1083 Liberator (1/2)
Zhang Zian was a little lost. If the missions to command the North, South, East, and West were all given out, only the Central area was left. Could it be asking him to command the Central? It sounded cool, but there was definitely something wrong. He wasn't a freakin' cat!
He'd been through a rollercoaster of emotions, from getting scared sh*tless when he thought he was going to follow in the Holy Cat statue's footsteps, stamped into the ground, his life snatched from his bare hands… After being spared from imminent death, he was glad to return to the pet shop safely. What else could he possibly want?
Vladimir cocked his head, rushing him. ”Landlord, rich farmer, counter-revolutionary, bad-influencer, Rightist. Choose one.”
Zhang Zian nearly vomited blood. ”None of the above! None of those has anything to do with me, okay? I've been poor all my life, and I was born into a good family! If you want me to choose from these options, I'd rather go die!”
”Hahaha! I'm just joking!”
Vladimir laughed loudly before schooling his expression back to neutrality. ”Actually, I had wanted to appoint you as our communicator to facilitate the communication between us and humans,” it said. ”In general, the purpose of that is to tell the humans our needs and wants and to tell us the difficulties and considerations that humans have in order to prevent misunderstandings due to the language barrier and the difference in our stances. Are you willing to take up the role?”
If all cats could talk and express their happiness and their pain, humans would definitely treat cats a lot differently. Even though this was impossible, if someone could express cats' wants on their behalf, it would be a good enough compromise.
Zhang Zian knew that it wasn't joking and that this was a very important mission. Vladimir had only asked him because it trusted him. His job would directly affect the relationship between humans and strays and would play a huge role in determining whether the conflict would worsen—or maybe one day escalate into war.
As a member of the humans, he didn't want to see something like this happening. The moment that war was declared, it would be futile for cats to try and defeat the very-well-armed humans.
After a moment of thought, he slowly, determinedly answered, ”It would be my honor to.”
Vladimir nodded in approval. ”I trust you.”
After that, its mouth spread into a wide smirk. ”But just calling you communicator doesn't sound good. I have to find you a good position. Otherwise, those cats that have never seen you before won't know who you are, and that will be an obstacle to our work.”
That was true. Many of the cats here had never seen Zhang Zian and didn't know who he was. Even the name ”Zhang Zian” held no meaning for them. But if he had an official position, they might be able to better understand.
Zhang Zian perked up, thinking that for once in his life he would be able to enjoy the perks of sitting up high in an organization. Was he going to be Director of International Relations? Even if it was a Director of cats, he could still say ”Don't say that we didn't warn you” righteously then.
Vladimir gave it a thought before finally saying, ”Zhang Zian, I officially nominate you as the President of the Strategic Fooyou Agency”!
Zhang Zian didn't say anything.
It explained, ”I heard about this position on TV, and it seemed really amazing. I think it really suits you. What do you think?”
Zhang Zian sighed, convincing himself that it was just a name and therefore no big deal.
”Alright, I agree.” He accepted begrudgingly.
Vladimir hopped off the wall, walking toward him and putting a paw out. It wasn't clenched into a fist. Instead it was extended out like a human shaking hands.
Zhang Zian paused before grabbing onto the paw.
”From now on, we are comrades!” It looked into his eyes, smiling.
Zhang Zian's heart skipped a beat. ”Comrade” held a very different meaning for Vladimir than for Richard. To be called a ”comrade” by Vladimir felt like an exceptional honor.
Right then, his phone rang.