Chapter 115

By contacting the police station at the foot of Zhangshan Mountain, he quickly learned the name of the hotel where the suspect was staying. Then, with the help of his colleagues at the station, they went to the hotel to investigate.

The suspect had booked a double room, seemingly as a tourist coming to hike. When he went out, suspect number two was responsible for carrying the suitcase, which reportedly contained their professional photography equipment.

Perhaps because the "professional equipment" was too expensive, the suspect had specifically requested that housekeeping not enter the room to clean.

Today was their third day of stay. On the first day, suspect number one went out briefly while number two stayed in the room. Number one returned quickly, bringing back takeout.

On the second day, the two went out together with their photography equipment, but it wasn’t long before it started raining on Zhangshan Mountain. Shortly after the rain began, the two suspects returned with the suitcase, though they seemed agitated and had a quiet argument.

The front desk speculated:

“I thought their camera got wet in the rain, or some machine broke, so they were in a bad mood.”

The front desk staff had taken a curious glance at the suitcase and vaguely remembered:

“It felt like the suitcase was lighter because the person carrying it didn’t switch hands.”

On the third day, which was today, the two suspects left early in the morning as the light drizzle stopped. They hadn’t returned since, only appearing briefly in Chu Tingwu’s livestream.

While driving, Lin Undercover glanced at the screen.

The comments were still normal, though some were puzzled as to why Chu Tingwu wasn’t on camera and why Three-Five-Five was running into the forest. Everyone else assumed that suspect number one was just passing by—since no other human figures appeared in the frame, it was entirely a kitten’s (?) forest adventure.

Fans occasionally got excited over the birds, insects, other wildlife, and even a tree stump that the camera swept past.

[This tree stump is so perfect! It’s so round and flat…]

I want to take it home.

Lin Undercover breathed a sigh of relief, but a layer of worry remained in his heart: Chu Tingwu had said there were three suspects, and Lin Undercover was inclined to believe her. He also remembered that her memory had always been exceptional, so she likely heard something. The third person must be the transaction partner? Moreover, the livestream was still ongoing, and if someone happened to stumble upon it, it might alert the suspects.

Speaking of which, where was Chu Tingwu?

Lin Undercover thought she wouldn’t leave Three-Five-Five behind and go down the mountain alone… so where had she gone?

-

Three-Five-Five crouched on the tree stump, lazily scratching it with her claws, also pondering the whereabouts of the little one.

The unfamiliar scent of wild beasts in the air made her uneasy. At this moment, humans couldn’t hear the three people talking, but the cat’s ears twitched slightly, picking up faint murmurs of conversation—

“Should we just drop this job, Brother Liu? That tiger’s gone missing, and I feel like something bad’s going to happen…”

“Are you richer than me? We’re talking about hundreds of thousands here, just letting it go to waste?”

“But the trap we set for the tiger only caught a cat! That little tiger might’ve already gone down the mountain! What if we can’t get away by then?”

“The buyer’s already here, their boat’s ready—if we don’t deliver this tiger, we’re done for in this business.”

“Meow…”

“Shut up!”

“Why’d you even catch this cat? Either let it go or kill it.”

“Well, it’s apparently raised by the temple. I’m a bit superstitious, so I’m worried killing it will bring us bad luck… Plus, this cat seems kinda famous, said to be quite clever. If we let it go, it might bring people back to us. Just keep it for now. If it gets too noisy, I’ll strangle it.”

“Watch out, it might bite you.”

The sound of scratching came from the suitcase, which had only a small vent at the bottom, covered with black mesh. If it were a Siberian tiger, the two would’ve been patient enough to carry it and let it breathe, but since it was just a cat, they couldn’t be bothered.

The suitcase was set aside. Brother Liu wanted to smoke but was worried about starting a forest fire. Frustrated, he kicked the suitcase twice.

They weren’t the original handlers; they were just middlemen buying from the top. The upfront payment had already been made, and they were waiting to make a profit by reselling. If they gave up now, they’d lose both the profit and the upfront payment… But who could’ve guessed the little tiger would escape?

It was all because the handover guy got into a minor car accident on a rainy day, delaying the handover by a day. Then, when they were going down the mountain, they slipped, and the little tiger ran off.

Hiss…

Could it be that in a few days, there’d be news about a wild Siberian tiger being discovered here? Brother Liu chuckled at his own thought.

He checked his phone, feeling something was off. The signal on the mountain was indeed poor, but this was unusually slow.

However, while he seemed focused on his phone, he remained alert. Hearing a noise nearby, he immediately shielded the suitcase, kicked his companion, and placed his hand on his waist, coldly asking, “Who’s there?”

“Meow?”

A dusty tabby cat emerged from behind a tree, staring at the two humans with confusion before letting out a drawn-out “Meow—”

Brother Liu exhaled, “Another cat?”

He had thought it might be the little tiger, as the noise didn’t sound human.

Their handover guy had come on foot, apparently with some local connections and a seasoned hiker with a burly build. Upon learning the tiger had escaped on the mountain, he glared at the two and went out to search.

Brother Liu suspected that if he found the little tiger first, their money would be gone.

After all, they’d paid the upfront cost—they couldn’t let it be a zero-dollar deal.

He waved dismissively at the tabby and picked up a stone, “Scram!”

But the tabby didn’t leave. Its eyes fixed on the black suitcase, it crouched low, its hindquarters raised high, continuing to meow.

The companion, annoyed, took a step forward, but the tabby quickly retreated. He clicked his tongue, “Is this cat here for the other one?”

They hadn’t found the tiger yet, but the cat they’d caught had been found. At least it was just a cat looking for another cat.

The tabby couldn’t be driven away and didn’t seem easy to catch, plus it looked aggressive—as the sky darkened, the cat’s eyes glowed faintly in the dim light.

The companion, standing closer to the tabby, inexplicably felt a chill run down his spine.

From behind came another meow—probably the other cat—but then there was a “thud,” followed by Brother Liu’s panicked “Ah!” and then a scream.

He turned around and felt a sharp pain in his calf. Before he could look down, his retina retained the image he’d caught in the faint light:

The black suitcase, which had been sitting properly, had inexplicably toppled over, crushing Brother Liu’s leg. His face was covered in blood, and he was lying on the ground. Behind him, there seemed to be a gray shadow.

But the companion couldn’t worry about Brother Liu now, as the tabby had bitten him. Instinctively, he tried to kick the cat away, reaching for his knife to stab it. But the next second, he felt something heavy on his shoulder… something had pounced on his back. He let out a cry and tried to stab backward, but his wrist was in pain, and the knife fell to the ground.

…The audience was stunned.

They had been leisurely watching the cat’s livestream, some even enjoying the rare VR experience, when suddenly two humans appeared in the frame.

[Did they get lost or take a wrong turn? Huh, this guy looks familiar… Wasn’t he that actor who just showed up?]n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Although Chu Tingwu\'s videos rarely feature actors, the "thief teacher" from before could be considered half an actor, right? So, Chu Tingwu\'s videos still have a plot! Let\'s see how she arranges it!

Holding onto this thought, they continued watching and noticed that the tortoiseshell cat was crouching stealthily in the back, while the two people in front seemed really suspicious.

At this moment, the viewers experiencing the VR live stream hadn\'t yet thought, "I might have to jump in and punch someone."

The next second, they saw a person shooing a cat away.

[That\'s so mean...]

[But that cat does seem a bit fierce. I’d be scared if I saw a cat like that, though I’d just walk away. Shooing it in the wild seems normal?]

[So, what’s with the cat meowing from the box? This time I heard it even more clearly. It’s not a mistake—there’s definitely a cat in the box.]

The viewers were confused and anxious. Then they heard Three-Five-Five let out a cry—this one was different from her usual meows. It wasn’t just expressing emotion; it seemed to carry a special, almost melodic tone.

Everyone grew more anxious and quickly tagged the "cat language masters" who often appeared in the live stream—those who had actually studied Chu Tingwu\'s cat language lessons.

But before the "masters" could say anything, the black box suddenly started shaking on its own, pinning the person’s leg. At the same time, a blur flashed across the screen, followed by Three-Five-Five pouncing with a cry of pain, and then a brief glimpse of blood.

Though the action was too fast for anyone to see clearly, it was certain that Three-Five-Five’s claws had slashed the person’s face, possibly even their eye.

[???]

[???? What just happened?]

Before the questions could even be fully typed out, Three-Five-Five was already done.

She immediately rushed at the other person, teaming up with the calico cat to bite them.

The knife clattered to the ground, hitting a rock with a sharp, metallic sound, and the chat exploded.

[Huh?]

[If this is acting, I hope it’s really acting, because if a cat bites someone, the owner has to pay compensation. But if it’s not acting… what? What??]

Everyone believed it wasn’t acting, and though they weren’t entirely clear on the details, they instinctively felt… Three-Five-Five couldn’t be wrong.

The mother cat had never actively attacked an innocent person, even off-camera—she had never scratched anyone.

The next moment, the camera showed the bitten person.

He turned around in a panic, glanced at Brother Liu, who was howling in pain, and then seemed about to run. Three-Five-Five went for his other leg.

Since it was winter and he was wearing thick clothes, the calico cat hadn’t done much damage.

But that was fine—the mother cat bit harder.

In police cat training, police dogs can use their weight to pin suspects and usually don’t bite without a command. But for police cats, the training emphasizes using their claws, and in extreme situations, they’re allowed to attack certain vital areas to incapacitate the enemy.

Though this situation wasn’t too extreme.

But Three-Five-Five wasn’t a police cat—she was a transfer student.

Unlike Brother Liu, his companion, despite being in pain, still tried to run, muttering the names of various deities. Three-Five-Five didn’t chase him further but instead meowed at the calico cat.

The calico cat let out a long, piercing cry that made the viewers shiver.

Then, the calico cat turned and followed the fleeing companion, stepping on branches as its cries echoed through the forest.

Three-Five-Five, meanwhile, ignored the stumbling Brother Liu and started fiddling with the box on the ground. The box had a sturdy combination lock, but since it wasn’t meant for a tiger, Brother Liu had apparently been too lazy to set the password… and it finally opened under the cat’s paws.

Yanzi struggled to crawl out of the box.

She lay on the ground, gasping for air, her tongue hanging out. Three-Five-Five, unusually patient, licked her head over and over—

[Is that Yanzi? Yanzi?! It’s too dark, I can’t see!]

[I’m using VR, and I can see clearly—the markings match! It’s really Yanzi! Someone should notify the temple! How dare they try to steal a cat!]

[Is Yanzi stressed? That box had no ventilation—if Three-Five-Five had been any later, she might have suffocated!]

[I’m in Fallen Phoenix City—I’m already on my way!]

The fans were furious and started cursing… Compared to strangers, Yanzi was their own cat, a famous internet celebrity cat. So, they naturally assumed these people had come up the mountain to steal her—stealing a cat… maybe some sickos like to torture and kill celebrity cats and post it online! Ugh, that’s even more disgusting! Curse them!

Of course, there were also dissenting voices. After all, Chu Tingwu has so many fans, and some thought—

"Three-Five-Five isn’t stupid. She must know how to control her actions. Stealing a cat shouldn’t warrant getting maimed, right?"

Biting was one thing, but clawing the face seemed excessive.

The chat was a mess, and for a moment, everyone almost forgot about Chu Tingwu, who had disappeared.

Chu Tingwu, meanwhile, had already picked up the tiger cub.

The cub had resisted…

The ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‍cub had really tried…

But unfortunately, its size was five times that of a cat, not five times that of a human.

Moreover, Chu Tingwu had brought out cat food and cans to soothe it—though the latter was meant for Yanzi, it successfully tempted the hungry Siberian tiger cub.

After a moment, the cub, smelling Chu Tingwu’s scent and realizing it couldn’t win, started whimpering.

The system: "It’s calling you mom…"

It’s normal for an abandoned cub to see another feline as its mother… but isn’t this a bit fast?

And my cub is still a cub too!

The system was annoyed.

Chu Tingwu held the cub’s bottom as she lifted it, sniffing the air to discern various scents: "Shh—"

The wind carried some information to her. Although she had the system block the group’s phone signals, it seemed one of them had been cautious enough to start descending the mountain early.

Chu Tingwu focused, fully unleashing her heightened senses for the first time since her upgrade. The faint vibrations under her feet, the scents in the air, the distant and near whispers of the wind… all this information flooded her mind. Instinctively, she discarded the irrelevant details and seized the answer she sought.

She arrived at a small hiking trail on the backside of the mountain and turned, just as the person above came face to face with her.

The man stared at Chu Tingwu in surprise, his gaze falling on the tiger cub—

Though neither spoke, Chu Tingwu sensed his excitement.

He was thinking: There’s no one here… and no signal. If I act quickly, whatever happens, no one will know. The person below, though I can’t see clearly, doesn’t look like they’d put up much of a fight.

Chu Tingwu smiled at him:

Yes, there’s no one here. And I’ll decide if there’s a signal.

Whatever happens, no one will know.

Right?