In the afternoon, a young woman exuding an air of "money is no object" hurriedly arrived at the police station.
"Officer, I need to report a case! My precious son is missing! I suspect he’s been kidnapped and sold!"
"Kidnapped?" Hearing this, Officer Xiao Hu immediately became serious.
Normally, missing person cases can be reported at any time, but it takes 48 hours before an official investigation can be launched. However, this depends on the circumstances. Not all cases require waiting 48 hours—whether or not to investigate immediately is determined by the police based on the specifics of the situation.
In cases like the one the woman described, involving suspected human trafficking, an investigation can be initiated right away without waiting 48 hours.
"Yes, kidnapped!" the woman said, pulling out 20,000 yuan in cash from her LV handbag. "Can you send someone to help me find him right now? I’m desperate—I can pay!"
Without hesitation, Xiao Hu pushed the money back.
"We’ll definitely help you find your son, but we don’t accept payment. Please put the money away. If someone sees this and posts it online, who knows how people will judge us. We’re police officers—we serve the people, and we don’t take money. What’s your son’s name? How old is he? Do you have a photo?"
"His name is Duoduo, and he just turned one. A photo… let me look, I have one on my phone," the woman replied.
"I meant his full name. What’s his full name?"
"His full name is just Duoduo," she said as she pulled up a photo of her son—a cat.
Xiao Hu: "…"
He had been taking this seriously, but it turned out the "missing son" was a cat. No wonder the name was Duoduo!
Looking at the woman in front of him, Xiao Hu was momentarily at a loss for words.
"I thought you were talking about a person. It’s a cat that’s missing…" Xiao Hu said helplessly.
"Alright, since I’m not busy right now, do you know where your cat went missing? If you do, I can check the surveillance footage for you."
The police have no obligation to search for lost pets. In situations like this, they can outright refuse, as the police station is not a private detective agency that takes on every case.
But since there wasn’t much going on at the moment, and the woman’s attitude was decent—she wasn’t demanding or forcing Xiao Hu to help—he decided to give it a quick look.
Of course, it was just a quick look. Whether the cat could be found or not was another matter. The police wouldn’t waste resources on something like this. Checking the surveillance footage was already going above and beyond.
"It went missing near the pet hospital just up ahead."
Following the woman’s directions, Xiao Hu checked the surveillance footage from the area.
However, the street cameras had blind spots, and the cat’s small size made it impossible to spot in the footage.
"The cat’s too small, and there are blind spots in the surveillance. We didn’t find it."
"What should I do then? Can you send a few officers to help me look? I can pay," the woman said, pulling out the cash again.
Xiao Hu refused once more, pushing the money back.
Searching for a cat wasn’t the police’s responsibility, and they certainly wouldn’t deploy officers for such a task. It would be a waste of resources, and no amount of money could change that.
Seeing that Xiao Hu wouldn’t accept the money or send anyone to help, the woman was on the verge of tears, desperately pleading with him.
"Miss, it’s not that I don’t want to help, but begging me won’t change anything. Sending officers to search for a cat is out of the question—it’s a waste of resources. At most, I can check the surveillance footage, but as you’ve seen, your cat wasn’t caught on camera."
Just then, Xu Mo, who had heard the commotion outside, walked over.
Seeing the woman’s red eyes, he couldn’t help but ask, "Xiao Hu, why did you make her cry?"
"Captain Xu, it’s not my fault. This lady’s cat is missing, and she wants us to send officers to help find it. Isn’t that ridiculous?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the woman, who had been crying just moments ago, wiped away her tears and stared at Xu Mo with excitement.
"You’re Xu Mo? I’ve seen you on the *Eagle Eye Action* show! Can I take a photo with you?"
Xiao Hu: "…"
Women really can change their moods in an instant.
One second she’s crying, the next she’s asking for a photo?
"Sure," Xu Mo said, slightly taken aback by the request but agreeing nonetheless.
The woman was delighted. She pulled out her phone, took a photo with Xu Mo, and immediately posted it on her social media, clearly in a much better mood.
But then, in the blink of an eye, her excitement vanished, and she began crying again, tears streaming down her face.
"Xu Mo, can you help me find my cat? I can pay—I have money. As long as you can help me find my son, I’ll give you whatever you want."
She was convinced that Xu Mo could help her find the cat. After all, Xu Mo was incredibly capable, skilled in all sorts of techniques, and even managed to outwit the pursuit team!
Xiao Hu, standing nearby, was even more confused.
Crying one moment, laughing the next… impressive.
In the past, Xu Mo probably wouldn’t have agreed to help someone find a cat. It was too much trouble, time-consuming, and there was no guarantee of success.
But now, finding a cat wasn’t a big deal for Xu Mo. He could communicate with animals, and he could easily put out a "reward" for other animals to help.
"I’ll give it a try," Xu Mo agreed to the woman’s plea. "You don’t need to pay me, but I’ll need you to buy some cat food. Can you do that?"
The woman was puzzled. She didn’t know why Xu Mo needed cat food, but she nodded anyway.
"I’ll go buy some from the pet hospital up ahead right now!"
After the woman left, Xiao Hu looked at Xu Mo with a confused expression.
"Captain Xu, what do you need the cat food for?"
"You’ll see soon enough," Xu Mo said cryptically.
A short while later, the woman returned with a large bag of cat food.
"I didn’t know what kind you wanted, so I bought ten cans of every variety they had in the store. Is this enough?"
"That’s plenty," Xu Mo said, taking the bag of cat food and walking to the front of the police station.
Xiao Hu followed, curious to see what Xu Mo was up to.
Xu Mo carried the bag to a shady spot near the police station entrance, where a few stray cats were lounging.
Then, Xu Mo spoke to the cats.
"Come on, it’s mealtime—your favorite cat food… Don’t fight, there’s enough for everyone… But this isn’t free. You’ll have to do me a favor—help me find a cat…"
Xiao Hu: "???"
What is Captain Xu doing? Talking to cats?
Wow, is this some kind of feline bounty hunt?!
But can these cats even understand him?
The woman standing nearby was equally baffled.
Will this… actually work?