Chapter 90

Zheng Tan felt the atmosphere a bit awkward right now, glanced at Wei Leng, seeing that girl's unwilling-to-engage demeanor, he also lowered his head to continue eating breakfast, but his ears perked up, listening to the surrounding sounds.

After a moment of silence, Tang Xue finally spoke: "What's going on here?"

Ye Hao set down his bowl, wiped his mouth, pointed at Zheng Tan and said: "This one, brought by Wei Leng." Then he pointed at Peanut Candy: "This one, from a pet shop, together with the one Wei Leng brought, will be sent back later."

Finally, Ye Hao pointed at the big cat: "This one, picked up on the road, origin unknown."

Tang Xue didn't know how much she had absorbed, nodded, then looked at the big cat: "This cat isn't ordinary, it's big enough—could it also be a super cat?"

"Super cat?"

Ye Hao and Wei Leng both looked at Tang Xue, eyes full of doubt.

Zheng Tan stopped eating too, listening to Tang Xue's following words. This term he heard for the first time.

"You know that Nineteenth Uncle raised a big cat, right?" Tang Xue looked at Ye Hao.

Ye Hao thought a moment: "I haven't seen Nineteenth Uncle in a long time, but when I went to Seventh Uncle's place, I heard the old man mention it a couple of times."

In Ye Hao's words, "Seventh Uncle" is Tang Xue's father, Ye Hao's father-in-law; when Ye Hao first came to Chu Hua Shi, he hung out with Tang Seventh Uncle, which is how he got to where he is today—although Tang Seventh Uncle helped, most of it relied on Ye Hao himself; otherwise Tang Xue wouldn't have taken a liking to Ye Hao. Although now they are son-in-law and father-in-law, Ye Hao still habitually calls him Seventh Uncle.

As for that "Nineteenth Uncle", he is also a contemporary of Tang Seventh Uncle. Now retired, but still influential; his relationship with Tang Seventh Uncle is neither good nor bad, but people from that era are few nowadays, and the two old fellows sometimes chat.

Last week when Ye Hao went to see Seventh Uncle, he heard Seventh Uncle mention a bit, but didn't think much of it. In Ye Hao's mind, the so-called "big cat" was just a slightly larger pet cat, like the larger forest cat among pet cats—big, but not that big; in this big domestic city, who would raise such a large feline? But looking now, it seems not that simple.

"Nineteenth Uncle had a friend overseas help produce a descendant of a super cat. The so-called super cat is a hybrid of domestic cat and larger African or South American wild cat and mountain cat, etc.; only first-generation excellent super cats are hard to obtain, and they are strictly regulated there; they won't give them."

Nineteenth Uncle's friend obtained a descendant of the first-generation super cat; it's said that although the second-generation super cat may not match the first in size, it's still much larger than ordinary pet cats—now Nineteenth Uncle's big cat already weighs over twenty catties, approaching thirty, very sturdy, and will keep growing. Looking at it, it's a bit smaller than this one, only…… Nineteenth Uncle's is short-haired, while yours here is long-haired.

Zheng Tan listened to Tang Xue's explanation, then looked at Peanut Candy sitting properly on the chair, its father—super cat?

Ye Hao frowned; his focus wasn't on the long/short hair or size Tang Xue mentioned, "Does Nineteenth Uncle's cat usually kill……other small animals?" Originally Ye Hao wanted to ask whether the cat kills people, but he changed his wording.

"Why wouldn't it kill? I heard a few pet cats around were bitten to death, and a small dog also suffered; moreover, whenever Nineteenth Uncle brings that cat over, it stares at Dad's two gray parrots; Dad says those two, due to too much pressure, have started plucking their own feathers."

Zheng Tan: "……" Being a bird isn't easy either—not every bird can be like that "General" pesky bird that finds fun for itself when idle.

While they were talking, the big cat had finished eating what was in the bowl, now licking its paws.

Zheng Tan always felt that when cats eat they might be a bit inattentive, but when they lick their fur and paws they are unusually serious—even licking their balls is more serious than eating.

"Ye Heng! Back off!" Ye Hao shouted.

While Tang Xue was explaining, she didn't notice her son had already moved over there; only when Ye Hao shouted did she realize her son was already several meters away from her.

Cats are always wary of strangers, even showing aggression—Tang Xue knows this, but usually when they come here they let the son play on his own, and just now she overlooked that big cat.

When Ye Hao shouted, Ye Heng was only a few steps from the big cat, and after hearing Ye Hao's shout he didn't stop his steps but instead sped up toward it.

Not only Ye Hao, but Wei Leng's face also turned pale; we were careless—I really regret not locking that big cat in a cage, or chaining it up, which would have prevented us from being so anxious now.

Ye Hao didn't dare move, holding a dinner knife in his hand under the table, he signaled Wei Leng with his eyes: if the big cat shows aggression, act immediately.

Ye Hao, Wei Leng, and the big cat were all by a large dining table; now trying to stop Ye Heng is too late.

Regarding Ye Hao and Wei Leng's reactions, Tang Xue also sensed something was off.

Ye Heng also ignored his parents' warning; upon arriving beside the big cat, he just stared at it.

The big cat, which had been earnestly licking its paws, sensed someone approaching; it showed no special reaction, lifted its head to glance at Ye Heng, then narrowed its eyes, tilted its head, and rubbed against the child's body.

Leaving aside the so-called super cat's genes and physique, Ye Hao has seen this cat kill a person; he absolutely does not want to see such a cat active near his son. It's too dangerous—even if Ye Hao himself faced it alone, he wouldn't have a sure win. Its claws are large, its body strong, its reaction speed and its still-unknown intelligence make Ye Hao wary. Being scratched by it is no joke.

Zheng Tan was relatively close to the big cat, but he didn't sense its malice—unlike the ominous premonition he felt yesterday before the killing; now this big cat really is like those affectionate pet cats that like to cuddle, bringing some post-meal languor and laxity.

Seeing Zheng Tan's calm demeanor, Wei Leng refrained from acting immediately, as he still didn't understand the cat's temperament; a sudden move might provoke the big cat, so in the absence of absolute certainty of safety, Wei Leng chose to be cautious and observe the situation first.

If a cat really goes all out to cuddle, its "lethal power" is still considerable; people who don't dislike cats basically can't resist. Ye Hao's son is one such person.

Seeing the big cat rub against him, Ye Heng reached out and stroked the big cat's head, his fingers sliding over those large, pointed ears, then moving to the cat's lower jaw and neck, where he scratched; he had heard Nineteenth Uncle say that cats like to be scratched there.

The big cat lifted its chin, looking as if it enjoyed the scratching, eyes narrowed.

However, the enjoyment didn't last long—Ye Heng was promptly grabbed by the scruff of his neck by his father and pulled away.

Just as Ye Heng had been showing a hint of a smile toward the cat, he immediately straightened his face, which closely resembled Ye Hao's, and the two stared at each other.

"All right, all right." Wei Leng went over and tugged Ye Hao's sleeve; for now, let's first deal with that big cat here.

Just then, Baizi returned. Ye Hao had asked him last night to look up information on this kind of big cat. Baizi's luck wasn't bad either—he remembered the anti-cat campaign a few years ago around Chu Hua Da Xue; when he was young and curious, he had been drinking with people near the university, so he happened to pick up some leads, and following a hunch he investigated this angle and actually found something.

Ye Hao signaled Tang Xue to take Ye Heng upstairs to the room, then took the compiled materials from Baizi's hand.

"CFH incident?" Ye Hao frowned, reading aloud the line on the paper: "thecatfromhell."

Zheng Tan felt the letters "CFH" sounded somewhat familiar; after a moment he recalled that Jiao Ba had mentioned this. Seeing Ye Hao sit on the sofa to read the materials, Zheng Tan also ran over, jumped onto the sofa, and stood on the backrest to glance at the document.

Ye Hao merely glanced at Zheng Tan, with no intention of driving him away; he didn't think a cat could understand these papers, probably just being curious.

This material isn't detailed—one reason is the short time frame, so not much could be uncovered; another is that the incident was suppressed by higher authorities, making concrete details hard to find. All we know is that cats bearing the "CFH" designation are extremely ferocious, possibly possessing multiple bloodlines, such as the smaller wild li flower cat, forest cat, larger jungle cat, and desert cat, etc.

The differences among each "CFH" test breed are considerable—long hair, short hair, tailed, tailless, etc.; their markings vary as well; they are extremely cold- and hunger-resistant; unfortunately, these cats either have unstable temperaments or suffer from congenital diseases and premature aging. Originally the researchers wanted to see how second-generation "CFH" would turn out, but an unexpected outbreak occurred, and when the authorities suppressed the matter they disposed of all "CFH" test specimens; still, some lab cats escaped in the chaos.

For two years afterward, people kept searching for the escaped cats, fearing a second-generation "CFH" might appear; in the end, aside from finding a few carcasses of cats that died from illness, nothing else turned up, and the authorities withdrew the cleanup operation.

The big cat before us might be one of those escaped cats' offspring—a second-generation "CFH"; of course, it could also be the new pet "super cat" Tang Xue mentioned, but Zheng Tan and Ye Hao and their group lean toward the former, because being able to easily kill an adult human earns the "CFH" designation.

"Why would those people waste time researching this?" Wei Leng wondered aloud.

"Who knows." Ye Hao tossed the materials onto the coffee table and said.

"I've heard scientists in Country M have even created pigs with human blood and mice with human brain cells, so……" Baizi shrugged, meaning such oddities exist, so the presence of this cat in front of us isn't surprising.

Zheng Tan shuddered, suddenly feeling grateful that Jiao Ba isn't that kind of eccentric scientist.

"According to the timeline, it's been almost ten years since then……" Ye Hao sighed.

"So you could just take this cat out and say it's a super cat." Wei Leng joked, "Anyway, it's been so long that few remember; as long as you don't see it kill anyone, who can prove it isn't the new pet super cat?"

Ye Hao shook his head: "I'm not worried about that; it's been nearly ten years, but when this big cat killed, it still leapt about quickly, reacted sharply, and looked strong—no signs of aging, no illness, nobody knows how long it can actually live."

Zheng Tan looked at the big cat yawning to reveal its sharp teeth, then at Peanut Candy grooming itself; by that logic, Peanut Candy might actually be a third-generation "CFH"?

But that "mole" on Peanut Candy's mouth really ruins that imposing name.

Afterwards, the "CFH" bloodline diluted through natural breeding; who knows how many cats resembling Peanut Candy will appear in this world, living alongside people, though their appearance will hardly differ from ordinary cats—amidst the sea of cat and dog skewers in the big city, who would connect today's strays to the old "CFH" incident?

Even if one sees a particularly ferocious cat, probably nobody would think much of it.

The cat from Hell lives in the human world, and will continue to live on. (To be continued..)

ps: 【The following word count does not count toward the v chapter】

Making up the first shift for number 15.

Also: Super Cat truly exists; those who are interested can look it up, though the name may differ slightly because of different mixed-breed terms.