61 Negotiation ?

As they sat down at the cafe, Zhao Yao questioned the bald man," So, who are you exactly?"

"I guess you could say I'm a police inspector." Inspector Ho smiled. "I've always wanted to have a nice chat with you but couldn't find the opportunity to do so. I decided to meet you alone like this after some thought. "

"Police?" Zhao Yao panicked a little as he recalled the policeman who was observing his fight with the killer cat.

Zhao Yao put up a serious face and continued, "So what's the matter? What's your reason for finding me?"

Inspector Ho thought for a while and replied, "The government has gotten news of the existence of supercats. I am the chief investigator for supercat cases that occur within Jiangmen City. The reason for finding you..." He hesitated but continued," Is because I think that you, Zhao Yao, are the strongest apostle I've ever seen in the whole of Jiangmen City."

"Honestly, you are the only person who we know that can use multiple powers."

"Strongest apostle?" Zhao Yao was slightly flattered by Inspector Ho's compliment. He always thought that he was invincible with the power of time freeze and Elizabeth's mind control.

Hearing this first-hand from the chief inspector, Zhao Yao couldn't help but feel elated. But as he got over the sudden surge of happiness, he shockingly exclaimed, "You...you..."

He suddenly realized that the inspector actually knew his true identity.

"You left too many clues." Inspector Ho shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "You were captured on CCTV at Cloud Road. Besides that, you left behind footprints and evidence of your fight with the killer cat; there was leftover fur from the fight, and your Panamera was parked right outside... Not forgetting the videos on the gaming streams."

Inspector Ho couldn't help but laugh, "Though you managed to hide your face from some of the security cameras, you couldn't avoid satellite tracking, and so it was really easy to find out your true identity."

Zhao Yao awkwardly lowered his head. He thought that he had been extra careful, but it turned out that his plan was full of flaws.

Inspector Ho reassured, "You don't have to worry that much. We have no intentions to arrest apostles and supercats. As long as you abide by the law, we will never arrest you. You can even stop working and we will give you money monthly. Or we could find you a job; a job that pays well and is in close proximity to your home."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yao eyes lit up. "Is it really as good as it sounds? Won't you make me cooperate with you guys for research purposes? I don't have to fight with my powers?"

Inspector Ho shook his head and reassured, "It is all up to you. Voluntary. If you are unwilling to cooperate, we will never force you to do so. But if you wish to do something for the country, we would be more than happy to let you do so."

"What's important is that you do not cause any destruction and that you do not disrupt our social stability. Actually, if you think about it, although Apostles like you are much stronger than normal beings, on a real battlefield, you can never stand up against tanks, fighter jets, and missiles. Furthermore, Apostles like you cannot be mass produced. "

"Your greatest use would be seen in stealth operations, dealing with petty crime and participating in research. In my opinion, it is a waste to put you guys on the frontline. Therefore, you don't have to worry about us forcing you to do anything you do not wish to."

Zhao Yao nodded as he remained deep in thought. He slowly understood the purpose of this meeting.

As good as it sounds, he certainly could not trust someone that easily. However, he could tell from the inspector's tone that he was still very afraid of his powers.

Zhao Yao asked, "About my intel... How many people actually know about this?"

Inspector Ho replied with a stern face, "Your powers are remarkable and thus your identity is confidential, needless to say. In the whole of Jiangmen City, there are less than five people who know about this, and that is including me. I assure you that they would never leak out any information. As a matter of fact, all identities and powers of the supercats and apostles like you are kept secret."

Zhao Yao nodded. He didn't want any information about his identity and power to be leaked out to the public. As metalman once said, possession of such powers would only increase the risk of being attacked. It was only a matter of time before Zhao Yao met his demise.

Even with his time freezing powers, if it meant that he had to be on his toes 24/7 to counter all sorts of threats such as ambushes and assassinations, he would get tired one day and fall victim to the assailants. The only way to ensure his safety was to wait for time to pass and for BOOK to reach an invincible stage.

For now, Zhao Yao had to continue to keep his identity hidden well.

Zhao Yao suddenly remembered that cat thief’s organization which he exterminated back then and asked, "Recently, are there any Apostles who are stealing supercats?"

Inspector Ho raised an eyebrow and apologized, "I'm sorry I'm afraid I don't have an answer to that. These are all government secrets, and I have no access to them."

Zhao Yao knew he would say that and carried on asking, "In the case, does this mean that you have many supercats and apostles on your side?"

"Of course there will be a few." Inspector Ho smiled and continued. "But not many of them are combat ready. As a matter of fact, it is difficult to push for these apostles and supercats to be part of a fighting force. More often than not, modern-day fighting tools and soldiers are more practical in war. You guys are only useful under special contexts."

Inspector Ho looked at Zhao Yao and spoke in a serious tone. "Honestly, I'm beginning to feel that it doesn't matter if you are an apostle or a supercat. One day, we will all be integrated into the 'normal world'. "

"You guys are only termed 'supernatural' simply because of that fact that you have seemingly exceeded the normal capabilities of a human being. It is akin to our ancestors seeing us in the present. They would see us as gods as well.

As technology improves and collaboration with policymakers is established, more experimentation like teleportation can be conducted. And very soon, these powers would gradually become part of the norm."

He pointed to his head and said, "But after all, we human beings all have a soul and are inherently similar by nature. Hence, our goal is for you to work with the country to make this paradigm shift a smooth one."

Zhao Yao blinked a few times and asked bluntly, "So how much money am I getting?

Inspector Ho seemed slightly taken aback by Zhao Yao's bluntness.

Zhao Yao explained, "Honestly, my daily expenses are huge. I have 20 cats to raise at home, and I only feed them expensive imported cat food. Not forgetting the supplements and vitamin pills that the cats eat daily. These cost me a few hundred per day."

Inspector Ho wiped the sweat off his forehead and offered Zhao Yao RMB300,000 for a year.

"Only RMB300, 000?" Zhao Yao curled his lips in discontent. "Am I not Jiangmen's strongest apostle? Don't you think RMB300, 000 is too low of a price?" Had Zhao Yao not awakened his power a few months back, RMB300, 000 would have been such a huge sum to him.

However, now that he owned over a million dollars worth of assets and cash, RMB300,000 was nothing but a small sum to him. Besides, he spent at least tens of thousands of dollars on cat food in a month.

"About the money... It is decided by the superiors." Inspector Ho scratched his head awkwardly as he replied. "We are a new department and our budget is really tight. Furthermore, there are a lot more other apostles in Jiangmen City that require this subsidy. RMB300, 000 is the maximum amount we can offer."

"I see... "Zhao Yao looked around the cafe and said," In that case, I would like to open a shop. Will you be able to help me bypass all the legal steps and licenses such that I wouldn't need to do all this administrative work for tens of years?"

"Uhh..." Inspector Ho was lost for words. He had planned to raise the subsidy to RMB1, 000,000. He wanted to plead with Zhao Yao to accept the money and put up an act to show how unhappy he was with the superiors. And at the last moment, he would pretend to fork out the last of his money, offered them to Zhao Yao and hopefully, he would accept the deal. However, judging from what Zhao Yao suggested, it seemed like his plan had been foiled.

Inspector Ho asked carefully, "What kind of shop are you planning to open?"

He thought to himself and feared for the worst. "Don't tell me his plans include opening a nightclub, sauna, and bar or stuff like that... That would be a tricky one; I can't..."

Zhao Yao interrupted his train of thought as he exclaimed, "A cafe of course!" He nodded to himself and continued, "A cat cafe!"

All this time, Zhao Yao had been thinking of a way to complete the mission. The mission required him to set up a shop and earn money by using cats. Initially, he planned to set up a pet shop or a pet hospital but decided against it; there was too much to do and too much that he didn’t know. Besides, he lacked the professional expertise needed to run those shops.

The idea of setting up a cat cafe suddenly flashed through his mind, and it seemed like a perfect idea to him.

"I have Celestial Beats, and as long as the field is established, customers should keep on flowing in." Zhao Yao was confident that Celestial Beats would provide so much comfort and relaxation that people would not be able to resist the temptation of entering the shop.

Inspector Ho seemed to doubt the idea and clarified, "Cat cafe?"

"Yes, a cat cafe. Help me with the procedures and find a vacant shop for me. "Zhao Yao continued with a sheepish smile on his face."It would be best if it's located in a place with high customer flow and in close proximity to the subway and my house. As for the rent, let's keep it as low as possible..."

Inspector Ho rolled his eyes. It was so difficult to find a location as described.

He kept his cool and replied, "Alright alright. It's great that you are willing to work, but you must understand that it is impossible to not renew your license for several years. But don't you worry, I got it covered. I'll send a few men every year and take care of these administrative works for you."

"Thanks! I guess it's a deal." Zhao Yao exclaimed and happily shook Inspector Ho's hand. "How do I address you?"

"My surname is Ho. You can call me Uncle Ho."