With their eyes staring intently at Gaia, they saw him fall to the ground and lay motionlessly on the ground.
Fūjin buried in his head in his paws as fear snaked through him. He exclaimed, "D*mn it, don"t tell me Gaia is dead! That"s impossible!"
"How is that even possible?" Lucifer grew fl.u.s.tered as he noticed Fūjin"s reaction and commented, "It"s impossible. King George would never set up a barrier that would instantly kill any cats that cross it."
Initially, none of them expected anything too catastrophic from happening. That was why they agreed on throwing Gaia into no man"s land.
Meanwhile, Ares retained his composure even though his companions were shaking like a leaf. He shook his ears as he carefully a.n.a.lyzed the situation. Finally, he remarked, "There are still breathing sounds coming from Gaia. From the looks of it, he"s also not injured."
With a wave of his small paw, his invisible deflective field had morphed into a giant hand and swooped towards Gaia. Ares scooped the unconscious Gaia off the floor and back to their original location.
The supercats huddled over Gaia"s unconscious body as they hurriedly checked for all his vitals. After a series of inspection, they realized that the cat which lay in front of them was … simply sleeping.
Moments later, Gaia finally woke up from his sleep and Ares rushed over to question him, "What happened? Was there any special sensation when you cross the border?"
Gaia was still in a daze and struggled to reply, "I … I don"t know. Suddenly, my … my vision just turned dark."
Ares seemed deep in thought and nodded his head to Gaia"s words. Then, he raised his paw in the air and Gaia was once again elevated into the air by the invisible field.
Gaia finally reacted to the situation and exclaimed, "What are you trying to do?"
"I"m trying it again."
"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" Gaia struggled with all his might as he exclaimed at the top of his voice, "Shouldn"t Lucifer be the one doing things like this?"
"Hmph," Ares turned his head towards Lucifer and shot him a curious glance.
A brilliant idea sprang into his head as he explained, "Lucifer has the power of extraordinary regeneration. Shouldn"t we use this ability to test out uncharted waters?"
"That is true." Ares propped his chin on his paw and stared in Lucifer"s direction. All the other supercats did the exact same thing.
Moments later, the four remaining supercat grabbed Lucifer by his limbs and raised him in the air.
Lucifer struggled and exclaimed, "Let me down now! If not, I"ll pee all over your faces!"
Bam!
Ares stroked his chin thoughtfully as he carefully observed Lucifer"s body lying motionlessly on the ground. He whispered, "It seems like Lucifer is also unconscious."
This process repeated many times. It would start with Lucifer"s incessant screaming but the screaming would stop the moment his body crossed the boundary as he entered the illusion which stripped him of his five senses. They tried throwing him at various trajectories, but the result remained the same.
Suddenly, Dust Ball"s voice rang from behind as they were in the midst of experimenting a new method.
"The five of you can stop trying already. It"s impossible to leave this place."
Lucifer who had only just regained consciousness also turned his head towards Dust Ball. The five cats turned their heads in unison and noticed a tiny head peeking out from the gaps between the leaves. Dust Ball stared intently at them.
"You are the dark knight! You are King George"s brother?" Ares recognized her the moment he noticed this black cat. He whispered, "Why does this cat sound so girly and feminine?"
Dust Ball simmered with rage when he heard those ill-mannered comments and thought, "Because I"m a G.o.d da*mn female cat." However, she was too lazy to explain everything to them and decided to cut to the chase, "You cannot leave this place. However, if you manage to catch me, I"ll let you return to the Heart of the Village of Dreams and play your computer game."
Gaia fell to the ground and complained, "Didn"t King George say that we can return by simply informing you?"
"That"s Zhao …" Dust Ball instantly corrected her choice of words before continuing, "That"s what the silly King George said. His words have no power to me. There is only one way for you to return - catch me."
Ares sn.i.g.g.e.red, "Who do you think you are? I am …"
"The Fist of the North Star!"
Bam! Invisible ripples erupted from his body and swept across the entire gra.s.s plains. Ares thrust his paw into the air which morphed into a giant hand racing towards Dust Ball.
Dust Ball guffawed at this sight before she disappeared into the bushes.
"Catch it!" Ares roared, "Since we can"t get out, we must capture the gate into the Heart of the Village of Dreams."
The five cats instantly gave chase like a pack of hunting dogs. However, Dust Ball was already long gone.
"Separate and find it. It should not have gone too far."
A few minutes later, a swirl of gas appeared at Dust Ball"s original position. She pranced out of her extradimensional belly with a cheeky smile on her face. She whispered, "Heehee, none of you would be able to catch me."
After sending Roly Poly into his belly, Zhao Yao had returned to his cat café.
It was already the second day since the café reopened for business. Zhao Yao had not even taken a single step into the café but had already noticed the crowd. The café flooded with customers. The first floor alone had close to 50 customers.
It seemed like the customers could not wait to return after seven days of hiatus.
Zhao Yao had just reached the corridor leading to his café when he noticed two girls rus.h.i.+ng towards his café with his superb visual skills.
One of the girls wore an oversized jean, coupled with a baggy t-s.h.i.+rt. She sported a black-rimmed spectacle but her hair was a mess. From the looks of it, she had not showered for the past few days.
The other girl wore a black and white uniform. She was extremely pet.i.te and looked just like a middle-school student.
"Hmph, is this ... Yan Xiao Qing and An Xin?" Zhao Yao squinted his eyes into a line and instantly recognized the both of them. Maybe it"s because they were regulars of the café.
He remembered that Yan Xiao Qing was an average student that never excelled in her studies. On the other hand, An Xin was an all As student who spent all her time in the café with her face buried in her books.
Yan Xiao Qing and An Xin were currently making their way towards the café.
Yan Xiao Qing"s mood plummeted the moment she started recollecting her experience the past week.
Originally, her body had benefited immensely from the powers of Celestial Beats. She even improved in the game, PlayerUnknown"s Battlegrounds.
However, her health plummeted and reverted to the original state after the past week of hiatus. This was what happened when Celestial Beats was taken away from their lives.
Not only did her dark circles returned to haunt her, pimples started popping up all over her face from the midnight oil that she burnt. Her face had instantly deteriorated to an unimaginable state. Yan Xiao Qing could not tolerate it any longer.
"D*mn it, I think I have aged by at least five years over the past week."
Every day, she would come over to the café, br.i.m.m.i.n.g with antic.i.p.ation. However, the workers inside had no idea when the café would resume business and she would leave with disappointment. Her resentment towards the cafe grew with every pa.s.sing day.
She had just learned that the café had finally reopened for business and instantly dragged her friend, An Xin, back there.
Yan Xiao Qing"s eyes beamed with excitement when she noticed the crowd inside. She exclaimed, "It"s finally open." She held An Xin"s hands and literally dragged her into the café.
A smile crept up Zhao Yao"s face as he approached the both of them with a friendly wave, "Hey, it"s been so long …"
However, the two girls seemed oblivious to him and just entered the café, ignoring his wave.
Zhao Yao curled his lips in disgust and mumbled, "Kids these days are really so ill-mannered."
Once they entered the café, their bodies were once again bathed in the soothing effects of Celestial Beats. Her expression was a combination of happiness, relief, and excitement. Xiao Qing pressed her palms against her cheeks and exclaimed, "My pretty face is finally returning!"
An Xin, who stood beside Xiao Qing, started to relax as her body was relieved of all the pressures and tensions. She heaved a sigh of relief and commented, "Finally, no more menstrual cramps. I"m just gonna camp at this place during that time of the month. No one is ever going to kick me out of here."
Zhao Yao followed behind them and rolled his eyes when he heard their comments, "Do you really take this place as a gynecological clinic.
Suddenly, a sweet voice erupted in the café as Xiao Qing exclaimed, "Boss!" It seemed like she had only just noticed Zhao Yao"s existence.
An Xin"s face flushed with embarra.s.sment as she retorted, "Why did you eavesdrop on our conversation?"
"You were the one who announced it to everyone." Zhao Yao carefully put on his shoe covers and continued, "Do not feel embarra.s.sed. This is just a natural biological process and menstrual pains are just a part of it. We are all mature adults and there"s nothing for you to worry about."
An Xin pouted her lips and began screaming in her head, "Mature my a.s.s! You are just a cat café owner. You do not have to worry about my menstrual pains!"
Zhao Yao continued putting on the other shoe cover and commented, "Young girls like you have no idea how to take care of your body. During that time of the month, you still continue eating ice-cream and drinking milk tea. In the middle of the b.l.o.o.d.y winter, you are still wearing that stupid mini-skirt. Obviously, you"ll suffer from menstrual cramps. Spend more time in my café and rehabilitate. Just order some warm water when the pain kicks in."
An Xin curled her lips and responded, "Boss, I"m sure you don"t have a girlfriend."
"That"s bulls.h.i.+t. I"m just not interested in looking for one. For a man of my caliber, I cannot just randomly pick any girl from the streets."
An Xin cursed him in her head, "You are doomed to spend the rest of your life alone."
Meanwhile, Xiao Qing whipped her phone out of her pocket and exclaimed, "Boss, add me on WeChat."
Zhao Yao threw her a disdainful glare and replied, "What are you doing? Don"t just fall for me because of my good looks. How can you be so superficial?"
Yan Xiao Qing retorted, "I"m afraid you might suddenly close the café and run off for a holiday. At least, I"ll be able to contact you and find out the day that you return."
"Oh, that"s why. You gave me a scare." Zhao Yap whipped out his phone and tapped on WeChat, "Just scan my code."
Xiao Qing successfully added him on WeChat and noticed his id "Too handsome for a name" and could not help but rolled her eyes in disbelief. She thought, "How narcissistic is he?" She secretly tapped on his contact and changed his name on her phone to "Elizabeth"s personal janitor".
After bantering with his regulars, Zhao Yao returned to the café to face s.h.i.+ Yu"s barrage of scolding, "Zhao Yao, you have finally returned? Have you enjoyed yourself from your adventures outside?"
Zhao Yao broke into laughter and replied, "s.h.i.+ Yu, do you know what the most important thing of the 21st century is?"
s.h.i.+ Yu was stunned by his question and replied, "Talent?"
"Nope," Zhao Yao acted as if he was drowning in disappointment before continuing, "As an insider, I expected more from you. Obviously, it"s cats. I have spent this time in search of more cats for our café."
s.h.i.+ Yu stared at Zhao Yao blankly and asked, "So where are they?"
Zhao Yao heaved a long sigh and answered, "All the cats are addicted to computer games. It"s so hard to find a hardworking and competent worker."
s.h.i.+ Yu continued, "How about a human helper? When you weren"t around, we couldn"t manage with so many things happening inside the café. At least, hire another person to help out."
"No, I have to keep the costs low. I will be in charge of the waste disposal." The net profit directly affected his experience points earned. Hence, Zhao Yao would stop at nothing to maximize his earnings.