A Possible Main Quest, Meow?

The anomalous object retrieval operation proceeded exceptionally smoothly.

Although the anomaly itself wasn’t inherently dangerous, the mission served as clear proof of the new ‘expert’s’ capabilities.

They truly possessed remarkable abilities.

The experienced operational team members had only just begun to piece together clues when the expert already pinpointed the suspect.

She even effortlessly located the anomalous object itself, demonstrating undeniable professionalism.

However, Yun Nan remained preoccupied with that fleeting, unintentional glimpse.

As a professionally trained specialist, he had full confidence in his own abilities and was certain he hadn’t been mistaken.

For a brief moment, something extraordinary had indeed appeared above the expert’s head: a pair of furry, triangular ears.

Cat ears?

Furthermore, after finding the anomalous object, the expert had acted strangely.

She had taken it back to her own dorm room instead of the research center.

Within a single night, she had seemingly uncovered all the characteristics of the anomalous object.

Yun Nan’s gaze sharpened.

Such an unusual action could only signify one thing.

This expert might have utilized a special anomalous object.

When it came to cats, some beast-type feline containment objects indeed possessed tracking and hunting abilities, making them incredibly effective for apprehending criminals.

This also explained why the expert was off-limits for contact.

Anomalous objects, after all, were understood by those in the know.

Chen Miao had no idea what wild conjectures her new teammate was making about her.

Even if she did, it wouldn’t matter; it certainly wouldn’t affect her.

Currently, Chen Miao, having used her Appraisal skill twice in quick succession, was resting on her bed, overcome by drowsiness.

She was replaying the events in her mind with her chat group companions.[Chen Miao: My guess was indeed correct.][Chen Miao: As soon as I activated the skill, I could see that everyone’s baldness karma was linked to one specific person.][Chen Miao: For some reason, Cat didn’t have time for a closer look, but once she saw he possessed an anomalous object, the rest became much simpler.][Chen Miao: It was quite unexpected, actually.][Chen Miao: I initially thought this was a crime stemming from an unformed cult-like organization, and I was prepared for the culprit to be incredibly stubborn.][Chen Miao: I never imagined Cat would only need to ask him privately for him to confess everything.][Chen Miao: I’d closed the Appraisal skill too quickly to find the anomalous object itself, and I thought it would take more effort.][Chen Miao: But he even handed over the anomalous object to me.]

[Chen Miao: So smooth.][Chen Miao: Cat asked him about his motive, and the result was particularly surprising.][Chen Miao: His daughter was away at college and worked part-time during her break instead of coming home, leading to villagers privately spreading… some unsavory rumors about her.][Chen Miao: After he accidentally found this anomalous object in an old warehouse and learned how to use it, he used it on those gossiping villagers.][Chen Miao: Unconsciously, he also started making statements blaming the villagers’ immoral deeds for their baldness.][Ten Thousand Whys: Explain in detail why you were in such a hurry to close the appraisal the first time.]

[Yun Juan: Oh-ho…][Chen Miao: Ah… Meow-ow-ow… That… Cat forgot to avoid others.]

As their Appraisal skill instructor, they held a certain reverence for Dr. Cat, especially this one, whose tone clearly indicated a truly serious doctor.

Fortunately, Dr. Cat didn’t say much, only using it as an example to warn the other cats to learn from the lesson.[Yun Juan: You’ve been talking for ages, but you haven’t gotten to the main point.][Yun Juan: What’s the anomalous object?]

[Chen Miao: It’s something shaped like a bowl.][Chen Miao: The method of use is to throw hair into it, and the hair’s owner will completely shed their hair after one sleep.][Chen Miao: The side effect is… hmm… the person who throws the hair in will experience permanent hair loss.][Ten Thousand Whys: What if someone throws their own hair in?]

[Chen Miao: Same thing, but the effect becomes permanent.]

[Yun Juan: Hey, that’s interesting.][Yun Juan: Find a brave soul willing to sacrifice, and then you can go work at a slaughterhouse.][Yun Juan: High-efficiency, absolutely clean hair removal.]

[Gao Xin: Meow?]

[Wei the Cat: Your idea… is quite unique.]

[Yun Juan: What? Is it not allowed?]

[Chen Miao: Okay.]

[Jump: Chicken! Meow-ow!][Yun Juan: Right, you can use it to de-feather chickens too!]

With someone supporting her, Yun Juan proudly wagged her tail.[Yun Juan: But speaking of which, who exactly is this? Another one of Bai’s companions?]

Such a guess wasn’t unreasonable.

Last time, everyone didn’t recognize Reincarnation, who clearly seemed like a super big shot, and this Jump often spoke in gibberish.[Jump: Meow! Meow-meow-meow-ow!]

Just like that.

Wei the Cat, the only one who had visited the cat cafe, didn’t care what the other cats in the shop were called, so currently, no one recognized Jump.

While her companions discussed the wondrous effects of the anomalous object, Bai was lost in thought.

Breathing in the cool air, her body absorbed the black warmth from beneath, slowly releasing its stored heat.

It felt warm, like an oven or an embrace.

Surrounded by furry companions, she found both warmth and softness.

Familiar scents filled her nostrils, and sunlight filtering through the leaves illuminated her slightly closed eyes.

Bai had pulled Wei the Cat along, transforming them both into cats so her companion could also enjoy the marvelous experience of sunbathing on a car hood.

She wondered whose black car this was.

Such an atmosphere made any cat feel drowsy, and Bai’s mind subconsciously pondered a few things.

Remember the inexplicable information Bai received after seeing the creeper anomalous object last time?

After she’d pushed them to the back of her mind, they had surprisingly started to stir again.

Bai then realized that, long ago, Wei the Cat had already transmitted several such information tags through their contract.

They were so tiny that Bai hadn’t noticed them.

More recently, Dr. Cat had transmitted a veritable flood of these information tags, their total number reaching over a hundred.

These pieces of information were like fragments; individually, they revealed nothing.

In fact, even all hundred-plus fragments together didn’t reveal much, but they began to assemble themselves, which finally caught Bai’s attention.

There was no need to worry about them affecting Bai; if compared to files, these weren’t even that—they were just some special strings of characters.

They were merely free, little puzzle toys that had suddenly appeared.

Bai was currently helping these assembled fragments of information piece together.

It was truly like a jigsaw puzzle or a word search, with some parts capable of linking.

‘Flip…?’

‘Mrow…’

‘This section is… expansion?’

Bai guessed and tried to interpret the meaning of these messages.

These unknown pieces of information greatly piqued her curiosity.

However, this amount of information was still too scarce and fragmented.

She couldn’t interpret it for long before hitting a wall—there were no more interconnected parts.

The System considerately appeared, providing Bai, who had completed as much of the splicing work as possible, with a summary.

[Unknown Information: 2.1%]

‘Meow?’ Bai tilted her head, her eyes wide.

‘What… what is this?’