489 Meteorite Intelligence ?

Zhao Yao hung up and turned to Xiao Yu.

"It's done," he stated, "From today, this island is officially mine."

There was skepticism written all over her face when she looked at him.

"Oh really? The government gave you the island just like that? Zhao Yao, are you trying to trick a child right now?"

"I honestly do not care if you believe me or not," he said casually, "Hey, you're not done with winter break homework, are you? School starts tomorrow. You have better things to do than gallivant out here. Go home and finish your assignments."

He cast a severe look at Xiao Yu, then pushed her, Fish Ball, Noodle, and Nekomata through the dimension doorway. This led them into the extradimensional belly, where they fell through another doorway and ended up in the cat cafe.

"No!" Xiao Yu cried.

She had not want to return to the real world. She grabbed onto Zhao Yao's hand to catch his attention.

"It's exactly because school is starting tomorrow that I can't waste my remaining freedom on homework!" she whined, "It's the last day of winter break! I want to stay out and play until the very last minute! Noodle and Fish Ball will help me with my assignments! I don't have to go home!"

Xiao Yu batted her eyelashes at him as she continued, "That was a beautiful island! There's sun, sand, and the ocean! Just let me stay there a while more? And help me take some photos?"

Seeing that Zhao Yao did not budge, she engaged in a more aggressive approach.

"I'll wear a nice swimsuit. I'll even invite a few friends. They're the prettiest girls at my school. Guys at your age idolize high school girls, no?"

Zhao Yao let out a bark of exasperated laughter.

"Not interested," he stated, throwing her a dirty look.

"It's up to you if you want to do your homework," he continued, "You can go play wherever you want except on my island. I have big renovation plans for it. You're not allowed there."

With that, he took one step back and disappeared into the portal. Xiao Yu rushed forward, hoping to steal inside as well, but she fell through thin air instead. She glared at the spot where Zhao Yao disappeared.

Now that Xiao Yu was safely back in the city, Zhao Yao could focus his attention on William.

At this point, Old Cat had successfully brainwashed William and convinced him to divulge every bit of intelligence he had about the meteorite. Zhao Yao did not ask the cat to reiterate everything that he had heard. That was a risky move. As long as Old Cat had a chance to talk, he had a chance to attack. Instead, Zhao Yao chose to hear straight from the horse's mouth and made William repeat everything he had shared.

William said that the meteorite that crashed onto Earth was the cause of the supercat awakening. It had crossed the globe before finally landing in Maine, USA. However, that did not mean that the whole meteorite could be found there. It had gradually broken into pieces as it journeyed through the atmosphere, scattering meteorite fragments around the world. The thing that ended up in Maine was the largest of these fragments.

The theory William subscribed to was that the fragments could intensify a supercat's abilities. This was why the ones in Maine were particularly powerful. The radiation from the fragment bounced onto them, strengthening them day by day and pushing them to evolve into unexpected, new levels. It had reached a point where supercats had entered the public service. Some of them had successfully climbed up the ladder and had fought for equal speaking and voting rights as their human counterparts.

With this new arrangement came the genesis of Star Cats. It was an organization in which the American government and free supercats worked together to manage global catastrophes and to conduct research on the meteorite.

Zhao Yao narrowed his eyes as he took in all this information.

"How far have you come in terms of meteorite and supercat research?" he asked.

William shrugged, "I'm just a nobody. I don't know much."

"Tell me whatever you know."

"Well, there are a few trump cards, or rather, trump cats, in my organization," William began, "The government uses the fragment to strengthen them. They grow and evolve continuously. Even though there are apostles who borrow their abilities, no one really knows the true depths of their powers."

Zhao Yao nodded impatiently. It was expected that they would use the fragment to bolster their best cats.

"What else?" he prompted.

A deep groove settled between William's eyebrows as he racked his brain for more details.

"I've heard some stories. There was talk that they hoped to breed supercats, clone them, and somehow replicate the power of the fragment to accelerate the evolution of the cats. I'm not sure if there's any truth to them."

Zhao Yao continued to probe him, but it quickly became clear that William did not know much more.

He ended the interrogation with one final question, "Is there anything else you would like to add? You do have a partner here on the island. If what you tell me does not match what he says, there will be trouble."

William hesitated for a moment before speaking, "I'm not lying to you. Everything I've told you is true. We're just low-level officers. We don't know much."

After an intense brainwashing session with Old Cat, it was close to impossible for him to lie. However, Zhao Yao's threat did seem to remind him of something he missed out. There was another crinkle between his brows when he added, "Oh, there is one more thing I've heard. It's quite far-fetched, so I doubt it's anything more than a rumor."

"Oh?" Zhao Yao was curious and itching to know more, "What rumor? Pray tell."

There was another pause before William continued, "A colleague told me that there was an, erm, incident in the research facility. An alien escaped."

"Huh? An alien?"

Willian nodded earnestly, "Yes. I heard that the government managed to extract an alien from the big fragment that landed in Maine, but I think it is absolutely ridiculous. There have been so many stories about aliens in Area 51 for decades too, no?"

Zhao Yao shrugged. "Perhaps."

In the next moment, William had been robbed of all five senses and had fallen to the ground, unconscious.

Zhao Yao called for Diana and Caesar, whom appeared quickly.

"Erase his memories from the past 24 hours," he ordered.

After that, he got Old Cat to brainwash William's colleague, whom became honest and compliant, but did not offer any new information. The man had his memory erased as well.

"As I suspected, America has been actively regulating and developing superpowers too. I hope we aren't too far behind?" Zhao Yao mused, scratching the bottom of his chin.

The things he heard were a little unsettling.

He was fairly confident that he was one of the strongest apostles in the world. However, there was no way that he could take down an entire country, much less one that had the latest military technology and a substantial number of meteorite fragments.

The dimension doorways were the ultimate defence and served as the perfect escape, but they were not indestructible.

"If I want to get my hands on all the fragments, I might have to fight the American government. I really need more horsepower for that."

He was not ready, but that was okay. Collecting the fragments was no simple task. It would take time and preparation. For now, Zhao Yao would focus on tying up all loose ends on the island and eventually transform it into his personal, portable basecamp with the help of a dimension doorway.

One of those final loose strings included freeing the two Americans and the rest of the stranded individuals from the island. This rescue mission earned him 520 * 2 experience points.

With that, the mission panel became:

Book: Level 6 (45,302 / 10,000)

Matcha: Level 7 (4,700 / 20,000)

Elizabeth: Level 6 (4,200 / 10,000)

Dust Ball: Level 8 (6,355 / 50,000)

Ares: Level 6 (5,400 / 10,000)

Lucifer: Level 6 (2,900 / 10,000)

Sphynx Cat: Level 6 (300 / 10,000)

"Oh right, there'll be the end-of-month tally tonight. There's going to be an influx of experience points. Looks like I can level up a few cats at once."

Zhao Yao nodded his head smugly. Right now, he was feeling fairly confident about his upcoming mission to fight Star Cats so that he can collect all the meteorite fragments.