329 Afterwards ?

There was no intention to proceed to the next round when the hour ended.

This was partly because the second round had yielded only three qualifying contestants and mostly because no one questioned the Headless Horseman's power.

A look at the destruction around them was proof that it was not wise to fight the Horseman.

Soon, Zhao Yao, Xiao Yu, and the Serval started discussing what prizes they wanted to get.

Explosive Man was watching the trio from the beach. His eyes were clouded with a mix of rage, disappointment, and just a bit of awe.

"Headless Horseman, huh? I'll remember you."

He knew that he was no match for the Horseman, at least not now. He had become his target, an opponent he aspired to beat one day.

Meng Hao was looking at Zhao Yao too, but his expression was more embarrassed than anything else. He had assumed that he was some useless noob, but it turned out that he was terribly wrong.

He did not understand why the Horseman resorted to such lame tactics in the first rounds of the competition when he was so powerful.

As for Yue Shan, he probably was the contestant who was the most frustrated by the defeat. He never thought that the Headless Horseman would actually participate. Even if he did, there was no way of knowing the true extent of his power either.

Chimera had slunk in a corner, watching Zhao Yao with cautious eyes.

"China is too dangerous," he thought, "I better return to Japan."

The other competitors wore similarly glum looks.

Everyone had signed up to participate in hopes of winning a prize. Their hopes were dashed far too quickly. The first round ended with just three qualifying contestants. There was not even a third round.

It was a waste of time.

Unlike his miserable counterparts, Zhao Yao was absolutely delighted.

The three winners each wanted a different prize, so they reached a conclusion swiftly.

Naturally, Zhao Yao chose the fortune cat. Xiao Yu chose the house in the city center while Liu Yun and the Serval picked a super-weapon made by the Cat King of the North.

The one small setback was that Xiao Yu needed to provide her personal particulars to put the house in her name. She did not want to disclose her real identity and neither did Zhao Yao.

In the end, they decided to use Liu Yun's name. She had registered for the competition with her real details anyway. She would transfer the house ownership to Xiao Yu once she was older.

It was highly unlikely that she would go back on her word and keep the house to herself. After today's display of skill, even if she wanted to, she probably dared not do so.

No matter what situation might arise in the future, Zhao Yao would have no problem getting the house back. Elizabeth's illusions offered endless ways to do so. Xiao Yu's spectral abilities were probably enough to do the same.

As for Zhao Yao's fortune cat, it would be waiting for him once they reached the mainland.

He was now lounging on the deck of the cruise. Liu Yun and Xiao Yu had left for the indoors because the heavy gusts of wind were too much.

He looked like he was not doing anything at all, but he was perusing the updates in his Book.

Now that he had won the competition, he was crowned the Jiangmen City Cat King. Technically, that should mean that the two cat king related missions should be done and dusted.

However, only one of them was marked as completed. Zhao Yao could see that he had gained 2,000 x 2 experience points from that one quest, which changed his Book to Level 5 (6,658/10,000).

He was supposed to have earned another 4,000 points, which would allow him to level up the Book.

Zhao Yao read through the incomplete mission impatiently.

"What the hell is this?" he muttered out loud, "Help Matcha win first place in the Cat King competition and receive admiration from female cats all over the country?"

Zhao Yao's eyes narrowed into slits.

"Seriously? Must I really help him 'receive admiration from female cats all over the country'? It might be easier to just make me murder every male cat."

Matcha glanced at Zhao Yao curiously when he heard a mention of his name.

"Matcha," Zhao Yao said seriously, "Are you able to hook up with every female cat on this cruise in three hours?"

The ginger cat gave him a reproachful look.

"If I could do it, we wouldn't be having this conversation! You said that you'll help me win the hearts of every female cat when I become Cat King, but look at me now!"

A cold breeze sailed through the deck in timely fashion.

The two of them were the only ones here.

"Nothing! I have nothing and no one!" Matcha continued angrily, "What's the point of being a Cat King?"

He took a deep sigh, "Female cats are a lot more complex than I expected."

*

In the cruise cabin, Fish Ball was displaying a beautiful technicolor display.

"C'mon everyone, I wanna see you get crazy!" he yelled over the music.

Someone's phone was blaring an EDM tune. Coupled with the lights that he cast over the crowd, the cabin looked very much like a dance floor in a club.

A dozen female cats were huddled in the middle, moving and twisting their bodies to the beat.

"Fish Ball! Fish Ball! Fish Ball!" they chanted in unison.

*

Zhao Yao tried to be encouraging.

"You can't just sit here and wait for things to happen! You're a man, show off that magnetic masculinity and draw them in," he said.

He really needed Matcha to start hooking up with those cats. If not, the 4,000 experience points were going to slip from his fingers. He refused to allow that to happen.

"Shouldn't they be the ones clamoring to come talk to me? I'm cool, not some aggressive creep," Matcha stated.

Zhao Yao was beginning to feel a bit of panic welling in his chest.

"Well, I think it's time to reconsider your attitude. You're almost two years old now! You're not a boy anymore. You're a young man, but you have nothing to show for it. You work a dead-end job at the cat cafe still. You've never gone out on a date, much less have a girlfriend. If you continue being so passive, no cat would want you."

Matcha glared at him, "Keep your nose out of my love life! There are tons of female cats that admire me. I just haven't met the right one yet!"

Zhao Yao kept going, "If you keep waiting for the right one, you'll end up with no one!"

He was about to persuade Matcha to pursue the cats on board when they were interrupted by a loud meow.

A chubby cat with black stripes and a white belly sauntered across the deck towards them.

It was the Cat King of the North.

"Hello there, Headless Horseman, King George," he greeted, "I have much to discuss with you regarding being the Cat King of Jiangmen City."

*

Inspector Ho glanced at the clock, then dialed a number on his phone.

"Hello? Shi Yu? Is he at work?" he asked.

He could hear a yawn coming from the receiver.

"Yeah, he's at the cat cafe. What's up?"

"You mean Zhao Yao is at work today?"

"Yes. Why? Did he get into some kind of trouble again?" she asked anxiously.

"No, he hasn't. Send me a photo of him, won't you?"

A few seconds later, an image lit up the Inspector's phone screen. It was a picture of Zhao Yao in the cafe.

Inspector Ho narrowed his eyes.

"So Zhao Yao isn't the Headless Horseman?"

He reached for another application form, Xiao Yu's, and read it carefully.

In the cafe, Baiquan handed the phone back to Shi Yu, whom reached for it without question before walking to the counter.

Baiquan heaved a sigh of relief.

"I guess that's settled then?"

Elizabeth's voice reached him through an aural illusion, "Don't worry, it's done."

The ragdoll had easily tricked Shi Yu into thinking that she had taken Zhao Yao's photo and sent it to Inspector Ho. In reality, it was Baiquan who sent an old photo that was taken a while ago.

"By the way, when did you take that photo of Zhao Yao at work?" Elizabeth asked curiously.

"Oh, that was a while ago, when I was secretly -,"

Baiquan stopped speaking abruptly. His expression had changed. With a look of resignation, he unlocked his phone and started heading to the back door.

"Elizabeth, please help me tend to the store for a moment. I need to train."

Bits of gasps and moans could be heard from the phone in his hand.