Chapter 1672: Two Heirs

Lu Zihao could neither hear nor understand Ice Cream’s thoughts. Even if he somehow obtained the miraculous ability to read his cat niece’s thoughts, he would only scoff at her complaints anyway.

His sister spoiled her cat children too damn much!

"Meow!"

An orange blur barrelled towards him. Lu Zihao already anticipated it, but still hissed as he felt claws clamp on his back before a light weight settled on top of his head.

"You damn cat," he could only mutter under his breath.

When an orange tail swished right in front of his nose, almost making him sneeze, he flicked it away with his hand in annoyance.

No matter how many times he scolded the damn cat for climbing on top of his head, it never listened and continued doing whatever the hell it wanted.

So he just let it be. He eventually got used to it anyway.

He didn’t realize that both his cat niece and cat nephew had long since stopped being scared of him. Compared to when they first met him and treated him with the highest caution, now they knew how to act spoiled in front of him.

Well, except for Popcorn. The damn cat was too stupid to know what was dangerous or not.

And he, the former crown prince of the criminal underworld—Nikolai Vetrov, had been reduced to spoiling a bunch of damn cats.

"Meow~" Ice Cream twisted its body in his arms while purring.

He could only sigh and absentmindedly scratched his cat niece’s chin. Ice Cream purred louder.

"Boss Hao," Robin, the female subordinate that he assigned to protect his wife, greeted him as soon as he entered the house.

He nodded before passing the fat, grey cat in his arms to the woman. He also plucked the orange cat from his head.

Robin didn’t bat an eye and received the two cats. "The madam and the children are in the kitchen."

"Hm." He was about to head to the kitchen when he saw a black cat and a white cat on his TV in the living area.

The black cat stared at him with its golden eyes while the white cat chased after a virtual butterfly.

He narrowed his eyes at them before making a gesture. The TV flickered off.

"I’ll head to my study first," Lu Zihao said. "Tell my wife that I have to make an important call before joining her for lunch."

"Understood, Boss Hao," Robin said while carrying both Ice Cream and Popcorn.

Lu Zihao went upstairs to his study. The TV inside was already turned on.

"Greetings, Uncle Zihao. Bacon has come to seek advice."

"Hello, Uncle Haohao! The cute and mighty Ketchup missed Uncle Haohao so much! Mwah mwah tsup tsup! Meow~"

Lu Zihao raised an eyebrow and sat on the couch in front of the TV. He leaned his thick, muscled, scarred arm over the back of the couch. "What advice do you want, kid?"

Ketchup was about to speak, but a black paw blocked her mouth.

Bacon relayed what happened to their uncle in a clear, succinct, and calm manner.

Ketchup wanted to interject many times, but she was suppressed by her younger brother. Her ears and tail drooped. So sad! She wanted to be the one to tell their uncle everything!

Lu Zihao scowled as soon as he heard that someone dared to bully his beloved sister in the Philippines. He had been uninterested in his sister’s work trip in the Philippines, so he hadn’t inquired much about it. He had thought that it was a simple business trip to help launch Orchidia Philippines and attend some shows. As long as she was protected, he stopped worrying about her too much.

Now, however, he wanted to fly straight there and avenge her.

Seeing how incensed his uncle looked, Bacon’s golden eyes glowed, and his fluffy black tail swished back and forth. "Are we going to destroy that woman named Girl Abante?"

Ketchup finally managed to escape from her younger brother’s paws. "Is it okay to do that? What if mommy and daddy scold Ketchup and Bacon? The cute and mighty Ketchup doesn’t want to be scolded! Meow!"

"Let me watch the bodycam footage first," Lu Zihao said. "Then I’ll decide what to do."

The black cat looked disappointed but still obeyed. He and his sister decreased in size and moved to the bottom corner of the TV screen. Then the video footage from the security’s bodycam started playing. Bacon chose the best angles and audio to play.

"I’m one of those people who think that celebrities should take responsibility for the overall behaviour and attitude of their fan clubs. If their fans start acting unruly, then the celebrities should at least try to control and discipline them. Don’t you think so?"

"The Slippers Army—I’m not just talking about the Filipino ones, but the collective Slippers Army of every international division of your fan club—have become so notorious online that they have been called bullies—"

"There have been numerous reports of the Slippers Army mobbing netizens on social media. If the netizens fight back, the hackers among the Slippers Army dig out something shameful from their background history and expose it online, causing the netizens’ so-called social death. They become too embarrassed to go outside. Some even become clinically depressed. Are you aware of all this?"

"You’re aware of all this, but still don’t think that your fans are bullies? Do you think that your fans’ behaviour is a reflection of who you are, not only as a celebrity but as a person?"

Lu Zihao narrowed his eyes. If someone else were in the room with him, they would probably start shivering from fear.

A cold, deadly aura emanated from him.

Fortunately, only two virtual cats were with him. Two pairs of eyes, one set golden and the other emerald green, stared at him, waiting for his decision.

He didn’t say anything yet, but continued watching.

"We’re not talking about free will—"

"Let’s talk about the hackers who joined the Slippers Army. There are reports that they dug up personal information of netizens who bashed you online. This is illegal, as every citizen has the right to privacy. Do you condone their behaviour?"

The video footage stopped.

"Would Uncle Zihao want Bacon to play it again?" the black cat asked.

"Oh, me, me, me! The cute and mighty Ketchup can play it again for Uncle Haohao! Would Uncle Haohao want it to be edited with special effects and background music? The cute and mighty Ketchup can do it all! Meow~"

Lu Zihao ignored his talkative AI cat niece. He replied to his AI cat nephew instead, "No need to play it again. Once is enough."

The black cat’s fluffy tail swished faster, indicating his anticipation. "Should we destroy that woman now? She’s bullying Mother. Bacon can’t forgive anyone who dares to bully Mother."

Lu Zihao tapped his fingers on his thigh. "No need to destroy. Didn’t you hear your mother’s response? Your mother is the one who has the upper hand, not that woman."

The black cat’s fluffy tail froze. Although Bacon’s expression remained calm, and he looked bored as usual, Lu Zihao knew his AI cat nephew long enough to sense the kid’s disappointment.

He couldn’t help but chuckle. If only the kid were a real person, he would have already made Bacon his heir. The kid was made to be a crime boss.

Then he stopped chuckling when an idea sprang into his mind.

Hmmm.

Perhaps it wasn’t impossible to make the kid his heir.

There wasn’t a rule stating that there should be only one heir.

The organization was made up of people. And people made the rules. He was the boss, so he made his own rules.

He stared at the black cat on the TV screen. It stared back at him.

The white cat...well, never mind that kid. If he made that kid an heiress, his Shadow Winds might transform from being a formidable criminal organization into a useless gossip centre.

Then all his efforts would be in vain.

His gaze returned to Bacon. He also remembered Little Jun, who was training outside.

Hmmm.

One could be the face of the organization.

And the other could be the boss in the shadows.

The two could work together while making Shadow Winds stronger and more formidable.

Lu Zihao’s mouth curved up.

He finally had the answer.

Actually, this arrangement wasn’t impossible. Although not common, it already existed for hundreds, perhaps even thousands of years, among various civilizations throughout the history of mankind.

An emperor would rule over the empire in the open, while an underworld leader would run the shadow state.

The two camps might appear to conflict, but they more often than not would achieve a delicate balance in ensuring the strength of a state.

He thought that Long Jun and Bacon would be wonderful together as double bosses.

"Uncle Zihao? Uncle Zihao! Uncle Zihao has turned deaf."

Lu Zihao’s hand twitched. He wished that the damn brat had a physical body, so he could spank the kid.

"Gasp! Uncle Haohao has turned deaf?! Shockers! Oh, no! Uncle Haohao must be getting too old! Poor Auntie Jingjing, having a husband who’s an old man! Poor Little Misha, poor Little Dima! The cute and mighty Ketchup’s little cousins are still babies, yet their daddy is already an old man! Meowuwuwu! Don’t worry, Uncle Haohao! The cute and mighty Ketchup will take care of Auntie Jinjing and Little Misha and Little Dima! Meowuwuwu!"

Lu Zihao scowled. What did the brat mean? He wasn’t old yet! He was in his prime!

And what was she crying about?

He wasn’t dead yet!

Well, he died before, but now he was very much alive!

His hand twitched again, wanting to spank these two little brats.

Too bad they didn’t have physical bodies.

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