"I called out, I screamed, but you all seemed to be sleeping like the dead. You couldn't hear me. That cat—that cat just ate me like that. It didn't leave a single scrap of bone. No, it definitely wasn't a cat! It was a monster! After it ate me, its wounds healed! It was still covered in blood, but it didn't have a single wound left! After it ate me all up, I felt like I was inside its stomach. It was so cramped, and it hurt so much. After a while, I could move again, and I realized I'd gotten shorter. I'd turned into that cat! I turned into a cat! Now I understand. Su Zhuoqin did it on purpose! He deliberately forced me to kill the cat. As soon as I killed it, I took his place, trapped here! Please save me! I'm begging you, save me!"
Blood sample 03520060505 collected.
May 5, 2006: Failed to capture the cat's ghost. Spotted a strange spirit in a photo of a stray cat, half cat and half human.
May 7, 2006: Received the blood test results. The stray cat's blood sample 03520060504 belonged to Su Zhuoqin; the blood on the ground, sample 03520060505, belonged to the stray cat; and the stray cat's blood sample 03520060505 belonged to Fei Wen. Confirmed that before April 15, Kong Rongde was inside the stray cat; on May 4, Su Zhuoqin was inside the stray cat; and from May 5 onward, Fei Wen was inside the stray cat.
May 10, 2006: Phone recording 200605101209.mp3.
"Boss, how did it go?"
"I'm on my way back."
"Did you catch the cat's ghost?"
"No. It wasn't a ghost, but a spirit. Its true body must be in the cat, so my punches had no effect on it."
"I see. The cat's at the office now. We've been keeping an eye on it."
"Good. By the way, I saw Su Zhuoqin's ghost. It was half cat, half human."
"Really? He hasn't gone to be reincarnated or ascended to heaven?"
"He'd lost consciousness. He went right up to the stray cat's spirit and was swallowed by it."
"No way. When Fei Wen saw the ghost come out, Su Zhuoqin should still have been himself. And there was Kong Rongde's ghost, too. That thing we saw at Fei Wen's place that day must've been Kong Rongde's ghost. Wasn't he conscious? He even attacked Fei Wen!"
"He probably gradually lost his self-awareness after leaving the stray cat's body. Anyway, keep an eye on that stray cat for now."
"Sure, don't worry."
May 11, 2006: Spoke with the client. Audio file 03520060511.wav.
"Mr. Fei, based on what we know so far, there's no chance you can survive."
Tap tap tap tap tap tap...
"What did he write?"
"'Save me.'"
"I'm sorry, but you're already dead. You died on May 5. We can't bring you back to life. Now, someone from our office will kill your current cat body and free your soul."
Tap tap tap tap tap tap...
"Still 'save me.' Boss?"
"This is the best way we can save you. Do you want to be swallowed by the cat's ghost?"
Meow! Meow-ow! Meow meow meow!
"Miao, hold it down."
"Okay."
Meow!!! Meow—!
Whoosh—
Bang! Bang bang!
Yowww!
Clang!
Crash!
"It ran that way!"
"Hey! You idiot, what are you doing?"
"Damn it! This thing suddenly got so strong!"
"A Ye, are you okay?"
Crack! Bang!
"Huff... huff... It's dead, right, Boss?"
"It's dead. Burn it."
May 11, 2006: Burned the stray cat's body. Investigation concluded.
February 3, 2007: Discovered a missing-person case. The missing person was a young female office worker. A large amount of cat's blood was found in her home, and neighbors reported that she had abused cats.
Attachment: News reports.
February 8, 2007: Investigation revealed 14 similar cases among missing-person cases nationwide over the years. The earliest could be traced back to 1978.
Attachment: Photocopies of case files and news reports.
February 10, 2007: Investigation concluded. Outcome: A new paranormal species may have emerged. The origin of these unusual stray cats could not be determined. This case was classified as "Unresolved," with "cat abuse" set as a keyword. If any related cases occurred, blood samples were to be compared, cat-call audio analyzed, and the stray cats dealt with.
"Meow!"
I almost jumped out of my seat. When I looked up, Guo Yujie was watching cute cat videos with a lovestruck look on her face. I let out a breath and closed the music player.
Those cat cries were downright terrifying, so piercing and mournful. They were supposed to be coming to claim lives, but to me, they sounded like screams from cats being hurt. Fei Wen and the others should have enjoyed those sounds. Who would've thought they'd become their death knell? Were there any stray cats on the streets now with the soul of an abuser trapped inside them?
"Meow meow!"
"Have you gotten in touch with Old Wang's daughter?" I couldn't stand the incessant meowing from Guo Yujie's phone, so I tapped her on the shoulder.
"I have. She'll come over after taking the day off. She can talk with those two psychologists then." Guo Yujie paused the video and stretched, extending both arms and showing off the curve of her waist. Her long, straight legs were a real treat for the eyes.
I only glanced a couple of times, but when Guo Yujie lowered her arms, she smacked me on the head, making me clutch it and cry out in pain.
"Oh dear, I'm sorry." Guo Yujie's apology sounded sincere, but I hurriedly dodged the hand she reached out to rub my head.
"Ahem. What are you two doing?" a steady voice called from the doorway.
Guo Yujie and I looked up and saw the old leader standing at the entrance, with a pretty young woman behind him.
"Old Leader." I scrambled awkwardly to my feet.
Guo Yujie, the real culprit, grinned as she stood and walked over to the old leader. She even stepped on my foot.
That woman! I sucked in a breath through the pain. Still, I was a little relieved that Guo Yujie had always been a tomboy and didn't wear high heels. Otherwise, she would've crushed my foot and left me disabled.
Thinking of that, I glanced at the young woman. She was not only beautiful, but also very feminine. She wore a blue dress, and flesh-colored stockings covered her legs. On her feet were a pair of black high heels. Her long, wavy hair fell over her chest, concealing its curves. She wore light makeup, lending her a refined beauty. Her slightly raised chin and haughty gaze suited her appearance and bearing, though she seemed a little out of place in our demolition office.
Guo Yujie didn't seem to notice the woman's distant, indifferent air. She cheerfully greeted the old leader, then took the initiative to strike up a conversation with her.
"This is Chen Xiaoqiu. Starting tomorrow, she'll be joining your team," the old leader said.
Guo Yujie immediately welcomed her. "That's great! Can I call you Xiao Qiu? Is that Qiu as in autumn? You can call me Xiao Yu or Xiao Jie."
"It's Qiu as in hills, Chen as in the 'ear' radical on the left and 'east' on the right, Xiao as in dawn, and Qiu as in hills," Chen Xiaoqiu said.
Guo Yujie froze for a moment, clearly not expecting such a pretty young woman to use those characters for her name.
"When her father named her, he happened to see the hills in the morning, so he gave her that name." The old leader shook his head with a sigh.
I understood at once that Chen Xiaoqiu was the daughter of someone the old leader knew. I just couldn't figure out why someone like her would join the demolition office.
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