Ares nodded in response to Sphynx Cat"s words.
"You"re right. I"ll just open up a small corner."
With that, he sliced the force field that isolated Zhao Yao and the Cat King by a sliver.
That little gap was enough for the infinite flow of idleness to squeeze through and flood the entire prison complex. It took a mere millisecond for Ares" vision to blur. He felt like the gears in his mind suddenly stopped turning.
Thankfully, Sphynx Cat was no easy target. He was quick to respond and smacked Ares" b.u.m, yelling, "Cover it back up!"
Ares found that he was unable to respond. The most that he could do was to make the force field whole again, cutting the Cat King from the rest of the world once more. Only then did the haze of laziness begin to clear.
Unfortunately, the damage was done.
It felt as if every ounce of energy had been seeped from Ares" body. He did not want to move. In fact, he did not want to do anything at all. He was shocked that this had happened when he opened up the force field, but he was too lazy to even express his surprise or worry. He simply stared at Zhao Yao and the Cat King blearily.
"What happened just now?" he drawled, "I feel...lazy."
He promptly collapsed on the floor. Every thought in his head had flatlined except for his desire to continue maintaining the force fields.
Sphynx Cat was the only one that remained on his paws.
It was not that he was immune to the infinite flow of idleness. He was suffering from its effects too, but his determination was as strong as his physical body. He used his resolve to fight off the laziness that threatened to take over.
"That must have been the Cat King"s ability," he announced to his friends, whom were all on the ground not because of grievous injury, but overwhelming lethargy, "Only he has the power to transform a person or a cat"s disposition so drastically. The anger that we experienced must have become laziness because Zhao Yao somehow changed the Cat King."
"Changed the Cat King?" Ares repeatedly dumbly.
"That"s right," Sphynx Cat replied patiently, "Zhao Yao must have turned his rage into laziness. This is why the two of them are just lying there, belly-up like dead fish, even though they are perfectly awake. I"m afraid they"ve become super slackers."
Zhao Yao started to stir just as he finished speaking. First, his hands began to tremble. Then, he placed one palm squarely on the ground and used it to support his weight as he gingerly climbed onto his feet. He rotated his head from side to side, rolled his shoulders, then started walking towards the Cat King as if he had not been paralyzed with idleness just moments ago.
"What"s going on now?" Ares wondered aloud, "Didn"t you say that they have become super slackers? Why is he so normal now?"
Sphynx Cat was gawking at Zhao Yao in surprise as well. However, it only took him a while to figure out what was going on.
"I get it now. I believe this is why," he murmured to himself.
By now, Ares was filled with curiosity. He still felt terribly lazy, but he mustered the energy to ask, "So, why is this happening?"
Sphynx Cat"s began his explanation with a couple of rhetorical question, "If you poured more ink into a pot of ink, would it turn any darker? If you poured more p.o.o.p into a litter box already full of p.o.o.p, would it get any stinkier?"
"That"s what"s happening in Zhao Yao"s case," he continued, "His laziness has long surpa.s.sed that of an ordinary person"s. In fact, it is impossible for him to get any lazier. This state of idleness is his default way of life."
"What?" Ares said in disbelief, "But he isn"t that much lazier than anyone else, right?"
Sphynx Cat shook his head gravely. He sighed, "Well, I"m not sure about that. Perhaps he has reached a level of laziness that is beyond our comprehension. That is the only explanation I can offer you right now."
Ares turned his flabbergasted gaze back to Zhao Yao, whom was behaving as per normal.
When Zhao Yao reached the Cat King of the West, he grabbed him in one hand and brought his face close to his own.
"Hey," he said, "Time to wake up."
He received no response because the Cat King had given up all thought.
"Christ," Zhao Yao thought to himself as he studied the emptiness in the cat"s eyes, "He"s become a bit of a soul destructor, hasn"t he? He"s going to incapacitate every being he reaches."
At that, he patted the Cat King"s head and tried speaking to him again, "Hey, come on, it"s time to snap back to reality. If not, I"m going to keep you here for all eternity."
There was still no response.
"Once I retract the Sixth Sense, its effects should wear off," Zhao Yao pondered, "But it seems like I"ve gone slightly overboard this time. The residual effect is pretty persistent."
"Seems like I"ve got to inject him with some positivity and encouragement."
Zhao Yao launched the Sixth Sense again.
"Alright! It"s time to get back on your feet! You are the friggin" Cat King of the West!"
He never would have expected that his best intentions were translated into something else altogether when they reached the Cat King. The poor cat began to wither before his eyes, curling into a spineless ball. Zhao Yao tapped his nose and nearly jumped in shock.
The Cat King did not just stop thinking, he had just stopped breathing.
"Give me a break! Seriously? I was trying to give you some pep! Why aren"t the effects of the infinite idleness wearing off?"
At this point, Zhao Yao still had not discovered that the infinite flow did not affect his actions because he had always lived life in the laziest manner. However, it did exaggerate the slacker ethos that was at the core of his existence. This meant that when he activated the Sixth Sense, he was going to end up pa.s.sing more idleness to his target instead of whatever emotion he was actually trying to give off.
In essence, the Sixth Sense was more p.r.o.ne to failure now than ever before.
Zhao Yao quickly hit the Cat King"s head again, but this time it was more of a smack than a pat. He pressed at his chest, hoping to get him to start breathing again. Eventually, it worked.
"Well, the Sixth Sense is off the table when dealing with this one."
Zhao Yao was at a loss. He was not sure what to do next. He thought, "As long as I can ignite his basic instincts, get him to remember what matters to him most at the very core, he will be able to triumph the idleness. What will make him want to get on his feet again? Let me see…"
His internal monologue was interrupted when Elizabeth brushed past him. She had woken up a while ago.
"Zhao Yao, are we done here?" she drawled lazily, "It"s almost time for my livestream. Can I go home first?"
"Okay, we"ll be done soon."
Elizabeth"s voice must have stirred something within the Cat King because it was at this moment that his eyes snapped wide open. Saying that he got up would be an understatement. He practically bounced onto his feet when he heard her voice. He stared at her as if he could not believe that she was here.
He smiled gently and asked, "Are you Lilibet?"
"Who are you?" Elizabeth retorted coldly.
The Cat King sprung towards her, squis.h.i.+ng his face against the force field that kept them apart.
"I"m Cat King of the Best! I"m the admin for your livestream group. I sent you a rocket the other day, remember?" he explained earnestly.
"Oh."
Elizabeth"s glacial expression warmed up immediately. She smiled back at him sweetly.
"So you"re Cat King of the Best? I didn"t know that you"re the leader of the prison meow~ ."
"Leader? Well, it"s no big deal," the Cat King laughed, "Lilibet, could I take a wefie with you? Your fans are going to die of envy when they see it."
"Of course! That"s no problem at all meow~ ," Elizabeth said brightly.
She whipped out her phone and the two of them began taking a bunch of photos. The fact that a force field stood between them did not dampen the Cat King"s spirits. He looked like he was about to explode with joy.
"Ah, I actually have a photo with Lilibet. Gosh, I think I might die. I"m one lucky cat," he thought to himself.
To her, he said, "Lilibet, add me on WeChat and send me the photos, won"t you?"