With his brows snapped together, Zhao Yao asked, "Is he involved in the sale of supercats?"
Ye Mei responded with a mirthless laugh. She had never expected words about them to spread so quickly, "After all, they are still cats. Many people would die for this opportunity to be in possession of them." Her emphasis on the words "many people" clearly meant that their services were not as readily available as most would expect.
What Ye Mei described was completely accurate. Many people craved for the opportunity to grab hold of a supercat, but it was no easy task. Hence, Mao Gang was the answer to their problems.
"In that case, I"ll bring you over to the surveillance room while we look through the recordings." Ye Mei was extremely careful with her choice of words, "Regarding your two cats, I"ll help you ask my sources within Mao Gang. If they really have your cats, I can arrange a meeting for you to buy the cats from them."
Zhao Yao"s right eyebrow shot up, "Buy from them? They stole my cats and you expect me to pay for my stolen cats?"
"This city is dependent on Mao Gang." Ye Mei lifted her shoulders in a half shrug, "It"s already a privilege to be able to buy your cat. However, do not worry about the price. I will talk to them personally. This price is simply a token sum for their kind gesture."
"Hmph, is that so? That"s great, I do hope that they will agree to this request." Zhao Yao"s tone might sound genial however a glimmer of anger had flashed past his eyes.
Meanwhile, Roly Poly was whispering into Sphynx Cat"s ears, "Just take a look at Zhao Yao. He might act all friendly now but I bet he would default on the payment when that silly girl brings the cats over."
Sphynx Cat scoffed, "That"s just the basic. He should even jump on this opportunity to blackmail them and earn another wave of experience."
"You have chosen the wrong opponent," Roly Poly commented with a sigh of despair, "They are dead."
Red Packet and Lightning"s journey began at Cat Street before ending in XX town. Even though there were close to zero security cameras situated along the route, the presence of probes littered along it provided some much-needed footage.
With Ye Mei"s help, Zhao Yao found himself inside an office with hours of footages awaiting him. Another stack of paper rested on the table, detailing the fat cat"s testimony. The blind search commenced until they saw the first sign of their target van.
After more than two hours, they were finally done with all the footages. As the van disappeared beyond the image captured by the probe, Zhao Yao muttered with a nod of his head, "That fat cat didn"t lie to me. This van really went to XX town."
Suddenly, Ye Mei swung the door open and squealed, "I have managed to contact the people from Mao Gang. They said they didn"t have your cats."
Zhao Yao clarified, "Are you sure?"
"The probability of them lying to me is close to zero," Ye Mei"s eyes then swept towards the image on the screen and asked, "Have you found it?"
"Yes, the fat cat did tell me the truth. They were last seen at XX town. Let"s go over there and take a look." Meanwhile, Zhao Yao was cursing in his head, "D*mn it, I guess I can only rely on Sphynx Cat"s nostrils."
With Ye Mei leading the way, Zhao Yao had soon reached the entrance to XX town. This spot marked the exact position where his two cats began their journey on foot. This was supposed to lead them to the gra.s.slands.
Meanwhile, Red Packet had already been thrown into a pristine cell, covered in snow-white paint. Instead of concrete walls, a pillow-like material was used for the construction of the cell walls. The entire place was like a giant cat bed.
A lopsided smile hanged across Red Packet"s face as he pondered, "I guess it wasn"t the worst thing for them to learn about my ability. Judging from this, I guess they have decided to keep me around."
Red Packet understood that the real problem would occur when they decided to sell him. He had no idea where he would end up at from that point onwards. This search mission would then become a herculean task, even for someone like Zhao Yao.
However, if he stayed put and continued to live with this organization, the chances of Zhao Yao finding him would increase drastically.
"D*mn it, what is going to happen to that r*tard? What if he"s really sold?"
While Red Packet remained immersed in his thoughts, the giant door to his cell suddenly swung open. Approaching him was a tall man, flanked on both sides by at least 10 men.
A black windbreaker was draped over the man"s shoulders. His monstrous frame loomed over Red Packet like a tiny hill. His face was hidden behind a mysterious white mask. Only his ice-cold gaze managed to peer through the mask, into the surroundings.
"Is that him?" This man was the leader of Mao Gang. He was widely known as Faceless, cat king of Ürümqi, the emperor of the underworld.
Faceless instructed, "Xiao Liu, go up and borrow its power."
Amidst the 10 men, a teenaged boy who was at most 13 took a step forward and approached Red Packet. On a closer look, you would notice that Xiao Liu was not the only teenager around. There were at least five or six more amongst them. That same frenzied admiration was seared across all their faces. Traces of innocence and brutality flickered in their eyes.
Even Centipede began to secretly shake his head at this scene. All these adolescents were Faceless"s personal bodyguards, handpicked from the orphanage. All of them had pledged their eternal undying allegiance to Faceless, even if it meant their own deaths. They would stop at nothing to make good of their promise.
To make matters worse, Faceless had selected a few supercats to lend their powerful yet gruesome powers to these naïve kids. Even someone like Centipede dared not to infuriate them. After all, Centipede was still human and he feared death. However, those kids embraced death like an old friend.
Faceless"s voice echoed from behind the kids, "Supercat, lend him your power. Cooperate and there will be less suffering."
Red Packet had no intentions to fight back at this juncture, hence he cooperated with Faceless and endowed the kid with his power.
"Hmph, interesting." A flicker of excitement flashed across his ice-cold gaze, "Supercat, you are a smart one. I encouraged you to continue this behavior. If you cooperate with us, we will never hurt you."
"Wild Boar, bring Xiao Liu out to test his power. Inform me the moment you see any results." Faceless instructed before turning his body towards the exit. Suddenly, Red Packet"s ear-splitting shrieks began to echo in his head.
Faceless commanded calmly, "Pa.s.s him a phone. I would like to hear what he has to say."
Apparently, Red Packet had proposed a special arrangement. Red Packet would continue to co-operate with them if his companion, Lightning, was brought over to accompany him.
Faceless"s cold gaze swept towards Centipede and asked, "Is there another cat which came along with it?"
"There"s another furless Pallas"s cat."
Faceless asked, "What"s its ability?"
"Static electricity."
Faceless nodded his head and instructed, "That"s as good as having no abilities. In that case, bring him over."
After leaving the prison, Faceless felt a vibration in his pocket. He took a look at his phone and found a message from his subordinate. Apparently, Ye Mei and the government had started prying for information about an orange cat and Pallas"s cat. They were checking if Mao Gang had them.
"Kudos to them for tracking the cats all the way to my lair. However, how can I possibly vomit out something I"ve already eaten?" A devious smile began to tug at his lips. Naturally, he chose to withhold information regarding them.
If used appropriately, the fortune cat"s power would usher in a new era for Mao Gang. Their business would improve tremendously, thus increasing his sphere of influence and status in the region. He would never allow such a perfect opportunity to slip through his fingers.
Faceless slid Centipede a glance before asking, "You have done a good job. However, how many people know about these two cats?"
Fear crossed his face but he still blurted out a few names. Faceless nodded his head along to the names and said, "Do not worry. I"m not going to kill them. However, this is a precarious time so I do not want any of you to leave the hideout. For now, just stay here."
Centipede could feel his heart pounding against his chest, "How about the king of the Pallas"s cat and the auction …"
"I"ll get someone else to handle it."
The upcoming auction was the number one priority on Mao Gang"s agenda. On the other hand, the fate of the king of the Pallas"s cat is greatly intertwined with the success of the auction. However, Faceless could easily get someone to replace Centipede. After all, he was not the only one responsible for these operations.