(Quick Transmigration) Even If You Become an Animal, You Still Have to Serve an Iron Rice Bowl - Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

Qin Yan called out to Shen Qiu, telling him to quickly get down.

Shen Qiu lifted his head proudly, but before jumping off, he deliberately bounced on the man’s back a few times. 

The man let out a muffled groan, his face growing even paler.

Da Zhuang happily stepped forward to take Guoguo away and gently ruffled the cat’s head, signaling with his eyes: Nice job!

Shen Qiu let out a pleased meow, full of pride, but as soon as he returned to Qin Yan’s side, the leash was clipped back on him.

Qin Yan’s face was stern. “Qiuqiu, you’re not allowed to act on your own during a mission. Did you forget what the trainer told you?”

Shen Qiu froze.

Oh right…he was a police cat now. Without orders, he wasn’t supposed to act on his own.

His tail immediately drooped, ears flattening like airplane wings. He cautiously glanced up at Qin Yan’s expression.

Seeing him like this, Qin Yan was both angry and amused. He tapped the cat’s head. “It’s a good thing nothing went wrong this time, or you can forget about joining the team!”

“And dragging Guoguo into your antics too, you’re really gone overboard!”

Knowing he was in the wrong, Shen Qiu honestly accepted the scolding. Even after they returned to the bureau, a sulky expression still remained. 

The people they brought back were sent into interrogation rooms one by one. Those suspected of using drugs were sent for urine testing. Meanwhile, the confiscated drugs were sent for analysis.

Shen Qiu and Guoguo were sent back to the dormitory.

Back in the dorm, Shen Qiu anxiously waited for news from Qin Yan—not only on whether the bureau chief would submit the application for him to officially join the force, but also the lab results about the drugs.

He had a suspicion… that this batch of drugs was the same kind used by Qiuqiu’s former owner and Zhang Jibo.

If his guess was correct, then this case was far from simple.

Whenever a new drug appears on the market, there’s always a bigger conspiracy behind it.

Whether it was testing the police or stirring up trouble in Haishi, their intentions were definitely malicious.

That day, the criminal investigation team was swamped. They had brought in a lot of people from the KTV, most of whom had some sort of questionable background and prior offenses. 

After taking their statements, they completely filled all the detention cells in the station.

Everyone in the bureau was working through the night.

At five in the morning, the first rays of sunlight pierced the darkness, shining through the window and waking Shen Qiu with a start. 

He jumped down from his cat nest to look outside. There was no movement at all. In the next room, Ba Wang was sleeping soundly and snoring so loudly it shook the walls. (1)

Oh right—Ba Wang was a biting dog, a German Shepherd. He was large in size, ate a lot, and snored like thunder. 

Shen Qiu flicked his ears, annoyed by the noise, and with the drug issue still weighing on his mind, he couldn’t sit still.

He looked at the railing at the top, then at the locked door. In one leap, he grabbed onto the bars with his claws, clinging to the middle to pry the lock. 

Click.

The lock opened successfully. Shen Qiu swung himself down and jumped into the hallway, ready to bolt.

“Achoo!” Ba Wang sneezed nearby and opened his eyes just in time to witness the jailbreak scene. He howled.

“Qiuqiu, you’re escaping! I’m going to report you to the trainer!”

Shen Qiu flicked his tail and left without glancing back. 

He dashed into the hall like a streak of lightning. After checking several interrogation rooms and not finding Qin Yan and the others, he immediately raced upstairs to the second floor.

From far away, he heard voices.

“Captain, the drug analysis results are back!”

Yang Yue was running over with the report in hand.

Shen Qiu accelerated and ran up to her feet, entering the office with her.

He moved quietly and since everyone was busy with their own tasks, no one really noticed him. 

“Captain, it’s just like you had guessed. It’s the same type of drug as the previous two times.”

Qin Yan took the lab report, his expression dark as storm water.

“Everyone, we’ve got work to do. The emergence of a new drug is absolutely not a coincidence.”

“I just contacted some people from the other police departments. So far, we’re the only station that has encountered this new drug.”

“Three times in a row… someone is definitely deliberately testing us.”

He handed the report to Da Zhuang for everyone to see.

“Has the KTV owner been interrogated yet? What did they say?”

Lao San looked embarrassed. 

“They said someone approached them to sell the powder and it was their first time using it. They had no idea they’d get caught on their first attempt.”

“How did the others contact them? They should be able to clarify that, right?”

Lao San’s expression turned even uglier.

“The seller never showed up. They just left the stuff at the KTV’s back door. He didn’t even pay for it.”

Qin Yan sneered. “Did we identify the person who called the police?”

“We did, but the other party also doesn’t know who made the call. We checked the surveillance footage, but found no results.”

The room fell silent as Qin Yan stood up.

“They are clearly testing our response. The people behind this must have quite a lot of these new drugs. The three we caught are just the tip of the iceberg. We need to apprehend the people behind this as soon as possible. We cannot let this new drug circulate freely in Haishi.

“This new variant is even more addictive and dangerous than the usual kind. Everyone, compile your statements and give them to me. I’m going to report to the chief. This case needs to be taken seriously!”

“Yes, sir!”

Just as Qin Yan was about to leave, he spotted Shen Qiu squatting under the desk, listening intently.

He bent down and scooped him up. “Qiuqiu, you broke out again, huh?”

Shen Qiu snapped back to his senses and licked his paw, pretending he didn’t understand.

His mind was still thinking about the new drug.

Regardless of the intention behind the other’s three probing attempts, the domestic regulation on drugs was so strict that it would be very difficult to introduce a new variant into the country. Even in Haishi, it was impossible without making waves.

So… how exactly did the drugs get in?

Before he could figure it out, Qin Yan gave his head a pat.

“What does a little kitty like you have a grim and bitter face every day?”

“You came just in time. Come on, I’m taking you to see the chief and check if your team entry application has been approved.”

At that, Shen Qiu immediately lost interest in thinking about the drug issue and perked up.

His mouth curled into a cat-like smile, his round eyes sparkled, and his tail spun like a pinwheel.

Anyone looking could instantly see how joyful he was.

The heavy atmosphere in the room lifted and everyone couldn’t help but laugh at his antics. 

“You little genius, you really understand everything we say. If it weren’t for the fact that you don’t have a zipper, I would suspect you were a human in disguise.”

Shen Qiu meowed twice in a guilty manner.

If only they knew….I really am a human in disguise.

Such a big fluffy cat was really too cute.

Yang Yue scooped him up and buried her face in his belly, taking a deep whiff.

When she lifted her head, the static electricity from the friction between her hair and the cat fur caused the busy-all-night Yang Yue to look like a modern-day Mei Chaofeng. ¹

Shen Qiu squinted his eyes and laughed uncontrollably. 

Yang Yue gave him a playful squeeze before handing the big cat back to Qin Yan.

“You little rascal. Don’t think I didn’t see you laughing at me.”

“Hurry up and meet the chief. I’m going to catch up on sleep.”

One man and one cat entered the bureau chief’s office together again. Seeing the two of them, the chief grinned and pulled out a document.

“Good timing! This fax just came in. Want to take a look?” ²

Shen Qiu’s sharp eyes already spotted the bold red letters on it.

“Regarding Qiuqiu’s Entry Application into the Police Force.” There were a few big words.

He immediately leapt from Qin Yan’s arms and landed neatly on the desk, carefully reading the paper line by line.

The red official seal at the bottom indicated the application had been approved.

Shen Qiu spun around in place with joy. His fur fluffed up, each strand dancing in the sunlight like it was celebrating.

The chief and Qin Yan couldn’t help laughing out loud.

“This cat… you can’t even read.”

Shen Qiu wagged his tail happily and took the initiative to rub against the chief’s leg, earning a full petting session from the chief.

“Now that it’s approved, Qin Yan, find time to speak with Qiuqiu’s owner. If she is still willing to keep him after he retires, Qiuqiu can return to her side. 

Qin Yan nodded. “I already spoke with Miss Xing. She fully supports Qiuqiu’s wish to become a police cat.”

They both found this amusing.

They’d seen headstrong animals before, but never one like this. This is the first time they’ve seen a cat that wanted a stable government job and to become a civil servant cat. 

After wrapping up that matter, the two of them moved onto official business.

They decided to form a special task force specifically to investigate the new drug.

Though it was called a task force, it was really just the same people from the criminal investigations team.

Once they confirmed the establishment of the special task, the chief suddenly brought up Zhang Jibo.

“His court ruling came in yesterday.”

“For drug trafficking, drug abuse, and intentional murder, the Supreme Court sentenced him to death, to be carried out immediately.”

“Go back and ask Miss Xing if she wants to see him. The execution is this afternoon.”

Hearing the news suddenly, Shen Qiu was stunned.

Zhang Jibo…even though it was something that happened a few months ago, his name already felt like something from a distant past.

Shen Qiu shook his head, feeling a bit emotional.

Zhang Jibo… in the end, he got what he deserved.

On the day the task force was established, Shen Qiu officially became the one and only police cat in the city police department and also the first of his kind in the country’s history.

The trainer was as happy as a child who had received a lollipop, bouncing around as they posted a photo of Shen Qiu wearing a police harness in the police dog section. 

After a moment’s thought, they decided that wasn’t quite right. They rearranged the bulletin board, clearing out a space just for Shen Qiu, and wrote on it with a marker.  

“Municipal Public Security Bureau Police Cat Section.”

Shen Qiu was watching the trainer and gave them several affectionate rubs.

That afternoon, Xing Lu was invited to come by and deliver some items for Shen Qiu. She had already been discharged from the hospital and returned home to recuperate.  

Yang Yue had previously mentioned Shen Qiu’s wish to become a police cat, and she had wholeheartedly supported it.

As soon as she arrived, Yang Yue brought her to see the bulletin board.

Looking at the imposing photo of Shen Qiu in uniform, Xing Lu sighed with admiration.

“As expected, a clever and majestic cat like Qiuqiu was meant to be in public service.”

She hugged Shen Qiu up and took a deep breath. 

“After what happened last time, I knew that a big kitty like him was destined not to be ordinary. It would be a pity to keep him as a pet cat.”

She didn’t sound the least bit sad as she spoke, but it still made Yang Yue anxious.

“You’re really not upset? You’re not going to go home and cry, are you?”

Xing Lu shot her a look. “You think I’d cry over this?”

“Besides, Qiuqiu will retire one day. When he does, he’ll still be my cat. Until then, I’ll just work harder and earn more money to make sure he has a great retirement.”

Her attitude reassured both Yang Yue and Shen Qiu.

After Xing Lu finished explaining all of Qiuqiu’s food and supplies like an overbearing mother hen, Yang Yue finally mentioned Zhang Jibo. 

She glanced at her watch. “There are still two hours before it starts. You still have time to go if you want.”

Xing Lu looked stunned for a moment, then quickly shook her head.

“From the day Sister Zhaodi died, I had nothing to do with him.”

In the end, Xing Lu didn’t go. Instead, she stayed at the station and waited for Yang Yue to get off work. They went out to eat with the criminal investigation team, and Yang Yue personally took her home.

However, Shen Qiu didn’t know any of this.

After Xing Lu left, he threw himself into more intense and formal training.

A few trainers in the bureau held a meeting to discuss a custom plan for training the only police cat.

In the end, they decided to increase Shen Qiu’s search training. Obstacle courses weren’t a challenge for him, so they decided to modify it and added a section devoted to endurance and pouncing training. 

The training lasted for half a month.

On the morning after the training period ended, Shen Qiu collapsed on Ba Wang’s back, panting heavily.

Ba Wang was being flattened until his eyes were rolling back. 

“Woof woof!” Qiuqiu! Get up, you’re gonna crush me!

Shen Qiu was indifferent,  lost in thought over the takedown drills from this morning. 

After half a month of training and jumping up and down all day, his body was all muscle and he had gained quite a bit of weight. 

When he first arrived, he weighed exactly twenty catties, but now he has gained three to four catties of muscle. 

This cat was probably only two or three years old, and with Maine Coon genetics, he was still able to grow.

So over the past two weeks, not only had his weight shot up, but his body length had increased from 1 meter to 1.2 meters. From a distance, he looked like a small dog.

But in terms of pouncing and biting, he still couldn’t match a large dog like Ba Wang.

Last time at the KTV, he’d gotten lucky because he didn’t encounter a vicious thug. Otherwise, Shen Qiu would definitely be in trouble. 

He started to wonder if maybe he should abandon the pouncing and biting plan. 

He was a cat so his strengths were balance and scent tracking, far superior to dogs in those areas. Maybe he should focus on developing in that direction?

The trainers were also thinking the same thing.

Duang duang!

The sound of a bowl being knocked over came from over there. Ba Wang, who’d just been complaining about being crushed, sprang up like a rocket. If Shen Qiu hadn’t reacted fast enough, he would’ve been sent flying to the ground.

All the police dogs charged excitedly toward the source of the sound.

Shen Qiu followed behind at a slower pace, full of elegance and grace.

He sat properly in front of his bowl at the end of the row.

The trainer held a tray of freshly warmed raw meat.

Shen Qiu was now officially a polite cat so all his food and toys were deducted from the department budget.

Police dogs got a daily food allowance of 50 yuan, and Shen Qiu’s food expenses were the same. He had three meals a day, totaling one full pound of premium raw meat.

Every time he ate, Shen Qiu couldn’t help but think that government benefits were amazing.

Before meals, they had to undergo training. They could only eat after the trainer blew a whistle.

Shen Qiu was always the best behaved and never called out for food or even glanced at the meat.

“Ba Wang! Sit down! What’s the rush?!”

Beside him, Ba Wang let out a series of whines, trying to charm the trainer.

Just as the trainer was about to scold him, a sudden call came in.

Another mission had come up!

There was no time for food since Shen Qiu and Guoguo were both loaded into the police car.

In the car, Qin Yan explained the case.

The person who reported the situation was a bar staff member. They said their coworker had been missing for seven days.

The police had immediately checked the surveillance footage after receiving the report. This time, Shen Qiu and Guoguo were headed to the small alley where the missing person was last captured on camera.

~~~

^{1. [现代版梅超风 (xiàndàibǎn méichāofēng) — Mei Chaofeng is the female antagonist from“The Legend of the Conor Heroes” by Jin Yong. She’s also known as the “Iron Corpse” so the author is probably referencing her wild appearance though I honestly think she looks cool.]↩}

^{2. [传真 (chuánzhēn) — This was written in 2022. I can’t believe the author mentioned faxing! I double checked but yes, they literally meant faxing.]↩}

T/N: Apparently, China also has a supreme court but it’s called the Supreme People’s Court. I left it as Supreme Court for convenience. 

This was a very long chapter. I thought about splitting it but decided not to. Once I hit anything above 4.0k characters though, I will probably be splitting it so it’s easier for me to translate. Fun Fact, chapter 23 is 10k characters, I’m not sure how I’m going to get through that….

4.0k characters to 2.8k words | Translation Time:  4 hours