章 14: Chapter 14 Got Extorted
"Director, the railing at Monkey Mountain was sawed through and then restored to its original state with a layer of rubber. It looks fine from the outside, but as soon as someone leans on it, the railing will break."
In the zoo director's office, Mr. Dong of the Security Department was reporting the results of the accident investigation to Mr. Song, the zoo director.
Mr. Song frowned, "Check the surveillance, see who did it!"
Mr. Dong gave a bitter smile, "Director, as you know, our zoo has always had tight funds. It's good enough to cover the animal expenses and staff salaries. Those surveillance cameras are mostly for show, many are old and out of order, and the resolution is so low that you can't see anything clearly. There is one camera around Monkey Mountain, but it broke some time ago and it looks like it was deliberate."
Mr. Song fell silent, his frown growing tighter and tighter until his thick eyebrows almost met.
He had heard rumors that some developers were eyeing the vacant land near the zoo to build villas.
Normally, the government wouldn't allocate land meant for public welfare to property developers. But if a serious accident occurred at the zoo, that could change, at least it would provide an opportunity for others to exploit.
"What do you think we should do about this?" asked Mr. Dong.
"Pass on our information to the police for investigation," replied Mr. Song.
They had no other choice. Since there was no incident and no evidence, they had little hope for a substantial discovery.
"Director, why don't you talk to the city officials, see if we can get more funds. We could strengthen the zoo's security, install cameras on all the walls, and replace the existing cameras with high-definition ones," Mr. Dong suggested.
"I'll try my best," the aged director sighed, though he was well aware that maintaining the current level of funding would be good enough.
The nation's focus was on GDP as an assessment index. The principle for allocating funds was clear: prioritize units that could stimulate the economy.
Educational and research institutions, such as universities, were a given.
But for public welfare organizations like zoos, heh, as long as they existed, that was enough; they were not places for key investment.
…
Outside Whisperwind Pavilion, Suming clutched a stick in his hand, crouched low, and tiptoed toward the pavilion's main door.
Since there were security guards patrolling the zoo, and there wasn't much of value inside the pavilion, he didn't lock the door when he left. Besides, who would come to the zoo to steal? It's not like they could kidnap tigers or bears.
But to his surprise, someone had indeed broken into Whisperwind Pavilion!
"Is it a thief, or is it Mr. Wang?"
Mr. Wang was always carefree. If it were him, he wouldn't be sneaking around.
Suming slowly pushed open the door and was startled by the sight in the room.
Around the big tub where the catfish were raised, five cats were squatting in a circle, each one craning their necks to watch the catfish inside the tub.
The cats, big and small, sat encircling the tub, peering intently at the catfish.
A large black cat even stretched out its chubby paw now and then, lying down and sweeping its paw across the tub, teasing the catfish. The catfish swam back and forth in the water, dodging the cat's harassment and occasionally splashing a few drops.
The sound Suming had heard was the noise of cat paws stirring the water and the movement of the catfish.
"Hey? Hei, and you gang, how did you get here?"
The cats, all dirty, were the same strays Suming had fed at the school last time, the big black cat Hei having been scolded for fighting over food.
Seeing Suming arrive, the cats jumped down from the tub and snuggled at his feet, affectionately rubbing their heads against his trousers.
The black cat Hei stood on its hind legs, its front paws resting on Suming's shins, its sharp claws catching on his trousers, as if wanting to climb onto him.
Suming laughed, amused at how smart these cats had become, managing to track him down from the school by following his scent!
It seemed that after using their spiritual power to communicate with them and feeding them last time, these cats had come to regard themselves as the owners.
Hei, feeling rather smug, shook his head and squinted his eyes, meowing once as if to say, "Go on, praise me."
"Praise you? You're extorting me!" Suming glared at the cats with annoyance.
If wolves and red foxes are among the more difficult animals to get along with, then cats are very easy to get along with.
After communicating with them again using spiritual power, the cats showed even more affection towards Suming than before, each one acting coy and charming, leaving Suming helpless and unable to drive them away.
"Fine, if you want to stay, stay. I'm a bit lonely by myself, and a few extra mouths to feed won't make a difference. From now on, you'll live here."
Before Suming could finish speaking, Hei jumped off his leg and turned around, tail erect and hips twisting as he headed towards the storage room.
"What do you mean, that's enough talk? Have you all turned into spirits?" Suming was startled. What kind of world was this where even the cats could snub you?
Soon, Hei returned, with a dead rat in his mouth, looking very proud and self-satisfied as he gazed at Suming.
Suming then understood, "Haha, so you're planning to fend for yourselves, huh?"
"Meow meow meow..." With a few cries, the other cats also brought several rats and bragged by dropping them in front of Suming.
"That's enough, that's enough. In the future, just scare off the mice, okay? It's quite disgusting!"
It was only natural for cats to catch mice, but the thought of his pets messily gnawing on a pile of mouse carcasses in front of him was a sight Suming couldn't bear to look at.
The five cats sat in a row obediently in front of Suming, who began calling out names: "Let's give you all names. Hei, you'll still be Hei, as the leader, and you, white cat, will be Miao Yi..."
From Miao Yi to Miao Si, they were named in order down the line, Hei included.
"Everyone has a name now!" Suming said.
All five cats immediately sat up straight.
"Hei, you lead the way. Everyone to the bathroom, I'm giving you baths. Look how dirty you are, you look like... oh no, more like muddy monkeys..."
"Meow meow meow..." All the cats unanimously expressed their opposition, transmitting a very unwilling emotion through the spiritual power. Dogs are natural swimmers, but cats are afraid of water, and for the feline folk, baths are akin to torture.
However, as the head of the household, Suming couldn't be soft-hearted at this moment. The cats were all strays originally, filthy and possibly harboring fleas or lice. He didn't want to end up with a house full of pets and himself sick as a result. His animal friend abilities might make him immune to animal diseases, but it's still better to not test that unnecessarily.
Under Suming's control... Actually, there was no need to use spiritual power. Just by grabbing the loose skin at the back of the cats' necks, one in each hand, he tossed them all into the tub. He held them down, lathered them up with soap, and rinsed them off, giving them a thorough scrub.
"Meow..." With poor little faces covered in white foam, the cats looked pitifully at Suming, not daring to move.
"Don't expect me to go easy on you. If you want to stick with me, you'll have to follow my rules. From now on, baths are mandatory! And yes, not just baths. As a cat, learning to swim is also essential!" Suming said with a wicked smile.
"Meow meow meow..."
...
After bathing all five cats and drying their fur, Suming set up a small cat bed on the first floor of the Fengshui Pavilion, fed them some bread, and then let them go off to play by themselves.
Cats are a very contradictory creature; on one hand, they are afraid of water, but on the other, they are extremely curious and enjoy playing with water. After eating, the cats ran off to the lake and frolicked around the small lake.
The big-headed catfish swam back and forth in the tank, appearing to have healed quite a bit from its injury, but Suming didn't dare let it back into the lake just yet, since that alligator turtle was still there!
"Meow meow meow..." Suddenly, a burst of cat meowing came from outside the window.
"What now?" Suming opened the window and immediately burst out laughing.
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