Chapter 123: Catnip

These past two days, Wang Bo hadn’t gone out to look for cats. His mind was in turmoil, and he stuck to a monotonous routine of commuting between school and home. The little cat assigned to watch him was more than happy with the break, spending its days napping nearby.

When Da Ju noticed Wang Bo’s unusual behavior and reported it to Aofeng, Aofeng began to speculate about the reason behind it. Had he turned over a new leaf, or was he plotting something? Aofeng couldn’t be sure, but he didn’t let his guard down. He firmly believed that a leopard doesn’t change its spots¹.

And he was right. After behaving himself at home for two days, Wang Bo couldn’t suppress the craving that gnawed at him. Early in the morning, he grabbed his tools and headed out. Beyond his uncontrollable urge to torture and kill, what pushed him into action was a bounty task on the website.

It had been six days since he accepted the task, and each mission had a seven-day time limit. Today was the final day. If he didn’t complete it soon, not only would he lose the reward money, but he’d also lose a significant number of points on the site. If his score dropped below a certain threshold, he wouldn’t be allowed to upload videos or comment on others’. For Wang Bo, that was simply unacceptable.

He had been a member of the site called “Crimson” for two years. He first came across it because of a forum post. He got into a heated argument with a cat owner that stretched across dozens of replies, and left the thread seething with frustration. Just then, someone messaged him privately, asking if he wanted revenge. Still fuming, he agreed without hesitation. That person introduced him to “Crimson” and opened the door to a whole new world.

At first, he was more afraid than anything else. He could still clearly recall the bloodcurdling screams of that first cat and the way its eyes stared at him, wide and unblinking. He even had nightmares afterward. But after doing it a few more times, he grew numb. His personality began to shift too. Things he used to tolerate now triggered violent outbursts. He became bloodthirsty, and sometimes, when he saw bratty kids, his first instinct was to treat them the same way he did stray cats…

Wang Bo shook his head, trying to clear away those unnecessary thoughts. He focused intently on a figure in the park. It was a girl, long hair flowing, dressed in a flowing skirt, looking serene and gentle. In her arms, she held a small, yellowish cat. Wang Bo recognized it immediately – a British Shorthair Golden Shade, a breed worth a hefty sum on the market.

The kitten seemed to be distracted by something else and squirmed in the girl’s arms, trying to get down. She had no choice but to tap its forehead lightly and set it on the ground. Freed, the kitten darted across the grass toward a flower swaying gently in the breeze.

To Wang Bo, this adorable scene only fueled his excitement. He pulled out his phone, pretending to take pictures of the scenery, but in reality, he was capturing moments of the girl playing happily with her cat. He couldn’t help but look forward to the moment she discovered her pet’s mangled body. Her devastated expression paired with these cheerful photos would make for a striking contrast.

Once he had enough footage, he reached for his tools. It looked like an ordinary cloth mouse, but it had been soaked for over ten hours in a special liquid beforehand. The scent was irresistible to cats. The moment he took it out, not only did the Golden Shade kitten race toward him, but even the little cat assigned to watch him was momentarily stunned. Its pupils dilated, and it looked dazed and intoxicated, nearly falling out of the tree.

Wang Bo was quite pleased. He had learned this trick from a veteran on the website, who used it to lure countless cats effortlessly. If only he had known about this earlier, he wouldn’t have had to work so hard catching them. Once this mission was done, he planned to use it on the strays in his neighborhood—especially that pesky Xiao Lihua who had ruined his plans multiple times. Just thinking about it made his hand throb with phantom pain.

The Golden Shade ran fast. The girl realized something was wrong and chased after it, but to no avail. The kitten slipped into a ring-shaped shrub and vanished. The girl couldn’t get around the bushes quickly, so she kept calling the kitten’s name, hoping it would respond. As she searched for a way in, she finally found a gap and stepped through—only to find the space empty. The Golden Shade was gone.

The girl’s calls roused the little cat in the tree, which had been dazed by the overwhelming scent of catnip. It let out an anxious meow. The girl turned toward the sound in delight, but her face fell when she saw that it wasn’t her Danhuang²—it was a pitch-black kitten. The black cat glanced at her, then turned and ran off.

At that moment, Wang Bo, having succeeded, was humming a cheerful tune in his head. The gloom that had been hanging over him lately seemed to vanish in an instant, as if swept away by sunlight. He walked home with a spring in his step, but inside the backpack on his back, something seemed to stir ever so slightly.

He was thinking about the tactics he’d need to use later, when two figures suddenly appeared in front of him without warning: a uniformed police officer and a fierce-looking police dog.

Song Changfeng and Aofeng were panting from exertion. They had been out on patrol when they received a message from Da Ju. Without hesitation, they took a shortcut and rushed to this residential complex, intercepting Wang Bo just as he was about to reach the building where he lived.

The moment he saw the police officer and the police dog, Wang Bo couldn’t help but panic. The presence of law enforcement naturally struck fear into those who constantly danced on the edge of legality.

He forced himself to stay calm and walked toward them with a blank expression. But if one looked closely, they would notice how stiff his entire body had become.

Just as they passed each other, before Wang Bo could breathe a sigh of relief, a voice rang out beside his ear.

“Excuse me, sir. There’s something we’d like to ask you about.”

A chill ran through Wang Bo’s body. He fought the urge to bolt and kept telling himself that the police couldn’t possibly know what he had done. This must be a random inquiry. If he ran now, that would only make things worse.

“What is it?” he asked, turning around with an awkward, forced smile.

“It’s like this,” Song Changfeng said directly, not bothering with small talk. “Recently, we’ve received reports from residents in the area. Someone’s been repeatedly torturing and killing stray cats, dumping their bodies into trash bins. People have been complaining about the stench. Do you know anything about this?”

Cold sweat broke out all over Wang Bo, and even under the sunlight, he felt frozen to the bone. One thought echoed in his mind: He knows. He definitely knows! Did they find evidence? That’s impossible. He had checked those spots—there were no cameras. He always threw the cat corpses out with the trash. There’s no way they could know!

“I don’t know anything about that. I’m busy with school every day. I don’t have time to worry about stuff like that!” Wang Bo said. His heart was pounding, but he kept his face calm.

“You haven’t heard anything at all?” Song Changfeng pressed.

“Of course not. My studies keep me busy. I’ve got a ton of things to do every day. If you hadn’t stopped me, I’d already be home studying by now,” Wang Bo said again, trying to sound convincing.

Song Changfeng gave him a skeptical look. “But today’s Tuesday, and it’s only a little after eight. Why aren’t you at school?”

Wang Bo flinched, then quickly replied, “I wasn’t feeling well today, so I took the day off.”

Song Changfeng studied him for a moment, then nodded seriously. “That explains it. You do look a bit pale. I thought maybe you didn’t have class this morning. But didn’t you just say you were rushing home to study? If you’re not feeling well and can’t study outside, how come you can study once you’re home?”

Wang Bo froze. Right, he was a college student, not in high school. He didn’t have classes every day. But since he had already lied, he had to keep going.

“I… I’ve had this issue for a while. I’ve got medicine at home. Once I take it and rest a bit, I’ll be fine. Then of course I can study. Officer, can I go up now? I really don’t know anything about what you asked.”

He let a trace of impatience show. He knew that without solid evidence, the officer in front of him couldn’t do anything.

But standing there wasn’t just a police officer. There was also a police dog. Hearing Wang Bo say he wanted to leave, Aofeng, who had been sitting quietly, suddenly stood up and circled him twice in a deliberate manner. Then it started barking at his backpack. There was a strong scent of cat coming from it, along with the smell of a certain herb. It was said that this herb could make cats lose control, sometimes even fall into a trance. Yet they couldn’t resist its allure.

After hearing Da Ju’s description, Aofeng immediately guessed that the herb in question was the infamous cat drug—catnip. No wonder Xiao Hei³ hadn’t been able to give a warning when he caught the scent. That British Shorthair in the bag must already be high as a kite.

Startled by Aofeng’s sudden behavior, Wang Bo flew into a rage and snapped, “Officer, control your dog! If it bites me, I swear I’ll post this all over the internet!” As he spoke, he pulled out his phone, opened the camera, and started filming Song Changfeng and Aofeng.

Aofeng snorted and actually chuckled. This guy wanted to expose them online? They hadn’t even exposed this sick cat abuser yet, and he was already threatening to go public? Definitely an old hand at the internet, fully aware of how a video like this—especially with Song Changfeng in full uniform—could cause a stir online.

Song Changfeng remained calm despite Wang Bo’s reaction. He spoke with quiet confidence, “Sir, my police dog doesn’t attack people without cause. It’s professionally trained and highly sensitive to anything related to illegal activity. It’s been barking at your backpack nonstop, which means it must have detected something. Please open your backpack immediately so I can inspect it.”

Wang Bo instinctively took a step back, let out a cold snort, and said, “What right do you have to search my bag? Just because your dog barked at it? I’ve got food in there. Maybe your dog’s just hungry!”

At his words, Aofeng started barking wildly again, baring his sharp white teeth. That damn cat abuser was questioning his professional instincts?

“Sir, I think you’ve misunderstood,” Song Changfeng said. “He never barks like this just because of food. When a police dog signals a warning, it gives us the legal right to conduct a search to rule out any potential criminal activity. I ask for your cooperation.”

“And what if you find nothing?” Wang Bo glared at Song Changfeng with hostility.

“If we find nothing, then it means my police dog made a mistake. In that case, I will offer you a formal apology.”

Wang Bo considered it. Rather than keep arguing, it might be better to just let him look. After all, there was no law saying you couldn’t carry a cat in a backpack. And who would know the cat didn’t belong to him?

With that in mind, he sneered, “You’d better be ready to apologize,” then pulled the backpack around to his chest. His hand moved to the zipper, ready to open it.

“Kitty, where are you taking me? Do you know where Danhuang is?” a worried female voice called out from not far away.

Wang Bo’s heart skipped a beat. He turned his head and saw a small black cat walking ahead, occasionally stopping to look back as if waiting, sometimes letting out an urgent meow. Following behind the cat was a young woman – the very owner of the cat inside his backpack!

Translator’s Notes