Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Tang Qiu ground the bloodstained heel of her shoe firmly on the doormat at Cui Yueyi's doorstep until most of the still-wet blood was rubbed off, ensuring she wouldn't leave a trail of bloody footprints with each step. Only then did she stride away, leaving the scene as originally planned.

She first walked a distance, deliberately taking old streets or alleys with low foot traffic and limited surveillance coverage. Then she hailed a taxi in a secluded corner, eventually arriving at a large ecological park with hills, a lake, wide lawns, and dense forests.

It was a weekday, just past lunch break, so the park had few people. Tang Qiu hurried along with her head down, encountering only a few scattered elderly folks pushing strollers or walking pets.

Tang Qiu had visited this park several times before while scouting the terrain. Though she didn't know every detail, she had pinpointed most of the surveillance blind spots and dead zones.

Despite having just severely injured someone in broad daylight, Tang Qiu wasn't worried. She was confident she could escape without leaving a trace. The rush was because it was close to 4 PM—she never missed her daily workout at the fitness club, which served as an excellent alibi she couldn't afford to lose.

Entering through the main gate, Tang Qiu walked along the only main road she had to take, then quickly turned left at a fork, crossing a vast, open lawn. This lawn was mainly used for picnics and camping. Because it was so large and almost treeless, a significant portion fell within surveillance blind spots.

After crossing the lawn, Tang Qiu abandoned the paved paths and cut straight through the woods.

There were always rule-breakers who liked to trample wherever they pleased, which worked in Tang Qiu's favor. She didn't have to blaze her own trail, avoided the cameras, and saved a lot of time.

According to the original plan, Tang Qiu would go through the woods, climb the hill, and finally descend via another man-made path to leave the ecological park. But once on the hill, she glanced at her watch and suddenly stopped, changing her mind.

It was 13:42. If she left the park, walked to a secluded alley to retrieve her pre-hidden clothes, changed, and then went home, she'd still make it in time, but it would inevitably leave a loophole.

There would be surveillance footage of her returning home normally, but none of her leaving.

In the past, faced with such a loophole, Tang Qiu could only be more cautious in future operations, letting the surveillance footage be naturally overwritten over time. That way, even if she were eventually investigated, the loophole would be sealed, and she'd remain safe.

But now she had just drawn a new permanent item. Given how useful the previous permanent item, the Confusion Mask, had been, Tang Qiu decided to take five minutes to see if this new item could help avoid the loophole. If not, she'd still have time to resume the original plan after five minutes.

She acted on impulse, checking her surroundings to confirm she was alone and unmonitored. Then she silently commanded: Retrieve item: Pet Perspective Experience Card.

Tang Qiu felt a slight weight in her left jacket pocket as the new item was retrieved from the system.

She took the card out of her pocket, unsurprised to find it was a card. What surprised her was the system's thoughtfulness: the back of the card had detailed instructions for use.

Usage Rules:

1. Pet form is completely random and cannot be changed once formed.

2. After activation, the cooldown time equals the usage time. For example: 1 hour use = 1 hour cooldown; 100 hours use = 100 hours cooldown.

3. Note: Activation time must not exceed 100 hours, or the card may malfunction.

Tang Qiu read these three lines over and over, then flipped the card to study the front.

The front was as simple as the back. In the center was a bold black question mark, nothing else—no borders, no patterns. It was so plain it looked like a scrap cut from blank A4 paper. Tang Qiu felt that even if someone found a lost card, they'd mistake it for trash and toss it.

But its simplicity suited Tang Qiu's taste. She pinched the thin card, took a few deep breaths, then silently and firmly commanded: Use item.

Nothing changed around her. No colorful light bands, no supernatural phenomena. But as she made the decision, countless ink spots spread from the black question mark, like ink spilled on white paper, rapidly blackening the entire card. Then the spots trembled, merging irregularly, gradually forming an increasingly clear animal silhouette.

As the animal took shape, Tang Qiu easily recognized it: a cat.

A cat. The thought had just crossed her mind when the card changed again. It suddenly melted, turning from solid to liquid, flowing like water in her palm. But it didn't drip from the edges of her hand or between her fingers. Instead, it defied physics, pooling in her palm and slowly seeping inward until it vanished completely.

This was beyond Tang Qiu's expectations, but she had no time to think. The next moment, her body began to change.

She felt as if an invisible giant hand had caught her, pressing here, pulling there. She felt no pain. She became like a lump of clay, molded by an invisible but irresistible force.

Everything happened quickly, yet somehow slowly. Tang Qiu didn't know how much time passed. When the changes stopped and she came to her senses, the first thing she noticed was that her perspective had lowered—everything around her seemed larger.

The most obvious change was the wild grass underfoot. Before, it had been low, only reaching her ankles, but now it was so close she felt she could touch it if she lowered her head slightly.

The trees and bushes had also grown bigger. It was as if the forest had suddenly become a giant jungle, making her feel tiny. A bush that had only reached her thigh before could now contain countless versions of her, and she could easily hide inside.

After a moment of adapting to this strange perspective, Tang Qiu curiously examined her paws—once hands, now furry. Despite the incredibility, she quickly accepted how this new item worked: it transformed her from a human into an ordinary-looking, inconspicuous cat.

This was excellent news. It gave her better camouflage, greater mobility, and allowed her to be more elusive and conceal herself deeper.

Tang Qiu was very satisfied. Instinctively, she licked her paw twice, then paused stiffly. That was a downside: she'd have to remind herself during the experience that she was human. She didn't want to eat weird things in cat form.

Time was tight. After figuring out how to use the new item, Tang Qiu wasted no time adapting to walking and running in cat form.

During adaptation, she discovered another benefit of the item in use: all her carried belongings—clothes, dagger, gloves, and other items—were treated as a whole and hidden within the cat form.

Like the mechanical watch. At first glance at her paw, she saw only white fluffy fur. But when she focused on the watch in her mind, a faint image of it appeared on her furry paw. She could clearly see the time: 13:59.

Tang Qiu's heart tightened. She had intended to spend only five minutes experimenting, but seventeen had slipped by. Still, it was okay. In cat form, she didn't need to go to the alley to retrieve hidden clothes and change. She could freely roam the neighborhood as a cat and find a suitable opportunity to get home.

After more practice, aided by the animal instincts of the cat form, she managed to run and jump smoothly, though not perfectly.

Tang Qiu shook her head instinctively, then lowered her body like a hunter, suddenly lunging forward on all fours. Running and leaping, she moved much faster than her human form could walk. Plus, she could take shortcuts without avoiding cameras, so she arrived home earlier than originally planned.

When the item's experience ended, Tang Qiu stretched her slightly sore body and checked her watch.

Good. It was 14:32. She had time to eat, shower, and then leave. But while showering, she reviewed the day's actions and belatedly realized: Cui Yueyi's final words might have been because she thought Tang Qiu was a thief.

...

Naturally, Cui Yueyi hadn't mistaken her rescuer for a thief. She was just overwhelmed with gratitude and excitement, her mind still dazed from the intense emotions, and she blurted out what she most wanted to do—the only thing she could think of to express her thanks.

Unfortunately, her rescuer didn't want it. She regretted it deeply. If she could go back in time, she wouldn't have mentioned money. She would have knelt down sincerely and devoutly kowtowed twice to fully convey her profound gratitude.

Cui Yueyi thought this, and during the police report, she said the same. Initially, she wanted to conceal information about her rescuer, but there were too many contradictions and holes. She barely started before crumbling under a few police questions.

After thinking it over, Cui Yueyi realized she couldn't hide anything and had to answer honestly.

A young female police officer, dressed in plainclothes with her hair pulled back into a sleek ponytail, took Cui Yueyi's statement. She questioned and recorded, then had Cui Yueyi sign. Later, the officer took the statement book and found her leader, who was standing in the secondary bedroom wearing gloves, examining dust traces on miscellaneous items.

"Captain Lei," the young officer called, handing him the book. "The statement is done. Similar to the previous case. The victim has no idea how her rescuer appeared, didn't feel followed, and doesn't know them."

Lei Yue took off his gloves, took the statement book, flipped through it, and asked casually, "How's the suspect?"

The young officer curled her lips. "Worse than the first two cases. Face swollen like a pig's head. The emergency doctor said there's a good chance of moderate concussion. Severe damage to the genitals—definitely impaired function. As for whether the organ can be saved, it's uncertain, unlikely."

Lei Yue listened without speaking, continuing to read the victim's statement.

The young officer glanced back and couldn't help whispering, "Captain Lei, this is the third one, right? How does the rescuer do it? Appear at the critical moment, save the victim, and leave no trace? Could they have some superpower? Like precognition, or maybe reincarnation? Otherwise, how would they know when the victim would be attacked?"

The young officer had a lot of questions and couldn't stop once she started.

Lei Yue didn't seem affected, continuing to read and think. He didn't answer until she finished, then muttered to himself, "No correlation."

The young officer thought he was talking to her, so she quickly said, "Actually, thinking carefully, maybe not. Except for the second case, where the motive was resentment and financial conflict, the first and this one do have something in common."

Lei Yue showed interest, put down the statement, and said, "Go on."

Encouraged, the young officer said seriously, "The first case's motive was obvious: sexual impulse. The suspect spent a long time immersed in sexual fantasies from porn sites. Unable to satisfy them in reality, he targeted a victim who often worked late and took isolated, unmonitored alleys. But his crime was prevented before it happened. Judging from the injuries on the suspect, the person who stopped him likely knew him well, maybe even another victim."

"The second case," she continued, "had a different but still straightforward motive: money and resentment. From the statement, the suspect had clear personality defects: extremely arrogant and vain. He couldn't accept his own incompetence, so he twisted his sister's help into charity and scheming. He thought she wanted to take his son. So he retaliated by trying to kill his niece. He wanted to hurt his sister and show off his 'fatherly love.' With his sister's daughter dead, she'd have no heir, so her money would go to his son—not debt."

The young officer glanced at Lei Yue, who showed no expression but gestured for her to continue.

She said, "The third case was even simpler. Like the first, it was sexual impulse, just different locations: one in a dark alley at night, the other with a knife inside a home."

"Actually, it's still different," Lei Yue said after thinking. "Don't you think the suspect in the third case was too bold and overconfident? Look at the time—1 PM—and the location—home invasion with a knife. He even let the victim go and dance. I suspect he committed other crimes before."

The young officer nodded thoughtfully. "But not in our jurisdiction." Lei Yue made a decision. "Report it up. See if other jurisdictions have similar cases."