"It's gone. There's only a cat meowing."
"Can't you hear a person?"
"That Kong Rongde was following them. The boss saw that coming, didn't he?"
"He didn't."
On April 15, 2006, the client, Fei Wen, came to visit. Audio file: 03520060415.wav.
"Hello, Mr. Fei."
"..."
"Mr. Fei, what happened? Did something happen to Mr. Su Zhuoqin?"
"Ha... Su Zhuoqin... Su Zhuoqin's also... gone..."
"Was it like with Kong Rongde? You called him, there was a catfight, and then he disappeared?"
"No, no... When we got back, we got rid of all the cats! There aren't any cats in the house anymore! But... but yesterday, yesterday I was at work when I got a call from Su Zhuoqin. He said... he cursed me out for leaving without closing the door. He'd gone out drinking the night before, and I was home alone. I definitely closed the door when I left for work yesterday, but when he got back, he said it was open. I... I heard a cat meowing on the phone. I told him to stop doing it. After what happened, he should just stop. He didn't understand. He asked what the hell I was talking about. The meowing... there were more and more cats meowing right into the phone... He couldn't hear them. He couldn't hear a thing..."
"What happened after that? Did Mr. Su Zhuoqin just disappear?"
"I heard a huge racket on the other end, and then the call cut off. I was terrified, so I called the police and went back with them. The door was closed. As soon as we opened it, the smell of blood hit us. I threw up right there in the doorway... The police went inside. It was a mess, and a bunch of cats came rushing out... The police yelled at me for making a fuss. A pack of wild cats had fought in the house, and there was blood everywhere... One cat had died, too. I... I was terrified... The police dealt with everything. Su Zhuoqin, Su Zhuoqin wasn't home. His phone was on the floor, with the back cover and screen smashed... I don't know what happened..."
"Mr. Fei, you and Kong Rongde and Mr. Su Zhuoqin all abused cats, didn't you?"
"...Ha... haha... I... we..."
"If you want us to help you, please tell us everything."
"Su Zhuoqin started it! He was the one who started it! He was the first tenant in that building! At first, eight people shared that house, a two-bedroom apartment with a living room, four people to a room. By the time I moved in, there were only five people left. Su Zhuoqin and the other four had been roommates for a long time. Two of them worked at the same restaurant as him. They'd catch wild cats... catch them and abuse them. I had no idea when I moved in! The first time I saw it, I was stunned! Su Zhuoqin told me it was fun and showed me how to do it. The other four were enjoying themselves, too... I really didn't know at first... When I'd just moved in, I saw them feeding the wild cats and thought they were kindhearted! Who knew they were luring the cats over, then grabbing them and abusing them? I couldn't stand it at first. It was disgusting... But the rent was cheap, and it would've been hard to find another cheap place. Besides, there were five of them..."
"Then you joined them?"
"I didn't want to... That day... that day I lost a package and got fined. My boss chewed me out for ages... I'd had a bit to drink. I watched them abusing the cats, and Su Zhuoqin called me over, so I... I tried it... I never thought it would turn out like this... It was like taking drugs. I just got hooked..."
"What about the other four roommates? Why did they leave?"
"One went back to his hometown, and another changed jobs. The new place was far away, so he moved out. The two who worked with Su Zhuoqin went home for the New Year last year and never came back. They probably found work back home. After that, the landlord brought Kong Rongde to live there. Su Zhuoqin got Kong Rongde to join in abusing the cats. Kong Rongde... he was from the countryside, and besides farming, he raised pigs and chickens and ducks. He laughed at Su Zhuoqin for being useless, snatched the knife from him, and cut the cat up... He said slicing it up like that was boring, so he and Su Zhuoqin came up with a plan. They got a cage, caught more wild cats, and shut them inside without feeding them. They'd often take them out to beat them, prick them with needles, hold them under water, or feed them all kinds of weird stuff... Those cats... when they got hungry enough, they'd bite each other, and they'd bite people, too. Su Zhuoqin and Kong Rongde thought it was hilarious... Mm..."
"What did you do with the cats' bodies?"
"We just threw them in the garbage. But we did it secretly at night, and we'd take them somewhere farther away. It's those cats, isn't it? They've come back for us, haven't they? They killed Su Zhuoqin and Kong Rongde, didn't they? And now... they're coming for me next... They're definitely coming for me!"
"Please calm down, Mr. Fei Wen."
"What should I do... What should I do... Help me! Your agency can do something, can't it? Please save me!"
"Of course we can. Sit still. A-Miao, hold him down."
"Wait! What are you doing? What are you going to do? Hey!"
"Don't be nervous, Mr. Fei. The boss is getting rid of the ghosts around you."
"Huh?"
Meow—!
Meow, meow!!!
"What? Why can I hear cats? What are you hitting? Ah! What is that?"
Aow—meow!
Meow meow meow meow meow meow!!!
Cackle, cackle, cackle...
"He, he's doing what...?"
"Mr. Fei, you'd better be careful not to bite your tongue."
Meow!
Crash! Bang! Bang, bang!
Meow—
"How many?"
"Eleven. Mr. Fei, you really did kill a lot of cats."
"I-I-I... Is... is it over?"
"These are just the cats that followed you to the agency. We need to check where you live."
"Oh... Oh... All right."
On April 15, 2006, we went to the client's home. Audio file: 03520060415(1).wav.
"This is the place."
Click! Creak—
"Ugh, it reeks in here. Don't you clean?"
"It was yesterday... I left with the police yesterday and slept at the delivery station for the night. Then today I came to find you. I... do I have to go inside?"
"You don't."
Tap, tap, tap...
"This house makes me uncomfortable."
Crash!
"What was that?!"
Thud, thud, thud...
"It was a table lamp falling on the floor. It didn't fall for no reason, did it?"
Bang!
"It ran over there! Boss, was that a cat, or Kong Rongde and Su Zhuoqin?"
"I don't know. Something about this room feels strange."
"Strange?"
"What... what are you doing?"
"It's not us doing anything. There's something in this room doing something. It's a good thing you didn't stay here last night."
"Huh? W-what is it? Is there a ghost? Didn't you just beat those ghosts? Hurry up and get rid of the ghosts in here, too!"
"What are you getting so worked up for?"
"How can I not be worked up? This thing..."
"Move!"
"Ah!"
Bang!
"Ah! Ah, aaaaaah! My face! Ah!"
Whoosh—
Crash!
"Boss, what happened?"
"Mr. Fei, are you all right?"
"My eyes! My eyes hurt!"
"Don't panic. I'll call an ambulance right away. Your eyes are fine. You hurt your eyelid, but your eyeball should be okay."
"That thing... didn't seem like a cat."
"Then was it Kong Rongde or Su Zhuoqin?"
"But if it was one of their ghosts, shouldn't it have left a different kind of claw mark?"
"Besides abusing cats, did you do anything else?"