Strange Life of a Cat-Chapter 180 - Beat Them Up First

Chapter 180: Chapter 180: Beat Them Up First

Chapter 180 -180: Beat Them Up First

The cat quickly disappeared into the pine forest, and Zheng Tan didn’t plan to chase it. Catching thieves was a job for the police, for Senior Hetao, and Zheng Tan wasn’t interested in sticking his nose in others’ business.

Compared to the central urban area, the air quality here was much better, with large stretches of green trees and a lake. There was no random discharge of domestic sewage and laboratory wastewater, which immediately elevated the environmental quality a notch. No wonder many people liked to come here to relax. Xiao Guo’s choice of this place was not without reason; even a public service advertisement for pets needed careful packaging, right? Otherwise, Xiao Guo, the deputy chairman, wouldn’t feel proud to present it.

As Zheng Tan walked and pondered, he heard Charlie calling from afar, probably because he had noticed Zheng Tan’s absence and was getting anxious.

Charlie now regretted his decision, thinking it was fine to leave for just five minutes, but when he returned, Zheng Tan’s shadow was nowhere to be seen. If he lost this cat, Charlie could forget about hanging around in Chuhua City in the future—Xiao Guo would definitely not let him off the hook.

While Charlie and a few members of the work crew were frantically searching for Zheng Tan, Zheng Tan leisurely walked out from the Small Pine Forest.

Seeing that the cat hadn’t been lost, Charlie and the others immediately relaxed and didn’t leave Zheng Tan’s side anymore. Even if others were busy, they wouldn’t ask Charlie for help, lest they become another of the Pet Center’s sinners if the cat was lost.

With so much attention on him, Zheng Tan was in no mood to wander around and took a nap in his designated spot, only following them back after the pet dog photo shoot was over.

They went straight back to the Pet Center, where Zheng Tan had to wait for a while. After Xiao Guo had finished handling some urgent matters, he would then take Zheng Tan back to the courtyard. Xiao Guo didn’t trust anyone else to escort him back. During this time, Zheng Tan and the other cats and dogs that had gone out for the photo shoot would undergo a thorough health check.

This was a new rule set by Xiao Guo to prevent the cats and dogs from contracting some disease outside and bringing it into the Pet Center, potentially infecting more pets. If the pets were feeling unwell, it would also allow for early detection. After all, pets are not humans; not everyone understands how to express their discomfort.

While undergoing his checkup, Zheng Tan happened to see a familiar face.

Sahara’s dog dad was bringing it in for shots, probably because Sahara had caught a minor illness. During the shots, the wretched creature buried its head in its dog dad’s arms, whining and acting spoiled.

Zheng Tan held it in utter contempt.

Damn it, it’s just a needle prick! Where is all that reckless courage when you need it?

Back at the East District, Zheng Tan glanced at the living room clock; it was just after three in the afternoon. He booted up the computer and, sure enough, found some cat owners on forums complaining that their cats liked to snatch things from others’ homes. One person even posted a video link showing their cat stealthily bringing home a plush toy late at night.

If there were cats with such a “talent” and some Cat Tamers trained them, what would become of them?

Zheng Tan couldn’t guess.

Thinking back to the cat he saw today, he dare not speculate about others, but whoever was training that cat surely wasn’t short of money.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freёnovelkiss.com.

In the forum thread, someone versed in law commented, “If only animals steal things, it is considered instinctual behavior and not a crime; however, the caretaker or owner of the animal should take responsibility for compensation if their inadequate management leads to the loss of others’ property. But if a trained animal is used to commit theft, although the animal itself isn’t committing a crime, the person who directed the animal is using it as a tool to secretly steal and claim others’ property, which constitutes theft under criminal law…”

There were many such discussions, but in real life, things are more flexible, and there is no shortage of people exploiting loopholes. However, Zheng Tan was only curious, and as long as it didn’t happen to him or near the Jiao family, he couldn’t be bothered to pay too much attention to it.

After shutting down the computer and erasing some conspicuous traces, Zheng Tan headed to the balcony. As he stepped out, he heard that guy on the fourth floor singing opera again.

Zheng Tan couldn’t comprehend why that damn bird had become obsessed with opera singing lately, but he definitely didn’t want to endure the torment here. He wondered how the other residents in the building could tolerate it, or perhaps, the elderly folk actually enjoyed such tunes?

Having slept enough outdoors during the day and restless at home, Zheng Tan eventually decided to go for a walk. It was the perfect time to pick up Little Youzi on the return.

Having not visited the construction site in a while, Zheng Tan decided to take a look. Passing by the school where Jiao Yuan studied, they could hear a teacher passionately criticizing the flaws of the national education system and disparaging exam-oriented education.

Zheng Tan flicked his tail in disinterest. Talking without taking action was useless. He continued to trot forward.

At the construction site, the blue building fences were still surrounding the area, but the rising structures inside couldn’t be hidden. The progress was good; Zheng Tan hoped the construction would finish soon, providing him with a new place for entertainment.

As he observed, Zheng Tan suddenly heard someone calling his name. Turning his head, he saw Zhong Yan, whom he hadn’t seen for a while, wearing a safety helmet, clad in work clothes, and carrying a pile of something, approaching.

Zheng Tan didn’t expect to encounter Zhong Yan at this time of day. Considering the time, it seemed about right for him to be on school break. For high school seniors, every break before a holiday signified mock exams, but Zhong Yan didn’t look like he was under much pressure.

“Hey, what brings you here today?”

Zhong Yan walked to the side; he had planned to rest there anyway, and happened to see Zheng Tan.

After getting some water from the temporary rest area, Zhong Yan found a spot to sit down, gulped down a couple of swigs, and handed another disposable plastic cup filled with water to Zheng Tan. Then he began to tell him about something.

“You know, a cat that looks a lot like you showed up at the construction site recently, all black, too. At first, Ning and the others thought it was you, so they treated it very well, but in the end, I was the one who recognized it wasn’t you.” Zhong Yan said with a bit of pride.

“That black cat usually comes at night, takes a round, and leaves. Ning and the others say that there are probably mice at the construction site that attracted the cat. But I don’t think it looks like a stray cat. That black cat is very cautious and fierce. Ning and the others got scratched while teasing it. I heard that after people at the site realized it wasn’t you, some wanted to catch it and cook it, but they never succeeded.”

Zheng Tan didn’t take it to heart at first; it was just a cat that looked somewhat like him, no big deal—there are plenty of black cats. But what Zhong Yan said next sent a chill through Zheng Tan’s heart.

“That being said, some things have been happening at the site lately; several people’s wallets have gone missing. They say it’s because people drank too much and weren’t careful, probably someone just snatched them. Now everyone is hiding their wallets really well. Ah, that’s the way it is on the construction site, quite chaotic,” Zhong Yan lamented.

Zheng Tan didn’t know if he was just being paranoid, but as soon as Zhong Yan mentioned this, the first thing that came to Zheng Tan’s mind was linking that black cat with the missing wallet incidents.

Maybe he was overthinking it, but after hearing about a cat stealing wallets from Senior Hetao and others that day and having seen one himself, Zheng Tan couldn’t help but wonder whenever he heard about lost wallets if it was a cat’s doing, especially since Zhong Yan had just mentioned a black cat that looked a lot like him.

Whether he was overthinking or not, Zheng Tan decided it was best to be cautious. If that cat looked like him and was a thief like the one he saw in the morning, and if it were caught in the act, would the blame fall on him?

Zheng Tan absolutely refused to be a scapegoat, so to prevent any mishaps, he decided to stay vigilant of other black cats.

Zhong Yan soon returned to work at the construction site, and Zheng Tan walked back as well, keeping an eye out for cats that resembled him. He didn’t spot any; it probably wasn’t the time yet for that cat to be out and about.

That evening, after dinner, Jiao Ma was called by a colleague to go dance at the campus square; the weather wasn’t cold, so they danced there instead of in the gymnasium, and there were quite a few former teachers present.

Zheng Tan watched the sheriff fight with a cat from the West District courtyard and followed them close to the square. He thought he might as well wait for Jiao Ma there since, though Jiao Ma was in the square, she had acquaintances in the gymnasium where she left her bag and water bottle. Zheng Tan just needed to wait at the gymnasium entrance.

Just as Zheng Tan was about to head that way, a figure suddenly dashed across the roadway ahead, running from the left side near the square toward the undergrowth of the small forest on the right.

Stopping in his tracks, Zheng Tan paused for two seconds and then turned to follow.

Zheng Tan listened to the rustling in the small forest, the sound of an object moving across the blackgrass on the ground.

Even though it was nighttime, the street lights along the road helped Zheng Tan see clearly into the little forest. However, the overgrown blackgrass and some trees hindered his view. Luckily, the trees were stout and properly spaced, so Zheng Tan simply climbed up and dashed through the branches. His skills were not for naught.

Intuition is sometimes indeed accurate. Zheng Tan spotted a cat in the blackgrass not far ahead. Its lifted head allowed Zheng Tan to see the wallet in its mouth, although he couldn’t make out the cat’s color to confirm if it was the black cat Zhong Yan had mentioned.

Zheng Tan hadn’t expected to encounter this sort of incident so soon, and while he preferred to stay out of unrelated trouble, to avoid being falsely accused,

he decided to attack first and ask questions later, regardless of whether it was the black cat that resembled him.

Besides, Zheng Tan had claimed Chuhua University as his territory, and he felt embarrassed to call himself the boss here if he didn’t teach a lesson to a cat causing a ruckus on his turf!

The cat in the forest noticed the noise of Zheng Tan jumping through the branches and picked up speed a bit, but didn’t seem too concerned, probably thinking cats weren’t as threatening as people.

After approaching from above, Zheng Tan leapt down towards the cat and swiped at it with his paw.

The cat was knocked aside, rolling a couple of times, and the wallet it had been carrying fell into the blackgrass. It got up and growled angrily at Zheng Tan, as if it wanted a confrontation, but then quickly ran off.

Zheng Tan considered giving chase, but just then, the sheriff and the cat from the West District courtyard were still fighting their way over. Seeing Zheng Tan, the sheriff happily ran over to greet him, momentarily distracting Zheng Tan. The cat, unencumbered by the wallet, made a fast getaway and soon disappeared from sight.

The sheriff didn’t realize he had done anything wrong. He looked a bit stunned after being smacked by Zheng Tan, but quickly returned to fighting with the cat from the West District, moving out of the small forest.

After inwardly cursing the sheriff as a pig of a teammate, Zheng Tan flexed his claws and raised them to his nose for a sniff. When he had jumped down from the tree, he knew from the feel of his claw that he had drawn blood, leaving the other party with a wound, so the day wasn’t without its gains.(To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote for it at Qidian (qidian.com) with recommendation tickets or monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)