Chapter 250: Chapter 243 Red Rat Chapter 250: Chapter 243 Red Rat Zheng Tan stayed in that place for a day before he couldn’t bear it anymore. None of the cats there had any intention to leave the area, and even if some did, Zheng Tan didn’t dare to blindly follow, as he didn’t know if they were heading in the direction he needed to go back. The cat with the red spots that had brought him here stayed in the nearby area after returning, and when it went out last night, Zheng Tan followed with high hopes, only to realize it was simply looking for food and had no intention of going further.

Zheng Tan lay on a tree branch pondering, trying to figure out a way to get back. He hadn’t brought a collar or anything like a signal tracker to the internship base, and perhaps it wouldn’t have been useful anyway. According to the lead teacher, the field study team had mentioned in their records that many areas in the forests of Chuishan City were unable to receive signals and compasses were useless as well, likely due to geological and magnetic reasons. This was one of the reasons why this vast forested area had never been fully explored by people.

Zheng Tan was anxious to leave for two reasons: he worried that the Jiao family might be concerned about him, and he felt unsafe here…
The number of cats gathered here wasn’t large, but most were females, and each one was ferociously strong. Every single one of them was at least a size larger than Zheng Tan. Even the smallest cat here, which seemed to be not yet fully grown, was slightly larger than Zheng Tan and slightly vicious. Let’s not even mention Zheng Tan accepting any sort of interaction with a cat—considering the speculations alone could give him shivers.

Just as he was thinking, sounds came from under the tree, where several cats were fighting over a mouse again.

Since arriving here, Zheng Tan had seen not only the cat with all-red fur that was the leader but also red-furred wild boars, and red rats, which the cats were currently fighting over. Yesterday, a red rat almost 20 centimeters long was taken up a tree by the lead cat for dinner. Later, several juvenile red rats, probably the offspring of the large rat, were caught by the cats. It seemed like the lead cat had raided a rat nest.

The small red rats, which were treated like precious food by the cats, sparked fights among them. Just yesterday, the cat with the red spots fought another cat over one, and after winning, immediately ate the small red rat, fearing that a moment’s inattention would result in it being snatched away by others.

From yesterday until now, Zheng Tan had eaten a few fruits, a bird’s egg, and a fish he caught from a stream. The fruits were eaten by a cat, and Zheng Tan, seeing they were non-toxic, also ate a few from that tree; they tasted acceptable. The bird’s egg was picked up by Zheng Tan when it fell in the bushes during the cats’ bird hunt—none of the cats were interested in it, treating it merely as a toy to idle away the time. As for eating it, they had no interest.

The experience of eating fish was something Zheng Tan thought about; perhaps it was a cat’s tolerance to the fishy smell. He found it difficult to eat, but after finishing it, he didn’t feel any nausea. He didn’t eat the internal organs and fish head, as he really couldn’t stomach those. After catching the fish, Zheng Tan used his claws to gut it and washed it several times with the clear water from the stream. As for parasites and microorganisms, Zheng Tan couldn’t possibly care about those at the moment; he needed to fill his belly first. The cats were eating fish from here and drinking the water, growing strong and healthy. Zheng Tan believed he should be able to endure it as well.

Watching the sun rise and begin to set again, Zheng Tan steeled his heart and decided to go out and try. Even if he couldn’t get back to the base, this forest wasn’t the Amazon Jungle. If he was cautious and walked in one direction, he should be able to get out, right? At worst, he would face ten days to half a month or even several months of a wandering life. The most important thing was to get back. Waiting here, who knew when those cats would venture far enough again—if they ever did, would he have to stay here indefinitely?

After making up his mind, Zheng Tan climbed down from the tree and looked around. A few cats were playing; the cat with the red spots was lying on a branch sleeping, and the lead cat watched the birds flying in the sky, smacking its lips, probably thinking about where to hunt for food tonight.

Should I greet them? Zheng Tan sneered inwardly. With no common language, what’s the point of greetings?

I remember coming from over there, the place with the stream where I saw that wild boar. I’ll follow the stream. After Zheng Tan determined the direction, he started walking that way.

As he walked, Zheng Tan felt the leader cat watching him. It didn’t stop him, nor did it make any other moves.

After walking about fifty meters, Zheng Tan heard a call from behind. It was the red-striped cat, already down from the tree, running toward him. Perhaps realizing Zheng Tan was leaving, it came to stop and persuade him to stay. However, before it could get close, the leader cat jumped down and slapped it away, preventing it from coming closer.

The red-striped cat pressed its ears down, seemingly very reluctant. It thought Zheng Tan was a decent cat and would make a good companion. It had brought him directly here; how could it let him leave?

After making sure the red-striped cat wouldn’t come over, the leader cat walked toward Zheng Tan. Its larger size gave Zheng Tan some pressure, but he didn’t feel any malice or threat.

As the leader cat passed Zheng Tan, it paused, gave him a glance, and then continued walking. After going a bit further, it looked back at Zheng Tan.

Zheng Tan’s heart skipped a beat. Was it offering to lead the way? He quickly followed, but after a couple of steps, Zheng Tan looked back—the red-striped cat was still standing there, truly not following, but its gaze remained on him.

If it were a cat that lived in this jungle, staying here would indeed be nice. However, Zheng Tan’s aspirations were elsewhere, and he wasn’t a real cat. He actually wanted to build the red-striped cat a more comfortable shelter from the rain, but he realized that if he were to construct it, it would be too conspicuous. If anyone came here, they would probably discover it. With Zheng Tan’s abilities, he couldn’t make a very concealed shelter. Since these cats were living well here, they surely had their own survival skills, so Zheng Tan decided not to interfere.

If he could leave smoothly, he probably wouldn’t come back here again. That’s what Zheng Tan thought.

After one last glance in that direction, Zheng Tan stepped forward to follow the cat ahead of him.

Contrary to what Zheng Tan had expected, the route the leader cat took him through was unfamiliar, different from the scenery he remembered from the day before. Along the way, the cat even caught a red rat, probably from the same brood as those little red rats from before—only it hadn’t expected to run into this big cat.

The red rat’s tail was pinned under the paw of the leader cat. Compared to the leader cat’s foot, the red rat was hardly worth mentioning.

Zheng Tan watched as the lead cat seemed to disdain the red rat, acting completely uninterested even when the other cats were scrambling for it earlier today. That big cat couldn’t even bother to give it a glance.

After pawing and playing with the red rat for a bit, the lead cat lost interest and flicked the half-dead rat towards Zheng Tan.

Zheng Tan looked down at the red rat that had rolled to his paws, its belly up and gasping for air but otherwise motionless as if it was about to breathe its last. He didn’t budge. These past few days, he had eaten snakes and fish, but he had never eaten a rat. He had killed before—able to strike with his claws but not willing to eat with his mouth.

The lead cat continued on its way. Zheng Tan ignored the red rat on the ground, planning to follow, when he noticed the lead cat turn back upon seeing that Zheng Tan hadn’t touched the rat, and push it closer to his feet.

Was this a “no eating, no guiding” situation?

However, Zheng Tan really didn’t want to eat that, at least not right now. He couldn’t bring himself to do it.

The two cats just stood there, at an impasse.

Zheng Tan felt helpless. Surely they couldn’t keep staring each other down indefinitely? Especially since the cat in front of him was giving him a “too ignorant to appreciate the favor” look.

What to do?

Zheng Tan looked around and his gaze fell on a vine plant. He went over, tore off a section of the vine, stripped the leaves, and used the vine to tie up the red rat on the ground, taking the excess piece in his mouth. After he was done, Zheng Tan raised his chin toward the lead cat: Is this good enough?

The lead cat glanced at Zheng Tan, then at the thing wrapped up like a cocoon, and after giving Zheng Tan a look of disdain, it picked up its paws and walked away.

Disdain was fine, as long as it led the way. In the end, roads would part and bridges would separate; out of sight, out of mind, or so thought Zheng Tan.

Nonetheless, after following for a while and watching the lead cat eat a few insects of unknown species along the way, Zheng Tan grew increasingly suspicious—was it possible that the big cat was actually out hunting for food?

Having no better plan for the moment, Zheng Tan kept following. At worst, he could return to the forest after the cat had finished hunting. Meanwhile, the red rat tied up like a cocoon was being tossed around as Zheng Tan ran. Zheng Tan couldn’t be bothered with its life or death. After the rough play it underwent at the paws of the lead cat, it would probably croak soon anyway. He hadn’t planned on eating the rat, so he would just throw it away when the time came.

About half an hour later, Zheng Tan climbed a tree and ascended to a high point. Looking at the sunset, his sense of direction, lost for a day and a night, returned, and he felt a sense of relief. This wasn’t where he had passed through on his way in, it was a little off, but not far. Zheng Tan believed he could find the way back.

After leading Zheng Tan to this spot, the lead cat turned and walked away. Perhaps it knew that cats like itself couldn’t stray far, and more importantly, shouldn’t appear in human living areas. So it had to guard this area, this place untouched by humans. As for that patchwork cat appearing in the base, it must have been an accident.

Those who look ordinary live ordinary lives, and those who look unusual live unusual lives. Zheng Tan couldn’t adapt to their way of life, and they couldn’t adapt to the life Zheng Tan desired either.

Looking at the vast mountains and forests under the twilight, Zheng Tan took a deep breath, ready to head back to base overnight. As for the red rat that was half-dead…

Huh?

Zheng Tan looked down and noticed the red rat he had bundled up like a mummy was energetically chewing through the vine, its incisors making quick work of it. The vine, much thicker than the rat’s teeth, seemed sturdy enough, but the rat easily bit a large hole through it, as if biting into tofu, and was about to sever it completely.

Just moments before, it had seemed completely still, but now it was like this.

Sensing Zheng Tan’s observation, the red rat, now with half of its head squeezed out of the vine, bared its small white teeth fiercely at him.

Zheng Tan now understood, the red rat only bared its teeth depending on who it was facing; if the lead cat were there, the rat would have dared only to play dead!

Zheng Tan watched the rat, its eyes filled with ferocity, and narrowed his own eyes. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile phone users please read at m.qidian.com.)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep