This Gu Is Not That Gu

Oaks wiped his head with his front paws, finally seeing the situation for what it was—

The young Chinese man was a newcomer who had stumbled upon the gathering of slum-dwellers in the small rainforest, thinking there was some excitement to be had, only to be subdued the moment he got too close.

The burly Latino man in charge of maintaining order had checked his phone, found only Chinese characters he couldn't read, and, assuming the youth was just another one of those international students frequently seen around lately, had simply ordered him tossed out.

Now, the man lay sprawled on the side of the road. The slum-dwellers watched him for a moment as if he were a fool, then muttered a string of profanities and went on their way.

"This guy's got guts, turning down an ambulance? Seems he did his homework before coming abroad."

"But doesn't he know that in the Brooklyn slums, an international student like him shouldn't wander in easily, even in broad daylight?"

The bespectacled youth was covered in snot and tears, but after a moment of dizziness, he regained his senses.

He trudged dejectedly to a nearby wall and crouched down, rummaging through his pockets. He shook out a student ID, a meal card, and other odds and ends, finally pulling out a pack of tissues to wipe his face and glasses.

"Columbia University, Department of Environmental Science, Zhang Shuren..."

From a distance, Oaks clearly read the text on the student's ID. His cat lips curled in a sneer, and he leaped silently off the wall, ready to go enjoy his birthday lunch.

However, he suddenly felt a jolt—

"What the hell!?"

His animal instincts told him that something unusual was staring at him.

"A human? No, a beast... and not just any ordinary beast!"

Oaks crouched slightly, his body arching backward, his soft orange fur bristling—an instinctive reaction in his orange cat form.

"Over there!"

He whipped his head toward the direction of the Chinese youth still wiping his glasses. Could this guy be hiding his true strength?

"No, it's not him..."

His gaze shifted upward, and in the next instant, an orange figure appeared on the wall directly above Zhang Shuren.

"..."

Oaks stared speechlessly at the orange cat, who was letting out a massive yawn while fixing her big, adorable eyes on him. His mouth twitched uncontrollably:

Have I been single for too long? Even a female cat is starting to look pretty to me...

This large orange cat had ears perked up alertly, a soft and cute face, and a well-proportioned build. She wasn't like nine out of ten orange cats, though she wasn't quite the tenth, either.

She must be a house cat; she was even wearing a leather collar with a name tag.

"Hmm, G-O-O-S-E, Goo... Goose."

Oaks nodded slightly. She had a name, so she was definitely a pet.

Goose, a cute name.

Hmm, Goose, an orange cat.

Hmm, I'm being targeted. Should I run? Can I even get away? Waiting online, it's urgent.

All four of Oaks's paws were damp with sweat—

This is, without a doubt, one of the most dangerous targets on Earth that you could count on one hand. How did I manage to run into her?!

Why aren't you off playing with Nick Fury instead of messing around here!

Are you trying to get a piece of This Seat?!

Oaks shifted his body back slightly, and Goose leaned forward.

Oaks retreated half a step, while Goose stared at him unblinkingly with her large eyes, her hind legs slightly bent, preparing to pounce!

"Aha! A big orange cat!"

Oaks's heart skipped a beat, and he nearly collapsed. The next instant, a pair of "God's hands" appeared beside Goose, grabbing her and pulling her down:

"Hahaha! So cute~ Oh~ little baby, are you lost? Are you all alone now? I'm all alone too~"

The Chinese youth, Zhang Shuren, held the bewildered Goose and petted her, sighing with a look of satisfaction:

"Sigh, I suppose I'm getting on in years. I didn't feel much while rushing along alone, but here, under a wall in a foreign land, one person, one shadow... I've finally tasted a bit of loneliness."

Oaks couldn't help but want to curse out loud. You idiot, aren't you from the Department of Environmental Science?

Are you sure your surname is Zhang and not Zhou?!

The thing you're holding is a cruel fate, kid!

And Goose had already snapped out of her bewilderment!

A black-colored guy had once petted her just like this.

"Meow-rowl!"

Oaks covered his face with his cat paw.

"Ah!!"

The youth, Zhang Shuren, screamed and fell to the ground. Goose had actually shown mercy; he only had three claw marks on his face.

However...

"Young man, the wounds caused by a Flerken cannot heal naturally..."

Oaks sighed, intending to take the opportunity to retreat, but his legs went weak and he failed to move when he heard a trembling voice.

"Oh, Orange~ I was too abrupt~ But when one likes someone, they just can't help but say tender things they never expected to say..."

This idiot!

Just as Oaks tried to scramble up, a small shadow already loomed over him.

"Are you... a cat?"

Just as he was about to risk shifting into a leopard to prowl and dash away from the scene, Oaks heard a curious voice ask him a question.

"Hm?"

Oaks slowly turned his head, staring at Goose, who was looking at him with curiosity, for a moment before it dawned on him:

Oh, shit! I can communicate with animals!

As a Druid with a Wild Heart, Oaks could naturally communicate with animals.

However, for one, animals didn't have high intelligence, and Oaks had no desire to be a beast tamer, so he didn't often take the initiative to talk to them.

Secondly... could a Flerken really be compared to an ordinary animal? He had simply been terrified earlier.

But now that he had come to his senses, Oaks realized that a Flerken's habits were no different from those of an ordinary cat.

Moreover, its intelligence was far higher than that of a regular cat, so it stood to reason that they could communicate normally.

"Ahem... uh, hello, I'm Oaks. Why do you ask?"

Ignoring the cat-lover whose eyes were shining at the sight of another orange cat, Oaks cautiously began to communicate with Goose.

"I look like the cats on this planet, but I'm different. You look different from them, too."

Goose's voice sounded like a child's, adorable and cute. To the cat-lover, the two orange cats were just meowing at each other, and the guy was still reflecting on how he must have been scratched because he had tried to stop them from meeting—

Heh, the stench of loneliness from being single for so long.

"Well... indeed, I am different. I am a Druid, a, um, human who knows a bit of special magic. I can turn into the shape of a cat, or other animals."

Oaks briefly explained what a Druid was to Goose, while his heart began to stir—

Don't get the wrong idea, it's not what you think.

"So... Goose, how did you end up here?"

"My master left this planet a long time ago, and I've just been wandering around. You're the first person I've seen who is different, and you're quite interesting."

"Then... would you like to come to my place? You don't have anywhere else to go, anyway."

"Sure~ I want to eat pure meat cat cans and freeze-dried treats, no cat food; it's hard to digest."

"...No problem."

A Flerken's stomach is a pocket dimension; it won't get fat no matter how much it eats... Looks like I need to work hard to make money.

"Um... wait for me a second."

Goose sat down and watched as Oaks rounded a corner and disappeared. A moment later, a red-haired young man walked out, picked it up, and approached the envious cat-lover:

"Hey, buddy, sorry... looks like my cat hurt you. Come with me, I have a first-aid kit at home."

"Huh? You speak Chinese?"

The cat-lover's entire face beamed:

"That's great! I think I am..."

"Stop! Or I'm calling an ambulance to haul you away!"

"..."