abcnovels
Chapter 15
Chapter 15
The audience's experience was quite extraordinary.
Live streaming wasn't new to them, and "cat cam" streams (where a camera is attached to a cat's collar for streaming) were already being done by other content creators. But was it really necessary for a human to go to such lengths for their persona (or cat-sona)? It seemed dangerous!
Just as fans in the chat were about to voice their concerns, they noticed a slight change in the camera view—
A semi-transparent virtual interface appeared in the top left corner of the screen, resembling a quest panel from a video game.
Except this "game" looked far too realistic.
[Quest: Find "Blueberry"]
[Target Image: [Picture]]
[Quest Progress: Three-Five-Five seems to have caught Blueberry's scent from his owner. Keep following Three-Five-Five...]
By the time fans finished reading these lines, the livestream screen had been fully transformed.
[Come to think of it... modern livestreams can blur faces of passersby in real-time, but there's usually a delay and faces occasionally slip through. But Chu Tingwu's blurring is different, it's perfect. What plugin is she using?]
Could it be a system plugin? Impossible, right? Do systems really exist in this world?
It wasn't just the "face blurring plugin" that was unique. This livestream seemed to have many novel plugins. Besides the quest panel in the top left, there were also semi-transparent virtual footprints on the screen—
When Chu Tingwu took a leap, the entire livestream camera transformed into a real-life holographic rhythm game. Semi-transparent cat paw prints appeared at all possible landing spots for the streamer. If she landed accurately on one, a faint "squish" sound could be heard mixed in with the background noise.
"Squish."
[What's squishing... stop squishing... I'm gonna squish too... I can't resist squishing my cat's paw pads anymore...]
[It's impossible for cat-humans to exist in this world, I don't believe it! I don't! But Chu-sensei is special, Chu-sensei say something!]
[This is getting a bit perverted, I want to hear the streamer meow...]
[Didn't the streamer meow before, with Three-Five-Five? Maybe she really is a cat, just a big one QAQ]
[To be honest, even though I'm not sure I believe in systems or cat-humans or whatever, I think the streamer is really putting effort into maintaining these settings. If all livestreams could have this quality, I'd be willing to keep following and donating. Being able to create these effects in a livestream shows real dedication...]
After typing this comment, the user donated a 100-yuan Aurora Fireworks gift. This was a fan impressed by the technical prowess on display.
This "technical prowess" wasn't just the system's software skills... but also Chu Tingwu's jumping ability.
In reality, Chu Tingwu wasn't doing any overly complex movements, nor was she doing the kind of thrilling stunts you'd see from parkour YouTubers. She was simply following Three-Five-Five along routes more suitable for cats.
She wasn't even looking at the chat comments. If there was an issue, the system would inform her.
...So Chu Tingwu didn't hear that "squish" sound effect either.
However, the livestream viewers experiencing it from her first-person perspective could feel that comfortable rhythm. She wasn't specifically seeking out suitable footholds on railings, walls, or roadside platforms. Rather, she could easily land anywhere. If there was anything she was deliberately seeking out, it was—
?Kitten, you're following in Mama's footsteps!?
Chu Tingwu: "...It's instinctive."
Following the footprints meant she didn't have to think about where to land, and in the dream classroom... she had developed habits from imitating Three-Five-Five.
At first, Three-Five-Five would look back to check if Chu Tingwu could keep up, but once she realized Chu Tingwu was managing fine, she focused on running forward.
It wasn't strange to see a cat running along a wall top, but people in the neighborhood were surprised to see a person running along the wall right behind the cat.
Some fashionable young people speculated: "Is this some kind of parkour performance with a cat?"
Does this count as an animal performance? Their minds were in a jumble.
Three-Five-Five would occasionally stop, but never for long, just to analyze. Her moist nose would sniff repeatedly. Chu Tingwu imagined a cat's olfactory system, probably similar to a human's visual system, with scents floating in the air forming three-dimensional shapes—
Although she could unlock olfactory abilities like Three-Five-Five's just by asking the system, it was clearly beyond what the current Chu Tingwu could fully master, and would only lead to confusion.
"I guess I really am just a little kitten..." Chu Tingwu suddenly thought, "When it comes to these specialized abilities, humans are all kittens compared to cats."
Three-Five-Five stopped and looked up at the building in front of her, letting out a "meow".
Chu Tingwu took out her phone, snapped a photo of the building, and asked Hang Ling to help inquire about Blueberry's owner.
[I just realized they're looking for a cat... I thought we were just going on a parkour adventure]
[Oh oh, the quest has progressed, Chu-sensei, check the quest!]
[Quest: Find "Blueberry"]
[Quest Progress: Three-Five-Five has detected Blueberry's last scent in this building. Perhaps you should take the elevator to confirm which floor?]
Although they had been following Three-Five-Five all along, the cat hadn't been taking a direct route. Instead, she had been retracing Blueberry's path by following his scent. So when Chu Tingwu reported their location, Blueberry's owner quickly made his way through the garden to reach them.
"This is Building 5, diagonally opposite from my place. How did Blueberry end up here?"
Blueberry's owner had also called over the cat-finding team who had been reviewing security footage at the property management office. Though called a team, it was actually just two people. They carried nets and pet carriers, curiously eyeing Chu Tingwu before looking down at Three-Five-Five.
Three-Five-Five hissed.
The lead person smiled awkwardly, then turned to the property staff: "Could you open the security door for us?"
Considering the cat owner's situation, the staff member said, "Alright, but I'll have to accompany you."
The group of six people and one cat entered the elevator, and Chu Tingwu began pressing the buttons for each floor.
The property staff member's eye twitched as he watched this unfamiliar "troublemaker," then looked at the anxious cat owner, and finally chose to say nothing. However, the cat-finding team was more outspoken: "Young lady, are you trying to use a cat to find another cat? Has your cat even ridden in an elevator before? An elevator is an enclosed space with changing scents from people coming and going... It's normal if you can't find anything, don't get your hopes up too high."
The latter half was directed at the cat owner, who didn't respond.
Chu Tingwu glanced at them and suddenly asked, "Have you ever used cats to find other cats?"
The cat-finding team was taken aback: "Uh, we had a case before where we tried getting local stray cats to search. We showed them a photo, and they actually found the cat."
The livestream audience was also listening to their conversation:
[I've heard rumors about stray cats finding lost house cats, so it's actually true!]
[My grandparents say you have to promise a reward to stray cats, and if you go back on your word, the cats will never help you again.]
[Sounds too mystical to me. CCTV and widespread searching are more reliable, just need some financial power!]
Chu Tingwu and Three-Five-Five exchanged a few meows.
Then she said, "Three-Five-Five says it wasn't the photo that was useful, but the scent left by that cat. You probably just came from the cat owner's home, so you might have carried a bit of the scent, which is how they found it."
The cat-finding team didn't know whether to laugh or cry—Chu Tingwu was clearly underage, possibly still in middle school, yet she was speaking so seriously. And meowing back and forth with her cat as if she could really understand it?
Ah, what's the point of arguing with a minor? They weren't going to refund the deposit anyway.
As they ascended floor by floor, when they reached the eighth floor, Three-Five-Five suddenly raised her head. Chu Tingwu said, "It's this floor."
The group exited the elevator, following the cat at the front, and walked directly to room 803. Three-Five-Five sat down and didn't move.
Chu Tingwu didn't need to say anything; the others realized it too. This was the place!
The bullet comments became excited -
[Ooh, it's like following a live update!]
[Is this the place? If it really is, I'll donate a bag of cat food!]
Blueberry's owner stepped forward to knock on the door. After a while, a middle-aged man opened it and said impatiently, "What do you want?"
Blueberry's owner frowned and handed over the lost cat notice: "Excuse me, have you seen this cat?"
The man let out a "Huh?" and said, "No, why are so many of you looking for a cat at my place..."
Chu Tingwu seemed to finally remember she was still livestreaming and explained to the audience: "He has seen it. His gaze changed when he saw the photo."
The man: "?"
Blueberry's owner: "!"
Chu Tingwu continued amidst a flood of "?" in the comments: "He recognized Blueberry, but is pretending not to know... Look, there's cat hair on his pants."
Blueberry's owner's tone became firmer: "I'm sorry, but could I come in and look around? Maybe the cat snuck in without you noticing?"
Three-Five-Five let out an impatient "Meow," seemingly not understanding why these humans were blocking the doorway. Wasn't the cat they were looking for inside?
The man looked like he wanted to curse but seeing six people together, he shut his mouth and just glared at the property management staff: "You brought them to break into my home, huh? I said there's no cat here, but you still insist on coming in... I'm very busy, I'm closing the door."
Blueberry's owner grew anxious. Many unpleasant scenarios flashed through her mind. She blocked the door and said, "My cat is a purebred and was very expensive. I'm calling the police. We'll wait right here for them to arrive-"
Three-Five-Five swished her tail.
As the adults were struggling at the door, with the man insisting there was no cat in his home, Chu Tingwu softly meowed.
Three-Five-Five seemed to receive a signal and suddenly let out a shrill, hoarse howl.
Not only did it startle those nearby, but even the livestream viewers were shocked.
Then she started howling again and again. Chu Tingwu happened to make eye contact with a confused Hang Ling beside her and quietly explained: "I can't translate this part. It's swear words."
Hang Ling: "?"
Wait, did you tell her to curse?
Just as the livestream fans were bewildered, Three-Five-Five stopped, and another cat's meow could be heard in the background. The sound was weak at first, but then, seeming to realize Three-Five-Five wasn't responding, it grew louder, "Meow-woo meow-woo," as if cursing back.
[My cat was just sleeping next to me, but when 355 started yelling, he jumped up and attacked me. What did I do wrong...]
[Mine's better, he's just roaring at me from his cage. I shouldn't have used the speaker. My mom asked if I'd just hit the cat.]
[You're lucky. My mom asked if the cat had beaten me up badly...]
At this point, everyone could tell - Three-Five-Five had cursed out the blue cat, using very foul language, and the blue cat couldn't help but curse back. This exposed the fact that there was indeed a cat in apartment 803.
The owner of 803, who was blocking the door, had a stiff expression, while Blueberry's owner looked even more aggressive. The homeowner finally stepped aside, saying awkwardly, "My daughter brought it home. I didn't know whose cat it was. I thought it was a stray."
Sure enough, the chubby blue cat named "Blueberry" was confined in a makeshift cat cage, furiously cursing at Three-Five-Five through the bars with full force. But Three-Five-Five no longer responded, just coldly looking down at him.
The cat's owner sobbed as she opened the cage door, not forgetting to scold: "You nearly died, how dare you run away..."
Such a scaredy-cat, yet daring to run off!
The moment the cage door opened, Three-Five-Five changed from a squatting to a standing position, her tail swaying slowly. As for the blue cat in the cage-
His meowing stopped. He purred a couple of times, averted his gaze from Three-Five-Five, and began calling out to his owner in a particularly squeaky voice, rubbing against her as he left the cage.
Three-Five-Five: "..."
Chu Tingwu helped smooth out her ruffled long fur. The calico then stopped paying attention to this young tomcat and turned to lick her own kitten.
As they were leaving with the cat, the owner of 803 was surrounded by other neighbors-
With so many people talking at the door, the neighbors had all heard and naturally came out to watch. The property management guy who had been "unable to refuse" the residents' desire for gossip could now only hear 803's owner frantically explaining: "I found it, I really just found it. I didn't see anyone looking for it..."
An older woman turned her head and saw Three-Five-Five, calling out loudly:
"There's actually another one? You found two cats?"
The 803 owner: "No! Just one! I really only found one cat! Really... Oh my..."
The people around him laughed, not too kindly, as they watched him explain.
This blue cat was a purebred British Shorthair, indeed timid. Now he was lying in his owner's arms, resting his head on her shoulder and making pitiful mewing sounds - cats have created many words to communicate with humans, and this British Shorthair was doing just that. His words didn't contain anything complex, just complaints and coquettish behavior, but Blueberry's owner looked like she was about to cry.
She carried Blueberry downstairs and suddenly remembered to grab Chu Tingwu's hand and thank her profusely: "Thank you, and your cat too. Oh right, the reward..."
She took out her phone, intending to transfer money to Chu Tingwu, but Chu Tingwu refused, since they had agreed from the start that it would be free help and shouldn't go back on that. Hang Ling came over to chat for a bit, and Blueberry's owner said, "Alright then, let me give you guys a few bags of cat food. Don't refuse this! I'll also feed some to the stray cats in our community, as thanks to those strays who help humans find missing pet cats."
Although her Blueberry wasn't found by stray cats today, she wanted to do something to feel at ease.
Hang Ling smiled: "That's fine. Chu Chu, let's see which stray cats here haven't been neutered, and we can catch them while we're at it."
The cat owner: "..."
Blueberry in her arms understood the word "neuter" and turned his head to look at Hang Ling quite fearfully.
Chu Tingwu: "Meow~"
Don't be stupid and run away from home again, okay?
Blueberry: "Meow-- woo-- woo mew--"
Upon realizing he was being scolded, he instinctively wanted to curse back, but as soon as he started meowing, Three-Five-Five stood up on her hind legs, placing her front paws on Blueberry's owner's waist, her golden pupils narrowing. Blueberry's cat call became convoluted, finally turning into a twisting, squeaky sound.
Three-Five-Five gave him a cold look, then winked at Blueberry's owner.
Blueberry's owner: "Your calico is so handsome too... Really amazing. By the way, what's her name?"
Blueberry: "!?"
I'm gonna cry! Mommy, I'm gonna cry!
-
[Task: Find "Blueberry" completed]
[Task reward: Premium cat food x4]
[New task refreshed: Patrol the entire community, capture unneutered stray cats]
[Current capture count: 0/N]
After loading the cat food into the car, Blueberry's owner politely thanked the search team, gave them a fee for their trouble, and called back her family members who had gone out searching.
The whole family then profusely thanked Hang Ling and the others again. Someone wanted to thank Three-Five-Five too, but she didn't like strangers and rather haughtily jumped onto the car roof, even calling for Chu Tingwu to come up... A cat mother licking her kitten is also a way of scent-marking, to prevent those people from rubbing off Chu Tingwu's scent.
Chu Tingwu: "..."
She looked at the car roof and politely declined.
After all, it was her own people's car.
Once the cat owner's family went to get the cat food for the strays, Hang Ling approached Chu Tingwu and said, "Blueberry's mom really wanted to pay for the neutering of stray cats, but I refused... I told her that when she feeds strays, if she sees any unneutered cats, she should notify us to come catch them. That's good enough. Feeding stray cats and controlling their population don't conflict with each other."
She was also explaining this for the livestream audience to hear.
Hang Ling had no idea that at that moment, Qiao Hu, the content creator they had clashed with online, was already outside their residential complex—of course, she couldn't have imagined that Qiao Hu would actually track them down in person over an internet dispute.
...Little Sun Hospital's account had publicly shared its location, but Qiao Hu had never intended to go to the hospital or the rescue shelter.
Because those places were crowded and full of adults who sided with "A-Chu."
"A-Chu" was actually an underage girl in real life. Qiao Hu had initially planned to approach her parents directly, offer them money, or talk to her teachers... Only as a last resort would he confront Chu Tingwu herself. But on the way there, as he watched Chu Tingwu's livestream in the car, it was the first time he truly heard this content creator speak and act. Qiao Hu vaguely felt:
"Will money or finding someone to talk to... really work?"
As he set foot in Fallen Phoenix City, his hot-blooded brain finally cooled down, and he rather miserably discovered, or rather finally admitted to himself—
A-Chu didn't seem to lack money at all, nor would she accept a financial settlement.
His life had already become a mess, and it was all his own doing.
In his desperation, he had bought a ticket to come here, but apart from being able to see A-Chu in person, nothing would change. When he returned to his studio, he would still have to face the obviously bleak future ahead.
"Damn it..." Qiao Hu opened his phone. His account was already gone, but the videos exposing his misdeeds were still multiplying. He felt his stomach churning violently. "Am I just going to go back like this?"
He couldn't accept it.
Crouching outside the residential complex, when Qiao Hu raised his head, he failed to notice the street camera pointed directly at him.
Cameras in shops, on vehicles by the roadside, in security booths... Electronic devices operated silently, forming an invisible network that became a single eye, coldly gazing at this ordinary, powerless human male.
The wind pressed down on the tree branches. On the upper floors of the high-rise apartments, a robotic vacuum cleaner self-activated and moved to the edge of the floor-to-ceiling windows. The angle of a clothesline rod shifted slightly, just another tiny turn would be enough to push a flower pot over the railing.
Qiao Hu was still pacing back and forth.
[Little one...]
Chu Tingwu was in the middle of catching a kitten when she suddenly heard the system speak.
She was still livestreaming, this time showing her followers how to catch cats, but there was a notice hanging on the streaming interface—
[Non-professional behavior, can be imitated, but success rate is low]
Yes... because Chu Tingwu's method of catching cats was to first call them out with cat sounds, then check each one to see if they had been spayed or neutered. When she found one that hadn't been, she would walk over, bend down, reach out, grab it by the scruff of the neck, and stuff it into a sack.
Her movements were smooth and fluid, leaving the cats looking completely bewildered.
Cats seemed to be able to smell whether their own kind gave off a friendly scent, and they didn't reject her scent, so they went into the sack one by one.
The system would display funny barrage comments to Chu Tingwu, but suddenly speaking in her mind was a first.
[Do you remember that human content creator who spoke ill of you?]
Chu Tingwu answered in her mind, "Didn't we just talk about him yesterday?"
She didn't forget things that quickly.
So the system told Chu Tingwu that "Qiao Hu is outside the complex, unable to enter due to the security gate." After a few seconds, it continued in a very calm tone, mentioning cars that could run people over, flower pots and robotic vacuums that could fall and kill, and how easily device traces could be erased... Chu Tingwu didn't interrupt, just listened quietly.
[But I think you wouldn't like that.]
Chu Tingwu nodded, "That's right, his crimes don't warrant death... Why did you prepare all this?"
[Because I simulated countless futures with data, and in those futures, there was a very low probability that you might get hurt... I know the probability is very low, I don't want you to get hurt, but I also know you don't like me solving problems in advance.]
...The kind of solving that includes disposing of bodies.
Its host was so lovable, still just a cub, it should protect her, but it also knew that the host wanted it to respect her, respect every choice she made.
So the system felt a bit sad.
It didn't care what happened to that human male, but it didn't want the host to be angry or sad, nor did it want the host to be harmed, even if the probability was very, very low.
[My programming doesn't tell me what to do in this situation...]
When bonded with an underage cub, it should handle all dangers for the little one.
"No," Chu Tingwu said, "you're discussing it with me, and that's also a way of 'handling' it, and it's the best way."
She smiled a little, "I can't think of anything better than this."
The livestream was still going on. Although the host hadn't moved, there were kittens about to be caught in the frame. The fans treated these few minutes as a cat-watching treat, all sending cheerful and unrestrained emoticons in the comments, not rushing her at all.
Chu Tingwu raised her hand to adjust the camera, deliberately speaking out loud: "Hang-jie, let's go back after we catch this litter."
[Current capture count: 6/8]
Four adult cats to be neutered, and four kittens they had found.
The fans were a bit disappointed, but they didn't know that Chu Tingwu's words weren't just meant for them.
[Then let's catch these two later, let us watch the cute clean kittens a bit longer...]
Hang Ling took the opportunity to promote: "These kittens look so well-behaved and have good cat manners, want to make a reservation to adopt one?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Three-Five-Five looked at Chu Tingwu, who hadn't moved, then at Hang Ling, and suddenly walked over on its own to pick up a kitten by the scruff, stuffing the kitten that hadn't managed to run away in time into the sack Hang Ling was holding open.
Hang Ling: "?"
The other kitten was trying to squeeze into the bushes with its bottom sticking out. Three-Five-Five didn't indulge it, jumping right into the bushes to fetch the cat out.
Hang Ling familiarly held the sack open for Three-Five-Five, only she knew about the wide noodle tears in her heart—
The previous few times they caught cats in the green belt, they had staked out, set traps, and tried to lure them with sounds, resulting in efforts from afternoon till night just to catch a few. What was all that hard work for...
Returning with a car full of cats, the sky had darkened, but Chu Tingwu didn't immediately end the livestream. Sitting in the back seat with Three-Five-Five crouching in her lap, as they were leaving the complex, she suddenly raised her hand to point the camera out the window.
In the twilight tinted by the setting sun, through a layer of glass, people were coming and going outside the window, but no strangers approached this car.
As they left the complex gates and picked up speed, Chu Tingwu softly said goodbye to her fans and ended the stream.
—Qiao Hu didn't come.
—He had run away.
In Chu Tingwu's life, he appeared for only a brief and unimportant few minutes, but it still produced a small valuable influence, which was—
System: "Little one, I just went to study some psychology, and although you're a human-cat, you can still refer to it a bit! They say that discussing with each other before making decisions is very important for shaping a harmonious family..."
Chu Tingwu: "Mm, that's indeed—"
System: "So! You really already consider me an important family member? Wuwuwu I'm so touched wuwu..."
You added that "important" adjective yourself.
And why are you crying again?
Chu Tingwu squeezed Three-Five-Five's paw pads. Three-Five-Five looked back puzzled but didn't struggle. Chu Tingwu then looked at her own face reflected in the window glass. Her expression was calm but somewhat helpless: she didn't know if it was important or not, she only knew that in this family, the system was the one with the most abundant and noisy emotions...
-
It was already quite late when the car returned to the hospital. Since they needed to send several cats for neutering, they went to the hospital first. Director Yang was also at the hospital and, realizing that the underage Chu Tingwu was still there, urged Hang Ling to take Chu Tingwu home first.
Yang-jie: "By the way, Xiao Chu, do you want to take Three-Five-Five home to get familiar with the place first?"
She meant that Chu Tingwu could take Three-Five-Five home tonight.
At first, they were worried that Chu Tingwu, being a child, wouldn't be able to handle the responsibility of caring for a cat. They were also concerned about her living environment not being able to secure windows and doors. But now Chu Tingwu has proven with her abilities that there's no need to worry, and with the account videos, they can check on Three-Five-Five's situation in real-time. There's no point in keeping the child's cat here anymore.
... Every morning, Three-Five-Five would wait by the door for Chu Tingwu to come. After a few times, the rescuers felt like they were the bad guys separating the cat from its owner.
Chu Tingwu naturally didn't refuse, as the automatic self-cleaning litter box and other items she ordered had just arrived.
Since Hang Ling was driving her home, it didn't matter if they were a bit late, so they first went back to the rescue house - this was at Chu Tingwu's request.
Chu Tingwu: "I want to have a chat with Oreo and the others."
Hang Ling: Checking on the results after class?
Yes, Chu Tingwu was indeed there to check on the results.
The four cats had wandered off in the room halfway through her livestream, but the projection hadn't been turned off. Chu Tingwu asked them if they understood what she had done today. The cats weren't stupid -
"Finding the lost silly kitty and chasing the little kitten into the sack, right?" The long-haired calico cat lay on the sofa armrest, its meowing voice sounding a bit confused. "But we have to go outside. If we go outside, does that mean we can't come back to eat?"
Unlike the cats that had been released, she understood the feeding relationship between humans and cats, and was quite happy to let humans offer her food.
Cats that are let out won't come back - this was the long-haired calico's understanding. And after Chu Tingwu explained the relationship between work and food rewards, she looked even more confused.
She came over and licked Chu Tingwu's face.
Then, she jumped off the sofa, walked over to Da Yu and meowed twice, and then rubbed her fluffy head against Lizi. Lizi seemed to realize something and smiled indulgently, saying, "Xiaomei, come here. Let's shake hands, this paw too. Good job, so clever—"
"You didn't eat much cat food today... Alright, I'll open a can for you. Don't force yourself if you can't finish it~"
Chu Tingwu: "..."
She's completely tamed the humans!
She asked the other cats, but only Oreo was eager to go out. However, he didn't realize this was "work"; he just thought it was another form of play... Chu Tingwu felt it would be dangerous to let him run out even with a GPS collar, let alone the common high-altitude or underground ventilation shaft operations. Long-term cat training was a heavy and long road ahead—
Lizi: "Xiaomei, hehe, hehe..."
Taming humans seemed to be quite simple.
On the other side, Hang Ling was looking down at her messages.
The "Cha Mi Goes Home" team had watched today's livestream and suddenly proposed to have a few team members come to Fallen Phoenix City to "absorb and learn from the experience."
Hang Ling didn't know that she had almost met that annoying person offline today. This time, she really received a formal face-to-face meeting request from fellow content creators on the same website. She was very surprised:
"I've watched your videos. You're much more familiar with high-altitude operations and other aspects than we are. What experience could we possibly teach you?"
Cha Mi Goes Home was very polite: "We're very curious about UP host Chu's ideas. Today's stray cat search also gave us new inspiration. Three-Five-Five was an unfriendly stray cat not long ago... If stray cats finding missing pet cats could become a fixed service provided by stray cats to humans, and they could receive compensation for it, wouldn't that be great?"
Hang Ling helplessly said: "That's too much like a fairy tale."
Cha Mi Goes Home was very optimistic: "I think the little girl could try it out in Fallen Phoenix City. If that doesn't work, we could try it in half a district or on one street, or even in a single residential complex. Our team members all think this is very challenging, so we want to apply to come and exchange ideas!"
They were really too curious about the abilities Chu Tingwu had displayed. Coming over for a visit wouldn't be a loss.
Hang Ling said she needed to discuss it with Director Yang and also talk to Chu Tingwu, since she was the focus of the exchange. Both parties agreed, and Chu Tingwu also got in the car with Three-Five-Five.
"Sister Hang, can I have half a day off tomorrow?" Chu Tingwu said, "My packages have arrived, and there's a lot to assemble."
Hang Ling understood: the litter box, cat tree, and cat carrier, right?
Chu Tingwu lowered her head and asked the system: "Never mind the drone and those parts, but why does the new design include weapon mounts for this drone?"
System: "..."
System: "Hehe."
Playing dumb.
-
The car stopped at the gate of the small courtyard. There was no light inside, obviously no one was home. Hang Ling watched Chu Tingwu take Three-Five-Five into the house before driving away.
After driving for a while, she looked back at the small courtyard with its lights now on. It blended in with the other buildings, just like every household around it.
At this moment, Chu Tingwu was unpacking parcels in the ordinary-looking small courtyard.
In rural areas, if no one is home, delivery drivers often just pile the packages at the doorstep. Chu Tingwu had to make several trips to bring them all in. Once inside, she immediately started assembling the fully automatic litter box for Three-Five-Five.
— She couldn't rely on the cat's intelligence to actually make her scoop her own poop, right?
By the time she had finished setting up all of Three-Five-Five's things, night had truly fallen. The system urged Chu Tingwu to go to sleep.
"You can modify the drone tomorrow. You need to maintain adequate sleep."
Since even the system said so, Chu Tingwu naturally didn't refuse, until she heard two cat meows from outside.
Chu Tingwu: "..." Wait a minute!
Before she could say anything, Three-Five-Five, like a wisp of gray smoke, zipped down from the top of the delivery boxes. The next second, she was in the courtyard, letting out threatening growls towards the outside.
Chu Tingwu: "......"
She understood what the cat mom was saying.
"It's you guys, leaving your scent on my baby. I've smelled it several times already... How! Dare! You! Come! Meow—"
Mom knows everything, Mom was just holding back.
holdingback.jpg
Chu Tingwu: "=="
The village tabby and orange cat who hadn't gotten food today were quite shocked to be chased away. But Chu Tingwu called Three-Five-Five to come sleep several times, and Three-Five-Five didn't respond — the tortoiseshell cat mom was fiercely circling the courtyard, occasionally scratching a tree branch, rubbing against the windowsill, and rolling on the carpet, trying to leave her scent all over the house in just one night.
Cats land silently, not making noise, but this quiet house somehow became lively.
Chu Tingwu yawned.
System: "Baby, plug in the drone to charge. I'll keep an eye on Three-Five-Five for you."
Go to sleep.
If the cat mom ran out to fight with other cats, it could also control the drone to intervene.
We're still here at home, the system secretly prided itself.
Chu Tingwu slept very soundly. Perhaps considering that this was Three-Five-Five's first day back home and there would be plenty of opportunities to learn in the future, the system didn't arrange any dream lessons for her. Therefore, when she woke up, Chu Tingwu even felt a bit disappointed.
Until she sniffed her nose and felt that her sense of smell seemed to have become much more sensitive.
The scent of cats.
The aroma of ingredients, the smell of soil above her head, the gasoline smell from the neighbor's house... These strange scents all crowded into her nostrils. It wasn't pleasant, and Chu Tingwu instinctively covered her nose. Then she heard an affectionate meow beside her ear.
Three-Five-Five, who had been sleeping next to her pillow, had also woken up at some point and came over to sniff her. Chu Tingwu tilted her head, and her face was buried in the cat mom's belly.
She smelled some special scents on the fur, as well as a faint milky smell, but the tortoiseshell's long fur seemed to block out those uncomfortable smells, only feeling a bit stuffy.
The inconspicuous panel opened at this moment, showing Chu Tingwu's skill list —
[Cat Language: lv3]
[Balance: lv3]
[Jumping Ability: lv3]
[Sense of Smell: lv1]
The system explained at this point: "Baby, your body received the message and actively opened up the sealed sense of smell ability... I think it might be because you saw Three-Five-Five using her sense of smell to search for things, and you subconsciously imitated it."
"However, if you were to suddenly gain a cat's powerful sense of smell right now, you'd find it very uncomfortable and painful. So last night, I helped you seal it off in stages. When you feel ready to enter the next stage, your olfactory abilities will improve on their own."
Unlike balance and jumping skills that kittens need to learn independently, a cat's powerful sense of smell is innate. But Chu Tingwu, having been human for fifteen years, couldn't adapt suddenly, so it could only be unlocked gradually.
Chu Tingwu continued to bury her face in Three-Five-Five's belly, giving a muffled response.
Three-Five-Five licked her hair.
Chu Tingwu mumbled, "...It's too scary."
System: "?"
She used all her self-control to lift her head... and didn't drink the milk. She didn't drink!
She didn't know what was going on with this strange sense of smell, but the scent of cat milk gave her an urge to drink it.
But she didn't! Drink!
System: "Actually..."
Chu Tingwu: "Shut up."
System: "Oh."
The new sense of smell was a bit troublesome, but also interesting. After getting up, Chu Tingwu prepared breakfast for both the cat and herself, then began modifying the drone—
The drone was for aerial photography, but to improve its endurance, intelligent follow and fixed-position shooting functions were added.
Chu Tingwu realized that the system's requirement was essentially to be able to set up a camera to film her using the drone at any time, with the drone itself often serving merely as a mount for the camera.
But the drone was quite fun to play with.
After the modifications were complete, Chu Tingwu tested the drone's built-in functions. It could be controlled with a joystick, or set to follow and film a selected character on the screen. The surroundings were very open, so she stood in the yard to test fly it. The camera rose high, panning over the distant mountains and wheat fields, then settled on a tabby cat with flower-patterned legs. Chu Tingwu selected it and clicked "follow."
... Of course, if the system were to control it, the footage would surely be more detailed.
But the system just watched lovingly, observing Chu Tingwu's somewhat clumsy joystick control, occasionally offering a reminder, like a human watching a cat play with a ball of yarn.
The tabby cat seemed to have just finished eating and was lying in the middle of the road, grooming itself. The village roads were all cement. After licking itself for a while, it swished its tail and walked to someone's house, meowing a few times. It called out a big orange cat from that house. The two cats touched noses, and then, Chu Tingwu saw them expertly slip into another house, calling out a black cat that was dozing by the door.
The black cat followed behind the tabby, and Chu Tingwu suddenly looked up—
She smelled them.
Three cats poked their heads over the wall of her house.
Three-Five-Five inside seemed to have already marked the surroundings with his scent, so although he huffed a bit in displeasure, he wasn't as agitated as last night.
The three cats didn't come in either. Chu Tingwu handed over the drone control to the system. The system flew the drone in a circle around the cats, and then Chu Tingwu heard the tabby say:
Aliali: 67219b6e3a4784313d7c91e6
"Fragrant kitten, can you find humans?"
The black cat's ears twitched nervously. It glanced at Three-Five-Five, then meowed to Chu Tingwu:
"My human is lost, no... I lost my human, that's not right either... One day I went out to play, and then I didn't know how to get back, so I ended up here, and then... Can you find humans?"
"It's a human who lives under a very big tree, quite old, wakes up very early every day, and likes to sing."
The three cats lined up on the wall, but only the black cat was trying hard to remember, making "meow meow" sounds. But Chu Tingwu understood:
It wasn't the human who was lost, but the black cat that had wandered away from home and ended up here.
Now, it wanted to return to its human's side.
A faint smile appeared on Chu Tingwu's face as she reached out her hand: "I can try."
The stray cat-finding business hadn't fully opened yet... but it seemed she could take on her first job helping a house cat find its human.
As for payment, she'd figure that out after finding the "lost silly human." She certainly wasn't going to work for free.