Zhao Yao let out a huge yawn.
He very much wanted to slap the fat cat seated in front of him.
"d.a.m.n it. I forgot about those stupid loyalty points."
He pressed the home b.u.t.ton on his phone. It was now five in the morning. The last hour could have been spent on sleeping, but it was wasted thanks to Matcha"s hara.s.sment.
"Stupid cat. Now I only have two hours left," he grumbled to himself.
He took a look at Matcha from the corner of his eye, then turned to him, crossing his legs.
"Let"s continue this conversation tomorrow?" he suggested.
Matcha looked at him with bright green eyes. "No, we need to talk now. I can"t sleep."
Zhao Yao returned his look with a death glare. "Can"t you just let me sleep for now? I have to wake at 7.30."
Matcha"s expression grew even more bitter. He opened his small mouth and started singing again.
"All by myself~ Don"t wanna be all by myself anymore…"
Matcha"s Loyalty -1
"What the - ?" Zhao Yao cursed.
Sighing heavily, he sat up straight and rubbed his face, trying to stay awake.
"Alright, alright. Point taken. What"s going on? What do you need?"
Matcha placed his white paws on Zhao Yao"s thighs and looked up at him with desperation.
"I really, really, really like Qian Qian. I"ve never liked a cat so much ever! What should I do?" the ginger cat asked earnestly.
Zhao Yao pursed his lips, "C"mon, you don"t really like her, do you? You just think she"s attractive."
"Plus, I"ve already imparted to you my skills. Just keep practicing. In a few months, you"ll be able to beat that fatty and take Qian Qian up the leaderboard. She"ll love you to death," he added.
"But...but I lost today," Matcha said sadly.
He blinked his large eyes a few times at Zhao Yao, "Is there a simpler solution?"
"No," Zhao Yao responded in a deadpan voice, "You lost because you haven"t practiced enough. Just practice more and you"ll win one day."
Matcha"s Loyalty -1
Zhao Yao"s lips formed a tight, thin line as the loyalty points took another dip.
"But look at my hands!" Matcha complained, stretching his paws, "I"ve been working hard every day! If I keep it up, all my lovely fur is going to fall. They"ll end up bald!"
Zhao Yao could not help but roll his eyes.
"You just want to skip the hard work to get the girl and jump straight into the mating, don"t you?"
"Hehe, that"s not true," Matcha laughed, embarra.s.sed, "We should still spend the time to get to know each other. Maybe lick each other"s fur for a start."
"Idiot," Zhao Yao thought, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Whatever, let"s just get this over with so I can get some sleep."
He grabbed his phone from underneath his pillow and flipped through Princess Qian"s photos. After a few quick looks, he used Elizabeth"s powers to craft an illusion that fitted Matcha"s needs.
"Here you go, Matcha."
The ginger cat gaped at the sight before him. A beautiful cat with luscious long hair and a sweet face had appeared on the bed. She was lounging on a pillow, a soft, s.e.xy glow radiating off her.
Princess Qian was here.
When she lifted her paw to her lips and started licking them indulgently, Matcha could not contain his excitement. His bushy tail shot upwards like a lightning rod and he rushed forward.
Beyond the illusion, Zhao Yao could see that the beautiful cat Matcha was humping enthusiastically was just a cus.h.i.+on.
Matcha"s loyalty went up by a point each time his body tremored.
Three seconds later, a s.h.i.+ver ran down Matcha"s body as he flopped on top of the cus.h.i.+on. A blissful look crossed his face.
Matcha"s Loyalty +10
"Seriously? That was worth ten points? Geez, who would have thought that being a wingman was the fastest way to bond?" Zhao Yao scoffed, looking at the panel.
Matcha"s points had risen back to the maximum of one hundred points.
"Alright, I still have two hours to sleep. Don"t bother me," he said.
Matcha did not respond. He remained motionless, eyes shut, completely relaxed.
It took a mere moment for him to open his eyes again. There was no longer a trace of desperation or sorrow in them. Instead, they were full of fire, energy, and just a touch of disinterest.
He shook his head.
"That was disappointing. Definitely not as mind-blowing as I expected. I don"t think I need a female companion after all."
He was experiencing absolutely clarity in his thoughts now. The longing he felt before had disappeared completely. His adoration for Princess Qian had dissipated too.
"Hmm, that was stupid. I am George Matcha, sole descendant of the Jiangmen Folds, the almighty savior of all cats. How could I have wasted so much time chasing some cat?"
He pursed his lips. "I don"t need a female in my life. I just need my phone. Speaking of, I better make up for lost time."
With that, he switched on his phone and started playing Mobile Legends. He was still battling when the sun started to rise at dawn. That was also when Princess Qian sent him a private message.
"Luban oppa, whatcha up to?"
Matcha was completely unconcerned.
"Too bad, princess, I"m not interested. You can"t tempt me ever again."
He turned back to Mobile Legends and never replied.
That morning, a flurry of events was taking place in another building in the city.
Lin Chen hurried down a corridor that was cordoned with barricade tape. He entered the room that he was called to. The floor was covered in footprints and paw prints.
"Captain Lin," a member of the team called out to him.
He was a slightly chubby man.
"The neighbors called the police at around ten in the morning. The door was unlocked. There should be five people and 32 cats here. The people are unconscious and the doctor is not sure when they will come to."
"Unconscious?" Lin Chen asked, stroking his chin thoughtfully, "I believe a British Shorthair named Fatty Bombom stayed here for a while."
"Yes, the family that lived here used to breed British Shorthairs. A few of the cats were awakened after the incident," the chubby man explained, "The owners were never ambitious. We registered them as civil servants so that they could get a nice paycheck and benefits every month. They didn"t ask for more or stir any trouble. They just continued running the cattery as usual."
"Oh, they just opened a cat cafe too," he added.
Lin Chen nodded silently. A square-jawed man standing beside him spoke up.
"Putting people in a coma is Sun Meng"s modus operandi. I"ve told you time after time that she was a threat, but you never listened. We"ve got to capture her and put an end to this nonsense," he said solemnly.
"I admit that we"ve underestimated her," Lin Chen looked the man in the eye, "Help me out here. Why is she attacking this cattery and her fellow apostles?"
The square-jawed man returned Lin Chen"s steely stare.
"Sun Meng can control a person"s dreams. She has to enter the dreamscape to do that. Spending too much time submerged in it might have stunted her mentally. She"s not quite normal anymore."
"Okay, but based on your previous intel, she can only control the dreams of one person at any one time. So what"s happened here? We"ve got five people down."
"I"m not sure. Her power could have evolved. She could have somehow learned to combine a few different powers. We know she has two more supercats. She was hiding that from us when we last interviewed her."
As the two men continued the discussion, the phone in the chubby man"s hand started to ring.
"h.e.l.lo?" he started.
"Kirin Cat Cafe was. .h.i.t as well? Everyone is unconscious?"
"Yes, I understand."
"Captain Lin," he looked to Lin Chen.
Lin Chen glanced at the square-jawed man, then walked out the door before the chubby man had to say another word.
"Let"s go."