C14 The System Wanted to Differentiate Between Males and Females(1)

Under normal circumstances, you wouldn't find anything as mythical as the legendary Golden Sore Medicine at home. But we did have a bottle of iodine on hand, so Shen Xiang quickly returned with some iodine and bandages.

Ruila was tending to the adorable cat-eared girl's wounds, while Shen Xiang stood by, his focus entirely on the endearing little one. The girl was quite petite, barely reaching four feet six inches, but she was exceptionally cute with her tiny mouth, small nose, and plump cheeks. Despite her furrowed brow and obvious pain, there was an irresistible urge to pinch those chubby cheeks.

"Wow, cat-eared girls actually exist in this world, and they're infinitely cuter than those wearing cat ear accessories," Shen Xiang thought to himself, feeling the HENTAI spirit within him stir. However, now was not the time for such thoughts. Once Ruila seemed to have finished up, he asked, "What happened?"

"We had a scrap with Wild, the same ones who were after you the other day. They brought more people than we expected. Ann got double-teamed and took a bit of a beating," Ruila explained. After checking the bandages and feeling the girl's forehead, she breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, and with her piercing blue eyes fixed on Shen Xiang, she continued, "The special office responded quickly. They might find Ann's leftover clothes and those keen-nosed hounds could track us to our rental. So we had to come here first. Of course, I made sure to cover our tracks before arriving."

So, this Ragdoll cat knows she's my pet, Shen Xiang mused, not surprised by her courteous behavior. He shrugged and asked, "Why the fight, though?"

"Invading my territory warrants a lesson, doesn't it?" Ruila responded with an assertive lift of her eyebrows. "They got the worst of it and won't likely risk coming to this neighborhood anytime soon. Now, we just need to watch out for the special office picking up our trail."

"Special office? What is that?" Shen Xiang inquired, puzzled. He had heard the term from Ruila several times since their first encounter.

"The Office of Special Affairs," Ruila explained. "It's a government organization dedicated to handling matters beyond the reach of ordinary people, like the existence of beast species such as ourselves."

After Ruila finished speaking, she paused briefly before addressing Shen Xiang, "Shen Xiang, I'm hungry."

Shen Xiang's eyes widened in confusion. Was she being playful or what?

"I mean, after the battles we've just been through, I'm really hungry. And Ann needs food to recover quickly..." Ruila began to explain with a hint of irritation. Midway, she realized this clueless man didn't seem to grasp that she was his superior, and her words might sound odd to him. So she quickly softened her tone, "Could you prepare some food for us? I'll make sure to compensate you."

"What would you like to eat?" Shen Xiang asked warily, half-expecting a bizarre request like "human flesh."

"Whatever humans eat is fine for us; our physiology is mostly similar to humans."

"Ah, okay, that's a relief."

Relieved, Shen Xiang said, "Then I'll get something ready."

He went into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and surveyed the scant ingredients. With an abundance of cold rice and not much else, he decided on making egg fried rice. As he was about to start cooking, he remembered Ruila's earlier words.

"Scents, hound, clothes..."

Frowning, he took extra care, tossing a generous amount of chili into the pan without turning on the exhaust fan, creating a pungent aroma that quickly filled the room.

[Time to make the fried rice.]

But before he could finish, there was a knock at the door.

Shen Xiang, back in the living room, glanced at the now shut bedroom door, then approached the front door. Peering through the peephole and seeing the bedroom door was closed, he opened it.

"Old classmate, I noticed your light was on, so I hope you don't mind the intrusion," said Lee Boran, standing at the threshold in a black uniform. Behind him, in the hallway, stood another uniformed figure holding a police dog.

The dog, nose to the ground, moved toward Shen Xiang's place but seemed put off by the strong smell emanating from inside. It whimpered, turned, and with the uniformed man in tow, dashed into the stairwell, heading upstairs.

Upon witnessing the scene, Shen Xiang breathed a sigh of relief. Flashing a smile at Lee Boran, he quipped, "Haven't hit the hay yet. I'm quite the night owl. What brings you here...?"

"We've got a situation," Lee Boran replied, peering into Shen Xiang's home. "Seems a criminal might've slipped into the neighborhood. Remembered you lived around here, so I swung by your building to check in."

"A criminal?" Shen Xiang feigned ignorance, seeking confirmation, "Does this have anything to do with the sirens earlier?"

"Yep, but that was after everything went down." Lee Boran sniffed the air, his curiosity piqued, "What's that you're cooking up at this late hour?"

"Just some spicy fried rice. Might be a bit aromatic; these old houses don't ventilate so well." Shen Xiang offered, "You're clearly swamped. How about a quick bite? I can dish you up a bowl."

"No, I'll pass. The perp is still at large. If you spot anything fishy, give me a ring, and don't open your door to strangers," Lee Boran advised, glancing around the room with a smile. "I should get back to it. Got to comb through each building."

"Captain Lee, there's an issue in Building 4."

He grabbed his walkie-talkie and pressed the button, responding, "Got it. I'm on my way. Everyone else, keep searching. Don't miss a single clue."

"Just like that," he gestured to the walkie-talkie, adding, "Duty calls."

"Got it. We'll catch up another time."

Shen Xiang watched him step into the elevator before closing the door. Building 4 was right next door, wasn't it? Ruila and the others had mentioned they lived beside him. Looks like they were closing in.

After ensuring they weren't doubling back, he served up the fried rice and knocked on his own bedroom door.

Hold on, it's my bedroom. Why am I knocking?

"Come in."

Stepping inside, Shen Xiang saw Ruila kneeling next to "Ann." He set down a bowl of fried rice on the floor before her as if feeding a cat and said, "This is it. Make do for now."