"What a drag. The only thing that they know is to promote their stupid miracle water and scam innocents! I can"t possibly extract any useful information out of them." Zhao Yao held on to a thin strand of hope as he went around asking for information. Instead, he was greeted with glares and condescending glances.
Zhao Yao swept his head around and noticed two middle-aged men with their heads lowered as they pretended like ordinary pa.s.sers-by. Zhao Yao had already noticed their presence since 10 minutes ago. They were blatantly stalking him all this while.
Suddenly, Zhao Yao"s ears gave a slight shudder as he made out a distinct conversation amongst the white noise.
"Have you seen that fool?"
"Which one are you talking about?"
"The one who has been walking around and yet refuse to buy anything. One look at him and I already know that he is a fool."
Disappointment sagged through Zhao Yao as those hurtful words pierced his heart, "Which a*shole is scolding me behind my back?" c.o.c.king his head sideways, he saw four cats lying on the top of an orange-bricked wall as they dangled their paws in Zhao Yao"s direction.
Evidently, these cats were clueless that Zhao Yao could understand every single word they uttered which explained their impudent behavior.
A maroon Dragon Li slid Zhao Yao a derisive glare before continuing, "Everyone, take a good look. If you want to scam, always look out for fools like him. Now, open your eyes and watch the expert do it. With this skill, you will not starve for the rest of your life."
The remaining cats nodded their heads in admiration as the maroon Dragon Li gracefully leaped towards Zhao Yao"s calf. His first strategy was to rub his furry body against Zhao Yao.
A contemptuous smile appeared on his face as he muttered, "Can you guys see? The majority of humans will simply succ.u.mb to my cuteness and affection. They won"t even bear to take one step away from me."
"Hmph!" The cat"s speech was like G.o.d"s words as the rest nodded their head violently.
The thought of brus.h.i.+ng this obnoxious cat away crossed Zhao Yao"s mind as his lips curled in disgust.
Suddenly, the orange Dragon Li collapsed to the ground with his belly facing skyward as he broke out in a series of meows.
"Look closely. Remember to maintain eye contact to exert some sort of pressure on the human. Swing your paws gently and prepare for your next move. Sticking your tongue out can also add a few bonus points."
"Take a look! He is already squatting next to me. This is half the battle won!"
"From then on, I will simply lure him to the shop …"
Halfway through his grandiose speech, Zhao Yao had already grabbed him by the neck before disappearing into the corner of the street, leaving the three remaining cats dumbfounded.
"What happened?"
"I don"t know! Are we supposed to catch up with him?"
One of the cats stretched his paw out and stopped the rest from acting, "Don"t you understand? This is all part of the plan! Now, our master will receive months of free lodging, food, and water without working at all! He will return when he is sick of that sedentary lifestyle!"
Meanwhile, the two middle-aged men immediately gave chase the moment they noticed Zhao Yao"s disappearance. However, they could not find him despite combing through the entire area.
Actually, Zhao Yao had already brought the irksome Dragon Li to a secluded corner of the district before summoning Dust Ball out. By combining Dust Ball and Elizabeth"s power, he had successfully tricked the Dragon Li into his belly.
When the Dargon Li regained consciousness, he found himself in a mysterious place with a gang of cats surrounding him. That same man stood amongst the cats as he stared viciously at him.
"What happened?"
"Where am I?"
"Who are you?"
Zhao Yao gave a mirthless laugh before replying, "You don"t have to worry about that. It"s my turn to ask the questions. You might or might not leave this place depending on your answer."
The cat seemed indifferent to Zhao Yao"s words and simply raised his shoulders in a half shrug before saying, "I have no idea who you are, but I suggest you let me go if you don"t want Chuan Xiao District hunting you down."
"I guess I"m left with no choice."
The Dragon Li never expected this man to defy his words as he exclaimed, "Wait, you can talk to me …" An ear-splitting shriek had already interrupted him before he could finish his sentence.
Following the scream, the Dragon Li noticed an American Shorthair dragging Lucifer out from the corner of his eyes. A trail of blood followed closely behind Lucifer"s lifeless body.
Lucifer"s body was covered in scratches, bruises, and every possible wound. However, a sly grin remained on his face despite the severity of his injuries.
A s.h.i.+ver ran down the Dragon Li"s spine when he saw this astonis.h.i.+ng scene. His heart pounded rapidly against his chest as he muttered, "What is this!"
Suddenly, another ear-splitting shriek punctured the silence as the Dragon Li swept his head towards Gaia, who had both his paws slammed against the keyboard. He began screaming at the top of his voice, "Let me play one more round! Just one more minute!"
Bao Zi and Sausage grabbed each of his limbs before dragging him down, "Get down now!"
"Both of you, get lost." With bolts of electricity s.h.i.+mmering in his fingertips, Uncle Egg had reached his paw towards Gaia before pressing his index finger against his forehead.
"Alright, bring him away."
One jolt of electricity instantly knocked Gaia unconscious as he began foaming at his mouth while his body shuddered violently. Bao Zi and Sausage immediately ran over to bring him away.
The Dragon Li"s jaw went slack as he observed these scenes. Panic a.s.sailed him while fear paralyzed his body. His eyes were glued to Zhao Yao as he gestured towards the Sphynx Cat trapped within the cage, "Do you see that one over there? He was rather naughty when he first got here, but he improved after I ripped off every single strand of fur from his body."
Zhao Yao said all these while maintaining the genial smile. In the cat"s eyes, this was the smile of the devil! Fear hit him like icy water as his body began trembling. He even began to shed his fur as the entire ground was coated with maroon fur.
Zhao Yao nodded his head contentedly at this sight. He only brought the cat here to collect some useful intel about the place. A cat was still an easier target than most humans.
With all the preparation works completed, Zhao Yao opened his mouth and asked, "Tell me your name."
The Dragon Li struggled to open his mouth before replying, "Zhao Si."
"Zhao Si, I have already gained a basic understanding of the situation within Chuan Xiao District. I know that you are a smart cat so I am offering you a wonderful opportunity to cooperate with us. Tell me, what do you know about this place."
With his head buried in his chest, Zhao Si told Zhao Yao the entire story, "Everything is controlled by Old Cat. We are just p.a.w.ns in his eyes, forced to do whatever dirty job he wants us to. We cannot afford to rebel against him …"
Based on his description, Chuan Xiao District used to be your ordinary, run off the mill village until the day supercats were awakened. From then on, everything changed.
Firstly, it was Old Cat. He was the oldest cat in the village and was brought up by an elderly man. According to rumors, he was even older than Zhao Si"s grandfather"s grandfather. At least half of the cats in the village were related to him by blood.
Since awakening, he had been abusing his power to cheat every one of their money.
However, there was a finite amount of money to scam in small villages like this. Hence, Old Cat began to dispatch his subordinates out to lure more people in. His tactics ranged from phone scams to internet scams as throngs of supercats and apostles fell into his trap.
With Chuan Xiao District at his fingertips, the entire district had turned into a huge fraudulent organization. Everyone was forced to scam people in order to appease Old Cat.