Zhao Yao"s fingers began to dart across the map application as he continued to impart his hard-earned wisdom to his new padawans - Ares and Dust Ball.
"Today, I"ll be teaching you how to accurately identify someone in distress and complete a mission. Keep your eyes peeled and learn as much as possible."
Suddenly, Zhao Yao started to extend his index finger into his mouth. It seemed as if he was fis.h.i.+ng for something, "Roly Poly, come out."
Meanwhile, Roly Poly was totally absorbed in his conversation with Gaia. Hence, he did not even notice Zhao Yao"s call. Suddenly, he felt a hard tug on the back of his neck as he was forcefully dragged out of the belly.
Immediately, Roly Poly had settled on his usual position - atop Zhao Yao"s left shoulder. Without even reminding him, Roly Poly had already cast his power on Zhao Yao.
The party of a man and four cats started making their way towards the city as they followed the tiny blue dot on the map.
Meanwhile, Sato was finally released by the Chinese government apostles.
His predicament in China was beyond terrible. Since leading the sneak attack on Zhao Yao, he was instead held captive by Zhao Yao and was grilled for hours. After what seemed like eons, he was then handed over to Lin Chen.
Obviously, he had no idea why he was suddenly released today. Actually, it was all part of the government"s plan to bait Is.h.i.+da into revealing his grand plans. To the government, Sato was just a tiny p.a.w.n in their grand scheme of things.
Walking along the unfamiliar streets of Jiangmen, Sato could not help but feel so disoriented and scared. Immediately, he reached his hands into his pocket for his phone, only to realize that he had run out of value. He could only depend on his vague memory as he made his way towards Storm"s headquarters in Jiangmen.
However, Jiangmen City was just too big. After more than half an hour of aimless walking, Sato finally admitted that he was lost.
"D*mn it." His body locked up with rage as he stared at the skysc.r.a.pers towering over him. He was so angry and frustrated with everything that had happened. Suddenly, Zhao Yao"s image began to float into his mind.
"That stupid Chinese man! I would make him pay back for everything that he had done if I ever meet him again. I must give him a taste of h.e.l.l!"
The chance to feed Zhao Yao his own medicine was Sato"s only motivation during his time locked in his tiny cell. His anger fueled his perseverance which allowed him to endure all those humiliations.
On a rooftop not too far away, Zhao Yao suddenly halted as the three cats tagged behind him. He noticed Sato standing along the street at the corner of his eyes. Immediately, beams of excitement shot out of his eyes as he announced. "I guess it"s your lucky day. I didn"t expect to meet a j.a.panese on your very first mission. You guys are really lucky!"
"Furthermore, I have met this j.a.panese before. He isn"t particularly dangerous or conformational. Yet, we can squeeze quite a few missions out of him. He is the perfect candidate for your first mission!"
As Zhao Yao spoke, he squatted next to Ares before presenting a phone to him, "Ares, this is the phone which I have specially prepared for you. Don"t worry, I have already deposited some money into it. If you face any problems during your missions, use this phone to contact me immediately. Ideally, this is just a tool for you to communicate with humans."
Naturally, the success of the mission was heavily dependent on the cats" interaction with the humans. Hence, Zhao Yao had entrusted this important tasks to Ares. Compared to Dust Ball, Ares"s deflective field granted him the perfect skill to handle the phone. The precision and accuracy of his movements were evident in his gaming career.
The deflective field was even more effective than a pair of stubby human hands.
Hence, Zhao Yao descended from the rooftop and stopped next to Sato and started walking right next to him, shoulder to shoulder. In his invisible state, he continued flooding Ares and Dust Ball an endless list of pointers, "The first thing to do after finalizing your target is to lure him to a secluded corner. You must remember to not attract any attention to yourself throughout the entire execution phase. The worst thing is to have your actions caught on tape …"
While explaining, Zhao Yao suddenly threw his arms in the air before exclaiming, "This is a good opportunity!"
A gust of intense wind started blowing out of nowhere. By then, the deflective field had already morphed into the shape of a palm as it slapped across Sato"s body, throwing him into a secluded cul-de-sac.
Ah!
Following a shrilling shriek, Sato had collapsed to the ground as he writhed in pain. His lips drew back into a snarl as he exclaimed, "What is it?"
Suddenly, he noticed two huge shadows moving around in the corner. Sato immediately got to his feet as he demanded, "Who is it?"
Instead of two thugs appearing, two adorable kittens appeared from the shadows. The two pairs of giant eyes stared at him as they began to scrutinize him from head to toe.
Even before turning into an apostle, Sato had always been fond of little animals such as cats. Hence, he immediately lowered his guards when greeted by this pair of adorable guests. Similarly, the snarl evaporated and turned into a wide grin as he asked, "Hey, little cats, what happened? Are you guys hungry?"
Both Zhao Yao and Roly Poly were hidden in the corner as Zhao Yao began to pour out even more instructions, "Look at his head! Currently, you do not see the golden exclamation mark above it. This means that there are no missions. Hence, you have to find some way to change the status quo. You can only help him when there is a mission!
If he has a mission which he can entrust to you, the golden exclamation mark will appear above his head.
A tip for the both of you, when faced with j.a.panese, you can start by asking politely if he requires any help."
Hence, Ares acted accordingly and typed out a string of words on the phone. Immediately, the sentence was transformed into a voice message as it blared out, "Nice to meet you! Is there anything that I can help you with?"
"Who"s talking?" Sato"s chest tightened with fear when that mysterious voice rang in his ears. His eyes then immediately darted towards the source of the creepy voice.
"The golden exclamation mark is still missing!" Ares"s forehead creased together as he began to weigh the situation carefully. Meanwhile, Dust Ball had already reacted to the problem...
With her mouth stretched wide open, Dust Ball began to suck every strand of fabric out of Sato"s body.
Sato was flabbergasted by this incredulous scene. He immediately threw his hands forward and managed to cover his vitals in the nick of time. He then whispered to himself, "Supercats?"
Suddenly, Dust Ball began to wink frantically in Sato"s direction as she exclaimed, "Quickly! Ask him if he requires any help!"
The three pairs of eyes naturally gravitated towards Sato following Dust Ball"s intense winks. Finally, the familiar punctuation had returned to Sato"s head.
A wide grin appeared on Zhao Yao"s face as he instructed, "Do not get too excited. This is the most important part. You must ask your questions tactfully. Always maintain eye contact. Talk less and listen more. Let him know that you are here to help him. Do not scream at him or turn your back at him. This will simply infuriate him. Worst case, he might even attack you."
Ares nodded his head and mustered the gentlest expression he was capable of. His tender eyes stared straight at Sato as he began to type out another string of words. Once again, it was turned into a voice message as it rang, "Hi, nice to meet you. Is there anything that I can do for you?"
There was something familiar about that voice yet Sato could not put his fingers to it. He could only retort angrily, "Help? You took away my clothes and you have the audacity to ask if I need your help? Just return me my clothes already!"
As Sato"s voice rang in their heads, Ares and Dust Ball had received their first ever mission.
Mission: Help Sato find his clothes
Objective: Return Sato his clothes
Reward: Five experience points
Punishment: Nil
Ares was overwhelmed with excitement as he saw his first mission appear right before his eyes. He began to scream in delight, "I"ve got it! I"ve received my first mission! It"s five experience points!"
Dust Ball was also rather excited as she commented, "I"ve also received it."
"What"s the mission? Quickly try and complete it!"
Ares began to read out the contents word by word. As usual, Dust Ball simply cut to the chase and vomited all of Sato"s clothes out of her mouth.
Sato immediately scrambled across the floor as he gathered his precious clothes.
A wide grin appeared on both cats" faces as they screamed, "We"ve completed the mission! It"s complete!"
"I can see the change in experience points!" Ares declared excitedly, "I"ve gone from lv5(2000/5000) to lv5(2005/5000)."
Dust Ball chimed in happily, "I"ve also received it! I"ve gone from lv8(0/50000) to lv8(5/50000)!"
"That"s the way to go!" Zhao Yao continued to shower them with encouragements, "This is the general flow behind every mission. If you continue to put in your 100%, you will be able to upgrade in no time!"
Ares"s ears gave a slight quiver when he heard Dust Ball"s words. The smile on his face was long gone. In its place was a disdainful glare as he muttered, "That brat is actually three levels higher than me?"
Ares swept his head around and sent a slap across Sato"s face who was still busy b.u.t.toning his s.h.i.+rt. He immediately collapsed to the ground with a deafening scream.
"Do you need my help?"
"I … I remember ... it"s you again!" Sato was trembling with anger as he screamed, "At least let me put on my clothes first!"
Zhao Yao noticed the gleaming exclamation mark at the corner of his eyes and nodded his head in delight, "Ares, you are truly born for this."