Matcha continued adding insult to his injury, "Kids nowadays are so rebellious. Don"t worry, they will be more mature when they grow up." At this moment, Matcha slipped the white cat a disdainful look, "Roly Poly, why are you so slow today? Faster! Look at all the dirt and dust on the floor! It"s gonna dirty my snow-white paws!"
The white cat, Roly Poly, raised his head meekly before bowing in apology, "I"m so sorry, Mr. George. I didn"t have a good rest last night which resulted in a backache since this morning. I"m so sorry for my tardy actions."
"Useless piece of s.h.i.+t," Matcha scoffed, "Please do not make your problem my problem. Hurry up! I"ll hold you responsible if any of our paws got tainted by the filthy floor because of your tardiness. Do you understand?"
"I understand, I"ll clean everything right away." Roly Poly immediately lowered his head to the ground and continued to drag the giant cloth across the granite floor.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth and her ragdoll family were resting on the couch as they watched Roly Poly getting tortured in Matcha"s hands. Catherine"s lips drew into a nasty snarl as she sneered, "That pretentious little thing."
"That b.l.o.o.d.y traitor. He has grown c.o.c.kier by the day since becoming an informant." Caesar continued, "Elizabeth, you"re one of Zhao Yao"s favorite cats. Try to talk some sense into him. Stop believing in that traitor"s words. The kingdom will collapse if he continues listening to his nonsense."
Elizabeth could only let out a sigh of despair, "This is the result of the incident two weeks ago. Its implications are far more pervasive than I"ve ever imagined. From then on, Zhao Yao had turned brutally cynical. The Zhao household is no longer the same as before. Zhao Yao wouldn"t even listen to my words. Everyone should stay on their toes, especially against that crafty Matcha.
Everything that you do or say will be used against you. Every word that comes out of your mouth should be carefully weighed and deliberated. Even I can"t protect you if you say anything wrong."
Meanwhile, Zhao Yao had focused all his attention on the extradimensional belly.
On the other hand, Is.h.i.+da and Matsuo had just experienced the most boring 14 days of their lives. Each second that pa.s.sed felt like an eternity. They had no internet, no computer, and no phone. Worst of all, they couldn"t even detect each other"s presence.
If not for the timely meals provided, they would have already lost track of time.
Their perception of reality had already been distorted by the past 14 days. All they could do was stare at the dazzling Light of Creation which illuminated 24/7. Humans were truly social beings. One day without any kind of communication could turn an ordinary man crazy, let alone 14 days of absolute solitude.
Zhao Yao took a look at Is.h.i.+da who simply stared blankly at a wall with a silly smile on his face, "Hmph, that ghost still hasn"t revealed his true form, but I"m sure he has almost reached his limit. This is definitely their most vulnerable moment."
With that, Zhao Yao clapped his hands together before summoning for Old Cat.
Old Cat flew over the moment he heard that authoritative voice echoed in his head. His eyes sparkled with antic.i.p.ation as he looked towards Zhao Yao.
Zhao Yao had earned Old Cat"s new found respect since the previous incident. Old Cat had never expected a human to be capable of such ruthlessness combined with clemency. Hence, he would instantly respond to any of Zhao Yao"s call with unbridled loyalty.
Zhao Yao looked towards Old Cat and instructed, "There are two men inside the belly. They are currently at their most vulnerable state. Later, I need you to brainwash them the moment I sent you in."
"Yes!" Old Cat nodded his head furiously and obliged unreservedly. Obviously, he wanted to shower Zhao Yao with more words to showcase his loyalty. However, he could not do so because of the one-word rule imposed by Zhao Yao.
Zhao Yao nodded his head and continued relaying his instructions, "There are two objectives to this mission. Firstly, tell them that I"m handsome. No, tell them that the headless horseman is their friend and not their enemy. Secondly, persuade the ghost to stop hiding. Show himself to us. Do you understand?"
"Hmph," As usual, Old Cat could only respond with the violent nod of his head.
A contented smile crept up Zhao Yao"s face as he replied, "I have confidence in you. If you do it well, I"ll increase the word cap to two words per sentence."
"For …" halfway into his first word, Old Cat suddenly froze with his mouth wide open. Actually, he was waiting for time to pa.s.s so that he could speak the second word.
Matcha"s eyes began to blink furiously, eager to catch Old Cat flouting the rules. With his face pressed towards him, Matcha asked, "What did you just say?"
Old Cat only dared to utter the second word after the countdown had elapsed, "Real?"
"Of course!" A smile tugged at Zhao Yao"s lips before he stretched his mouth wide open and absorbed Old Cat into his belly.
Finally, a new ray of hope had dawned on the two j.a.panese. This was the first time they had met a new cat for the past two weeks. Even more shocking was the cat"s ability to speak.
This was a pleasant surprise for the two men who had not spoken for 14 days. They had never felt that happy in a long time.
They knew that it was a trap. This cat"s arrival was simply a bait to lure them into revealing the truth. However, they just couldn"t stop themselves from opening up to this cat. For once, Matsuo, could be heard and understood.
This conversation lasted for an entire hour before either party stopped for a water break. Obviously, Old Cat had used the opportunity to plant a few ideas into their heads.
Somehow, Matsuo had already revealed his body to the surroundings. All he recognized at that moment was the joy bubbling up inside him. Hence, he found no use to hide within his ghost form.
Zhao Yao observed the situation inside the belly with a grin on his face. It was about time. He then ordered Old Cat"s return before making his grand entrance into the belly with Roly Poly by his side.
There was no hint of suspicion or anger when the two j.a.panese noticed the headless horseman"s arrival. Instead, they welcomed him and embraced him in their arms as if he were an old friend.
Is.h.i.+da exclaimed, "Headless Horseman, I am truly sorry for what I"ve done. I"ll return you the money the moment I get out of here to express my heartfelt apology."
Anguished shredded his insides as Matsuo apologized, "Headless Horseman, it is all my fault! I shouldn"t have created that stupid lending platform, cheating people of all their money. However, I am but a p.a.w.n. Momo! Momo is the one controlling me. I was simply listening to Momo"s instructions and acting according to it! But I promise you that I will turn over a new leaf this time around, I will never …"
Old Cat had done a perfect job brainwas.h.i.+ng these two individuals. One was an a.s.sa.s.sin known throughout the worst and most evil of people while the other was a successful fraud who had cheated tons of money. Now, they were drowning in anguish and shame as they apologized to Zhao Yao.
However, there were two things which caught Zhao Yao"s attention.
Firstly, it was this guy - Is.h.i.+da. Not only was he an a.s.sa.s.sin hired by Matsuo, he also happened to by an executive member of Storm. He was entrusted by Strom to come to China and bring Hanako home.
The second thing was more troubling. It involved Matsuo. His true ident.i.ty was something far beyond what Zhao Yao could possibly imagine.
The Matsuo standing opposite Zhao Yao was not the real Matsuo. He was simply a j.a.panese supercat called Momo. Momo had used his ability to create ghost spirits which wandered the surface of Earth. Staring at him was a living creature created with superpower - super life.