Chapter 22: This Cat Has Become a Spirit

At that instant, Cheng Han entered an incomparably strange state.

He experienced something utterly unimaginable.

He felt himself running on all fours across the tops of walls at astonishing speed.

He also felt himself climbing up a large tree. A bird fluttered down onto a branch, and he suddenly sprang upward, biting directly into the bird’s neck.

He even found himself crouching silently in the grass. The moment a burrow rabbit poked its head out of its nest, he pounced instantly and accurately pinned the rabbit down.

The sensation was so vivid that it truly felt as though he had become a cat.

Cheng Han suddenly understood.

These were actually Police Chief’s experiences. During the Omniscient Eye’s deduction process, he had obtained the cat’s memories.

After a while, the bizarre feeling receded like a tide.

Cheng Han felt himself become human once more.

A line of information promptly appeared:

“Analysis successful! Proficiency +9. Current proficiency: 102/1000. Spirit value: 2.2/14.6.”

Cheng Han grinned excitedly.

The upper limit of his spirit value had increased by another 0.1 points!

He focused inwardly on the remnant mark and saw that the blue light sphere had grown larger, while the core filament structure had become more complete.

When he touched the remnant mark with his mind again, another notification appeared:

“Spirit Taming Remnant Mark, completeness: 23.28%.”

Compared to before, it had nearly doubled.

“Meow~”

The black cat cried out.

Its eyes carried a trace of confusion, as though it could not quite understand what had just happened.

Cheng Han rubbed its head and smiled.

“Police Chief, did you also experience a very special journey?”

The black cat swished its tail.

That meant yes.

The earlier experience of Cheng Han “becoming a cat” was precisely the new ability of the Spirit Taming Remnant Mark.

He had experienced what it felt like to become a cat, while the black cat had likewise experienced what it felt like to become a human. It was essentially an exchange of identities.

And after that experience, a mysterious connection seemed to have formed between them.

Previously, Police Chief obeyed every command because of the influence of extraordinary power, but emotionally speaking, the bond between them had not been particularly close.

Now, however, Cheng Han could clearly sense that the black cat felt a stronger attachment toward him.

That was undoubtedly a very good thing.

Cheng Han returned to the main topic.

“Let me tell you Qin Zicheng’s home address.”

Recalling the relevant information, he activated the Spirit Taming Remnant Mark and gently tapped the black cat’s forehead with one finger.

Inside his spiritual sea, the blue light sphere instantly absorbed the stream of information, transformed it through an incomparably mysterious process, and finally projected it into Police Chief.

In an instant, a sequence of images flashed through the black cat’s mind, showing a two-story house, its surroundings, and the route needed to reach it.

Its huge cat eyes immediately widened into perfect circles, looking exactly like a stunned human.

Because all of this completely overturned its understanding of “cat life.”

Cheng Han could not help laughing.

“Amazing, right?”

Explaining all the details verbally would have taken a long time and still might not have been clear.

But transmitting information through the remnant mark accomplished everything instantly.

Extraordinary powers truly were incredibly convenient.

“Meow~”

The black cat’s voice even warped slightly from sheer shock.

Cheng Han suggested,

“You spent the whole day catching rabbits today. Why not rest at home for a while before heading over later?”

Burrow rabbits rarely appeared near Shanyi District. Police Chief had likely run a great distance to catch one in the outskirts before hauling it all the way back.

The black cat was clearly the decisive type.

It immediately stood up and cried,

“Meow~”

Its meaning was:

No need to rest. I’ll leave now.

Cheng Han did not force the issue.

“Alright then.”

The black cat lightly jumped down from the sofa, quickly trotted to the door, and touched it with one paw.

As Cheng Han opened the door, he warned,

“Be careful. Don’t take risks, understand?”

The black cat rubbed against his pant leg before darting out and disappearing into the darkness.

Cheng Han shut the door and walked straight into the bedroom.

The deduction had consumed too much spirit energy. He intended to sleep first and replenish his spirit value.

Night was as dark as ink.

Shanyi District was a welfare housing area, and its public facilities were rather old. There were not many streetlights either.

Under the cover of night, the black cat seemed to become a phantom of darkness.

It trotted all the way to the wall, skillfully found a small hole, squeezed through to the other side, then followed the wall for dozens of meters before entering a small forest.

Beyond the forest lay another residential district.

The black cat swiftly climbed onto a wall and nimbly traversed across the tops of buildings.

Its paws were naturally cushioned. Every landing was completely silent, so there was no danger of alerting anyone.

Only the spirit mastiffs guarding the district caught a faintly unusual scent.

Since stray cats frequently wandered nearby, the spirit mastiffs would only chase them away if they actually saw them. Merely smelling a scent was not enough to trigger pursuit.

Not long afterward, the black cat passed through another residential area and heard some movement.

Splash~

It sounded like someone urinating in a dark corner.

The black cat approached along the wall and looked downward.

A middle-aged man was relieving himself quite comfortably.

Frowning slightly, the man muttered to himself,

“Sigh, lately I can never fully empty my bladder. Looks like I need to buy some medicine.”

The black cat caught the strange smell drifting on the wind and wrinkled its nose in disgust.

Tilting its head thoughtfully, it suddenly opened its mouth and let out a sharp cry.

“MEEEOOW!”

The sound was especially piercing.

Ringing out abruptly in the silence of night, it sounded extremely terrifying.

The middle-aged man shuddered violently in fright and instinctively turned to run. Remembering all sorts of horrifying ghost stories, he sprinted even faster.

Unfortunately, he forgot that he was still in the middle of peeing.

Naturally—

Yellow liquid sprayed everywhere, even splashing all over his pant legs.

After running some distance, the man looked down at the large wet stain on his pants and could not help cursing.

“Damn it!”

Meanwhile, on the other side—

The black cat had successfully completed its prank. Watching the man flee into the distance, it proudly swished its tail several times.

Master said people should maintain hygiene and not urinate everywhere.

This human’s manners are terrible.

Even this cat is better behaved than him.

More than half an hour later, the black cat finally stopped moving.

Hidden quietly within a patch of bushes, it gazed toward a distant two-story building.

That was Qin Zicheng’s home.

The black cat recalled its owner’s instructions:

“A qualified detective does not rush into action. First, familiarize yourself with the surroundings. Ensure your own safety before beginning careful observation.”

It felt that statement made perfect sense.

Rather than approaching recklessly, the black cat circled the house several times, memorizing every tree and blade of grass nearby.

After selecting several observation points, it quietly crouched beside one of the windows and stared unblinkingly at the building.

That wait lasted five whole hours.

During that time—

The candlelight inside dimmed, then brightened again, as though another candle had been replaced.

Eventually, the light dimmed once more before the window finally fell into darkness. It seemed the target had gone to bed.

The black cat continued waiting patiently, displaying astonishing endurance.

Master had said that once the target fell asleep, it could return home.

However, it felt that many cats liked causing trouble under cover of darkness. Humans were probably similar.

Perhaps, once the dead of night arrived, unexpected discoveries would appear.

Master’s words were not wrong.

But this cat also had its own methods.

Two more hours passed in a flash.

The surroundings were silent to the extreme.

The black cat’s half-closed eyes suddenly opened.

A faint glimmer of light had flashed behind the distant window.

(End of Chapter)