Catwoman was certain she had been tricked; otherwise, no normal person would turn into a cat.

Just moments ago, while hidden in the ventilation duct, Catwoman mysteriously transformed into a black cat. All her equipment became unusable—since she was a cat, clearly, her physique was mismatched.

After assessing the combat abilities of Robin and the unfamiliar girl below, she chose to temporarily avoid confrontation. Her bomb plan had been doomed the moment Robin appeared — it seemed like Batman had also arrived, talk about bad luck.

Even though cats are natural hunters among animals, she didn’t think a real cat could face Robin head-on.

Now, she lay atop a factory roof in a corner, lifting her front paw to look at it, only to find that her classic curse words had turned into “meows.”

Okay, this is Gotham, anything can happen, okay…

So, among the people present, who had turned her into this?

Robin? The brown-haired girl? Or Batman, who had yet to appear?

— The unfamiliar girl seemed the most suspicious. Catwoman had dealt with them for a long time, and they didn’t seem like the kind of people to resort to such methods.

Oh, heavens, who’s the genius punk who came up with the idea of turning Catwoman into an actual cat!

She fluffed up in a fit of impotent rage for a while, then got up, intending to go back and confront that brown-haired punk. But while Catwoman was rolling around, she noticed that the wispy clouds in the sky had changed—

Bathed in the faint moonlight, the dark clouds formed a sentence: [You need to become a great cat.]

Catwoman was stunned for a moment, then the clouds returned to normal, and the moon hid among them, as if everything she saw was an illusion.

She got up, running on all fours to another factory roof. A line of ants marched by. Now possessing the vision, smell, and combat instincts of a feline, yet still able to see a variety of colors like a human, the ants suddenly formed a line of text: [You are good enough, but have never done anything for Gotham.]

“Meow! (Who are you? You’re lying!)” she scratched long marks on the tiles in irritation, “Meow— (At least I haven’t made it worse. Politicians harm Gotham, but criminals protect it. Isn’t that ironic?)”

The ants reformed into a long line, and the abrupt illusion disappeared again.

She felt anger and unease, once again convinced that someone from the mystical side was messing with her—

Hiding in the shadows, daring to use magic only in the dark!

Catwoman jumped down from the rooftop, wanting only to leave this accursed place. She leapt to the ground, splashing water, and the droplets in front of her formed shiny characters—

[I am the 【Cat Medal】, only awarded to outstanding cats, but you’re not yet qualified]

[This is a reward, a blessing, not misfortune—become a little cat who contributes to Gotham, help everyone who needs help, then you will master this power.]

The frozen droplets fell back, splashing ripples. Catwoman’s pupils shrank, her tail stiffened straight, ready for combat, but there was no enemy in sight.

Some strange and powerful magician had turned her into a cat, and the way to break the spell was to “become a little cat that contributes to Gotham.” Gross!

As for the latter part, “achieving the goal to master the ability to switch between cat and human states,” she didn’t need that. Rather than rely on powers given by strange magicians, she trusted her own strength, the abilities she had gained through training!

— Gifts from mystical folks often came with a price she couldn’t afford to pay!

It was time to leave this place. She could find someone else to break the spell!

Catwoman sniffed the air and instinctively scratched the ground. Her whiskers twitched, a flicker of unease crossing her mind.

Suddenly, she leaped up, and the next second, where she had been standing was overrun by rats. Still unfamiliar with using her limbs, Catwoman bounced against the wall, scraping it weakly twice, failing to hook onto the moss—something she could have done with her equipment, which she no longer had.

Catwoman, now a complete cat, fell into the pile of rats.

Since gaining power, she had rarely mingled with these dirty little creatures—

“Hi,” a strange girl came around the corner. Rats crawled over her feet, she was one with these little guys, she said, “I’ve caught you.”

Sheila AKA Rat Catcher had caught the troublemaker who broke her vase—

A rat had caught a cat.

*

【You have completed the side quest “Catwoman’s Hostility · Bomb!”】

【The “Cat Medal” has a high compatibility with Catwoman; she is indeed recognized as an outstanding cat by the public, so she should be a real cat. Now, that Catwoman has been turned into a cat, can she pass the “Cat Medal” test? If she passes, she will gain the power of the medal, which is a gift, but only given to qualified cats.】

【For a short time, Catwoman won’t be able to do anything to stop you, exercise your rights, Madam Mayor】

【You have completed the side quest “Second Investigation”】

【Miss Officer, you have successfully prevented a crime, Interrogation skill level 1】

【Current Skills: Interrogation lv2, Shooting lv1, Close Combat lv1, Case Solving lv1 (Your case-solving skills will slightly improve after solving a case), Motorcycle Skills lv2 (You seem well-suited for this motorcycle)】

【After submitting the results of this task at the police station, [Bella Bettywen]’s personal reputation will receive a slight boost.】

【First successful case solved, you have activated daily tasks】

【Daily Task: Case Investigation】

【This daily task can be repeatedly completed. During the process, your skills will be trained, and upon completion, you will receive a random skill level-up】

Both tasks completed, yay!

Currently, Vivi had a daily task of posting on Twitter and another for case investigation, each for earning money and leveling up the skill tree, respectively. Although many skills were not immediately useful, it was still worth it to keep leveling them up.

So, now it’s time to run!

While Catwoman was questioning her life, Vivi was already figuring out how to escape.

If Police Officer Bella rushed into Black Mask’s stronghold with a gun, blazing away, it would be seen as merely her acting rashly and being skilled, but if the Mayor did the same, it would seem bizarre, and people might suspect the Mayor’s account had been hacked.

So, what actions suit what identity, Vivi was very clear about that. “VV” as an identity is equivalent to having no identity, so she could do anything!

But now, she was about to leave. Having just discovered a way to level up Bella’s tasks, Vivi couldn’t resist going on a mission… So, how to escape under Robin’s watchful eyes?

“I think Catwoman might have escaped through that ventilation duct while we weren’t paying attention…” Vivi pointed at the vent with an implied meaning.

If you chase her now, you might still catch the cat. Go on, Robin!

Tim looked at her, then at the pile on the ground: “So, she stripped off her clothes and even abandoned her weapons for the sake of light movement when she left?”

Vivi gave him a deep look and tossed the remote control to him: “She also left this behind, the little gadget that triggers the bomb.”

Tim skillfully caught the remote control between two fingers to avoid accidental activation.

But by doing so, he had to raise his pinky.

Vivi: “?”

Seizing the opportunity, she said: “Then I’ll leave the bomb to you, vigilante. To defend Gotham, I have other work to do! Bye—”

She said this while retreating, like a naughty little cat who knows it’s done something wrong but faces its owner with utter confidence.

Not just confident! Also proud!

Tim slowly and heavily sighed: “Wait.”

He pulled out three hundred dollars from his pocket — all the cash he had on him.

Vivi hesitated: “…You carry money when you go out to fight crime?”

“I planned to buy a burger after finishing the job,” he said. “But I think you need it more, like to buy a pair of shoes.”

Vivi silently stared at the three banknotes, not reaching for them immediately: “I don’t need to give anything in return, and you just want to give me the money?”

“Yes,” Tim ventured, “but if I say… I hope you don’t get involved in these things anymore, don’t touch any magical items or encounter danger, just be an ordinary person—”

Vivi had already retreated to the door. She pushed it half open to hide her face and said fiercely, “You’re asking for too much!”

Tim shrugged: “So I won’t ask for anything. Go buy a pair of shoes, and, try to stay safe.”

Money offered on a plate…

Vivi hesitated for a moment, then pulled the three banknotes from Tim’s hand: “Next time I see you, I’ll bring you a burger.”

The door closed again.

“You should have taken her with you,” Batman’s disapproving voice came from the other end. “We all know what C will do to her.”

“Yes,” Tim said. “But she wouldn’t have agreed, I’m sure.”

On this matter, Tim and Batman had different opinions. He could see the light in Vivi’s eyes when she talked about “protecting Gotham,” so even if he told her this path might not be right, she wouldn’t believe it.

The door suddenly cracked open again, and Vivi peeked out with one eye, saying, “Thank you.”

Then she closed the door again.

The three hundred dollars quickly transformed into coins, but because the amount was so small, the change in the coin count on her personal panel was only single digits. So actually, she was much wealthier than Tim thought.

However, this was the first time Vivi had received money for doing nothing.

This meant—

She probably had a great talent for begging, huh!

Look at that cute, sweet, perfect skin, eyes, lips, and brow bones—she took three and a half hours to create such a perfect face in the character customization!

She reached up and grabbed her hair, pulling out a tracker stuck between her strands, then reached behind her back to remove a leaf-shaped eavesdropping device, crushing it and throwing it into the trash.

If it weren’t for the initial equipment’s clothing style and color being too simple, Tim would probably have more surveillance tools to choose from.

She needed to retrieve the [Stray Animal Rescue Sign] and change her identity to claim the reward.

Vivi jogged to the corner, confirming there were no other characters on the map and all the cameras were broken, then jumped up on the spot—

Light danced in her eyes, like twinkling stars.

Her fingers, stretched as much as possible, brushed past the ventilation duct, not at all like Bella, who could easily grab it. The 20cm height difference was quite noticeable.

Vivi: “…”

Why didn’t she create a two-meter-tall beauty in the first place!