The next day, before the sky had even begun to brighten, Qiao An was already climbing out of bed, shivering involuntarily from the two cold-blooded animals nestled beside her.
"If I'd known making money was this hard, I never should have quit that crappy job…"
In fact, when Qiao An had first transmigrated, the body's original owner still had a grueling job where she was forced to suffer in silence. But the exploitation from her boss, the ostracism from her colleagues, and the constant, vicious gossip had made it all utterly unbearable for her.
The body's original owner was the type to just cry silently when she was wronged. As an orphan who had only ever known life's cruelty and never felt its warmth, she had chosen to end her life.
By the time she transmigrated to Blue Star, the original Qiao An had already passed away. But the new Qiao An was not the type to take things lying down. That very night, she threw a sack over her boss's head and beat him senseless. The few colleagues who loved to stir up trouble all ended up in a dumpster. Then, she quit in style, walking away with a flourish and without a single cent of severance pay.
Afterward, because she didn't understand how life on Blue Star worked, Qiao An began to cram. She holed up in her rented room every day, binge-watching TV shows. After reading up on labor laws, she was kicking herself for not demanding the "N+1" severance package.
Little Bai, having been tossed from under the covers, lazily opened her eyes and rested her head on Qiao An's lap in a cute, wheedling manner.
"Sister, don't you worry. If you're that desperate for money, I'll just take Little Qing to the bank tonight…"
Before she could finish, Qiao An expertly pinched her mouth shut, manually muting her once again.
"Little sis, times have changed. There are security cameras everywhere. If you two dare to rob a bank, I'm the one who'll end up in prison."
SOB SOB SOB... 'No matter how bitter life gets, could anyone's fate be more bitter than mine!'
She knew Little Bai was clever and agile, fully capable of sneaking into a bank through the ventilation ducts. It wouldn't be hard to steal something valuable. She was just afraid of getting caught, of destroying this peaceful life and becoming a fugitive all over again.
Qiao Interstellar Five-Star Super A-level Fugitive An silently stood up, stretched, pulled on her work overalls, and headed out the door.
After watching the slender figure depart, Little Bai sighed in resignation, crawled back under the covers, wrapped herself around Little Qing's tail, and fell back into a deep sleep.
After leaving her rented apartment, Qiao An grabbed her various cleaning tools, put on a face mask, and headed out.
At this hour, the streets of the Urban Village were utterly deserted—not even a ghost in sight—save for a few restless elderly folks out for a stroll. A number of rats, however, did poke their heads out from the corners to greet Qiao An.
"Pretty human, got any good stuff today?"
"Idiot! Call her 'Beauty'! Humans love being complimented!"
The two little rats started scuffling. Qiao An, who had been worn down by this daily annoyance to the point of having no temper left, tossed a bag of expired bread in front of them.
At the sound, countless rats swarmed out and began to fight over the food.
Qiao An walked to her usual spot and began to clean. She didn't look up until the sun's rays began to slant down. Wiping the sweat from her brow, her expression turned puzzled.
Every day while she cleaned, right after she dealt with the annoying little rats, a fierce-looking, lame cat would appear to "rob" her.
She checked the time. The lame cat hadn't appeared. Finding this strange, Qiao An crouched by the corner and whispered, "Where'd that stray cat who stakes me out for a shakedown every day go?"
The little rats, who had already scurried back into hiding, slowly poked their heads out. After a moment of chittering amongst themselves, one of them responded.
"Someone came to feed the cats late last night. Lord Ao Bai chased all the other little animals away—he was so fierce and imperious, I didn't dare get close. He was probably taken away by that human…"
'Ao Bai?'
'So the lame cat has a name!'
Aside from his limp, the cat was actually quite cute—definitely meeting the criteria for human adoption.
But besides his habit of "robbing" her, Ao Bai was very kind to other small animals. Whenever he found food, he would share it with the other, weaker strays. He would even turn a blind eye when rats came to steal a bite, never harming another living creature.
Qiao An had a gut feeling that something was wrong. Without a second thought, she shouldered her tools and headed for the police station.
When Mu Zimo arrived for work, he spotted a slender figure waiting outside the station. She was dressed in orange overalls, a huge broom tucked under her arm and a bucket in her hand. A face mask concealed her features, leaving only a pair of large, strikingly clear eyes visible.
"Officer, excuse me. I think I might have found a clue. I'm not sure if it's useful, but I came anyway…"
A little nervous, Qiao An subconsciously dusted off her clothes, but the look in Mu Zimo's eyes softened.
"It's fine. Every clue is important to us. Come on in."
As he led Qiao An back inside the familiar station, an older officer who was making tea spotted her, and his eyes immediately reddened.
"Oh, my, Miss Qiao! You have it so rough, up so early cleaning. Aren't you cold? How about some hot water?"
A moment later, a steaming cup of milk tea was placed in front of Qiao An. The old officer even made a special trip to the canteen to get a few steamed buns, which he pressed into her hands.
Qiao An, her fingers slightly numb from the cold, was deeply moved by this kindness. She marveled once again: 'Humans really are such kind and lovely creatures!'
This time, after she'd had her fill, Qiao An wasn't led to an interrogation room but was seated in Mu Zimo's office.
"Officer, I suspect the killer is living right here in the Urban Village…"
That sudden declaration made Mu Zimo's hand, which had been flipping through a file, freeze. He looked up at Qiao An, his eyes sharp and probing.
She, however, began her analysis with perfect composure. "First, I've smelled a strange odor on him before. If he were walking around anywhere else, a person like that would definitely attract attention. Only the Urban Village is a suitable place for him to live. A run-down place like that is always filled with all sorts of foul smells, so his wouldn't stand out."
"Second, there's a stray cat who waits for me to feed him every day while I'm cleaning. His name is Ao Bai. He has a fierce temperament and is extremely wary of humans. It took me a very long time to earn his acceptance."
As she spoke of Ao Bai, certain details from the past came back to Qiao An.
This was a stray who took great care of all the other small animals but detested humans. If Qiao An hadn't been able to understand the language of animals, she never would have been able to get close to him.
Ao Bai had once told her that he had escaped from his former owner's home. The man was a demon, he'd said, one who loved to hurt animals.
"But today, after I finished my work, Ao Bai never showed up. He's vanished…"
A stray cat that was so vigilant and hostile toward humans wouldn't have easily approached danger. Ao Bai's disappearance most likely meant he had been captured.
In a place like the Urban Village, no poor family would be kind enough to adopt a temperamental stray like him.
"I suspect the killer, afraid of being watched, didn't dare make a move on a person and discarded his tools. But he couldn't suppress his twisted urges, so he started capturing stray cats and dogs as substitutes. That's why Ao Bai disappeared."
Seeing the serious look on Qiao An's face as she laid out her analysis, Mu Zimo nodded in agreement.