(Quick Transmigration) Even If You Become an Animal, You Still Have to Serve an Iron Rice Bowl - Chapter 3

Qin Yan helplessly got into the police car, and Shen Qiu jumped down from the car’s hood to lead the way.

Lao San and Da Zhuang exchanged glances.

 “Captain, are we really following?”

Follow, how could they not follow?

When it came to drugs, the matter was far too serious. Even if it was absurd that a cat was leading the way, Qin Yan still had to treat the situation with caution. 

He started the car, turned the steering wheel, and followed.

Once they hit the main road, Shen Qiu ran along the sidewalk.

His fluffy tail swayed behind him like an open umbrella, and his dash through the streets quickly attracted a crowd of onlookers.

Especially with a police car following a cat—no matter how you looked at it, it was a bizarre sight.

Someone started filming and uploaded the video online, sparking a wave of heated discussion.

Shen Qiu silently thought this wasn’t good. With how advanced the internet was, if his owner detected something ahead of time, it could ruin everything. 

He pondered for awhile, but ultimately jumped through the open window into the police car, startling Qin Yan and the others. 

Lao San looked at the big cat that had landed in his lap and couldn’t resist petting it.

 “Captain, what now?”

Qin Yan’s brows furrowed while Shen Qiu glanced around, then pressed a paw on Lao San’s badge number.

He forcefully poked at the “8”, then pressed down on Lao San’s phone.

Qin Yan had a sudden realization.

 “Eight o’clock?”

Shen Qiu nodded heavily, his golden cat eyes shining with approval: This one can be taught ¹

But how was he supposed to indicate “Wuyi Alley”?

He thought for a moment, then tapped on the phone again.

Qin Yan glanced at Lao San, and Lao San immediately unlocked his phone. Shen Qiu located the map on the phone and was about to type the letters “wyx” in pinyin when his paw froze mid-air. ²

His feline eyes blinked, and he suddenly realized something.

Are there cats in the world smart enough to recognize words?

It didn’t seem like it…

Shen Qiu fell into deep thought. Could it be that today’s mission was going to fail?

No, he was a drug enforcement officer in his past. He couldn’t just stand by and let anyone selling drugs go free!

If he gave up this mission just because he was worried about being noticed for his abnormal intelligence, how could he face all the drug enforcement officers who were constantly in danger?

Just as he was about to make up his mind, Qin Yan sensed the cat’s hesitation. 

He grabbed the phone and suddenly began reading out the names of nearby places.

Shen Qiu’s eyes lit up!

Of course! Wouldn’t it be natural if a cat could recognize familiar words after they heard them?

He straightened up, and when he heard “Wuyi Alley,” he let out a sharp meow.

Lao San and Da Zhuang’s eyes widened.

“Captain, this cat is really something! It can actually understand the names of places!”

Qin Yan repeated it once more, “Wuyi Alley?”

“Meow meow meow!” Yes! That’s the one!

Qin Yan’s expression turned serious as he put down the phone and turned the steering wheel.

“How much time is left until eight o’clock?”

“Half an hour.”

“Let Wu Ming lead a team in plainclothes to Wuyi Alley. Also, get headquarters to pull up the surveillance footage from Wuyi Alley and see if there is anyone suspicious!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the big silver-gray cat pointed at the black control console.

Qin Yan: ?

He hesitantly said, “Black clothes?”

The cat’s face was incredibly serious as it stared at him motionlessly.

“A black backpack?”

The little cat nodded solemnly.

“My goodness, this cat is way too smart. Is this really a cat?”

As Lao San spoke, he reached over to scratch the cat’s belly, but Shen Qiu swiftly swatted his hand away with a paw and bared his claws.

“Lao San, stop fooling around. Call Wu Ming.”

Then they picked up speed and headed towards Wuyi Alley.

The police moved quickly, and by the time they arrived at Wuyi Alley, headquarters had also sent an update.

On the northern end of Wuyi Alley, a young man with a black backpack was spotted, his expression alert, as if he was waiting for someone.

“Captain, Wu Ming has already sent people there. What about us?”

Qin Yan had originally planned to go, but after glancing at Shen Qiu, he said, “Let’s wait here for Wu Ming’s update first.”

As expected, there were no surprises.

Wu Ming, with his plainclothes officers, had caught the man and his contact red-handed. When the news came in, Qin Yan once again cast a deep, thoughtful look at Shen Qiu.

Shen Qiu pretended not to notice, sitting calmly on Lao San’s lap while leisurely grooming himself.

Look at me all you want, I’m just a little cat.

Qin Yan didn’t say anything else. He took the cat back to the police station. Since they needed to interrogate his owner, they left Shen Qiu in the Criminal Investigation Unit’s office for the time being.

After being alert for so long, the cat suddenly relaxed, letting out a big yawn before finding a comfortable chair to lie down on.

By the time Qin Yan and the others finished the interrogation, Shen Qiu had already fallen into a deep sleep.

Yang Yue, the only female officer in the team, walked over and handed Qin Yan a phone.

“We’ve traced the cat’s origins. It belongs to the drug dealer himself. Surveillance footage clearly shows it carrying a small bag out of the house.”

Qin Yan watched the video of the silver cat, which looked like it had a clear destination in mind as it headed straight for the police station.

“Has the house been searched?”

“All searched. We found drug paraphernalia and some loose narcotics at the place.”

After she finished speaking, she paused slightly, a little hesitant.

“What is it?”

“After the landlord found out the tenant had committed a crime, he immediately threw out all of his stuff. That man doesn’t have any relatives or friends around here, so his belongings are temporarily being kept at the station.”

She glanced at the cat.

Qin Yan understood immediately. The cat was now homeless.

He rubbed his temples, feeling his head start to hurt. 

“What did his owner say?”

“He said the cat was the reason he got caught, so he doesn’t want it anymore. He wants it to fend for itself.”

Neither of them noticed that the sleeping cat had perked up its ears, quietly listening to their conversation.

Yang Yue liked cats a lot and couldn’t bear to see one like this end up wandering the streets. Not to mention, if no one took care of a purebred like this, pet traffickers would definitely steal and resell it.

Putting that aside, whether a pet cat could survive outside on its own without an owner was already questionable. 

Qin Yan wasn’t thinking about that though. He was thinking about the cat’s unusual intelligence. If it had to be rehomed, what kind of family would be suitable for it?

After a moment of thought, he asked, “Why don’t you see if anyone on the team can take in a cat?”

Yang Yue pulled a face. “Everyone in the team works long hours and lives alone. No one really has time to care for a cat.”

Then there was nothing that could be done. 

“Let it stay in the dorms for now. We’ll start looking for someone to adopt it. Everyone should ask their friends too to see if anyone can raise it. If I’m not mistaken, this is a Maine Coon, worth tens of thousands of dollars.  It shouldn’t be too hard to find it a home.”

And just like that, Shen Qiu’s temporary arrangements were settled.

The cat’s ears twitched, and its tail curled over its body as it drifted back to sleep.

Although Qin Yan said they would find him an owner and send him away, Shen Qiu had no intention of leaving.

He had originally thought that, after being reborn, he was destined to live out his life as a cat. But this recent event made him realize something. Even as a cat, he could still do the work he had done in his past life!

At worst, he was just changing from a police officer to a police cat. There were police dogs, so why not police cats?

Shen Qiu was very optimistic. The next day, while no one was paying attention, he snuck off to the K9 unit.

Looking at the standard-issue dorms for the police dogs, Shen Qiu shed tears of envy.

“Back when I was still human…”

Forget it. There was no use bringing that up, since it only made him feel bitter. Right now, his only goal was to stay at the station and become a police cat!

No matter how well-trained the police dogs were, they were still dogs. They weren’t exactly mortal enemies with cats, but they weren’t friendly either. As soon as they picked up his scent, the police dogs went into a frenzy.

The sound of “Bark Bark” was incessant, which quickly drew the attention of the dog trainers, who thought something had happened. 

But when they arrived, all they saw was a large silver-gray cat walking gracefully in front of the kennel. It looked like it was deliberately provoking the dogs. 

The trainers didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “This is the cat that Captain Qin brought back yesterday, right? I heard it helped catch a long-time drug dealer.”

The chef, Master Deng, nodded with a spatula in hand, smiling as he ran back to the kitchen and returned with a piece of meat.

Shen Qiu had originally planned to impress the dogs, maybe even build some camaraderie. After all, they’d be comrades-in-arms one day.

But the meat smelled way too good.

His eyes stared straight at the meat, and before long, he gave in, happily trotting over to Master Deng with his big fluffy tail swaying behind him.

“This cat is really handsome,” Master Deng murmured as he stroked the cat’s soft fur.

“If I didn’t have a little grandson at home, I’d want to adopt him myself.”

Shen Qiu ate the meat and didn’t mind letting Master Deng get a few extra pets in. He even used his tail to tickle Master Deng’s chin.

The dog trainer wanted to pet him too, but the police dogs nearby were staring daggers at the cat.

If they actually touched the cat, the dogs would probably get jealous so they held themself back.

Master Deng used the meat to lure Shen Qiu away, and the trainer began to conduct their daily training session for the dogs.

But just as the session started and a dog was practicing a bite maneuver, a silver blur suddenly dashed in and clamped down on the trainer’s gloved arm.

Shen Qiu had seen police dogs training before so he mimicked the dog’s movements and began tugging and tearing like a real bite attack.

To be fair, a cat’s teeth were quite sharp, and a Maine Coon like Shen Qiu was nearly as big as a Springer Spaniel so the imitation actually worked pretty effectively. 

The trainer was momentarily stunned.

Then the police dog, whose job had just been hijacked, let out a loud bark in protest.

The trainer soon came back to their senses and quickly rushed forward to carry Shen Qiu away.

But Shen Qiu had worked hard to sneak past Master Deng’s watchful eyes and get in here. There was no way he’d leave now. 

He leapt down to the ground, turned to the angry dog, and let out a defiant meow.

“Woof woof woof!” Where’d this wild cat come from!?

“Meow!”  You’re the wild cat! Your whole family is wild cats!

Shen Qiu had never lost at trash talking before. He arched his back and hissed right at the police dog.

The dog bared its teeth too, ready to retaliate.

The situation quickly spiraled out of control, and the trainer had to call for backup.

Ten minutes later, Qin Yan, who had barely slept and had just closed his eyes in the wee hours of the morning, rushed over.

Looking at the extremely smug cat sitting upright on top of the training equipment, Qin Yan had a headache. 

“Qiuqiu, what exactly are you trying to do?”³

The cat flicked his tail, clearly annoyed, and thumped on the equipment with his paw.

“Meow meow meow!” I want to train! I want to be a police cat!

Qin Yan didn’t understand his words, but he could hear the anger in his tone. It was both frustrating and funny.

“Listen to that tone. It’s like you’re the one with a grievance. Who told you to go stirring up trouble in the kennel?”

“Meow!” He started it! 

Shen Qiu glared at the dog still barking at him and bared his claws in warning.

Qin Yan’s headache worsened. He was starting to realize that having such a smart cat wasn’t necessarily a good thing. It was like dealing with a mischievous child.

He stepped forward to pick Shen Qiu up, but the cat jumped to another piece of equipment to dodge him.

Shen Qiu realized this wasn’t going to work. If he didn’t show Qin Yan and the others what he was capable of, they would never give him a real shot at becoming a police cat.

His eyes darted around and he looked at the equipment on the field. Without hesitation, he leapt off the grass and dashed toward the obstacle course.

The author has something to say: 

Shen Qiu: Meow meow meow meow! 

Flashing his sharp claws! 

^{1. [孺子可教 (rúzǐkějiào) — Idiom meaning that children can be taught, aka young people have a promising future.]↩}

^{2. [I translated 乌衣巷 (wūyīxiàng) as “Wuyi Alley.” If you type “wyx” in pinyin then “乌衣巷” pops up. I didn’t realize pinyin worked like that so it’s kinda cool how you can type three words using only three letters.]↩}

^{3. [球球 (qiúqiú) translates literally to “Ball Ball” and it’s also a popular messaging app in China. It looks like it also refers to a bouncy texture like boba (if you’ve ever had it). Shen Qiu’s name is 沈秋 (shěn qiū) so the Qiu is a different character but it has very similar pinyin.]↩}

T/N: A lot of Chinese sentences actually don’t use pronouns but I have to include it so it makes sense in english. A lot of translation tools default to “He” but it’s really ambiguous so I’m going to stick with “they.” 

3.1k characters to 2.3k words | Translation Time: 4 hours