My unbelievable life with CATS (Con and Thief system)

Dylan walked to the window while putting on his clothes. He peeked through the gap in the curtains to check the hospital exit gate; there was no one guarding it, and no signs of the enemy anywhere. To be sure, he used his Search Area skill and saw a few red dots inside the hospital indicating his enemies, but no red dots outside. Then he turned to look at the bed and saw Ellie, Lena, Maya, and Amy still sprawled out, faces satisfied and breathless.

"Hey... hurry up and get ready, we need to leave now," Dylan said, touching the foreheads of his four wives.

"Yeah, whew... that was awesome, even in this situation, huh? Hehe," Lena said.

"Tell me about it... I'm exhausted," Amy added.

"Wait a minute, five minutes," Maya chimed in.

"This was a bad idea... but also a great idea... truly my first time doing it in a public place," Ellie added.

Dylan just shook his head and smiled. He pulled the blanket over the still-panting bodies of his four wives, then sat down casually with his feet up.

"Now or later, it's all the same," Dylan thought.

A few moments later, once Ellie, Maya, Lena, and Amy were dressed again, they left the room while invisible, walking down the corridor. No one saw them, but they were each holding a weapon just in case. After reaching the outside of the hospital, they got into their car and made the car disappear. Then Dylan drove the car toward the gate, hoping no other cars were entering the gate.

As soon as they were outside the hospital grounds, the car reappeared. Then Dylan drove toward his grandfather's house to check on the renovation progress since it was closer than the hospital they had just visited. As they passed their old school, Ellie, Maya, Lena, and Amy turned to look at the school gate and the familiar school building, smiling. They saw a few high school students entering and leaving the gate casually and cheerfully.

But suddenly, "ckiit," Dylan slammed on the brakes. Ellie, Maya, Lena, and Amy immediately tumbled forward.

"What the heck, babe?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah, why the sudden stop?" Lena asked.

"Ow... my head," Amy added, holding her forehead.

"What is it? What did you see?" Maya asked from the front seat, turning to look at Dylan.

Maya could see Dylan's face was pale, his mouth was wide open, his eyes were wide, and both his hands were gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles were white.

"Hey, babe, what's wrong?" Maya asked anxiously, touching Dylan's shoulder.

Maya instantly sensed something in front of the car and immediately gasped in shock because she saw the ghost of a man dressed like a detective, wearing a trench coat and a fedora, standing in front of their car, blocking their way. Terrified of seeing the ghost and scared half to death, Maya instantly fainted. Seeing this, Ellie, Amy, and Lena immediately panicked.

"Hey, Maya, what's wrong?" Ellie asked, panicked.

"Yeah, what happened to you?" Lena asked, panicked.

"Maya, stop playing around, what is it?" Amy asked, panicked.

The unconscious Maya didn't answer. Then they turned to look at Dylan, who still looked stunned with a pale face. They touched Dylan and looked forward. All three gasped and "buk," they fainted simultaneously. The reason they fainted was apparently because they touched Dylan while he was using his All Seeing Eye skill, causing them to also see the ghost blocking their car. Meanwhile, Dylan slowly drove the car to park on the side of the road.

Dylan turned off the engine, and the detective's ghost was still standing motionless in front of the car.

[Hmm... so that's the situation.]

"What else did he say, KATS?" Dylan asked.

[It appears he is curious about us, sir. He is bound to this world because he wants to know who the Phantom Cat truly is.]

"Oh, is that right? If I'm not mistaken... he's Derek's father, right?" Dylan asked.

[Correct. His name is Paul. He said he died after being shot by someone while he was assigned to investigate the disappearance of a jewel at the airport.]

"A jewel? Don't tell me the jewel he's referring to is..." Dylan muttered.

[That is correct. Red Blood.]

"Hmm... and he thinks Phantom Cat, or we, took it?" Dylan asked.

[Something like that, sir. But now he knows we are Phantom Cat, who has now become Shadow Cat. He wants to follow us.]

"Oh? He wants to follow us?" Dylan asked.

Dylan turned to look at Paul's ghost standing in front of him with an angry face, then turned his gaze away again.

"Are you sure, KATS, he wants to follow us?" Dylan asked, confused by Paul's angry expression.

[Yes, we must prove we are innocent. He wants us to show him the stolen jewel and find the killer who took his life. Right now, he is accusing us of murdering him.]

"Oh, so that's why he wants to follow us? Wow... do you know where that jewel is?" Dylan muttered.

[In a residential area located in the city where our house is now.]

"Hmm... okay, in that case, we'll finish our business in this city, and we'll come back here after getting the Red Blood," Dylan replied.

[No, sir. He wants to come along to keep an eye on us.]

"Wait, but how can he do that?" Dylan asked, turning to look at Paul, who looked younger than he should and was angry.

Suddenly, Paul phased through the car hood in the front and reappeared inside through the air vent. After that, he went into the rearview mirror, and only his eyes were visible.

"Okay, so that's how he does it. Fine," Dylan replied.

Then Dylan turned to look at Maya, Ellie, Lena, and Amy lying passed out beside and behind him.

"Wait, what happened to them?" Dylan asked, startled, checking on Maya.

[They were holding you when you used your skill, and they saw Paul.]

"Oh... so that's what happened. Well, let them rest for a bit," Dylan said casually.

He saw many high school students leaving the school and walking cheerfully past him. Then he turned to look at the rearview mirror and saw Paul's eyes staring at him.

"Relax. My wives are more important than your mission. Just stay put and watch," Dylan said, looking at Paul.

Dylan restarted the engine and began driving. He passed his grandfather's house, which was about 80% renovated, and drove on. He headed to Ellie's house to check on her property, leaving his four wives in the running car, supervised by KATS. After that, he returned to the car and drove back toward Lena's grandmother's house.

There, he checked the condition of the house, then went to a realtor's office to inquire about the selling price. Having finished that, in the late afternoon, he drove out of the city to return to their current home city. While on the road,

"Ngh... huh... was I sleeping?" Maya asked, waking up.

"Yes. It's okay if you want to sleep some more," Dylan answered casually, stroking Maya's head.

"Huh... where's the ghost... where is he, babe?" Maya asked, suddenly panicking.

"He's gone now," Dylan answered.

"Oh... thank goodness," Maya replied.

Maya turned to look behind her and saw Ellie, Lena, and Amy also appearing to have just woken up. But their eyes immediately widened, blinked repeatedly, and looked around. When they realized they were on the road heading toward the city where their house was located, the three of them immediately relaxed.

"Where's the ghost, babe? Is he gone?" Ellie asked.

"He's gone. Oh, I already checked your house. I'll send you the photos later, okay?" Dylan answered.

"Oh, thanks, babe," Ellie replied.

"I also went to Lena's grandmother's house and asked the realtor for the selling price. I'll send you the details by email," Dylan said.

"Wow... thanks, babe. You took care of everything, it looks like. Sorry I fainted because of the ghost," Lena said.

"You're welcome. Don't worry, there are no more ghosts," Dylan said, glancing at Paul in the rearview mirror.

"Phew... I'm scared to sit by the window. Lena, switch," Amy said.

"No, I'm scared too. Come closer, let's squish together," Lena replied, pulling Amy closer.

Finally, Ellie, Lena, and Amy sat squashed together in the middle, while Maya also leaned her body toward Dylan, who was driving. Meanwhile, Dylan kept glancing at the rearview mirror, watching Paul's eyes, which continued to observe him.

***

Meanwhile, in a luxurious mansion on the outskirts of the city, "trak," Layla slammed her smartphone onto the table. Her face looked annoyed and angry.

"Why can't Mike be reached? Useless," Layla grumbled in annoyance.

She leaned back in her comfortable desk chair. Her hand opened the drawer of the table next to her. She took out a ring box and opened it. Inside was a ring adorned with a blood-red jewel that glittered brightly. Layla smiled. She took the ring and put it on, then examined the ring on her finger.

"It's a shame I have to give this ring to Boss Vincent tomorrow. I really like this ring," Layla muttered with a smile.