Chapter 81: Chapter Seventy-Nine: Is the Contact a Cat?

After Zheng Tan climbed in through the window, he roughly scanned the surroundings.

The furnishings were quite ordinary, with no luxury items; the sofa and such were rather old, just as Wei Leng had said—these were left by the previous tenant. So even if Zheng Tan caused a huge ruckus, he wouldn't feel guilty.

Due to the poor layout, the first floor felt somewhat dim and damp.

Zheng Tan figured out the rough layout of the first floor before anyone upstairs came down, so even if he needed to flee, he wouldn't panic too much.

Wei Leng said there were eavesdropping devices and likely cameras installed, so Zheng Tan had to act as naturally as possible, more like a stray cat.

Knowing there were cameras and bugs yet having to act ignorant was indeed strange; Bian Tou also had to pretend clueless while assessing the situation, which was tough on him.

I really wonder what Bian Tou's mindset is when he's doing xxoo with his current girlfriend.

Indeed, people doing this kind of undercover work have very strong hearts.

As the saying goes, when heaven is about to confer a great responsibility on someone, it first tests their resolve.

After sniffing the air, Zheng Tan followed the scent—after all, a cat breaking into someone's home is just to steal food; otherwise, why go rummaging through cabinets?

As he walked toward the kitchen, Zheng Tan also paid attention to the placement of appliances and furniture between the living room and the kitchen.

His ears twitched; the woman upstairs was about to come down, so Zheng Tan quickened his pace.

When the woman reached the kitchen, she saw that dirty, ugly, stupid stray cat sniffing the plate of sliced beef, and she instantly flared up in anger.

"Get out, you stinking cat!" she shouted, grabbing a spatula at hand.

Zheng Tan pretended to be startled. He "accidentally" stepped right onto the plate of beef, then "accidentally" knocked over the seasoning jar; the pepper shaker fell to the floor and its contents spilled out.

Then came the salt jar, the MSG jar, and several nice ceramic bowls, all kicked down and shattered one by one.

The woman grew even angrier. She wanted that cat out immediately, not a moment longer.

While dodging the woman's swinging spatula, Zheng Tan looked for places to dart to and fro.

Wei Leng had told Zheng Tan that after entering he could cause a moderate disturbance, but the degree of "moderation" was up to Zheng Tan to judge.

Feeling it was about right, and with Bian Tou standing outside the kitchen, Zheng Tan leapt to dodge the spatula, slipped under the woman's arm, and jumped from the stove onto the cabinet.

The kitchen cabinet was fairly large—close to two meters long and rather tall, with about half a meter between its top and the ceiling. I heard the household used to run a small eatery; after they stopped, they moved all the pots, pans, and bowls back here, so there's a lot of stuff. Behind the cabinet is a shelf, loaded with various steamers and cooking pots; since it's long unused, a thick layer of dust covers everything.

After Zheng Tan jumped onto the cabinet, the woman could do nothing but tap the spatula twice, hoping to knock the cat down, but the cat just stayed up there, ignoring her.

The woman, furious, flung her spatula aside, turned to Bian Tou standing at the kitchen door, and snapped, "Why are you still standing there? Get that cat out!"

After thinking, she figured Bian Tou might dislike her earlier actions, so she glanced at the bowl of beef and said, "Just give it the beef later."

After speaking, the woman left the kitchen; the recent cat‑chasing had left the kitchen a mess, with dust clinging to her. She headed to the bathroom for a shower, hoping not to have to face that ugly, dirty cat again when she came out.

Seeing the woman go out, Zheng Tan felt she probably wouldn't return to the kitchen anytime soon, relaxing a bit—but he couldn't let his guard down, since Wei Leng had said surveillance might be everywhere, so he couldn't act too conspicuously.

Zheng Tan looked over the kitchen again, pondering the ideal spot to make his move.

Before coming here, Wei Leng had told Zheng Tan that if cameras were installed, they'd likely be placed high up for overhead or eye‑level views—a common habit for better overall coverage. Of course, low‑placement isn't ruled out, but in a kitchen that's unlikely.

Moreover, no matter how secret or dire the situation, the other side wouldn't be the KGB's "crow" from back then, nor would it be that complicated.

Zheng Tan had already made up his mind.

Bian Tou watched the black cat hiding on the cabinet, stepped out, and shortly returned to the kitchen holding a can of cat food.

With a "click," he opened the cat food, took a plastic plate from the cabinet, and poured the contents onto it.

"Meow, meow, come eat the canned food~" Bian Tou said as he edged closer.

Zheng Tan: "……"

You're the "meow," and your whole family are big "meows"!

Zheng Tan hates it most when people shout that word at him; it's truly damn stupid.

He had initially had a decent impression of Bian Tou, but once that word came out, his opinion plummeted in a straight line.

Still, even if he wasn't feeling great, he still had to get the job done.

As Bian Tou approached the cabinet, Zheng Tan darted downward and hid beneath it. Behind the cabinet is a shelf, and whether it's the shelf or the cabinet, the space underneath is fairly dark.

Crouching low, Zheng Tan wandered around underneath, finding nothing suspicious except a few dead insects of unknown species and some dust.

Anyway, he was already filthy, so he didn't mind getting even dirtier here.

"How's it going?"

The woman, hair wet and wrapped in a bathrobe, walked to the kitchen door, towel in hand, drying her hair as she asked.

Holy shit, that's way too fast!!

She probably came out quickly for fear Bian Tou might leak something.

Thus, Bian Tou seems to be under fairly tight surveillance.

No wonder Wei Leng said it's inadvisable to let people come into contact.

Now Zheng Tan isn't worried either; he's staying under the cabinet, just waiting for Bian Tou.

"Should we chase it out with a broom or something?" the woman asked.

"The more you do that, the less it'll come out," Bian Tou replied helplessly, holding the plate with the cat food, bending down, lying on the floor, and pushing the plate toward the cabinet.

The woman at the door flashed a hint of contempt, didn't step inside, just stood there watching. The kitchen still smelled of pepper; sunlight streaming through the window showed floating dust motes, making her frown tighter and step back. As long as Bian Tou showed no suspicious behavior, that was enough—no need to go in and suffer.

Three minutes passed.

Still no progress.

Zheng Tan also wanted to finish the handover with Bian Tou quickly, but Wei Leng had reminded him several times to be patient and stay calm.

Zheng Tan recalled Wei Leng's summary: "As a stray cat, you must show both a bedraggled side and hesitation/wariness toward humans—not trust them too easily; details decide success or failure. Moreover, because of that woman, Bian Tou certainly won't let you stay there, since those people once had him kill a cat hiding in a house that never came out."

Anyway, Zheng Tan felt he should appear reluctant yet inviting—ah, actually it should be "advance by retreating."

The woman at the door was already impatient.

"When will it come out? Don't blame my bluntness, Bian Tou—I really want to whip it twice with a feather duster. Look at the kitchen I finally tidied up—it's a mess now." the woman complained.

The cat crouched under the cabinet and shelf, hearing the woman's words, thought gleefully: "Come on, come on~ whip me~~"

If the woman heard Zheng Tan's inner voice, who knows how angry she'd become.

Seeing the cat move to another spot, Bian Tou stretched out his arm, shifting the plate toward that direction, while also paying attention to the cat's movements.

Zheng Tan glanced at the pair of feet standing at the kitchen doorway, then looked toward Bian Tou.

Bian Tou watched the cat, which had moved to a new spot and was crouching low there; from his angle, the two cat eyes that glowed brightly due to reflected light in the dark environment made him feel uneasy.

But, if Bian Tou had to describe it, he didn't know how to put it; he just felt it was totally different from any cat he'd seen before, and when he met those cat eyes, his heart always felt creepy. Bian Tou thought it was probably due to the lighting and angle.

Just as Bian Tou thought this food‑luring method wasn't working, he saw the cat walk over here, quickly approaching his hand.

This made Bian Tou happy; he decided to wait until the cat had eaten its fill, then swiftly grab it and throw it out, otherwise leaving it in the house might get it poisoned by rat poison. Even if it scratched him a couple of times, it was no big deal—he'd been stabbed with a knife before, so a cat's claws were nothing.

But Bian Tou's mood didn't last long; the next moment he felt the hairs on his spine stand up.

He saw the cat, as it approached his hand, lift a paw to its mouth, then extend the paw toward him, and a small piece that looked like a plastic film fell onto his hand.

The feel of that plastic film was familiar to Bian Tou; he had used such things for communication before.

Zheng Tan was dissatisfied with this method of communication, because the object was placed in his mouth, with a small clasp fastened onto his canine tooth, so he hadn't opened his mouth while coming over here. After taking the thing out of his mouth, Zheng Tan felt his mouth instantly much more comfortable.

Zheng Tan felt relieved, but Bian Tou's mood at that moment was like a roller coaster plunging vertically down dozens of floors.

Moreover, this shift in mood happened without any preparation at all.

Contact person?

A cat?

Damn, the contact person is actually a cat?

How the heck did they find such a weirdo over there?!!

Many people train pigeons, train rats, train dogs, but training cats is rare. Not to mention the people monitoring this side; even Bian Tou himself would never have imagined it. (To be continued...)

Not to mention the people monitoring this side, even Bian Tou himself would never think of it, even if beaten to death. (To be continued..)