(Quick Transmigration) Even If You Become an Animal, You Still Have to Serve an Iron Rice Bowl - Chapter 24

Chapter 24:

Shen Qiu walked toward the Criminal Investigation office with heavy, dragging steps, stopping every few paces as if reconsidering his fate.

When he got there, no one was around. So he sat down like a human, legs spread out in front of him, and stared between them with a complicated expression.

He couldn’t help feeling… reluctant.

He started recalling what eunuchs were like in ancient times. Would neutered cats turn out the same way?

Just the thought of a 1.2-meter-tall tomcat acting shy and clingy made Shen Qiu shudder violently and shake his head hard.

Cat terrified.jpg!

When Yang Yue came back, she found Shen Qiu reclining in a chair with both hind legs propped on the desk, his soft, fluffy belly on full display. His golden eyes were fixed, dead seriously, on his own lower body.

Yang Yue froze, then broke into a lovestruck grin and whipped out her phone to take a photo.

The moment Shen Qiu finally gathered the courage to look up, he found himself staring right into the cold, unblinking eye of the camera. He glanced down at his crotch, then back up at her phone.

“Meow!” What are you taking pictures of?! Have you no respect for cat rights?!

After getting her fill of photos, Yang Yue absentmindedly reached over to pet him.

“Alright, alright, you’re such a big boy now. How are you still this shy?”

She sighed as she looked through the photos again.

“What a shame, though. With genes as good as yours, I was planning to find you a mate…but I guess that’s not happening anymore.”

She shook her head regretfully.

Shen Qiu, who’d already started mourning his future offspring in advance, suddenly perked up at those words. His eyes went wide and bright.

He darted to her feet.

“Meow meow meow~” Why? Why? Why~? Is it because she didn’t like me?!

Yang Yue couldn’t understand his frantic meowing, but she’d always treated him like a kid, talking to him about everything.

She turned her phone toward him.

On the screen was a social media post, featuring that familiar female cat. 

“Lately, Juzi has been visiting the tomcat next door a lot. He’s a handsome boy, but I want my little princess to stay healthy and live a long life, so I had to make the hard choice and have her spayed. I just hope she doesn’t hate me for it.”

Yang Yue sighed again.

“It’s a pity her owner didn’t want her to have kittens. Guess your little romance is over.”

That orange cat was beautiful and smart, too. If she and Qiuqiu had kittens, the genes would’ve been incredible. Who knows, maybe they’d have produced a few future police cats.

But Shen Qiu wasn’t listening at all. He was staring at the words on screen, elated.

So she’s been spayed!

No more amorous female cats throwing themselves at me!

That means I don’t have to get neutered!

Now this—this was divine intervention! A miraculous turn of fate!

The chill he’d been feeling between his legs instantly vanished, replaced by comforting warmth.

His feline face twisted into an odd grin, which was half relief and half glee as he rubbed his hindquarters with a paw, chuckling to himself.

Yang Yue, of course, didn’t think he could actually read. No matter how smart this cat was, reading human text was unthinkable.

So when she saw him grinning weirdly, she panicked, assuming something was wrong.

“Qiuqiu? Are you okay?”

Shen Qiu pushed her face away, still laughing under his breath.

He might love his work, but he loved his body too, and if he could stay whole, he definitely wasn’t giving up on any part of himself.

After that, the orange female cat stopped coming by, and the thick cloud of pheromones that had been haunting the precinct finally dissipated.

Shen Qiu’s appetite came roaring back, and his training sessions were once again full of energy and vigor.

A week passed uneventfully before the trainer suddenly called him and Ba Wang over during a session.

“It’s that time of year again, the annual Police Dog Competition! After discussion, we’ve decided both of you will be entering!”

He proudly patted one cat and one dog on the head.

 “I’m not asking for much, just bring back two gold medals, got it?”

Shen Qiu blinked.

“Meow?” I’m a cat! How am I supposed to enter a police dog competition? They’re even letting me?

The trainer quickly explained, struggling to lift Shen Qiu into his arms.

“Originally, the organizers refused to let a cat participate, but since you’ve gone viral online, people everywhere want to see you in person. They finally gave in.”

“Qiuqiu, you’re representing the Haishi police department now. A lot of people still think a police cat’s a joke so you’d better prove them wrong.”

The moment Shen Qiu heard that, his tail thumped against the floor, stirring up dust. His fighting spirit was ignited.

A joke, huh? Then I’ll show them the difference between a police cat and a police dog!

Not that he was arrogant…but when it came to search work, none of the current police dogs could beat him.

Only in attack training did he fall short, and even then, he’d already used that “weakness” to take down two drug dealers.

Determined to prove himself, Shen Qiu threw himself into extra training every day before their departure for the capital.

Finally, the day to depart for the capital arrived. Only the trainers accompanied him this time since Qin Yan and the others in the criminal Investigations Unit were too busy with their duties to go. 

Before he left, they all crowded around to repeatedly remind him: “Don’t cause trouble. Compete within your limits. Remember that friendship comes first and the competition comes second.”

Qin Yan even added sternly, “And don’t you dare bully the other police dogs.”

Shen Qiu rolled his eyes, thinking to himself that Qin Yan must see him as a child. He had already grown up and would never bully the other police dogs. 

But Qin Yan noticed his thoughts and snorted. “Don’t think I don’t know about you using your intelligence to trick every dog in the unit out of their treats.”

Shen Qiu licked his paw, pretending not to understand.

For this trip to the capital, they booked a pet-friendly airline. The Haishi Police Department even covered their tickets and booked business class seats. During the flight, all they were required to do was ensure the pets did not relieve themselves on the plane and did not disturb order.

Qin Yan personally dropped them off at the airport, handled the boarding, and didn’t leave until they were through security.

Both Shen Qiu and Ba Wang wore loose muzzles, and from the moment they entered the terminal, they were both chatting nonstop. 

It was Ba Wang’s first time in such a big place. He was so excited he couldn’t stop talking. Shen Qiu answered impatiently, eyes constantly scanning their surroundings out of habit. Whenever he went to a bustling place, he would always pay attention to the crowd around him. 

Though Shen Qiu, the first police cat in history, was famous, he wasn’t in uniform and the trainer was in plain clothes, so only a few passengers noticed him.

The beautiful and elegant flight attendants helped them find their seats and guided them to sit down. The two window seats, one in front of the other, were offered to Ba Wang and Shen Qiu with the instructors sitting next to them.

Since there was time before takeoff, Shen Qiu began observing the arriving passengers. 

As passengers filed in, a man carrying a laptop suddenly stopped and pointed at Shen Qiu and Bawang, his eyes wide in surprise. 

The trainer immediately stepped protectively in front of them.

 “Sir—”

“Why are there animals on this plane?!”

His sharp voice drew everyone’s attention.

Shen Qiu’s good mood suddenly vanished. He stared coldly at the man, his golden eyes icy.

The man shuddered, but then grew louder, emboldened.

 “Stewardess! Why are there beasts on this flight?! I paid for my ticket to fly with people, not animals! Get them off, now!”

The flight attendant was embarrassed and began to explain that pets were allowed on this flight, even taking out the brochure and the ticket details. The flight attendant even reminded him that when booking tickets for this flight, the staff will call to inform the passengers. 

“If you don’t like animals, sir, you can choose another flight.”

The man flushed red. “I never got that call! I don’t care, in short, I’m not flying with these beasts! Either they get off, or I’ll file a complaint!”

Hearing “beasts” over and over made the trainers’ expressions darken.

Shen Qiu rolled his eyes.

“Meow meow!” Look, a complete idiot!

Ba Wang tilted his head, confused. 

“Woof?” What’s an idiot? Can you eat it?

“Meow meow!” Idiot means stupid. See that big dummy over there? That’s him. Wanna try eating him?

Ba Wang glanced at the man, and given the size of a German Shepherd, the man immediately stepped back in fright.

Someone nearby swore they saw disdain in Ba Wang’s eyes.

“Woof.” Doesn’t look tasty. I’ll pass.

One cat and one dog kept trading lines, occasionally glancing at the man as if judging him. The nearby passengers couldn’t hold back their laughter.

The man’s face turned crimson as he jabbed his finger at them, shaking with rage.

“Is this how your airline treats passengers?! Just waiting, I’m filing a report!”

He immediately took out his phone to make a call, but before the flight attendant could intervene, someone walked over from first class.

“If this gentleman is so uncomfortable sitting near pets, why don’t you upgrade his seat?”

Everyone turned to look at the young man who spoke. He was dressed in a perfectly tailored suit, exuding the demeanor of an elite. He didn’t even glance at the man while speaking. 

The angry passenger was first stunned, then pleasantly surprised. 

“Oh, I—thank you, that’s—”

But before he could finish, the man pointed, not at him, but at Shen Qiu and his group.

“Give them an upgrade.”

The joy on the man’s face instantly froze. 

A ripple of laughter swept through the cabin.

The trainer tried to decline, embarrassed, but Shen Qiu had already recognized the man. He trotted over and brushed his tail against his leg.

“Meow~” Since you’re paying for our upgrade, I’ll let go of the fact that you let that female cat harass me last time.

That’s right, the man was none other than the owner of the orange female cat, Juzi.

Because his little prince ran to the police station every day, he also happened to get to know the very first police cat in history. Upon realizing that they were being harassed, he came out to help them.

The flight attendant quickly led the instructor and the cat and dog to the first-class cabin. 

The instructor felt a bit awkward, “Mr. Yang, I’ve really troubled you today. I’ll reimburse you the money after we land. 

Yang Zheng waved his hand, “No need, I like cats. Just consider it a little treat I bought for him. “

He patted Shen Qiu on the head. 

“So you’re Qiuqiu. No wonder my little princess liked you…you’re one handsome cat.”

Shen Qiu flicked his tail, and considering the upgrade fee, he would just let the other pet him.

Two hours later, they landed in the capital, greeted by competition staff holding a banner with “Qiuqiu & Ba Wang” written on it.

Yang Zheng, the orange cat’s owner, waved goodbye, giving Shen Qiu one last affectionate pat before leaving.

Something about that man set Shen Qiu’s instincts on edge. He wasn’t just a cat lover…he had intentions. But with too little information, Shen Qiu shelved the thought as they arrived at the hotel.

That evening, the trainer went over the rules while feeding them dinner.

The three-day competition consisted of obedience, riot control, scent tracking, hard-surface trailing, and in-vehicle suspect control, followed by three bomb-search events on the final day.

“I signed you up for all of them,” the trainer said, patting Shen Qiu’s head. “Old Qin said your nose is way sharper than any police dog’s.”

“Ba Wang will handle the attack and in-vehicle control rounds.”

Shen Qiu tilted his head.

“Meow?” Hold up…eight events? Are you trying to kill me?

The trainer sighed. “You’re the first police cat in history. Everyone’s watching. If you don’t perform well, they might even revoke your position.”

Shen Qiu froze, tail twitching violently.

“Meow meow meow!” You could’ve told me this before we left!

The trainer, naturally, didn’t understand.

With no choice but to go through with it, Shen Qiu steeled himself. Fine. Eight events it is! Time to show them what a real professional looks like.

The police dogs participating in the competition came from all over the country. When counted, nearly a hundred dogs were taking part, causing the schedule to be very tight. 

Therefore, competition rules stated that dogs would compete in pairs, and their performance would be judged based on the time taken to complete tasks and the precision. The scores would be given by the judges and on-site audience. 

Because of the “first police cat” factor, the livestream drew massive attention. Cameras quickly found him, perched beside his trainer.

The announcer’s voice boomed:

“Here we have Officer Qiuqiu from the Haishi Police Department and the first police cat in history! In just five months on duty, he’s already earned a Third-Class Merit for outstanding performance!”

When the camera panned to him, Shen Qiu stood up, tail swaying slightly in greeting.

The livestream chat exploded with “So cute!” and “He’s real?!”

The trainer pressed him back down.

“Qiuqiu, remember, steady and serious. You don’t have to be first, but everyone needs to see you’re taking this job seriously.”

Shen Qiu paced in irritation. Got it, got it. You talk too much.

He was led to the waiting area. Since he was the only cat, to avoid disturbing the police dogs, he was kept at a distance from them.

The first to take the stage were two golden retrievers, dressed in police dog uniforms. Upon being commanded, they rushed onto the field.

Police dogs were generally very obedient, and the first competition didn’t show anything remarkable. 

Soon, it was Shen Qiu’s turn. His opponent was a Border Collie. The dog noticed Shen Qiu at once but surprisingly, showed no excitement. Instead, it stayed calmly by its handler’s leg, waiting for orders. 

Shen Qiu became interested. It seems like this competition might actually be worth watching.

The referee, holding a whistle, stood in the center.

Interesting. A real opponent this time.

“Start!”

The instructor had already taken his position on the field, and the traffic in the livestream suddenly increased. The instructor raised his hand.

“Qiuqiu, come!””

He shot forward, tail flaring behind him like a banner.

“Qiuqiu, stay!”

He obediently froze in place and dropped neatly onto his haunches, waiting for the instructor’s next command. 

He was so well-behaved that it was impossible to see any trace of a cat in him. 

Those who initially doubted the police cat were now quite surprised. 

“I didn’t expect the police cat to be this capable!”

“I thought that third-class merit was just a joke!”

“I’ve never seen a police cat before. If cats are really this obedient, that would be great, right?”

The judges whispered among themselves.

The competition ended quickly. Relying on his speed, Shen Qiu finished first but the Border Collie wasn’t far behind him.

They were nearly neck and neck.

However, unlike before, when the Border Collie wouldn’t even glance at Shen Qiu, now it looked at him very seriously. 

After a moment, it barked once, “Not bad!”

Shen Qiu’s whiskers twitched in delight. This was the first time a police dog had ever complimented him!

At the police station, those people were constantly scheming to dethrone him from his “big brother” position and would never compliment him. 

Just calling him “big brother” could be fatal to them.

With this good start, it seemed as if Shen Qiu was now locked in competition with that Border Collie.

In the obedience test, Shen Qiu won first place with a subtle lead while the Border Collie named Beibei took second.

In the second event, the bite and attack competition, Beibei slightly surpassed Shen Qiu due to its weight advantage and took first, while Shen Qiu took second. This left Ba Wang feeling rather aggrieved in third place. 

In the afternoon, the third event, blood scent searching, was held. 

The bloodstain was just ordinary chicken blood. The instructor first let Shen Qiu sniff the bloodstained clothes then ordered him to enter the specially prepared ruins to conduct a search.

Next to them, in the competition area, Beibei was doing the same. 

Before acting, the dog and cat glanced at each other, sparks flying. 

A police dog competition somehow ended up looking like an international event. The audience on the live-stream was shouting excitedly. The final result was as expected: Shen Qiu perfectly demonstrated his excellent sense of smell, finding the victim five minutes ahead of Beibei. He secured first place while Beibei took second again.

The match ended at four in the afternoon, and everyone went back home.

However, because of the fierce rivalry between Shen Qiu and Beibei, the police dog competition became extremely popular.

The next day, when the competition began, the number of viewers in the live-stream was double compared to the previous day.

Everyone was tuning in to see Shen Qiu and Beibei. 

In all eight events, Shen Qiu performed outstandingly with great ease. The only exception was the Bite and Intruder control events where he did not secure first place. 

After the competition ended in three days, Shen Qiu had won all six gold medals in the other events. 

Shen Qiu stepped onto the podium wearing six gold medals, his round cat eyes half closed, clearly in a good mood.

Someone at the scene wanted to take a photo with Sehn Qiu and he was forced to play the role of a celebrity. Only after everyone reluctantly left did he wearily rush to the instructor’s side.

Before he could steady himself, Beibei suddenly came over. 

The tall Border Collie’s eyes were full of admiration. 

“Although you are a cat, your professional ability is outstanding. If you were a female dog, I’d definitely choose you as my mate.”

Shen Qiu’s proud smile froze instantly.

Old man on subway looking at phone.jpg.

What is wrong with these dogs?! Why do they all have some problem with them!

~~~
T/N: Juzi means orange which is honestly a cute name for a cat.

I was going to split up this chapter, but decided not to since I split up the last one into a lot of sections. But this probably won’t happen often since I’m going to be busy with work soon, so please be patient with me as I get these chapters out.

5.4k characters to 3.1k words | Translation Time: 4 hours