Chapter 55: Buddy, hand over the cat tag! (Asking for first subscription)

When mentioning Nan Cheng, people always think of its extraordinarily legendary development speed.

This international metropolis constantly attracts countless people with dreams who rush to come here.

This year, the subway opened, small and medium enterprises started up, civilian forces rose, etc., all pushing Nan Cheng's development.

On the street, people in suits carrying briefcases rush back and forth, and fashionably dressed youths become increasingly ostentatious.

Zheng Tan, sitting in the pickup truck's cargo bed, raised his head to look at the towering buildings outside.

The retrograde landmark-like buildings opened door after door in Zheng Tan's memory; seeing them suddenly, he felt a dazed sense of not knowing what year it was.

The sunlight was a bit glaring, but the temperature was warm; if he were in a more tranquil environment, Zheng Tan wouldn't mind taking a nap. Unfortunately, this place is not.

Zheng Tan is very familiar with this city; besides the entertainment spots he used to frequent, he also drove to other places, and back then, when he had nothing to do, he liked to take a girl out to wander, so he could remember many places.

However, after all, there is a time gap; this city changes every year, and compared to a few years later, it still seems immature, yet it does not lose its vitality.

Bus stops and street signs constantly tell Zheng Tan the driving direction and route.

The pickup headed toward the city center, which Zheng Tan was happy about, but not long after, the truck drove into a residential community.

This residential area, by Nan Cheng's standards, is not particularly upscale, nor is its scale large.

After the pickup stopped, Zheng Tan immediately jumped down from it, without letting the driver notice.

After jumping off the vehicle, Zheng Tan first found a place to hide. He didn't know what attitude Nan Cheng had toward stray cats at this time; if a stray cat were seen on the street, would it be directly captured? If he were actually caught as a stray cat, Zheng Tan couldn't be sure he could escape each time.

It was already approaching noon, and the temperature felt around twenty degrees, slightly warmer than that side of Chu Hua Shi.

Zheng Tan hid in a corner, twitched his nose, and smelled a foul odor on his body; he also felt a bit itchy, not knowing if he had gotten fleas. He had been locked in the same cage with other cats. With so many cats in one room, the chance of getting fleas was high.

What a hassle!

Since being caught, Zheng Tan hasn't bathed; his body is all gray, likely still stained with some blood, etc. When the dog cage was opened, the surrounding rack had many dry or semi-dry bloodstains. Zheng Tan inevitably got some on him. It still smells now. However, the good thing is that his fur color makes these stains not very noticeable, and he doesn't look too disheveled. If his fur were white, it would be troublesome. Without shampoo, it's hard to wash clean, so Zheng Tan is glad his fur is all black.

Zheng Tan never licks his own fur; now, with no one to help heat water and comb his fur, he must figure it out himself. To avoid looking like a stray cat, he must keep his body clean and his fur smooth.

Zheng Tan searched around the community and finally chose the artificial pond, which still housed some koi and small fish. The pond should be cleaned regularly, the water is fairly clean, and the fake hill is well kept.

Taking advantage of the fact that few people were out at midday, Zheng Tan jumped into the pond and swam a lap, rubbing against the fake hill to wash off the dirt stuck to his body and smooth his tangled fur. After a while, he played with the fish, driving them to run around, but Zheng Tan had no interest in raw fish and would not eat them.

Feeling it was about enough, Zheng Tan came out of the pond, shook his fur to fling off the water. Sometimes Zheng Tan wonders why, when a cat gets wet, it always licks itself, whereas when a dog gets wet, it shakes its fur vigorously or rubs on the ground, especially long-haired dogs like Sahala from Dongqu Dayuan; after a bath, it rubs everywhere, so its owner must tie it up each time when bathing it.

Zheng Tan's fur is not long, so shaking it doesn't expel much water; a breeze blowing on him still feels a bit cold. He can't afford to get sick now—if he did, he'd likely be tossed out like a plague victim or otherwise dealt with. Looking around, Zheng Tan saw a towel hanging outside on the balcony of a first-floor resident; he ran over, hooked it with his claw, pulled it over, and wiped his fur—a task he's now practiced at.

Without shampoo, the pond's water is just that; washing with it isn't very clean, but it'll do, better than not washing, and after washing Zheng Tan felt much fresher.

To dry his fur quickly, Zheng Tan jumped onto a tree and found a sunny spot to bask his fur.

The community is fairly quiet; occasionally one can hear some dog barks, the greenery is not bad, but it's not as comfortable as Dongqu Dayuan of Chu Hua Da Xue.

Zheng Tan has now formed a habit: wherever he goes, he likes to take it out and compare it with Dongqu Dayuan.

After yawning, Zheng Tan shifted his pose; the fur on his back was mostly dry, but the fur on his belly wasn't, so he lay on his side, changed the angle, and continued to sun his fur.

I really miss the Jiao Family's children's hair dryer.

Zheng Tan rested with his eyes closed, ears always perked; vigilance must be maintained at all times, otherwise he'd be trapped. Having experienced this capture, Zheng Tan dares not be careless at any time, especially in this entirely unfamiliar environment.

Occasionally someone walks by nearby; if they aren't heading this way, Zheng Tan won't get up and run off, trying to conserve energy, because it's no longer the days when he could eat whenever he wanted and just go home to open the fridge.

A faint footstep sound came, or rather, the sound of grass being rubbed when passing; Zheng Tan's ears twitched—this didn't sound like a person, nor like a dog, and he knew the sound of dog paws on the ground, so it must be a fellow cat.

Zheng Tan opened his eyes and looked over; a white Persian cat was walking toward him with elegant steps.

Many say Persian cats are naturally spoiled and pampered in appearance, giving a feeling of luxurious nobility, like an aristocrat that ordinary cats cannot compare to.

Zheng Tan didn't care whether it was noble or not; at this moment he was staring at the cat tag on that Persian cat's neck, the tip of his tail twitching, as if there was a good idea……

Even if his fur is relatively clean, there's no guarantee. It's not the most direct way for people in a big city to distinguish stray cats from pet cats. And a cat tag is like a person's ID card; in such a metropolis it serves an important function, sometimes changing passersby's attitudes toward you.

Having a cat tag proves the owner values the cat, and also tells people the cat has backing.

To shake off the stray cat impression, Zheng Tan still needs to start with the cat tag, after all he doesn't have the look of a pedigree cat; just rolling around outside and picking up dust would likely make people think he's a stray cat.

That Persian cat neither knew Zheng Tan's thoughts nor noticed his presence. Surely it also didn't know anyone was plotting to take its cat tag. It continued walking toward several large trees with elegant steps, came over, rubbed against the trunk, sharpened its claws, then urinated to mark its territory—no matter how elegant the cat, it couldn't shake off certain instincts.

Zheng Tan was no longer lying down. He quietly moved from the tree branch over there and waited there.

That elegant Persian cat remained lost in its own world; after finishing its territorial circle, it likely intended to go to the nearby pond to look at fish. When it raised its tail and passed the tree where Zheng Tan was staying, Zheng Tan seized the moment and lunged toward it.

Back at Dongqu Dayuan, Zheng Tan watched A Huang and Jingzhang play-fight, knowing that cats usually use just a few skills most often: either scratching, or whipping slaps with a top-like spinning motion, or grabbing and biting, followed by a series of kicks with the hind legs.

Therefore, to avoid those situations, after lunging Zheng Tan rode on its back and didn't let that Persian cat flip over at all.

That Persian cat struggled hard, emitting angry "meow" sounds, but in the end it couldn't match Zheng Tan's strength.

Zheng Tan pressed it to the ground, meanwhile freeing a paw to undo its neck collar.

The collar was still leather, buckle-like a belt, not the elastic kind Zheng Tan used to wear; the cat tag was also gilt in color, with metal engraving.

To hold down a cat, one must also ensure not to crush it into internal injury or fracture; indeed it's not easy to control the force, and moreover this cat's fur is thick and long, making the arm pressing on it prone to slip; Zheng Tan expended considerable effort. Sure enough, a human hand pressing down is easier than a cat's paw, which lacks human dexterity; several times while undoing the collar he almost got flipped over and scratched by the cat.

This cat looked rather gentle, but when pressed down it was truly irritable.

"Meow—" the Persian cat pressed to the ground growled, as if it wanted to immediately come over and scratch Zheng Tan, full of anger.

"Meow my ass!" I just need to borrow the cat tag for a bit—just hand over the cat tag nicely.

Even without a cat tag, a cat with such a noble appearance wouldn't be thought of as a stray; besides, if it lost the tag, its owner would surely get it another one.

To increase his own security, Zheng Tan could only rob this buddy.

"Huh, what are those two cats doing? Fighting?" a little girl's voice came from not far away.

Zheng Tan looked over; they were two not-so-big kids, not yet as old as Jiao Yuan, and the little girl who had just spoken was about the same age as Xiao Youzi. Between them and where Zheng Tan was was a pond, so he didn't worry they'd come running over immediately.

Beside the little girl was a boy about ten years old; seeing Zheng Tan's side, he immediately covered the girl's eyes, "Oh my, in broad daylight, how shameful!"

Zheng Tan: "……"

"Shame on you, you old bastard!"

"What the hell is this little brat thinking?!"

Watching those two kids run off, Zheng Tan continued struggling with the cat collar.

After finally managing to undo the Persian cat's neck collar, Zheng Tan held it in his mouth and stepped back; however, once the cat flipped upright it didn't attack Zheng Tan, just arched its back, glanced warily at him, then ran off—presumably heading home for comfort.

He climbed the tree holding the cat collar in his mouth, Zheng Tan adjusted the tightness a bit so he could take it off anytime; wearing it, it looked a bit looser, and the shiny gold cat tag was too eye-catching against his black fur, but it was still better than nothing.

He hooked the cat tag with his claw and took a look; engraved on it was the name of that Persian cat.

"Katie"?

This name is really damn fancy, but the question is whether giving a male cat this name is weird; Zheng Tan still thought "Caesar" sounded more imposing.

Forget it, let's just make do with it.

After adjusting the cat collar, Zheng Tan didn't put it on right away; instead, he hid it first, then walked around the residential complex, found a household, sneaked in to "take" something to eat.

Only one person lived there, taking a nap. Zheng Tan didn't disturb them; after eating his fill, he came out, had the cat collar ready, and left the residential complex. (To be continued..)

ps: Thanks, Badass Cat, Moon‑yearning Solitude, Joyful, Misty Dawn Cat, cecelay, heroman01, thindy, *Spring River Water*, Seven‑bright Glazed Pavilion, Prophecy Ink van, Wind Wanderer, Qianqian's Kirin, Other Shore Crow, Child of Time, Words I've Said, Jun Jun's Little Wolf, lazyorange, Green Leaf Frost, Yan Mountain Clear Water, Flowing Visage, Peach Stream's Distant Clear Flute, Ophimes, Dan, Ran Ling, Heaven's Curtain, Earth's Stage, Cain's Cat's Reward! Thanks, ct80642470（2）, Amibaer, Ya q, Moon‑yearning Solitude, Badass Cat, owen's occasional vote! Thanks to every supporter of this book!!