wei Leng's motorcycle to wait for the green light. Next to Zheng Tan's side of the window, someone was eating an orange and spitting seeds out the open window. Then one of the orange seeds flew in a parabola through the air and hit Zheng Tan squarely on the forehead.
Zheng Tan: "…" Dammit! Those who spit seeds in public should be fined so much they can't even keep their underwear!
"Oh man, that biker is carrying a cat, hey! And it's an all-black cat," shouted the orange-eater.
"Where is it, where?!"
"It really is a cat, I thought it was a simulation cat doll!"
"Mommy, I want to see the cat too!"
"Don't push, don't push, it's just a cat, what's with the crowding?"
"Excuse me, let me have a look..."
...
At that time, mobile phones were not as smart as they would be ten years later, so there weren't many people looking down at their phones in the bus. For a moment, everyone who was bored on the bus turned their attention to Zheng Tan who was sticking his head out of the travel bag.
The red travel bag with the black cat's head was particularly striking.
Zheng Tan felt like a monkey on exhibit.
The bus driver glanced outside, then continued to focus on the road, loudly reminding passengers to pay attention as the light was about to turn green. Unfortunately, many didn't heed his warning.
When the green light came on, motorcycles sped off, leaving the bus further behind. However, Zheng Tan had just seen the bus jerk to a sudden stop due to a car overtaking from behind, causing the person who was spitting orange seeds out of the window to not be seated securely and hit his head on the seat in front, with a "bang".
Zheng Tan grinned, suddenly feeling much better.
After leaving the city center, the traffic lights became less frequent, and Wei Leng picked up speed considerably.
The area was filled with factories, and further ahead it approached the Third Ring Road. Zheng Tan noticed signs around indicating that this area was marked for demolition due to environmental and other reasons, as the government planned to relocate these factories since there was a lake nearby. The real estate developers had already begun to make their plans for the open space by the lake.
Wei Leng parked his motorcycle beside a factory's side entrance, checked the surroundings, and took out his phone to contact someone.
This factory used to be a food processing plant, now relocated, giving the area a desolate feeling. Only some murals left on the surrounding walls told people what used to be done here.
Wei Leng's attempt to call his senior was unsuccessful, but he could be sure the person was inside the factory. With the factory doors shut, the only option was to climb over the wall.
"Follow me, and if someone approaches, let me know. Of course, you could also provide cover when appropriate... Forget it, you probably don't understand."
Wei Leng leaped over the perimeter wall with ease and grace.
Zheng Tan jumped onto the wall and scoped out the inside of the factory. He had tagged along with Wei Leng out of sheer curiosity and a thirst for excitement, and unlike Wei Leng, he didn't need to disguise his presence too much. After all, Zheng Tan was a cat, and people aren't usually too wary of them. Besides, there were a lot of domestic and feral cats in the area – on the motorcycle ride over, Zheng Tan had already seen several, so a black cat wandering into the factory wouldn't be anything unusual.
Before leaving the Jiao family's house, Zheng Tan had removed the tag and keys from his neck, so there was nothing particularly special about him now. Even if someone saw him, they would only remark on how well-built the cat was, instead of suspecting any foul play.
The inside of the factory was empty and barren with broken bricks and discolored advertising paper on the ground, among processing waste, with residual odors of additives lingering in the air.
Zheng Tan followed not far behind Wei Leng, his ears picking up faint human sounds, like moans of someone who had been beaten down, but it wasn't Senior Hetao.
There were people behind the wall on the east side, about 50 meters away; there were at least three, and Zheng Tan could hear their low conversation. They were planning to attack the person coming out of the warehouse ahead.
Zheng Tan glanced at the warehouse not far ahead. With few windows and all doors tightly sealed, entering would likely cause a lot of noise. Was Senior Hetao inside? Yet the moaning of someone who had been beaten was definitely coming from within.
The people hiding behind the wall hadn't noticed Wei Leng's presence, probably because they were too focused on the warehouse door, or perhaps because Wei Leng was well-concealed. Even when Wei Leng moved quickly, it was hard for anyone to detect him.
As Wei Leng hid in the shadow, figuring out how to deal with the guys behind the wall before finding a way into the warehouse, Zheng Tan's gaze settled on an exhaust fan of the warehouse.
There was no wire mesh on the outside of the exhaust fan, and the gaps between the fan blades were just enough to allow Zheng Tan to slip through.
Go, or not to go?