Shen Xin first called Old Zhou at the police post to ask about Da Mei.
Old Zhou said Da Mei was out wandering again, but she had left her three kittens at the police post.
Shen Xin felt a little relieved. He went to the cafeteria in the backyard and immediately saw the German shepherd lying under the camphor tree by the door.
He didn't know who had done it, but someone had tied it to the tree with a rope.
Its food bowl was placed right in front of it, filled with congee, an egg, and a steamed bun.
But it hadn't touched the food, just lying there quietly.
"Million!"
Shen Xin crouched down and called out its name.
Yesterday, Shen Xin had made a point to ask a few of Fan Jie's underlings what the dog's name was.
That's how he learned its name was Million.
Fan Jie had named it, saying he would quit his life of crime once he made a million.
Well, now he was going to prison before he even earned it.
The lethargic Million instantly perked up, let out a WOOF, and stood, wagging its tail nonstop at Shen Xin.
"Good boy. Eat something first."
Shen Xin pushed the food bowl closer to it.
Wang Shuwei had said it wouldn't eat no matter who fed it, but as soon as Shen Xin spoke, it immediately lowered its head and started gobbling down the food.
It must have been hungry.
The key was that it only ate when Shen Xin told it to. Its obedience was off the charts.
"Strange."
A voice spoke up from the side. It was the cafeteria's chef, Li Lin, who clicked his tongue in amazement. "It absolutely refused to eat when I fed it, but the moment you show up, it starts eating. Shen Xin, you two are fated to be together."
Shen Xin nodded. After a moment of thought, he said, "Master Li, can we keep the dog here for now? I'll find someone to adopt it and then take it away."
'I'm too busy with work to take care of it myself.'
"Of course! I was just thinking what a waste it is to throw out the leftovers. With him here, it's perfect." Li Lin agreed without hesitation. He then added, "Shen Xin, this dog is pretty smart. Why don't you talk to the chief and just keep it here? It's not like we can't afford to feed it one more mouth, and it can watch the yard. That would be great."
He walked over and also reached out to pet Million's head.
Million didn't shy away, docilely letting him pet it.
'It's obvious Li Lin wants to keep it.'
Shen Xin didn't dare make any promises.
The main issue was that the police station was a workplace, and keeping a dog might not be appropriate.
'If we're really going to keep it, it would need to be an official police dog.'
"I'll ask Song Suo about it later," Shen Xin said.
In truth, if it were possible, Shen Xin also wanted to keep Million.
'Mainly, I want to test the mechanics of this icon.'
'For example, how does it grow? Is it by feeding it, raising it, or something else?'
"I'll go get it a chicken leg." Li Lin went off cheerfully.
Shen Xin took one last look at the icon above Million's head.
It was still at one bar.
He told it to be good, then rode his electric scooter home to catch up on sleep.
Shen Xin was a Nanjiang local.
But his family home was in Xinbei District, over twenty kilometers away. For the sake of a convenient commute, he rented a studio apartment near the police station.
However, just as he was about to get home, Shen Xin changed direction and rode toward Spring Tide Home.
Shen Xin was a little worried about Da Mei's three kittens.
Old Zhou had also participated in the operation yesterday and needed to go home to catch up on sleep. Even if he didn't, his usual work at the police post was busy.
Besides, the police post couldn't stay open all the time, so it had to be locked.
If it was locked, Da Mei couldn't come back to feed her kittens whenever she wanted.
Leaving the kittens outside the police post wasn't safe, and God knows where Da Mei would hide them.
Just like yesterday, for whatever reason, she had hidden the kittens in the delivery box of a stolen electric scooter, which was how they ended up being ridden away by the thief and locked in a vehicle.
She was lucky she had a good nose and managed to find the right vehicle.
So, after thinking it over, Shen Xin decided to just officially adopt her and be done with it.
He would take them home to care for them. It would save them from running wild outside, where they could turn into cat jerky at any moment.
Before long, Shen Xin arrived at the police post.
Sure enough, Old Zhou wasn't there.
The door was locked. Da Mei was lying at the entrance, and next to her was a young woman, captivated by Da Mei's beauty, trying to tempt her with a sausage.
To his surprise, Da Mei offered zero emotional feedback, not even giving the woman a proper look.
But upon seeing Shen Xin, Da Mei became much more alert. She leaped onto the handlebars of his electric scooter and meowed at him with dissatisfaction.
Then she jumped off, went to the door, and began pawing at it insistently.
'Her meaning was clear: You're finally back! Hurry up and open the door, I need to feed my babies.'
Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Shen Xin went to open the door.
The moment the door was ajar, Da Mei shot inside with a WHOOSH.
The young woman was reluctant to leave and asked if the cat was Shen Xin's pet or a stray.
If it was a stray, she asked if she could adopt it.
"She's mine."
Shen Xin said it directly, without a second thought.
'From now on, I'll be responsible for Da Mei's life.'
The young woman left with a look of regret.
Shen Xin entered. The three little ones had already scrambled out of the milk carton, eager to nurse.
One of them, a slightly skinnier dilute calico, was a bit clumsy. It kept burrowing and burrowing through Da Mei's long fur but just couldn't latch on properly.
Shen Xin stepped forward to help it find the right spot, then crouched down to examine the three little ones.
He had been too busy yesterday to get a good look.
The fattest one was an orange tabby.
'As expected of the mighty orange, it eats the most.'
Then there was the little calico.
You had to hand it to Da Mei's genes; this calico not only had few color patches, being mostly white, but it was also long-haired.
And the last one was a standard tabby cat.
But Shen Xin was surprised to find that this cat's tail was very short, just a little stub, like a rabbit's tail.
At first, Shen Xin thought it was injured, that its tail had been broken during Da Mei's ordeal. But when he picked it up for a closer look, he saw that wasn't the case.
It was a naturally short tail.
"This couldn't be a Qilin Cat, could it?"
Shen Xin remembered scrolling through videos online that mentioned this kind of short-tailed domestic cat. They were supposedly the legendary Qilin Cats, one in ten thousand and super intelligent.
"Holy crap, Da Mei, you were violated by that Evil Bully."
Shen Xin rubbed Da Mei's head in astonishment.
Over in the second phase of the development, a short-tailed tabby roamed around. It was a vicious tiger among cats, a true tyrant of the streets, and fierce beyond belief.
According to the community's security guards, that cat was a loner, and it was either fighting or on its way to a fight.
It had even scratched a child in the community before.
The neighborhood committee had tried to catch it several times without success.
Shen Xin had seen it twice himself. It had a short tail, which he'd assumed had been broken in a fight, especially since the cat was covered in scars.
Now he understood. That tabby must also be a Qilin Cat, and it had forced itself on Da Mei.
Otherwise, there was no way Da Mei's kitten would have the short-tail gene.
Da Mei meowed twice, her gaze seeming to say, 'What do you know? A feline beauty like me deserves the fiercest cat around.'
In the South, a Qilin Cat is a symbol of wealth and good fortune. 'That settles it,' Shen Xin thought. 'I have to take this whole litter of kittens home.'
After Da Mei finished nursing, Shen Xin put the three kittens, now full and fast asleep, into the milk carton. Then he pointed to a cardboard box he had just gotten, motioning for Da Mei to jump in.
"Come home with me."
Shen Xin extended the invitation.
Da Mei shot the cardboard box a contemptuous glance, then suddenly darted out of the police post.
Shen Xin thought she was a free spirit who loved her untamed life. He chased her out the door, only to be surprised to find her perched on his electric scooter, looking at him as if to say, "Let's go."
"This one..."
Shen Xin chuckled, grabbed the milk carton, locked the door, and got on his scooter.
Da Mei didn't even bother with the floorboard. With another WHOOSH, she leaped onto Shen Xin's shoulder.
She held her head high and puffed out her chest, as if she were the one in charge.