Chapter 451 - 450: IF-Line: Did the Big Shot Compete for Favor Today? 19

Chapter 451: Chapter 450: IF-Line: Did the Big Shot Compete for Favor Today? 19

If these were really cat traffickers, it would be a disaster.

It would be one thing if they were just reselling the cats to new owners, but she was afraid they were the kind who passed off cat meat as something else. If so, only death awaited her.

Shi Lan’s pupils instantly constricted into slits, and a cold sweat broke out over her body.

She had finally managed to make a decent life for herself; the last thing she wanted was to die. Besides, she had no idea if dying in this cat’s body meant she would just become another cat or return to her own. She couldn’t risk betting on it.

She had to find a way to escape.

Shi Lan looked at the cage in front of her. It wasn’t a wire mesh cage, but one with vertical bars. The gaps were just wide enough for her to stick a paw through.

An ordinary cat wouldn’t know how to open such a door, but luckily, she was no ordinary cat.

The latch was a bit tight, though. It took a fair bit of effort to open it.

Shi Lan stepped out of the cage and then set to work opening the others.

It was just past three in the morning. The truck driver was focused on the road, while the man in the passenger seat had already given in to exhaustion and fallen asleep.

The cats in the truck had been drugged into silence. In the pitch-black night, with barely any other traffic on the road, it was the perfect time for a nap.

Driving in the middle of the night was never pleasant, and to make matters worse, the cats in the back—their sedatives likely wearing off—started making a racket again, their incessant meowing grating on the nerves.

The driver cursed, "Shut up, you little mutts! What’s all the noise for? I’ll chop you all to bits soon enough."

The man in the passenger seat was woken up by the noise and joined in the cursing. "Damn it. I was having such a good dream."

"Pull over. I’ll go check on them."

The driver pulled the truck over to the side of the road, and the man from the passenger seat got out and went around to the back.

Shi Lan huddled in a corner near the door, eyes fixed on the entrance, waiting for her chance to escape.

She had freed all the other cats, planning to use the ensuing chaos as cover. The more cats, the more chaotic the situation, and the harder it would be for her to be caught. As for the other cats, their survival was up to fate. If they were lucky, they’d make it out alive too.

She could sense it—these two men were definitely cat killers. They reeked of malice.

The cargo door creaked open, and light from outside gradually filtered into the dim compartment.

Shi Lan narrowed her eyes. The man was still dazed, stifling a yawn as he opened the door. Seizing the moment, she shot through the gap.

Several other cats followed right behind her. The fastest ones were almost all strays, their reactions honed by life on the streets.

"What the hell? Am I seeing things? Weren’t all these cats locked in their cages? How’d they all get out?"

The man snapped out of it and hurriedly slammed the cargo door shut, but seven or eight cats had already escaped.

He whipped his head around, staring into the dark night, and could only kick the truck in frustration. "Damn it, a few of them got away."

The driver scrambled out of the cab, glaring at him. "What happened? Now we’ll have to catch more cats to make up the numbers."

"Seriously, day in and day out... I can’t even get a decent night’s sleep. I’ve already pulled several all-nighters with you just to catch these damn cats."

"All right, same here. Besides, didn’t we lock the cages together? When I just opened the back, all the latches on the outer cages were open."

The man silently cursed his bad luck. He was furious, but also completely baffled. How could the cages have opened on their own?

The driver couldn’t explain it either.

Just then, a gust of night wind made him shiver. He gulped. "Let’s just go. I heard this stretch of road has a lot of accidents. It feels... unlucky."

With that, he scrambled back into the truck. The other man shivered too. As the saying goes, walk the night roads long enough and you’re bound to meet a ghost. And with the guilty weight of their deeds, neither of them dared to linger.

Meanwhile, from the darkness, Shi Lan didn’t rush to leave. She memorized the license plate and the two men’s faces before melting back into the shadows.

As she passed a shop window, she caught her reflection in a mirror inside and instinctively took a look. Sure enough, it was another unfamiliar feline face. It seemed she’d become a stray cat again. But this time, thankfully, she wasn’t ugly. She was a pure white cat with beautiful, aquamarine eyes. Her fur was just matted with dust, making her look a bit grimy.

’Since Jiang Xia and Mu Tangfeng already suspect I’m a Cat Demon,’ Shi Lan mused, ’I might as well go find them again.’

But as she looked up at her completely unfamiliar surroundings, her head started to spin.

She had a terrible sense of direction.

Pausing by a bus stop, she stared at the sign for a moment and realized she was in a different city entirely. She’d been taken from the Capital all the way to Z City. She knew Z City; her old company used to get a lot of travel photography gigs here. The summer scenery was gorgeous, a perfect spot for viewing lotus blossoms, and it was a popular destination for photoshoots, whether for historical costumes or wedding dresses.

Unfortunately, back then she was always with a team and had GPS, so she never had to worry about memorizing the way.

Shi Lan sighed. Z City was a long way from home.

She wandered the streets aimlessly, deciding she would find a new meal ticket—or maybe stage an accident—once daylight broke.

And so, she found a luxury car and promptly fell asleep on its hood.

She realized that ever since becoming a cat, her skin had gotten thicker and thicker in the name of survival. But then again, she was just a cat. Morality didn’t apply.

Cats are naturally wary creatures, so Shi Lan slept lightly. The moment she heard approaching footsteps, she was awake.

She suspected it was the car’s owner, though, so she kept her eyes closed, fully committed to her scam.

Then a hand scooped her up by the scruff. "Well now, where did this little stray come from? What are you doing sleeping on our car?"

Shi Lan finally opened her eyes.

A man’s face loomed over her. He was wearing a suit and had a serious, distinguished look—definitely the boss type. ’Looks like I hit the jackpot,’ she thought.

She let out a soft "meow."

The man chuckled. "You look pretty smart. If I weren’t so busy with work, I’d definitely consider keeping you."

With that, he placed her on the ground. "Off you go, little one. I can’t keep you."

"Zhang Chen, what are you dawdling for? Hurry up, I want to go home and sleep. We had to film this late all because of some idiot. That scene should have been wrapped up in an hour."

"Whoa there, my little ancestor, we’re still outside! You’ve got to watch what you say."

Zhang Chen flinched, his heart skipping a beat. He glanced around nervously. There were no lights or anything; there probably weren’t any paparazzi nearby.

Worried his "little ancestor" would continue his tirade, he lost all interest in the cat and quickly got into the car.

Shi Lan could see he had no intention of keeping a cat, so she didn’t press her luck. She regretfully backed away to avoid being hit by the car.

Zhang Chen saw this from inside the car and was suddenly reminded of something a metaphysics master had said to his "little ancestor" on a variety show they’d done a while back.

"Brother Yan, remember what Master Ming said? He said you’re prone to disputes, but you’d meet a cat Benefactor who would make your fortune skyrocket, even more than before. You don’t think... this is the one, do you?"

Yan Huoshui’s red lips curled, his fox-like eyes narrowing as he mocked him without reservation. "Manager Zhang, since when do you believe that stuff? That old man was just spouting nonsense for the cameras. As if my career depends on a few words from him."