402 The Interrogation ? (2/2)
Ishida thought about it and decided to selectively censor some information. He purposely avoided topics on why he came to China but instead revolved his story around Matsuo. He began by saying, ”The person with the power to turn into a ghost is Matsuo. He is the owner of the peer to peer lending platform. I'm only here because he is willing …”
With his impeccable storytelling skills, Zhao Yao had gotten a grasp of what happened. The person kneeling before him was Ishida. He was just a pawn in the greater scheme of things. The true mastermind was Matsuo who wielded the power to manipulate ghosts.
However, Matsuo had decided to hide by switching to ghost form. He refused to reveal himself despite the threats and warnings thrown at him.
In reality, Matsuo was floating next to Ishida right now. Anger seared through his body as he stared at this ungrateful man, ”This stupid b*stard with no backbone. How dare he tell on me?”
Matsuo's anger was so palpable that it managed to send shivers running down Ishida's spine. In response, Ishida immediately collapsed to the ground with his palms firmly clasped together and prayed, ”Matsuo, do not blame me for my actions. It is futile to resist the moment we've set foot in this place. The more you resist, the worst the outcome.” Matsuo's agony was almost tangible, and Ishida couldn't help feeling it was too raw for him to fake. Ishida continued, ”Stop resisting. The cats here are crazy. You can never escape!”
Matsuo was hiding in a corner with a sly grin plastered on his face, ”Unlike you, I'm not a piece of trash. There's nothing they can do to me.”
Meanwhile, Zhao Yao had pondered about the situation for quite some time before deciding to bait the opponent using his illusion.
Firstly, his power of 'five senses deprivation' swept across the entire belly. Then, he slowly sauntered across the place. However, he still couldn't locate Matsuo's position.
”Hmph,” Zhao Yao began to stroke his chin thoughtfully as he pondered, ”Don't tell me that Matsuo managed to slip through my fingers? However, I'm 100% sure that I covered all possible grounds with that three gates. Based on his trajectory, there's no way he could have escaped.”
Meanwhile, Roly Poly managed to breathe a sigh of relief as he uttered, ”Thank goodness. Matsuo, you must hang in there. Do not get caught. As long as this guy manages to escape, I'll be able to escape from my debt as well!”
Suddenly, a glimmer flashed across Zhao Yao's eyes as he concluded, ”There can only be three possible scenarios. Firstly, he didn't enter. Secondly, he was unaffected by the illusion. Lastly … his original form is a ghost.
By using 'five senses deprivation', Zhao Yao only managed to rob individuals of their five senses. In Nekomata's case, he was robbed of the ability to maintain his spirit power, hence he would revert to his original flesh form. If Matsuo was a ghost all along, I wouldn't be able to see him even if he's robbed of his five senses.”
Matsuo instantly regained consciousness the moment Zhao Yao's power was lifted. He began to float around as his mouth curved into a smile, ”Dumb human! Your illusion is powerless against me! You won't be able to capture me even if 24 hours go by! That's because I'm a ghost!”
Even when Xiao Yu wielded 'five senses deprivation', it only managed to put a stop to the ghosts' onslaught. It never managed to truly purge the ghosts summoned by Matsuo or compel these ghosts to revert to their flesh and blood form.
”This is rather tricky. I'll just wait for 24 hours to pass first,” Zhao Yao muttered as he propped his chin on his hand, ”If he doesn't appear at the end of the 24 hours, I can rule out the possibility that he's unaffected by illusion. Then, I'll get Nekomata to take a look. With his power, he should be able to sense or even detect his presence. If all fails, that simply means that I didn't manage to capture him.”
Anyway, there was nothing Matsuo could do if he maintained in his ghost form. Furthermore, the extradimensional belly gates were only accessible to Zhao Yao and Dust Ball. Hence, Zhao Yao decided to return home and wait out the 24 hours.
In the middle of a night, a giant shadow secretly crept up to Dust Ball with his huge frame looming over her. He then bent next to her before patting gently on her back.
Dust Ball struggled to open her eyes, only to see Roly Poly. She asked, ”What's the matter?”
Roly Poly spoke in his most humble and polite tone, ”Hey, Dust Ball, please let me enter the Cat Nation.”
”Why are you going in there in the middle of the night?” Dust Ball asked nonchalantly, ”Zhao Yao said that no one is allowed to enter or leave the place except for me and him.”
Unbeknownst to them, another furry shadow was hiding behind a wall, eavesdropping on their conversation. This was none other than Matcha.