What Bad Intentions Could a Kitty Possibly Have?

With such a clown tagging along, they could only walk back to the shop. Fortunately, they were both in Brooklyn, so it was not too far.

Oaks invited this cat servant, Zhang Shuren, back to his place mainly because wounds caused by a Flerken could not heal by ordinary means.

A certain bald director should have known that all too well.

Though the cat servant had brought it upon himself by being too handsy, Goose was Oaks's cat now, so he felt responsible for it.

Especially since Oaks was one of the few people capable of treating injuries inflicted by a Flerken.

As for whether Goose would be unhappy about it...

This little darling actually had a good temper. It just could not help it when certain people insisted on courting death.

"What should I call you?"

In the dangerous slums, Oaks switched back to English. If two young men with obviously Asian faces chatted and laughed in Chinese without a care, the odds of something happening to them would rise accordingly.

Believe it or not, plenty of white people discriminated against Black people, but even more Black people discriminated against Asians, and did so far more brazenly.

The people around Little Rainforest only occupied a small area, not even a whole block. The slums covered nearly half of Brooklyn.

"Uh, my name is Zhang Shuren. I'm a graduate student at Columbia University."

The bespectacled Zhang Shuren rubbed his still-aching nose and burning cheek, his mouth twitching.

"If it's inconvenient or hard to pronounce, you can call me by my English nickname, Antonio."

"...I'm fairly confident in my Chinese pronunciation, but outside of writing, you should introduce yourself as Antonio Zhang."

Oaks shrugged. He was absolutely certain that if this guy insisted on using his real name in spoken conversation, he would face awkward situations such as professors calling the wrong name, mistaking him for someone else, getting his credits mixed up, or even being unable to collect his packages.

He had seen that sort of thing far too often.

"Okay... um, sir?"

Zhang Shuren—well, Antonio—no, it was better to just call him Zhang.

Zhang's envious gaze kept drifting toward Goose, who was quietly perched on Oaks's shoulder, but his feet did not dare fall behind at all. He had finally understood the terror of this neighborhood.

"What should I call you, sir? Your Chinese is so good. Are you Chinese?"

"Oaks Lin. You can also call me Lin Xingye."

"Oaks? Like air conditioning? Ah, sorry..."

"O-a-k-s. It means oak trees."

Oaks glanced at Zhang, whose face had turned a little red, and gave a strange, quiet chuckle.

"I'm half Chinese, and I've studied Chinese quite a bit... so don't think I wouldn't understand that guy's signature way of speaking, or some of his little jokes."

Watching Zhang scratch his head sheepishly, Oaks asked again.

"You look like an international student who just arrived. Why did you come to this area? Even locals rarely come here unless they have to."

Ignoring the fact that he himself, a "local," was here, Oaks glanced twice at the corner ahead and twitched his mouth.

"So you see, I'm quite shocked that you managed to make it this deep into the slums safely."

"Ah, I came by taxi. That driver drove like a maniac. I nearly threw up..."

Zhang raised his head blankly.

"I only said I wanted to find somewhere with cheaper rent, and he brought me here...

Huh? Are they coming for you, Mr. Oaks?"

Could someone explain why the hulking Black men slowly approaching from ahead wore such vicious, ill-intentioned smiles?

And weren't those folding knives in their hands considered restricted weapons back home?

"How much did you know about New York's public safety before coming abroad?"

"Um... I heard New York had the best overall public safety in the country, but people on the forums said not to go out at night. Daytime is relatively safe."

"It's one in the afternoon. So, does this look safe to you?"

Oaks stroked his chin. This was two blocks away from Little Rainforest, apparently a place where a small Black gang operated.

That was why he usually came here secretly in cat form. Otherwise, just cleaning up this trash would take too much effort.

More importantly, it ruined his mood.

Besides, biological research could complement his abilities and rapidly improve his strength, while fighting crime was nothing but a waste of time.

He had no interest in being some moral police officer. With that time, he could plant two more trees and get a better return.

"Mr. Oaks..."

Zhang was nearly crying. Trembling, he tugged at Oaks's hoodie.

"Did you bring any money?"

"I brought a credit card."

Shaking, Zhang pulled out his Nokia. This throwing weapon had dealt him a devastating blow not long ago.

"Then... can we still run?"

"There are people behind us too."

Zhang turned his head with difficulty and let out a wail.

"Mr. Oaks, I just wanted to rent a place!"

"Why not stay in the school dorms? You came to rent a place without luggage, so you must have gotten a dorm assignment, right?"

Zhang trembled even harder. Tears flowed down his face uncontrollably—this time, from anger.

"I wanted to! But my roommate is built like a bear, and he's fucking gay!"

"..."

Oaks bared his teeth and sighed. America, land of freedom and individuality...

There was no helping it. It looked like this could not be settled peacefully, but with Zhang here, he could not transform. He would have to use a little magic instead...

"Meow~"

Goose, who had been bored out of her mind on Oaks's shoulder, perked up.

Flerkens were very intelligent. She could understand the meaning of human language with remarkable precision.

And after communicating directly with Oaks, who possessed the Wild Heart, Goose could easily sense his state of mind.

Those people across from them were looking for trouble.

Mm, they were the same color as that bald trench-coat guy.

Oaks was troubled because the one who scooped litter was beside him, making it inconvenient for him to act.

Humans were much more complicated than cats.

So, with the simple thought of helping her new owner with his worries, Goose opened her mouth.

What bad intentions could a kitty possibly have?

She only wanted to help.

And so, Zhang felt his entire worldview suffer a devastating blow.

A screenful of savage tentacles swept up all the thugs before them in one net.

Their vicious smiles froze on their gleaming black faces.

They did not even have time to shout "Robbery!" before bidding farewell to this terrifying world.

Zhang stiffly turned his neck, tears and snot streaming all over his face—this time, from fright.

Mm, the friends in front had already departed, while the friends behind had been knocked down.

Ah, the friends behind them howled as they scrambled and rolled out of sight—the entire process took less than five seconds.

So the hero who had saved him was...

"Meow~"

Goose licked her paw and washed her face.

What she meant was, "No big deal. No need to thank me."

Zhang rolled his eyes and fell backward. As he went down, Oaks vaguely heard the hoarse voice he could barely force out.

"After the founding of the country... weren't animals forbidden from becoming spirits..."

"...Oh, shit."

Oaks covered his forehead, his feelings complicated.

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