A Cat Is Watching You

The tattooed man felt that he must have offended someone.

Since that day when he came home, finding a toy cat covered in ketchup on the bed, the suspicious patterns on the wooden closet that resembled some sort of animal footprint, and the deep scratches on the closet, the tattooed man had begun to ponder about whom he had offended.

There were too many suspicious subjects. After all, people like him that crush other people's places were bound to be in Dutch with someone. Especially with the recent conflicts between the few forces, all of them were possible suspects. Nevertheless, who would do such a thing was not something that could be made sure of in a jiffy. When all was said and done, those people's means were much bloodier and certainly would not only use tomato sauce.

People around here?

The tattooed man shook his head. He had been living around here for many years. Most of the people around here were soft-tempered. Those who were temperamental had already been beaten by the men he had gathered. After being harassed, no one dared to challenge him again.

But, that was not completely impossible.

So who was it really?

The tattooed man couldn't comprehend. He stabbed that ketchup-covered toy cat into shreds with a knife and chucked it inside the trash pile. As for the marks on the wooden closet, after wiping it off, he covered the spots with scratches firmly with multiple layers of newspaper.

Other than that, the tattooed man also changed the lock of his house. He thought that somebody had gotten his keys for sure, or had some ways to open the lock.

The next day, the tattooed man returned home at the same time as previous. When he prepared to unlock the door, another hand clenched an iron bar. He was afraid that there would be someone inside the house. However, before he had the time to insert the key into the lock, he felt that he had stepped on something under his foot.

There was no light outside the door. At this time of the day, other residents were already in their slumber. It was pitch dark around him. Only the light on the lock from the torch he held in his armpit was bright. He was only paying attention to the lock just then and didn’t even notice that there would be something on the ground before the door.

The tattooed man had a bad feeling.

Tucking the keys inside his pocket, he pointed down with the torchlight.

On the ground in front of the doorway, there was a furry toy cat doll, smaller than the one yesterday. The color of the fur was probably white, but there were some red stains on it, especially around the corner of the mouth.

The tattooed man's hands trembled, but after being in the gang business for so long, he was not somebody you would call timid.

Hence, he opened the door and walked into the house.

The house was in the state it was when he left the house. There were no scratches on the wooden closet and no suspicious marks on the nearby floor.

The tattooed man felt much more at ease. It looked like changing the lock had worked.

In fact, Zheng Tan did enter the house this time, but he saw that the lock on the door had changed so he didn't put the stuff inside or do any tricks to the room. Otherwise, what would happen if the tattooed man in desperation sealed up the broken window?

For this reason, Zheng Tan now processed the cat doll before bringing it over, placing it in front of the tattooed man's house door.

The tattooed man patrolled the house. His courage was once again plucked up. He walked over to the door and picked up the toy cat. He looked, sniffed and then extended his tongue to lick at it, tomato-flavored.

"Ufff!" The tattooed man twitched his lips. He felt for sure that someone was playing a prank on him.

On the third day when the tattooed man returned home, he checked the doorway first with the flashlight. There was indeed a toy cat doll just like yesterday, covered in much more redness.

With yesterday's experience, the tattooed man was less frightened and didn’t open up the door. He walked over to pick up the toy cat on the floor, but this time, when he touched the toy cat, the tattooed man got goosebumps all over him.

That's not right!

This sticky texture…

The tattooed man's actions were stiff, bringing the toy cat doll in his hand closer as he sniffed.

Smell of blood!

The tattooed man immediately reacted like his hand was burnt, hurling the toy cat in his hand away.

There was still an unwavering smell of blood between his nose so sharp that it made the tattooed man remember the cruel and gruesome scenes he saw at the club.

After a few deep breaths, the tattooed man pointed the torch onto the lock on his house door again. His hand that was searching for the keys stopped.

There was a long red slash across the door lock as well as claw marks, like the movement tracks of a cat scratching downwards from the lock. But the traces left behind was red as blood.

This time, Zheng Tan didn't use ketchup. While he was wandering around at the biology department, he saw some students collecting some rabbit blood samples from the elementary lab. They were each stored inside a plastic tube. The collected samples had heparin sodium solution added to it, preventing the blood from solidifying. Zheng Tan had often strolled around here, that was why he had heard these facts.

Thereafter, Zheng Tan "obtained" three tubes when the students had left. They were taken on three separate trips. Zheng Tan could only take one tube at a time and had to be cautious not to be caught. There were security cameras in the corridor outside the lab, so Zheng Tan had to go through the windows. A few tubes in a single trip would make Zheng Tan's movement rather inconvenient.

Using the blood inside the plastic tube, he smeared it over the toy cat. Zheng Tan's paws were stained with blood from this, so he might as well get some more blood and wipe it over the tattooed man's lock. After he had finished, Zheng Tan went over the sink in the restaurant kitchen and used detergent to wash his paws. Since there weren't many vegetables that the kitchen needed to wash at the time, there wasn't anyone near the sink.

The fourth day was the same situation, plus the climate had begun to warm up recently. Those cats that had cuddled at home and was not kidnapped pranced out again, howling in the middle of the night. There weren't many cats; most of it didn’t belong to the alleyway residents. They just ambled here for fun and probably didn’t know that after the new year celebration, there was no cat around here anymore.

Lately, the tattooed man had already become quite sensitive to the word "cat". When he saw cats running around while coming home at night, he would pick up things and throw at them to drive them out. Sleeping at home was not peaceful either. He began to continually have nightmares.

When the tattooed man went out during the day, his eyes were bloodshot.

The residents around the old building area had also realized that the tattooed man was acting strange recently. This person used to walk around arrogantly with his nostrils pointing towards the sky. But now, when he looked at people, he was baffled as if suspecting something, weird and incomprehensible. If you opened your mouth and asked, the tattooed man would yell back at you with an unfriendly complexion. Like at the next second, he would run up and punch you.

Therefore, the people in the old building area alleyway would turn away whenever they saw the tattooed man, never encountering him face to face. There must be something wrong with that person's mind. There was no assurance that he might do something.

On the fifth day, Zheng Tan didn't bring the toy cats, only a little bag wrapped in many layers.

This time, Zheng Tan didn't hold the bag in his mouth but had worn a wide elastic band around his neck. The little bag was attached to the band. Zheng Tan tried to test run with it. It didn't fall off.

Although it was uncomfortable to be constricted, Zheng Tan seriously didn't want to touch that thing with his mouth. Zheng Tan was scared of that thing as well, so even with the bag wrapped around it, he still felt uneasy. It was better to not let it touch his mouth. Zheng Tan's hands-on skills weren't really strong. This was the only way he could think of to carry it around.

Inside the bag were some small mushroom-like things, gotten by Zheng Tan from Lan's greenhouse. Planting this kind of things required the shed to be strictly controlled by factors such as temperature and humidity, so normally the door of the shed would be tightly shut. However, because Zheng Tan had gone there quite often, he knew that there was a day in the week when Lan would test the pH and change in the mineral composition of the soil sample in the shed. He would lock all the doors systematically after he had taken samples from all the sheds.

And Zheng Tan had entered while Lan had gone to another shed to take samples.

Zheng Tan found out about this stuff while he was playing over here and had unintentionally overheard Lan teaching his students. Only then did he know about the things planted inside some special shed.

Zheng Tan had obtained this kind of mushroom-like things. The place of origin was not in China but imported. Lan had gotten some from his friend. Due to the symbiotic nature of this plant, Lan had intentionally planted some other tree species inside the shed. The trees couldn't be large in size due to the dimension of the shed. Afterward, Lan had realized that despite how he regulated the temperature and growth environment, this exotic species had not grown well, always tiny, and unable to grow, though still toxic nevertheless.

It contained neural hallucinogen toxin. Those who accidentally consume it would hallucinate and feel that the surrounding objects had been magnified. This was the "macroptic hallucination" that Lan had explained to his students. There weren't many cases that caused death. A small amount of consumption wouldn't be lethal.

The effect would show within thirty minutes to two hours after consumption. The patient would display signs like dizziness, nausea, hallucination and etc.

At that time, Zheng Tan lied on top of the shed. He felt that this stuff was truly amazing while listening to Lan's explanations. So when he decided to teach this tattooed man a lesson, Zheng Tan remembered the different species of toxic flora including Belladonna in the numerous greenhouses with warning signs that Lan had owned. These plants had many medical uses, but if used inappropriately, it could still kill.

In the end, Zheng Tan finally picked this type. Lan called it something umbrella. Who cares? As long as he knew its effects, everything would be fine.

Seven in the night, Zheng Tan brought the bag over to the tattooed man's house.

The tattooed man would leave and head to his workplace at around seven thirty to nine. But before that, he would take a shower, eat a bowl of instant noodles, drink a cup of tea, and then leave. Every day the same.

Zheng Tan waited outside for a while when he arrived, then he heard the sound of the tattooed man taking out a bowl of rameon in the kitchen.

The tattooed man poured the boiled water in from the electric kettle next to him. He took out the half-empty bag of braised pork he ate at the club yesterday, picked a few pieces of meat into the bowl and stirred.

After he had poured the water into the noodles, the tattooed man went to the bathroom to take a shower.

Zheng Tan entered from the broken window, carefully tipped some of the tiny "mushrooms" inside the little bag inside, he even grabbed the fork and stirred.

The rameon was spicy flavored. The red oil coated the braised pork and "mushrooms". After brewing for a while, it became difficult to detect the difference of the "mushroom".

Zheng Tan placed the fork back into its original position, rolled up the bag that contained the "mushrooms" and secured it with the elastic bands. Hearing the noises from the bathroom, Zheng Tan leaped out from the broken window, crouched on the outside fence and looked towards the direction of the tattooed man's bathroom.

In the dark of the night, you couldn't see the view outside from inside the room, so when the tattooed man carried the bowl back to his bedroom to eat, he didn't detect that there was a cat outside the window watching him.

The tattooed man was absent-minded when he ate. He didn’t know if he would return tomorrow in the early morning to find the same situation as the previous days. And therefore, he didn't notice that there was something other than braised pork inside the noodles.

Zheng Tan only left after watching the tattooed man finish eating, he came to the location that the tattooed man must pass through—the peeing spot.

Behind the blocking wall were the litters piled up by the residents. Hidden within these litters were a few bottles of beer which Zheng Tan had "gotten" from that little restaurant. Luckily, the restaurant wasn't far from here. Otherwise, Zheng Tan wouldn't try to break these glass-bottled beers.

Zheng Tan relied on the two hands to hug the beer bottle, and "walked" over here step by step on his two hind legs. Fortunately, it was nighttime when he took action. No one saw him. Otherwise, he would be treated like a monster. Why on earth would there be a cat that hugged a liquor bottle and walked down the street like a human on two feet?

No one would think that a cat had stolen the beer since ordinary cats didn't have the strength to move an unopened bottle of beer.

Placing each hidden bottle of beer on top of the wall that blocked this street, Zheng Tan then squatted behind the wall and stood on those litter, exposing only his head as he glanced towards the crossroad. The elastic string and bag that was around his neck had already been thrown away. Now, he awaited the final round.

After a while, Zheng Tan saw the familiar silhouette. The tattooed man looked as if he was drunk; his pace was unsteady.

It looked like it had already taken effect.

The tattooed man hobbled along here, mumbling something in his mouth. Zheng Tan couldn't hear it clearly, and neither did he care. He just stared at the wobbly figure that headed his way.

The tattooed man came to the familiar wall. There was even a familiar urine smell. The tattooed man thought of something and giggled, then he unzipped his pants and began to pee. He peed then suddenly leaned against the wall, making the sound of "wah" as he vomited.

He hadn't finished peeing yet. Things were really going out from both ends.

Zheng Tan pulled his ears. This smell was really unpleasant.

The consciousness of the tattooed man became hazy. The surrounding was dark and nothing was visible. He leaned against the wall and rested for a while, then prepared to leave with his pants pulled down, probably already forgotten.

After a few steps, a "boom" suddenly sounded beside his feet. It was rather ear-piercing in the silence of the night. The boom frightened the tattooed man whose feet had given in and fell to the ground.

At the same time, the broken shrapnel from the beer bottle flew around. Despite the fact that the tattooed man had worn thick clothing, his hands were exposed outside and were now gashed with a few bloody marks by the splinters. The pants were not pulled up. There were some fragments that punctured the base of his thigh, almost cutting his thing off.

The reaction of the tattooed man was extremely delayed. He felt everything in his surroundings had become unfamiliar, as if he had entered some strange and depressing place. Around him were tall iron fortresses.

Where was the exit?!

Where could he escape?!

"Awoooo—"

The abrupt cries in such environment were extremely eerie. The tattooed man looked around with his face filled with horror. He felt that the surrounding "iron fortresses" hid a monster outside, now looking at him while he felt insignificant and not worth mentioning.

There was another resident that rode home on his electric motorcycle at the intersection. The not-so-bright headlight had lit the corner for a moment, which lasted for a second or two.

In that two second interval, the tattooed man surveyed his surroundings with his blurry eyesight, and had seen a pair of glimmering eyes on the "iron fortress". It gleamed in green light and was especially conspicuous in the black background of the surrounding. The hallucination made him felt that the eyes which he saw were as big as the searchlight.

"Awwwwoooo--"

Hearing this howl again, the tattooed man shivered. His forehead was covered in sweat and some blood that had bled through from the cuts.

Bang!

Another exploding sound. The beer bottle shattered beside the tattooed man's foot.

The tattooed man felt that there was something that burned on his hands, his face, and his feet. Painful, a scorching pain, but his limbs were irresponsive, unable to react.

The tattooed man dropped onto the ground, hugged his head and curled up into a bundle; his body shivered.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

...

The sound of an explosion followed one after another, striking his eardrums and attacking his nerves.

In the initially chaotic mind, some emotions suddenly became heightened.

It must be that monster!

Yes! Definitely that monster that had a pair of eyes like two large searchlights.

With each explosion, the tattooed man felt like it was the footsteps of the monster approaching. That was why he was injured. Like at the next moment, he would be torn to shreds and crushed to pulps.

"Meow— Meow— Meow—"

Zheng Tan had finished throwing the beer bottles and looked at the person on the ground that huddled up and was trembling, but he had suddenly heard the cries of a cat. This voice…

The tattooed man on the floor heard the cat cries, and instantly remembered the toy cats that were placed in front of his door recently. Then he recalled the kittens that he had killed not long ago.

Was it because of those cats, that made this giant monster come to him?

Cats, blood, cries and some other things that were either relevant or irrelevant but made him afraid began to emerge one by one in his mind. There were some places on his body that burned more and more intensely, so painful that it made him want to call out, but in reality, he only made groaning noises. That feeling was like a pair of large feet had stepped on his body, so oppressive that he needed some way to release.

The human mind was a marvellous thing. The things you thought you had forgotten, came back again because of some accidental moments, remembering this piece of forgotten memory. Or perhaps, under some environmental stimulus, these fading fragments began to piece together, slowly and clearly playing in the mind.

But the things that you recalled this time, would not be easily forgotten like the first time. It required months, or years, or even worse, the remaining time of this life would all form a conditioned reflex. Once something appeared in the surrounding that resembled the environment and some familiar element, the brain would uncontrollably find these images from the depths of the memory that you had always tried to bury away. These things that you never want to recollect, fished out from the bottomless sea of memory. These graphics that you tried to avoid would rage like a storm until it left an even more lasting impression again.

Or maybe, when the toxins in the tattooed man's body had metabolically ended, and the hallucinations had disappeared, he would still shiver with fear every time he heard the cries of a cat, the sound of broken bottles, and recall his feelings during this moment?

Zheng Tan look a look at the person that was still curled up and having seizures, then he jumped off the wall and left.

His body smelled like alcohol. Better blow on it before he goes home.

As his mind wandered, Zheng Tan walked along the fences towards the outside of the alleyway. In a few steps, he saw a white cat crouching on the top of the intersection wall straight away.

It was that big white cat.

Zheng Tan didn’t know why it had come here at this time. Was it a coincidence or some other reasons?

"Meow—"

The big white cat called towards Zheng Tan.

Zheng Tan paused, lifted his lower jaw, then leisurely swayed his tails and walked past.