Chapter Fifty-Eight: An Acquaintance from the Demon Suppression Bureau

“Meow~”

Huahua let out a slightly impatient cry. Zhou Shu hurried to comfort her, gently stroking the cat’s head.

At the moment, the man and the cat were both inside the equipment van, which had been converted into a compact mobile laboratory. Several people in white coats clustered around Huahua, taking various measurements.

The person who most wanted to be doing this, however, was Karen Wang, who stood off to the side with his arms crossed, sulking—because Huahua absolutely did not like him.

“From the tip of the nose to the end of the tail, it’s 1.21 meters. That’s almost as long as the world record Maine Coon, which was 1.23 meters.”

“But this is a tabby, isn’t it? That’s enormous. I don’t recall any beastmasters’ cats in the country being this big.”

“No, the largest feline contract beast is only about 1.1 meters long. If you expand the definition to all felines, there are beastmasters with tigers.”

“That’s a whole different scale, though—not even comparable. Oh, and its weight is in: 21.5 kilograms!”

“Wow, that’s forty-three jin! Solid, too.”

“Even though it looks round and sturdy, it doesn’t actually seem fat. Just look at those muscles—”

“And that sleek, glossy fur—”

“And that thick, powerful tail—”

“Meow—!”

With a disgruntled yowl from Huahua, the staff instantly tensed, hair standing on end. Only then did they remember their real purpose here: to check whether this adorable cat was, in fact, a mutated monster.

As expected, after this cry, the group became much more cautious. They collected some fur, snipped a little claw, and even swabbed the tongue and rear for samples.

Thanks to Zhou Shu’s soothing presence, Huahua was reasonably cooperative, but the moment it was over, she darted away.

Many of the tests were still ongoing, with no results yet, but Karen Wang was an experienced hand in this field. He’d read plenty of material and had ample practical knowledge; just by looking, he could already tell quite a lot.

While the staff busied themselves in the van, Karen Wang called Zhou Shu outside for a chat. “The results aren’t in yet, but I’m pretty sure we’re on the mark. The one issue is that animals don’t follow orders like people, so it’s hard to assess true combat ability.”

“But since you were the one who discovered it, you’ll receive a discoverer’s reward. Actual power is still unknown, so the base amount is ten thousand yuan.”

“The precise reward will depend on its abilities. What do you plan to do with her? Are you thinking of training her as a combat partner, like a beastmaster?”

Hearing this, Zhou Shu shook his head. “No. I’m going to let her stay in the village. First, she’s used to the place, and second, I want her to protect my grandparents.”

“Since learning there are monsters in this world, I haven’t felt safe. I can defend myself a little, but my family can’t. I’d been wondering how to solve that, but now, with Huahua, it’s much simpler.”

“I see. Actually, we do have solutions,” Karen Wang said. “Once you join the Suppression Bureau, your family can move into our designated housing community—it’s quite safe.”

“In my experience, you could absolutely consider making Huahua your contracted beast. That way, you’d have firepower at range, and Huahua close up. Once you’ve finished your training, your combat capability will skyrocket.”

Zhou Shu knew Karen Wang was telling the truth, but he had his own reasons and declined.

Karen Wang didn’t press the issue. After all, everyone has their own priorities. Besides, Zhou Shu hadn’t officially joined yet and didn’t know much about the Suppression Bureau’s system or the broader state of the world. Once he understood more, his thinking might change.

After Karen Wang’s team left, Zhou Shu walked home with a smile.

In the end, his own height and physique hadn’t drawn suspicion; everyone’s attention was on Huahua.

But because of this unexpected incident, his Monday night meeting was rescheduled to tonight.

Back at home, Zhou Shu picked up Huahua and looked her over again. Besides her size, she acted just like any ordinary housecat. He truly couldn’t understand why her stats were so high!

He was a little envious, honestly.

He’d struggled for two months in the virtual training field, and he still wasn’t as strong as a cat.

He quickly finished his homework, ate again in the afternoon, and told Huahua to guard the house carefully before bidding farewell to his grandparents.

This time, he didn’t take the bus into the city—the Suppression Bureau’s car came to pick him up and delivered him straight to headquarters.

So, when he entered the training hall with his schoolbag on his back, he looked entirely out of place.

The hall was lively and crowded—far more so than on his previous visit.

He walked forward, curiously watching others train, intending to find Karen Wang. But as he passed the locker room, he nearly collided with someone coming out.

Both reacted swiftly and stopped in time. When Zhou Shu turned and saw the person’s face, it felt like he’d actually bumped into someone.

“Head Teacher?!”

It was his homeroom teacher, Feiyan Liu. She seemed equally surprised to see him here, though her reaction was much more subdued.

“Zhou Shu, what are you doing here?” she asked, glancing at the schoolbag on his shoulder before adding, “Have you finished your homework?”

“Uh…”

Zhou Shu hadn’t expected her to say that.

“I’ve finished.”

With that brief exchange, their tension eased a little. Having spent three years as teacher and student, it was natural to slip into those roles when standing together.

Feiyan Liu gave Zhou Shu a quick once-over before speaking, her face still impassive. “You’re here to find someone, right? Who is it? I’ll take you.”

“Team Leader Karen Wang.”

“Follow me.”

“Oh.”

As they walked, Feiyan Liu seemed to have figured something out. “What special ability got you recruited?”

“Mental mutation—I can see in slow motion, and I have some danger premonition,” Zhou Shu replied honestly.

“What’s your rating?”

“Not high—one hundred fifteen.”

Having seen his own cat’s stats today, Zhou Shu felt especially humble.

Most notably, within one and a half meters for ten seconds, he’d gotten his teacher’s attributes.

Strength about 1.2, agility just under 1.4, endurance a bit lower, less than 1.1. Her highest attribute was constitution, around 1.65.

Another person with higher stats than him—and this time, it was his math teacher of three years.

This world really was crazy.

But as he played down his abilities, an unusual expression flickered across Feiyan Liu’s calm face. “Not bad, Zhou Shu. Top of your class in exams, and your abilities and potential are impressive, too. There’s no point in being so modest all the time.”

“Not at all, it’s just because you’re such a good teacher,” Zhou Shu said, scratching his head. In truth, his rating wasn’t high, and that was yesterday’s figure—he’d leveled up again today.

Yet, even after leveling up, he still couldn’t beat his cat, nor could he outdo his teacher.

Feiyan Liu shot him a glance. “Don’t try to flatter me. Was it because your ability awakened suddenly that you tore down the restroom at school the other day?”

Then she dismissed her own thought. “No, that doesn’t make sense. Tearing down a restroom doesn’t have much to do with slow-motion perception.”

“It really doesn’t. I tore it up because the college entrance exams are coming, and I was stressed.”

Since he was back to this excuse, Feiyan Liu didn’t bother with him further and started fiddling with her smartwatch.

With his teacher silent, Zhou Shu didn’t speak either, but his mind was spinning.

When he’d last reported to his teacher, she’d claimed to be very busy, hadn’t been at school, and had swapped classes with the PE teacher, saying she was ill. Looking back, it was probably because she was busy dealing with monsters.

Thinking further back, his teacher had been taking more and more leaves lately.

The last time he’d visited the Bureau, Captain Zhuang got called away by an emergency halfway through a meal, and Karen Wang had mentioned work was getting busier.

Was the world changing? Had monster invasions become more frequent?

Before long, Feiyan Liu led Zhou Shu to Karen Wang—not outside the lab as he’d expected, but in a small conference room.

After delivering him, Feiyan Liu tossed out, “Karen Wang, you sure know how to have fun. I’ve brought your person—he’s all yours,” and left.

Seeing her go, Karen Wang turned to Zhou Shu. “I think I messed up—your teacher’s angry. When you get the chance, put in a good word for me, will you? From the very first time we met, I’ve never treated you badly.”

Zhou Shu: “???”

What kind of cryptic conversation was this?

PS: Thanks to SAS Special Forces for the tip—much appreciated!