"About that."
Upon hearing this, Yang Qi recounted the entire dramatic scene from earlier—from the man "going to the wrong door," to his own feeling of familiarity, and finally to his confirming the man's identity online.
"So that's what happened," the policewoman said with a look of understanding after he finished. "It's true that the law has a long arm. It's also thanks to your sharp eye and good memory, Mr. Yang."
"Just luck, pure luck," Yang Qi said with a smile.
The policewoman smiled as well. "According to procedure, there will be a formal commendation and a cash reward. When the time comes, we may need you to come down to the station to give us a detailed statement."
Yang Qi had no interest in an awards ceremony and asked directly, "Um… Officer, can we just skip the commendation? I don't really want to make a public appearance."
Hearing this, the policewoman paused for a moment before giving an understanding smile. "In principle, we can just focus on the cash reward. I'll explain the situation to my superiors. It shouldn't be a problem."
"That's great, thank you for understanding!" Yang Qi said, thanking her profusely.
"You're welcome."
After a few more words, the policewoman took her leave.
Yang Qi closed the door, went back inside, and hurried over to a cardboard box. He scooped up Xiaojiu and gave him a vigorous petting session.
"Xiaojiu, oh Xiaojiu, you really are my lucky star!"
Yang Qi lowered his voice and said excitedly to the black cat, "Tell me, what brand of cat food do you want? Imported? A freeze-dried meal? Or semi-moist? Forget it, let's get one of every brand and have a feast!"
A hundred thousand!
In all his life, this was the first time Yang Qi had ever come into contact with so much money.
And this kind of reward money was tax-free.
"Meow?"
Xiaojiu looked at Yang Qi with a completely baffled expression.
"Haha, of course it's a good thing."
Yang Qi rubbed the little guy's head, took out his phone, and went online to buy cat food.
As good as his word, he bought one of every brand.
The delivery address was, of course, set to the Zoo.
The order was placed.
Yang Qi gave Xiaojiu another pet, then packed up his remaining belongings.
He was busy until after twelve before he went to bed.
...
The next day, at a little past nine in the morning, a phone's ringtone broke the silence of the rental apartment.
Gao Zhenyue's loud voice came through the receiver.
"Brother Qi, I'm here. It's a real pain to park in this damn place downstairs!"
Yang Qi laughed, answered, and told him to come up.
There wasn't much luggage, mainly two overstuffed suitcases and two bulging woven plastic bags.
Yang Qi shouldered his laptop bag and then picked up Xiaojiu.
As soon as Gao Zhenyue entered, his gaze fell on Xiaojiu. He tutted twice and teased, "Yo, you really got all the accessories, huh? You're getting pretty deep into this 'Druid' role."
"Of course. It's called professional dedication," Yang Qi replied with a straight face, handing him a smaller duffel bag.
"Alright, you're something else."
Gao Zhenyue gave a sarcastic thumbs-up, took the bag, and it dropped in his hand. "Holy crap, what did you pack in here, bricks?"
"The bricks are over here," Yang Qi said, pointing to another large bag.
"…Pretend I didn't say anything."
Gao Zhenyue made a zipping-his-lips motion.
After joking around a bit, the two started moving things.
After two trips, all the boxes and bags were stuffed into the trunk of Gao Zhenyue's new energy vehicle.
They got in the car and settled into their seats.
Gao Zhenyue started the car and, with Yang Qi as his passenger, drove towards the Donghua Wildlife Park on the outskirts of the city.
The morning rush hour was over, so the roads were relatively clear.
Upbeat music played inside the car as the two chatted idly, their conversation drifting from complaints about work to embarrassing stories from their college days.
Xiaojiu lay on Yang Qi's lap, unusually quiet, its amber eyes curiously watching the scenery fly by outside the window.
A little over half an hour later, the car slowly stopped in front of the retractable gate of the Zoo's employee entrance.
Yang Qi rolled down his window, took out his brand-new employee ID with its lanyard, and handed it to the older guard in the security booth.
"Hello, sir. I'm a newly hired keeper, Yang Qi. I'm moving my luggage into the dorm today. The driver is my friend, who's helping me move."
The guard, who looked to be in his fifties, took the ID, pushed up his reading glasses, and carefully examined the name and photo. He then looked up at Yang Qi, his face breaking into a sudden, enthusiastic smile.
"Oh! You're the Xiao Yang who saved the kid at Monkey Mountain yesterday, and then walked 'Tongtong' all around the park?"
"Well, now! You're quite something, young man! Impressive! Go on in, go on in!"
As he spoke, he deftly pressed the button to open the gate.
"Thank you, sir." Yang Qi took back his ID and thanked him with a smile.
The retractable gate slowly opened. As Gao Zhenyue gently pressed the accelerator to drive into the park, he couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.
"Impressive, my dear Brother Qi! Isn't this your first day of work? You've already made such a big name for yourself at your new job? Even the gate guard is your fan?"
"It was alright. A routine operation, nothing to get excited about."
Yang Qi gestured with a dismissive wave.
"How come I never noticed you were so thick-skinned before?" Gao Zhenyue rolled his eyes, speechless.
"It's not too late to find out."
Yang Qi adjusted his posture, his tone still calm.
"Tch!" Gao Zhenyue was utterly defeated and focused on driving.
The car drove along the clearly marked asphalt road inside the park towards the living quarters, flanked by lush green trees and the occasional sign for an animal exhibit.
Just as they were passing through an intersection…
Suddenly!
A grayish-white figure shot out from the left side of the intersection like a bolt of lightning!
The figure was lean, with fluffy fur, a pointed snout, and pricked ears. A large tail trailed behind it. It was panting with its tongue out, and with a demeanor that seemed almost gleeful and completely at odds with its appearance, it zipped across the road with a SWOOSH and disappeared into the bushes on the right.
"Aiyo, what the fuck!"
Gao Zhenyue was startled and instinctively slammed on the brakes. The new energy vehicle came to a steady halt in the middle of the intersection.
Before he could curse, "Which idiot let their Husky off its leash?", a flurry of messy, urgent footsteps and shouts came from behind them at the intersection.
Several staff members in security uniforms, sweating profusely, chased after it like a gust of wind.
The figure bringing up the rear was particularly conspicuous. His back was ramrod straight, and though his steps were slightly heavy from exertion, he still carried an air of decisive authority. It was none other than the head of security, Zhao Dalong!
"Wh… what's going on?"
Gao Zhenyue, completely bewildered, subconsciously turned to look at Yang Qi in the passenger seat. His voice was filled with uncertainty and a trace of lingering fear. "Was… was that a wolf that just ran by, or a dog? It looked a hell of a lot like a wolf to me!?"
[Warning! The "Blood Moon Demon Wolf" has broken containment and is on the loose! The Host must immediately assist the Disciples of the Precepts Hall in its capture to avert disaster!]
'Blood Moon Demon Wolf?'
'A real wolf escaped!'
Yang Qi's heart leaped. With no time to explain to Gao Zhenyue, he quickly unbuckled his seatbelt, placed Xiaojiu from his lap onto the passenger seat, and threw out a single, rapid-fire sentence.
"Old Gao, just wait in the car! Lock the doors and don't get out, no matter what!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, he pushed open the car door, leaped out with an agile movement, and broke into a full sprint in the direction Zhao Dalong and the others were chasing.
'A wolf actually got out of its cage?'