Chapter 157

Sleep paralysis?

He had been a little nervous, but now the arrogant gentleman, hearing her words, wanted to laugh.

He looked at Ling Yue contemptuously: "Surely it's just another strange custom of your country, even mentioning sleep paralysis—how could there be ghosts in this world?"

"You curse me, you dare to offend me?!"

Ling Yue: "……"

Fine, good advice can't persuade that damned ghost.

She looked at the female ghost sister with scarlet red eyes lying on the old man's body; the ghost stared straight at her, her eyeballs rolling, she should have some consciousness, but not much.

Ling Yue thought about telling her colleagues at the Special Safety Bureau in a few days.

As for now, she lifted her eyelids, gazing straight upward; the final match had ended, and at that moment, inside the venue, the large LED screen's electronic subtitles began to scramble, displaying the final results according to ranking.

Countless pairs of eyes looked expectantly at the screen above.

Even though, due to Charles's subjective reasons, the Mysterious Cat Queen only got second place in the final match, don't forget that before this it had always been first; with only a single red thread in the blue ribbon, its performance was dazzling among all contestants.

"Holy shit, are those people's eyes blind?" Seeing the result, the confident Zhao Yan's mindset instantly exploded.

He displeasedly looked at the score on the screen; he never expected that on just the first day, he had thought victory was already in the bag, yet he missed it by a hair.

What's more infuriating is that the photo displayed in first place turned out to be the very local cat he despised.

His own Queen was in second place; sharing the same name made him even more annoyed. In an instant, it felt as if countless gazes were converging on him, wondering what they would think.

Zhao Yan lifted the box containing his Queen, also shockedly looking at the stage; he couldn't believe that his perfect performance was actually inferior to a small local cat.

Could there be some backstage deal? Or have these humans' aesthetics deteriorated to such a point that they think a black coal ball is prettier than this ethereally beautiful plush?

"This can't be real, can it?"

At the same time, many contestants on the field suddenly brightened up; the CFA pet cat competition lasts only two days, today has passed, and the resulting first place is not Queen but another queen!

"Heaven, that's too cool!"

"I think it's unbelievable—the first place is actually a Chinese Domestic Cat, a huge upset, a dark horse that came out of nowhere!"

"What's so strange about that?" At that moment, a girl suddenly stood up, facing everyone's gaze, and proudly said: "How could a Chinese Domestic Cat not be first place? What's the reasoning?"

The speaking girl held a plump Daju; she was the very girl Zhao Yan had criticized earlier, her cat had been eliminated, yet this did not prevent her from sharing in the honor.

Seeing the second-place Queen being firmly pressed down by the queen, she couldn't help laughing, her heart overjoyed, and she shouted praises without restraint: "The Chinese Domestic Cat is forever divine!"

She saw the incredulous looks of others, pursed her lips, and felt she could explain a few more sentences: "You've all seen the queen's appearance—such a handsome, imposing big shot; if it's not first, who is? The judges' eyes aren't blind, are they?"

In her final sentence, the girl lowered her voice, muttering complaints, while the Daju meowed loudly, rebutting her words: "Blind! Just blind!"

It scratched at its owner's arm: "I'm such a handsome, cute little kitten, yet they say I'm too fat, unhealthy!"

"Hmph, I'm clearly muscular, alright! I've got muscles!"

Although the girl couldn't hear the Daju's mutterings, she knew that at times like this she definitely shouldn't interject.

She affectionately stroked her silly, goofy Daju, satisfiedly curling the corners of her mouth.

As for her beating around the bush, she was referring to Zhao Yan, that xenophiliac

hypocritical petty person!

However, the angriest person now isn't Zhao Yan but should be Charles; after he said those words in front of everyone, the resulting ranking was like an invisible slap that fiercely struck his face.

First place, it actually is first place!

Moreover, that day many contestants heard his words clearly, even recording them; once the video was posted, it immediately caused a huge uproar online.

One factor is timing: if it had been a few years earlier, national cultural confidence wouldn't be as strong as today, and the resulting reaction wouldn't be as widespread and intense; the other factor is harmony among people.

Ling Yue appeared on camera.

As an internet streamer with over a hundred million fans, unlike other platform streamers who constantly swipe and buy, Ling Yue's followers are all die-hard fans, and the nobles and wealthy merchants are countless; perhaps there will be times when she is needed to help.

Therefore, after Ling Yue and her cat were humiliated, the reaction was widespread and chained, also because Charles's remark was truly excessive, a completely condescending, disdainful attitude.

In a short time, the Organizing Committee received complaint letters as numerous as cow hairs, each directly pointing at Charles, questioning on what basis he claimed our country's Mysterious Cat is useless, when our ancestors knew far more than you do!

The Organizing Committee originally wanted to keep quiet and wait it out, but the online quarrels grew ever more fierce, even being turned by netizens into various memes and GIFs, sent over the wall to the foreign net; one could say it was a disgrace that spread everywhere.

Although the British royal family is now merely a mascot-like presence, this is still their face; as a distant relative of the royal family, Baron Charles's behavior received royal condemnation, and secretly, a high-ranking official sent a message to the Organizing Committee.

Relying on his status to insist on his noble bloodline theory, Charles immediately couldn't take it.

In the hotel's luxury suite, because of the heated argument, his face flushed, showing he was extremely angry.

It is said that this suite is never offered for sale, being the hotel's highest-level treatment; Charles was also its first guest to stay there.

At this moment, the usually quiet room echoed with fierce argument sounds.

Charles gripped the phone, veins bulging on the back of his hand: "What are you saying? I need to apologize? Why should I apologize! Shouldn't pets have bloodline theory? How could the lowly things of those peasants compare to the breeds cultivated by nobility?"

The Organizing Committee staff, hearing his old-fashioned tone, felt a headache to death; finally invoking the royal family's command, this arrogant baron ceased his rebuttal.

Just as the staff thought he would compromise, they suddenly heard Charles's firm voice: "I won't attend tomorrow's final!"

On the other end, after a moment of stunned silence, they could only hear the busy signal beeping from the receiver.

Baron Charles hung up the phone, his chest rising and falling continuously.

He looked none too well, his complexion pale as if drained: "Damn it! These damned bastards!"

He swore, panting; older folks are like this—when emotions swing too greatly and inner fire is strong, he soon felt his heart uncomfortable, his limbs freezing cold.

But clearly, the room's air conditioner was already turned up to maximum.

Charles still felt freezing cold, his lips trembling, unable to see his own bluish complexion: "No, I need to take a comforting hot bath."

He staggered to the washroom, not noticing a trail of water behind him, constantly following like a shadow; a woman entirely blood-red followed him, and wherever she went, cold air followed.

Upon close look, one would see that the red on her body wasn't dyed clothing but dark reddish-black brown scabs, like a silkworm cocoon tightly wrapping her; her ten long nails, flashing with a cold blue gleam, twitched, as if they were poisoned daggers.

She lay on Charles's back, her long nails covering his eyes.

In the bathroom, the sound of flowing water rose; hot steam blurred vision, the freezing Charles was testing the water temperature in the tub when suddenly he furrowed his brow, his muddled mind having only one thought:

"Why isn't the water hot?"

Originally the hot-and-cold faucet was turned by him, all set to super-high temperature; he comfortably lay down in it, and under the terrifying heat, the instant his skin and flesh touched the water, they instantly turned white.

From beginning to end, he made no sound.

Early the next morning, the competition committee's judges, dressed neatly, arrived at the gathering point; upon seeing familiar people they would chat a few words, but they dared not mention what happened yesterday.

While speaking, Jennifer couldn't help but take off the cashmere coat draped over her: "It's so hot, the car is really hot."

Her friend said the same: "It's indeed hot, but I realized we're wearing too many clothes; I don't know what's going on, the hotel's air conditioning seems broken—I woke up freezing in the middle of the night."

"Who isn't like that? Otherwise we wouldn't be wearing so much."

In the time it took to say those few words, people began taking off their clothes one after another; actually it's not their fault—when they first came out, the driver was startled, there wasn't even a snowflake in the sky, yet each of them had wrapped themselves up like a ball.

After that, they waited left and right, but Charles never showed up.

At this point, everyone had started to complain, but out of respect for his status they dared not speak; only a silent air lingered, as if hinting at something.

When the person in charge arrived, he first glanced at the judges; his expression wasn't good. He had thought Charles was just temporarily upset, but he hadn't expected Charles really intended to do this.

"Face is given mutually; Charles's willful behavior made him very dissatisfied, so he waved his hand and said directly: 'It seems Mr. Charles is still angry. Don't panic, Mr. Charles told me yesterday he's feeling unwell, so he probably can't make it to today's final.'"

Upon hearing this, the judges were all shocked; they looked again at the person in charge, who said with a sincere face: "Since he can't come, you'll have to do the scoring and decide the final champion."

"Okay, sir."

The remaining eight judges all knew that in this final, Charles had been kicked out; this was actually good, because whenever Charles was around, he always acted senior and made everyone unhappy.

Now then—

They looked at each other, showing a few pleased expressions.

CFA pet cat competition site.

There was still a full half hour before the start; after a day of familiarization, the contestants were already well acquainted with the specific procedure, and moreover, unlike yesterday, today only the top ten remained.

However, although the number of cats had decreased, the competition became ever more intense.

"Whoosh~~"

Ling Yue shook the can, opened it, and the tin made a pop; she poured out the pet food, and under the gaze of the Mysterious Cat Queen, Ling Yue said with a smile: "Extra meal."

Mysterious Cat Queen: "Okay."

Moreover, this small handful really isn't much; it buried its head in eating, while the dry-food cat beside it couldn't quite stand it.

At this time, it was also the feeding period for most cats; the litter scooper checked the cats' condition and mental state, making final adjustments.

Unfortunately, after the Mysterious Cat Queen ate, many cats' hearts became unsettled.

The "crunch crunch" sound reached their ears, along with a milky fragrance, making the cats not only curious but wondering what the neighbor was eating—so fracious, so tempting to cats!

Most obvious was a cheese cat, i. e., an American Shorthair; the litter scooper sensed something off, followed his little treasure's gaze, and was also stunned.

She was feeding her cat a premium cat food costing several hundred per pound, imported from abroad, which her cat especially loved—so how come now—

The cheese cat Seven Seven casually scooped a bit from the food bowl, eating at a leisurely pace of three bites per pellet, its round, lustrous big eyes almost glued to the queen's bowl.

Its pink little nose twitched—this is truly fragrant! Its keen sense of smell could tell that what the big shot was eating must be a human delicacy!

The cat food it used to like now seemed like plain rice before it—tasteless to eat, a shame to waste.

Qi

The cheese cat has always been known for its gentle temperament and high intelligence, plus its cute appearance and gray-blue markings, making it truly a delicate little cutie.

Consequently, it has also garnered much affection and favor from many people.

Seven Seven was even considered a top-three contender by many this time, but now the litter scooper sees the situation: the little foodie gazes longingly at others' food, embarrassed, covering her face, thinking, "With just this, still want third?" She has lost confidence.

At the same time, cats drawn by the milky scent were limited by distance; coincidentally, the ethereal Queen was farthest away, having smelled the scent—but don't think she's an unsophisticated country bumpkin!

It firmly meowed, telling the nearby kittens: "It's definitely fake, super awful!"

"Don't try to fool me—it must be low-quality cat food with appetite stimulants; otherwise it couldn't smell this good!"

It gulped down the food its owner prepared, eating with relish, and secretly vowed in its heart that this time first place would surely be theirs!

Coincidentally, Zhao Yan thought the same.

His gaze lingered on the Ragdoll cat, and he couldn't help but gently stroke it: "Queen, you must definitely make me proud—this is already the third year, winning three consecutive championships, only then can our results be recorded in the global finals."

Only once every three years is there a global champion; once he obtains it, not only will his Ragdoll Queen's value double, but his fame will also greatly increase!

By then, surely more people will flock to him, and it will also be easy to seize even more wealth.

Zhao Yan indulged in these daydreams; this is also his true purpose—otherwise, he wouldn't have specially taken a flight just to kill time.

Come here.

In the end, it's just one word—money!

On Ling Yue's side, the Mysterious Cat Queen quickly cleared her plate, looked up and saw the longing cheese cat Seven Seven; it merely glanced, and the little cat froze in place, not daring to move.

That commanding aura was even felt by Seven Seven's owner nearby; the words on the tip of his tongue were instantly swallowed.

As the countdown ended, the CFA pet cat competition final officially began.

Under the gaze of all, the other eliminated contestants watched from the stands, holding phones and cameras, snapping photos with clicks.

The draw determined the order; Zhao Yan felt his luck was exceptionally good—not because he was placed early, but because his spot happened to be right before Ling Yue's.

However, when he saw the judges, a flash of stark surprise crossed his eyes; he couldn't describe his feelings—Charles actually wasn't there!

Heaven knows how disheartened he felt upon learning that.

This was a great opportunity to strike at Ling Yue; although he spoke with disdain, he actually cared deeply inside, wishing to have Ling Yue eliminated in the first round.

If Ling Yue knew his thoughts, she would surely say, "You're daydreaming!"

After the first round, the ethereal Ragdoll cat made its debut and was immediately welcomed by many.

Queen twitched her ears, able to hear the people's quiet discussion: "Wow, so beautiful, and she's held the championship for the previous two editions!"

"Really impressive, a competition-level cat like this must be very expensive!"

Queen proudly lifted her head, extremely pleased.

In its view, those judges simply hadn't seen its true strength showing, which is why they were attracted to a little native cat.

But only after it actually experienced it did it realize how outrageous it was.

As it left the stage, the Mysterious Cat Queen just entered, its fur with a mysterious red sheen, under the brilliant glass dome's light, resembling a cluster of blazing flames.

From start to finish, it didn't even glance at it once; Queen's ears had already turned sideways like airplane ears, feeling an indescribable strong pressure crushing it to one side, frightened it trembled, and it froze midway.

Zhao Yan saw this and his heart skipped a beat.

What's going on?

He quickly realized he had completely underestimated the Mysterious Cat Queen.

Strangely enough, the judges were actually in poor shape today; after getting up they couldn't muster any spirit, and even when facing the cats they liked, they were nowhere near as enthusiastic and lively as yesterday.

Even someone yawned boredly during the judging process.

Until they saw the Mysterious Cat Queen arrive.

The eight judges' spirits were instantly shaken, becoming completely awake; they abandoned their previous laziness, gently stroking the queen as they judged the cats' merits and flaws.

The yin energy that had been lingering on their hands and feet vanished upon contact, dispelled by the Mysterious Cat Queen; they couldn't see it, only feeling their spirits lift, their variously colored eyes gazing excitedly at the queen.

One could say that if the Mysterious Cat Queen were any more timid, it would have been frightened, but it wasn't.

The Mysterious Cat Queen proudly scanned these people, its beautiful cat pupils flickering slightly, its long black tail curling around its paws; it saw on these people a heavy yin energy.

As round after round of the competition ended, the rivalry grew ever fiercer; watching the rankings shift below, Zhao Yan's face darkened—everything that changed was someone else!

His Queen and the queen remained completely still, and even the points between them kept pulling further apart!

Who could understand this feeling?

His lovingly raised Queen actually couldn't beat a mere country cat?

Zhao Yan was unwilling and refused to accept it; he thought back to the earlier events, his eyes fixed straight ahead on that silhouette.

It must be her! Ling Yue!

She's a big internet celebrity; maybe the judges are biased toward her, they surely had already colluded!

At this point, the final round of the competition was drawing to a close, the cats' scores were coming out one after another; seeing the results, Zhao Yan could barely contain his anger.

First place, Mysterious Cat Queen.

He had gone mad, trapped in his own speculation, unable to extricate himself.

"I object! The competition results are unfair!" Zhao Yan roared like a violent male lion, his hysterical voice at times even drowning out the venue's cheers.

In an instant, the room fell silent.

The person in charge frowned; the result was announced by him personally, with all eight judges reaching the same conclusion—what was there to question?

Oh, right, he knows this person—they were the champion of the national division in the previous two editions.

He was about to say something when his phone suddenly rang; after hearing the other side's words, he jumped up, his face full of shock and disbelief: "What did you say? Mr. Charles died?!"

At that moment, he was sitting next to the microphone; his shocked, distorted voice blasted through the speakers and instantly spread throughout the venue.

In an instant, an uproar erupted. Recent garbled encoding has been severe, giving us more motivation to update faster—please take a moment to exit the mode. Thank you:,,.