Number 035 - Death of the Wildcat (2)

"It's gone, just cat sounds."

"No human voices?"

"That Kong Rongde was following them. The boss must have seen it already, right?"

"He didn't see it."

April 15, 2006. Client Fei Wen visits. Audio file 03520060415.wav.

"Hello, Mr. Fei."

"..."

"Mr. Fei, did something happen? Did Mr. Su Zhuoqin have an accident?"

"Heh... Su Zhuoqin... Su Zhuoqin is also... gone..."

"Just like with Kong Rongde, you called, there were cat fights, and then the person disappeared?"

"No, it's not... We'll get rid of all the cats when we get back! There are no cats in the house anymore! But... but yesterday, yesterday I was at work, and I got a call from Su Zhuoqin. He said... he cursed me for not closing the door when I left. He went out drinking the night before. I was home alone. I definitely closed the door when I went to work yesterday, but he said the door was open when he got back. I... I heard cats meowing on the phone. I told him to stop it, that something had already happened, so he shouldn't do it anymore. He didn't understand, asked me what nonsense I was talking about. The cat sounds... the cat sounds increased, meowing right at the phone... He couldn't hear it, he didn't hear anything..."

"What happened after that? Did Mr. Su Zhuoqin just disappear like that?"

"I heard a huge commotion on the phone, and the call was hung up. I was terrified and called the police. I went back with the police. The door was closed. When we opened it, there was a smell of blood. I vomited at the doorway... Those police officers went in. It was a mess inside, and many cats rushed out... Those police officers cursed me for making a fuss, saying a bunch of stray cats fought in the house, with lots of blood... And one cat was dead. I... I was terrified... The police handled it. Su Zhuoqin, Su Zhuoqin wasn't home. His phone was on the floor, the back cover and screen were broken... I don't know what happened..."

"Mr. Fei, you, Kong Rongde, and Mr. Su Zhuoqin, you all abused cats, didn't you?"

"...Heh... Heh heh... Mm, I... we..."

"If you want our help, you need to tell us everything."

"Su Zhuoqin started it! He started it! He was the earliest resident of that building! The earliest, the very first house was shared by eight people, a two-bedroom, one-living room, four people per room. When I moved in, only five people were left. Su Zhuoqin and four others were long-term roommates. Two of them worked at the same restaurant as Su Zhuoqin. They would catch stray cats... catch stray cats and abuse them. I had no idea when I moved in! I was scared to death the first time I saw it! Su Zhuoqin told me it was very interesting and even taught me how to do it. Those four people were also very happy... I really didn't know at first... When I first moved in, I saw them feeding stray cats and thought they were kind! Who knew they would trick the cats like this, then catch them and abuse them. I couldn't stand it at first, the scene was too disgusting... But the rent was cheap, and it would be hard for me to find another cheap place, and there were five of them..."

"Did you join them later?"

"I didn't want to... That day... That day I lost a package, was fined, and was scolded by my boss for a long time... I had a bit to drink, saw them abusing cats, Su Zhuoqin beckoned me, and I... I tried it... I didn't expect it to be like this... It was like drug addiction, I got hooked like that..."

"What about the other four roommates? Why did they leave?"

"One went back to his hometown, another changed jobs and moved far away, so he left. The two who were with Su Zhuoqin didn't come back after going home for Chinese New Year last year. They probably found jobs in their hometowns. Later, the landlord brought Kong Rongde. Su Zhuoqin then pulled Kong Rongde into abusing cats. Kong Rongde... Kong Rongde's hometown is rural. Besides farming, he also raised pigs, chickens, and ducks. He laughed at Su Zhuoqin's poor skills and snatched Su Zhuoqin's knife to cut the cat... He also said that cutting them back and forth wasn't interesting, so he and Su Zhuoqin discussed it, made a cage, caught a few more stray cats and locked them up, didn't feed them, and often took them out to beat them, poke them with needles, submerge them in water basins, or feed them all sorts of weird things... Those cats... those cats, starving, would bite each other, and they would bite people too. Su Zhuoqin and Kong Rongde watched with great pleasure... Mm..."

"How did you dispose of the cat carcasses?"

"We threw them in the trash. But we'd sneak them out at night, and throw them in places farther away. It was those cats, wasn't it? It was those cats that came to find us, right? They killed Su Zhuoqin and Kong Rongde, didn't they? And me... they'll come for me next... They'll definitely come for me!"

"Please calm down, Mr. Fei Wen."

"What should I do... What should I do... Save me! Your firm can help, right? Save me!"

"Of course, we can. Sit still and don't move. Ah 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 going to deal with the ghosts around you."

"Huh?"

Meow--!

Meow meow!!!

"What? Why are there cat sounds? What are you doing? Ah! What is that!"

Roar--Meow!!

Meow meow meow meow meow!!!

Giggle giggle giggle...

"He, what is he doing..."

"Mr. Fei, you should be careful not to bite your tongue."

Meow!

Crash! Bang! Bang bang!

Meow----

"How many?"

"Eleven. Mr. Fei, you really did kill quite a few cats."

"I, I, I... Is... Is it okay like this?"

"These are just the cats that followed you to the firm. We need to go to your place and take a look."

"Oh... Oh... Okay."

April 15, 2006. Heading to the client's residence. Audio file 03520060415(1).wav.

"This is it."

Click! Creak--

"Ugh, it smells awful. Don't you guys clean?"

"It was yesterday... I left with the police yesterday, slept at the courier station for a night, and came to find you today. I... Can I not go in?"

"Okay."

Tap, tap, tap...

"This house... it makes me uncomfortable."

CRASH!

"What was that?!"

Stomp, stomp, stomp...

"It's the lamp that fell. It didn't just 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. This room feels strange to me."

"Strange?"

"What... what are you guys doing?"

"It's not us doing something, it's something in this room doing something. It was the right choice for you not to stay yesterday."

"Huh? W-what is it? Is there a ghost? Didn't you just beat those ghosts away? Hurry up and beat the ghosts here too!"

"Why are you in such a hurry?"

"How can I not be in a hurry! This thing..."

"Get out of the way!"

"Ah!"

BANG!

"Ah! Aaaah! My face! Ah!"

Whoosh--

CLANG!

"Boss, what happened?"

"Mr. Fei, are you alright?"

"My eyes! My eyes hurt so much!"

"Don't worry, I'll call an ambulance right away. Your eyes are fine, it's your eyelids that were injured, your eyeballs should be okay."

"That thing... doesn't seem like a cat."

"Then it was Kong Rongde or Su Zhuoqin?"

"But if it were the ghosts of those two, they shouldn't leave claw marks like this, right?"

"Besides abusing cats, what else have you guys done?"