The System Mistook Me for a Cat

The arrival of the flock of Red-rain Falcons brought a bit of trouble to the ranch, but the issue wasn't significant.

Chu Tingwu announced this matter in the restaurant.

However, Professor Mi had a different opinion: "Aren't these rare national first-class protected animals a great promotional tool to bring economic benefits? Their 'annoyance' certainly doesn't outweigh the earnings."

Chu ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‍Tingwu retorted: "So I should put up a fence by the lake and charge admission fees for visitors who come to see them? Sell tickets, you mean?"

This... this is absolutely not allowed!

Rather, the city's Forestry Bureau hoped that Chu Tingwu would allocate a larger area for this uninvited flock of birds. They had already been quite polite, not even requesting that the ranch be temporarily closed to visitors.

... It might also be because the joint contract had already been signed, making such a suggestion unsuitable.

Chu Tingwu also felt it was unsuitable, primarily because she believed the bird-watching tickets wouldn't sell.

"In this day and age, birds without any special skills, just carrying the title of a national first-class protected species, won't attract many visitors, right?" Chu Tingwu said to the Red-rain Falcon in her hand.

This Red-rain Falcon had completely regarded her as a plant. Upon hearing this, it only tilted its head in confusion and slowly moved its buttocks, adjusting to a position facing away.

Chu Tingwu casually tossed the uncooperative little bird aside.

The Red-rain Falcon flew up in surprise and then landed among its flock, chirping and discussing with them how it had encountered a grumpy vine.

Chu Tingwu: "=="

These protected birds didn't know the extent of their activity range. Rather, their food consisted of insects and microorganisms in the water. Therefore, once their food was exhausted, they would expand their foraging range or even fly away.

Chu Tingwu had to attend an online international meeting for these uninvited guests.

The interest in this flock of birds wasn't limited to the government, Forestry Bureau, bird-watching associations, and protection societies that had been alarmed. International organizations tracking their movements had also been caught off guard by their sudden landing.

When all the screens lit up, it was evident that most participants were at home, in well-lit indoor settings. However, only Chu Tingwu's screen had a dark background with just a pair of luminous objects resembling cat eyes hanging in the middle——

Then Chu Tingwu switched on the tent light.

Chu Tingwu: "Sorry, I forgot to turn on the light."

She leaned against a pile of pillows in the tent, holding a cat-paw-shaped cushion, a half-finished bottle of water beside her, as if she were camping.

The strangers at the meeting saw her identity tag: The owner of the ranch.

More precisely, the owner of the ranch where the Red-rain Falcons had chosen to land. A bit too young? But Asians often look youthful.

Chu Tingwu's identity was quickly overlooked as everyone started a heated discussion about the future of the Red-rain Falcons—in reality, they didn't want to interfere too much, even though the birds were very rare and precious.

"But, not protecting, not influencing, and not harming," someone complained, "they landed in an open ranch! There are other animals, even cats, and wild cats nearby can get in! There are also more, many more tourists who don't understand how to protect small animals... Intervening artificially, not just the good parts, but the bad parts should also be eliminated!"

The focus of the discussion revolved around this. The domestic participants seemed to lean towards this idea, though they didn't express it so directly.

Chu Tingwu sipped water and listened. Finally, a foreign expert mentioned:

"Why not close the ranch?"

The Chinese participants all coughed.

The expert hadn't recognized it, but Chu Tingwu hadn't disguised herself. Others had looked up the ranch owner beforehand, so they naturally recognized Chu Tingwu.

The expert seemed to have realized the presence of the ranch owner and searched among the small screens to find Chu Tingwu. Then, he suddenly exclaimed: "Wait, what's behind you?"

The expert noticed something moving behind Chu Tingwu—could it be a wild animal about to attack the campsite?!

Someone quickly switched the speaking order to Chu Tingwu, whose screen immediately occupied the main view for everyone. Then, they saw the girl still leaning against the cushion, half-closing her eyes as she pulled out a... not-very-complete nest from behind her.

The material, the shape resembling half a sea snail, it was a Red-rain Falcon's nest!

... An incomplete version.

A newlywed couple was squeezed inside the nest, curiously poking their heads towards the camera.

Chu Tingwu swore she heard many different tones of "ohhh" sounds, as if cat owners seeing a kitten roll over and show its belly.

Then they realized something was off.

But before they could ask further questions, Chu Tingwu closed her eyes, took a deep breath in exasperation, and lifted the cushion behind her, revealing the construction materials and several half-finished nests between the cushion and the tent:

"I set up the tent yesterday, and they've been busy until now."

This tent was originally for Professor Mi's old friend—set up on a small slope opposite the lake, outside the main activity range of the Red-rain Falcon flock, yet close enough to observe the birds.

The old friend had almost been refused entry initially due to the ticketing issue, as he likely wouldn't have been able to secure a ticket, but the employee passageway was an option.

Chu Tingwu could tell that the person was very excited about the prospect of close bird-watching, but his excitement made him overly cautious, so Chu Tingwu set up the tent as a demonstration:

They won't come over.

And this area is actually frequented by visitors, so there's no problem staying here.

It was just necessary to adjust the program; otherwise, the robots would continually turn up, indicating that it wasn't allowed to set up tents here—

[Please take your tent to the camping area! Please take your tent to the camping area! Please take your tent to the camping area!]

Chu Tingwu left the tent there for a day, and when she returned the next day, she found that the program had already been modified, yet the robot still wandered to this hill.

The robot was picking up trash.

As it picked up trash, it told the "guests":

[Please do not litter again; your littering times have reached 133, and you will be placed on the park's blacklist.]

The angry guests said angrily:

That's a house! That's a house!

Yes, the sanitation robot diligently picked up the nests hidden under the tent by the Red-rain Falcons. The nests, just taking shape, shattered into trash with a single touch, leaving both the robot and the birds furious.

Chu Tingwu: "..."

Chu Tingwu: "That indeed is the little bird's house."

The system explained the issue with species recognition: "I've added a dog poop-picking program to them, and they also advise dogs."

It cheerfully said: "Changed it!"

So Chu Tingwu saw the robot turn around and place the bird nests in the camping area.

Chu Tingwu: "=="

She and Professor Mi discussed that the little birds likely found the area around the tent warmer, suitable for nesting, so they completely ignored the human setting up the tent, boldly building their nests nearby.

"This is still good..." the old friend who came to watch the birds said gloomily, "they've also chosen flower pots and doghouses; the former is better, at least a dog won't grow out of a flower pot."

For such a "paradise" in the ranch, Shao Lingwu regretted not being able to witness it firsthand.

Just a few days ago, Zhou Qiang and the others left the ranch.

Shao Lingwu definitely needed to prepare for the art exam, although with his level, getting into his target school should be easy. As he himself said, he started as a purely amateur hobbyist and needed to catch up on a lot of theoretical knowledge.

As for Zhou Qiang, to prepare for future studies, she decided to return and reorganize the funds in her hands, readjust and invest... she said she had developed a greater interest in investments.

The girl said expressionlessly: "Because I realized that investing in you is very profitable and quite interesting."

Chu Tingwu: “Why don’t you invest all your money in me instead?”

Zhou Qiang: “Let me lose a little, or else I won’t feel the real thrill of investment without some loss.”

Experience is both the journey and the lesson learned.

Chu Xiao was the only one who didn’t need to return to his hometown because here was his hometown. Therefore, he went back to Beijing early to enroll in school ahead of time.

Chu Tingwu sat in her tent at night, calling him: “Is early enrollment fun?”

It’s said that he’s currently attending a preparatory class.

Chu Xiao: “…Compared to tutoring my aunt, enrollment is indeed quite fun.”

Chu Tingwu: “=v=”

Like her friends, Chu Tingwu was also pondering over who should take over the responsibilities of managing the ranch.

Currently, the ranch’s actual manager should be the system, and Chu Tingwu acts as the spokesperson for the system. The highly automated design has reduced the number of staff to an absolute minimum. However, as a result, it seems unsuitable to appoint a “leader.”

She being in charge is the most fitting arrangement.

The screen of the meeting glowed, and more birds flew into the tent.

These little creatures hopped around, jostling for space, and some unceremoniously directly plopped onto Chu Tingwu’s lap. After being pushed away, they merely tilted their heads suspiciously at her, then treated the incident as an “accident.”

Branches swaying in the wind and knocking birds down—isn’t that normal? Even if there was no wind inside the tent.

Although it was an online meeting, on the small screen, everyone managed to create the impression of whispering to each other. Finally, someone cautiously asked:

“Miss Chu, what is the range of activity for the Red Rain Falcon flock on the ranch?”

They had already seen the densely packed trajectories on the data map, but they still wanted to confirm with Chu Tingwu.

Chu Tingwu: “At least they don’t go into the kitchen.”

However, the “Red Rain Falcon plague” had already spread to the breeding area. The poultry breeding had just begun, and the herders themselves raised several adult meat chickens in semi-free-range conditions. Yesterday, they came to Chu Tingwu to talk about the birds stealing chicken feed. Chu Tingwu informed them that these were nationally protected animals, so the birds, which might have been captured otherwise, now received better treatment.

As soon as they saw them, the herders shouted: “Go! Go!”@@novelbin@@

Yes, Chu Tingwu suspected that in a few days, cow hair, sheep wool, and even tourists’ hats might become new decorations for the birds’ nests.

Their activity range was expanding.

But the experts on the other side were incredulous—such proximity would mean the rare animals were always at risk from tourists.

During the conversation, Chu Tingwu even revealed: She had a cat! A very lively, agile, and strong hunter (“She even taught me!”).

When the experts protested, Chu Tingwu first feigned not understanding English. When that didn’t work, she slowly lifted a Red Rain Falcon and placed it on her head, smiling:

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, because I’m just a tree.”

The expert representative huffed: “I’ll come and inspect the situation myself!”

Chu Tingwu: ==

In this day and age, telling the truth isn’t believed anymore.

After all, all the birds thought she was a tree, and there were more birds than people. The birds win.