85 The Zoo ? (1/2)

Elizabeth's jaw dropped as Zhao Yao concluded his proposal.

”Seriously?”

Matcha's response was far more dramatic. He had gotten to his feet and climbed into their line of sight, ears folded flat against his head.

”Zhao Yao, you're the only one to see my potential,” he marveled, pawing his transformed ears gently, ”From now on, my name is George Matcha! I hail from an exotic line of Scottish Fold crossbreeds. I disguise myself as a domestic tabby to evade detection and attention.”

”Idiot,” Elizabeth muttered, glancing at Matcha one more time before returning to grooming herself.

Zhao Yao could not help but took a look at Matcha as well.

”This silly cat sure recovers quickly,” he mused, ”He should be able to entertain customers tomorrow.”

Soon, he pulled over at a parking lot a distance away from the zoo. He would rather trek there then get caught trespassing again. Elizabeth and Matcha were in the cat carrier that sat on his shoulders.

The two of them were not happy with the arrangement. They had both grown in size significantly over the past months, so it was a bit of a squeeze. Elizabeth took up a particularly large amount of space because she was larger and was covered in layers of long, thick fur.

”You've gotten fatter again! The bag can't fit you anymore, you shaggy ragdoll!” Matcha complained.

”How many times must I repeat myself? I'm not fat, I just have a fluffy coat of fur,” Elizabeth retorted.

She used her paw to pat Matcha's tummy, feeling the rolls of fat vibrate in return.

”And please, before you criticise me, take a look at that pot belly of yours,” she continued smugly.

”Oh, are you unhappy with me?” Matcha mocked, using both his paws to squeeze Elizabeth's face, ”I have a bit of a tummy because I'm storing fat for the winter. Jiangmen city Scottish Folds like myself tend to get on the chubby side at this time of the year.”

”Stupid cat. That's not a real breed,” Elizabeth argued, reaching for Matcha's artificially folded ears, ”Stop folding them! You look ridiculous.”

Zhao Yao could feel the cats squabble. The backpack was rocking from their fight, making it difficult for him to move forward. He impatiently rapped on the hard case of the backpack a few times, ”Alright, alright. Stop moving, or I'm cutting internet access for both of you.”

That shut them up. Now that they have stopped writhing around, Zhao Yao could pick up speed as he made his way to the zoo.

The cats weighed close to 30 pounds combined, but Zhao Yao had no difficulty with that load on his shoulders. Their powers had strengthened him considerably over time. The aura of the Celestial Beats had made him stronger as well. He marched steadily onwards, never once out of breath.

He started using time freeze as he got nearer to the zoo. He darted forward for six seconds, then hid behind trees and in the shadows during the cool down period. Carefully, he inched closer and closer to his destination.

*

While Zhao Yao continued to move with quiet stealth, the carnivore zone in the zoo was erupting with roars and hisses.

A dozen tigers had taken to circling a man. They took turns to snap their powerful jaws and snarl, taunting him.

The man was a bald, muscular black man. He had on a pair of boxing shoes, red exercise shorts and a black tank top.

With his ripped biceps and broad shoulders, he did not look at all like the kind of guy you would want to mess with.

He chuckled as the tigers started closing in on him.

”Still hiding, are we?” he said in fluent Mandarin, ”You know that these kitties are no match for me. If you don't want them to get hurt, make them leave. Now.”