A blue-eyed blond entered a separate clearing in the underground s.p.a.ce.
It was Michael.
He cradled a chubby ginger cat in his arms. The cat was curled up comfortably. His eyes were covered by bank notes. His lips were shaped into a blissful smile. Even from afar, anyone could tell that the cat was Matcha.
Michael and Matcha were not alone. William walked next to them as they headed into another tunnel.
He turned to Michael and asked, "What about my debt?"
"You don"t have to worry about that, Captain Johnson. $1.5 million is spare change to me," Michael said, flas.h.i.+ng him a charming smile while he stroke Matcha"s back, "As long as you complete your next mission, that money is yours. No, in fact, let"s make it $2 million."
William, who looked quite a sorry state in his prisoner"s uniform, looked up from his hands to the man next to him.
"Why exactly is Star Cats here?" he wondered aloud.
The corner of Michael"s lips curled.
"Well," he started, "Our original target had been the G.o.d of Death. Unfortunately, that man"s sense of caution borders absolute paranoia. Even if we planted the meteorite at his feet, he would never let his supercat touch it. He would rather be safe than let his cat level up."
William let out a breath he did not know he was holding. "The G.o.d of Death"s power can be leveled up? How? By increasing the number of people he can control?"
"Why not?" Michael said promptly, "Supercats were evolved from normal cats. It would not be unreasonable to expect that the meteorite will help them evolve their powers. I"m sure you"ve known about this for a while."
"However, some of the higher-ups believe that the G.o.d of Death"s evolution would not be so simple. It would not allow him to just control even more people," Michael continued, "Instead, they believe that he would be able to control apostles in his next form. The likelihood of this happening is small, but it is not impossible. This is why he is at the top of our list right now. If we can capture him, control him, and then help him level up, he would come in very handy in our future plans."
William nodded half-heartedly. He did not want to imagine the kind of atrocities that Star Cats would commit if they ever had the G.o.d of Death in their control.
He let out another deep breath before saying, "That doesn"t explain why you"ve come to the Cat King of the West"s prison."
"As I said before, the G.o.d of Death is a very careful man. However, he is not without ambition. He wants the meteorite. He wants to evolve his cat. All the nonsense about controlling the Cat King of the West, kidnapping supercats, and selling apostles is nothing more than a pretense. His true intention is to lure us here, right where he wants us. Then, he will strike."
William mulled over this for a moment. As an investigative officer, it did not take long for him to read between the lines.
"The fact that you"re here means that you"re interested in Cat King, aren"t you?" he inferred.
When Michael spoke, he could not hide the excitement in his voice, "The Cat King of the West is far more formidable than I imagined. I doubt even he himself knows just how powerful he is. It"s a terrible waste to confine his abilities here in this sorry prison. He can transform the personality of any person, cat, apostle, or supercat. Compared to combative superpowers, this is much, much more interesting and complex."
He talked with a sort of deranged fervor that drove William to widen the distance between them. His gaze fell on Matcha.
"And who"s that?" he asked.
Michael waved him off casually, "Don"t mind him. I just like carrying him around."
"Yeah, right," William thought to himself.
He did not continue to pursue the matter. At the moment, all he cared about was quickly completing the mission Michael had in store for him so he could get the $2 million and return to the United States.
Soon, the two men approached the end of the tunnel, where a white cat was seated motionlessly. The most peculiar thing about this cat was not that it was sitting cross-legged as a human would, but that the hair on his head was clean shaven, revealing small, circular burn marks that were only seen on ordained monks.
William gaped. "What is he doing?"
"As you can see, the Cat King of the West is a monk," Michael replied with a full-bodied shrug, "There"s no rule that forbids cat from becoming monks."
"Okay..." William said, thoroughly unconvinced, "But aren"t monks supposed to be vegetarians? I doubt a cat can survive on a meatless diet."
"He"s a monk that consumes meat," Michael responded simply.
He was not particularly interested in entertaining William"s questions. He pointed at the empty s.p.a.ce in front of the Cat King and said to him, "Sit here."
William moved forward hesitantly. Now that he was closer to the Cat King, he could see that his eyes were shut. In fact, the cat was stock-still.
He could not help but ask, "What is he doing?"
Michael chuckled. "He"s dreaming."
He looked down at the Cat King of the West, a smirk playing on his lips.
He thought, "If the Cat King"s powers can work on the G.o.d of Death, locating his real body would no longer be an impossible task. However, now is still not the time. Much planning and testing must be done before I can launch this. Since Ivory is occupied right now, I can do a test run on William."
The recent wave of personality changes that hit the prisoners, guards, and supercats was orchestrated by the Cat King of the West. Michael ensured that the tests were discreet so that he would not arouse the G.o.d of Death"s suspicions.
Now, a golden opportunity had presented itself. Ivory"s presence in the prison had all but dissipated because the G.o.d of Death needed their help with something else. Michael had no clue what this was about, but it did not matter. All that mattered was that he was gifted a perfect chance.
As this thought flashed through his mind, Zhao Yao had arrived at the end of the tunnel with Roly Poly, whom kept him invisible.
The fat cat scrambled for his phone when he spotted Matcha in Michael"s arms.
"Zhao Yao! Zhao Yao! Look!" he yodeled telepathically, "Matcha has mutinied!"
A heavy crease wrinkled the skin between Zhao Yao"s eyebrows. It only worsened when he saw the bank notes that had covered Matcha"s eyes.
"Matcha!" he yelled through their shared consciousness, "What the heck are you doing?"
However, no matter how loudly or what he shouted, Matcha did not respond.
"As he fallen asleep?" Zhao Yao wondered, the furrow in his brow growing deeper still as he hurried towards his cat, "William"s here? And who"s this guy?"
He briefly considered what to do before deciding on robbing them of their five senses. In an instant, Michael, William, Matcha, and even the Cat King of the West collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.
Zhao Yao immediately reached for Matcha. He retracted the ginger cat"s eyelids to reveal pupils that were darting about swiftly and constantly.
"He"s...dreaming?"
It was only natural that his next course of action was to call for Diana.
"Help me find out if the cats are dreaming," he instructed.
Diana"s eyelids fluttered shut as she began her descent into the dream world. It did not take long for her eyes to snap wide open.
She said, "Those guys are dream sharing. It felt…"
"Like Nightmare Cat"s work?" Zhao Yao cut in.
There was an icy hostility in his eyes when he turned his attention back to the men and cats sleeping on the ground.
"It seems like Nightmare Cat is responsible for the Cat King of the West"s transformation. He could"ve been dreaming for ages by now," he stated.
With that, he planted his b.u.t.t on the floor as well. "Diana, take me there."
The ragdoll cat shook her head vehemently. There was a frightened expression on her face when she spoke, "No. It won"t work. This is not like the last time. Then, Nightmare Cat could not control the dream world because the thousands of cats and people that inhabited it kept changing and transforming it. Now, only a few inhabitants are there. Nightmare Cat would be able to play G.o.d. I barely escaped. It"s too dangerous to dive in."