Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Although Vladimir understood Zhang Zian’s concerns, he did not think it was something to worry overmuch about.

  In recent years, perhaps due to the rapid changes in climate, there were plagues in many cities across China. These disasters were caused by caterpillar outbreaks and happened in cities such as Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Huizhou. Guangzhou was the hardest hit. It was the epicenter of the caterpillar outbreak, with cases happening every one-to-two years.

  The outbreak of insects often had no warning. During the summer and autumn, a common torrential rain could trigger it.

  Unlike insect pests in the general farmland areas, the insect pests in the city did not greatly affect grain production. In addition, it was rarely prioritized by city officials. Even if it was reported, it was also in the corner of the news page and was often ignored.

  However, because the city was a highly populated place, insect pests could cause great inconvenience to people’s daily lives.

  At its most severe, trees were covered with insects and worms crawling all over the ground. The leaves were all gone, having been eaten by all those insects, much like a locust storm invading the area. Pedestrians tried their best to avoid walking under these trees. Those whose occupations did not offer them this luxury, such as those cleaning the streets, traffic wardens, and delivery drivers, were simply unlucky.

  At present, according to the information observed and learned by Zhang Zian, the coastal city ticked all the pre-requisites for an impending outbreak of insects. When the next rain fell, it will be hard to predict what happened next……

  He thought about it silently. As he saw the pedestrians and vehicles around him getting sparse, he found a place to park before getting out of the car to assemble the drone.

  He did not dare let the drone fly freely in the urban area because it might mistakenly enter some sort of restricted area, such as the location of a government agency, and then he might be mistaken for a terrorist. Thus, it was better for him to only assemble the drone once outside the city.

  The drone was needed because Vladimir was not aware of the specific location of the stray dog army, and the southern suburb was a large, sprawling area. The stray cats’ line of sight was completely outdone by the taller stray dogs, meaning that they would not be effective in finding them. Thus, to speed things up, they needed to go higher. If not, they would probably have to search until at least the Year of the Monkey.

  During his trip to Egypt, Vladimir understood how big the drone was. It was like an eagle flying over a large area. It could see everything within the scope of its camera. Whether it was used to find enemies or to flee from one, it was a trustworthy tool, completely irreplaceable. Thus, Vladimir waited patiently by its side.

  “All right, all done.”


  Zhang Zian completed the assembly with ease and started the drone with the remote control. He set it to “follow” mode so that the drone always hovered over the Wuling Hong Guang MPV whilst in the air.

  The drone roared as it soared into the sky.

  The human and the cat re-entered the car, and Zhang Zian fixed the remote control on the dashboard like a navigation phone. This made it convenient for viewing at any time. The Wuling Hong Guang MPV continued its journey south.

  A slightly damp and hot wind blew in from the open window. It messed up Zhang Zian’s hair, and Vladimir’s fur fluttered in the wind.

  After leaving the city of high-rise concrete structures, the flat and vast suburbs provided a welcome alternative. Their vastness had a similar effect on one’s world view. The wind managed to somewhat lighten the tightness that had built up in Vladimir’s chest over the last two days.

  Vladimir poked his head out the window, squinted, and glanced at the drone in the air. The loyal drone, named after the falcon god Nahkbet, followed them, and its silver shell shone against the sunlight.

  From the screen of the remote control, the already large Wuling Hong Guang MPV had become a slow-moving millet grain.

  Vladimir sighed and sang softly whilst giving himself a beat:

  “Travelling through the city in a small car—”


  “The river flows eastward—”


  “The eagle spreads its wings—”


  “Accompany me to fight—”


  “The Meow Meow generation will surge forward—”


  “Going forward along with me—”


  “Going forward along with me—”


  “To smash the leaders of the stinky dogs -”


  “The vast lands are good and great—”


  “Good and great!”


  “.……” said Zhang Zian. Although Vladimir had changed the words of a famous Chinese riddle, it made sense in the current context.

  Anyway, there was nothing going on. Might as well let him sing and join him.

  “Travelling through the city in a small car—”


  “The river flows eastward—”


  “The eagle spreads its wings—”


  “Accompany me to fight—”


  Even in the suburbs, there were traffic lights on individual roads. Sometimes when waiting for the lights to turn green, other drivers parked next to them looked curiously at Zhang Zian. They were wondering what time it was—how could there be people singing this old revolutionary song at this time of the day? It was fine to sing it, but why change the lyrics? Had it not been a familiar melody known by many, they might not even be able to make out what song it was.

  Most importantly, the singing was simply horrible! Was there no sense of shame in this person’s heart?

  A man with a tone insufficiency, crying out non-stop, plus a screaming half-gray and half-blue cat. The man and cat seemed happy in their own world.

  Zhang Zian didn’t care. No one knew him here. He might as well take the opportunity to show off his singing skills and save the money on going to a KTV.

  As he sang in his off-tune pitch, he temporarily put the threat of insect damage behind him. After all, it was only a possibility, not a confirmed disaster.

  As the car continued southward, it finally arrived at the outer suburbs of Binhai. Here, even low-rise buildings were rare, and there were large areas of wilderness and fields everywhere.

  As they were not on the main road, there were few cars around, and road conditions were not ideal.

  Zhang Zian and Vladimir, who sang wholeheartedly throughout their journey, finally stopped to catch their breath and stopped the noise pollution.

  “Look over there!” Vladimir pointed with his front paw at the corner of the remote-control screen. “That is a team of dogs patrolling!”


  Dog patrol.

  Zhang Zian first observed the vehicles in front, then those at his rear, before slowing down. He then looked at the screen.

  Indeed, the lens edge of the drone captured a group of dogs walking through the field. However, they did not seem to notice the presence of the drone.

  Yet dogs were considered social creatures. It was normal for dogs to gather and help one another whilst living as a group. Could they not just call this a patrol, then?

  “Follow them and see where they are going and what they want to do,” Vladimir said.

  Zhang Zian had the same intention. Although the drone had broad vision, the world was huge, and they should not blindly search for clues.

  He turned the steering wheel, left the flat main road at the next fork, and turned into the undulating slip road.

  With Nahkbet observing from the sky, he could follow the dogs from far away without worrying about being discovered. He also did not have to worry about losing them. After all, even if the road conditions in the country were terrible, they were no worse than those he experienced in the Sahara Desert. Tall parallel sand dunes and quicksand traps that could appear at any time were much worse elements to deal with.

  There were several small settlements of houses and warehouses up front, and several cars parked nearby.

  The team of dogs stopped and looked around. When they noticed that there was nothing around them, they sneaked in and disappeared.

  Zhang Zian and Vladimir looked at each other and had the same thought: We will find out what you all are up to!