"Isn't feeding stray cats a really good thing to do?" Hanako suppressed her laughter and continued, "I remember I also had the habit of feeding stray cats during my college days. I had no idea why but the stray cats on university campus were especially affectionate towards people."
Zhao Yao nodded his head in agreement. Certainly, cats living in school compound were particularly affectionate. Furthermore, among the many youngsters living within the campus, a huge proportion of them were cat-lovers. They would shower their favorite cats with love and food. Not only were these stray cats well fed, they also had much more interaction with humans.
Soon enough, Hanako and Zhao Yao had already stood there for more than 10 minutes, observing Zhao Xue's behavior. Matcha stretched his body over Zhao Yao's shoulder as he let out a loud yawn. He grumbled, "Can we go back yet? Why are you spending so much time observing cats eat? Are you guys crazy?"
Zhao Yao lifted his shoulder in a half shrug and replied, "Alright, I don't think there are any dangerous characters lurking around. We will leave in a minute's time." Based on his astute observation skills, there weren't any supercats living amongst the stray cats.
Zhao Yao propped his chin on his hand as he thought, "With the huge cat population living in the campus, is it possible that none of them have awakened as supercats?"
With the thought at the back of his head, the stray cats which buried their heads in the cat food suddenly raised their heads in unison. They cocked their head towards the direction of the small garden.
A shadow emerged from within. From the looks of it, it was a rather fat animal. The stray cats immediately took a few steps back when the shadow crossed paths with them and presented their cat food to this unknown figure.
Finally, Zhao Yao managed to make out its appearance. She was a tri-colored female cat, predominantly covered in silky white fur. Her spine was adorned with black and yellow stripes.
Other than her unusually fat body, the unique aspect of her appearance was her 'moustache', which was just some black fur beneath her nose. However, it somehow exuded a majestic aura.
Matcha was flabbergasted by this cat's appearance and asked, "Did Roly Poly just change skin?"
"How can that be Roly Poly? She's just another cat that is just as fat as Roly Poly." Zhao Yao chuckled, "It seems like she receives quite a lot of food from the other cats to maintain this figure. She might be their queen."
Zhao Xue's eyes shone with excitement when she noticed the cat. She rushed over and exclaimed, "Lion Head! You're here? I thought you weren't coming today."
She then kneeled down before carefully sprinkling a handful of cat food in front of the fat cat.
"Hmph, this cat food isn't too bad." The fat cat grabbed it and brought it to her nose before taking in a deep breath. She opened her mouth and devoured it in one bite. Then, she raised her meaty paw in the air and waved in Zhao Xue's direction.
"What are you doing? I didn't come here just for this. Come over here now."
Zhao Xue was not a stranger to this scene. Even though she had no clue what the fat cat was saying, she immediately stretched her hand out, in front of the cat's face. Lion Head then rested her paw on Zhao Xue's palm before both of them simultaneously shut their eyes.
When Li Jing Yi witnessed this scene, she was both excited and envious as she cupped her mouth with her hand.
Meanwhile, Zhao Yao and Matcha immediately tilted their head to each other when they saw this. A glimmer of shock flashed across their eyes.
"It's a supercat!"
"Zhao Yao, your sister is an apostle."
Zhao Yao squinted his eyes into a hard line and seemed to be deep in thought.
After some time, Zhao Xue's eyes finally opened before she took in a deep breath and whispered, "We have completed today's mission."
Li Jing Yi, who stayed right next to her throughout the process, asked, "Xiao Xue, did you inform your family about this?"
'I guess it's better that I keep this a secret." Zhao Xue said as she bit her lower lip, "Everything turns so much more complicated and dangerous in the world of supercats. My parents and my brother are just ordinary people. I just want them to live a peaceful and stable life. Knowing the truth about supercats might just rob them of the opportunity to do so."
Zhao Xue heaved a long sigh before continuing, "The world of superpowers and the world which they are used to are totally two different worlds."
The two chatted for a while more before Li Jing Yi said, "Zhao Xue, I'll be going back first. Don't stay up too late as well."
Zhao Xue nodded her head before revealing a lopsided smile. She swung her left arm across Jing Yi's waist and pushed her body against hers before kissing her on the cheek. Jing Yi struggled to no avail as her face instantly turned crimson.
Zhao Xue finally decided to let go after quite some time. She smiled when she noticed Jing Yi's innocent expression and muttered, "Hmph, you should return first. I'll be playing with Lion Head before returning to the dormitory."
Jing Yi tucked a lock of hair behind her ear embarrassedly before she took her leave. The tri-colored cat known as Lion Head shook her head before she sauntered towards the depths of the jungle.
Lion Head turned around and noticed Zhao Xue was not following behind. She then shook her head once more to gesture Zhao Xue to follow behind her.
Zhao Xue's brows shot up as she asked confusedly, "Lion Head, you want me to come with you?" Excitement raced through her as she exclaimed, "Is today finally the day?"
Lion Head nodded her head before continuing down the path.
Happiness coursed through Zhao Xue as she was beaming from ear to ear. She chased up to Lion Head and followed closely behind her.
With their shadows disappearing from sight, Hanako tapped on Zhao Yao's shoulder and asked, "They are leaving. Do you want to follow them?"
Zhao Yao simply nodded his head and walked towards that direction. Even though he had no idea what to do if his sister realized that he had been stalking her all this while, only one thought lingered in his head for now: protect Zhao Xue.
Matcha sat on the ground with his arms folded across his chest and grumbled, "When can I finally return home? Zhao Yao, why don't you just knock your sister unconscious and then tie her up before bringing her home?"
"Are you stupid? She will realize that I've been stalking her if I do that. Coupled with what I saw just now, I'm quite sure she'll break all familial ties with me." Zhao Yao gave a gentle pat on the back of Matcha's head before he cocked his head towards Hanako and instructed, " I believe my sister has been embroiled in the world of supercats. I need you to follow me."
Hanako was surprised by the sudden change of tone but nodded her head in response.
Hence, the trio quickly started moving behind Zhao Xue and Lion Head. With Zhao Yao's acute sense of awareness, he was able to keep up with them without them realizing their presence.
Suddenly, a frown crept up Zhao Yao's face when they came to the mouth of a sewer system.
Hanako stared at Zhao Yao with a look of confusion and asked, "Zhao Yao, what's wrong?"
Zhao Yao bent down and scrutinized the manhole before saying, "They went down this place."
"Huh? But this hole is so small, I think even that cat might have difficulty entering it." Feelings of doubt crossed Hanako's mind as she tried to measure the entrance to the sewage system. She asked, "Are you sure they went in here?"
"Hmph," Zhao Yao's chest rose as he drew in a deep breath. He thought, "Based on their scent, they had definitely entered through this manhole. The fat cat should not even be able to enter it, let alone Zhao Xue. I can force Matcha to go in, but …"
His forehead puckered together as his eyes swept across his surroundings, in search of another entrance to the sewage system. However, it was to no avail.
"Only one possibility remains." Zhao Yao whispered, "Is this the work of a superpower …"
"Wait for me."
Instantly, Zhao Yao had channeled Dust Ball's power and had absorbed himself into his extradimensional belly before calling on Dust Ball.
In Hanako's eyes, all she saw was Zhao Yao disappearing for a split second before re-appearing in the same spot, with an adorable black cat cradled in his arms.
"Eh, isn't that Dust Ball? Isn't she supposed to be at home?" Hanako was startled by her abrupt appearance and immediately took a few steps back. She was afraid that Dust Ball would start vomiting shit out of her mouth again.
"I have no time to explain everything, they are already quite a distance away from us." Zhao Yao explained matter-of-factly, "Hanako, I need you to enter Dust Ball's belly with me."
Zhao Yao raised his pam in the air before balling it into a fist. Instantly, his deflective field expanded and then contracted before lifting the cover to the manhole.
"Dust Ball, Matcha, I need the both of you to enter this manhole and follow behind my sister. You must do your best to protect her. Dust Ball, remember to maintain communication with me. Alert me to the situation. If you encounter anything dangerous, release me immediately."
Dust Ball opened her mouth to reveal a different dimension swirling within it.
Before Hanako could react to this phenomenon, Zhao Yao had already grabbed her hands and led her into Dust Ball's outstretched mouth.
"No! I do not want to go in!" Hanako struggled with all her might as she was inches from Dust Ball's mouth. It was like being forced to jump into a furnace.
Left with no options, Zhao Yao cast an illusion on her before tricking her into the extradimensional belly.
Zhao Yao and Hanako's bodies turned into two solid lines before they were absorbed into Dust Ball's mouth as they disappeared into thin air.
Dust Ball shut her mouth as the corners of her mouth curled up. She remarked, "It has been a really long time since I've had a chance to mix around with some stray cats. Let's go."
"Huh?" Matcha glanced at the manhole as terror overtook his face. He exclaimed, "It's too dirty. My snow-white paws would instantly turn black and the stench is unbearable. How about I just wait for you over here?"
Dust Ball turned a deaf ear to Matcha's request and rammed his butt using her foot, sending him straight down the manhole. Instantly, their vision was blanketed in darkness.