Chapter 72 – Cat Dad is a Murderer

WHOOSH

Xiaomao got back into the game. He stretched his tentacles to get used to his game avatar and relieve his stress.

He returned to the labor guild’s apartment. Shepherd was nowhere in sight even though Xiaomao was inside his room.

Xiaomao went to Lucky’s room to fetch her. When he entered the room, he found the wolf woman sleeping in a corner. However, another corner of the room had a stain of her marking.

“Lucky, this studio room comes with a toilet, munya.”

He facepalmed and brought out a common robe, which was dropped from a gnoll mage. He used it as a rag to clean the urine stain to maintain hygiene.

When Xiaomao was done, the wolf girl woke up. She wagged her tail when she found her master.

Xiaomao bonked her head with the half-broken pan, “No, peeing outside of the toilet, munya!”

“But that corner is my toilet…”

“Come here!”

Xiaomao guided Lucky to the bathroom and taught her how to use the toilet seat. It took him several minutes to explain everything.

While Xiaomao was teaching Lucky how to use the bathroom, someone knocked on the door and entered.

Shepherd seemed to have sensed Xiaomao’s arrival. He panted and sweated as if he had been running around for hours.

The silent retainer saluted and awaited for his new order. His fiancé sat on his shoulder, staring at the wolf girl and the catopus.

Seeing that everybody returned, Xiaomao ended the lesson.

“Let’s get going, munya!”

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Xiaomao and the gang gathered at the adventurer guild. As soon as Xiaomao revealed his appearance, the NPCs gasped in shock. They rushed to the inner office, and two security guards guided them to a guest room._.

A few minutes later, Otto sprinted down the stairs and barged into the guest room. He panted and stared at Xiaomao with bloodshot eyes.

“Sir, where have you been?! The emperor is looking for you!”

“I know, munya. I’m sorry that I’m late, but have you prepared my escorts?”

“O-Of course. W-Well, the situation has changed, so we will deploy the strongest adventurers to protect you! The fee is on us! By the way…”

Otto’s expression turned solemn. He suspiciously grinned.

“Do you perhaps obtain more black stones? I can smell them from you.”

Xiaomao furrowed his brows and glanced at his inventory. Indeed, Xiaomao still kept a few black stones to initiate spirit stone quests in the future, but all spirit stones, including the completed ones, were stored in his warehouse. As for his inventory, he had none with him to avoid detection.

Unfortunately, this NPC could detect corrupted spirit stones’ scent from him. He thought that Xiaomao had more black stones.

‘Annoying NPC.’

Xiaomao shook his head and refused to reveal his stones.

“I don’t! I already sold you all my stones, munya.”

As soon as Xiaomao finished his sentence, Otto’s sclera blackened, and his pupils turned orange. His blood vessels got darker, and his skin became grey. Moreover, his green name became red.

DING

<Otto is infuriated. Current Hatred: 5 Stars.>

‘Motherhumper!’

Otto didn’t attack them right away. He glanced at Lucky and Shepherd, whose gears seemed intimidating. He turned to Xiaomao and threatened.

“Hand over the black stones, and I will let you leave this place. Don’t expect me to show you mercy!”

DING

<A quest has been updated.>

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Unique Quest: Suspicious Guild Branch Manager’s Activities (2)

Initially, Otto planned to use the mercenary squad to kill you and steal your belongings. However, you have a strong scent of unidentified black stones on you, and Otto has sensed it.

Because of his greed and insanity, Otto now wants all of your unidentified black stones. You now have four options; Surrender your black stones to Otto, flee from this adventurer guild, defeat Otto to submission, or kill Otto. Bear in mind that every action has a consequence.

Quest Objective: Complete one of the objectives.

– Surrender Unidentified Black Stones

– Flee from Adventurer Guild

– Defeat Otto without killing him.

– Kill Otto.

Reward: Unknown

*[?????? Instinct]: Bribing Otto is the safest choice, but he will demand more black stones in the future. Fleeing from here and sparing his sorry life are terrible choices since he will directly contact the emperor and frame you as a traitor. If you kill him, things will spiral out of control. However, your future quests will be very exciting and rewarding!

.

Xiaomao didn’t like how things developed. He regretted showing up here instead of ignoring the quest line of the corrupted official.

He glanced at Otto’s level. He was a level-50 NPC, which seemed to be easy to kill. However, his security guards behind him were all level-100 town guards, and they also had red names.

“Tsk!”

Facing a dilemma, Xiaomao racked up his brain. He raised his tentacles, gesturing that he surrendered.

“The stones are not with me at the moment. Everything is deposited on the labor guild’s warehouse, munya.”

Otto’s angry face softened, but he still glared at Xiaomao.

“Bring it here!”

“Okay, munya!”

Xiaomao hopped on Lucky and ordered her and Shepherd to leave. However, Otto stopped them.

“You stay. Your retainers can go and bring the stones here.”

“…”

Xiaomao took a deep breath to hold back his anger. He glanced at Lucky and Shepherd.

Both retainers were prepared. They had been wearing their full gears ever since they came here.

Noticing the look of Xiaomao, they answered with their eyes.

Xiaomao turned to the two level-100 town guards. He pointed at them.

“Tell them to back off. I don’t like being held as a hostage, munya.”

Otto scoffed, “You have no choice! They are my bodyguards, and they will be here with me!”

“I see, munya. Very well, you two can go. I can stay.”

Seeing that Xiaomao was obedient, Otto laughed, “Good choice. You slaves can leave. Get the hell outta here!”

“…”

Shepherd and Lucky left the guest room without an escort. While they were leaving, Xiaomao secretly added a new order to the game menu, telling them to meet him at the port.

After they had left, Xiaomao smiled at Otto. He counted time in his mind.

Five minutes passed. Xiaomao looked at Otto and his bodyguards again. As usual, they had been staring at Xiaomao, preventing him from fleeing.

Xiaomao smirked. He asked Otto.

“Otto, do you have a family, munya?”

“You don’t need to know!”

“I feel sorry for them, munya.”

“Pfft. What do you know? Nobody wants to marry me. I was always in a dungeon when I was young, and girls hated dirty stinky adventurers! But once I have all the black stones, they will understand my charm!”

“…”

Xiaomao let out a sigh of relief.

“Can I go to a bathroom, munya?”

“…”

Otto glanced at his bodyguards. The two town guards nodded and went out. A minute later, they came with a bowl.

“Do it here.”

Xiaomao shook his head, “Seriously, munya?”

“You are going nowhere until I have the black stones!”

“Alright. Fine.”

Xiaomao glanced at his retainer’s status menu again. Then, he noticed their current action report.

Both of them were on stand-by. They were now on the boat.

After confirming that his retainers secured the escape route, Xiaomao activated his chameleon skill.

Suddenly, Xiaomao vanished from Otto’s sight. The NPC stood up and rushed to the couch where Xiaomao had been sitting. However, the catopus was not there anymore!

“FIND HIM!”

The level-100 town guards searched the room. They flipped tables and couch over to look for the catopus, but they couldn’t see him in the room. The guards then rushed out of the room, thinking that he had left the room already.

Otto also believed that Xiaomao had teleported away by using an illegal teleportation rune and teleportation scrolls. He stomped toward the exit.

PLOP

Suddenly, something soft latched on Otto’s back, and something cold dug into the flesh in his neck.

Xiaomao’s cursed claws repeatedly sliced the back of Otto’s neck as if he was trying to kill a titan. After only three slices, Otto’s HP bar was empty.

DING

<Congratulations. You have completed Unique Quest: Suspicious Guild Branch Manager’s Activities (2)!>

A new quest has been updated.

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Unique Quest: Done Deed

You have done it now. Otto is dead, but you’re not in the clear yet. Right now, nobody has noticed that you killed Otto, but someone will find his corpse eventually. In addition, you are will become the prime suspect in this murder.

Staying in Seaside Town is no longer an option as you can be arrested. Even if you resist, the Yuan Empire will commission adventurers and elite soldiers to hunt you down.

However, if you find a place to hide the corpse and clean the mess you made, you might be able to buy some time… If you have a place to destroy the evidence.

Mission Objective: Destroy all evidence!

Failure Condition: Someone finds Otto’s corpse.

Reward: Nobody in Seaside Town will look for you for two weeks.

Failure Penalty: The Seaside Town will brand you as a criminal, and your name will be permanently red.