With the effects of gravity kicking in, all five supercats and the items floating around in the extradimensional belly fell to the ground instantly.
At the same time, Zhao Yao"s voice erupted in all their ears, "I will reward all of you with another present for completing your first mission!"
Two cat litter boxes which Zhao Yao had intended to throw away were transported to the container within the belly. These were the cat litter boxes which Zhao Yao had used temporarily in the café before the automatic self-cleaning litter boxes arrived. Now, he had finally found some use for them.
"That"s great! We finally have our own toilets! We no longer have to worry about our s.h.i.+t and urine floating all around us!" Gaia dashed towards it with its eyes flickering with excitement. The four other supercats also nodded their heads in agreement.
They were increasingly satisfied with the accommodation that Zhao Yao had provided them with. Now, they had their own toilets, gravity, food, water, and even a phone that would not run out of juice.
Zhao Yao finally heaved a sigh of relief after satisfying their needs. He then proceeded to his computer games with a peace of mind.
"I can finally concentrate on my work."
As lunchtime approached, the afternoon crowd started streaming into the café.
Because of yesterday"s sudden closure, many customers came forth and enquired about the situation in the café. However, Zhao Yao, s.h.i.+ Yu, and Baiquan tactfully evaded their questions and directed their attention somewhere else.
With the café"s booming reputation, the number of customers in the café had grown to the extent that there were insufficient cats to go around the customers.
s.h.i.+ Yu noticed this situation and approached Zhao Yao and whispered into his ears, "Zhao Yao, do you think that there are too few cats in our café?"
"Too few?" s.h.i.+ Yu"s question caught Zhao Yao"s attention. His eyes swept across the room as he scrutinized the situation in the café.
Currently, there were only twenty-odd cats in the café. However, there were always at least 30 to 40 customers at any point in time.
Even though there was sufficient s.p.a.ce within the café, there were insufficient cats to go around all the customers.
Zhao Yao nodded his head as his eyes continued to survey the café, "The current situation is still bearable since not all who come are interested in playing with the cats. But I will visit some pet adoption centers and adopt a bunch of stray cats back to our café."
As compared to pedigree cats, stray cats were in desperate need of a shelter. Furthermore, Zhao Yao"s monthly mission was dependent on his net profit for the month. The cost of pedigree cats was too much for him to bear, which would not be ideal for Zhao Yao.
Most importantly, Zhao Yao knew that his compet.i.tive edge over other cafés stemmed from his supercats" abilities.
Suddenly, Yan Xiao Qing, a regular customer of the café, crept towards Zhao Yao with her eyes fixed on Rick Cake who was fast asleep.
Today, she was not here alone to play with the cats. She also brought her straight As roommate, An Xin, along.
The pet.i.te An Xin immediately sat on a chair with all her attention focused on her college a.s.signment. She had such a diminutive stature that her feet couldn"t even touch the floor when she sat on the high stool. However, she was extremely serious about her work, and none of the cats in the café managed to distract her, not even when their bodies brushed against her legs.
Yan Xiao Qing stared at Zhao Yao with her puppy eyes and begged using her most pitiful voice, "Please, may I touch this beautiful beige Scottish Fold?" To disguise Rice Cake"s appearance, Zhao Yao even cast an illusion on her and coated her with a beige skin.
Zhao Yao observed Xiao Qing"s sincere expression and relented. He glanced at Rice Cake which continued to sleep even when she almost suffocated to death and nodded his head, "You can touch this cat but never stuff your finger up her nostrils."
Xiao Qing"s eyes lit up instantly. She eagerly reached out her hands and carefully caressed the fur on Rice Cake"s spine. She pressed her ears against Rice Cake"s belly and could make out the faint snoring. The corner of her eyes crinkled and she commented, "Boss, she"s in a really deep sleep! Is it because of her trust in the surrounding?"
After a while, Xiao Qing was no longer contented with touching Rice Cake"s fur. Her fingers traced along her body and she started caressing Rice Cake"s tiny paws.
Rice Cake rolled over her body, and her legs gave a gentle twitch. However, there were no signs of her waking up anytime soon.
Matcha was standing on the floor while Xiao Qing was busy playing with Rice Cake. Matcha tried to attract Xiao Qing"s attention by rubbing his body against her legs and letting out a few meows. Because he won the previous month"s Cat"s night, he was also coated with a skin enchanted with Zhao Yao"s illusion.
"Oh, it"s you!" Xiao Qing lowered her head and noticed Matcha at her feet, "I"m currently playing with the new cat in the café! I"ll come and play with you later!"
Xiao Qing started ma.s.saging Rice Cake"s tiny head, and a thought flashed across her mind, "Why do I get the feeling that the new Scottish Fold"s ears are more natural than the old one?"
Matcha stared at Xiao Qing with a look of disdain and thought, "Such a b*tch! She"s only interested in the new cats in town. Furthermore, how are Rice Cake"s ears nicer than mine? My ears would cost at least RMB 30,000 while Rice Cake"s ears would cost at most RMB 3,000." With the thought lingering at the back of his head, Matcha started circling Xiao Qing"s legs and continually rubbed his body against her legs.
Xiao Qing burst into laughter when she noticed this amusing sight, "Alright! Alright! I"ll play with you!"
Zhao Yao spent the rest of his time on his computer games and interacting with the customers. Meanwhile, Rice Cake was still enjoying her beauty sleep on Zhao Yao"s table.
After a while, the doorbell rang and in came a middle-aged bald man.
s.h.i.+ Yu glanced at the person who just entered the café and was taken aback, "Inspector Ho? Why is he here?"
The person who had just pa.s.sed through the doors was s.h.i.+ Yu"s superior, Inspector Ho. He too froze on the spot after taking one step into the café. This was the first time he experienced the soothing sensation of Celestial Beats.
He looked as if he was deep in thought before he started was.h.i.+ng his hands and donning the shoe covers. He then took a seat opposite Zhao Yao.
"Zhao Yao!"
Zhao Yao turned his head and took a glance at Inspector Ho before resuming his game. He replied nonchalantly, "Inspector Ho, what brings you to my café today?"
Inspector Ho"s nostrils flared and his mouth set into a hard line before he asked, "Were you responsible for what happened to Ho Hao Cang?"
Zhao Yao was as cool as a cuc.u.mber and replied, "What happened to him?"
Inspector Ho"s gazed continued to be fixed on Zhao Yao. He wanted to see if there was any sudden change of expression on Zhao Yao"s face.
Unfortunately, he did not notice any tinge of fear, nervousness or apprehension in Zhao Yao"s eyes.
Zhao Yao seemed as lost as a 12 years old kid.
The higher ups already had a hypothesis as to what happened to Ho Hao Cang.
Based on the fight in the old town, the testimony given by Hao Cang"s subordinates and the evidence left behind at the crime scene, they hypothesized that Hao Cang had failed to capture earthquake cat. However, he managed to locate Isabella and retrieved the earthquake cat which she had hidden in Zhao Yao"s café. After a furious battle, Isabelle, Ho Hao Cang, and butler Xia had all disappeared. (Hao Cang and butler Xia"s bodies disintegrated after Nekomata used his powers)
Ho Hao Cang had been identified as the traitor to the country after his attack on Lin Chen and his team. They had listed him as one of the most wanted fugitives in China. His subordinates were either in prison or executed.
At this stage, only Ho Hao Cang"s family was still investigating the matter secretly. The officials had concluded the entire investigation.
However, Inspector Ho had a hunch that Zhao Yao had something to do with this incident. Inspector Ho believed that things were not as simple as they looked.
Inspector Ho looked at the bewildered expression on Zhao Yao"s face and replied, "It"s nothing." He started laughing and scratched his bald head, "Your café is really very comfortable. What is this power? This is better than a sauna!"
"This is my power of ma.s.sage! For a man your age, I"m afraid you should not spend too much time here. Your body might not be able to handle it!"
"I"m alright! Why not you concentrate your power on one spot and let me have a good rest!"