Chapter 37: Operation Cat-Kill

"Do not kill the Rat-Men; kill the Cat-Men. Once the number of Cat-Men drops below one hundred, the Cat Demon Specter will undergo a transformation, and I have a way to deal with it then."

Xia Tianqiong only said half of what he knew, leaving out the details of how he intended to handle the anomaly.

Guo Sheng frowned and asked, "Even we don't have information on this anomaly. How do you know about it?"

Xia Tianqiong had already prepared his excuse. "The Specter I have contracted happens to know this Cat Demon Specter; it told me."

Such situations did exist; some official intelligence was indeed derived from contracted Specters.

"What kind of change will it undergo, and how exactly do you plan to deal with it? You had better be clear so we can have some peace of mind."

Guo Sheng was skeptical of Xia Tianqiong, as the information provided was far too thin.

"That is all I can tell you."

Xia Tianqiong did not trust them either and had no intention of revealing more. If he told them how he intended to contract the Specter, they might try to seize the opportunity for themselves or sabotage his plans. After all, a Fierce-level Specter was incredibly powerful at this stage and could manifest a Domain; there was no Ghost Hunter who wouldn't want to contract a Specter of that caliber.

The three people opposite him frowned in dissatisfaction.

Liu Ya urged, "Mr. Xia, this concerns the lives of tens of thousands of people. Please, tell us everything you know!"

Bai Tianxiong added, "If you explain it clearly, we can coordinate with you!"

Xia Tianqiong remained tight-lipped, unwilling to reveal even a fraction more. "Since it concerns the lives of tens of thousands, you might as well choose to trust me. It costs you nothing."

Guo Sheng’s expression grew cold, his irritation rising. "On the basis of this one sentence alone, how can you expect us to believe you?"

"Actually, I don't care whether you believe me or not, and I don't need you to do anything. As long as you don't kill a large number of Rat-Men, I have my own way to deal with the Cat Demon."

"You are a Rat-Man now. If you start killing cats, you will become a Cat-Man in the next round, and Cat-Men cannot kill other Cat-Men. You only have one round of the game to do this. There are still one or two thousand Cat-Men scattered everywhere; how could you possibly reduce their number to under one hundred in a single round?"

"As long as there is no outside interference, the game will progress naturally, and the Cat-Men will eventually drop below one hundred. Of course, I won't wait until then, because by that point, the Rat-Men would be nearly extinct. I will find a way to reduce the Cat-Men to under one hundred ahead of time, provided you do not kill the Rat-Men. Otherwise, I cannot succeed."

Xia Tianqiong spoke with sincerity, but the three remained unconvinced.

Guo Sheng’s face was stern as he said, "This is a matter of life and death. Since you cannot make us trust you, we cannot cooperate with you. I have decided to proceed with the plan: wipe out all the Rat-Men."

Liu Ya and Bai Tianxiong remained silent, which was taken as their tacit agreement.

Xia Tianqiong sighed inwardly. As expected, he had failed to persuade them.

"Fine then. Carry on with your work. I’ll be going."

Since their paths were different, they could not walk together. Xia Tianqiong turned and left quickly. He needed to find another way to stop them or complete his plan before they finished off all the Rat-Men.

There were only three of them, while there were still forty or fifty thousand Rat-Men. Even though they were skilled Ghost Hunters with the aid of Specters, killing so many would not be an overnight task.

After Xia Tianqiong left, Liu Ya watched his retreating figure. "Are we just going to let him go like that?"

"What else? He has the ability to teleport; even if we teamed up, we couldn't keep him here." Guo Sheng spoke coldly, then suddenly turned to Bai Tianxiong. "Since you are representing the Bai family and acting in coordination with our Bureau, I will ensure this contribution is recorded for you."

"Many thanks, Section Chief Guo." Bai Tianxiong, who looked like a rough man, was actually very meticulous. "The reason Mr. Xia wouldn't say more is likely because he has a way to contract the Cat Demon and is afraid we might compete with him for it!"

"Hmph, short-sighted fool!" Guo Sheng had actually guessed the same and felt quite displeased about it.

Bai Tianxiong suggested with a meaningful look, "Why don't we wait a bit before killing the Rat-Men and see what he is actually trying to do?"

Elsewhere, Xia Tianqiong found Huang Yu and asked her to immediately spread a piece of news.