(Quick Transmigration) Even If You Become an Animal, You Still Have to Serve an Iron Rice Bowl - Chapter 1

“Bang!” 

A sharp pain pierced his chest. Shen Qiu lowered his head, his vision filled with red blood. In the next instance,, his head tilted and the back of his skull slammed heavily against the ground. 

Shen Qiu thought: It really hurts. 

His ears buzzed with a deafening hum as gunfire erupted around him. Moving his head slightly, he watched as blood snaked out from underneath him.

He saw as the drug dealer was taken down and his comrades rushed towards him, their eyes bloodshot as they shouted his name. Then, suddenly, he felt his body become weightless and float in the air. 

No, to be precise, it was his soul floating in the air. 

Below, his comrades cradled his lifeless body, and several grown men cried until their faces were full of tears. 

They carried him to the hospital, but his heartbeat had long stopped. Rescue efforts were ineffective and the time of death was declared. 

As a wandering spirit, the days passed by in a blur.

He watched as his body, covered with a white sheet, was wheeled out of the hospital and taken to the funeral home. His former comrades and superiors escorted him to the Martyr’s Cemetery. 

Fortunately, he had no mother and no father.  He was alone, free from any burdens. 

The existence of an anti-narcotics officer was classified, so his funeral was not grand. When his comrades and superiors finally departed, he drifted down to his own tombstone. 

No name. No photo.

Only a single line:
“1993 – 2021.”

He read every word on the tombstone slowly, and in the next moment, he felt his body become heavy before suddenly plummeting down at a rapid speed!

Then, everything went black and he lost consciousness.

When he opened his eyes again, his head was spinning, and his limbs wouldn’t obey him. 

What was going on? He had been a wandering spirit for a week and hadn’t encountered anything like this. 

Could it be that he was heading to the underworld?

He cautiously opened his eyes, only to be so stunned by the “giant” in front of him that he fell straight onto his butt. 

Wait a minute! Had he somehow arrived in the land of the giants? When did the bed get that tall?

No, something wasn’t right!

He tried to rub his eyes, but when he lifted his hand, what greeted him was a furry…paw?!

“Meow!”

Shen Qiu wanted to curse, but when he opened his mouth, all that came out was a cat’s meow.

A terrifying thought crept into his mind. His eyes widened as he frantically searched the room before bolting towards the bathroom. 

Unfortunately, he hadn’t fully mastered his new body yet. As he tried to move, he stumbled and wobbled, relying on his two paws to crawl across the floor. 

By instinct, he leapt up onto the sink and finally caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. 

Staring back at him was a purebred Maine Coon cat. With long silver-gray fur and golden pupils, it was an undeniably beautiful cat at first glance.

“Meow Meow Meow?!”

So… I’ve reincarnated?

He let out a series of shocked meows. Already struggling to control his limbs, his surprise caused him to lose his balance and slip off the sink.

But feline instincts kicked in, and he twisted in midair, landing on all fours.

His tail thumped against the floor, a clear display of frustration. 

Shen Qiu turned to look. 

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Why? I don’t understand!

Aren’t souls supposed to queue up in the underworld? Since when did reincarnation become this random?

He tried to move his paw, but his entire body flopped onto the ground with a soft plop.

He collapsed like a cat pancake. 

Shen Qiu’s feline face drooped. What do I do if all of my limbs don’t obey me?

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Shen Qiu spent quite some time in the bathroom before crawling out.

You can imagine how bizarre it was to see a silver-gray catworm wriggling on the floor.

Following his nose, he made his way to the balcony, which had a strong cat smell. In the corner, there was a cardboard box with a few scraps of cloth inside. This must be the original cat’s nest.

There were two bowls beside it: one with some fresh water and the other with leftover cat food.

Looking further down, the litter box made of cardboard had not been cleaned for who knows how long and was piled high with feces and urine. The smell was particularly unpleasant. 

Shen Qiu instinctively wanted to frown, but instead, his tail reflexively thumped against the cat bed. 

…

Oh right, I’m a cat now. So cats flick their tails when they get annoyed?

Shaking his head, Shen Qiu’s heart felt a bit heavy.

It seems like this cat wasn’t living very well. 

His stomach growled, and Shen Qiu felt hungry. He licked his nose, and the remaining cat food in the bowl became an irresistible temptation.

Hesitantly, he approached.  A strong fishy smell hit him, making his human mind recoil, but instinctively, he took a bite of the cat food.

Shen Qiu: … This is my first time as a cat so why am I so skilled at it? 

The cat food was a bit stale, likely from the humidity. Shen Qiu, somewhat disgusted, spat out the cat food.

Slowly, he moved to the side and tried to stand up.

He needed to get used to this cat body as soon as possible.

Although it was hard to imagine, it was clear that he would be a cat from now on.  

Fortunately, his cat instincts were still intact. Shen Qiu was able to come and go like the wind in the span of one afternoon. 

He quickly circled around the house before collapsing on the bed to nap.

When he woke up, it was already night. The room was eerily quiet, and it was clear the owner hadn’t returned. Cats had excellent night vision, so Shen Qiu could move freely without needing to turn the lights on.

Shen Qiu suddenly realized the perks of being a cat.

“Grrr~”

His stomach growled in protest, and Shen Qiu felt even hungrier.

He licked his nose, glancing toward the balcony, still uncertain.

Should I eat the cat food?

Even though he had reincarnated as a cat, his human memories remained intact. Eating cat food…

Sighing deeply, the hunger in his stomach grew stronger.

Step by step, burdened by the weight of his tragic fate, he walked to the food bowl and tentatively scooped up the cat food with his paws. While holding his breath, he tossed it into his mouth. 

“Crunch.”

Hmm… How should he describe it? It tasted like fish-flavored biscuits, but it was still a bit stale.

It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t exactly tasty either.

Shen Qiu was so hungry that he gobbled down the rest of the cat food, but his stomach still ached for more.

Out of nowhere, he wanted to eat meat.

Unfortunately, as a cat, especially one that was living as a mistreated pet, he might never be able to taste it again unless meat fell from the sky. 

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As he thought about it, he instinctively licked his paw.

Shen Qiu: … This cursed instinct! 

He stiffened his neck, refusing to groom himself. 

But almost immediately, an unbearable itch spread across his whole body. 

That night, Shen Qiu resisted the urge to groom his fur and went to sleep after eating.

Around three or four in the morning, he heard the door opening but ignored it and quickly fell back asleep.

When he woke up again, it was daylight. He finally saw his owner.

A sickly pale man in his thirties was lying on the bed, sleeping heavily. The empty cat bowl still had no cat food.

Shen Qiu touched his growling stomach with his paw and returned to the balcony in a daze. 

He wanted to eat meat.

He wanted to catch birds.

His eyes followed the birds flying outside, his tail swishing faster and faster.

When he realized his butt was shaking uncontrollably, Shen Qiu suddenly snapped back to reality.

This…damned cat instinct!

For the next three days, Shen Qiu struggled. His owner left early and returned late, occasionally cleaning the litter box or filling the food bowl.

When he didn’t spot Shen Qiu, he let him starve. 

The hunger was bearable, but the litter box was so filthy that after using it once, Shen Qiu immediately ran to wash his paws in disgust. 

Later, he was forced to learn how to squat.

Aside from that, after three days without grooming, Shen Qiu’s fur had become grimy. He climbed back onto the sink, looking at his dirty self in the mirror. 

Finally, he couldn’t resist and tentatively licked his fur. 

That single lick seemed to flip some sort of switch. He sat upright, licking the hair on his body, bit by bit, until his fur was completely clean.

Refreshing!

Shen Qiu decided to give himself some slack. He was a cat now! Grooming his fur was normal. 

But he would never lick his butt! Absolutely not! 

As he chased his own tail in circles, he made a firm vow to himself. 

After crossing that mental hurdle, Shen Qiu completely let himself go but he also became increasingly greedy for meat. 

To be honest, those little cat food biscuits were really not tasty.

So, when his owner left home early once again, Shen Qiu set his sights on the unlocked window.

Extending his claws, he pried at the gap in the window. After using all his strength, he finally managed to push it open. Sticking his head out, he took a deep breath of fresh air, feeling utterly satisfied.

The next second, his gaze locked onto the birds in the tree.

The room was on the second floor but using the air conditioning unit as a platform, he easily leaped down to the open space on the first floor below. 

Hunting was ingrained in a cat’s genes.

But Shen Qiu wasn’t a real  cat. After flailing around for several minutes, he wasn’t able to accomplish anything except making himself even hungrier. He was unable to catch a single bird. 

“Meow meow meow!” Shen Qiu cursed in frustration. 

His stomach was unbearably hungry. Feeling weak, he dizzily collapsed onto the ground. 

Perhaps he looked too pitiful, since an old man passing by with groceries couldn’t bear it. Calling out “kitty kitty” as he walked over, the old man pulled a piece of fresh meat from his bag and tossed it to Shen Qiu.

A blessing from heaven! Shen Qiu was so happy he jumped three feet into the air!

The old man chuckled heartily.

“Little kitty, your owner isn’t feeding you, huh? Look at this poor little thing.”

The old man’s wife soon came downstairs, saw the scene, and scolded him loudly before dragging him away.

The old man wasn’t bothered at all, apologizing while winking at Shen Qiu, urging him to eat quickly.

From the bottom of his heart, Shen Qiu silently wished the old man a long and prosperous life a hundred times over.

He didn’t even care that the meat was covered in dirt, he just chomped down on it.

To humans, raw meat might seem bloody and unappetizing, but to a cat, it was the ultimate delicacy.

Using his sharp fangs, he tore into it. The palm-sized piece of meat was gone in no time.

Finally feeling full, Shen Qiu basked in the open sun for a while before returning home the same way he arrived. Before going back inside, he even made sure to close the window.

The crime scene was cleaned up! Not a single trace was left behind!

Perfect!

That day, his owner came home late again. As soon as Shen Qiu heard movement, he woke up with a start and jumped down from the bed.

His owner didn’t like it when he got on the bed. Every time he saw it happen, he scolded him.

Hiding under the bed, Shen Qiu watched as the man entered the bathroom, carrying a black bag.

Shen Qiu thought about it carefully. Did he bring a bag with him when he left today?

It seemed like he hadn’t… he couldn’t remember.

Sniffing the air, he noticed an odd but familiar scent.  For the moment, he couldn’t place it.

Forget it, it doesn’t matter. I’m just a little kitty, why should I care about that?

Stretching lazily, he crawled into his cat bed on the balcony and quickly fell asleep, his belly facing up.

Shen Qiu was woken up by an awful smell.

The room’s light was still on. Glancing toward the bed, he saw that his owner had completely passed out, while the strange odor in the air had grown even stronger.

Climbing out of his bed, Shen Qiu immediately noticed a straw and a bottle of mineral water on the nightstand.

His six years of professional experience kicked in, sending alarms ringing in his head. He arched his back and hissed.

Now he remembered what that smell was!

To confirm his suspicion, he walked to the bedside and saw white powder scattered on the floor.