Chapter 32

Ling Yue can be certain that this is absolutely not her hallucination.

Think of it, then do it.

She first had Crow Crow lead the sisters to monitor from the sky, making sure everything was under control, before preparing to approach the cats.

In the cat shelter, Yellow Orange's eyes, wet and red from eye drops, were surrounded by a group of kittens asking after its well‑being; Yellow Orange is independent and strong‑willed, actually hating such questioning, yet it somehow endured it.

It still held its usual pose, but the indifference in its eyes quietly faded a little because of the cats' concern.

"Boss!" a sudden call rang out; the kitten that Ling Yue had just fed, carrying a piece of jerky, stumbled over. It looked a size smaller than the other cats, its fur less smooth, a bit haggard.

The kitten, however, voluntarily placed the jerky in front of Yellow Orange: "Boss, this is my jerky; you're sick now, you need to eat more to get better quickly!"

The surrounding cats were shocked: "Little Spirit, you didn't eat it?"

The jerky sent by Doctor Ling was fragrant and chewy; for the cats at the stray base, it was a rare treat, and many had already swallowed it.

Little Spirit shook her head; even though her eyes were fixed on the fragrant jerky and she couldn't tear it apart, she said: "I'm still small, I can't bite it; Boss, you should eat it!"

Its voice still childish; not only was its body thin, its small face, less than a palm wide, had a pointed chin, making it look somewhat out of proportion.

Thinking of everything it had endured, Yellow Orange shook her head; before she could refuse, another silly tabby cat dragged half a piece of jerky over, grinning foolishly: "Boss, I still have half left here—I'll give it all to you!"

Yellow Orange looked at the jerky covered in tooth marks and soggy, narrowed her eyes: "Do you think I would eat that?"

"I just have an eye problem; I'm not blind, so I don't need you to wait on me like this. Besides, eating the young ones' stuff—what would that make me?"

No sooner had the words fallen than Melon from next door, from far away, came over with a piece of jerky and asked: "Yellow Orange, I heard you're sick? Want some jerky?"

Yellow Orange: "……"

At the Stray Animal Rescue Base, cats and dogs are both rivals and friends; although they usually quarrel fiercely, when a major issue arises, cats and dogs unite, their combined strength can cut through metal!

Including now.

Yellow Orange immediately retorted: "Tch, I don't want yours—it's all saliva, you think I don't have any?"

After exchanging words, it suddenly shifted tone: "Melon, I've been feeling unwell lately; you also need to look after the dog side more, and absolutely avoid any accidents."

After Melon agreed, Yellow Orange then looked at her underlings and said: "You know my situation, so they surely do too; I want to say this: you must absolutely not start a direct confrontation with them, unless you truly can't bear it and a life‑or‑death cat incident occurs!"

The cats nodded obediently.

A cat mother instinctively hugged her own kitten, licked the kitten's head, her eyes filled with worry.

An indescribable low pressure spread among the cat group.

Yellow Orange looked at Little Spirit and specifically warned: "And you, don't be mischievous, don't run around—got it?"

Little Spirit hesitated, looking at her, then suddenly spoke: "But why don't we ask Doctor Ling for help? She's a good person——"

Before she could finish, Yellow Orange snapped: "Shut up!"

Little Spirit jumped in fright, nervously curling into a ball; even when curled into a ball, it was an overly thin little sphere. Seeing its state, Yellow Orange's eyes showed a hint of self‑reproach, but she stubbornly said: "Little Spirit, this matter must never be told to her!"

"She's a good person, but good people can turn bad when they have money—those people 《I Can Hear Animal Voices 【Live】》, remember the URL: m. 1., can do anything!"

As it said that, it seemed to recall something; not only was its tone full of hatred, its claws extended the pads and slowly rubbed the ground, leaving scratch marks on the concrete—a vicious appearance.

That sight made the cats unable to help recalling the incident from over ten days ago; each looked embarrassed and uneasy, unsure how the future would unfold.

Ling Yue saw this and could no longer hold back, stepping forward: "I think you can try to believe me."

So the cats stared at her in shock, instinctively stepping back, not understanding how she suddenly turned into a living person; in fact, Ling Yue was merely hiding in a blind spot.

Compared to the panicked cats, Yellow Orange was much calmer, lowering her waist and wagging her tail, issuing one low growl after another: "Don't come over! I wasn't wrong in my guess—you are a bad person!"

"You're just like them—you're a bad person too!"

Ling Yue felt a bit dazed, thinking she needed to clarify: "I'm not a bad person; you really can try to believe me—think back, have I ever done anything to let you down?"

The cats aren't stones; they have a beating heart that knows who treats them well and who doesn't. Even the worldly‑wise Yellow Orange couldn't help hesitating, her tone no longer as harsh: "Then why were you hiding where you were, eavesdropping on our talk?"

Ling Yue coughed embarrassedly, didn't hide anything, and directly related what had happened before.

Yellow Orange suddenly laughed: "You actually believe his words? He's the biggest liar in the base! How could you believe him!"

Ling Yue said nothing, silently observing, and realized that Yellow Orange's appearance was exactly like someone who had been betrayed and stabbed.

She shook her head, no longer dwelling on those things; the key was that the cats were hiding a secret from her, and to uncover the truth she had to pry open their mouths.

Ling Yue: "What is your secret? Can you tell me? I'm here to help you."

"If you don't believe me, look at those medicines and food—altogether I've spent ten‑plus thousand, all my own money, given to you for free to use; are you still worried now?"

Ten‑plus thousand?!

Hearing that figure, the cats were shocked—so much money! Converted to cat food, it would feed them for ages; even that person would have to work a long time to earn that much.

Under Ling Yue's strong financial proof, Yellow Orange already believed more than half, but still said firmly: "Before we tell you, you must promise us not to let others know; otherwise, our cats and dogs won't be able to survive."

Hearing that, Ling Yue felt a sudden chill, pinched her fingertips, and said solemnly: "You say that if possible, I will certainly do my utmost to help you!"

Yellow Orange glanced at her, eyes full of blatant disbelief: "Impossible—can you possibly take in so many of our cats and dogs?"

It countered with a question, then continued: "We are actually the blood‑line cats and dogs bred at the Stray Animal Rescue Base."

Just that one sentence sent a chill from the soles of her feet straight to Ling Yue's crown; she had no idea how desperate Yellow Orange must be to say it so calmly.

Little Spirit had already said that; she instinctively shrank her body, only lingering fear rising again in her heart. Yellow Orange hugged her and said softly: "This matter has to be told from five months ago; back then the base wasn't like this—our days were hard, but still better than wandering the streets, struggling to survive. Until one day, A Guang suddenly hired a new worker, and the nightmare began from that day."

In their account, the new employee was especially good—other staff feared the cats, but he wasn't afraid of their bad tempers, even voluntarily approaching them, and would spend his own money to buy toys and snacks; many cats felt especially fond of him, thinking they had met a kind person.

However, the simple little animals didn't know the saying: "Who offers kindness without cause is either a spy or a thief."

The first victim cat was named Fragrant, a bold, lively, slightly possessive large tabby; after the new employee arrived, Fragrant liked to cling to him, sometimes even proactively greeting him, quietly opening the cage door to play with him outside the cage.

Later, Fragrant disappeared for a day; when she reappeared, she was already a cold corpse.

To the cats, this was absolutely a huge disaster!

They lived together, having long regarded each other as family; they'd have minor squabbles and even argue, but never harm a family member's life.

Now, Fragrant is dead.

The cats became wary; although people said Fragrant had secretly run out of her cage, dying from over‑stimulation induced shock, the cats didn't believe a word of it.

Because Fragrant was famous among the cats for her boldness—something humans didn't know, but she herself was aware—on the boring days at the Stray Animal Rescue Shelter, she would often start talking about her own past wandering life.

It is a cat born by the sea, having stepped on waves, and unintentionally traveled a thousand miles to Jing Shi; its courage surpasses anyone's, even challenging Yellow Orange, though it failed.

The cats have excellent memories, staying vigilant; after more than ten days, Fragrant's death seemed to have faded away, until one afternoon another animal died.

It was pitch‑black midnight, the most vigilant Yellow Orange suddenly heard footsteps, without hesitation it leapt over and squatted on the concrete ground beside the kennel; under the dark night curtain it saw a person.

Wearing work clothes, holding a big thing in his hand, he lightly walked into the dog kennel, came out again, and the thing in his hand was gone.

The next day, the weak little flower dog in the kennel died.

Its body was still warm, but no matter how the dogs called, it showed no reaction; the staff were especially surprised, the new employee joined the discussion, yet they did not notice a pair of eyes watching them in the cat kennel.

Yellow Orange saw his shoes, his shoes were exactly the same as that man's, the soles were stained with blood, giving off a strong bloody smell; he was the murderer!

At first Yellow Orange did not know what use killing animals had, until later Xiao Ling was suddenly taken away; months of indulgence turned the new employee into an old one, everyone said he liked animals too much, was good to animals, just had no affinity with them.

When Yellow Orange said this, his eyes showed a substantial hatred: "What liking for animals? Clearly it's for our blood! He works at the stray animal base, secretly cooperating with others, buying and selling animal blood; some cats are drained in one go and go into shock, some survive with strong lives, Xiao Ling is the latter."

"If it weren't for Xiao Ling, we wouldn't know why he did this until the end. We stray cats and dogs are worthless, but pet dogs in the big city are valuable; their owners are willing to spend a lot of money to buy blood for injured dogs, guaranteeing the pets won't die from excessive blood loss. We worthless stray animals have become his tools for making money, moving blood bags."

"But what I hate most is not this, it's Xu Guang!"

"Why did he also betray us, is money really that good?"

Ling Yue was startled, immediately retorted: "How could that be."

"It was he who asked me to investigate the cause of the small animals' deaths; this checkup is also to see whether you are sick, causing continuous animal deaths."

"He lied!"

Yellow Orange reacted strongly, angrily scratching the concrete ground; Ling Yue had no doubt, it treated the ground as if someone had dug it up.

"I personally saw him and that person move the dead cats back; that person told him the test results were out, the cats died of anemia, he nodded and did nothing!"

"If he had been a bit more careful, he would have noticed the puncture holes on those animals; they were drained of blood while alive."

"They are definitely in cahoots! Everyone at this base is a bad person!"

The orange cat's extreme attitude gave Ling Yue a headache, but when she heard Yellow Orange's words, she involuntarily felt a bit of agreement; Ling Yue gathered her thoughts, preparing to speak, when suddenly a weight landed on her shoulder and the crow squawked: "Master, not good!"

"We saw a man at the stray animal base reporting you for practicing medicine without a license!"

Ling Yue was stunned; too much time had passed, too many things happened, she almost forgot why she originally came here.

Indeed, her guess was not wrong; the person behind the scenes could not hold back and acted.

Ling Yue felt no fear, but the crow continued: "Master, that man is too evil; later I heard him on the phone saying he has blood bags, very suitable, can be sent right away!"

"Master, what is a blood bag? Why do I feel numb hearing it?"

Ling Yue was startled for a moment; what a coincidence—it turned out to be one person, with double buffs stacked, and she wasn't afraid he couldn't stomach it!

Yellow Orange beside her heard this, his fur exploded instantly; like an angry lion he shouted: "How dare he still do this!"

But he quickly realized the gap between cat and man, his pleading gaze turned to Ling Yue: "I've told you everything I know; can you help me, don't let him succeed again?"

Ling Yue answered without hesitation: "I will definitely do it!"

At the same time, a system notification suddenly sounded in her mind: 【All cats and dogs at the stray animal base joint wish: expose the blood bag criminal, get due punishment! Reward: Detective's Eye fragment +1/6】

Accept or refuse?

Ling Yue's gaze fell on the reward; this is still a joint task, and the reward surprised her—this is the first time she received such a fragment puzzle reward.

According to Ling Yue's estimate, the Detective's Eye should have six fragments in total; after she finishes this case, there will still be five left; gathering six fragments allows summoning a dragon—pfft, that is, exchanging for the Detective's Eye.

As for what the Detective's Eye means, by its name it is a must‑have for solving cases.

Ling Yue: This is pushing her further toward police‑civilian cooperation. Although various bounties are indeed tempting, besides she still has an innate advantage.

Ling Yue directly clicked accept; the task dissipated.

After regaining her senses, she heard the crow's angry voice: "How can there be such disgusting people! They really deserve to die!"

It already understood what a blood bag was, flapped its wings furiously, wishing to fly over now and peck out the man's eyes!

Past the cats and dogs, Ling Yue's gaze finally fell on Xu Guang; she waved, and he came running as if fed a love potion, eyes full of hope.

Onlookers were shocked; only Ling Yue knew what was going on.

Xu Guang looked at her with anticipation.

Before, he would from time to time observe Ling Yue's side; the longer the time, the more confidence he had in her: "What's wrong? Did you find any clues? Do you need my help?"

Ling Yue shook her head, got straight to the point: "I have already investigated clearly; your stray animal rescue base has an insider, as for that person—"

Before she finished, the door was knocked; several police officers holding police badges walked straight toward Ling Yue. The leader, the more she looked the more familiar he seemed—Cheng Ziming!

Cheng Ziming also froze, took another look at the dispatch record; indeed it was the Ling Yue he knew, leaving him speechless.

The colleague behind him spoke up: "May I ask who is Ling Yue? We received a public report that Ling Yue is suspected of practicing medicine without a license; please come with us to the police station for investigation."

Ling Yue: "I refuse."

"My qualification certificate is on me at all times; there is no such thing as practicing medicine without a license."

As soon as the words fell, the crow flew in holding a red‑covered book, opened it to see the veterinary practitioner license clearly bearing Ling Yue's name and her photo.

Ling Yue: "Who said I practice medicine without a license? I will sue him for false reporting."

As soon as she said that, a chorus of gasps rose.

Ling Yue's gaze swept over the crowd of bewildered staff, finally settling.

She curled the corner of her mouth into a mocking arc, as if a substantive gaze fixed on the man, and said: "I also want to report someone illegally organizing blood sales, damaging Boss Xu's private property!"