GRMFBS CH132

Professor Miao was extremely grateful to Zhan Yan.

Zhan Yan sympathetically bid farewell to the professor who remained blissfully unaware of his future fate.

Halfway back, he put his hand in his pocket and felt a cat treat.

This was Wangwang’s food; he forgot to feed it to him.

Zhan Yan stood holding the cat treat for a few seconds, pondering that it didn’t seem necessary to go back and return it, when he suddenly felt a nudge against his foot.

Looking down, a calico cat was rubbing against his foot, looking up at the cat treat in his hand, its round eyes full of longing.

“Meow~”

Zhan Yan was surprised.

Wangwang not being afraid of him could be attributed to being well-traveled and experienced, but this calico cat wasn’t afraid of him either. Could his animal-repelling constitution really be cured?

The calico rubbed around his foot once again.

Zhan Yan was flattered, squatted down, tore open the cat treat, and fed it to the calico.

“Calico, aren’t you afraid of me?” Zhan Yan tentatively touched its back.

The calico’s ears twitched, but it didn’t move, continuing to lick the cat treat.

[The stray calico cat decides to leave you, a familiar human with a strange scent, right after finishing the cat treat.]

Hmm? Familiar?

Zhan Yan checked the gossip threads relating to the calico.

Oh, oh, this was from back when Wan Yan Ghost King was still pretending to be a cat and mooching food around the school. At that time, Wan Yan frequently received all sorts of offerings, but Lord Ghost King looked down on ordinary food and often ran away after playing with the university students.

Many smart stray cats discovered this pattern and followed behind Wan Yan to scavenge food.

This calico was one of the particularly fierce ones, often being the first to eat after Wan Yan left.

It was also because of this that she remembered Zhan Yan—every time Zhan Yan fed him, Wan Yan wouldn’t leave a single bite, leaving them nothing to scavenge.

Zhan Yan felt inexplicably a bit guilty.

[The stray calico cat realizes that the food you offer is more delicious than others’, and really wants to have a taste.]

The calico had been curious for a long time, and finally seized the opportunity today. Thus, the usually aloof calico started copying the other scamming kitties and came over to be petted.

However, although the cat treat Professor Miao prepared for his own cat was very good, it still couldn’t compare to the cat rice Zhan Yan made. The calico felt slightly disappointed while eating, feeling that this bite of cat treat wasn’t worth selling her body for another scam next time.

Zhan Yan: …Sorry for disappointing the little kitty.

“How about tomorrow… hmm, tomorrow won’t work, let’s say the day after. I’ll bring some cat rice here for you the day after tomorrow?”

The calico’s ears perked up instantly.

Zhan Yan: “You can understand me?”

The calico stared at him unblinking, seeming a bit shocked.

Zhan Yan checked his class schedule; he didn’t have class at this time the day after tomorrow.

“Anyway, I’ll bring some cat rice over here at this time the day after tomorrow. If you come over, I’ll feed you. If you don’t come, I’ll feed other cats.”

The calico had finished the cat treat. Zhan Yan clapped his hands, found a trash can to throw the packaging away, and looked back to see the calico had already squeezed into the bushes, poking her head out from underneath the shrubs and staring at him unblinkingly.

Zhan Yan felt the calico’s reaction was a bit weird. He opened the Gossip System and realized that after adding this cat, the energy gauge in the “Spirit” column had just filled up a new little star.

This little star was the upgraded version of the second “Animal Communication” little star.

[Congratulations, through your continuous efforts, you have successfully unlocked a reverse cheat. —Now small animals can understand your words!]

No wonder the calico’s expression was so strange. Stray cats had little contact with people, so they couldn’t naturally understand human language. Zhan Yan was also startled the day he suddenly understood animal language.

He went back to continue grinding forum tasks and the gossip group, working hard to level up!

On the other end, Gu Jiancheng logged onto the chaofan forum and saw Approaching Science’s reply.

Gu Jiancheng: ???

The task is too simple, boring, not doing it?

Gu Jiancheng laughed in anger, went to the task section to take a look, and found Approaching Science doing someone else’s task.

Looking at the task content again. A low-level task like this was worth doing?

I Just Saved the World!: [Is this your so-called “challenging” task that you like?]

I Just Saved the World!: [When did your standards regress to this level?]

I Just Saved the World!: [Are the points this kind of task gives even enough to cover the pocket change I give?]

Zhan Yan didn’t see the direct messages Deep Shadow sent him at first. That was because he received direct messages from Lingyu and Luowang at the same time.

The matter stemmed from Ghost King Lin Yuan discovering that Deep Shadow had taken down a Black Nest, after which he shared this news.

Upon learning this, the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau and the Wan Yao Alliance made the same decision after initial investigations—to find a way to contact Deep Shadow.

The two organizations sat at the negotiating table together to discuss this matter, and then started arguing over who should contact Deep Shadow.

Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau: “With that lax and casual style of your Wan Yao Alliance, giving you the opportunity is a waste. What could you possibly discuss if you found Deep Shadow?”

Wan Yao Alliance: “Give me a break. Your Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau still wants to find Deep Shadow? They know your control freak style, they wouldn’t appear at all, okay?”

The argument almost escalated into a fight.

Ghost King Lin Yuan was eating gossip from afar. Because he brought the news, and he also wanted to chat with Deep Shadow, he listened to the entire process.

When the two organizations were about to fight, Ghost King Lin Yuan asked: “So, can either of you find Deep Shadow?”

Both organizations instantly fell silent, just like a married couple who nearly fought to the point of divorce over imagining the unequal division of five million won in the lottery.

Zhan Yan was quite amused when he saw this.

Extinguishing a fire with a single sentence still fell to Lin Yuan.

In the end, the two organizations decided to search for Deep Shadow independently; whoever found him would contact him.

But if they had a way to find Deep Shadow, they would have found him long ago; would they still need to wait until now?

Deep Shadow had hidden for so many years, with incredibly high bounties on the wanted posters from three factions, yet there was still no news. This showed that it wasn’t the large organizations being incompetent, but rather the experts were not among the common folk.

The Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau and the Wan Yao Alliance mocked each other and threw down harsh words at the negotiating table. Upon returning, they secretly worried about how to find Deep Shadow.

First, the librarian Tu Yue provided a clue to the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau: Approaching Science could find news related to Deep Shadow. He learned this through his alternate identity, Book of Secrets. It wasn’t certain how much Approaching Science could find, but in short, he could find something, and it didn’t seem to cost much.

Almost at the same time, the Wan Yao Alliance also learned of this news through “Chewing a Big Melon”.

And so…

Administrator Lingyu: [Can you find Deep Shadow’s contact information?]

Administrator Lingyu: [The reward is very high, but we require exclusive buyout.]

Administrator Lingyu: [You can also bring up any demands you have.]

Administrator Luowang: [Are you there, are you there? I have a task here.]

Administrator Luowang: [If you can contact Deep Shadow, can you help us get in touch?]

Administrator Luowang: [We can negotiate whatever reward you want, but this information cannot be sold to anyone else.]

Zhan Yan: …

How am I supposed to choose!

On one side is the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau where Mom is, and on the other side is the Wan Yao Alliance where Dad is. Everyone clearly has the same goal, so why can’t they cooperate nicely?!

Zhan Yan checked his mom and dad’s gossip threads.

[The Chongming Demon King Zhan Yunkai observed the negotiations between the Wan Yao Alliance and the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau from afar. He believes the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau, which recently had a council member exposed to Infinite pollution, is unreliable. The matter of contacting Deep Shadow should be handled by the Wan Yao Alliance and absolutely cannot be conceded.]

[Tianshi Ji Yueming observed the negotiations between the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau and the Wan Yao Alliance from afar. She believes the Wan Yao Alliance is too loose and casual, having previously faced issues with a traitor manipulated by Infinite infiltrating them. The matter of contacting Deep Shadow absolutely cannot be handed over to the Wan Yao Alliance.]

[Zhan Yunkai and Ji Yueming, considering they currently have free time, decided to go on a hot spring vacation to Spring City together.]

Zhan Yan: …

Dad! Mom!

Is it okay for you two to be like this?

Both big shots thought the other’s organization was unreliable. After expressing their opinions, they wore their alternate identities and sweetly went off to enjoy their romance and hot springs. Leaving poor Approaching Science behind, not knowing how to balance this bowl of water fairly.

Can’t find him! Can’t contact him! I can’t accept either side’s task!

Zhan Yan vented internally for five minutes, staring at the forum interface and continuing to fret.

Sigh, he could go crazy internally, but he couldn’t actually do that. If Deep Shadow could cooperate with the two major organizations, it would be a good thing for everyone.

But how was he supposed to choose? Was there a way to make the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau and the Wan Yao Alliance agree to unite on this matter?

Zhan Yan carefully combed through all the gossip threads of the two sides arguing at the conference table. Excluding the mutual attacks stemming from old grudges, the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau and the Wan Yao Alliance couldn’t reach an agreement on this matter mainly because the two sides had a fundamental disagreement regarding their approach to contacting Deep Shadow.

The Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau believed the information Deep Shadow possessed was more important. He was the one who understood the Infinite World the most. Why was Infinite resurging? What did its resurgence require? What layouts would it make? These questions, among others, had to be clarified no matter what.

Only by knowing these things would their actions not be passive.

The Wan Yao Alliance believed Deep Shadow the person was more important. Expecting someone to pour their heart out and reveal various secrets upon first contact was highly unrealistic, and the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau’s idea of using “no matter what” methods was even more unreliable. Since there was an opportunity for contact and they had a common goal, they should first find a way to unite the person with them.

As for information and the like, once the person was united with them, they would get it sooner or later.

Zhan Yan tasted the subtle differences in the two sides’ attitudes towards Deep Shadow from these two approaches.

The Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau’s approach had an air of openness: “As long as you give us the information, we don’t even have to meet, and we can continue living our separate lives afterward.” For Deep Shadow, who had always remained hidden, the feasibility of this approach might be slightly higher.

However, compared to the Wan Yao Alliance’s approach, the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau seemed to trust Deep Shadow’s self-control more, no longer viewing him as a ticking time bomb wandering around outside. Yet they didn’t quite trust Deep Shadow’s execution ability. Asking for all relevant information without requiring a meeting implied that the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau would formulate their own action plans based on this information, without needing Deep Shadow’s participation.

The Wan Yao Alliance’s approach seemed to aim for a deeper, closer relationship with Deep Shadow. But in the current situation, a deeper relationship could also mean deeper surveillance.

Zhan Yan felt the Wan Yao Alliance highly likely had the idea of “surveillance.”

One of the participants in the negotiations for the Wan Yao Alliance was a burly man over two meters tall, who was very emotional during the negotiations: “Where did your Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau’s control style go? Are you just letting a dangerous person like Deep Shadow off the hook so lightly? Allowing him to wander around freely is highly irresponsible!”

Looking at his emotional gossip thread, Zhan Yan was a bit curious.

Did he suffer some loss at Deep Shadow’s hands? This reaction was like PTSD.

But now wasn’t the time to eat gossip. Looking at this point of divergence between the two sides, Zhan Yan worried even more. The two sides’ approaches were fundamentally different, making cooperation completely impossible. How should he choose?

Just as he was worrying, Zhan Yan saw the red dot for a direct message from “I Just Saved the World!”.

Zhan Yan’s eyes lit up.

Right, he could just ask Deep Shadow directly! Whichever side Deep Shadow wanted to meet, that’s who they would negotiate with.