391 Interrogation and Search ?

Black Panther had barely punctuated his sentence when they were interrupted by a deafening explosion.

A whirlwind of shadows had torpedoed through the wall, reducing it to crumbs and dust. The tornado of shadow spikes closed in on them, growing larger as it got nearer.

Ishida's voice came from within the black mass.

"You little rats are really beginning to piss me off."

Black Panther knew they had to flee from the incoming onslaught.

He gripped Zhao Xue's shoulder, ready to go. However, he found that he could not teleport.

There was no brother near enough for him to teleport to.

This was the unfortunate limitation of his power. He could only teleport within a 10-meter radius of a brother (whom he had to first karate chop in the back). If he was any further than that, he would be unable to activate the skill.

Black Panther gallantly stepped in front of Zhao Xue, blocking her from the shadows.

"Go now."

In the next moment, he was thrown off his feet and into a corner.

This was not a doing of the shadows. Instead, the force had come from behind him.

He watched as Zhao Xue waved a hand at a large office table. With another wave, it was lifted off the ground and hurled towards the shadow spikes, slowing them down.

She continued throwing whatever she could reach towards the shadows, among them more tables, safe deposit boxes, and computers.

The spikes pierced through each of them mercilessly.

While Zhao Xue could not hurt the shadows, she could keep them at bay.

It was obvious that the tireless training paid off. Her strength and speed far surpassed that of a normal person's. In fact, she might even be stronger than Zhao Yao.

Now that the Sphynx had leveled up, Zhao Xue would no doubt outdo the Butcher in another month or two.

This was why she could keep throwing heavy items across the room, creating a barrier between the shadows and herself.

However, even if she could go on all night, she would soon run out of things to chuck.

They had to leave.

"Let's go!" Zhao Xue hissed, gripping Black Panther's arm.

She pulled him along as they raced out of the room.

Black Panther was in shock. They were moving so quickly that the surroundings had dissolved into shapeless blobs of color.

"You're fast!" he exclaimed.

He had no idea how someone so dainty could possess such great power.

The shadow mass erupted into a roar.

More spikes peeled themselves from it, piercing through the cloud of furniture that blocked their way and heading straight for Zhao Xue and Black Panther.

The gap between them grew smaller and smaller.

Then, the duo vanished.

They had finally managed to enter the radius of a nearby brother.

The black mass let out another roar, this one brimming with unadulterated rage.

The little rats had escaped again, leaving behind a flurry of destroyed tables, computers, and printers.

*

At Zhao Yao's house, the debt collectors were kneeling on the floor.

They had just given an honest account of what led them here.

Zhao Yao listened to their story intently, scratching the bottom of his chin out of habit.

"This doesn't make sense," he said, "I have never borrowed money from your platform before. I have no need for it."

The men started rambling nervously under his cold glance.

"Please, we're not lying! Everything we told you was listed in the information handed to us."

Roly Poly leaped into Zhao Yao's arms.

He said, "Zhao Yao, this must be a misunderstanding. Maybe the person who owes them money has the same name as you."

Matcha shook his head sagely. "Even if they had the same name, they can't possibly have the same address or appearance."

Roly Poly gulped. He was clutching at straws now. "Well...Maybe...Perhaps they got the address wrong?"

"That's too much of a coincidence, don't you think?" Matcha said, "Unless…"

"Unless someone framed Zhao Yao!" Roly Poly interrupted loudly.

He was sweating buckets by now.

"Maybe someone stole Zhao Yao's identity to borrow money from the app! Maybe that horrible thief squandered it on online games, fried chicken, and even on the ladies…"

The poor cat was experiencing a bout of word vomit. He was terrified. The only way to vent his fear was to keep talking.

He fell silent when Zhao Yao got onto his feet.

"That's possible."

He turned to the men, "Do you know when the money was borrowed? Do you have the person's contact details?"

Every hair on Roly Poly's body stood on its end in response.

"This information is stored in the office. We don't have it with us," one of the men answered.

Roly Poly heaved a sigh of relief when Zhao Yao suggested, "Then we'll go to your office right now."

The cat choked on his breath.

"It is despicable that someone would use my good name to do such a thing," Zhao Yao continued darkly.

He was radiating a lethal aura that seemed to cause the temperature in the living room to dip. The cats and debt collectors around him start shivering involuntarily.

"When I find that person, I will tear him limb from limb…"

Roly Poly's legs gave way and he flopped onto the floor.

"Then gauge his eyeballs…"

Roly Poly mustered all that remained of his strength to get back up. He was shaking visibly, which caught Dust Ball's attention.

"Roly Poly, why has your hair turned white?" she asked, eyes widened in shock.

"Cut his tongue…"

Pee had begun to pool around Roly Poly's paws.

"And chop him into a million pieces!"

Roly Poly placed both paws on his heart, which was thumping really hard against his chest, and fainted.

"Hm? Roly Poly, are you alright?"

Zhao Yao squatted next to the unconscious cat, gently probing him.

"Why have you fainted? I wanted to take you with me to catch that the identity thief, but perhaps you should stay home and rest."

Roly Poly's eyes flew open.

"No!" he exclaimed, "We cannot let such scumbags off easily! Zhao Yao, I want to go with you!"

A few minutes later, the debt collectors were ushered into Zhao Yao's car. Roly Poly sat by his owner's feet, using his power to keep the Panamera invisible as they raced towards the city.

*

The violent clicking and clacking of a computer keyboard echoed from the money lending app's IT department.

That would have been normal if not for the fact that the engineers were passed out on the floor.

Noodle's head appeared from behind the department's office entrance. He scanned the empty corridor, keeping a careful lookout for intruders.

Naturally, the person he was keeping watch for was Xiao Yu, whom was the source of the noise.

It was impossible to tell that the person hunched over the computer was her though. She was dressed entirely in black. A black stocking was pulled over her head, contorting her facial features completely.

Fish Ball was secured to the top of her head like a furry hat. His limbs had been bound together, paws facing the front, producing a mighty beam of light that enabled Xiao Yu to see in the dark.

The look on her face was so focused and severe that Fish Ball had not dared to make a sound.

However, he was getting really uncomfortable.

"Nekomata," he said softly, "Could you help me speak to Xiao Yu? Actually, I…"

"Quit meowing. It's affecting the brightness," Xiao Yu interrupted coldly, "Starting today, you're nothing more than a flashlight."

Fish Ball clamped his jaw together immediately and nodded.

He could not speak, but he could still communicate through other means.

He tried to catch Nekomata's eye.

"Supercats should help other supercats, don't you think?" he said telepathically, "Won't you help me talk some sense to Xiao Yu?"