Chapter 613: Owls' Misfortune Strikes Again (Patreon)

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Clark immediately covered his mouth, unable to conceal his shock, while Lex displayed a hint of disgust, clearly repulsed by the noxious scent emanating from the mixture of blood and fur before them.

Bat Cat's fur stood on end, revealing sharp teeth, and a low growl emanated from his throat. Pikachu's short fur bristled as well, clearly shaken.

Among the cats in the cages, those in slightly better condition lay weakly on the ground, emaciated, with vacant expressions in their eyes. Describing the ones in worse condition proved challenging, and some that resembled Owl Cats too closely had already become unrecognizable, reduced to an indistinct mass.

From the torches embedded in the surroundings and the still-glowing energy conduits, it was evident that this was a Magic Circle with a specific purpose. Judging by its style, it was clearly not intended for benevolent use.

Bat Cat took a deep breath, feeling his tremors, and Clark embraced him, stroking his fur. However, Bat Cat didn't linger for long; he jumped out of Clark's embrace and sniffed the scent of his companions on the ground.

Lex also approached, squatting beside one of the surviving cats' cages. After a quick observation, he noticed that this cat's hind leg had a tattoo-like marking, somewhat resembling Owls' eyes and forehead.

Neither of them nor the two animals possessed magical abilities, so they lacked the ability to perceive the spiritual realm. They could only conclude that this was a malevolent Magic Circle but couldn't discern its specific purpose.

Though not visible to the naked eye, they deduced that witnessing such a scene had stimulated Clark. The crisis that made his hair stand on end triggered his superhuman brain, and he spoke, "I remember... I remember in Gotham's Cat City, there were Owls disguised as cats. Do you remember, Bat Cat?"

Bat Cat nodded. He climbed up the stacked cages that reached the ceiling, standing at the highest point, and gazing downward. He emitted a sharp cry, and all the cats turned their heads to look at him. However, most of them had already lost their strength, and even moving their heads was a struggle.

Evidently, the people who had brought them here didn't consider them as pets. Many of the cats were emaciated but sustained by some other form of energy, maintaining their souls' vitality, preventing immediate death.

The cats that had already perished seemed to have been sacrificed to the central Owls effigy.

The inner circle of cats had mostly suffered grim fates, while those on the outer ring were mostly still alive. Their conditions improved the farther from the center they were. Some even appeared recently captured. Clark even found a collar on the neck of a ragdoll cat.

He forcefully opened the cage and carried out the ragdoll cat, which was clearly terrified. Even in Clark's arms, it continued to struggle. Clark comforted it, looking at the tag on its neck.

"Florenna Street, Building 3... This cat's name is Nana, a year and a half old... My God, they've captured people's pets, these..." Clark, who had never cursed before, now deeply regretted not learning a few choice words. He kept his anger bottled up, allowing it to build into a stronger force, waiting for these heartless individuals to face a profound lesson.

Bat Cat stood silently at the highest point of the cages. After a moment, he spoke urgently, "If what you say is true, and my previous world existed within a dream, then this may be their method of invading the dream."

"They're using an evil Magic Circle, sacrificing the lives of real-world cats, and then using it to infiltrate the Dream of Thousand Cats," Lex continued. He walked a bit closer, observing the middle-tier cats' condition, and said, "They likely allow these cats to enter dreams first. Once their dreams connect to the Dream of Thousand Cats, they contaminate them with dark energy."

"This way, the dark energy can infiltrate the Dream of Thousand Cats, forming the same dark Owls you saw in Gotham's Cat City. And this..." Lex looked up at the massive Owls effigy, then said, "This is what they use to store dark energy, connecting it to these cats and constantly funneling this energy into the dream."

Bat Cat took a step back, jumped down from a height, and then urgently said, "We must sever the energy transmission. Once the Dream of Thousand Cats is completely corrupted, it will be disastrous."

"We need to find Professor Shiller," Lex turned and started to walk back. He said, "Otherwise, we won't be able to deal with magic-related issues."

"No. At least, we should destroy the effigy first and then rescue the cats," Clark disagreed. He believed they should move the living cats out first.

However, Bat Cat jumped onto his shoulder and stopped him, saying, "Right now, these cats all have mysterious symbols on them. No one knows if they'll die immediately after the effigy is destroyed. It's better to bring in a professional."

The two, along with a cat and a mouse, emerged from the sawmill's underground. They returned to Luthor Manor, and as soon as they arrived, the telephone rang. Pikachu darted out and picked up the phone, confirming that it was Schiller on the other end. He said, "We've already teleported to the outskirts of Metropolis. Come pick us up; we're ready to work."

Pikachu relayed Schiller's message. Clark and Lex exchanged glances, and as they got into the car, Clark asked Lex, "You had a plan in place?"

"It was Professor who had a plan."

In the outskirts, Schiller, Constantine, and Hal were already waiting, accompanied by a helicopter loaded with supplies. Judging by its appearance and color, it was the Batcopter.

Ten minutes later, Clark landed, holding the Batcopter, and Lex, who had disembarked from the helicopter, turned to Schiller and said, "I told you it was Bruce's Helicopter Engine..."

Schiller walked over and patted Clark's shoulder, saying, "Is this the place? Alright, let's start unloading."

"Wait a moment, Professor! Maybe you shouldn't go in just yet. It's a bit... um..." Clark hesitated, unsure of how to describe it. But the others thought he was just worrying unnecessarily. After all, looking at Schiller's track record, he had seen all sorts of grand scenes in this world.

Two minutes later, Schiller stood beside the only Magic Circle and said, "I've never seen a scene like this before. To slaughter animals on such a scale in this world..." He shook his head, his gaze on the Owls effigy, and Constantine walked over, clicking his tongue at the gruesome sight.

Honestly, if these were human bodies lying on the ground, these two might not be so moved. But this was the first time both of them had seen so many dead cats.

As Clark brought the crates from the helicopter inside, Hal and Clark worked together to unpack them, and Constantine prepared the necessary tools.

Once the Magic Circle was set up, the spiritual realm vision was activated. Everyone could see countless black Owls flying around the massive Owls effigy.

What was odd was that there were a few black cats perched on Owls' shoulders. Despite their feline appearance, their behavior resembled that of birds. It was clear they were Owls in disguise.

They seemed to be trying hard to mimic cat behavior, and one of the more cat-like impostors, after leaping down, merged with a still-living cat.

That cat suddenly fell asleep, and after Bat Cat walked over to take a look, Schiller beckoned him over. When Bat Cat approached, Schiller crouched down and took out a bottle, offering it to him to sniff. Bat Cat lay down.

"The dark Owls energy in this part of Metropolis seems specifically designed for dream invasion, so the energy extraction method we used with the Nursery rhyme won't work here."

"However, we can use the battles within the dream to force the effigy to invest more energy. Then, we can intercept and store this portion of energy using a magic circle."

"Now, let's get ready to distribute tasks. Constantine and Hal will stay in the real world for cleanup. Follow our initial plan, restore this place to its original state, and wait for their return. Pikachu, you're in charge of security."

"Clark, Bat Cat, and I will enter the Dream Realm, go to Gotham's Cat City, provoke the Owls there, and lure the effigy into investing more energy. Clark, you'll be responsible for Dream Realm security."

"Alright, let's get ready to begin."

With that, Schiller and Clark left the room. After moving a little farther away, Schiller took out the bottle again, and both of them entered Schiller's Temple of Thought.

Schiller stood beside the central pit of the Temple of Thought, sighed, and pointed upward. Clark looked up, but he saw nothing. He then looked back at Schiller and asked, "What? What's up there?"

"There's nothing up there."

"So, what's the point?"

"Do you know why there's nothing up there?"

Clark shook his head, not understanding why Schiller was asking this. So he looked up again, trying to examine the ceiling more carefully. At that moment, Schiller quietly moved behind him and pulled out an umbrella, capturing the umbrella's canopy.

When Clark refocused his gaze, he realized that Schiller had disappeared. He turned around, and what came into view was the enlarged umbrella handle.

With a "bang," Clark, caught off guard, was thrown into a large pit. Two figures then jumped into the pit, the one behind them with green hair...

When the two arrived in Cat City, Clark was still rubbing his chin, looking very aggrieved as he glanced at Schiller. He had completely forgotten what he had done earlier, but Schiller paid him no mind. Instead, he went directly to find Bat Cat.

After the fake Bat Cat had been taken care of, the real Bat Cat reclaimed Bat Cat Manor and took over the city. The real Bat Cat was much more intelligent. His first task as leader was to locate the Owls hidden within the city.

These Owls were far from subtle. If it weren't for the collaboration between the real Bat Cat and their inside agent, they wouldn't have been able to hide for so long. Their behavior patterns were entirely different from those of cats, and they always had a bird-like odor. The real Bat Cat soon developed an identification machine, scanning all the residents of the city and locking onto all the Owls.

Marvelously, Schiller was visiting such a cat city for the first time. He had transformed into a white cat, while Clark remained an orange cat. This time, a green cat accompanied them, identical to the Joker cat that Bat Cat had impersonated before.

An hour later, in Gotham's Cat City's grand theater, several ropes descended from the ceiling, each one holding an Owl. A green cat jumped onto the stage, and with a sharp cry, the performance began:

"Ladies and gentlemen! I have a plan, it's called... 'Owls' Misfortune!'"

(HaHaHaHaHaHaHa!)

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 614: Owls' Misfortune Strikes Again (Part 2)