454 Despair ? (1/2)

The guests seated in the hall were beginning to show signs of impatience.

A severe creased was wedged between Faceless's eyebrows. He turned to the men next to him and said, ”Get someone to check why the cats still aren't here.”

Not one person in the Mao Gang knew that Pebble and his guardsmen had been ambushed or that the basement was being emptied. Just as a couple of them were sent to check on the warehouse, Zhao Yao had already collected every last one of the supercats. He immediately stepped through the dimension doorway, which was transported to the very center of the hall.

As he did this, the content on his mission panel was refreshed.

Lightning and Red Packet had returned to the fold. The supercats that were about to auctioned off were also in the safety of the extradimensional belly. By accomplishing both of these missions, Zhao Yao was awarded 500*2 and 3,000*2 experience points.

”Nice,” he grinned to himself.

He was also given a brand new task, one that made him laugh out loud.

”Oh boy, this is just perfect for me.”

Sidequest: Despair

Objective: Make Faceless feel your rage and give him a taste of real despair

Reward: 100 to 1,000 experience points will be rewarded according to the amount of despair experienced by Faceless

Punishment: None

Zhao Yao's eyes landed on where Faceless was standing. The corners of his lips were lifted into a smirk.

”Well, you've caused me a lot of trouble and even gotten me injured. I think I really should educate you on what despair feels like.”

Matcha could not hear these thoughts in Zhao Yao's head, but he felt an evil aura radiating off his owner. He looked up at Zhao Yao, then followed his gaze to the man in the distance.

He sighed knowingly, ”This guy is doomed. I wonder what Zhao Yao is up to this time.

Within seconds, the bodyguards were seen racing back into the hall.

”Boss…” one of them panted, ”Boss, this is bad. The supercats are gone. All of them are gone.”

”What?!”

Faceless felt slightly faint from the news, but he took a deep breath and forced himself to stay focused.

”Could you repeat what you just said?” he asked.

The guard looked like he was close to tears as he spoke, ”The supercats in the warehouse are all missing. It's completely empty.”

Faceless's vision became blurry for a second. He had to shut his eyes to steady himself. His entire body was still shaking when he opened them.

”Who?” he breathed out, ”Who could have stolen my cats?”

As if in response to his question, Zhao Yao chose to make his appearance at that moment as the Headless Horseman. The ethereal light from the dimension doorway bathed him in a blinding, white glow.

A mixture of shock and curiosity hung on the many faces in the audience. Faceless, however, was glaring openly at him.

”Who's this joker?” he thought to himself.

Zhao Yao did not avert his eyes. He stared right back and addressed him directly, ”So, Faceless, how does it feel to have your supercats stolen right under your nose?”

Surprise crossed his face, but that quickly morphed into rage.

”You took my cats?” Faceless repeated incredulously.

Zhao Yao had the audacity to chuckle lightly in response.

”Yep,” he said, making sure to pop the 'p', ”Every cat that was supposed to be auctioned off tonight is in my hands at the moment.”

The revelation transformed the atmosphere in the hall. A buzz of excitement replaced the latent curiosity of the crowd. Every apostle was now staring at Zhao Yao like he was a shiny treasure chest.

”Seize him!” Faceless cried.

His apostles and guards immediately sprung into action, but found that they no longer had their superpowers.

Peacock wore an expression of alarm as he turned to Faceless, ”Boss, my powers have been taken from me. That guy…”

Faceless paled.

”Ah, you just realized it, didn't you?” Zhao Yao said gleefully, ”I didn't just take the cats you wanted to auction off. I took the ones owned by your gang too.”

Faceless felt his body grow limp. He brain was still reeling from the situation, but he could still muster the strength to glare hatefully at the Headless Horseman from his seat.

His fury pleased Zhao Yao tremendously.

”So, what do you think? Are you surprised?” he asked cheerily, ”I just want to assure you that this is not all I have in store. I'm not just going to take your cats. I'm going to take your money too. I want it all.”

Zhao Yao's last sentence sounded oddly familiar to Faceless. Within seconds, something in his mind clicked.