(Quick Transmigration) Even If You Become an Animal, You Still Have to Serve an Iron Rice Bowl - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: 

Shen Qiu followed the scent all the way to the other street outside of the alley, but by now, the lingering smell in the air had faded significantly. He stood at the intersection of several alleys, unsure which direction to go.

The exhaust from cars. The trash bins by the side of the road. The smell of perfume on people. The scent of sweat. 

All kinds of smells mixed together, compressing Zhang Jibo’s scent into a barely traceable thread.

He twitched his nose and looked toward an even shabbier alley than the one before, his tail thumping against the ground.

He trotted over and found a janitor’s uniform among a pile of messy waste.

It was Zhang Jibo’s.

It looked like he was very cautious and changed clothes midway.

Shen Qiu sniffed again. The scent was even fainter now. Growing anxious, he circled around and turned to leave.

Yang Yue quickly ran up to him. 

Upon seeing the janitor’s uniform, she immediately understood what had happened, but after a moment, she looked around in confusion.

“This place… feels familiar.”

Shen Qiu stopped and looked at her.

“Meow meow meow!” What do you mean?

Yang Yue sucked in a breath, paced around the alley, then suddenly clapped her hands.

“I remember now! This is where Lulu and the Zhang siblings lived when they first arrived in Haishi!”

She looked around again to confirm, then pointed to the left. “It’s the last house at the end of that alley!”

Upon hearing that, Shen Qiu leaped up and darted off in the direction she indicated.

Yang Yue also immediately sent the address to the other officers.

The closer he got to the house at the end of the alley, the stronger the smell of blood became.

Cats are fast and light on their feet. With his tail raised for balance, Shen Qiu was in front of the half-open door in the blink of an eye.

The lock on the door had been forced open by someone and lay discarded nearby.

This was one of Haishi’s old-style houses, with a thirty-square-meter room divided into two areas by cabinets. ¹

It seemed like no one had lived there for a long time. Dust coated everything, and chairs had been randomly overturned on the floor.

“Zhang Jibo!”

Xing Lu’s terrified voice came from inside.

Shen Qiu’s heart raced, and he hurriedly pushed the door open to walk in.

The old wooden door creaked faintly.

His ears twitched. He heard footsteps inside and his keen eyes spotted a figure moving behind the cabinet.

Drip. 

A drop of fresh blood fell next to the cabinet. The voice in the room fell silent instantly. Shen Qiu thought this wasn’t good. 

A second later, Zhang Jibo’s deranged voice rang out, “Whoever you are, get out of here! Leave now, or I’ll kill her!”

Shen Qiu’s pupils contracted. He was directly in Zhang Jibo’s line of sight.

Behind the cabinet, Xing Lu was tied to a chair with dirty hemp rope, completely immobilized.

Zhang Jibo’s face was waxy and yellow, his eyes unfocused as he stared in Shen Qiu’s direction.

He held a fruit knife in his hand and pressed it against Xing Lu’s neck with blood already trickling down.

Shen Qiu’s heart immediately leapt to his throat.

Zhang Jibo was on drugs!

Shen Qiu looked around. Sure enough, he spotted drug paraphernalia on the broken-down cabinet. He immediately arched his back and let out a huff toward Zhang Jibo.

People high on drugs were extremely dangerous. If Xing Lu stayed with him any longer, the consequences would be dire!

Shen Qiu grew increasingly anxious. His cat ears flattened into airplane ears as he stared at Zhang Jibo without blinking.

Both people in the room had different reactions to his appearance.

Xing Lu froze, then her face changed dramatically. “Qiuqiu, run!”

Zhang Jibo was also stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

After consuming drugs, he felt particularly manic, and a bizarre gleam shone in his eyes as he stared at Shen Qiu.

“You little beast! I let you scratch me before, but soon, I’ll kill you too!

He was rambling incoherently, the knife in his hand wobbling dangerously against Xing Lu’s neck.

Xing Lu’s face turned pale from pain, but she still looked at Shen Qiu.

“Qiuqiu, I know you understand me. Hurry up and leave!”

Shen Qiu didn’t move. He was trying to figure out how to knock the fruit knife away while ensuring Xing Lu’s safety.

Xing Lu’s worry seemed to trigger Zhang Jibo. His face twisted with malice, and he fiercely yanked her head up by her hair.

“You care so much about this little beast? Then, I’ll skin him right in front of you!”

Xing Lu’s face turned even paler. She glared at Zhang Jibo with hatred, her voice trembling with extreme sorrow.

“Zhang Jibo! You’re not even human anymore! You killed Sister Zhaodi, and now you still want to hurt innocent lives. When did you become like this?!”

Zhang Jibo’s fury intensified. “It wasn’t me! It was you! You killed my sister! It’s all your fault! If not for you, she wouldn’t have died!”

After being enraged, he raised the fruit knife, prepared to stab Xing Lu.

Shen Qiu instinctively let out a sharp “Huff!” and pricked up his ears at the sound of movement.

In the next instant, he sprang up from the ground and pounced at Zhang Jibo.

Mimicking a police dog, he opened his mouth and sank his teeth deep into Zhang Jibo’s arm.

The taste of blood instantly filled his mouth.

“Ahhh!”

Clang!

“Get down! Don’t move!”

The intense pain made Zhang Jibo scream and drop the fruit knife. Qin Yan and the others, who had just arrived, rushed in with their weapons raised.

They immediately subdued Zhang Jibo.

“Qiuqiu! Are you okay?”

Xing Lu stared wide-eyed at Shen Qiu, who was lying on the ground. Her face was drained of color.

Shen Qiu shook his tail and got to his feet before jumping onto her, his big fluffy tail patting her arm.

“Thank goodness…it’s good that you’re okay.” Xing Lu breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps the earlier tension had been too much for her since she immediately fainted after relaxing. 

“Meow!” Shen Qiu yowled.

Someone help! She fainted!

Luckily, Yang Yue had also rushed in. She quickly untied Xing Lu and got her to the ambulance.

After watching the ambulance leave, Shen Qiu turned and jumped into the front passenger seat of the police car.

Lao San, who had just opened the front door to get in, looked at Shen Qiu’s twenty-pound bulky frame and wisely opened the rear door instead.

Once inside the car, Shen Qiu kept gagging and furiously wiped his mouth with his paw.

The blood laced with that stuff was absolutely disgusting, almost making him puke. 

The driver, Qin Yan, glanced at him several times and finally couldn’t help but speak.

“You’re just a little cat. Why do you always show up in these situations? Aren’t you afraid you’ll get yourself killed one day?”

Shen Qiu flicked his tail, the fur brushing against Qin Yan’s arm, clearly not interested in a reply.

Qin Yan chuckled despite himself and, while driving, a thought crossed his mind.

While waiting for the green light, he glanced at Shen Qiu again, his eyes dark and thoughtful.

Shen Qiu didn’t notice. He was still trying to clean off the blood on his body.

The blood belonged to Zhang Jibo, and he really didn’t want to lick it.

Qin Yan thought this was probably the most expressive cat he’d ever seen—his fluffy little face was scrunched in pure disgust and disdain.

He asked Lao San to help wipe Shen Qiu down.

The car soon arrived at the police station.

“Da Zhuang, take some people to run a drug test first. Is Xing Lu’s colleague awake? If she is, get her statement.”

Qin Yan tried to carry Shen Qiu out of the car, but the cat dodged.

“Alright, then. Do you want to stay at the station or should I find someone to take you home?”

“Meow!” Shen Qiu bared his teeth at him.

After using me, you’re just throwing me away! Do you even have a conscience?

The suspect had been caught, so of course it was time for interrogation!

Shen Qiu didn’t even glance at him and followed Lao San straight into the interrogation room.

Since he was just a cat, Qin Yan wasn’t going to kick him out, even if this one was unusually smart.

After getting his blood drawn, Zhang Jibo was brought in and shackled to the interrogation chair.²

He looked a lot more sober now, his face as gloomy as a storm cloud.

Upon seeing Shen Qiu on the table, he glared viciously.

“Meow!” Hey, you scum actually dare glare at me? Clearly, I bit you too lightly!

Shen Qiu raised his sharp claws and stared pointedly at the arm he had bitten earlier.

His cold gaze chilled Zhang Jibo, who felt as if the cat had taken another bite of his arm. He shivered involuntarily.

Qin Yan looked between the cat and the man, then stepped in front of Shen Qiu.

He received a soft scratch on the back of his uniform from a paw. It wasn’t painful, so he didn’t pay it any mind. He signaled Lao San to take notes.

“Name and age.”

Zhang Jibo came to his senses, glancing at Qin Yan with a sneer, and let out a cold snort.

He was clearly unwilling to say anything. 

However, people like him were quite common for Qin Yan and the others. Qin Yan wasn’t bothered by it and continued to ask questions. 

“Where did you get the drugs from? How do you know the people at the Heaven and Earth club? What were you plotting?”

“Why did you kill Zhang Zhaodi? Was it to get money to buy drugs?”

…

However, Zhang Jibo had clearly made up his mind not to talk. Qin Yan asked question after question, but he remained silent. 

Lao San rolled his eyes in frustration.

Shen Qiu directly extended his claws to sharpen them at the table, his cold cat eyes staring Zhang Jibo down.

Zhang Jibo’s lack of cooperation meant the interrogation dragged deep into the night without any progress. 

Midway through, Da Zhuang brought in the results from the drug test. Surprisingly, the substance Zhang Jibo had used was the same new drug that Shen Qiu’s former owner had used.

Qin Yan furrowed his brows. 

“This should have just entered the market. We’ve never encountered this type before. 

Da Zhuang’s face darkened.

“The report says this new type of drug is even more addictive and dangerous than the previous ones.”

Qin Yan looked at Zhang Jibo. “Still unwilling to say anything, huh?”

Zhang Jibo hung his head and closed his eyes, as if asleep.

With him like this, they had no choice but to wait him out.

Lao San left and made two cups of instant noodles. As soon as he returned, the scent of noodles wafted inside.

Shen Qiu sniffed. It was Pork bone broth flavor.

He licked his lips, feeling a bit hungry. 

Zhang Jibo also looked up too, not at anyone in particular, his gaze was directly fixed at the noodles.

“Want to eat?” Qin Yan raised the cup of noodles. 

“Speak and I’ll give it to you.”

Zhang Jibo stared at him for a few seconds. “I’m hungry.”

Qin Yan nodded and handed over the instant noodles.

“I hope we can have a nice chat after you finish eatting.”

Zhang Jibo said nothing, but he was clearly starving as he started slurping the instant noodles.

Shen Qiu’s mouth couldn’t help but leave behind a trail of drool.

Instant noodles with braised eggs and ham sausage had been an essential package for overtime for him .

At the time, eating it every day felt really tiresome. But, instant noodles were convenient when there was nothing else to eat. Now that he was a cat, he didn’t feel tired of it but missed it dearly.

He turned to stare longingly at Lao San’s cup of noodles, itching to pounce.

But before he could move, Qin Yan scooped him up and gave his head a thorough rub.

Shen Qiu bristled instantly. 

“Meow meow meow!” Quickly, let me go!

He struggled to jump down, but Qin Yan called out to Lao San, letting him take Shen Qiu away from the interrogation room. 

Shen Qiu thought he was being sent home. He had just been squirming to get away, but now he clung tightly to Qin Yan’s arm.

“Meow~” he purred sweetly,  rubbing against Qin Yan’s arm.

Considering how cute I am, please let me stay for the entire interrogation!

Qin Yan was taken aback at first, then didn’t know whether he should cry or laugh. 

“You’re so smart it’s hard to believe you’re just a cat.”

Shen Qiu averted his gaze, feeling guilty.

He wasn’t really a cat, after all.

Thankfully, Qin Yan was a normal person who didn’t overthink.

After he petted Shen Qiu’s head, he muttered, “Not just smart, but also incredibly dog-like.”

He detoured to the kitchen and grabbed a big chicken leg for the big cat.

“All right, fill your belly first. After that, I’ll take you back inside.”

Just as Qin Yan finished speaking, Yang Yue rushed in from outside, and without saying a word, she shoved her phone in front of his face.

“Captain, Lulu wants to say a few words to Zhang Jibo.”

~~

^{1. [三十平米 (sānshí píngmǐ) — 30 square meters or about 323 square feet. As an example of the room’s dimensions, it’s about 5 meters by 6 meters or 17 feet by 20 feet. This is about the size of a small studio apartment in the US.]↩}

^{2. [扣在后悔椅上 (kòuzàihòuhuǐyǐshàng) — I think this is the chair in the interrogation room, but it translates to regret chair, so I’m not 100% sure. Maybe this is the specific name they use for these chairs?]↩}

T/N: I was surprisingly locked in on this chapter, so I finished faster than normal. I’m planning on trying to follow a weekly upload schedule. For me, I’ve been uploading on Sunday at 12:00 pm, but it might be different for you depending on the time zone. 

3.3k characters to 2.2k words | Translation Time: 3 hours