Chapter 257: Cat Group

After Zheng Tan climbed out the window, he ran toward the direction the sound came from.

That cat only meowed twice, then fell silent; probably the base's security personnel went out to check the situation, after all everyone in the base are a bunch of "heaven's chosen ones", professors from prestigious universities, and several senior researchers—if something happened they couldn't bear it.

After Zheng Tan climbed over the base's wall, he glanced around; a squad of base security personnel walked by, they saw no suspicious beasts, but looking at this, they wouldn't give up anytime soon, and would patrol the area a few more times just in case.

Zheng Tan thought for a moment, then headed toward the vicinity of the house that cat often visited; that should be where the cat usually roams, maybe he'd run into it.

It's unknown whether the homeowner of that house was sent to the hospital or temporarily moved out; the house still stands as before, the rooms around the fire were burned black, and I heard all the specimens inside were destroyed.

While thinking that, Zheng Tan sensed something and looked toward the grass patch on the side.

Over there, that cat was coming toward Zheng Tan, but while moving it still warily glanced around.

I don't know whether this guy has adapted after losing half his whiskers to the fire; this time he got lucky running into Zheng Tan, but he can't be that lucky every time.

After the cat walked toward Zheng Tan a bit, it stopped at the edge of the grass, stared at Zheng Tan, then turned its head sideways, flicked its tail, took two steps, and looked back at Zheng Tan.

Is it telling me to follow it?

Zheng Tan looked around; nearby it seemed no one was walking outside.

He lifted his foot and followed, wondering where the cat was leading him.

Could it be looking for treasure?

Zheng Tan thought back to the shows he watched with Xiao Youzi on TV—don't they all say animals repay kindness? And there was a parrot that lived decades, telling a poor child where pirates hid their treasure in a certain era.

Treasure….

Just thinking about it made him a little excited.

Seeing Zheng Tan follow, the cat quickened its pace.

They went down the mountain from the side with few residents, then continued in a direction. Zheng Tan didn't know what lay ahead, but whenever he hesitated about whether to keep following, the cat would stop and signal him to hurry up, its gaze tinged with contempt, as if it looked down on Zheng Tan's lagging, listless self.

Usually only Zheng Tan looked down on other cats, but now a cat looked down on him; Zheng Tan took a deep breath and kept following. However, while following, he also observed his surroundings, memorizing the route.

Many of the cat's wild habits are worth Zheng Tan learning from, such as rubbing scents, urine marking, etc.

Now in the wilderness, with no one around, Zheng Tan didn't care much; when he needed to urinate he'd find a landmark-like spot, no one staring so he wasn't embarrassed… okay. The reddish‑spotted cat nearby seemed female… but a cat is a cat, still better than being watched by people.

By the time Zheng Tan realized the time issue, he suddenly noticed the sky was beginning to lighten.

In other words, he had been running outside all night.

Is it too late to go back now?

Zheng Tan glanced back at the forest blocking his view; the Jiao Family people must be getting anxious, right?

But since they'd already come this far, turning back now would mean wasting the whole night's run.

So Zheng Tan decided to keep following.

In the mountains and forests, a rain fell during the day; Zheng Tan and the red‑haired cat found a place to shelter from the rain.

The cat likes staying in trees; fortunately this season the foliage is dense and can block the rain. Zheng Tan isn't used to it, so he found a large‑leaf plant of unknown species, tore off a few leaves, laid them on branches to rig a makeshift rain shelter—though not as good as an umbrella, it's still better than just staying in the tree.

After running all night, Zheng Tan is now hungry and exhausted; he only ate a few fruits along the way, and outdoors he dare not eat randomly—many unfamiliar plants he won't just bite into. During his time at the base, following the intern team out, he also learned some edible fruits, which will do for now, but cats are carnivores; without meat to replenish energy, Zheng Tan doesn't know how long he can keep going, and the red‑haired cat beside him hasn't told him how much farther they must go.

To be honest, Zheng Tan now regrets coming along; although he made markers along the way, he's still uneasy—what if he truly gets lost in the wilderness? Though one could use the sun to orient, Zheng Tan isn't a true wild cat and can't guarantee infallibility.

Hopefully it's not far; otherwise he'd just turn back. Heading back now should still be possible. He doesn't want his precious cat life to be wasted in these mountains where no human shadow appears.

Listening to the sound of rain striking leaves around, plus some other animals' calls, Zheng Tan narrowed his eyes, preparing to nap, when suddenly his ear itched—the cat beside him was licking his fur. This is a sign of good rapport between cats; sometimes the few cats in the compound also groom each other, but Zheng Tan has never quite gotten used to this.

He tugged his ear, Zheng Tan slightly turned his head away; the cat didn't continue licking him, but began grooming itself—cats indeed spend a lot of time each day licking their fur.

The two cats sat side by side on a tree resting; in the afternoon, Zheng Tan opened his eyes—the rain had stopped, sunlight broke through the clouds and showered this mountain forest. The surrounding birds began chirping again.

The red‑haired cat jumped down from the tree, darted into the nearby woods, and soon returned, carrying in its mouth a snake as thick as an adult's thumb, still alive.

After bringing the snake over, the red‑haired cat looked at Zheng Tan up in the tree; waiting for Zheng Tan to jump down, it then tossed the snake in front of him, meaning for Zheng Tan to eat it.

Zheng Tan stared at the snake on the ground; he didn't know if it was poisonous, didn't recognize it, and after throwing it down he guessed it would try to slip away. Meanwhile, the red‑haired cat that caught the snake twitched its ears, paid no more attention to this snake, and lightly stepped off in a direction—looks like it had spotted another prey, perhaps even more enticing than this snake.

Zheng Tan withdrew his gaze and looked again at the snake on the ground; he was hungry now, previously he didn't eat raw food, but in this mountain forest living solely on fruit wouldn't give him enough strength to run—this would be even more dangerous. Without even the strength to flee, it would be tantamount to seeking death, let alone returning.

That snake still couldn't escape; Zheng Tan smashed its head to pieces.

Psychologically he wasn't too keen on this kind of raw food, but his stomach accepted it completely; when Zheng Tan finally put it in his mouth, the red‑haired cat had already returned, holding in its beak a bird a bit larger than the magpies he'd seen on the Chu Hua Da Xue campus, still alive. The bird flapped its wings while in the cat's mouth, but soon it stopped struggling and went into the red‑haired cat's stomach.

Watching a wild animal eat up close isn't particularly pleasant, rather bloody; to replenish his strength Zheng Tan ate as much snake meat as he could. He also avoided looking at the cat's ferocious manner of eating the bird.

Zheng Tan didn't finish that snake; he ate only half. It was his first try at this, psychologically he hadn't fully adapted. But since there was a first time, there will be a second, third… Zheng Tan decided next time he'd catch his own prey to eat; he can't keep relying entirely on that red‑haired cat.

As for that bird, now only a few bones remain on the ground, and feathers stained with blood that were forcibly torn off.

Other wild animals came around, presumably having smelled the scent; Zheng Tan and the red‑haired cat quickly left that place, found another spot to rest. After eating, the red‑haired cat again spent time grooming itself; bloodstains from feeding lingered around its mouth, but after grooming it soon returned to normal, appearing languid, quite unlike its earlier ferocity. Zheng Tan grabbed a few leaves to wipe himself; having just rained, many leaves and some stone depressions held water, allowing him to wash off the bloodstains.

After resting a while, they continued on; the farther they went, the more confused Zheng Tan became about direction. Earlier he had some confidence he could return, but now… without the red‑haired cat leading the way, Zheng Tan would surely get lost.

Just as Zheng Tan was pondering when to head back, he spotted a large reddish creature.

Across a stream, on the far bank, there was a large‑bodied wild boar; Zheng Tan estimated this guy might weigh over three hundred kilograms, whereas wild boars usually seen in the mountains are only 150 to 200 kilograms—even a one‑to‑two‑hundred‑kilogram boar can cause considerable trouble for people, let alone such a large specimen.

However, what intrigued Zheng Tan more was the boar's coat; in the sunlight its red fur looked like blazing fire, vivid and eye‑catching.

Zheng Tan felt he should have a sense of danger—encountering a wild boar isn't a good thing—but the feeling was odd; he sensed the boar had no intention to attack him, the intervening stream was shallow, a person could wade in without getting their knees wet, and crossing over would be easy for the boar.

The red‑haired cat let out a low growl toward the opposite bank; the wild boar there looked at Zheng Tan and the cat, then lifted its head, gave a dismissive snort, and dashed into the woods with an air of arrogance, vanishing quickly—only its sounds could indicate which direction it went.

After the boar left, Zheng Tan still hadn't given up the idea of returning, but when he twitched his ears and looked toward the faint rustling in the grass, he saw a cat whose fur also bore reddish spots, though mixed with other colors, the red proportion not large; its size was similar to the cat that had led him here, and the two tumbled about playing.

Thereafter, Zheng Tan saw several cats poking their heads out of the grass.

Zheng Tan now realized that the red‑haired cat probably wasn't leading him to look for treasure, but was bringing him to its den.

Since they were almost there, Zheng Tan wasn't in a hurry to go back; to return he'd still need to rely on that cat, otherwise he wouldn't know the way.

The red‑spotted cat's den, or rather the territory they've claimed, holds about ten‑plus cats; each cat has some red spots or patches to varying degrees, while the true leader of these cats is a cat roughly the size of Jueye, entirely solid red with no markings or mixed colors.

Generally cats aren't gregarious animals, but here it's different—they live in the same area, each with its own nest, not crowding together; aside from playing, they sleep and even eat up in the trees. Quite a strange bunch of cats.

As for Zheng Tan, an outsider, a few cats showed rejection and vigilance, while the others were neither friendly nor aloof; the leader, that fully red‑haired big cat, aside from hunting, spends most of its time lounging on high trees.

These cats are probably all related, Zheng Tan guessed.

The red‑spotted cat seems to really want Zheng Tan to stay here, but Zheng Tan is after all not a real cat; if he were a cat that had always lived in the mountains, staying would be a good idea, yet Zheng Tan is more accustomed to human society and wouldn't want to get involved with a female cat. (To be continued…)

PS: (5.15) I have something to go out for later, I estimate I won't have time to type chapters, so I released a chapter early.