Non-Humans Want to Fall in Love Too [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 1

“It is indeed top-quality goods,” a voice remarked.

The black cloth covering the iron cage was lifted, and piercing lamplight suddenly flooded in. The tiny, fiery-red fox inside the cage let out a cry. Its crimson fur shimmered with a satin-like luster under the light.

In the very next second, someone kicked the cage violently from the outside. The little fox retreated, shrinking into a corner.

“Shut up, you brute!” The one who kicked the cage was a burly, middle-aged man. A short, thick, hideous scar on his forehead made his face look even more repulsive. However, when he turned to look at the man in the suit beside him, his expression instantly shifted into a fawning, flattering smile. “President Chen, look at this specimen today. Look at this coat and this appearance. This is a rare, top-tier find!”

Inside the cage, the fluffy little fox raised its head. Looking out through the bars stained with rust and dried blood, it met the gaze of a well-dressed young man whose eyes held a streak of cruelty.

The young man pulled out a cigarette and held it between his lips. The scarred man obsequiously leaned forward to light it. The man then crouched down and exhaled a smoke ring toward the cage, watching with satisfaction as the little creature huddled in the corner, motionless as if paralyzed by fear.

“It is indeed top-quality goods.”

What is going on? Shi Yan, who had just finished an S-rank mission and intended to take a vacation, was completely bewildered.

“61, where is this?” Shi Yan scanned his surroundings and quickly calmed down. Instead of acting rashly, he called out to his portable system in his mind.

A mechanical stuttering sound echoed in his head. Two seconds later, a clear, youthful mechanical voice rang in Shi Yan’s ear: “Host, 61 is here!”

61’s mechanical voice paused for two seconds with human-like hesitation. When it spoke again, it carried a very realistic sense of panic. “Host, how did we enter a mission sub-world?”

Shi Yan was not surprised. He simply thought: As expected, we are no longer in the Main World.

Shi Yan retorted, “If you do not know, how would I? I woke up and was already here.”

The previous mission world had been too bloody and violent. After returning to the Main World to submit the mission and settle the accounts, Shi Yan had planned to rest for a while. However, as soon as he lay on his bed and closed his eyes, he opened them to find himself in this strange place. His preliminary deduction was that this was a sub-world similar to the ones he had experienced before.

Shi Yan looked down to inspect himself. He had actually turned into a fox, specifically a fiery red one.

Shi Yan conversed with System 61 in his mind: “Connect to the Main System and send a dialogue request. Search for the Main World signal to establish our location.”

“Understood, Host,” 61 replied. It operated at high speed but returned whimpering after less than two seconds.

61 had set its own voice to sound like a young boy, making its crying sound even more pathetic. It sobbed to Shi Yan, “Host, I cannot contact the Main World, and the Main System is not responding.”

Hearing this, Shi Yan was not surprised at all. “I see.”

He had guessed as much. After all, if a living person went missing in the technologically covered Main World, they should have been searched for with full force, and his system should have been contacted immediately. Since there was not a single message, it either meant the Main World was suffering a bug so severe they could not even look for him, or he had been forcibly disconnected from the Main World for some reason.

Clearly, the former was impossible. That left only the latter. In the blink of an eye, he had been dragged into a strange sub-world, and the high-dimensional link between the Main World and the system had been severed. This entire situation reeked of strangeness.

However, Shi Yan was in no hurry. Panic would not solve anything. For now, he could only take things one step at a time.

Seeing Shi Yan so calm, 61 stopped whimpering. It flew two circles in the void, observing the environment. “Host, have you been captured? Should we find a way to escape first?”

“Observe for a while. I am not in danger yet.”

As Shi Yan spoke, he carefully curled himself up. He was not very used to using a fox’s body, but he first made sure to protect the vulnerable belly and tail. Immediately afterward, the cage was lifted.

The scarred man carried him and draped the black cloth back over the bars. Based on the sounds, Shi Yan gathered they were following the young man outside. Even through the black cloth, he could feel the environment getting brighter and the noise growing louder.

“61, share your vision.”

“You got it, Host!”

61 opened vision sharing, allowing Shi Yan to see the outside world through the system’s perspective. The scarred man and the young man were walking down a long corridor, talking as if no one else were around. The scarred man smiled at the man walking a step ahead of him. “President Chen, I am telling you, those noble madams and young ladies out there cannot handle bloody scenes. If you ask me, we should skin it clean backstage before sending it up.”

The young man, holding a cigarette between his fingers, curled his lips into a smirk. “Do you think the women who can make it here are innocent and pure? They have probably seen more blood than you have.”

The scarred man paused for a moment, then quickly caught up as if nothing had happened. “Yes, President Chen is right. I was overthinking it.”

As the two walked past an open area filled with the scent of blood, Shi Yan looked over. He clearly saw many cages identical to his own, as well as animal pelts hanging on the walls.

61’s system phantom trembled in fear, its voice shaking. “Host! Those are all freshly skinned animal hides! They are actually running such an illegal business! Host, we must find a way to run away!”

Taking advantage of the black cloth covering the cage, Shi Yan quietly stood up and stretched his body. Suddenly, he felt something that startled him.

“This body,” a hint of surprise flashed across Shi Yan’s features. “Is it actually a fox demon?”

“What?” Hearing this, 61 immediately flew over to perform a full-body scan. “Wow, really! I thought it was just a regular fox.”

Having crossed into this unfamiliar world without a mission briefing or inherited memories, they were effectively operating in the dark.

“Since it is a fox demon, things will be easier.” Shi Yan quietly mobilized the demonic energy within his body, intending to escape first. “61, pull up the floor plan of this place and map the shortest route.”

“The one inside there, I want it,” a cold, indifferent male voice rang out. Accompanied by the sound of rolling wheels, the speaker gradually approached the spot where Shi Yan was.

This unexpected development halted the two men’s footsteps and interrupted Shi Yan’s plan.

At that moment, System 61 spoke abruptly, its voice turning into a cold, rigid, emotionless mechanical tone that made Shi Yan freeze. “Massive energy detected. System is analyzing. Analysis complete. Special mission detected. Host, do you accept the mission? Completion will grant a portion of energy as a reward.”

Through the system’s vision, Shi Yan saw a man in a wheelchair approaching. A faint white glow shrouded his body. Based on the reactions of those around him, this light was invisible to the people of this world. Only Shi Yan and the system could see it.

Shi Yan frowned imperceptibly, and the demonic energy he had gathered was quietly retracted. What is the situation now?

Shi Yan was naturally cautious. Faced with such an unprecedented situation, he wanted to ask 61 for details, but now was clearly not the time. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind and focused on observing the people outside.

Hearing the voice, the young man turned his head impatiently, ready to curse out whoever was being so arrogant. But the moment he saw the person’s face, his legs went weak, and he nearly dropped to his knees.

“Oh! So it is President Ji. What brings you to my humble establishment today, President Ji?” The man extinguished his cigarette, and his tone became much more formal. His attitude was respectful and polite, and the smile he squeezed out was both genuine and awkward. “Have you taken a fancy to some good stock? Just say the word, and I will make the call to give it to you directly.”

Because of the drastic change in this man’s attitude, Shi Yan took a few more looks at the person in the wheelchair. President Chen, who had just been acting arrogant, was now acting incredibly submissive. Yet the man in the wheelchair remained calm; his expression did not flicker in the slightest.

It seemed this President Ji held a significant status.

Ji Shijin’s complexion was paler than that of an average person. Sitting in his wheelchair, he was as motionless as a lifeless corpse, yet no one dared to underestimate him. The scarred man holding Shi Yan’s cage straightened his body the moment he saw the wheelchair. His nervousness was palpable.

The young man stepped forward, bowing as he introduced their premium items to Ji Shijin with a fawning attitude. Ji Shijin, however, did not give him a single glance. He gestured toward the back, and a man in a suit, who had been standing behind him almost invisibly, stepped forward and reached out toward the young man.

“President Chen, I am President Ji’s assistant. President Ji has taken an interest in the one in your hand. Please name a price.”

President Chen moved his lips, looking troubled. “This is difficult.”

Seeing him not responding, the assistant frowned and was about to repeat himself when Ji Shijin raised his hand, cutting off the conversation. His gaze fixed directly on the cage wrapped in black cloth as he calmly commanded, “Open it.”

The assistant took a step forward, standing precisely diagonally in front of Ji Shijin. He positioned himself between the man and the cage to protect him without blocking his line of sight. An ordinary person would not notice, but Shi Yan saw through it instantly. He realized this was not an ordinary staff member; this person showed signs of professional combat training.

The young man looked at the assistant in front, then cautiously glanced at President Ji in the wheelchair. Seeing his firm expression, the young man could only sigh.

“Since you have put it that way, President Ji, then let us open it.” The young man turned and waved at the scarred man. “Unveil it quickly. Let President Ji see the goods.”

The black cloth covering the cage was removed. Shi Yan flicked his ears and looked out, meeting the eyes of the man in the wheelchair. In the reflection of those eyes, Shi Yan saw his own image. He was a red fox with a body of pure fiery crimson. Only the tip of its tail and its forehead had a few dark brownish hairs. It looked no different from a common red fox, except its coat was more beautiful and pure.

Seeing that Ji Shijin remained silent, the young man felt uneasy. “President Ji, it is not that I am not giving you face, but you might not know that this is the star item for today’s auction. Everyone was notified in advance, so it is hard for me to break my word. How about you look at the others? I have some other top-quality stock here. Perhaps one of them will catch your eye.”

Ji Shijin raised his hand, putting an end to the rambling. He tilted his thin, pale chin slightly. “I want this one.”

Though he was speaking to the young man, his eyes remained fixed on the red fox in the cage, not sparing a single glance for anyone else.

Receiving his orders, the assistant subtly led the young man to the side. “President Ji likes this one. Please name your price.”

The young man knew he had to make this deal whether he wanted to or not. He forced a smile and began his sales pitch. “President Ji, you truly have an excellent eye. This is new stock caught just today. You see, its fur is redder than a typical red fox, and there is not a single stray hair on its back. This is a rare, pure red pelt. Look at this luster. It is all-natural.”

His words implied that the price for this red fox would not be cheap. Ji Shijin had no intention of listening to the young man’s words. He maneuvered his wheelchair directly to the front of the cage, looking at the red fox at close range.

Shi Yan flicked his ears and took a slight step back, perfectly playing the role of a wary, ordinary fox.

Ji Shijin watched him in silence. It was impossible to tell if he was satisfied or not. After looking for a while, he suddenly spoke: “Five hundred thousand.”