488 An Island as Paymen ? (1/2)
Zhao Yao stroked the top of Cat Sage's head.
”There's no need to thank me,” he said, ”I'm doing this because you guys are down on your luck right now. However, you do know that you shouldn't stay on someone else's property forever, yes?”
Cat Sage blinked up at him in surprise, ”Then what should we do?”
”Work for me. I'll give you wages. Save that up and you'll be able to buy the island from me someday,” Zhao Yao responded.
He scratched the bottom of the cat's chin. It felt nice, but Cat Sage wrenched his head from the man's fingers.
He looked him in the eye, ”We can buy the island back?”
Zhao Yao nodded.
”Of course. I'm not a slavedriver. You will be compensated fairly for your work. I will take care of your food and lodging. You won't have to spend a cent that I pay you at the end of each month. I'll keep that money safe for you so you can accumulate the funds you need to buy the island.”
Matcha decided to interrupt the conversation at this point.
”Did you hear that? You guys have got it good! We do back-breaking work every day and all we might get at the end of it is a cafe. You are promised a friggin' island!” he exclaimed in mock outrage.
Cat Sage found himself lowering his head in embarrassment at his words.
”That doesn't seem too fair,” he murmured.
”You took the words right out of my mouth!” Matcha agreed, ”Zhao Yao, you're being too generous to them. We, your original supercats, are not happy about this at all!”
While he spoke out defiantly in public, he was also communicating with Zhao Yao telepathically.
”Zhao Yao, how am I doing?” Matcha asked earnestly.
”Beautifully,” Zhao Yao responded.
Then, he kept up with the act.
”Matcha, look at these poor cats here. They've led a wretched life. They don't get to eat or sleep well like you do in these horrible, sun-beaten conditions. You are all cats. Don't you want to help them?”
Zhao Yao put on his most righteous expression and turned his gaze back to Cat Sage.
”I'm entrusting my cat island to you,” he said seriously, ”Help me take good care of it. I hope that, one day, I can transform it into a supercat wonderland. It will be home to the homeless and family to the kinless.”
His words moved Cat Sage, whom was now looking up at him in awe.
”I understand,” the cat said solemnly, ”Don't worry. We will keep this island safe!”
Zhao Yao nodded in delight.
He glanced at the mission panel to see that his mission to cat thieves pay had been completed. With that, he had bagged 2,000*2 experience points.
”Hehe. It's been a day well-spent. I guess that means that I now have…”
When he looked at the panel again, the Book was at Level 6 (42,262 / 20,000).
He was shaken out of his thoughts when the ground beneath his feet began to tremble.
He had forgotten about poor, little Rice Cake.
In an instant, he grabbed her and dumped her into the extradimensional belly.
The moment she was back in the familiar space, the light in her eyes began to return.
”I feel it,” Rice Cake whispered, ”I feel the power of wifi.”
Her limp and lifeless body was revitalized all of a sudden. She scrambled onto her paws and bounced towards the nearest computer in joy.
Gaia was seated next to her. He smelt foul and greasy, as if he had not cleaned himself in weeks. She spotted open cans of half-eaten cat food scattered all over his desk. Gaia did not seem to notice her. His beady eyes were glued to the screen.
”What are you playing?” Rice Cake asked, peering at his screen as well.
Gaia did not bother turning to her to respond, ”Dungeon Fighter Online.”
”Is it fun?”
A pained expression flashed past Gaia's face.
”My advice is that you should steer clear of it. All it takes is a few minutes and you'll never be able to stop. You'll be a goner like me. All the cats here think I'm paralyzed. The truth is that I've not moved in so long that I've lost all the strength in my legs.”
Back in the real world, Zhao Yao had one last quest to deal with.
His eyes landed on Xiao Yu, who was still berating Fish Ball and Noodle.