The same night, a congregation took place in the remains of an abandoned factory.
A ma.s.sive man packed with bulging muscles was there. He was wearing a tight pink singlet, his shoulder-length hair pulled into a tiny plait.
The most jaw-dropping about him was not his unusual sartorial choices, but the truck that he was lifting over his head. Arms raised, he did a squat, then got back up again.
Each ragged breath that left his lips was a great rush of air. The cement beneath his feet was beginning to sink from the weight.
The man kept going until he reached a hundred squats. He let out a roar and threw the truck through the air. It landed dozens of meters away, where it flipped multiple times before coming to a stop.
"G.o.dd.a.m.nit! It"s useless!" the man cried, punching the wall next to him with one large fist.
He created a gaping hole in the plaster.
The muscle man was the Sphynx"s first apostle. In the Muscle Society, he was second in rank only to the cat. His strength was insane, along with his obsession with training and bulking up.
He was known as the Butcher.
Even though he started training at almost the same time as the Sphynx, he had since grown far stronger. After all, the human body naturally had more potential for development than a supercat"s.
The Butcher persisted as the strongest member of the Muscle Society since its inception.
The commotion he caused drew the attention of three more muscular men. They emerged from the shadows quietly and closed in on the Butcher.
"Our Sphynx has been missing for a week! I"ve not grown any stronger for one whole week! When can you find him?" Butcher demanded, nostrils flaring with rage.
A man dressed in a short, black bathrobe stepped forward.
"Boss, we"ve looked through the surveillance footage from the battle. The a.s.sailant wasn"t captured on tape, probably because he can turn invisible. That might have been how he escaped."
This was the man in black who sneaked up on Zhao Yao during that fateful encounter.
The Butcher"s eyes softened as he turned to the man.
"Black Robe," he addressed him, "What about the six rascals? Have you managed to reach them?"
He was referring to Fit Bro and his cronies.
Black Robe shook his head gravely. "The police are on their tail. I dare not contact them now."
"Good. You did the right thing," Butcher said, "We cannot afford to make the authorities our enemy."
He looked from Black Robe to another equally muscular man. He only had on a tiny pair of short, so his huge biceps and washboard abs were on full display. Each inch of his body was glistening with oil.
Butcher looked him up and down appreciatively.
"Champion, any news on your end?" he asked.
The well-oiled Champion giggled and lifted his pinky finger in the air.
"Well, I"ve checked out what Fit Bro and his gang were up to before they disappeared. They followed the plan closely. They were going after the district cat kings in Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Avenue. Oh, they covered Jiangmen University as well. Fit Bro might have been captured by one of the apostles in the districts. I"m sure we"ll find them if we go through each one."
"That makes sense. Let"s do it," Butcher agreed, eyes narrowed in determination.
He smashed his right fist into his left palm, which produced a loud boom.
"Once we catch whoever"s behind this and rescues the Sphynx, we"ll let him have a true taste of pain."
The congregation of muscular men looked at each other and smirked.
They then broke into a fit of giggles.
A few nights later, Zhao Yao was back in his neighborhood"s public park. He let out a yawn as he s.h.i.+fted on the long bench he was lying on.
Zhao Xue was a short distance away, sparring with an imaginary King George.
This was how he had been training his sister. He would compel the Sphynx to lend her his power, then he would conjure an illusion of King George to train her.
Zhao Yao watched as she threw a punch at King George. The two met in mid-air, where Zhao Xue unleashed a kick in the cat"s direction. Her moves were precise and powerful, but King George managed to subdue her with a kick of his own.
The rumble carried on for a while longer before Zhao Xue asked for a timeout. She was panting heavily, her face flushed and dripping with sweat.
It was a terribly high-intensity workout that threatened to knock the breath out of her.
Zhao Yao"s gaze swept from the top of her head to her feet, then back up again.
"Well, she"s definitely gotten stronger. Does this mean she"ll grow visibly muscular next time?" he wondered.
Images of female bodybuilders flashed through Zhao Yao"s mind.
"That looks pretty good. I"m sure Zhao Xue will be happy with her new physique," he nodded to himself.
Zhao Xue did not leave immediately after the session. A troubled look weighed her face down. Her eyes kept darting to King George. She kept opening, then closing her mouth, as if she wanted to speak but could not find the right words.
Zhao Yao watched her with concern. Having grown up with her, he was familiar with that expression. He knew something was up.
"Alright, that"s it for today. We"ll continue tomorrow," he spoke through the illusion of King George.
Zhao Xue sighed as she watched the cat king"s retreating figure.
"This sucks," she muttered.
It was obvious that Zhao Xue wanted him to elicit a response from him, but he was not giving in.
"I have a match in a while. I must not stay," he thought, hastening his footsteps.
"Must pretend that I didn"t hear that."
Unfortunately, Zhao Xue had grown to be more agile than he was. She caught up with him in a flash.
This time, her sigh was even louder and more dramatic.
"G.o.d, I can"t even sleep at night," she whined.
Zhao Yao pursed his lips. There was no getting away.
"What"s happened?" he asked helplessly.
Zhao Xue did not need to be told twice.
"I keep fighting with my girlfriend recently. I don"t even know why it"s happening! Every little thing sets me off. I"m afraid that we"ve reached the end of the road..," her voice trailed off.
Technically, her voice did not trail off. Zhao Yao just tuned her out completely. He yawned from time to time, bored out of his mind. Her last statement caught his attention though.
"Do you think I could be bis.e.xual?"
"What?" Zhao Yao/King George violently whipped his head around to face Zhao Xue.
He chose his next words very carefully.
"I heard that," he started cautiously, "Multi-plug adapters, well, wear out more easily because it keeps changing. I think we should aim to be a bit more stable."
"But my heart no longer beats like it used to when I"m with her," Zhao Xue admitted regretfully.
"I hate this feeling," she murmured.
"Zhao Yao, you better put your sister on the right track before she sinks deeper," he thought to himself, "But how? Girls her age so rebellious nowadays. Geez."
He hid his face behind his palms, deep in thought.
"Of course, I don"t know much about this," he tried again, "I can only tell you what I heard."
He swallowed.
"You need a power plug and a power socket to create electricity. Only power strips have both plugs and sockets and look how dangerous their lives are. They"re completely exposed to the external environment, so they"ll easily be in contact with water, which is life-endangering. If you stick too many plugs in them, they might overheat, you know? It"s just not ideal."
Zhao Yao wished he could melt into a puddle and disappear when he saw the glare his sister had shot him.
"I don"t mean any offence. I just think that normal power sockets last longer," he murmured awkwardly.