(Quick Transmigration) Even If You Become an Animal, You Still Have to Serve an Iron Rice Bowl - Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

Fortunately, the trainer quickly led Guoguo away, sparing Shen Qiu from being “mounted.”

No one noticed the little interlude between the cat and the dog. The atmosphere around Qin Yan and the others remained heavy and tense.

Qin Yan led Shen Qiu ahead of the others, walking past a resident’s back door and onto a small path. 

The path was overgrown with weeds and littered with trash that nearby buildings had thrown down. The rotting corpses of stray animals made one feel nauseous. 

Everyone, including Qin Yan, wore masks.

Cats and dogs had a keen sense of smell so the stench was particularly overwhelming for them. 

Shen Qiu endured for a while before barely holding back from retching.

As they walked, Lao San explained the situation.

“Actually, there used to be pedestrians who would occasionally come here to take a walk but a year ago, the city started a development plan. Since this area was too close to the river and there were safety concerns, they built walls around it.”

“Other than the back doors of a few nearby homes, the only way in is to climb over that wall from the alley.”

“However, we reviewed the surveillance footage and didn’t see anyone come this way before the victim arrived. So we suspect the perpetrator might’ve entered from another direction.”

Qin Yan frowned. “Did you notify the bureau to investigate?”

“They’ve already been informed. Any place that borders this river is being checked.”

Shen Qiu frowned upon hearing this. This would mean a significant increase in workload, which would be detrimental to the investigation. 

The victim had already been missing for seven days. The more time they lost, the worse this could become, and who knows how the situation might evolve? 

Trying to endure the foul stench, Shen Qiu sniffed the air, attempting to find even the faintest trace of the victim. 

But the humidity by the river was heavy, and the moist, fishy air diluted all of the nearby scents. Not to mention the victim’s scent, even Guoguo and the others’ scent was being carried away.

Shen Qiu stepped further into the weeds, hoping the thick grass might help shield against the water’s interference.

Suddenly, his gaze sharpened. He spotted a loose thread caught on a dead tree nearby and padded up to it to sniff. 

A faint trace of the victim’s scent lingered on it.

“Meow!” Qin Yan!

His call drew everyone’s attention.

Qin Yan saw the thread and looked toward the path behind the dead tree.

More specifically, it wasn’t a path but a patch of overgrown weeds. 

Beyond the weeds was a riverbank. 

The riverbank had originally been paved with concrete, but due to years of neglect, wild grass and moss had grown out of the cracks in the cement, making it look dangerous.

Qin Yan’s expression darkened. Even though he’d already suspected it, he still let out a sigh.

“It looks like the victim ended up over there.”

He let go of Shen Qiu and allowed the agile cat to search freely.

Shen Qiu’s nose twitched and bounded lightly across the soft grass. On the moss by the riverbank, he spotted a faintly trampled mark. 

He peered into the crack and spotted a tiny piece of brightly colored confetti. 

It was the kind commonly tossed around in bars to set the atmosphere.

He used his claw to hook out the shiny pieces, clamping them in his mouth, and dropped it in front of Qin Yan. 

Qin Yan took one glance, then immediately instructed Lao San.

“Get the downstream patrol and the Yangtze River port police to start dredging. Focus on this section and the ten-kilometer range at the mouth of the river. 

“Yes, sir!”

There was nothing more that Shen Qiu and Guoguo could help with for now. Qin Yan handed them back to the trainer to be taken back to the station.

Just before they left, Shen Qiu heard Yang Yue rushing over with a report.

The vomit did contain drugs, and moreover,  it was the new type, identical to what Zhang Jibo and the others had used. 

The fourth case had arisen. 

Shen Qiu flicked his tail and jumped onto the chair. 

Just as he settled in, Guoguo approached him again.

“Woof~” Qiuqiu, what are you thinking about? Are you wondering whether or not to be my partner?

Shen Qiu shivered and leaped straight onto the trainer’s shoulder.

A weight of over twenty catties was no joke, he nearly crushed the poor trainer. 

“Qiuqiu! Get down from there!”

Expression blank, Shen Qiu wrapped his paw pads tightly around the trainer’s head, refusing to let go.

Guoguo, when will you understand! We are not the same species! We cannot fall in love!

But clearly, Guoguo didn’t understand. 

In the car, he was able to escape from Guoguo’s clutches by hiding behind the trainer but once they were back at the station, he wouldn’t be able to escape Guoguo’s advances unless he skipped training altogether. 

Faced with a fragrant bowl of fresh meat and the growl of his own stomach, Shen Qiu sighed.

Worried cat.jpg

He looked at Guoguo, who was still sticking close to him even though he was eating and tears welled up in his eyes. 

Even the most delicious meat feels hard to swallow now…

Lost in misery, he didn’t notice Ba Wang glaring daggers at him from the side while eating.

Unable to bear the hunger in his stomach anymore, he used a paw to cover Guoguo’s enthusiastic eyes, blocking their blazing gaze, and finally managed to eat.

After hurriedly finishing his meal, he circled the trainer’s legs, deciding to just stick to the trainer until Guoguo’s heat ended.

The trainer was delighted by Shen Qiu’s sudden clinginess….and rewarded the two of them with an extra half hour of training.

In the past, Guoguo would excitedly run to the trainer for praise after finishing her training. 

Now, she bashfully barked at Shen Qiu after completing everything. 

Qiuqiu, don’t you think I look pretty? Don’t you think I move gracefully?

I swear, the babies we’d have would be the most beautiful in the world!

Shen Qiu shivered, nearly falling off the balance beam.

“Damn… Guoguo, are you in heat or something?”

After observing for a while, the trainer finally noticed something strange.

For the entire day, Guoguo had been trying to stick her butt towards Qiuqiu. At first, the trainer thought they were having a disagreement but now…

The trainer’s eyes widened. “Guoguo… don’t tell me… you actually have a crush on Qiuqiu?”

Guoguo’s tongue lolled out. Hearing Qiuqiu’s name, she ran over and gave his entire head a big slobbery lick.

The trainer was stunned for a second, then burst into laughter.

“Hahahahahahahaha!”

Shen Qiu: …

He unsheathed his claws and gave the trainer a death stare.

“Meow!” He let out an angry sound. 

Say one more word and I’ll cut you.

The trainer covered their mouth, but couldn’t stop laughing.

“Qiuqiu, you’re quite charming. You even managed to attract our station’s top beauty.”

He stroked Shen Qiu’s head. 

“Ba Wang has liked Guoguo for ages. He brings her food and snacks every day, but hasn’t even received a glance from Guoguo.  But you…you’ve only been here for a little while and managed to steal her away.”

“Woof!”

Tied up nearby, Ba Wang let out a furious bark.

His gaze locked onto Shen Qiu like he was staring down an enemy who had stolen his wife. 

Shen Qiu…

Heavens… what sins did I commit to deserve this? It’s bad enough being chased by a dog, now I’m stuck in a bizarre love triangle?!

He lashed back in anger.

“Meow meow!”

Have none of you realized we’re not even the same species?!

Ba Wang, pursue your wife if you want! But don’t take it out on me when you fail! Are you even a male dog or not?!

Ba Wang couldn’t understand any of that. All he knew was that the little she-dog he liked had been taken by this damned cat.

Shen Qiu meowed once and Bawang barked back. 

Then…

The dog and cat started fighting. Fur flew everywhere, and the trainer was petrified. 

Author’s note:
Shen Qiu: Back when I was single, who would’ve thought I’d one day end up in a love triangle?
Sad cat.jpg

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T/N: This was typed out one hour before my flight 🙂

I don’t know if everyone has a preferred formatting but I’ve been trying a couple different styles out and then recording it on a master document. I’m touching up the document when I have time so hopefully I can roll out several updates soon.

I’m currently moving around and have conferences to attend though so it probably won’t be until late August?

2.0k characters to 1.3k words | Translation Time: 1 hour