"This is Overlord. He’s a guest here," Yang Qi said, giving a simple introduction.

"Meow~"

Xiaojiu let out a soft, inscrutable cry, its eyes filled with disdain for the "guest’s" insolent attitude.

It slowly retracted the paw that had been pressing down on Overlord’s head.

The moment Overlord was free, he shot back with a WHOOSH, hiding by Yang Qi’s feet. He then looked up and let loose a torrent of urgent "MEOW MEOWS" at Yang Qi, his voice filled with grievance and accusation.

’Two-legged Beast, you saw that, right? This black cat is too violent!’

’It pounced on a fellow cat right away, has no idea how to treat a guest.’

’Hurry up and chase it away. You can’t keep such a vicious cat in the house.’

"MEOW!"

Hearing this, Xiaojiu immediately turned its head, hissed at Overlord, and narrowed its eyes dangerously, conveying a clear threat.

’What did you say?’

’Say that again. I dare you.’

Overlord flinched, startled, and quickly shrunk his entire body behind Yang Qi’s calf. He peeked out with just half his head, but his mouth was still defiant as he continued to mutter under his breath.

’It *is* a violent cat.’

’And I’m not even allowed to say it...’

Xiaojiu’s gaze sharpened. It arched its back, about to come over and teach this ignorant buffoon another lesson.

"Alright, alright, no fighting."

Yang Qi quickly intervened to stop the escalating "feline conflict."

He crouched down, gently separated the two cats with a hand on each, then picked Overlord up and placed him on the ground about a meter away.

He pointed at Xiaojiu, Ta Xue, and Bai Wan, then pointed at Overlord. Mobilizing the Magical Power within him, he used the Basic Spirit Communication Technique to clearly transmit his thoughts to both sides.

"Overlord, let me introduce you. This is Xiaojiu. This is Ta Xue, a clouded leopard. And this is Bai Wan, a very smart dog. They are all members of this family."

"But your home isn’t here. Your home is with that ’female Two-legged Beast’ you complained had a weird smell."

Yang Qi explained, "She entrusted you to me, to have you stay here for a while so I can teach you a few things. In half a month, you have to go back. Understand?"

Meow?

Overlord’s golden cat eyes blinked, a hint of astonishment showing through.

’That female Two-legged Beast who smells weird... she’s my... pooper-scooper?’

"That’s right."

Yang Qi rubbed its fluffy head and continued his lecture, "So, you’re a ’guest’ here. You need to follow the rules, no fighting, and be a good student. If you learn well, you’ll have a better life when you go back, understand?"

Meow meow~

Overlord meowed a couple of times, still seeming a bit unconvinced. His eyes darted around, and he asked another question.

’So, can I be the boss here?’

"Hah?"

Hearing this, Xiaojiu, who was off to the side, let out a scornful cry without hesitation, shooting a sidelong glance at Overlord.

’You?’

’You want to be the boss?’

"Grrr~"

Ta Xue also shook its head and replied earnestly.

’You can’t beat me.’

Although it looked like a big cat, a clouded leopard’s claws were not just for show.

Overlord blinked his eyes. Having been shot down, he felt a little sheepish. He lowered his head and muttered under his breath.

’How would you know if we don’t fight?’

’I was just letting it win earlier, I wasn’t using my full strength...’

Yang Qi almost burst out laughing. This guy was all talk.

"Alright, alright, stop arguing about this. Let’s have dinner first."

The Spirit Rice Porridge was ready.

Once it had cooled to the right temperature, Yang Qi ladled a bowl for each of the four animals and placed them on the floor. He had a small bowl for himself as well.

"Meow meow~"

The moment Overlord smelled the fragrant Spirit Rice Porridge, his eyes lit up. All thoughts of competition were immediately thrown to the wind as he buried his head in the bowl and started gobbling it down, letting out nonstop sounds of contentment as he ate.

’Delicious, delicious!’

’What is this stuff? How can it be so delicious?’

’Two-legged Beast, I want more!’

’A little more, a little more!’

’Don’t be so stingy!’

...

Seeing how fast it was eating, Yang Qi added a small half-bowl more for it, but didn’t give it any more after that.

It wasn’t that he was being stingy. The Spirit Rice contained gentle Spiritual Qi, and for an ordinary cat like Overlord whose intelligence had just been awakened, eating too much would be impossible to digest. It would be a waste, and it might even be a case of his system being too weak to handle the nourishment.

Sure enough, after finishing his second bowl, Overlord licked his paws in satisfaction. Before long, his eyelids grew heavy and his body began to sway. He was clearly experiencing a surge of Spiritual Qi and was a little "spiritually drunk."

He groggily stumbled to the temporary cat bed Yang Qi had prepared for him, flopped into it, and was soon snoring loudly, sprawled out on his back.

"Meow~"

Xiaojiu elegantly finished licking its paws, glanced at the undignified, sleeping Overlord, and transmitted its undisguised contempt.

’So useless.’

"Grrr~" Ta Xue nodded along in agreement.

’He does seem a bit oafish.’

"WOOF!"

Bai Wan also barked in agreement.

Yang Qi didn’t get involved in their "internal evaluation." He cleared the dishes and went upstairs to cultivate.

The next day, he woke up and, as usual, collected the spoils from the Demon Extermination Array in his backyard before starting the lottery draw.

Unfortunately, his luck seemed to have run out. The prizes he drew were all routine consumable refills, like Low-Grade Spirit Rice, Strengthening Pills, Qi Condensing Pills, and Beast Spirit Pills.

It was like this for three days straight.

The Array Plate Yang Qi wanted was nowhere to be seen, not even a shadow of it, which left him feeling a bit frustrated.

He had already gathered the Five Elements Spirit Stones; this was the only thing left!

The sun was shining brightly that afternoon.

Yang Qi was in the wolf enclosure, conducting behavioral training with the Gray Wolves.

The Wolf King, Ao Tian, maintained his usual aloofness, but his gaze was focused.

Happy, on the other hand, was the most enthusiastic. His movements were on point, and his tail wagged so joyfully it was as if he were saying, "Praise me, praise me!"

Just as Happy completed a "lie down and crawl" command and was proudly sticking his tongue out at Yang Qi, the phone in Yang Qi’s pocket began to vibrate.

He took out his phone and saw the caller ID: "Li Hongqi."

The criminal investigation captain from the Hongshu Branch.

Holding his phone, Yang Qi walked to a quieter spot outside the enclosure and answered the call. "Hello, Captain Li."

"Advisor Yang, are you free right now?" Li Hongqi’s voice came through the receiver.

"I am. What’s on your mind, Captain Li?"

"There’s been a homicide over in Lvliu District. It’s a rather nasty case, and the killer fled into a nearby urban-rural fringe area with complex terrain. We’ve dispatched police dogs to assist with tracking, but the results haven’t been ideal."

"I remember you mentioned last time that your dog, Bai Wan, has excellent tracking skills, even better than a police dog’s."

Li Hongqi spoke quickly. "If you’re not busy, could you bring Bai Wan over to assist? I’ve already spoken with your park and filed the necessary report with the Lvliu Branch."

"Of course, this would be volunteer assistance, but we would certainly provide a corresponding stipend according to regulations..."

’Help the police solve a case?’

’Track down a homicide suspect?’

Yang Qi’s eyes lit up.

"No problem, Captain Li."

Yang Qi answered quickly, "I’ll get ready right now and bring Bai Wan over."

It was a bit shameless of him.

But this was Bai Wan’s chance to become an Honorary Police Dog!