Zhao Yao continued explaining when he noticed Dust Ball"s puzzled expression, "Areas outside the dugout is free from the illusion"s influence. It is a place I have specially reserved for the ordinary stray cats. The area within the illusion is put aside for you, supercats. It is a utopia that I have specially created for all of you.
From today onwards, you will be deployed inside the dugout. You will be the bridge connecting the extradimensional belly with this place. The collar in your hands would control the illusion encapsulating this entire area.
Of course, you can just leave the collar here if there"s something that you have to attend to outside this dugout. The illusion would continue until the 72 hour expires."
"But there is still one more thing …" Zhao Yao stared earnestly into Dust Ball"s eyes and asked, "Are you willing to stay here? If you aren"t, I will not force it upon you."
"Are you kidding me? Of course, I"m willing to come here." Dust Ball shut her eyes to fully immerse her body in this amazing place. She exclaimed, "This place is so much more interesting than your apartment."
Zhao Yao was left speechless by Dust Ball"s words. Initially, he had considered leaving the collar here and come down every day to open up the conduit connecting these two places. However, it would be far more inconvenient than having Dust Ball here permanently. Things could not have turned out better since Dust Ball volunteered to stay here.
Dust Ball could somehow detect the power stored within the collar resting on her neck and mumbled, " Is this the power of Elizabeth"s illusion? It"s so cool."
Even though Dust Ball"s control over the power was simply limited to turning it on and off, she was still able to detect the magnitude and strength of it. With the collar, she could picture the entire landscape in her head and it was more vivid than anything she had ever seen.
However, she started scratching the collar once the novelty wore off. She grew slightly impatient and complained, "Why did you seal it inside the collar? I don"t want to wear a collar."
"Hmph, this is to make it easier for you to carry it around. Don"t you find it extremely cool?"
"Only dogs wear a collar. How can a brilliant species like us stoop to the level of a dog?" Dust Ball"s forehead pucked together as she suggested, "How about I stash it somewhere within the dugout. I can go over and control it if need be. Also, the illusion would not disappear even if I enter the extradimensional belly."
Zhao Yao pinched the bridge of his nose and replied, "Alright then."
Hence, Zhao Yao carefully hid it underneath an ordinary-looking brick. Dust Ball could control the illusion by simply going towards the collar and implanting her consciousness into it.
Throughout the entire process, Matcha sat on the ground and folded his arms across his chest. Jealousy swept through him as he witnessed Dust Ball receiving this new power. He would instantly flick his head to another direction whenever Zhao Yao made eye contact with him.
"What"s the matter Matcha? Are you interested in maintaining your position as the leader of this place? Do you know how much responsibility this entails?"
With a curl of his lip, Matcha responded, "Who wants to be the leader here? There"s nothing for me to do since Dust Ball is here to manage things."
A thought flashed across Zhao Yao"s mind, "Jealousy? I didn"t expect this kid to be so petty." Despite how much Matcha struggled, Zhao Yao continued scooping him off the floor and into his arms. Zhao Yao said, "Matcha, you are still the big boss here. You are their cat king, King George!"
Matcha repeatedly used his snow-white paws to slap against Zhao Yao chest. He mumbled, "It"s only a matter of time before the cats expose my ident.i.ty since the illusion isn"t even in my hands."
Zhao Yao then began cuddling and playing with Matcha. With a finger underneath his chin, Zhao Yao started giving Matcha a soothing ma.s.sage. Even though Matcha acted as if he was indifferent to Zhao Yao"s action, he still inched his chin towards Zhao Yao"s finger, craving for more.
"Stop touching me, go and touch Dust Ball instead."
Zhao Yao burst out laughing as he started ma.s.saging the back of his tiny head and ears. Matcha enjoyed it so much that he shut his eyes. However, he still said, "Since I"m so useless and cannot even do anything here."
Zhao Yao then started poking against his white belly and remarked, "But you have a special effect."
"Special effect? What special effect?" Matcha instantly opened his eyes and stared curiously at Zhao Yao.
Zhao Yao picked up the collar resting underneath the brick and sealed a new illusion within it before activating it.
After Zhao Yao"s modification, a golden halo glowed brilliantly behind Matcha"s head.
Matcha noticed the halo above his head and beamed from ear to ear. He exclaimed, "Meowhaha, look at my halo!"
Zhao Yao explained, "King George, whenever you come over here and grace the cats with your presence, they would be in awe of your amazing halo. Is that enough?"
"Definitely, definitely." Matcha instantly leaped out of Zhao Yao"s arms and started prancing around the dugout with his new halo. Suddenly, he returned to Zhao Yao and jumped onto his calf, "Can you also give me a pair of wings?"
Zhao Yao picked him up by the back of his neck and retorted, "You are getting too greedy."
After setting up the dugout, Zhao Yao gathered all the supercats staying within it.
By using his deflective field, Zhao Yao brought Lion Head, Baozi, Airplane, Sausage and Uncle Egg through the layers of defense and into the central area. In their heads, their visions suddenly turned dark before they opened their eyes to this amazing place.
They could not believe their eyes as all they saw was a breath-taking scenery comprising of mountain ranges and water bodies.
Lion Head raised her head and even noticed the sun, s.h.i.+ning brilliantly atop the mountain peaks.
The orange Persian cat, Airplane, pressed his paws against the gra.s.s and felt the tingling sensation as the gra.s.s brushed across his paws.
Baozi bolted towards the pond at the side and reached his paws into the water.
A look of amazement crossed his face as Baozi exclaimed, "What happened?"
Excitement seized Uncle Egg as he started swinging his tail around non-stop. He asked, "Where are we?"
Airplane opened his eyes wide as he tried to take in this stunning place. With a look of confusion, he asked, "Isn"t this the dugout?"
The next moment, a shadow appeared from within the forest and instantly captured the attention of all five supercats.
As the figure walked towards them, they noticed the brilliant halo floating above his head. They finally realized it was Matcha prancing proudly towards them.
With the genial smile on his face, Matcha declared, "This is still the dugout. However, I"ve used my power to improve the living conditions here."
Matcha c.o.c.ked his head towards the maroon Dragon Li, Baozi, and commented, "Even though everything here seems real and authentic, they would not be able to quench your thirst nor satiate your hunger."
Baozi immediately retracted his paw and looked in Matcha"s direction.
Against this amazing backdrop, Matcha had turned stronger and more mysterious than ever in their eyes. They had never thought that it was possible to create such a realistic Nirvana from a forsaken dugout.
The supercats spoke in unison when they noticed Matcha with his golden halo approaching them, "King Geroge, what is your reason for sending us here today?"
The halo above his head continued to rotate and radiated a warm glow. The five cats did not even dare to stare directly into it.
The halo had made Matcha seem so powerful and formidable.
Matcha cleared his throat and announced, "The outside world is too dangerous. Humans have always been a threat to our survival. Hence, I decided to build this beautiful place as a haven for us, supercats. From today onwards, you will be living here."
"Is he trying to lock us up here?" Lion Head thought as a frown appeared on her face.
Airplane throbbed with anger and thought, "b.a.s.t.a.r.d, is this guy trying to keep me here as a pet? No, I must find a way to escape."
The three remaining supercats shared similar thoughts. After spending their entire life roaming the streets as stray cats, it would take some time for them to accept this kind of lifestyle which domestic cats were accustomed to.
Somehow, Zhao Yao had already predicted this response from them. Under his instructions, Matcha continued, "Of course, I am not forcing you to stay here. You can spend the next one month here. If you like it, you can stay for as long as you want. If not, you are free to leave as well."
Airplane"s eyes sparked with excitement and went on his feet and exclaimed, "Are you serious?"
"Of course!" Matcha announced with his gleeful smile, "I, King George, am a cat of his word. When have I ever lied to you."
All five cats turned their heads towards one another and understood what they were all thinking, "Hmph, we just have to endure for one month. Once the time is up, we will be gone!"
Matcha took this time to introduce Dust Ball who stood beside him. He declared, "This is my brother, Dark Knight. During my period of absence, he will be in charge of this place. Oh, to standardize some terminologies, I"ll be naming this place the Village of Dreams.
The place which you originally inhabited with the ordinary cats would be known as the outskirts of the Village of Dreams. You are currently in the central location of Village of Dreams. My brother, Dark Knight, holds the key to the Heart of the Village of Dreams."
"Heart of the Village of Dreams?" Lion Head was bewildered by Matcha"s words.
"Yes, I"m sure you will enjoy your time there."