Now that Faceless had completed his initial preparations for the auction, Zhao Yao decided to tag along Mamba instead. As the primary person responsible for the supercats, Zhao Yao could definitely find out the truth by following him.
Also, he could verify the authenticity of Faceless's words: whether the captured cats were truly well-taken care of.
With one extradimensional gate stashed within Faceless's residence, Zhao Yao used the two remaining gates to track the duo, Mamba, and Pigeon, as they headed towards the auction site.
Moments after Zhao Yao's exit, Faceless answered a call with a serious tone, "What did you manage to learn about him?"
"From what I've gathered, there's nothing exceptionally peculiar about this man, Zhao Yao. He is just an ordinary apostle with a supercat café. However, out of the many supercats he has, one of them wields the power of regeneration. I heard that many old yet influential men visit his café for their treatment. I also heard that he is pretty close to Old Man Zhuang."
Faceless responded with a mirthless laugh, "And I thought that he was some powerful apostle. I guess I have grossly overestimated him, a measly doctor for these old men. Does he really think that he can do whatever he wants just because of his stupid cats? I would have yielded to him if he were Old Man Zhuang's son, but he isn't. He's just a lucky fella who got to speak to him. That's all."
Faceless tossed his phone to a side when Peacock's voice echoed in his head, "Master, should we act now? We cannot allow this man to leak any information regarding the cat's ability."
"It's just his bad luck. If it were any ordinary cats, I would not even think twice and return them to him immediately. You can even earn a few brownie points from those old men in doing so. However, this is the fortune cat that we are talking about. This information cannot be leaked. I'm sad to say that only one logical option remains: kill him. This cat is simply too good for him."
Faceless's head nodded along to Peacock's every word, "Very well, but this cannot affect the auction. Ivory, Talon and a few heavyweight international representatives will be coming over. We cannot afford to screw things up. Let him live for another two days. We will kill him at the conclusion of the event."
…
While Zhao Yao was busy stalking Mamba and Peacock from the shadows, a fierce fight had already broken out over at Red Packet and Lightning's side.
In the darkest hour of the night, a magnificent beast with sapphire-liked eyes was making its way towards Mao Gang's hidden base. Jolts of electric currents run along the length of its body. Every inch of earth it touched was burnt black to a crisp.
Ahhh!
A beam of blinding light shot straight out of the monster's mouth and tore the giant metal gate into two.
Just when the beast was about to enter the lair, the surrounding rubble, soil and rocks began to fuse together, morphing into a giant man made of rocks. This was the adolescent apostle responsible for Red Packet, Pebble.
The Rock Giant's monstrous fists clashed against one another, sending shockwaves into the surroundings. It spoke in a deep and slow manner, "Pallas's cat king, you have finally returned."
The already huge Pebble continued to grow at an astounding rate. With its body wrapped in jolts of electric currents, Pallas's cat king's thunderous voice bellowed, "Mao Gang, how dare you steal my residents from right under my nose! I will make you pay for your atrocities!"
Immediately, coils of electric currents spiraled from behind, propelling him forward as his body bolted towards the rock giant.
He was the Zeus amongst the cats. Streams of electric currents continued to pour out of his body uncontrollably, burning everything to a crisp. Any ordinary human would have instantly died from the staggering amount of electricity produced.
With the effect of the currents, his speed managed to reach an all-time high. His lean body continued to circle the rock giant at warp speed. Each attack would smash chunks of rock out of Pebble's body.
Following another resounding scream, the rocks began to fuse together at an even faster speed. Soon, Pebble was already towering over the surrounding buildings. Every punch and kick would raze the buildings to the ground. It was like a scene taken straight out of the film, Godzilla.
With his nimble movements, the Pallas's cat king managed to avoid all of Pebble's attack with ease. However, lightning was naturally weaker against the earth element. Coupled with Pebble's ever-increasing size, the Pallas's cat king soon found himself at a disadvantage.
A line began to etch between his brows. Obviously, the Pallas's cat king was no idiot. He understood the inherent differences between their abilities as the thought of escaping crossed his mind. After all, his opponent was far slower than himself, giving him every chance of circumventing it and dashing into the base to rescue everyone.
However, his plan started to fall through immediately. The tides were turning against Pallas's cat king for Pebble was not the only apostle standing on Mao Gang's side.
The intensity of the battle continued to grow exponentially. Sparks of currents flew across the sky as earthquakes continued to shake the ground from time to time. Screams and shouts would puncture the occasional silence, turning the town into ruins.
"Catch him!"
"He is trying to escape!"
"Prepare the tranquilizer guns!"
"Do not use any metallic weapons against him!"
Ahh!
The sound from the battles finally began to wane. With his ears shot up, Red Packet asked, "Is Zhao Yao here for us? Why did the noise end? Is the battle over?"
Moments later, even the footsteps stopped. Suddenly, a huge Pallas's cat was tossed into the cell opposite theirs.
A voice began to echo down the hallway as Neoma exclaimed, "Dad! Dad, are you alright?" Neoma was actually the daughter to the Pallas's cat king. She was the primary reason why he attacked the base in the first place.
A frail voice started to echo from opposite them as the Pallas's cat king replied, "Neoma, do not worry. I am fine."
However, the discolored bruises running down the length of his body refuted his words completely. Neoma 's haunting screams continued to echo down the hallway despite her father's coaxing.
Red Packet started to evaluate the cat thrown inside the opposite cell as disappointment sagged through his tiny frame, "It's not Zhao Yao? What's taking him so long? I hope he didn't lose his way here."
Suddenly, Lightning jumped to his feet and ran forward, "Where is the Pallas's cat king? Where is he? Show me!"
Red Packet slid him a condescending glare, "What's there to look at? He is just another silly cat who ran straight to his grave."
The feeble voice roared, "I would not have fallen if not for the opponent's rock abilities. Furthermore, they were the despicable ones who ganged up and sneaked up on me!"
"Isn't that the job of the bad guys? To sneak up on the nice guys?" Red Packet scoffed, "Power lies in number. Who would choose a head-on confrontation when you can choose a surprise attack?"
The Pallas's cat king roared, "What do you know? No ploys or schemes would stand up against true power. If the Super Pallas's cat is around, he can definitely save us!"
Lightning exclaimed, "Hey, can you help me check if I'm the legendary Super Pallas's cat?"
"It's impossible." He replied with a shaking voice, "Only one such cat can be born in every 1000 years. He is the cream of the crop. If you were truly the Super Pallas's cat, you wouldn't even end up in this stupid cell in the first place."
"Maybe it's because I haven't been awakened all this time!" Lightning roared, "Is there any method that can be used to awaken the Super Pallas's cat? Maybe it's like those bankai or super saiyan mode in the animes!"
Pallas's cat king gave a despondent shake of his head, "It is futile. Only Pallas's cat with lightning-natured abilities can harness the abilities of the Super Pallas's cat."