Cat 88: Tempting Cat Treats

Chapter 88 Tempting Cat Treats

[Want to Be Human] Live Room:

“Hahahaha, isn’t the big white tiger a bit silly? Even Xixi knows to hide in the tree, but the tiger just charges straight ahead.”

“Our kitty is so sly, leaving his teammate outside. What if the big white tiger can’t beat the gorilla and the brown bear?”

“With a real white tiger’s size and fighting power, a brown bear shouldn’t be a problem, right? Didn’t you hear that mynah talking to them? Those two are definitely players.”

“Lucky the kitty circled behind and ran for it. All three of those guys had their attention on the tiger—no one saw the kitty.”

“The kitty sure is clever, but he still hasn’t turned back into a human. How is he going to deliver the sample to the lab? Does he even know where the lab is?”

“It’s not just the kitty who wants to know where the lab is—I do too. I’ve watched this level so many times and never paid attention to the NPCs’ work areas.”

“So what was the most awesome result you’ve ever seen? Are there any players who did particularly well on this level?”

“Of course there are! Although none of them tricked the NPCs like the black cat by pretending to be an NPC to gain their trust, plenty have cleared the mission smoothly. After all, the level is designed for players to complete the task as an animal. The most impressive I’ve seen was a guy who led his team and destroyed the whole zoo. That’s an ending too.”

“I remember different endings give different points, right?”

“They should, but honestly, I haven’t seen many get a truly different ending. Mostly everyone just barely passes. Like someone said, players rarely cooperate—the majority are pretty rigid about following the quest steps. Since turning into an animal is already a challenge, the level isn’t designed to be too punishing. Plus, as I recall, for the riot event, as long as you survive, you get points. It’s pretty simple.”

“You don’t have to do the main quest?”

“Yeah, you do. But the main quest only starts on the first night, and so far only this cat player has picked it up this quickly. Most players don’t even find the main quest until the second night.”

“When I watch other players, I only want to roast them for being dumb. Watching kitty play, I zone out. Otherwise I feel too dumb myself.”

Yan Jiyun didn’t care if the chat was clever or clueless. As he slipped inside the medical facility, a sudden chill ran down his spine.

By day this place was lively—doctors, nurses, keepers coming and going, the cries of animals not cooperating with their checkups. But now, it was deathly silent. Even when he delivered the little wolf to Dr. Peng for treatment at four or five in the afternoon, it hadn’t felt like this.

He needed to find the lab area. It should be on the first floor.

Yan Jiyun checked his experience card—two minutes left as a human, three minutes until the mission ended.

Trouble.

Most of the veterinary offices were closed; only one was open, and it was empty.

He remembered Dr. Peng had shown up covered in blood earlier, and he must have come from one of the rooms in the back. Yan Jiyun had never had time to explore the medical facility’s layout before—now he could.

The vet’s office door was slightly ajar, but no one was inside. The rear door stood wide open, leading to a hallway.

Rather than running down the corridor, Yan Jiyun took a quick look around the office. On the doctor’s desk, next to the computer, he found some sticky notes.

“Pick up report from lab, B1 floor.” “Check on Xiao Shiyi’s condition.” “Ward rounds.” A few other work items.

The clearest instruction: pick up report from B1 floor.

Yan Jiyun remembered that the pet hospitals he’d visited had consultation rooms, labs, pharmacy, X-ray, isolation, and IV rooms. The zoo’s setup should be the same, only more complete. He’d even seen a neonate nursery on the fire escape map.

So he should head to the lab—the elephant sample belonged in the refrigerated section there.

Dr. Peng had been in too much of a rush to tell him who should receive the blood sample. But storing it first couldn’t be wrong—the lab would have a cold storage cabinet for samples.

In cat form, he could scout ahead and find the lab. There should be a staircase just past the hallway leading down to B1.

Outside, the grounds were designed like a garden. A little farther on was a two-story building marked “Lab Area,” with both first and second floor doors tightly closed. But outside, there was a staircase leading to B1. Yan Jiyun ran straight down.

He saw light inside B1.

It was a vast space below ground level, lined with rooms, each likely serving different functions. If it were daylight, sunlight would stream in through windows on the ground floor.

He ran toward the light, still spotting no staff.

No—there was one. A doctor in a white coat and glasses emerged from a room, stretching tiredly and not noticing Yan Jiyun hiding in a corner.

Yan Jiyun saw the room he’d left was labeled Lab 1. The door was automatic; while the doctor’s back was turned and the door still open, Yan Jiyun slipped through the gap.

[“Dr. Peng’s Request” quest countdown: 1 minute 30 seconds]

[Humanoid Experience Card time remaining: 30 seconds]

The lab was empty.

Equipment lined the benches, meticulously clean, with no sign of use.

He had just found the refrigerated sample cabinet when the experience card ran out—he turned back into a human.

His mouth ached from holding the sample so long. Stripping off the wrapper, he placed the tube on a shelf in the cold storage.

Dr. Peng had already prepared a label, so it wouldn’t be lost; if he saw anyone, he could explain where it was.

A system prompt appeared:

[Congratulations! You have completed the side quest: “Dr. Peng’s Request.” Points will be awarded at the end of the instance.]

Yan Jiyun finally let out a slow breath. The dangerous mission was at last complete.

But as his hand touched the lab door, he heard two sets of footsteps approaching, both headed his way.

“Wait here, I’ll grab a report from Lab 1.”

“Dr. Zhou might still be in the lab.”

“Ah, I hope he doesn’t yell at me. Should I still go? If not, I won’t have enough data for tomorrow’s meeting.”

“Just go, Dr. Zhou won’t bite.”

“How do you know? He—”

His colleague cut him off: “Just hurry and get your data.”

Yan Jiyun didn’t care how nervous they were. He’d searched the lab for a good hiding spot but found none. He could turn back into a cat, but to become human again would mean waiting another five minutes—an eternity in a key story location.

His eyes landed on a cabinet behind the door, with a white coat and glasses inside.

He quickly donned the coat and slipped on the gold-rimmed glasses, imitating the doctor he’d just seen leaving.

A young man knocked, and, hearing no reply, pushed the door open.

Yan Jiyun stood at the bench farthest from the door. The young man, a bit nervous, said, “Dr. Zhou, I’m just here to pick up tomorrow’s bloodwork. I’ll be quick.”

Yan Jiyun only pushed up his glasses, not saying a word or making any extra movement.

The young man didn’t pay him much attention, likely intimidated by “Dr. Zhou’s” reputation. Report in hand, he was quick to leave.

“Bye, Dr. Zhou.”

Only after their footsteps faded did Yan Jiyun quickly take off the coat and glasses and stash them back in the cabinet.

He took a glance around the lab—nothing unusual—then left Lab 1 in a hurry.

To avoid being spotted sneaking out, he used his experience card right after stepping out. If no one was around, he could have slipped away as a cat, but with staff on duty, he had to stay cautious.

He trailed the two NPCs in the shadows at a safe distance.

After a while, the young man asked his colleague, “By the way, have you ever seen Dr. Zhou change his hairstyle?”

“No, he’s always been pretty casual about his appearance.”

“Maybe I’m just tired, but the Dr. Zhou I saw in the lab looked like he had a perm.”

“You must be seeing things. I saw Dr. Zhou this afternoon—he wouldn’t have had time to get a perm between tests.”

The young man scratched his head: “Guess I was just mistaken.”

Just then, a voice came from their side: “Talking smack about me, are you two?”

Young man and colleague: “…Dr. Zhou?”

Yan Jiyun, standing in the shade of a tree, saw it was indeed the same NPC—evidently the one who’d been stretching and yawning earlier.

This Dr. Zhou’s presence was worlds apart from that of the young man. He wore gold-rimmed glasses, looking a bit rakish, his gaze razor-sharp.

“Wait, Dr. Zhou, weren’t you just in the lab?”

“Just went up for a cup of coffee.”

“Oh, I thought I was seeing things. There was a guy with curly hair in the lab just now—I thought it was you.”

Dr. Zhou smiled, “Maybe Dr. Peng was in there running some tests.”

Yan Jiyun’s heart nearly skipped a beat. “…” So the guess was Dr. Peng. That was a relief.

Dr. Peng really did have permed hair, while Yan Jiyun’s was just wavy—thanks to Dr. Peng’s curls, he was off the hook.

Yet what was Dr. Zhou’s real identity? Another vet? The two young men called him “professor”—could he also be a university lecturer?

He recalled that one of the office doors bore the name “Zhou Yiqun”—this must be the same NPC.

So Dr. Zhou was also a zoo vet, likely with a significant role in the story, though whether good or ill was still unknown.

If he’d been a university professor who left research for zoo medicine, that was odd, wasn’t it?

A named NPC with perceived threat or significance to a player’s mission is usually connected to the main storyline.

Dr. Peng triggered the zoo’s first crisis—might Dr. Zhou be linked to future disasters?

After a few words with the young men, Dr. Zhou turned and headed straight for his office.

This back area could only be exited through the doctors’ offices. Yan Jiyun didn’t care if he’d be spotted, but dashed for the same open office. The trio, not fully alert, glimpsed a shadow skitter by.

The young man joked, “Animals dare to wander into the vets’ turf now?”

“Which exhibit would have a pure black animal? Wasn’t that a black cat?” said Zhou Yiqun.

Yan Jiyun: “…”

A true named NPC. Students cling to zoo logic, the teacher sees through it with a glance.

He slipped out the vet’s office smoothly.

But after leaving the medical area as a cat, he would run into Xixi and the white tiger. If he wanted to avoid using experience cards in front of the white tiger, he’d have to go solo—better to act freely. He decided not to return to Xixi and the tiger for now.

Although he didn’t like the medical center, it wasn’t easy to get in—he ought to explore while he still had time on the experience card. Every minute counted.

One thing was clear: he’d only scratched the surface, exploring the doctors’ offices and exam room—open to all animals and staff, nothing too secret.

Labs required animal bloodwork to track the source of the irrational behaviors. Related NPCs were Dr. Peng and Dr. Zhou.

The X-ray and IV rooms could wait; they were adjunct to the exam rooms—probably no essential secrets there.

He could check out the pharmacy and the injured wolf pup’s nursery next.

The clinic was on the first floor; the second floor was probably for sick and nursery animals.

He headed up the stairway at the corner. Only by seeing firsthand could he deduce any connection between the sick/nursery animals and the agitation events and use the process of elimination.

Different pups were isolated in different rooms; at this hour, a nurse was tending them.

Yan Jiyun followed the lights and sounds and saw the famous panda cub nursery. Their soft cries were probably calls for milk. Soon, a tall man in a protective suit entered the nursery with a bottle—nothing seemed amiss.

He heard no wolf pup howls; the sick and nursery areas must be separate.

Left side—nursery; right side—hospital ward (though there was no sign). All the windows were shut, probably to keep the animals from escaping. Even Yan Jiyun couldn’t jump in.

No light—no problem. The doors were unlocked; he sprang up, pulled the handle down, and slipped inside.

It was very quiet. This was likely where land mammals stayed, each small animal in its own cage. Still, the temperature was comfortable and food and water were neatly provided.

Some animals woke when disturbed, some night animals were still awake, some were resting for various reasons.

Yan Jiyun wondered—were there really so many injured animals every day? Did all the zoo animals go mad at night? It wasn’t impossible.

The residents here were all injured pups. Adults were probably housed elsewhere.

He found the little wolf, housed further in. The little guy had a decent bed—not mistreated—though its leg injury made eating and drinking tough.

The zoo was understaffed and couldn’t tend to every animal perfectly.

Seeing the wolf pup trying to drink, Yan Jiyun used his paw to push the bottle’s nozzle toward it so it could lick the drops.

The pup was amazed to get a drink from a black cat.

Yan Jiyun nudged its food bowl closer, encouraging it to eat.

The pup, clearly hungry, dug in with gusto.

Watching the wolf eat made Yan Jiyun hungry, too. But once sure there were no problems here, he slipped out quietly.

The neighboring rooms housed protected species—a good nursery situation for zoo-born animals. This should be the other nursery—no notable noises, everything appeared normal.

Having finished the second floor, he considered the third, but between the second and third floors was a barred gate. Sizing up the bars, he squeezed through easily. He had no idea why it was locked, but it was no obstacle to Yan Jiyun.

He looked around—the third floor seemed to be a temporary break room for the night-shift nurses, nothing particularly worth exploring.

With nothing new, Yan Jiyun prepared to head down, only to hear the rattling of bars—someone was coming up.

The sound of shoes on tile told him who.

It was Dr. Zhou. Why was he coming up at this hour?

He was tonight’s on-duty doctor—shouldn’t he be in his own office?

Yan Jiyun retreated back to the third floor and hid near the farthest doorway—but there wasn’t even a potted plant for cover. So much for environmental friendliness.

How could he hide?

Dr. Zhou’s footsteps drew closer.

Closer and closer.

Wasn’t his room up ahead? Why wasn’t he stopping?

Keep coming and they’d bump right into each other.

Sure enough, Yan Jiyun’s gaze met Dr. Zhou’s. This last room was the doctor’s own on-call bedroom.

Crouching, stuffing keys in his pocket, Dr. Zhou asked, “Little black cat, why are you hiding at my door?”

Yan Jiyun: “…”

Thanks. What a coincidence.

He certainly hadn’t planned on landing at the man’s doorstep.

Time to deploy the age-old tactic: run for it.

Dr. Zhou rose to his feet, making no move to catch him.

As he opened his door, Yan Jiyun bolted.

Should say: Dr. Zhou let him run on purpose.

It was the first time an NPC had ever let him cleanly escape like this. He was shocked.

Compared to the others, Dr. Zhou seemed surprisingly decent—or maybe he just didn’t like cats, or animals in general.

Still, there had been no malice in his eyes.

Dr. Zhou was one of only two NPCs in this instance who bore no ill will toward him—a character worth investigating further.

Yan Jiyun found himself in no rush to leave.

Dr. Zhou’s door was still open, light pouring out onto the corridor.

Yan Jiyun trotted back, peeking in. He heard the familiar jingle of a bell.

Without warning, Dr. Zhou produced a cat teaser, wiggling it at Yan Jiyun in the doorway.

“I knew you’d be lured by this thing. Kitten, want to play?”

Yan Jiyun watched the toy swish back and forth, unmoving—he had no urge to play such a childish game after running halfway across the zoo.

When he didn’t budge, Dr. Zhou rummaged around, emerging with a stick of cat treat. He checked the date: “Not expired. Still good.” Tearing it open, a faint, savory smell wafted through the room.

Yan Jiyun had only come for clues, not food!

The treat smelled delicious, even more so than the fish or chicken from the cafeteria.

Surely it wasn’t poisoned?

No, he mustn’t eat it—he had to resist.

Even if Dr. Zhou was a good guy, his own owner had sternly taught him to never accept snacks from strangers. If he got sick, who would take care of him? Last time, he’d learned his lesson in a previous instance—he couldn’t repeat that mistake.

He had to rein in his cravings and ignore the human’s sugar-coated tricks.

And more pressing than the cat treat: why did the vet in the zoo keep a cat teaser and snacks in his break room? It was suspicious—what if he was trying to lure cats in for experiments?

Yan Jiyun realized he’d been careless. He turned and ran!

Dr. Zhou merely sighed: “As usual, vets are never liked by the animals.”

Yan Jiyun dashed down the stairs—as expected, no NPC here was normal.

Whether Dr. Zhou genuinely wanted to stroke a cat or had other motives, he was clearly hiding something.

While Dr. Zhou had distracted him with the toy, Yan Jiyun had checked the room—much more tastefully furnished than the keeper’s dorm.

Sofa, double bed, desk, bookshelf, wardrobe—all complete, and the layout was easy to scan at a glance.

He’d already checked Dr. Zhou’s office and found nothing suspicious.

He suspected the cleaner and neater the NPC, the more closely they were tied to the main plot.

What role, then, did Dr. Zhou play in this scenario?

Whatever that role was, Yan Jiyun’s experience card was due to expire.

[Experience Card time remaining: 30 seconds]

He darted into a first-floor restroom and, inside a stall, turned back into a human.

As he was about to leave, he heard Dr. Zhou’s footsteps again.

Dr. Zhou: “Strange, I just saw a little black cat come in. Where’d it go?”

Yan Jiyun was by the sink: “…”

Dr. Zhou asked, “Have you seen a black cat here?”

Yan Jiyun glanced at the cat treat in his hand and pointed to the window. “Not sure if it was a cat, but a shadow just jumped out the window.”

Dr. Zhou didn’t seem in any hurry to chase it. Instead, he looked Yan Jiyun up and down, “Are you the new keeper?”

Yan Jiyun nodded. “Yes, hello.”

“You’re on duty tonight, aren’t you?” Dr. Zhou said.

“Yes.”

Dr. Zhou looked him over for a moment. “Night duty is tough for a newcomer, especially with animals acting up after dark. Want to come sit in my office awhile?”

Yan Jiyun: “…”

What was with this strange NPC?

He’d wanted to chase the cat just a moment ago—why the sudden interest in him?

[Want to Be Human] Live Room:

“I really think Dr. Zhou is up to no good.”

“Me too. Is he trying to flirt with our baby?”

“Our kitty only just came of age! Not allowed!”

“Has this kitten been neutered?”

“Neutered? Now that’s just too much!”