The System Mistook Me for a Cat

Chapter 15

The audience's experience was quite extraordinary.

Live streaming wasn't new to them, and "cat cam" streams (where a camera is attached to a cat's collar for streaming) were already being done by other content creators. But was it really necessary for a human to go to such lengths for their persona (or cat-sona)? It seemed dangerous!

Just as fans in the chat were about to voice their concerns, they noticed a slight change in the camera view—

A semi-transparent virtual interface appeared in the top left corner of the screen, resembling a quest panel from a video game.

Except this "game" looked far too realistic.

[Quest: Find "Blueberry"]

[Target Image: [Picture]]

[Quest Progress: Three-Five-Five seems to have caught Blueberry's scent from his owner. Keep following Three-Five-Five...]

By the time fans finished reading these lines, the livestream screen had been fully transformed.

[Come to think of it... modern livestreams can blur faces of passersby in real-time, but there's usually a delay and faces occasionally slip through. But Chu Tingwu's blurring is different, it's perfect. What plugin is she using?]

Could it be a system plugin? Impossible, right? Do systems really exist in this world?

It wasn't just the "face blurring plugin" that was unique. This livestream seemed to have many novel plugins. Besides the quest panel in the top left, there were also semi-transparent virtual footprints on the screen—

When Chu Tingwu took a leap, the entire livestream camera transformed into a real-life holographic rhythm game. Semi-transparent cat paw prints appeared at all possible landing spots for the streamer. If she landed accurately on one, a faint "squish" sound could be heard mixed in with the background noise.

"Squish."

[What's squishing... stop squishing... I'm gonna squish too... I can't resist squishing my cat's paw pads anymore...]

[It's impossible for cat-humans to exist in this world, I don't believe it! I don't! But Chu-sensei is special, Chu-sensei say something!]

[This is getting a bit perverted, I want to hear the streamer meow...]

[Didn't the streamer meow before, with Three-Five-Five? Maybe she really is a cat, just a big one QAQ]

[To be honest, even though I'm not sure I believe in systems or cat-humans or whatever, I think the streamer is really putting effort into maintaining these settings. If all livestreams could have this quality, I'd be willing to keep following and donating. Being able to create these effects in a livestream shows real dedication...]

After typing this comment, the user donated a 100-yuan Aurora Fireworks gift. This was a fan impressed by the technical prowess on display.

This "technical prowess" wasn't just the system's software skills... but also Chu Tingwu's jumping ability.

In reality, Chu Tingwu wasn't doing any overly complex movements, nor was she doing the kind of thrilling stunts you'd see from parkour YouTubers. She was simply following Three-Five-Five along routes more suitable for cats.

She wasn't even looking at the chat comments. If there was an issue, the system would inform her.

...So Chu Tingwu didn't hear that "squish" sound effect either.

However, the livestream viewers experiencing it from her first-person perspective could feel that comfortable rhythm. She wasn't specifically seeking out suitable footholds on railings, walls, or roadside platforms. Rather, she could easily land anywhere. If there was anything she was deliberately seeking out, it was—

【Kitten, you're following in Mama's footsteps!】

Chu Tingwu: "...It's instinctive."

Following the footprints meant she didn't have to think about where to land, and in the dream classroom... she had developed habits from imitating Three-Five-Five.

At first, Three-Five-Five would look back to check if Chu Tingwu could keep up, but once she realized Chu Tingwu was managing fine, she focused on running forward.

It wasn't strange to see a cat running along a wall top, but people in the neighborhood were surprised to see a person running along the wall right behind the cat.

Some fashionable young people speculated: "Is this some kind of parkour performance with a cat?"

Does this count as an animal performance? Their minds were in a jumble.

Three-Five-Five would occasionally stop, but never for long, just to analyze. Her moist nose would sniff repeatedly. Chu Tingwu imagined a cat's olfactory system, probably similar to a human's visual system, with scents floating in the air forming three-dimensional shapes—

Although she could unlock olfactory abilities like Three-Five-Five's just by asking the system, it was clearly beyond what the current Chu Tingwu could fully master, and would only lead to confusion.

"I guess I really am just a little kitten..." Chu Tingwu suddenly thought, "When it comes to these specialized abilities, humans are all kittens compared to cats."

Three-Five-Five stopped and looked up at the building in front of her, letting out a "meow".

Chu Tingwu took out her phone, snapped a photo of the building, and asked Hang Ling to help inquire about Blueberry's owner.

[I just realized they're looking for a cat... I thought we were just going on a parkour adventure]

[Oh oh, the quest has progressed, Chu-sensei, check the quest!]

[Quest: Find "Blueberry"]

[Quest Progress: Three-Five-Five has detected Blueberry's last scent in this building. Perhaps you should take the elevator to confirm which floor?]

Although they had been following Three-Five-Five all along, the cat hadn't been taking a direct route. Instead, she had been retracing Blueberry's path by following his scent. So when Chu Tingwu reported their location, Blueberry's owner quickly made his way through the garden to reach them.

"This is Building 5, diagonally opposite from my place. How did Blueberry end up here?"

Blueberry's owner had also called over the cat-finding team who had been reviewing security footage at the property management office. Though called a team, it was actually just two people. They carried nets and pet carriers, curiously eyeing Chu Tingwu before looking down at Three-Five-Five.

Three-Five-Five hissed.

The lead person smiled awkwardly, then turned to the property staff: "Could you open the security door for us?"

Considering the cat owner's situation, the staff member said, "Alright, but I'll have to accompany you."

The group of six people and one cat entered the elevator, and Chu Tingwu began pressing the buttons for each floor.

The property staff member's eye twitched as he watched this unfamiliar "troublemaker," then looked at the anxious cat owner, and finally chose to say nothing. However, the cat-finding team was more outspoken: "Young lady, are you trying to use a cat to find another cat? Has your cat even ridden in an elevator before? An elevator is an enclosed space with changing scents from people coming and going... It's normal if you can't find anything, don't get your hopes up too high."

The latter half was directed at the cat owner, who didn't respond.

Chu Tingwu glanced at them and suddenly asked, "Have you ever used cats to find other cats?"

The cat-finding team was taken aback: "Uh, we had a case before where we tried getting local stray cats to

Chu Tingwu: "Shut up."

System: "Oh."

The new sense of smell was a bit troublesome, but also interesting. After getting up, Chu Tingwu prepared breakfast for both the cat and herself, then began modifying the drone—

The drone was for aerial photography, but to improve its endurance, intelligent follow and fixed-position shooting functions were added.

Chu Tingwu realized that the system's requirement was essentially to be able to set up a camera to film her using the drone at any time, with the drone itself often serving merely as a mount for the camera.

But the drone was quite fun to play with.

After the modifications were complete, Chu Tingwu tested the drone's built-in functions. It could be controlled with a joystick, or set to follow and film a selected character on the screen. The surroundings were very open, so she stood in the yard to test fly it. The camera rose high, panning over the distant mountains and wheat fields, then settled on a tabby cat with flower-patterned legs. Chu Tingwu selected it and clicked "follow."

... Of course, if the system were to control it, the footage would surely be more detailed.

But the system just watched lovingly, observing Chu Tingwu's somewhat clumsy joystick control, occasionally offering a reminder, like a human watching a cat play with a ball of yarn.

The tabby cat seemed to have just finished eating and was lying in the middle of the road, grooming itself. The village roads were all cement. After licking itself for a while, it swished its tail and walked to someone's house, meowing a few times. It called out a big orange cat from that house. The two cats touched noses, and then, Chu Tingwu saw them expertly slip into another house, calling out a black cat that was dozing by the door.

The black cat followed behind the tabby, and Chu Tingwu suddenly looked up—

She smelled them.

Three cats poked their heads over the wall of her house.

Three-Five-Five inside seemed to have already marked the surroundings with his scent, so although he huffed a bit in displeasure, he wasn't as agitated as last night.

The three cats didn't come in either. Chu Tingwu handed over the drone control to the system. The system flew the drone in a circle around the cats, and then Chu Tingwu heard the tabby say:

Aliali: 67219b6e3a4784313d7c91e6

"Fragrant kitten, can you find humans?"

The black cat's ears twitched nervously. It glanced at Three-Five-Five, then meowed to Chu Tingwu:

"My human is lost, no... I lost my human, that's not right either... One day I went out to play, and then I didn't know how to get back, so I ended up here, and then... Can you find humans?"

"It's a human who lives under a very big tree, quite old, wakes up very early every day, and likes to sing."

The three cats lined up on the wall, but only the black cat was trying hard to remember, making "meow meow" sounds. But Chu Tingwu understood:

It wasn't the human who was lost, but the black cat that had wandered away from home and ended up here.

Now, it wanted to return to its human's side.

A faint smile appeared on Chu Tingwu's face as she reached out her hand: "I can try."

The stray cat-finding business hadn't fully opened yet... but it seemed she could take on her first job helping a house cat find its human.

As for payment, she'd figure that out after finding the "lost silly human." She certainly wasn't going to work for free.