Cat A is also an Alpha! Chapter 33

 

She didn’t understand the strange feelings she was experiencing at the moment.

 

The vodka added to the ice water seemed to have a strong kick.

 

But the mermaid looked very uncomfortable, so she moved her fingers to undo those two buttons.

 

She pretended to be calm and muttered, “How can the largest size still be so tight?”

 

As she kept talking, the burning sensation on her face slightly eased.

 

Fortunately, after unbuttoning, the shirt became a bit looser. Although it was still restrictive for the mermaid, at least it didn’t look as uncomfortable anymore.

 

Shu Tang helped him straighten out his clothes and instructed the mermaid how to take them off.

 

Then she jumped down from the washstand, hurriedly ran upstairs.

 

The mermaid maintained the same posture, tilting his head in confusion.

 

After a moment, he followed her leisurely.

 

Shu Tang hid under the covers, waiting until she heard some noise behind her.

 

She immediately reached out and turned off the bedside lamp.

 

Darkness enveloped the room.

 

She let out a small sigh of relief.

 

She wrapped herself tightly in the blanket, like a cicada chrysalis, leaving the mermaid no choice but to wrap her along with the blanket into his arms.

 

It took her a long time before she peeked out at the ceiling, listening to the familiar heavy breathing sound, not knowing why, the heat on her face did not subside for a long time.

 

She fell asleep in a daze.

 

Perhaps because she had things on her mind, she got up at six the next day.

 

In the kitchen, she walked around the mermaid in her slippers, listening to the weather forecast while gauging his reactions.

 

“Little Rose, won’t you come out with me?”

 

The mermaid paused in his steps.

 

Before this, the mermaid was filled with uncertainty and anxiety about whether she wanted him to stay, so he stubbornly stayed in his own world, hoping Shu Tang would stay.

 

This nearly binary obsession stemmed from a strong unease.

 

However, after talking on the rocks that day, the monster’s wary and cold scrutiny slowly disappeared.

 

In the daily routine of eating, drinking, and listening to the radio together, they found a long-lost sense of calm and pleasure.

 

Shu Tang told the mermaid about her plans to move things back and attend meetings, then quietly observed his reactions.

 

She thought convincing him would be the hardest part of the plan, but to her surprise, the mermaid easily agreed.

 

She turned off the radio, and because the weather forecast predicted rain, they also brought along that broken umbrella.

 

Finally, Comrade Shu Tang was ready, and the two of them headed outside.

 

*

 

At 7:30 in the morning, the patrol officers and therapists of Zone 01 were already on duty. They were chatting in small groups in the rest area, with the conversation focusing on the new intern transferred from the emergency department.

 

However, before they could move on to idle chatter, a shocking scene unfolded.

 

The psychic energy monitor suddenly dropped to zero—indicating that Subject 001 had left the restricted area.

 

This familiar scenario had also occurred half a month ago.

 

The relaxed atmosphere of the morning suddenly became tense.

 

But before Chen Sheng could rush back and issue any orders, he received a text from Shu Tang.

 

Chen Sheng’s anxious expression calmed down for a moment.

 

Then he told everyone, “Disperse, it’s nothing.”

 

People in the rest area exchanged glances.

 

But Chen Sheng just directed a few trusted individuals to the monitoring room and hurried away.

 

Mainly because—

 

How could he openly admit that Shu Tang said she took the Founding Hero for a walk?

 

Chen Sheng tried to stay calm on the road.

 

But he couldn’t.

 

A bunch of people crowded into the monitoring room.

 

After reviewing the surveillance footage: they found that the two really went for a walk.

 

The evidence was that they first strolled around the flower beds, then turned and headed to the supermarket.

 

Everyone looked at each other.

 

So, to intervene or not?

 

Intervening might seem like meddling.

 

Managing everything under the sun, even someone’s casual stroll?

 

*

 

On the rainy day, the sky was overcast.

 

The supermarket at Cape Sanatorium was large, and since it was now working hours, there were only a few hurried therapists inside.

 

Accompanied by a flash of lightning, a torrential downpour began.

 

The cashier and the customers complained about the weather in South Island City.

 

Suddenly, in the midst of the heavy rain, a tall figure with a blue broken umbrella appeared.

 

The cashier turned stiffly, and the customers froze in place.

 

About half a month ago, there was a commotion caused by a mermaid’s psychic powers at a forbidden place. Although all the videos were deleted at the time, numerous witnesses were present. News about the event was suppressed outside, but people within the institution continued to discuss it secretly.

 

Thus, the terrifying rumors about a “Rainy Night Butcher” at Cape Sanatorium spread far and wide, with details becoming increasingly realistic—including a blue umbrella.

 

The entire supermarket seemed to fall into a deathly silence.

 

Everyone thought they were about to meet their ancestors.

 

It wasn’t until something bulging from under the monster’s coat emerged—it was Shu Tang.

 

She complained, “Why is this umbrella so small?” and then, pulling the mermaid along, she walked towards the supermarket, passing by the crowd frozen in place—

 

Dragging the main character of the ghost story straight to the discount section.

 

The mermaid slowly closed the umbrella, trailing behind Shu Tang.

 

Shu Tang paused, turned her head, and instructed the monster to hang the umbrella outside.

 

She said to the terrifying monster, “Manners, we need to have manners.”

 

The cashier was stunned: Oh my, she’s actually talking about manners with the Rainy Night Butcher.

 

After a moment, the monster, quite politely, really did hang the umbrella back at the entrance.

 

Shu Tang, pulling him along, reached the discount area. She noticed everyone’s gaze, but Shu Tang was in a hurry, not paying much attention: the discount ends at eight, and it was ten minutes to go!

 

Fortunately, in a rush, Shu Tang managed to put the discounted vegetables into her shopping cart before eight o’clock.

 

Thus, everyone heard Shu Tang discussing with the legendary Rainy Night Butcher about balanced meat and vegetable diets and nutritional equilibrium.

 

Others shivered: What, even when eating people, should we add some bok choy and green vegetables to the pot?

 

Shu Tang had the mermaid push the shopping cart and went with him to the umbrella section, buying two new umbrellas, one blue and one red.

 

—And then the cashier suddenly realized that the deadly umbrella of the legendary Rainy Night Butcher was exactly the same as the ones sold in their store.

 

Shu Tang noticed the mermaid staring at the plastic bags.

 

Shu Tang explained, “Plastic bags are for holding things, not for eating.”

 

As she walked, Shu Tang explained to the mermaid what packaging was.

 

The intelligent mermaid, with a thoughtful look, glanced at his own clothes.

 

—This was the “packaging” that Shu Tang had wrapped him in.

 

Noticing the mermaid’s gaze, Shu Tang: “…”

 

The mermaid was still wearing the ill-fitting shirt today. Shu Tang helped him unbutton two buttons, making it less tight, but she still noticed the mermaid occasionally furrowing his brow and looking down, trying to loosen his clothes.

 

So, the most important task today was to buy some well-fitting clothes.

 

The mermaid let her put a brand new bag over “him.”

 

—Although she didn’t quite understand why he absolutely needed a bag.

 

But Shu Tang said the purpose of the bag was to make it easy to take away.

 

She believed this was part of Shu Tang’s process of packing “him” up to take away.

 

So, the mermaid was very cooperative afterwards.

 

He neither tried to struggle nor showed a frowning face; he even stooped to her height and leaned his head forward proactively.

 

After much comparison, Shu Tang finally bought suitable clothes. Realizing the mermaid hardly had any clothes to change into, she bought three sets of the same size and put them in the shopping cart.

 

Next was the food section.

 

Shu Tang was eyeing the top-shelf semi-prepared mushroom soup bag, a ready-to-eat item after heating. Her eyes lit up, but when she reached for it, she realized she was too short. So, she tugged at the tall mermaid’s hem, signaling for “him” to help her get it.

 

But the mermaid mistook it for something like hanging curtains.

 

So he easily lifted her up onto his shoulder.

 

Suddenly, the overlooking Shu Tang and the silently watching customers exchanged looks, wide-eyed.

 

Shu Tang: “……”

 

If it were in the forbidden area, it wouldn’t matter, as Shu Tang was used to sitting on the mermaid’s shoulders.

 

But with everyone around, it felt embarrassingly like being paraded through the streets.

 

Shu Tang was somewhat socially awkward, but not to the extent of a social terrorist.

 

She immediately bent down, sneakily asking the mermaid to hurry and carry her away to escape the scene.

 

When they reached a corner, she swiftly climbed down.

 

Shu Tang didn’t know that she was striking and dazzling even without being lifted — especially with that unusual, mutant appearance.

 

Everyone watched her pulling the tall, nocturnal butcher through the aisles, accompanied by murmurs, and then buying a bunch of snacks.

 

Finally, she even stopped the nocturnal butcher in front of the ice cream freezer.

 

Shu Tang hadn’t eaten ice cream for a long time because this snack was an absolute luxury in the Federation. She checked the flavors, not finding the one she liked, glanced at the price, and reluctantly put it down.

 

The nocturnal butcher paused, looking at the ice cream Shu Tang had put down.

 

The big shopping trip finally ended.

 

All members of the supermarket survival side quest successfully survived one hour.

 

As the two of them went to checkout, they approached the cashier.

 

The cashier was a young man with a weak constitution, who in that moment thought he was about to meet his great-grandmother.

 

Shu Tang and the tall dark figure explained: “To buy things, you need to pay.”

 

On a rainy night, the butcher with dark eyes slowly shifted his gaze onto the cashier.

 

The cashier, trembling, stretched out his hand and hastily placed all the money on the counter, raising both hands:

 

“Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me! Take all the money!”

 

The mermaid looked down at Shu Tang.

 

Shu Tang, who had just mentioned that one must pay when buying things, was speechless: “…”

 

Shu Tang took out her wallet, realizing that the young cashier was too shocked to respond, so she reluctantly scanned the code herself and paid.

 

“Next time I’ll buy colored contacts.”

 

“And another pair of ears.”

 

“We’ll just say we are both cosplaying whenever we meet people.”

 

She and the mermaid murmured to each other as they left.