While Zhao Yao was resting back in his cell, Matcha had followed the wardens to a suite.
The golden exclamation mark continued to flicker on top of the warden"s head as he barked out, "Go in. Someone wants to talk to you."
Mission: Chat
Objective: Speak to the leader of the prison
Reward: 10 experience points
Punishment: Nil
A smile continued to dance on Matcha"s lips as another easy 10 experience points awaited him.
The atmosphere changed radically the moment he entered this room. First of all, it was far colder than the ordinary cells. Next, it was so opulent that Matcha couldn"t believe he was still in the prison. Smacked in the middle was a blonde Caucasian with a cup of black tea swirling in his hands. He immediately shot the approaching Matcha an amiable smile and asked, "Is this … Mr George?"
Matcha was completely absorbed with the booger stuck in his nostril and shot the Caucasian a disdainful glare, "Who are you? Can you understand my words?"
Immediately after finis.h.i.+ng his words, the Caucasian gently slid a phone in Matcha"s direction, "You can communicate with me using this."
Hence, Matcha regurgitated the same words in text only to see the Caucasian cackled with laughter, "My name is Mike and I"m one of the in-charge of this prison. The reason why I requested for your presence is that I find it a waste for a cat of your caliber to waste his time here."
"You don"t say?" Smugly, Matcha slammed his b.u.t.t on the chair opposite his before he replied via text, "Just cut to the chase. What exactly do you want?"
"Actually, there"s nothing on my agenda," Mike responded with a shrug of his shoulders, "I just want to give cats of your status more privileges, better living conditions. Your current cell does not befit someone of your standing. I have a suite in mind which is more suitable for you."
The hostility in Matcha"s eyes evaporated as he replied, "Kid, you"re rather sensible."
With a snap of Mike"s fingers, plates of fresh delicacies were brought out to them. There were the usual cat food and cat rice but there was also premium raw fishes which cats adored.
Obviously, Matcha"s eyes gleamed with excitement at the sight of these mouth-watering dishes. However, he had long grown used to such delicacies from all the Legendary cat rice Zhao Yao had fed him with. Hence, the food failed to impress him.
Instead, he was alerted to a new mission the moment this food appeared across the table.
Mission: Resist the corruption
Objective: Resist the tempting bribe offered by the opponent. Do not give in to any of his requests
Reward: 500 experience points
Punishment: Nil
Matcha"s heart skipped a beat before joy filled him like suns.h.i.+ne, "Hahaha, you are underestimating me. I, George Matcha, am a cat that is second to none. I have seen millions of dollars cross hands without batting an eye. Do you actually think that I"ll fall for this crude trick?"
Hence, Matcha immediately shoved a mouthful of food into his throat before vomiting them all out.
"The fish isn"t even fres.h.!.+ And how dare you soak these rotting fish in water? Are you trying to make it expand and look bigger? Disgusting!
The beef is perfectly overcooked! You didn"t even allow the spices and sauce to be absorbed into its tender meat. Another complete failure!
This cat rice has been left out there for at least three hours! Premium cat rice is made with top-of-the-line meat. Any exposure to air would cause it to oxidize instantly. It will be inedible if you leave it out there for more than an hour! How dare you serve it to me after three hours? Preposterous!"
Mike forced an awkward smile across his face as the veins in his forehead throbbed, "This country b.u.mpkin, how dare he try to nitpick our food!" However, these comments were reserved for himself. Instead, he clapped his hands and welcomed a delegate of female Persian, Garfield, Ragdolls and American Shorthair.
Matcha"s heart pounded against his chest at this beautiful sight. Mike too noticed the subtle change in his expression, "As long as yours truly are interested in helping us with a small favor, all these females cats will be yours to enjoy."
Matcha gulped down the saliva acc.u.mulated in his mouth and typed, "Send all of them back! The one thing which I hate the most is a female cat! I"m not interested in any of them!"
Mike wiped the sweat off his forehead before resorting to his ultimate move.
With one hard swing, he placed a huge luggage on the table. With two clicks, the luggage slowly opened and revealed the stacks of cash resting within it.
Matcha"s paw trembled as it inched towards this gleaming pile of cash. However, he immediately retracted it before inching towards it once again.
Seeing Matcha"s hesitation, Mike started to laugh and explain, "If you"re interested in joining us, all of these will belong to you."
Matcha was all dizzy from the stacks of cash shoved in his face. In his groggy state, he asked, "What organization are you from?"
With that said, he threw his paws over the cash with a contented smile tugging his lips. However, this brief excitement was immediately replaced with hesitation as he pulled his paws back.
Mike continued to drink his black tea nonchalantly. Despite Matcha"s hesitation, Mike showed no signs of anger. Instead, a faint smile reflected off of his face. He reminded Matcha, "If you join us, you might even be able to leave this place one day."
Meanwhile, Zhao Yao could only let out another long depressed sigh as he observed all these good-for-nothings strewn across this putrid cell.
He found the most comfortable mattress and immediately jumped on it. With a snap of his fingers, the illusion cast on their bodies was lifted. However, some of them were still fast asleep.
Zhao Yao started to observe the electric collar fitted to his neck before sealing an illusion into it. To an ordinary man"s eye, he looked like just another middle-aged man. After all, he would not want all these scoundrels to recognize him.
After he was done with the illusion, a few of his cellmates began to wake up from their slumber.
The first to wake up was the American soldier, William. He set up against the wall as tears rolled down his cheeks. He immediately buried his face in his hands as a m.u.f.fled cry echoed from his direction.
Beneath that watery bloodshot eyes, he was pondering, "D*mn it! What the h.e.l.l happened on that island? Why are all my savings gone? Also, why do I owe some random person USD 1,500,000?"
His life was in complete ruins with nothing to look forward to. He just wanted to rot inside this cell for the rest of his life.
On the other side of the cell, Black Panther started wagging his finger in Mike"s direction and exclaimed, "Hey, foreigner, why is your body all grey?"
William shot him a death glare but had zero intentions to retaliate.
Meanwhile, Xiao Ming was observing his fellow cellmates. The Caucasian, William, seemed completely despondent as he continued to weep in the corner. Nessie was still sleeping but he looked like he was in pain. Finally, there was this ordinary man (Zhao Yao) who was daydreaming on his bed.
Xiao Ming thought about it before announcing, "I remember I fell asleep not long after I came to this cell so why not we take turns to do a self-introduction?"
Noticing the other"s indifference, Xiao Ming decided to take the lead, "Let me begin then. I"m Xiao Ming and I came from a rather affluent family. The reason I"m here …" A mirthless laugh was followed by another half-shrug of his shoulders as he continued, "I was thrown in here for illegal fundraising but I a.s.sure you that it was all legitimate! It"s just that the public has many misconceptions about what we do."