Three-Five-Five had actually been awake for a while.
But hearing the sounds beside her, she just wanted to pretend to be asleep.
And so, an ordinary morning began with the Tortoiseshell Cat feigning sleep.
Only after the kittens' noisy sounds grew louder, followed by the sound of something falling over, doors opening, distant whistles, and "meow" calls... did Three-Five-Five finally open her eyes.
The Tortoiseshell Cat lay at the top of the room's highest shelf, looking down at the kittens below.
The trainer, who was also under her gaze, knocked on the door: "Three-Five-Five, come down for breakfast."
Only then did Three-Five-Five let out a "meow," leaping down from above, pushing aside a rolling tabby kitten, and sniffing at her specially elevated food bowl.
The adult Tortoiseshell Cat's food was naturally different from the kittens', and at this age, the kittens' curriculum included "obedience training" - though they weren't required to carry their food bowls in line like police dogs, they at least couldn't fight over food.
The trainer noticed the tabby and black-and-white kittens fighting as they approached, and was about to speak up when Three-Five-Five turned her head and impatiently let out a "meow."
The kittens bumped heads and settled down at their own food bowls, purring.
Then Three-Five-Five jumped up again, pulling out an orange kitten who had buried its head in the neighboring bowl while eating, and pressed its head down while scolding it twice.
And so began another noisy day.
After breakfast, the trainer should have taken the kittens to the training ground, but she waited a moment as Three-Five-Five sat with her legs tucked under her, head constantly turning to the left.
A drone ball rose into the air, and Three-Five-Five called out once, followed by a "meow" sound - though it sounded like a cat, the trainer knew it was actually Chu Tingwu speaking.
The human and cat conversed in cat language for a while, which was typically when Three-Five-Five was most talkative during the day.
While communicating with her own kitten, Three-Five-Five also herded the other kittens out the door.
The trainer followed behind, watching the adult cat leading kittens of various colors, keeping an eye on each one's condition, preventing them from getting lost or straying.
The drone ball followed them out, and after many times, the trainer realized that Chu Tingwu would occasionally say a few words to comfort the kittens, helping Three-Five-Five from afar.
After driving all the kittens into the training room without missing a single one, they were handed over to the trainer.
The kittens' recent training involved controlled hunting and pouncing exercises, but they had to follow human commands to complete different stages of hunting, such as restraining prey without biting or playing with it.
This naturally went against feline instincts, but selecting police cats meant picking out those who could control themselves from among ordinary cats.
Three-Five-Five left the kittens behind, crouched on the window to watch for a while, then sniffed dismissively before leaping down from the windowsill.
The trainer knew she was probably heading out.
Except for the first day she arrived, Three-Five-Five had never spent an entire day at the police dog training base.
She seemed to be a cat who naturally disliked being confined indoors, and actively expanded her territory.
Because they knew Three-Five-Five could understand human speech, and had received Chu Tingwu's request.
So, when the Tortoiseshell Cat mother first went out, the trainer stopped her: "It's not safe for a cat to go out alone... unless you can pass these tests?"
After saying the first half of the sentence, they unconsciously added the second half.
Perhaps it was because after spending time with intelligent animals, they knew the animals wouldn't completely obey just because you gave a "command" - some dogs would stare with big eyes, waiting for your explanation.
The trainer suspected: what the dogs waited for wasn't the explanation, but rather your attitude in "explaining the reason." Being too forceful during non-mission times would only hurt their feelings.
Those tests were naturally the ones arranged for adult police cats.
The Tortoiseshell Cat swung her tail to the front, pressing it down with both front paws, seemingly deep in thought.
Later, when the trainers set up recording equipment at the test site, the Tortoiseshell Cat came over to sniff the camera and made an affirmative sound.
Trainer: "?"
The trainer suddenly realized: the timing of the test wasn't ideal as Chu Tingwu couldn't watch, but the cat mother recognized the camera and knew that with it, the footage could be sent to Chu Tingwu.
This cat was a bit too clever.
With a kind of indescribable anticipation, all the trainers at the base gathered to watch Three-Five-Five's "test."
She passed the item retrieval and inspection tests very quickly. During the posture and memory action tests, Three-Five-Five could quickly complete each command the trainer gave, but when the trainer was expressing admiration, they looked down and saw Three-Five-Five's expression—
Trainer: "Okay, okay, that's enough, you can stop holding the pose."
Though still maintaining the pose, the cat looked like she wanted to stab him, every hair expressing her impatience.
In the practical combat simulation, pouncing, and defense tests, Three-Five-Five passed smoothly. Her combat test even gave everyone a surprise—Three-Five-Five looked big, but no one expected she could maintain such powerful pouncing and restraining abilities while keeping her agility.
She completed all the consecutive tests... but still couldn't become a police cat, even if Chu Tingwu was willing, because everyone could see that during the obedience test, the cat was barely giving them face, just to pass the test and go outside.
Her true obedience level was probably zero.
After the test, just as Chu Tingwu was able to call, the trainer said: "We'll probably edit Three-Five-Five's test process into a mini-variety show."
He joked: "Of course, it might also be used as standardized teaching material."
They just hoped the kittens would learn the skills, not the attitude.
The kitten who had learned the attitude nodded: "It's fine, Three-Five-Five won't mind anyway."
The drone ball flew up again, but after learning about its cost and flight height limitations, the base wasn't so envious anymore.
—When the system initially produced the blueprints, it considered using materials Chu Tingwu could buy, and the kitten didn't need high-altitude filming. So the performance and price didn't meet military requirements.
The drone ball floated behind Three-Five-Five as she left. The Tortoiseshell Cat turned her head to meow at the ball, then jumped onto the wall, leaped onto the neighboring house's carport roof, and leisurely walked into the distance.
Three-Five-Five's tail was half-raised, her pace neither fast nor slow. After walking two blocks, she lay down on top of the wall and yawned.
After she finished yawning, a black cat suddenly emerged from a hole in the wall.
This pure black cat jumped onto the wall, nuzzled Three-Five-Five's head, and the two cats stayed close together to communicate for a while before continuing forward, one in front of the other, their steps perfectly synchronized.
Soon, five cats had gathered behind Three-Five-Five.
Among these cats were both strays and house cats wearing collars. Most of the house cats lived on the first floor, and after hearing the call, they came directly out through their cat doors.
When the cats gathered together and reached the road, they didn't cross it but walked gracefully along the roadside.
There's nothing strange about several cats moving together, but there was a drone ball floating diagonally behind them. Some passersby who saw the drone ball for the first time were greatly surprised, and after taking photos, they tried to reach out and grab it. The system had to control the ball to rise higher, feeling quite helpless.
If it had been following Chu Tingwu, most people would only dare to make conversation when they saw someone, not reach out directly.
But when following cats, even knowing it was controlled by someone, people's behavior became much bolder.
And Three-Five-Five wasn't helping it!
"Meow?"
The Tortoiseshell Cat in front stopped, seemingly confused about why the flight ball wasn't keeping up, and called out once in encouragement.
System: "=="
Coming, coming.
The group of cats made their way to the nearby elementary school entrance.
Three-Five-Five led the way inside, while the system skillfully hacked the nearby surveillance cameras, editing out its own appearance, and stealthily followed behind the cats, floating in—
It couldn't be helped; drones couldn't just enter the campus at will.
A teacher noticed a few cats slipping past the wall and glanced over, finding them not too dirty, so he didn't pay much attention. Although it was a bit strange for these cats to gather together, wild cats generally wouldn't attack humans unless provoked.
The system also slipped past, hovering outside the window, watching as Three-Five-Five and the other cats entered a classroom. There were no students in the classroom at the moment because they were having their lessons on the playground. One of the stray cats meowed softly, leapt onto a desk, and Three-Five-Five approached, skillfully pulling out a backpack from under the desk, biting open the zipper, and retrieving a few books with the strongest ink scent.
Before long, the teacher saw the cats leave together and continued to scroll through his phone, not bothering to intervene.
It wasn't until half an hour later that he heard crying from the classroom. A student was crying and shouting:
"My workbook is gone! My backpack is on the floor, someone has been rummaging through my desk, someone has been rummaging through my desk—"
For elementary school students, losing books was a big deal. Even forgetting their red scarves was enough to make them cry, let alone a few half-completed workbooks. Tonight's homework for several subjects would be based on those books, and he would have to ask his parents to buy new ones.
The teacher hurried over to check and asked a few students sitting nearby, but everyone claimed they hadn't taken it.
The teacher was a bit angry: "So did I take it? Zhu Zhengyi, I'll call your parents and have them come to school. We'll go check the surveillance together."
Zhu Zhengyi, while packing his backpack, glared at the few around him.
Meanwhile, the cats had carried the workbooks into the small woods, each taking turns to bite a few holes, and then Three-Five-Five raised a paw to pat the stray cat's head.
This was the cat's revenge.
The stray cat lived near Zhu Zhengyi's home. A few days ago, the boy had chased it with a water gun, squirting water into its eyes, scaring the cat away. Then he lured the cat back with food and continued squirting.
After repeating this twice, Three-Five-Five, passing by, kicked the boy in the back of the head.
After the tortoiseshell cat kicked him, it perched on the wall, looking down disdainfully at the human child—the water gun's pressure wasn't enough to spray high, and realizing it couldn't reach the tortoiseshell cat, and also finding it a bit too large and with sharp claws, the boy left reluctantly.
But just because he let the cat go, didn't mean the cat would let him off.
In the surveillance room, both the teacher and the parents were quite astonished when they saw the footage.
The parent was puzzled: "What would cats want with workbooks? And why did they choose Zhu Zhengyi's backpack?"
The system didn't delete this part of the surveillance footage because the host told it there was no need.
Unable to withstand the pressure from the parents and teacher's gaze, the boy meekly recounted what had happened a few days ago, along with other incidents like snatching his desk mate's snacks and failing to copy homework, resulting in a quarrel with the class monitor.
He thought these cats might also be hired mercenaries sent by his desk mate or the class monitor.
The parent: "……"
The parent gave the child a slap on the head, and the crying resumed.
However, the cats didn't care.
Cats didn't concern themselves with human education. Having completed their revenge, they once again gathered and, bypassing the school's back gate, arrived at a scrapyard.
The couple running the scrapyard heard the commotion and turned their heads: "Oh, it's you guys."
Recently, the scrapyard had been infested with mice, and the couple was worried about their old books being gnawed. A couple of days ago, they saw a stray cat licking its paws nearby and decided to give it a try:
"Kitty, kitty... come here, we have something good to eat."
They took out two sausages, trying to hire the stray cat to catch mice. However, after eating one and a half, the cat wandered around the scrapyard for a bit and then left.
The couple exchanged glances, both feeling a mix of amusement and frustration.
While they were searching online for effective rat poison, they saw the stray cat return, this time following a tortoiseshell cat.
The couple: "?"
The tortoiseshell cat leapt onto the table, glanced at the half-eaten sausage, and then casually sniffed around their kitchen, before meowing softly.
The other cats went in to chase the mice.
Not only did they catch mice from the scrap, but one white cat even retrieved a large cockroach about the size of half a palm.
The couple: "……"
They were having trouble breathing.
After completing half the job, the cats gathered in front of the couple again, under the call of the tortoiseshell cat. The wife realized: "You want your reward, right?"
She not only opened more sausages but also bought some cat food from a nearby supermarket, mixing it all together. The cats drank water in large gulps, though not all of them focused on eating.
The tortoiseshell cat just watched from the side, occasionally flicking its tail.
Then they finished and left.
The couple: "=="
The next day, they came back to finish the remaining half.
It seemed like yesterday's work was considered half payment.
The couple noticed that this time, there was even a dog among the cats.
A Yorkie wearing a collar, very obediently squatting beside, the other end of the collar tied to the tortoiseshell cat's collar. Not only did it not make noise, but when the two cats suddenly started fighting, the Yorkie barked to mediate, its tail wagging very fast, as if saying, "Stop fighting, stop fighting, woof!"
And while walking the dog, the tortoiseshell cat's head also had a... drone?
Looking at the camera, it seemed to be the shape of a drone, looking very expensive!
The husband exclaimed: "This tortoiseshell cat is really amazing, not only does it help its owner walk the dog, but it can also walk a drone!"
The system: "……"
You're the one being walked, drone!
Because cockroaches, once discovered, might mean there's a whole nest, the scrapyard's cockroaches couldn't be completely eradicated in the short term. After buying cockroach traps, the couple waited daily for the cats to come.
The next day, a cockroach trap stuck to the black cat's fur.
Not only that, they also acted as intermediaries, introducing this team of cats to their neighbors.
One neighbor came over to visit, taking a liking to the orange-and-white stray cat, sturdy and clean, and couldn't help but say: "Why don't I adopt you?"
The orange-and-white cat immediately looked up, eyes wide with shock, then took a step back:
I'm here to work, you actually want to kidnap me?
The neighbor: "=_="
I know you're picky, but is that expression a bit too human-like, kitty?
A cockroach quickly crawled by from below, and the tortoiseshell cat swiftly extended its paw to press it down, seemingly about to bite, but then paused.
The flying sphere above floated down, its camera aimed at her.
Tortoiseshell Cat: "……"
She used her paw to hook the cockroach's antennae, flinging it in front of the black cat, then wiped her paw on the neighbor's pants.
The neighbor: "=_="
Couldn't you have done that when I wasn't looking? Why do it right in front of me, kitty?
Only the neighbor was hurt. After finishing their work, the cats dispersed at the door, some going home, some finding a spot to sunbathe.
The bright July sun made it hard to open one's eyes, and it was only slightly better in the afternoon. The Yorkie, Cheng Cheng, who followed Three-Five-Five, ran a few steps and felt hot, woofing twice before the cat and dog approached a public washbasin, turning on the tap to drink.
The people who had just finished playing basketball nearby: "……"
After drinking, the cat and dog headed towards the direction of the fifth middle school, where Three-Five-Five handed Cheng Cheng over to the security guard, then strolled around the playground—
There were no people on the playground at the moment, but a flash of light suddenly appeared from a building on the second floor in the distance.
Three-Five-Five let out a "meow-ooh" and strolled back to the community, skillfully jumping up to swipe a card, then arriving at room 201 on the second floor.
Cao Meng opened the door and his eyes lit up: "Three-Five-Five!"
He welcomed the cat in, noticing the drone following closely behind, and then dashed into the room.
The living room was air-conditioned, with Teacher Yuan in the study and Teacher Cao at school, while Cao Meng's little friends were all sitting in the living room, one of them holding the sprawled-out Tortoiseshell Cat.
Cao Meng slid back into his seat and introduced to his friends, "This is Three-Five-Five, the cat from the alien sister next door!"
"Wow——"
He fetched a brush for grooming and began to comb the long fur of the lying Three-Five-Five. Then, the other children gathered around, listening as Cao Meng pointed at the drone and explained who the "alien sister next door" was.
What a fresh and intriguing, dramatic story it was!
System: "……"
The system, hovering cautiously above, thought: "……"
Why did it always feel like it was being led around by the cat?
Must be a delusion.
By evening, after a half-day nap at Cao Meng's house, Three-Five-Five would return to the training base on its own.
The system, fully charged, followed behind.
But after reaching the outskirts of the training base, Three-Five-Five wouldn't enter through the main gate; instead, it would try to leap to the highest point from the perimeter buildings—sometimes using the drone for a boost.
As the sky darkened, hearing the distant calls of young kittens, Three-Five-Five lay on the rooftop and meowed towards the drone.
The system then projected Chu Tingwu's image directly onto the ground in front of the cat.
The drone had projection capabilities, though the clarity was not always the best.
Chu Tingwu waved.
Three-Five-Five squinted for a while, then moved slightly, placing its front paws against the large palm of the baby.
It was morning where Chu Tingwu was.
The air was thick with mist, the sky half golden, half deep gray, and distant howls of wolves could be heard.
In fact, last night, not only wolves but also two grizzly bears had passed below their campsite.
When they got up in the morning, they could see a deer skeleton discarded by the stream, with crows hopping among the bones.
Soon after, White exclaimed excitedly, "The brothers are here."
Scavenging was a daily routine for lone wolves, and a major source of their food.
The two injured wolves, Qiula and Shane, tore at the meat on the deer bones, occasionally looking up... Their vigilance proved useful because the grizzly that had killed the deer actually returned!
The bear spotted them from a distance and quickly descended the hillside on all fours. Another professor mused, "It might have gone to find another female bear."
The two bears that passed by last night were a male and a female, and this male bear had likely caught the scent of the female bear and, midway through hunting and eating, chose to abandon his food in pursuit of a mate.
And then...
Chu Tingwu knew that then he got beaten up.
Having just been thrashed by the female bear and now discovering his food stolen by two wolves, the male bear was understandably furious.
The two injured wolves clearly weren't a match for an adult male bear. The bear charged over, shoved the wolves aside, and claimed the deer carcass.
White, holding a camera, filmed the scene, whispering to himself, "Will the young ones choose to confront this bear head-on? They must cherish every bit of food they get because they never know where the next meal will come from!"
Summer was indeed a season rich in food for all animals, but that also meant the prey was stronger, faster, and had more powerful hooves.
The two male wolves had no advantage.
They indeed lingered near the bear, seemingly unable to give up, and finally, it seemed they made a decision.
Shane began to hop around in front of the bear, deliberately making movements that suggested his injured leg was affecting him.
Chu Tingwu: "Huh...?"
She realized that Shane was harassing the bear, enticing it to attack him.
Sure enough, the bear grew annoyed and left the deer to chase after Shane. Meanwhile, Qiula rushed in, tore off a strip of meat, and dashed away, while the bear, after a chase, realized something was off and returned to guard its food.
The two wolves then met up with the stolen food.
White continued filming, smiling. The others watched with relatively good moods.
Clever, cunning wolves.
But despite capturing enough footage, they still hadn't found a chance to install satellite trackers on the two wolves, so they adjusted the positions of some infrared cameras nearby and then returned with regret.
On the way back, White chatted with them about the habits of gray wolves, perhaps teaching Chu Tingwu, who was not a student, along with his own. But upon returning to the camp, he received a call and his expression immediately changed.
"Damn it..." White muttered, "This is really bad timing."
He discussed with the professor and then called Chu Tingwu and the others over.
"I have something urgent and need to leave for a week... Do you want to leave with me, or stay here?"
Freckles: "We can stay and continue your research!"
White shook his head, looking somewhat conflicted. He first glanced at Chu Tingwu, then between Freckles and Lian, and finally patted Freckles on the shoulder, "How about this? You can stay and carry out the daily patrol work, but you need to report to Professor Wilson first. Chu, can you keep the whole process live-streamed?"
This was to ensure that if something went wrong, White could monitor the situation through the live stream.
"And, Bernie, you'll lead the team during this period."
Bernie, aka Freckles, clenched his fists excitedly and nodded.
—Clearly, he wasn't White's most outstanding student; White favored Lian more. But Lian wasn't good at such detailed work, preferring pure research, and her personality was a bit quirky.
Chu Tingwu was even less likely to be chosen, so in this situation, he was the only option.
He turned to look at Chu Tingwu and Lian: "You two..."
Lian: "Meow?"
Chu Tingwu: "Meow!"
Lian: "Awoo——"
Chu Tingwu: "Awoo!"
Freckles: "......You two, which direction do you want to go tomorrow?"
Lian looked at Chu Tingwu, who said, "I'll arrange it."
Freckles: "Then, I'll go ask the rangers if there's anything extra they need to pay attention to."
Chu Tingwu nodded: "Thank you."
Not hard work, just a tough life. What kind of team leader? Just a nanny for you two.
