Poisoning Cats

By the time he returned to his rented apartment, it was near evening.

After a busy day and going to three places with paranormal activity, although it didn't trigger a mission, he had considerable gains.

He had negotiated a mission that might allow him to earn a large sum of money. Also, he had adopted a little cat demon and made an appointment with a water ghost.

There was no hurry regarding the Stream Mountain construction site issue. Chen Hao merely agreed to a preliminary cooperation. It depended on whether the deity figurine Bai Ru found was powerful or not. If it was, things could be carried out smoothly. If not, he would have to think of another way.

Now, Chen Hao was looking forward to the appearance of the water ghost Li Meng.

This was probably the only ghost that could trigger a mission among the three paranormal places he visited.

Compared to money, what Chen Hao more urgently needed was the reward of divine power blessing.

Else, if he simply relied on that one blessing reward he obtained, his powers would remain weak.

After entering the house, Chen Hao laid on the bed and relaxed, enjoying the comfort of his bed after going to so many places.

After entering the rented apartment, the black cat sized up its surroundings, after which a look of disappointment and disdain appeared in its eyes. Then, its gaze at Chen Hao was not right anymore. It seemed to be saying: With this standard of living—not even as big a place as my home—you had the cheek to ask me to follow you?

Seeing Chen Hao completely ignore it and relax by himself, the black cat felt all the more displeased.

As a cat demon who accidentally gained sentience, although its sentience was only at the level of a child, the black cat was very clever and knew to disguise itself. It knew that it was different from the other cats, and if it behaved too strikingly, it was sure to invite catastrophe. Hence, it only punished the unfilial son after the old master passed away and didn't do anything out of the ordinary otherwise.

But the cat didn't expect that after the old master, the second human who treated it with sincerity was affected by itself.

The black cat felt self-reproach about this as well. It had ever thought of leaving, but later when it discovered that its second owner was becoming more and more isolated and quiet, it felt bad and couldn't bear to walk away. Hence, it returned to the second owner and gradually cheered her up with its adorable antics.

If it wasn't for Chen Hao's sudden appearance, perhaps the black cat would have resolved to accompany its second owner for the rest of her life.

Too bad Chen Hao ruined everything.

The black cat didn't blame Chen Hao, however, and instead felt rather grateful to him. Especially when it saw Chen Hao curing its second owner with incredible means, it knew that it was time to say goodbye.

But the black cat totally didn't anticipate that its third owner turned out to be so trashy and lived in such a lousy house. One look and it knew he was broke.

As a cat demon, the black cat had certain standards for its diet. The second owner was very generous to it. Now, from the looks of it, its life was deteriorating in standards. How could this be!

Meow!

The black cat meowed and jumped onto the bed, then used its claws to nudge Chen Hao.

Chen Hao turned his head and grinned at the cat. "I nearly forgot about you, little fellow. From now on, you and I will be sticking together. Mm, don't worry. You'll eat whatever I eat. I promise not to mistreat you."

The black cat rolled its eyes.

Who wants to eat what you eat? I want to eat expensive cat food. Not crappy leftovers.

The black cat continued to nudge him and expressed its intention with its gaze.

Chen Hao wasn't a cat, so he certainly didn't understand it. He could only make a guess. "You're hungry? Right. That little girl was saying she'll fix you something to eat. Mm, what does a cat eat? Cat food? This shouldn't be expensive, right?"

"Mm, just nice. I made a neat sum today. Let's go, Brother will take you shopping at the supermarket and buy you whatever you want to eat." Chen Hao was in high spirits.

A heartened look flashed across the black cat's eyes. This third owner seems like he knows what he's doing. Barely acceptable, I guess.

Seeing the black cat stop nudging him, he knew that his guess was right. It was indeed hungry. But how much can a mere cat eat? The ten thousand yuan is lying in my WeChat. Watch how I win your heart through your stomach, then make you obediently work for me.

At this wishful thought, Chen Hao chuckled to himself and got up with the black cat in his arms, before going out of his house.

After scanning his Mobike and placing the black cat in the basket in front, Chen Hao sped towards the largest supermarket nearby.

Eight minutes later, Chen Hao arrived at Prosperity Supermarket.

Looking at the brightly-lit entrance, Chen Hao held up the black cat, which had a look of anticipation on its face, and said, "Little fellow, Brother is prepared to spend lots of money today. Just wait and see. Following Brother will definitely be better than being a stray cat."

He strode into the supermarket and asked one of the staff, then came to a row of shelves.

This was a dedicated section for cat food. There were all sorts of cat food on the shelves—Whiskas, Gaines, Purina, all sorts of brands of cat food. This was Chen Hao's first time looking at cat food.

He checked out the price and saw that it varied from cheap to expensive, with the expensive ones leaving him speechless.

Damn. Cats eat more expensive food than humans. Where is the justice in that?

He had the intention to select something cheap, but Chen Hao realized the little fellow didn't even care to look at these cat food. Instead, it was staring at him weirdly.

Chen Hao was kind of shocked.

Damn. Did nothing catch this little fellow's eye? Surely not. How unique is your taste? Don't tell me I need to cook fish for you every day. You sure are hard to please.

Just as he was planning to ignore the black cat and randomly choose one, his phone rang.

Whipping it out, he saw that it was Zhou Gang. It was then that Chen Hao recalled that Zhou Gang seemed to have asked him to have dinner at his place.

After the call was put through, Zhou Gang indeed asked, "Hao'zi, why aren't you here yet? You're not done with your investigation?"

Hao'zi?1 Hao'zi!

Is that my new name?

Chen Hao was speechless.

It sounded like after the call at noon, Zhou Gang behaved even more chummy with him now—even the way he addressed him had changed.

"Cough, cough. Err, Brother Zhou, I'm at the supermarket now buying cat food for the cat," Chen Hao replied.

"Buying cat food? Why are you buying it at supermarkets? Those poison cats," Zhou Gang asked in astonishment.

Chen Hao was speechless.

Poison cats? What's the situation here? Is there a problem with the cat food in supermarkets? Surely not. If there's a problem with it, why is it still being sold?

Chen Hao looked dumbfounded.

Looking at the black cat's gaze again, Chen Hao suddenly had some realization.

This little fellow recognized these cat food and knew there was a problem with them. This was why it showed this reaction after seeing them.

Damn. How embarrassing. Surely this little fellow wouldn't think I'm trying to poison it to death!

"Cough, cough. Err, this is my first time buying cat food, so I don't know much about all this. Brother Zhou, is there a problem with the cat food sold in supermarkets?" Chen Hao asked meekly.

Zhou Gang said, "I can't quite pinpoint the problem with them. But your sister-in-law has a bestie who is especially fond of cats and is very experienced. Come over now and you can find out more from your sister-in-law."

Fine. Seems like I'd better not buy this supermarket cat food, lest the little fellow's impression of me worsens.

After leaving the supermarket, Chen Hao hailed a cab and went to Zhou Gang's place.

Seeing Chen Hao with the black cat in his arms, Zhou Gang said with a smile, "Why are you suddenly raising a cat? You're even bringing it with you everywhere. Are you thinking of changing your profession to catkeeper?"