Chapter 40: Fighting Over the Cat Cub
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“Mr. Xia, there’s no need to be nervous. We’re only here to see how you intend to form a contract with the Cat Demon Specter.”
Liu Ya’s words were actually a probe.
The three of them suspected that Xia Tianqiong had gone to such lengths precisely to contract the Cat Demon Specter, but they were not entirely certain.
Xia Tianqiong regarded them coldly. “What I do has nothing to do with you. Stop disturbing me.”
Seeing that he did not deny it, the three became even more certain that he had found a way to contract the Cat Demon Specter and was already putting it into practice.
“You can’t say that,” Guo Sheng said sternly. “The lives of tens of thousands of people are at stake, as are our own. How could this have nothing to do with us? If you successfully contract the Cat Demon Specter and resolve this large-scale supernatural incident, I will certainly put in a commendation for you. Even if you choose not to join the Administration Bureau in the future, you will still receive an appropriate reward.”
Bai Tianxiong also tried to persuade him. “Mr. Xia, go ahead with whatever you need to do. We’ll just watch from the side. If anything unexpected happens, we can help you.”
The three had made up their minds and refused to leave.
Xia Tianqiong frowned. All three of them were catfolk, and he was a catfolk himself. He could not simply attack and kill them, or he would trigger the death rule.
Besides, even if he could fight, he might not be able to defeat the three of them together.
Since that was the case, he could only let them watch from the side.
“Don’t come any closer, and don’t disturb me,” Xia Tianqiong said helplessly before ignoring them.
The little cat child was too absorbed in eating to take any interest in anyone else.
Like a little beggar who had not eaten for days, it wolfed down the food with abandon, making a mess of itself and covering its face and body in grease.
“Is it good? I have plenty more.”
As he spoke, Xia Tianqiong casually manifested a serving of fragrant pan-fried hairtail and held it out before the little cat child. “Follow me from now on, and you’ll have fish to eat every day. How about it?”
His voice was gentle, his smile tender, as though he feared that speaking too loudly might frighten it away.
The little cat child glanced at him suspiciously from the corner of its eye. Then its tiny paw shot out and snatched the pan-fried fish. Hugging it close, it began gnawing without answering.
Xia Tianqiong asked several times in succession, but received no response.
He began to grow anxious. In his previous life, that demon hunter had lured the creature into a contract using precisely this method. Why was it not working for him?
Could the publicly available information be inaccurate? Was some crucial detail being concealed?
His thoughts began to run wild. If he could not contract the little cat child, then he would have no way to indirectly contract the ferocious-grade Cat Demon Specter. In that case, this trip would have been for nothing.
“It’s a supernatural clone split off from the Cat Demon Specter? You intend to contract it and thereby indirectly contract the Cat Demon Specter’s true body?”
Guo Sheng had also witnessed the Cat Demon Specter split into hundreds of catfolk clones.
With his experience, it was not difficult to guess what had happened.
Official records contained similar cases from history. A little thought was all it took to see through Xia Tianqiong’s objective.
Bai Tianxiong was unaware of this. “If it’s possible to indirectly contract the true body by contracting one of its supernatural clones, then does that mean any clone will do?”
The implication was obvious.
The Cat Demon Specter had split into more than two hundred clones. Anyone had a chance to contract one; it did not necessarily have to be Xia Tianqiong.
“In theory, yes. But in this game, that may not be possible. We’re all catfolk, and the rules prevent us from attacking the catfolk clones. If we want to form a contract, the only option is to lure one in the way he’s doing.”
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Guo Sheng stared at Xia Tianqiong, his eyes narrowing slightly as he tried to read his expression.
Unfortunately, Xia Tianqiong acted as though he had heard nothing. His expression did not change in the slightest.
The little cat child wolfed down more than a dozen servings of food in one breath, while Xia Tianqiong continued manifesting more for it.
Its tiny body was like a bottomless pit. No matter how much it ate, its belly never seemed to swell.
“How about it? Do you want to form a contract with me? From now on, you can eat as much as you like.”
Xia Tianqiong coaxed and cajoled it patiently, but the little cat child was like a mute. It merely glared at him and refused to say a word.
It neither agreed nor refused. It simply wanted to freeload on Xia Tianqiong’s food.
“If you won’t agree, then there’ll be no more food.”
Xia Tianqiong suddenly stopped manifesting food, hoping to use it as leverage.
The little cat child spread its greasy lips and shouted indignantly, “I want fish!”
“So you can talk.”
“I want fish.”
“Agree to form a contract with me, and I’ll give you fish.”
“I want fish.”
“…”
The little cat child repeated those same four words over and over, refusing to say even one more. Xia Tianqiong was rendered speechless.
It really was an idiot. There was no way to communicate with it normally.
“Mr. Xia, why don’t you let me try?”
Guo Sheng suddenly stepped forward several paces. “This matter is of great importance. I’m doing this for the greater good, not trying to compete with you. I hope you won’t take offense.”
Without waiting for Xia Tianqiong’s reply, he flipped his wrist and produced a pill the size of a thumb from somewhere.
The pill was bluish green. The moment it appeared, it released the fresh fragrance of herbs along with a dense aura of netherworld energy.
Xia Tianqiong’s gaze sharpened as he recognized it. It was a pill specifically made for supernatural beings, known as a Spectral Power Pill.
It helped supernatural beings rapidly restore their ghostly energy and had powerful healing effects. It could also assist them in breaking through cultivation bottlenecks and increase their chances of advancing to a higher level.
It held an immense attraction for the vast majority of supernatural beings.
The moment the Spectral Power Pill appeared, the little cat child immediately stood upright. Its eyes locked onto the pill, and its body began moving toward it of its own accord.
Xia Tianqiong’s expression darkened. “Chief Guo, are you trying to compete with me?”
Before Guo Sheng could answer, Liu Ya rebuked Xia Tianqiong coldly.
“Mr. Xia, I hope you’ll put the greater good first. You can’t contract it. Chief Guo is only trying to help you. Otherwise, how can we bring this game to an end as quickly as possible? How can we save tens of thousands of civilians?”
“What greater good? Earlier, you wanted to slaughter tens of thousands of ratfolk. Why didn’t you mention the greater good then?”
“That was because you refused to reveal the information, and we had no other choice. Now that there’s a better solution, of course we should carry it out.
“As for who contracts it, that isn’t important. What matters is resolving this supernatural incident and saving as many civilians as possible.”
Liu Ya had completely abandoned her former gentleness and amiability. At that moment, her face was sharp and spiteful, as though Xia Tianqiong owed her money.
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Xia Tianqiong suddenly realized that he should not waste his breath arguing with this woman.
There was no point at all.
While the two were speaking, the little cat child reached Guo Sheng. It raised a paw and was just about to snatch the Spectral Power Pill from his hand when Guo Sheng pulled it away.
“Form a contract with me, and I’ll give you this.”
The little cat child glared at him and huffed angrily. “I want it!”
This time, it had omitted the word “fish.” It seemed it was not entirely devoid of intelligence.
Guo Sheng asked three times in succession, and each time received the same answer, just as Xia Tianqiong had earlier.
Gritting his teeth, Guo Sheng handed the Spectral Power Pill to the little cat child.
“After you eat it, you’ll form a contract with me, all right?”
The little cat child did not answer. It took the pill, stuffed it into its mouth, and shouted indignantly, “I want more!”
“…”
Guo Sheng grew irritated. The pills were extremely expensive, costing fifty thousand netherworld notes each. Even his own contracted supernatural beings rarely received one.
Yet after eating it, the little cat child not only refused to agree to a contract but immediately demanded more.
It was a bottomless pit. No matter how much he gave it, he might never be able to contract it.
“Mr. Xia, are you certain that luring it with food will make it agree to a contract?”
“Do you think I’m going to tell you?”
Only after seeing that Guo Sheng had failed did Xia Tianqiong finally relax.
Bai Tianxiong had been watching from the side. Suddenly, he said, “Chief Guo, may I try?”
Guo Sheng looked at him curiously. “You have a way?”
“I’ll give it a try. We don’t have any other options for the moment.”
As Bai Tianxiong spoke, a female supernatural being drifted out of his body and plunged directly into the little cat child.
“Form a contract with me, or I’ll kill you!”
He actually intended to use force to compel the little cat child into a contract.
Both Xia Tianqiong and Guo Sheng looked astonished.
Liu Ya warned him, “How dare you attack it? You’ll trigger the death rule.”
“I have a way to resist the death rule. Don’t worry about me.”
Bai Tianxiong smiled confidently. He had clearly come prepared. He then ordered the female supernatural being to torture the little cat child.
Crack!
The little cat child’s four limbs twisted backward.
“Form a contract with me, or I’ll torture you to death.”
Supernatural beings feared death as well. The most commonly used method of contracting one was to beat it into submission, threaten it with life and death, and then seize the opportunity to form a contract.