Chapter 1323: Counterattack
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Wise words were difficult to hear.
Zhang Zian merely spoke the truth. After all, Fina usually said this—it did not move much before a meal to prevent that from affecting its appetite. After dinner, it also did not move much, as this aided digestion and helped to prevent the development of a sagging stomach. However, whenever he chose to use Fina’s words back at it, her reaction was not pleasant. It was instead highly malicious.
“Hey! Your Majesty, this stinky man says one thing but actually means another. He is best at shooting silent arrows and insulting you! Do you want me to act on your behalf and shut him up forever?”
Snowy Lionet, who was next to her, threatened to let chaos descend if the approval was given.
“Hey! From what I see, your skin is itching for a scratch,” Richard said as he combed his feathers with his beak. He was happy to watch the drama unfold.
“No, you misunderstood.” He sincerely clarified the misunderstanding. “After all, you did lose quite a lot of weight in Egypt and are really skinny. Your current self is less graceful and royal. You have to make up that lost weight as soon as possible.”
Fina was not sure if he was telling the truth or saying this while he meant otherwise. If her judgment was wrong, it would damage her authority. When in doubt, she ignored it temporarily. Instead, she asked, “Where is that device that can make sounds?”
Zhang Zian was stunned. “Are you referring to a plug-in speaker? Why are you looking for that?”
Fina lifted her claws and pointed at the kittens who were playing in the store. “The day I left, there were old cats leaving and new cats coming in. These newcomers do not know how to dance, and I should hurry up and teach them.”
“Oh.”
He understood. No wonder she was suddenly so active. It had turned out to be related to money.
In fact, whether it was dancing or giving tips to attract customers, it was icing on the cake. It may not be fresh after a few times. The most important factor for raising a cat, besides affinity, was whether the cat was suitable to be raised by that particular customer.
Of course, many customers did come in after hearing the rumors of kitten dancing. Then, after arriving, they were influenced by Zhang Zian to choose a cat suitable for themselves. The choice was usually between a good-looking exterior or a cat with a funny bone. If the cat didn’t have good looks, which individual would have the patience to understand the personality of the cat?
When it came to money, he would think of the golden pyramid. If he had taken one or two pieces of gold jewelry from the pyramid, then would he no longer need to fret about money? He could, by now, easily enjoy the luxury life of fast cars and beautiful girls.
However, those were, after all, cultural relics. It was difficult to deal with if one was not careful. His actions could easily tarnish the good friendship between China and Egypt or the Chinese and Liberian people. It could even affect the grand plans of the Belt and Road Initiative. How could he do this, winning the battle but losing the war?
Thus, he still needed to work hard and make money. Although he would have fewer chances to get a lady, he could at least be at peace with himself. He could get arrested for stealing and reselling cultural relics. If that happened, it would no longer be a problem of him getting fast cars and beautiful girls, but of things entering his *ss when he went to jail…
He found the small speaker and put on some music for Fina. He watched Fina teaching the new kittens to dance while using his phone. In any case, this was physical activity for Fina, so she wasn’t lying down the entire day.
After a while, Fina had taught the kittens the dance several times. The kittens had barely learned it, but revisions over the next few days would be enough. They would be able to perform in front of customers in a few days’ time.
Fina jumped back to the cat climbing frame with great satisfaction.
“To meow with the cats! I am so mad!”
At the same time, angry cries came from the direction of the second floor. It was Vladimir.
Zhang Zian looked back and saw it rushing down the stairs. It was gray-faced, and pine needles were hanging in its hair. Zhang Zian didn’t know where it had gone to play and ended up looking as crazy as this.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
Zhang Zian spoke as he put down his phone.
Vladimir had always been very calm, and it always seemed to have a pair of wisdom beads on hand, but not so much this time around. Usually, it did things with an understanding of what would happen later. When dealing with the Holy Cat statue before, it had never seemed to panic. With the mentality that “I will take whatever comes my way,” it was therefore rare to see it in such a fit.
The other elfins were also very curious as to what had happened. Even Fina temporarily dismissed the idea of snoozing and opened her eyes.
Vladimir did not answer immediately. It instead turned a few rounds indoors before finally jumping onto the checkout counter. It raised a front paw and slammed it on the table, screaming while glaring hard. “Things are changing!”
Zhang Zian didn’t reply at first.
“What actually happened? You didn’t say anything, and nobody can understand you,” he said. “Is it yet another cat abuse incident?”
Although the Holy Cat statue had been sent thousands of miles away and was buried under a pyramid, never to be seen again, this did not mean that there would no longer be any cat abuse cases. This was because the Holy Cat statue would only induce those who already had some distortions in their minds to abuse cats. However, there were also people who would abuse cats regardless of the presence of a cat god statue.
What’s more, the statue of another cat god had been dug up during the Middle Ages in Europe. At that time, it had caused a lot of trouble. Together with the one found in the city of Binhai, might there be a third or even a fourth?
Vladimir gasped for a while and said with a voice full of hatred, “That’s not what happened.”
Come to think of it, if there was yet another Holy Cat statue or a cat abuse incident, it would certainly not have been as flustered.
“Then you are like that because?” he asked.
Vladimir struggled to calm down. “It’s those stray dogs! What the hell!” it said. “When I left the city of Binhai, the stray dogs that had already been expelled from the coastal city suddenly attacked and occupied the entire area in one swoop. The cats are under a lot of pressure now that they do not have a place to roam. They are also being broken up into smaller groups… Several cat commanders are even injured in varying degrees!”
“Uh…”
Zhang Zian knew that Vladimir had led the stray cats to expel the stray dogs in the vicinity of the dog market and driven the stray dogs to the outer suburbs of Binhai City. This was so that the stray cats in the city were not threatened by stray dogs. The beneficiaries of that action were not only stray cats, but also many pedestrians passing by in the area, who had been bitten by the stray dogs. Since the stray dogs had been driven away, the area had been relatively calmer.
“This is normal. Since you are not around, the stray cats have no leader. The stray dogs will naturally enter and fill the gap…” he said, trying to comfort Vladimir.
“No! According to my experience, this is not an ordinary attack, but a premeditated, organized counterattack! It is the dying struggle of the reactionary forces and an arrogant attempt to douse the revolutionary fire in the cradle!” Vladimir slammed a paw on the table once more, interrupting him.
“This is rather exaggerated.” Zhang Zian forced a smile. “Things are not as serious as you say…”
Vladimir shook his head. “In the beginning, I thought so too. However, today, I went deep within the cats to investigate, to better understand the situation. I found that it was not like this. Those stray dogs are absolutely organized!”