379 The Hunt Begins ?

While Zhao Yao was busy tending to both Nekomata and Xiao Yu, another problem had sprouted. Once again, Meng Hao's group of student apostles had gathered together. However, their smiles were gone. In its place were faces of anger and even fear.

One of the college students jumped to his feet before slamming his fist against the table and roared, "That bunch of scumbags! How dare they hurt Wang Jian? Even the doctor was taken aback by the severity of those fractures! It would at least take a few months before he can even lift up his arm. The doctors can't even promise us if he would regain his original flexibility and strength."

Those sharp words were like oil fueling the students' raging anger.

"Have we reported them to the police?"

"What's the point of calling the police? We have no eye-witness, no evidence. Even Wang Jian didn't manage to catch a glimpse of his attacker. All the police know is to ask us to be patient as we await the results of their stupid investigation."

"Wang Jian is a rather strong apostle. Even he was trounced by this unknown assailant. What are we supposed to do?"

"Will they come and hunt all of us down?"

Fear was like a snake slithering through the back of everyone's mind. The thought of their potential demise at the hands of these ruthless attackers sent chills down their spine.

After all, they were still students, shielded from the dangerous world. Initially, they got all excited and idealistic over their newly-acquired powers. They felt that things were about to change for once. Their initial success coupled with Meng Hao's sweet-talking led them down this rabbit hole.

However, Wang Jian's injury was just the tip of the iceberg. The evil forces were capable of things much more sinister, much more dangerous. Naturally, the students understood just how under-prepared they were in facing these cruel opponents.

These were problems they were bound to meet in their lives. However, the severity of the situation was exacerbated by Matsuo's presence.

For once, Meng Hao was at a loss for what to do. Fear continued to claw through everyone's head, obliterating their initial aspirations and replacing them with fear and concerns.

Meng Hao tried to grab everyone's attention by letting out a few coughs as he asked, "Are you afraid?"

Everyone was stunned by his question. Even though fear had already splintered their heart, none of them dared to admit it. Instead, silence ensured. Then, Meng Hao spoke, "I know, it's natural for humans to feel apprehension when first met with darkness. This is what makes us human. However, we can only prevail if we come together and defeat the evil forces hand in hand. Why did they only target one person? That's because they know that they can't defeat all of together. No one can hurt us if we stay united together."

Suddenly, the gullible students' eyes began to gleam with excitement as their original fear dissipated into thin air.

Leveraging on this opportunity, Meng Hao continued, "I have already paid for Wang Jian's medical bills. I even gave his parents RMB 100,000 for his future physiotherapy treatments. I understand your fears and empathize with you completely. Hence, I will not object if any of you wish to pull out because of certain safety concerns …"

Meng Hao continued painting his beautiful picture as he talked about his future plans for the group. Everyone would stay together in a villa he had provided. This was a perfect opportunity for them to bond together. It was also a safety precaution to help allay some of their existing fears.

In a matter of minutes, the crowd had regained their original confidence and gusto after Meng Hao's inspiring speech. Each of them pounded against their chest as they declared their resolve to take down the lending platform.

Finally, a smile appeared on Meng Hao's face. He understood that he had met his objectives.

In Meng Hao's eyes, this was not a setback. It was an opportunity. It provided them the perfect platform to come together as one. It would strengthen their bond and cohesiveness as a unit.

Obviously, Meng Hao chose an opponent which he was confident against. As a fuerdai, he enjoyed connections in Jiangmen City that many could only crave for. He already had conducted a background check on this peer-to-peer lending platform. In essence, he knew exactly who he was dealing with.

The owner behind it was an ordinary man. His connections in the city were as ordinary as he himself. Despite the numerous apostles working for him, the organization was still in its developmental stage. To Meng Hao, they were the perfect sparring partner for his equally nascent group.

Meng Hao returned to his original spot after concluding his pep talk. He then set his eyes on Zhao Xue before asking, "Zhao Xue, how did you find my speech just now?"

Instead of showering him with praises and applause, Zhao Xue responded by shooting down his proposals, "Are you actually encouraging everyone to go against this lending platform? I am okay with your stupid protests because no one gets hurt. Are you actually ready to go up against other apostles in a real fight? Have you thought about it?"

"Are you worried about me?" Meng Hao had completely misunderstood her intentions as he continued, "Do not worry. I'll be fine. I would actually be more concerned if they use nonviolent measures to go against us."

Meng Hao then propped his chin on his hand before divulging a secret, "Actually, I have participated in the cat king competition."

Suddenly, Zhao Xue's eyes gleamed with a never before seen excitement, "That means you've met Guang Yu … I mean have you met the headless horseman?"

It was the first time his words actually managed to elicit a positive response from Zhao Xue. Hence, he jumped on the opportunity and continued, "Yes, I've even exchanged blows with him. I admit that he is strong but I actually stood a pretty good chance of taking him down."

Zhao Xue's jaw went slack as she asked, "Are you trying to say that you can defeat him?"

A bashful smile appeared on his face as he answered, "Obviously, I stood a chance. If not, I wouldn't even bother participating in that competition. I participated with one objective – to be the champion. Hence, do not worry about the lending platform. I am ready to take them down."

…

"This matter must be resolved asap!"

"They are just a bunch of college kids! Are you telling me that you can't take care of them?"

"Matsuo, you have three days to take care of them."

Matsuo's forehead furrowed together when he heard those pressurizing remarks from the few boards of directors. However, he was still relatively confident after what had happened.

He then left the meeting room with flames of anger and excitement raging through his body.

Suddenly, one of his subordinates rushed over to him as he exclaimed, "Boss!"

Matsuo knew something was amiss and immediately clarified, "What happened? Are they continuing with all their stupid shenanigans?"

His subordinate struggled to string his sentence together as he stammered, "Originally, the students were already pissing in their pants. They were this close to waving their white flags. But then that stupid Meng Hao, with a few pennies in his pocket, started to sprinkle them with some money and words of encouragement. This got them all excited and motivated again! That stupid Meng Hao!"

"Meng Hao …" Matsuo then whispered into his ears, "Then just take care of him. Do you need me to teach you how?"

…

While Meng Hao and the lending platform were still caught in their dispute, members of Storm organization were simply observing from their front row seats, with their arms folded. They had no intentions to intervene. Instead, they were thinking about capturing a few supercats back to Japan.

Naturally, this was no easy task.

Ishida laid on the sofa as he slid a glance at Sato and Onituska who were bruised beyond recognizable means. Ishida sneered, "The both of you can't even take care of two bloody cats?"

Sato immediately rushed to his own defense, "Master Ishida, those two aren't ordinary cats. They were extremely strong, especially the one which possess the power of psychokinesis. Even my shadow weapon failed to pierce through it. We can't even break through his invisible shield."

"Oh really?" These intriguing words had piqued Ishida's curiosity. He muttered, "This power sounds rather interesting. Since I have nothing to do, we will go out together and try to find them."

Sato jumped to his feet and announced, "That's great! With your strength, capturing these cats will be as easy as stealing a candy from a kid!" His hatred for Dust Ball and Ares could no longer be explained with words after those two humiliating incidents. Hence, he was over the moon when he heard Lord Ishida's words.

Ishida nodded his head and continued, "Capturing them isn't the problem. The key lies in finding them."

Onitsuka immediately chimed in, "Even though we failed to capture them, we still managed to acquire some useful intel. These two cats have been appearing at the same place over the past few days as they continue to terrorize residents and caused many inconveniences."

"That makes my job as easy as ABC." While Ishida spoke, his body had already submerged into the concrete ground and blended with his shadow. Ishida's shadow then extended into Sato's shadow before combining as one.

"Let's go. I'll follow you in this form."