The spacious office was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Both Long Que and the young man with glasses looked blank.
Although Pei Shiyi’s voice had been very soft just now, everyone in the office, who had exceptional hearing, clearly heard what he said.
Long Que was stunned, “Did we say that was the Director...?”
The young man with glasses: “...I think I did.”
The two of them turned their frightened gazes towards Pei Shiyi—boss, are you saying that the biggest BOSS in this building is a dog?!
The Director straightened up, his eyes lowered, and half-smiled as he said, “I apologize for not greeting you in advance, but sir, your lack of manners is quite evident.”
Long Que thought to herself: ...She knew the boss was going to be sarcastic.
Pei Shiyi covered the skin that had been scorched by the Director’s breath with one hand, and let out a cold laugh as he looked at him.
The Winged Clan had always considered nuzzling each other’s necks to be an intimate act between lovers, so when a stranger got too close to their neck, it was either an offense or a flirtation. Although he knew the other party didn’t do it on purpose, the instincts of his race were hard to change, and this physical reaction directly affected Pei Shiyi’s mood.
Getting that close, it was either a provocation or a flirtation.
Pei Shiyi narrowed his eyes, pressing his fingertips against his skin, struggling to suppress the discomfort.
The Director raised his chin slightly, “His personal documents are incomplete. Reject his application.”
Long Que: “...Boss, be reasonable. He can just complete the paperwork. His application states that he only came out of the mountains last month and didn’t know about our rules. Besides, the rule is that the paperwork must be done within three months of contact with humans, and that was your own decision.”
The Director fell silent, his gaze sweeping over the few people in the room before he turned and left.
Long Que breathed a sigh of relief, “...That was our Director. He’s a bit... due to racial reasons, his temperament is rather cold, but he’s not arrogant. He’s just very serious about work. As for the paperwork the Director mentioned, anyone who can stabilize their transformation needs to do it—it’s just a risk assessment. Don’t worry. If you don’t mind, we can do it now. Once the paperwork is complete, we can review it this afternoon, and the funding and support team will be immediately in place.”
Pei Shiyi smiled, “Then let’s go.” As for the Director? Surely he wouldn’t have to see the Director every day just to run a cat café? Out of sight, out of mind.
Under Long Que’s guidance, he went to the room next door, filled out a few forms, and went through a series of instruments, completing the procedures. The final report would be printed out and stored in the archives.
Long Que said, “The results will be out within twenty minutes. In the meantime, let’s discuss the matter of the Zhujian.”
She pushed open the door to her Office No. 07 and invited Pei Shiyi to sit down.
The mentioned Zhujian's body trembled as he shivered and said, "W-wait a minute, since it's about solving employment issues, I should have a choice too... I don't want to go to a cat café..."
There were more failed cat cafés in Yuchuan City than he could count on both hands. If he went, it would be like getting a job just to be unemployed again! Besides, apart from room and board, cat cafés had no other benefits, and the salary was less than what he earned from his street stall!
He would never go!
Long Que shot him a sideways glance and said unceremoniously, "You need to understand your position! Yesterday, you were running a street stall in a busy area, but due to insufficient practice, you revealed your true form in front of several people, causing a small panic. The Director brought you back here, and according to our rules, the minimum fine is thirty thousand. You can refuse to work at the cat café, but can you pay the fine?"
Thirty thousand yuan?! He might as well be sold off!
Zhujian: "...I choose to work at the cat café."
"You wanting to go doesn't mean you can," Long Que rolled her eyes and then spoke gently to Pei Shiyi, "What do you think of Zhujian here?"
This beast Zhujian had a long and luxurious tail that coiled around his body when he sat or lay down, and he held it in his mouth when he walked. Overall, he actually looked quite like a cat.
Pei Shiyi leaned back in his chair, squinted his eyes, and smiled as he extended a hand towards Zhujian, "Come, come over here."
Zhujian walked over with his tail drooping, dragging on the ground until he reached Pei Shiyi.
This Zhujian had a typical hunter's physique, with long limbs and a body similar in size to a large dog. The coin-shaped patterns on his body looked fierce yet beautiful, resembling a particularly stunning leopard. His appearance probably made him a handsome fellow among his kind.
If he turned into a cat, he would likely resemble an agile and wild leopard cat.
Pei Shiyi was very satisfied with Zhujian's appearance, and as for his personality, he seemed fine so far. After all, Zhujian was a born beast who had also spent some time in the human world, so he should have no problem getting along with people.
Involuntarily, Zhujian started purring, closing his eyes and rubbing against Pei Shiyi's palm.
Long Que was surprised, "He actually likes you."
Though she herself found Pei Shiyi approachable at first sight, that was out of respect for his good looks. She didn't expect such a fierce beast like Zhujian to drop his guard around a stranger.
Many beasts have an instinct to seek benefits and avoid harm, approaching or distancing themselves from other beings based on their feelings. Zhujian's immediate fondness for Pei Shiyi suggested that he perceived Pei Shiyi as gentle and harmless.
Long Que felt this was a good thing: having someone like him run a cat café meant it was unlikely he would exploit young demons by using his powers. After all, non-humans were different from humans; they were not as easily swayed.
Zhujian, already intoxicated by the petting, seemed to forget that he was a beast, not a cat.
Pei Shiyi asked, "What's your name? How old are you?"
Zhujian, a bit dazed, replied, "My name is Tong Qian (Copper Coin), and I'm a hundred years old."
The name suited the coin patterns on Zhujian's body.
Pei Shiyi responded softly, "So young."
Beasts had long lifespans; some species didn't reach maturity until a few hundred years old. For Zhujian, a hundred years was just coming of age, but it didn't count as "child labor" anymore.
Pei Shiyi's hand moved to the top of Tong Qian's head, stroking down his fur, "Let me see what you look like as a cat, okay?"
Tong Qian obediently arched his body. His original form was like a leopard, and transforming involved only shrinking his body, and changing his bull= ears to cat ears. When the magic dispersed, a shrunken version of a leopard, about the size of a house cat, sat on the ground.
As Pei Shiyi had imagined, Tong Qian, in his cat form, was indistinguishable from a leopard cat, and his voice was only slightly deeper than a typical cat's meow. Unlike the fat orange cat at home, Tong Qian was lean, and in his shrunken form, his yellow fur with black patterns remained distinct and clear.
Maintaining this form was easy for Tong Qian, who jumped onto the table and sat in front of Pei Shiyi, "Is this okay?"
Pei Shiyi searched for images of leopard cats online and compared them to Tong Qian, noting they were almost identical, perhaps even more luxurious than the carefully selected display cats.
He asked, "Is maintaining this form difficult?"
Tong Qian shook his head and replied, "Not at all. When my cultivation was poor, I used to stay in this form all the time to eat the cat food people fed me. It wasn't tiring at all."
Pei Shiyi was curious, "Is cat food tasty?"
Long Que: "..."
Your focus is quite unusual.
Tong Qian complained to him, "It's not tasty at all, boss! Humans seem to have a tight budget themselves, and the money they spend on cat food is barely enough. They can't buy much good-quality cat food, and the strays who can't get any end up starving. The taste of that cat food..." He made a human-like expression of disgust.
"But it's still good because without their feeding, many cats would freeze to death during the winter."
Pei Shiyi patted Tong Qian's head.
Tong Qian looked at Pei Shiyi with tearful, round eyes, "Boss, do you pay wages? I'm so poor. It's really hard to get by in this society without money..."
Pei Shiyi hadn't expected Tong Qian to be such a chatterbox. He was bombarded with endless complaints about poverty until Long Que completed the danger assessment and was ready to lead the team to review the cat café, finally rescuing Pei Shiyi from the conversation.
The group left the Bureau of Anomalies and headed to the cat café.
Just after they left, a white-haired young man rushed out from the office opposite Room 07, holding two forms. Without even knocking, he barged into the adjacent office, which had a sign reading "General Administration Office."
The white-haired young man slapped the two papers onto the only desk in the office.
"Bo Jin, stop sleeping! Something big has happened!"
Bo Jin lifted his head, looking utterly lifeless.
The white-haired young man continued, "The one who just completed the danger assessment report has been classified as red level, a deep red!"
Bo Jin listlessly furrowed his brows, "I know."
Even he couldn't discern the true nature of the person in question. In terms of cultivation, that person was no weaker than him.
The white-haired young man was exasperated, "Could you stop looking like you'd rather be dead? Red level! The kind that can cause catastrophic damage with a wave of their hand. Take it seriously! It's really dangerous! According to regulations, for the first three months after arriving in the human world, someone needs to check in daily to supervise and assist their daily life, ensuring there are no issues."
Three months was the observation period. If everything was fine, a stability stamp could be given, and after that, their life wouldn't be interfered with, just like any other being. If there were issues... well, then they had to find a way to resolve them.
Of course, Bo Jin knew this. When he first arrived in the human world, he went through the same process, so he didn't even lift his eyes, "Then send someone to do it."
The white-haired young man said, "I calculated, and apart from you, no one else can handle it."
Bo Jin finally gave him a proper look, "What do you mean?"
The white-haired young man replied, "Nothing much, just that you have to do the check-ins." After all, who would dare follow a big BOSS at the same level as their boss around every day?
Bo Jin suddenly recalled the scene in Office 07 earlier. It was quite clear that he didn't get along with that "red-level" person.
He was sarcastic, and the other person was obviously mocking. When these two got together, it resulted in mutual ridicule. In less than three sentences, it would likely escalate to a war of words, eventually leading to a confrontation that would plunge both the cat café and the Non-Governmental Bureau into chaos.
Bo Jin: "I'm not going."
The white-haired young man slapped a red form in front of him: "You don't want to go, but you have to. Take a good look, that Pei Shiyi, his true form is a phoenix. The phoenix clan disappeared 800 years ago, and he might be the last one left in the world. According to the Rare Species Protection Act, he is critically endangered." With the gradual decline of spiritual energy today, the birth rate of various mythical beasts has plummeted, and they are basically all endangered. The phoenix is in an even worse situation, once thought to be extinct.
"Red-level danger plus extreme rarity. Boss, our Non-Governmental Bureau has never encountered such a situation in all these years. Do you think you can avoid going? Who else would dare to go? They are rare, and very ferocious. Plus, birds are the hardest to please. If you accidentally anger him, wouldn't you get burned to ashes by a single breath of fire? With such an important task, who else but you in the entire bureau can handle it?"
Why do such creatures exist? Rare, beautiful, and very powerful.
Oh, I forgot.
The white-haired young man glanced at Bo Jin. This person is also one of a kind.
Zhulong, the only one in the world.
Rare creatures should get along well, the white-haired young man thought: With so many common topics, they shouldn't end up fighting.
The author has something to say: Rare, beautiful, and very powerful.
This should be @Panda@Northeast Tiger.
