Shen Ge scanned his surroundings, but aside from the bustling crowd of shoppers, he saw no animals or traces of dissipating eerie energy.

“What’s wrong?” Cheng Shengnan asked, noticing Shen Ge had stopped walking.

But as soon as the words left her mouth, her brow furrowed involuntarily. This scene felt all too familiar—she’d already experienced it twice before. Am I really this unlucky? she thought with a sigh.

Shen Ge’s gaze settled on a nearby trash can. Aside from the rats in the sewers, who would bring their pets here?

Cheng Shengnan pointed ahead. “There’s a coffee shop in front of the cinema.”

“Hm?”

“A cat café.”

“…”

Shen Ge had mentioned to Cheng Shengnan before that eerie creatures originated from mutated animals, even joking that she’d better not keep pets. Now, seeing him “searching for something,” she recalled a cat café she’d visited with a friend long ago. Her reminder instantly clarified the issue for Shen Ge.

“Let’s check it out,” he said, heading toward the cinema.

After rounding the corner, sure enough, they spotted a cozy, aesthetically pleasing cat café across from the theater—exactly the kind of place young people loved.

The shop wasn’t large, with about ten tables, six or seven of which were occupied. There were roughly twenty cats inside, some in cages and others roaming freely.

From the crowd-favorite Ragdolls and British Shorthairs to tabbies and chubby orange cats, the café had every breed imaginable.

After observing from the entrance, Shen Ge could already detect faint traces of eerie energy emanating from some of the cats, similar to the situation with the parrot at the Western restaurant earlier.

The cats in cages exhibited even stronger eerie energy, likely having progressed from single-digit to double-digit levels. A little stimulation might trigger their mutation.

“Shall we go in?” Shen Ge asked Cheng Shengnan.

She nodded. “Sure.”

Upon entering, a server greeted them and led them to a window-side table. After they ordered drinks, the server briefly explained the café’s rules and the cats’ temperaments before leaving.

Cheng Shengnan glanced around. “My friend and I came here about six months ago. Back then, there were less than half as many cats. But they’re all very docile, which attracts a lot of couples before or after movies. The place is usually packed.”

“From what I’ve seen, most mutated animals were abused or near death before their transformation. Aside from couples, I’m guessing this place also gets its share of unruly kids. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be signs of mutation here. Look over there—” Shen Ge gestured toward a family in the corner: two elderly women with two young boys.

While the women chatted, the boys crouched by the sofa, playing with a cat. One of them, unnoticed by others, suddenly grabbed a Ragdoll by the neck and tried to pluck fur from its forehead. The other boy quickly grabbed his hand to stop him.

Their commotion and the cat’s yowling soon drew the server’s attention. She hurried over to intervene, but the boy strangling the cat only tightened his grip, laughing gleefully. The other boy, on the verge of tears, kept pulling at his arm.

“Oh, come on, he’s just a kid! It’s not like it hurts. We’re paying customers—can’t he play with the cat?” The grandmother on the left sneered, her tone dripping with disdain.

The other woman tried to reason with her, only to be rebuffed. The server, now angry, said, “Ma’am, if your grandson is going to abuse our cats, we don’t welcome customers like you. We’ll refund your payment, but you need to leave immediately.”

“How dare you talk to me like that? Bullying customers just because you’re a big business, huh? My grandson was just playing with the cat—did it lose any fur? I’ll report you to the Consumer Association! I’ll make sure your shop gets shut down!” The grandmother’s voice rose as she began hurling insults.

Shen Ge remarked, “Some people are born rotten, but most learn it from their families. And here we have a perfect example.”

He stood up. The Ragdoll being strangled by the boy now emitted thicker eerie energy—likely reaching double digits on the detection scale.

Thwack!

A small booklet smacked the boy in the face. Shen Ge then grabbed the back of his neck and lifted him like a kitten. “You’re under suspicion of animal abuse. Come with me to the station.”

The grandmother paled at the sight of what looked like a police badge. “Y-you—let go of my grandson! Don’t try to scare us! We weren’t abusing anything! He was just… playing with the cat! Is that a crime?”

“Playing?” Shen Ge smirked. “I don’t like playing with cats. I prefer playing with brats like him.” He twisted the boy’s head to face him. “How does it feel to be choked? Comfortable?”

The boy burst into tears at Shen Ge’s icy smile. Shen Ge then shoved him into his grandmother’s arms and said coldly, “If your grandson doesn’t stop abusing animals, I guarantee your entire family will die because of it.”

“Y-you’re talking nonsense! Just because you’re a cop doesn’t mean you can bully us! I’ll report you!” Her voice grew weaker with each word. Clutching her grandson and her bag, she fled the café.

The other boy picked up Shen Ge’s “badge” from the table and handed it back with a bow. “Thank you for saving the cat, Officer!”

Shen Ge took it and ruffled the boy’s hair. “You were brave to stand up to him. Keep working hard, get stronger, and one day you’ll be able to protect even more animals and people. Keep it up.”

The boy beamed. “I will! I’ll drink lots of milk and get super strong! Thank you, Officer!”

Shen Ge crouched to examine the Ragdoll, now curled in the server’s arms. Dark mist—eerie energy—swirled thicker around it.

“It doesn’t look good. You should put it back in its resting area,” he advised.

The server nodded gratefully and carried the cat away.

Shen Ge took photos of every cat in the café, noting their mutation levels, then returned to his seat to draft a message.

“Is it serious?” Cheng Shengnan asked, eyeing the cats warily.

Shen Ge nodded. “Not great. Many of them show signs of eerie energy. The department needs to handle this.”

She sighed.

“Don’t worry. Being taken in doesn’t mean they’ll die. The parrots from the Western restaurant had their eerie energy extracted and are still alive and well.” As he spoke, he sent the compiled information to Deng Yuqi.

Along with a summary of the situation, each cat’s photo included Shen Ge’s observed mutation severity.

A minute later, Deng Yuqi replied: On our way.

Over drinks, Shen Ge and Cheng Shengnan chatted about eerie creatures and animals. In under twenty minutes, Deng Yuqi arrived with a team.

After negotiating with the manager, the team collected the flagged cats—though the heavily armed squad made it look more like a counterterrorism operation than a rescue mission.

Deng Yuqi approached Shen Ge, rubbing her temples. “Honestly, every time I see your name pop up on my phone, I brace for chaos.”

Shen Ge glanced at the team but didn’t spot Li Xiang. “Isn’t Li Xiang usually all over field collections? Where is he?”

“Oh, his lab blew up this afternoon.” Her headache seemed to worsen.

Shen Ge blinked. “Wait, he’s not… gone, is he?”

“Just minor injuries. This isn’t his first reckless stunt, so I assigned him a safety detail.”

Though Shen Ge and Li Xiang had rapidly advanced the Rong City branch’s capabilities, one kept hauling in eerie creatures, while the other kept trying to fuse with high-level ones. Deng Yuqi was convinced the branch was doomed.

“I’ll have Li Xiang handle the cats. Enjoy your date—and please, no more calls tonight.”

“Wow, way to crush my overachiever spirit.”

“The more creatures you catch, the worse Rong City’s situation is. That’s not an achievement.”

“…”

Well.

She had a point.

After Deng Yuqi left, Shen Ge and Cheng Shengnan headed to the cinema. The Lunar New Year lineup was packed, so they grabbed popcorn and drinks and settled on a workplace comedy—fitting, given their corporate past.

“Do you come to the movies often?” Shen Ge asked between handfuls of popcorn.

“Rarely. Usually dragged by my friend. She loves romances, but they put me to sleep.”

“Speaking of which, I’ve always wondered—you seem to have a thing against men. Back at the company, you were pretty… frosty with male colleagues. Just curious. Feel free not to answer.”

He was being diplomatic. Cheng Shengnan’s aversion to working with men was legendary—even male executives from HQ got the cold shoulder.

Her gaze stayed on the pre-movie ads. “I was born in the mountains. My father kept trying for a son, and I was the sixth daughter. He was a drunk who beat my mother and us. When money ran out, he sold my eldest sister to an old man in the village as a wife.”

Her voice was flat. “My parents always said they needed to save for my brother’s future—school, a wife, a better life. Over the years, I watched my second and third sisters get sold off too. When it was almost our turn, my fourth sister took the fifth and me and ran. I was seven.”

“My father sent search parties after us. Fourth sister hid fifth sister and me in separate holes, covering us with leaves. They found her and fifth sister. I watched as the men… broke fourth sister. She bit off her tongue to end it. Fifth sister was dragged back.”

“I escaped to the county, begging for food, until traffickers grabbed me and some other girls. Before they could sell us, a charity group rescued us. A woman adopted me. I begged her to save fifth sister. Days later, she told me fifth sister was already dead.”

“My adoptive mother exposed the village. It was… cleansed. She changed my name, took me abroad. We moved around the world until I returned for university. She let me choose my path—no pressure to follow her charity work.”

The theater lights dimmed. The movie began.

Their seats were isolated enough that their conversation wouldn’t disturb others.

Shen Ge leaned closer. “Not bad, but not tragic enough. Let me tell you a worse one.”

“…” Cheng Shengnan gave him a sidelong glance. This isn’t a competition.

But Shen Ge was already narrating: “A friend of mine was born into a happy family. Great parents, kind neighbors. Until he was ten. On a beach vacation, his dad split open—literally—and ate his mom. My friend jumped from the car and watched it plunge into the ocean.”

Cheng Shengnan’s expression shifted. Is this a horror movie pitch?

“The police investigated. Relatives took him in—but only for his parents’ house and savings. They drugged his food and committed him to an asylum.”

“People say asylums hold geniuses or madmen. In reality? Just the mad. And those driven mad. This asylum partnered with a pharma company, testing drugs on patients. Resistance meant beatings, abuse, and enough sedatives to replace meals.”

“At ten, my friend watched patients beg for death. Nights were soundtracks of screams. Hell, surrounded by demons.”

“Eventually, he broke. He met himself—became his own friend. He volunteered for experiments, learned the doctors’ methods. Three years later, the director released him, enrolled him in school, and promised him a job post-graduation.”

“My friend spent three months planning. He invited the entire asylum staff to a ‘graduation celebration’—then locked them inside and burned the place to the ground. Records, staff, everything.”

“He was thoughtful. His uncle loved the house, so he preserved the body and sealed it in a wall. His aunt went into the bathtub. His cousin, who’d fed him psych meds like candy, got a special treat—ten pounds of barbiturates and benzodiazepines cooked into congee. Then, to keep the family together, he cemented him into the kitchen stove.”

“The asylum taught him well. No evidence remained. A decade later, the house was demolished. The developer buried the oddities to avoid scandal.”