Wu Jie spread her hands. “Don’t look at me. I’m serious, you can’t buy one. This printer was modified by YCG, and there’s no stock left.”
Ye Yang understood. “Then I’ll go print at YCG.” There were other departments, and at worst, other action divisions—he hadn’t been to any of them yet anyway.
“No way!” To his surprise, Wu Jie reacted strongly. “If you go borrowing from somewhere else, everyone will know our company is having issues. That would make me look incompetent!”
Ye Yang took a deep breath. Did Wu Jie even realize that this was already incompetence? How was this any different from being completely unreasonable?
Luckily, Wu Jie wasn’t entirely unreliable. She offered another solution: “Here’s what you do. Go to the company downstairs and borrow their printer. Put your documents on this USB drive. Their printer has an offline mode—just disconnect it, plug in this drive, and it won’t leave any traces. Totally safe.”
With that, she handed Ye Yang a special USB drive.
“And even if something leaks, they’re right downstairs. I can just go erase a few memories. No need to bother the Crisis Management Department. Pretty good, right?”
…
No other choice. He needed the documents urgently, so Ye Yang had to follow Wu Jie’s plan and go to the company downstairs.
It was his first time visiting any of the other companies in the building.
This particular company helped clients find romantic partners. It was called something like “Something-Something Matchmaker”—a string of English that Ye Yang couldn’t quite decipher, so he simply called it the matchmaking company.
To his surprise, the company was unexpectedly friendly. The receptionist listened to his request, smiled, and led him all the way to the print room. He even poured Ye Yang a glass of water—so attentive it was almost unsettling.
The receptionist even offered to stay and help Ye Yang print.
Ye Yang stood there holding the USB drive, completely at a loss. Finally, the receptionist covered his mouth and laughed out loud. “Okay, okay, I’m just joking. Make yourself at home, handsome. If you get tired, feel free to grab some snacks from the break room.”
Ye Yang thought he was leaving, but then the receptionist suddenly leaned close to his ear and whispered, “I’ll let you in on a secret—I hid some really expensive cookies under the coffee cabinet. They’re from France~”
Just before walking away, he winked at Ye Yang and made a little heart with his fingers. “See you~”
“Phew… finally gone.” Ye Yang rubbed his arms to smooth down his goosebumps and quickly got to work.
Soon, the documents were printed. Ye Yang packed up and started heading back. As he passed the break room, he paused. Should he go in?
If he did, he wasn’t an employee of this company. That would be inappropriate, wouldn’t it? Besides, he was the one who had come to borrow the printer—he should be the one buying milk tea or afternoon snacks for them, not eating their treats.
But if he didn’t go, the receptionist had been so warm. Would he be disappointed if Ye Yang never showed up? Ye Yang didn’t want to let him down.
Just as he was hesitating, Ye Yang suddenly felt an itch around his ankle. He looked down and saw a cat that hadn’t been there a moment ago.
The cat was completely black, its fur smooth as silk without a single stray hair. It looked like a domestic shorthair, but also a bit like a Munchkin—except it was so fat it was hard to tell if its legs were actually short. Its face was big and round, too.
Ye Yang froze. How had an animal managed to approach him so silently?
Instinctively, his entire body tensed up, his senses locked entirely onto this oversized, extremely fat cat.
He immediately caught a faint but unmistakable trace of demonic aura. Various theories raced through his mind, but ultimately, only three words remained: No — way —??
No matter how hard he tried to reassure himself—there were great demons like General Long stationed in the building, so it was impossible for a stray demon to be hiding right downstairs—Ye Yang couldn’t convince himself.
“Little thing, what rude things are you thinking? Teacher Meow Meow is just pleasantly plump and round!”
“!!!” Ye Yang jumped straight up.
What was that?! How had a voice sounded directly inside his head?
If he were in his sea hare form right now, his leaves and antennae would have shot straight up.
He looked around. Fortunately, no one was nearby. Ye Yang immediately dropped into a defensive stance, fists raised toward the fat cat at his feet. It had to be him! This was a cat demon—and a powerful one at that, able to speak directly into his mind without bypassing his spiritual senses.
“Well, that part is true. Teacher Meow Meow is indeed impressive. But you’re not bad yourself, little thing. Noticing my demonic aura—that’s quite sharp. By the way, what exactly are you?”
This cat demon could also read his thoughts!!
Ye Yang panicked even more. He glanced around—still no one in sight—then steeled himself, scooped up the big black cat, and sprinted out of the matchmaking company, racing straight back to his own office.
The cat demon must have weighed over twenty pounds. Fortunately, Ye Yang was strong, or he wouldn’t have been able to hold him under his arm.
“Hey? Hey, hey, hey?! What are you doing?! What is this?!”
Teacher Meow Meow never imagined this little demon would pull something like this. By the time he snapped out of it, he was already surrounded by General Long, Wu Jie, Brother Xing, and Brother Hui.
Ye Yang had sprinted back via the fire stairs. Before he could even catch his breath, he called everyone over. “Look! I found this cat demon in the human company downstairs. He can even read minds!”
“Who knows what he’s been plotting among the humans!”
Teacher Meow Meow took one look at the situation and understood everything. Slowly and unhurriedly, he straightened his front legs, licked his paw, washed his face, and then spoke: “So there’s an action division here too. I never knew before. Now I do.” The way he moved was both dignified and strangely alluring.
“It’s you.” General Long raised an eyebrow. The moment he saw the fat cat, he thought he looked familiar. And when he spoke, General Long remembered—he had seen this cat at YCG headquarters a century ago. Back then, he had merely been somewhat round, not the mountain of piled-up flesh he was now.
Ye Yang was taken aback. “General Long knows him?”
General Long smiled. “We’ve met a few times. This is Teacher Meow Meow, one of YCG’s founding members.”
“WHAT?!” Everyone else was shocked.
Teacher Meow Meow looked around, reading all of their thoughts.
Wu Jie’s disgust was practically dripping off her face. She already hated cats, and this one was enormous—with fur shinier than her own. She hadn’t liked him on sight, and now it turned out he outranked her!
Brother Xing and Brother Hui were simply surprised that this fat cat was so distinguished. Brother Hui was even more rude—he had the audacity to call Teacher Meow Meow a “big fat pig” in his mind.
Ye Yang stared blankly at Teacher Meow Meow. It seemed he had accidentally mistaken a colleague—no, a superior—for a malicious demon with ill intentions and forcibly kidnapped him…
…
With the misunderstanding cleared up, there was no need for everyone to keep crowding around.
Since Teacher Meow Meow was a YCG founding member, his presence at a human company must have a special reason. General Long hadn’t seen him in a long time, so he took him back to his office for a chat.
The moment he entered the office, Teacher Meow Meow took a deep breath, his face full of bliss. “You really know how to enjoy yourself. The annual production of this incense is so small—did you buy it all?”
General Long smiled. “If you like it, you’re welcome to visit anytime.”
Teacher Meow Meow neither agreed nor disagreed. He suddenly turned to look at Ye Yang. “Hey, little thing. What exactly are you? I’ve never seen your original form before.”
Indeed, Ye Yang was also in General Long’s office. He hadn’t wanted to be there, but Teacher Meow Meow had called him out by name.
“I’m a leaf sheep sea slug. A marine creature. My original form is very small. It’s not surprising that Teacher Meow Meow has never seen one before.”
“Not bad. Very talented. Your perception is exceptionally sharp. You could be well trained.”
Ye Yang had heard that kind of praise far too many times. But he never expected to hear it from a superior he had just offended. Right after that, though, Teacher Meow Meow continued: “Unfortunately, you’re too rash. You still have a lot to learn.”
Ye Yang quickly lowered his head and accepted the criticism with an open mind.
After chatting about recent events for a while, General Long asked, “So why is Teacher Meow Meow downstairs?”
Ye Yang immediately perked up his ears. He wanted to know, too.
“Top-secret mission. But I can reveal a little bit to you. I need to find a way to get Xiao Feng to take me home.”
“Oh, Xiao Feng is that receptionist.”
“In this form, I’m irresistible. Humans love my type. So I might not be able to come around much longer.”
Ye Yang thought to himself: Humans do like cats, and they like fat cats, but at your size… you might be less appealing than a cat demon.
Teacher Meow Meow turned his head toward him. “Believe it or not, if he found out I was a cat demon, he’d only be happier and more excited. If I weren’t forbidden from exposing my identity, I would’ve won him over already.”
Ye Yang had nearly forgotten that Teacher Meow Meow could read minds! But he still didn’t believe it. “No way…” You’re that fat.
Do you have to keep emphasizing the word “fat”?! Teacher Meow Meow bared his teeth. “You don’t know this, but he’s obsessed with those cat-eared girls. Just yesterday, he told me that if I were a cat girl, he would definitely take me home.”
Ye Yang was horrified. “But—but you’re male?!”
“What’s wrong with being male? As long as you’ve got cat ears and long black hair, that’s all that matters. It’s just the difference of having one extra thing or one fewer thing.”
That didn’t sound right… That was a huge difference!
Wait a moment—Ye Yang suddenly thought about Xiao Feng’s unusually warm attitude toward him. If the target was that receptionist… maybe it could actually work?
Instantly, the way he looked at Teacher Meow Meow changed.
“Maybe you could try—OW! Why did you hit me all of a sudden?”
Teacher Meow Meow had landed a lightning-fast paw strike. Try and you die, okay? Voluntarily exposing one’s demon identity and committing such a rookie mistake—did he not want to have a career anymore?
·
After that farcical episode, Teacher Meow Meow stayed for a while and then went back downstairs. Ye Yang quickly got back to work.
Chi Lian’s mission to question the gambler’s ex-wife went smoothly, without any major incidents. When he returned, he reported to Ye Yang and Xing Tian.
It turned out the gambler’s ex-wife had wanted a divorce for a long time, but divorce had been nearly impossible. The gambler would never let go of such a perfect source of money and support. She had tried to sue him several times, all unsuccessfully. This time, she had taken advantage of his sudden wealth and walked away without claiming a single cent of his assets—only then was she finally free.
As for the Mutual Aid Society, the ex-wife said she didn’t know much about it. The gambler always kept secrets and never discussed it with his family. But ever since joining the society, his gambling luck had indeed improved significantly.
As for the five elderly relatives who had died, she had been their primary caretaker. She did feel that their deaths had been somewhat suspicious. However, their passing had also eased a great burden on her. The doctors had all said they died of natural causes, so she hadn’t thought much more about it. She certainly didn’t see any connection to the Mutual Aid Society.
Overall, their findings were consistent with previous investigations.
“The only new lead,” Chi Lian said, “is that she provided an address we hadn’t found before. Apparently, Mutual Aid Society members also gather there regularly.”
Leave a Reply