(Quick Transmigration) Even If You Become an Animal, You Still Have to Serve an Iron Rice Bowl - Chapter 20

Chapter 20: 

The man’s cold and predatory gaze made Shen Qiu freeze. He stared at the figure in a baseball cap and mask, dressed head to toe in black, his mind whirling.

A moment later, he leaped down from the wall and padded toward the man.

The man was holding two plastic water bottles and a small box. When Shen Qiu approached, he warily stepped back.

But soon he saw the huge, intimidating cat sit obediently in front of him and give a polite “meow”.  Then it licked its paw and rubbed its tail against his calf.

Old K tried to kick Shen Qiu, but the cat dodged. Luckily, the man only assumed Shen Qiu was a pet cat and paid him no further attention. After dropping the items into a trash can, he glanced around and left.

The man’s body reeked of drugs, and getting close made Shen Qiu’s nose twitch so he sneezed several times.

Old K shot him a suspicious look and quickened his pace. Shen Qiu immediately jumped back onto the wall to follow.

He rounded the corner and entered a busier street.

Old K pulled his collar up to his chin and kept his head down as he walked, looking like an ordinary man shivering on a cold morning.

Shen Qiu moved along the low wall, keeping the man within sight.

Outside of the alley was a bustling main road with a crosswalk leading straight to Huinan Road opposite Wuyi Alley. As part of the old district, it was filled with a tangle of narrow lanes and illegal buildings, a perfect place to hide or run.

Glancing at the crowd, Shen Qiu jumped down to close the distance. 

Soon,  Old K reached the crosswalk. Just as Shen Qiu was about to advance, he saw a burly man coming from the opposite direction, his face fierce enough to make the passersby unconsciously give him space.

Only Old K kept walking forward and bumped into the big man. Old K muttered an ordinary-sounding apology and left.

It looked like an accidental collision.

But Shen Qiu felt something was off. His cat face wrinkled, and he instinctively ducked behind a trash can, pointing his collar camera at the burly man.

The man soon crossed the street and quickly climbed into a pickup truck before he drove off. Shen Qiu memorized the plate number, then turned back to chase Old K.

Fortunately, once he was inside the old district, the man slowed down. Shen Qiu leapt back to the wall, keeping himself well hidden. 

He watched Old K slip into an old-style house in a side alley, then jumped over, perching on the wall and grooming himself like a cat out for some sun. Who would think he was keeping surveillance?

The sound of movement came from inside. Shen Qiu heard Old K curse “old geezer” and tapped his collar with a paw.

At the same time, Qin Yan’s team moved. The plainclothes officers waiting nearby got the order and rushed into the alley to retrieve the drugs from the trash can.

One group took them back to the station while another immediately headed for Huinan Road, sealing the area within minutes.

Seeing Qin Yan arrive, Shen Qiu jumped down using the cabinet in the yard, stood up on his hind legs, and pried open the iron lock with his paws.

Qin Yan silently gave him a thumbs-up and was about to break in.

The door suddenly swung open. All the officers froze, weapons raised.

An old man, stooped and unsteady, appeared before them.

Seeing the police, he wiped at his eyes, opened the door wider, and stepped aside while pointing inside.

Realizing the old man was guiding them in, Shen Qiu and the others felt complicated emotions.

Shen Qiu hated scenes like this and darted straight inside.

Old K, who had sensed something was wrong, was at the back window trying to escape.
Shen Qiu’s eyes hardened. Thinking of that “old geezer” insult, he lunged forward, aiming to bite Old K’s pant leg.

But startled at the sound, Old K’s whole body slid down from the window. By the time Shen Qiu reached him, it was too late to stop. The space was narrow and his speed was too fast.

He sank his teeth… right into Old K’s backside.

“Ahhh!”

Old K screamed in pain. Shen Qiu only felt filthy. He spat whatever was in his mouth and bolted.

“Meow meow meow!” This is insane! If you’re going to run, then run! Why’d you crouch down!
Ahhh, gross, I’m dirty, I’m dirty!

He rushed to the doorway and, without caring about what water was in the basin, plunged his mouth in and rinsed furiously.

Qin Yan, who had been braced to stop Old K from fleeing, saw this and even his usually stern face cracked.

He coughed to stifle a laugh, then went over to haul up the wailing man clutching his rear.

“Behave yourself!”

Old K kept howling. “Your police dog bit me! You’ve got to take me for a rabies shot!”

He really valued his life.

Qin Yan rolled his eyes and cuffed him. “Funny how you didn’t value it while you were on drugs.”

Old K kicked his legs. “Dogs carry rabies! You’ve got no proof I took drugs. I’m just a suspect and you have to take me for that shot!”

Shen Qiu, who had just finished rinsing his mouth, heard this and got angry again.

Like a flash of lightning, he shot to the man’s front, wanting to take another bite to vent his fury.

His paw pads thumped on the floor with a “pa pa.”

“Meow meow meow!” You’ve got rabies! Your whole family’s got rabies!

He sniffed around, thinking: You say you’re only a suspect? Fine, I’ll find the evidence and shut you up!

He wriggled under the low bed, clawed at the boards a few times, and dragged out a square transparent bag about the size of two palms. The glaring white powder inside made Old K’s howl catch in his throat, turning into a gurgle.

He stared at Shen Qiu crawling out from under the bed, looking like he’d seen a ghost.

“You… what kind of new dog breed are you…”

Shen Qiu: …

“Meow!” Open your eyes, I’m a cat! A cat!

If the policemen behind hadn’t scooped him up, he would have ignored orders and unleashed a combo of cat punches.

Old K was taken back to the station first. Qin Yan and Shen Qiu stayed behind to continue searching. When they unearthed more stuff, Shen Qiu glanced at the old lady wiping her tears in the doorway.

Doing this kind of thing in front of her… Old K really was trash.

And what would happen to the old woman now? Judging from what they’d found, Old K wouldn’t escape a life sentence.

She already looked very old…how could she make a living?

Qin Yan seemed to know what he was thinking and stroked the cat’s head.

“Don’t worry. I’ll contact the neighborhood committee to help her.”

Shen Qiu rubbed against his palm.

Old K was harder to deal with than Zhang Jibo. He wouldn’t cooperate: either staying silent, clamoring for a rabies shot, or crying that he was framed.

Worst of all, he even tried to blame the old lady, saying she had brought the stuff home. Shen Qiu nearly lost it and bit him.

“Bang bang bang!” Even the third officer in the interrogation was furious, slapping the table and shoving the morning’s video at him. 

“You say your mom brought the stuff. Then what about this footage?!”

Old K hung his head. “I was just taking out the trash. In fact, you’re violating my privacy rights.”

“Meow!” Shen Qiu slapped the wall. The man and the cat were both at the end of their patience.

Afraid he might really bite someone, Yang Yue quickly carried the big cat out.

Outside, as she reached to remove the collar, Shen Qiu remembered he still had something to report.

He pressed down her hand, meowed a few times, then dropped into a crouch to signal a warning.

Yang Yue blinked.

“Qiuqiu, what’s wrong?”

“Meow meow!” The camera…the camera!

Yang Yue tried putting the collar in front of him. Shen Qiu signaled again.

Shen Qiu wasn’t a playful cat. The whole station knew. If he signaled, there had to be a reason.

Her face changed at once. She rushed into the interrogation room and dragged Qin Yan out.

Qin Yan was quicker on the uptake and immediately realized Shen Qiu must have seen someone on the way.

He went straight to the computer and replayed the video from the beginning.

Shen Qiu signaled the moment the burly man appeared.

Qin Yan rewound again, slowing the video down and scrutinizing it. “This guy… something’s off. Look, he never makes eye contact with Old K, but when they bump into each other, his fingers tap on Old K’s body.”

That meant the two might know each other, and the burly man was very likely Old K’s supplier.

Qin Yan and Yang Yue exchanged a glance, then immediately pulled up the pickup truck’s license plate number and began tracing its route.

After leaving the old district, the pickup drove to the suburbs. Police finally pinpointed a villa.

Old K refused to talk, so Qin Yan simply pulled the whole team to raid the villa.

The collar was slipped back over Shen Qiu’s head.

Qin Yan and the others wore no uniforms and brought no police cars to avoid tipping anyone off.

In the van, Qin Yan assigned tasks gravely.

“We don’t yet know what’s inside. Once we arrive, Team One blocks the front and back gates of the compound. Team Two guards every window of the villa. Then  Qiuqiu will go in with the camera to scout.”

He finished and patted Shen Qiu’s head.

“I know you understand me. Once you’re inside, your safety comes first, got it?”

Before, Qin Yan wouldn’t have said such things to a cat—how clever could a cat be?

But after these missions, he felt more and more that Qiuqiu was less like a cat and more like a colleague.

Thinking of that, Qin Yan shook his head and patted Shen Qiu’s back.

Shen Qiu stood, patting Qin Yan’s hand with his tail to reassure him.

With everything ready, Shen Qiu jumped from the vehicle into the grass, climbed the villa’s wall, and slipped inside.

It was very quiet. He crept along the wall toward the backyard. Climbing onto a first-floor window, he smelled a pungent scent from inside.

He sniffed again and thought: not good.

They were burning things!

He was about to go in when someone came out.

“Hurry it up, Old Five! No word from Old K means the cops caught him. If he gives us up, we’re done.”

A burst of angry cursing followed from inside.

“Forget burning it! Just run! How long would it take to burn all this stuff? Go get the car!”

After listening carefully, Shen Qiu realized they and Old K had their own signaling system.

After each deal, Old K would place a flowerpot on the window. Someone watched from the opposite building: a flower meant all clear, no flower meant trouble.

This time, they had clearly noticed Old K hadn’t put out the flowerpot.

Shen Qiu’s mind spun fast. He fixed his gaze on the pickup truck outside and sprinted onto it, lying flat in its bed.

T/N: Technically, I could translate “Old K” as Lao K as well, but I feel like keeping it in English fits better. Same with “Old Five.” Since they’re accomplices, I kept the same formatting. Lao San (the police officer) gets special treatment and gets to keep his name in pinyin.  

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3.1k characters to 1.9k words | Translation Time: 1.5 hours