The sound of another gunshot echoed in the air. Rice Packet felt his strength slipping through his fingers. He tried to gather himself together but it was to no avail as he tumbled to the ground.
Somehow, his eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Despite how much he struggled, he just couldn"t keep them open. Suddenly, he noticed a black leather shoe hovering over him as some noise echoed in the background.
"…orange cat …"
"It should be … a supercat …"
"Even though we didn"t manage to find … we still manage to catch … boss should be …"
"…I mean we should be able to fetch quite a good price …"
Suddenly, Red Packet felt an immense force crus.h.i.+ng onto him, rendering him completely unconscious.
Hours later, Zhao Yao found himself standing in the middle of the sewer. He was surrounded by a sea of supercats. All of them were shaking violently and dared not to even make eye contact with this monster.
Once again, Zhao Yao squatted beside that same stray cat and asked, "So are you finally willing to talk now? Where did those two go to?"
The stray cat tried its best to suppress the trembling in its voice and responded, "I am a professional! I will never divulge the whereabouts of my customers!"
Piu! Piu! Piu!
Three jets of water sprayed out of Zhao Yao"s water gun, splattering all over their bodies. Immediately, a chorus of screams echoed down the dark sewer.
The surrounding cats were barely able to breathe as they watched this abuse happen right before their very eyes.
"This devil!"
"How could such an evil human actually exist in our world?"
"Of course not! This guy obviously isn"t a human!"
"Oh my G.o.d! Just look at that devious smile of his!"
Zhao Yao shot the remaining cats a death glare before threatening, "For now, it"s just water. If you do not wish to be drenched with your subordinate"s pee and become the lowest life form around, I will encourage you to tell me the truth already."
"This devil." The cat could hardly believe the words ringing in his head.
Another jet of water splattered across his face as Zhao Yao spoke coolly, "Speak!"
"I"ll talk! I"ll talk! …"
A few minutes later, the stray cat had already collapsed to the ground. He couldn"t believe that he actually went against his own code of conduct. Zhao Yao then led Sphynx Cat and Roly Poly out of the sewage with a frown dangling on his face, "I can"t believe he actually went that far. I mean he is just an ordinary animal from the zoo …"
Zhao Yao knew about Lightning"s story from Hanako. She had adopted Lightning from a local zoo. He had spent his entire life living within the four walls of his cage and had never seen the gra.s.slands.
Hence, this was why Zhao Yao managed to complete his mission when Lightning demanded to return to his home.
Zhao Yao thought about the situation and dismissed the idea of locating them alone. With them all the way at Ürümqi, it was simply too inefficient and too much of a ha.s.sle.
Hence, Zhao Yao whipped out his phone before giving Inspector Ho a call.
"Hey, isn"t this Zhao Yao? Why would you suddenly decide to give me a call?"
Zhao Yao had no time for jokes. He expressed his concern in the most serious tone, "Two of my supercats have gone missing."
A sudden seriousness similarly echoed from Inspector Ho"s voice, "So what are you planning?"
"Help me conduct a search. I have already sent all the relevant doc.u.ments to you. They were heading for Ürümqi." Zhao Yao added, "Both of them are exceptionally weak. Just a few ordinary humans should be able to take care of them. Given the current safety climate, I fear for their safety out there."
Inspector ho rea.s.sured him, "Don"t worry. I"ll immediately contact my colleagues over at Ürümqi. I will inform you the moment I receive any information."
"Thanks. However, I have already made arrangements to go there myself. Hence, just drop me a message if my line is unavailable."
"What? Zhao Yao, I need you to calm down. Just wait for the information on my end. h.e.l.lo! h.e.l.lo!" Inspector Ho stared blankly at his phone"s screen before letting out a mirthless laugh, "This fella." He immediately contacted his colleagues over at Ürümqi and informed them of the situation, "Those two cats better survive. If not, I dare not imagine what Zhao Yao would do …"
Just the thought of it had sent s.h.i.+vers running down Inspector Ho"s spine.
After contacting Inspector Ho, Zhao Yao immediately made a beeline for the airport. He had no time to book a plane ticket and had to infiltrate one of the planes by turning invisible.
In his semi-conscious state, Red Packet felt his entire surroundings shaking and moving. He tried his best to open his eyes and found himself inside a van, lying next to Lightning.
In front of him sat another Pallas"s cat with a devious smile stretched across his face. Obviously, he was up to no good as he scrutinized the pair of them from head to toe, "Oh, are you finally awake?"
Suppressing his fear, Red Packet stared straight at his adversary and threatened, "Who are you? Forget it, you don"t have to tell me that but I"m telling you that you got the wrong cat. This stupid fella next to me and myself belong to an exceptionally powerful apostle. Have you heard of the headless horseman? If he knows about this, I a.s.sure you that this is the last time you set foot on this world."
"Meowhahaha," The Pallas"s cat collapsed to the floor as he bellowed in laughter.
A man sitting in the front row of the van asked, "Sandstorm, are they awake?"
The Pallas"s cat that was referred to as Sandstorm, whipped out his phone as a voice recording echoed inside the van, "Yup, they"re awake. According to that tiny cat, they are both domestic cats belonging to an apostle called the headless horseman. He even told me to release them. Meowhaha! He even threatened me saying that his so-called headless horseman would kill us if we don"t play by his rule."
The front row of the van sat two humans, a driver, and his co-driver. Both their laughter started to reverberate down the vehicle.
"Orange cat, actually you are not our objective. But since we already saw you, I guess you can only blame it on your own bad luck." The co-driver was a huge bald bloke, sporting complete tactical clothing. A huge shotgun lay calmly on his lap. There was even a gigantic scar running down the length of his cheeks. From Red Packet"s angle, it looked exactly like a centipede as it wriggled with his every action.
"Hey, my name is Centipede. From today onwards, I am your owner." With that, he began to finger a strange looking controller in his hand before pressing a b.u.t.ton.
Instantly, Lightning and Red Packet"s ear-splitting screams reverberated within the tiny van. Both their bodies began to convulse violently as agony seared across their faces. Even Lightning was jolted away from this agonizing pain.
Centipede finally let go of the b.u.t.ton as silence ensued. Both cats were struggling to catch their breath as fear crossed their face.
Centipede continued, "The thing attached to your neck is called an electric collar. By pressing this b.u.t.ton, a jolt of current would run through your body just like that." He lifted his shoulders in a shrug before tapping on the b.u.t.ton again.
Immediately, ear-splitting screams started to echo throughout the van as the cats convulsed against the floor.
With a sinister smile stretched across his face, Centipede released the b.u.t.ton and reminded them, "Now, I hope you know who your new owner is."
Lightning was shaking like a leaf as he stared at this monster, this monster that was supposed to be his owner. His eyes were filled with fear and he dared not utter a single sound.
However, Red Packet was not about to go down without a fight, "Listen to me. Go on the web and search for information regarding the headless horseman. He is our owner and you are no match for him! If you release us now, I"ll just pretend that nothing has happened. After all, we haven"t even seen your face yet."
Sandstorm translated Red Packet"s thoughts to Centipede using his phone. Centipede let out a sigh of despair as he shook his head, "From the looks of it, both of you still do not understand."
"Let me make it clear to you. This isn"t Jiangmen City. I don"t give a s.h.i.+t about your owner. He can be the brainless horseman for all I care. When you are here, I am your boss. Understood?" Another wave of excruciating pain swept through their bodies as Centipede continued, "Be a good boy and behave yourself. From now on, I"ll try to help the both of you find a buyer. If you"re lucky, you will be able to enjoy a life 100 times better than before. If you choose to continue rebelling against me, I have no problems selling a dead cat as well. Many people cannot wait to dissect your cute little bodies."
A devious smile finally appeared on Centipede"s face as he watched the two cats trembling like a leaf. The sale of supercats was a lucrative business. After all, the majority of them had powers that were extremely weak, making them easy targets. Furthermore, there was a lack of legislation moderating the market. Hence, the violence in this industry was not something an average man could possibly imagine.