(Quick Transmigration) Even If You Become an Animal, You Still Have to Serve an Iron Rice Bowl - Chapter 23.1

Chapter 23.1: 

The sound of heavy breathing was especially harsh in the still forest. 

Boss Bai had only brought two men with him. As he climbed the mountain in haste, he kept glancing back, afraid of being caught.

Shen Qiu followed behind them, padding silently along the roots of the trees. 

It was already late at night. The forest was cloaked in darkness so thick that one could barely see a hand in front of their face.

Boss Bai clearly hadn’t imagined that the cat would follow them. Focused only on whether the police were chasing, he unknowingly allowed Shen Qiu to stay hidden in the shadows.

Meanwhile, after the police secured the scene, Qin Yan immediately followed the live feed from Shen Qiu’s camera up the mountain.

When they reached the halfway point, the barking of police dogs echoed from below, startling the birds into flight once again. 

Panting heavily, Boss Bai realized he couldn’t keep going like this. If he did, he’d be caught sooner or later. Someone had to stay behind to slow them down.

He pointed his gun. “You two, go hold off the cops!”

The faces of his subordinates turned pale in the dark.

“B-Boss…”

“Quit talking nonsense and go! Or I’ll shoot you myself!”

The two men, frightened and furious, reluctantly headed down the slope.

Shen Qiu darted behind another tree, avoiding their line of sight.

Boss Bai didn’t dare delay any longer. Driving the two men away, he quickened his pace up the back mountain.

He was clutching a briefcase, which clearly contained something important and he was panting so hard he could barely breathe, yet he still refused to let it go.

With the two subordinates gone, Shen Qiu considered his odds of taking Boss Bai down alone.

He’d been keeping his distance all this time precisely because he wasn’t sure he could handle Boss Bai on his own. If he failed, the man would escape.

But Qin Yan and the others hadn’t caught up yet, and Boss Bai was now headed toward the river beyond the mountain, which was clearly a planned escape route.

If he didn’t act now, it might be too late.

Gritting his teeth, Shen Qiu shot out from behind the trees.

Just a few meters from the river, he slammed straight into Boss Bai’s back, knocking the man off balance and sending him sprawling. The briefcase flew from his hands and hit the ground, spilling money and drugs everywhere.

“Damn it!” Boss Bai cursed, his face twisting as he turned and saw Shen Qiu.

“You little beast!”

He raised his gun, but Shen Qiu lashed his tail and leapt up, sinking his teeth into Boss Bai’s arm.

Boss Bai screamed, the gun slipping from his grasp. Shen Qiu seized the chance to grab it in his mouth and fling it far away.

Boss Bai knew he was in trouble now. Without his gun, he had no way to fight back.

Ignoring the cat, he stuffed a handful of money and drugs into his pockets and lunged toward a small boat he’d hidden by the riverbank.

With a sharp “meow!”, Shen Qiu charged again, using all twenty-five pounds of muscle to slam into Boss Bai’s back. The man pitched forward, his chin smashing against the edge of the boat with a dull crack.

A howl of pain split the air, followed by the clatter of a broken tooth hitting the deck.

Perched on Boss Bai’s back, Shen Qiu saw him struggling to get up and snorted coldly.

“Meow meow meow!” Try getting up again if you dare!

He jumped up and down on Boss Bai’s back, forcing a pained groan from the man.

Twenty-five pounds of solid cat was no joke. Just lying there was enough to crush the breath out of someone…let alone bouncing.

Every time Boss Bai tried to rise, Shen Qiu slammed him back down, pressing him deeper into the mud.

“Woof woof woof!” Qiuqiu! Where are you?!

The sound of Ba Wang’s barking echoed from a distance. Shen Qiu’s ears perked up in joy.

“Meow!” Over here! By the river!

Boss Bai’s face changed. If the police caught up now, it was all over.

With a snarl, he forced himself up from the mud and managed to throw Shen Qiu off.

Caught off guard, Shen Qiu swallowed a mouthful of filthy water and coughed violently, lungs burning.

But he couldn’t stop, if Boss Bai escaped now, it would all be for nothing.

He shook the mud and water from his fur, blinked through the grime, and saw Boss Bai climbing into the boat. Shen Qiu lunged, hooking his claws into the man’s pant leg.

His claws hadn’t been trimmed in days so they sank deep into Boss Bai’s flesh. The man screamed in agony.

“You little monster! Let go of me or I’ll kill you!”

Boss Bai had never been humiliated like this. He’d ruled the underworld for years, feared and respected by all but now, a cat was dragging him down in the mud.

But Shen Qiu didn’t care. Ever since his previous life as a narcotics officer, no drug dealer had ever escaped his hands. If Boss Bai got away, he’d have no face left to see his fallen comrades.

He pounced again, biting into Boss Bai’s calf and digging his claws into the man’s waistband.

Boss Bai screamed in pain. The coppery taste of blood filled Shen Qiu’s mouth, but he only bit harder, clawing relentlessly.

The man’s howls echoed through the forest, and the approaching officers froze for a moment, terrified the cat might be hurt.

“Ba Wang! Go!”

Qin Yan unclipped the leash, sending the dog charging forward.

The fight had reached its peak. Boss Bai, despite the agony, would rather die than be caught. He raised a fist and swung at Shen Qiu.

But Shen Qiu was faster, dodging aside and pouncing again. The two wrestled in the mud, neither gaining ground until heavy panting came from behind.

Shen Qiu turned his head and saw Ba Wang barreling toward them, tongue lolling and saliva flying.

A triumphant glint flashed in Shen Qiu’s eyes.

“Meow meow meow!” Ba Wang! Bite him!

Ba Wang’s jaws clamped down on Boss Bai’s leg with far greater strength than any cat could muster.

Boss Bai screamed in pain, tears squeezing from his eyes.

Shen Qiu took the chance to pin him down completely.

When Qin Yan and the others finally arrived, Boss Bai was half-buried in mud, pants torn away, his bare leg clamped in Ba Wang’s jaws, eyes rolled back and barely conscious.

Qin Yan, who’d been on edge the entire night, finally let out a breath.

He quickly called Ba Wang off, and the officers moved in to restrain Boss Bai.

Shen Qiu, utterly spent, lay down on a patch of dry ground while panting heavily.

His nerves had been stretched tight for so long that now, as the adrenaline faded, exhaustion hit all at once.

Qin Yan tapped his head, equal parts exasperated and proud.

“You— who told you to follow them, huh? What were your orders? You ran all the way out here. Whose courage did you inherit, huh?”

Shen Qiu lowered his head and began grooming his paw, feigning innocence.

However, that guilty look told Qin Yan everything. He was just about to scold the cat further when another voice called out.

“Captain Qin, this must be your police cat, right?”

Qin Yan shot Shen Qiu a glare and muttered under his breath, “Behave yourself. We’ll deal with this later.”

Then, smiling stiffly, he greeted the newcomer. “Captain Liang.”

Captain Liang’s eyes were shining as he stared straight at Shen Qiu, making the cat’s fur prickle.

“Captain Qin, you’ve really been holding out on us. A cat this smart, and you never mentioned it?”

Qin Yan’s smile tightened. If he’d told them before, they’d have laughed at him for using a cat on missions. But now that they’d seen how capable Shen Qiu was, they were all eager to get a piece of him.

He subtly shifted to block Shen Qiu from view. “Captain Liang, we really have you to thank today. If your team hadn’t helped, we wouldn’t have caught everyone in that village.”

Captain Liang reluctantly tore his gaze away, his eyes gleaming with thought.

Seeing that look, Qin Yan instantly knew he was scheming to “borrow” Shen Qiu. Without another word, he scooped up the big, soaked cat and walked off.

“Captain Qin! Why don’t you let me take a look at your cat? I’ve never seen a real police cat before. If you’ve really managed to train one, maybe I could start one for my own unit! You could send yours over to help train ours?”

Qin Yan quickened his pace.

Shen Qiu was injured. His hind leg had been hit by a stone back at the factory. Now that the tension had faded, the pain was setting in.

Hearing Captain Liang’s greedy tone, Shen Qiu flattened his ears and buried his face in Qin Yan’s chest, pretending to sleep.

Boss Bai and the villagers were all taken back to the Haishi Police Bureau. Captain Liang and the armed police returned to their posts after the operation, but not before stopping to take one last curious look at Shen Qiu, the country’s first official police cat.

His performance had left quite the impression.

Even as he left, Captain Liang was still trying to convince Qin Yan to lend Shen Qiu out for a few assignments, an idea Qin Yan shot down immediately.

On the way back, Shen Qiu overheard from Lao San that several suspects had managed to escape in the chaos, including Skinny Monkey, and some of the goods were missing as well.

But none of that was Shen Qiu’s problem anymore.

As soon as they got back, Yang Yue took him straight to the pet hospital.

When they returned, his left hind leg was splinted. It had been fractured and would need about a month to heal.

With nothing else to do, he lounged in the dorm, sometimes following Qin Yan to interrogations.

Boss Bai, having been badly injured by both Shen Qiu and Ba Wang, was sent to the hospital first. Until the court gave its verdict, the police had to ensure his survival.

So the first interrogation was instead an old acquaintance.

Limping slightly, Shen Qiu followed Qin Yan into the room and was placed on the table, staring at the yawning Old K.

“Still not talking?” Qin Yan asked Da Zhuang.

They’d been interrogating Old K for three days, and he hadn’t said a single truthful word. Da Zhuang shook his head, exasperated.

Qin Yan gestured for him to sit down. “Let me handle it.”

“Old K, also known as Kang Yanhua, Boss Bai’s third contact in Haishi.”

Kang Yanhua froze, lifting his head to look at Qin Yan.

Qin Yan leaned back in his chair. “Don’t bother staring at me. Boss Bai’s already been caught. How long do you think you can stay silent?”

For the first time, Kang Yanhua’s indifferent expression cracked. He froze, then shook his head violently. “Impossible.”

“Why not? You thought hiding your factory deep in the mountains would keep us from finding it?”

“Kang Yanhua, think carefully. It’s not just Boss Bai. Old Five and Skinny Monkey have all been captured. Even if you stay silent, someone else will talk. It’s better if you confess yourself than wait to be pointed out by others.”

Kang Yanhua’s face shifted several times before he lowered his head again.

Da Zhuang, seeing this, slammed the table in frustration, ready to shout but Qin Yan stopped him.

“Still don’t want to talk? Fine. Maybe you don’t care about your own sentence… but don’t you care about your daughter?”

~~~

T/N: Chapter 23 has been split into three parts for the sake of my sanity. Each part is about 3.3k characters, which is my usual range. If I split this chapter into 2, it would be 5k each…which is wayyyy too long for me to finish with my work schedule. 

3.3k characters to 1.9k words | Translation Time: 1.5 hours