66: Four thousand cats

"I'm not waiting anymore!" Lei Jun slammed her phone down. "We're going out to look for it; we must find it!"

Lei Ying and Lei Yue immediately stood up.

The three of them immediately began a carpet search of the residential complex.

Garden bushes, parking lot corners, hidden spots in stairwells... they called out Pet Name's name while leaving no possible hiding place unchecked.

However, after nearly an hour of searching, they had found nothing.

How could they not find it?

Lei Jun's heart sank bit by bit.

Could it have already run out of the complex?

She immediately took the two of them to the complex's security room and demanded to see the surveillance footage.

The security guard recognized her as the owner of the penthouse and didn't dare to be negligent, cooperatively pulling up the recordings from near the main gate from this morning.

The footage played quickly, and Lei Jun's eyes were glued to the screen.

Suddenly, her breath hitched. "Stop, go back a bit!"

The frame froze. Around 7:10 AM, Pet Name indeed appeared on the roadside outside the main gate, seemingly looking around in confusion.

Immediately after, a tall, thin man in a suit quickly approached and swiftly used a cloth bag to trap Pet Name.

He then turned quickly, ducked into an alley, and disappeared from the camera's range.

It was taken by someone!

Lei Jun grew worried and looked at Lei Ying.

"Lei Ying, can you find out who this person is?"

Lei Ying immediately accessed the database, cross-referencing the man's features from the surveillance one by one.

Height, build, walking posture, even the style of his shoes—she didn't miss a thing.

Within a few minutes, Lei Ying's expression turned grim.

Seeing her expression, Lei Jun's heart skipped a beat.

"What is it? What did you find? Is there a problem?"

Lei Ying hesitated, remaining silent.

Lei Jun urged her to speak.

Lei Ying took a deep breath and said with a dark expression, "Miss... the identity of the person who took Pet Name has been confirmed. His name is Yao Yuan, a practicing lawyer. But..."

"He has a long-term, systematic... hobby of abusing and killing cats. There is evidence suggesting he... may have already tortured and killed over four thousand cats."

"Over four thousand?"

Lei Jun's face looked terrible.

She thought at most someone had stolen the cat to sell for money, but she never expected an answer like this.

Lei Ying continued to describe how this person tortured and killed cats.

After hearing it, Lei Jun felt a chill rush from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.

Over four thousand cats... meat grinders... forcing cats to eat their own flesh... the images formed by these words made her stomach churn, and a strong sense of physical revulsion surged up.

And thinking that Pet Name might currently be in the hands of such a devil, possibly facing the pain of a meat grinder, boiling water, or being skinned...

Lei Jun felt extremely distressed.

She didn't even dare to close her eyes; as soon as she did, she heard Pet Name's terrified cries and saw its miserable state while being tortured.

Standing to the side, Lei Yue, as a lawyer, had encountered all sorts of dark cases, but hearing such detailed, extremely cruel behavior directed at weak lives gave her a powerful shock.

This had completely exceeded the scope of abuse; it was a display of pure antisocial personality, an ultimate desecration of life.

She was incredibly upset and furious.

Lei Jun suppressed her nausea and dizziness, her hand trembling as she took out her phone to search for related information based on the clues provided by Lei Ying.

When those shocking images and text descriptions—even with mosaics—came into view... those cats with broken limbs, gouged eyes, and bodies covered in scars but still struggling for breath, especially that photo of a cat dragging itself along the ground with its two back legs to find food... with every image she saw, Lei Jun's nails dug deeper into her palms.

Too cruel... this isn't even a human!

He's a beast!

She abruptly turned off her phone, unable to look any longer.

It was truly unbearable.

Absolutely!

She absolutely could not let Pet Name suffer such pain!

Not even for a second!

"Locate him, Lei Ying! Get me a location on where he is right now!"

Lei Jun had only one thought now: she had to find Pet Name immediately, right now!

Lei Ying's efficiency was extremely high, and she immediately called out an address.

"Miss, I found it! It's a warehouse in the abandoned industrial zone in the north of the city!"

"Let's go!"

Without another word, Lei Jun turned and rushed toward the parking lot... Meanwhile, in the abandoned warehouse in the north of the city.

Yao Yuan was humming an out-of-tune ditty, in a pleasant mood.

He had just finished setting up the camera equipment, and the red recording indicator light was on.

He stroked his chin, eyeing the shivering little white female cat with its limbs tied up, his eyes flickering with excitement and cruel light.

Hmm... this one looks good, very photogenic.

He was quickly mapping out the process for today's 'work' in his mind.

It must be extremely cruel!

Soon, he came up with an idea.

He felt satisfied with this creative plan, a twisted smile appearing on his face.

No rush, have a cigarette first and enjoy the process of anticipation.

He'd start after finishing the cigarette.

He unhurriedly lit a cigarette and took a deep drag, as if savoring the upcoming feast... Meanwhile.

Lei Jun kept urging: "Lei Ying, faster, even faster!"

"Miss, I'm going as fast as possible while ensuring safety."

Lei Ying calmly controlled the vehicle, calculating the optimal route and speed.

Lei Yue comforted her: "Miss, don't worry too much, we'll definitely make it in time."

But she herself was filled with uncertainty; every passing second meant more danger for Pet Name.

A suffocating silence fell inside the car.

Finally, the vehicle screeched to a halt in front of an extremely remote, overgrown abandoned warehouse.

The three of them rushed out of the car almost simultaneously. Lei Ying took the lead, rushing to the rust-stained iron door. Without any hesitation, she raised her leg and gave it a violent kick.

"Bang!"

With a loud crash, the lock shattered, and the iron door swung open.

The scene inside the door was like hell.

Various dried cat skins hung on the walls, unidentifiable remains were piled in corners, and the air was thick with the stench of blood and rot. Cruel tools were scattered everywhere... and right in the center of the warehouse, Yao Yuan had just tossed away his cigarette butt. With a cruel and excited smile, he picked up a cold, glinting small knife and was walking toward the shivering, tied-up Pet Name on the table.

Lei Jun: "Stop!!!"

Seeing that Pet Name was still alive, her immense relief was instantly drowned by overwhelming rage!

That man, that devil, was about to harm her family.

Lei Jun said furiously, "Lei Ying, hit him! Beat him to death!"

Lei Ying was already beyond furious. Hearing the command, she instantly rushed in front of Yao Yuan.

Her fists carried terrifying power, falling like raindrops. Every strike was accompanied by the dull thud of bones shattering.

Yao Yuan was like a human punching bag, completely defenseless, his screams unending.

If Lei Yue hadn't stepped forward in time to pull Lei Ying back, reminding her that he would die if she kept hitting him, Yao Yuan might very well have been beaten to death on the spot.

Lei Ying stopped, but the fire in Lei Jun's chest was far from extinguished.

She looked at Yao Yuan curled up on the ground groaning, thought of those four thousand-plus lives lost in vain, and thought of how Pet Name's life had just been hanging by a thread.

She took a few steps forward, raised her foot, and used the sharp heel of her high-heeled shoe to kick Yao Yuan's crotch with all her might!