524 Into the Dream ?

Sidequest: Wake the Cat King of the West

Objective: Foil the enemy's plan by waking the Cat King and putting an end to the corruption in the prison

Reward: 2,000 experience points

Punishment: None

"Wow, 2000 experience points. Just this alone would make up for all the time I've spent here."

Naturally, it did not take long for Zhao Yao to reach a conclusion.

"You have nothing to worry about, Diana," he stated firmly, "Send me there."

Then, he tilted his head from side to side before opening his mouth. Ares and Sphynx Cat leaped out of it.

"I'm assigning the two of you as my guardians. Do not allow anyone to disturb me. Ares, make sure that you use your deflective field to protect yourself and Sphynx Cat at all times. Do not give the enemy a chance to attack or control you."

Ares did as he was told without question. He could tell how serious Zhao Yao was from the fiercely determined look on his face.

As the force field unfurled around Sphynx Cat, he could not help but gaze adoringly at Ares. In his heart, the infatuated cat thought, "Is this… Is this considered our first time sharing a blanket?" 

His loving stare sent chills down Ares' spine, but not the kind that he might have hoped for. Ares could feel his skin grow cold and clammy. His a**hole had tightened to an impenetrable circumference.

"I can't do this anymore," he panicked internally, "This weird relationship cannot go on."

As this thought crossed his head, another one manifested. It was an image of Sphynx Cat easily squishing tonnes of metal into little patties of any shape he desired. Fear and hesitation settled uneasily in the pit of Ares' stomach.

"But the way he looks at me is getting creepier and creepier," he argued with himself, "And he's always following behind me into the bathroom. This does not bode well for me at all."

After a moment of deliberation, Ares finally drew a conclusion he was happy with.

"I'll need to approach Zhao Yao for help in a couple days. I can't take this anymore! I'll give my soul to the Devil if I must."

While Ares had been contemplating about what to do next, Zhao Yao was getting ready for his descent into the dream world. He had already switched his skill to Matcha's TimeFreeze. Next, he had a special task for Sphynx Cat.

"If I do not leave dream world after an hour has passed, kill me. I'll be revived in a jiffy."

Sphynx Cat's lips curled into a smug grin. He waved his sharp claws at Zhao Yao.

"With pleasure," he said, "Killing you is one of the items on my bucket list."

Zhao Yao surveyed the tunnel they were in. This was not quite the safest place for his physical body as he embarked on his journey. Hence, he spat Elizabeth and her family out from the extradimensional belly and into the prison.

"...so that's the current situation," he explained, "I'm trusting you guys to support Ares and Sphynx Cat in protecting me."

With so many safeguards in place, he was now confident enough to make the descent.

Zhao Yao nodded at Diana, then let his eyelids fall shut.

*

When Zhao Yao's eyes snapped open, he found himself in his bedroom.

He was lounging on an exquisitely comfortable recliner. Within arm's reach was a curated selection of snacks and drinks, an impressively large computer screen, and a box of tissues.

The last time he entered the dream world, it did not take long for the illusion to break. With the combined perception of five supercats, he quickly realized that what he was seeing and experiencing was not real.

This time, however, things were different. It was exactly like what Diana had said. This dream was shared among only a few individuals. As such, the level of control that Nightmare Cat had here was god-like. He could definitely do more than spawn new NPCs now.

This was why Zhao Yao did not at all suspect that something was wrong. He simply sunk deeper into the recliner and reached for a stack of potato chips. He browsed the web as he popped them one by one into his mouth.

He harbored no intention of getting up.

"God, this chair is comfortable," he thought in amazement.

He was in his happy place.

All the things that he needed were displayed neatly on shelves that were easily reached. There was nothing he could not grab without getting off his butt.

He was practically radiating joy.

Nightmare Cat sniggered as he watched Zhao Yao's every move. At the moment, he had taken the form of a purple cat. Michael was standing next to him. Next to them was Zhao Yao, who did not notice their presence because they were invisible.

"Hehe," Nightmare Cat chuckled darkly, "I have delved deep into his subconscious to create this dreamscape. He would never be able to tell that none of this is real. We're gonna mess him up real good."

There was a slight furrow between Michael's eyebrows. He asked, "The things we do here - will they affect what's happening with the Cat King of the West?"

Nightmare Cat was quick to respond, "Nope. They're not in the same place."

With that, he decided to start having a bit of fun. The cat flexed his paws. In an instant, the building started to catch fire with alarming briskness.

He started laughing haughtily once more, obviously pleased with his handiwork. He could already imagine how pathetic Zhao Yao would look as he scrambled for his life. He would make things worse and worse and eventually reduce him to a shaking mess.

"Let's see how quickly you can run, boy!"

Contrary to his belief, Zhao Yao did not partake in any scrambling. Even as the flames engulfed the apartment complex, he remained seated in the recliner. In fact, he was still munching his potato chips.

His hands were the only things he moved. They struck against in each other in a firm clap.

In a flash, the raging fire had been instantly extinguished by the golden deflective field.

"How...how is this possible?" Nightmare Cat seethed, "Alright, let's try something else then!"

He imagined that the building collapsed and that was exactly what happened. The ceilings ripped open and the concrete floors gave way. Zhao Yao plummeted to the ground in a flurry of cement and metal.

When it looked like all hope was lost, the golden glow appeared again. This time, it covered him from head to toe. He shot through the rubble like a shooting star and landed gracefully on the ground.

"Darn it!" Nightmare Cat swore, "He's become even more powerful than before. The usual tactics won't be enough to deal with him."

"Don't get too carried away," Michael warned, "If he dies, he'll leave the dream. I'll be in deep s**t when he goes back to reality."

Michael was now aware that both his and Zhao Yao's physical bodies were at the end of the tunnel.

Nightmare Cat brushed him off with a simple, "Don't worry. He won't die that easily."

What followed was a series of terribly unfortunate events for Zhao Yao. It felt like the entire world had it in for him. Accidents plagued him wherever he went, from fires, cyclones, floods, and earthquakes, to truck collisions and plane crashes. He used his superpowers to protect himself from each catastrophe.

His acts of self-preservation were a purely unconscious decision. It sure felt odd that this string of calamities was happening to him, but it did not trigger his conscious mind to question if this was all just a dream.

Michael had fallen into a quiet state of shock as he watched the events unfold.

"This kind of apostle actually exists?" he asked, "Nightmare Cat, is he this powerful in reality?"

"Duh," the purple cat retorted, "He still has no clue that this is a dream, so he's behaving as he could in reality. Also, unlike me, he cannot manipulate the dreamscape. Even if he finally sees what's happening, he won't be able to create crazy new powers for himself."

Nightmare's Cats lit up when he finished speaking. An epiphany had occurred to him.

"Hmm, since this guy is impossible to beat in combat, I should change my strategy. I should cause him irreparable mental and emotional damage instead."

Michael stared at him wordlessly. He had no idea what the cat had up his sleeves this time. Even if he did, there was no stopping him. Nightmare Cat was a partner, not a subordinate.

The cat had already put his plan to action anyway. This manifested as an overwhelming urge in Zhao Yao to withdraw cash. He walked to the nearest ATM and pushed his card into the slot. The screen display revealed that his account balance was $0.00.

Nightmare Cat could not contain his giggles again, "How do you feel now? Aren't you devastated -,"

He stopped mid-sentence as Zhao Yao removed his card calmly, then opened his mouth and swallowed the entire ATM in one gulp.

"I'm pretty sure I had several billion dollars in my account. Guess I'll have to visit a few more ATMs to get back what is mine."

Nightmare Cat gawked as Zhao Yao strolled down the street and sucked in every machine that he could find. This proved to be too time-consuming, so he eventually headed to the currency printing facility. There, he could finally guzzle the billions of dollars that were taken from him.

"Darn it," Nightmare Cat swore, "The unconscious mind controls a person's actions in dreams. This hooligan must have been dying to rob a bank for ages to react like this."

This plan might have failed, but it did not take long for a new one to spring from his mind. His eyes lit up as he muttered, "Ah, yes. Let's see how you respond to this…"

Zhao Yao was suddenly overcome with the desire to go home. He did not find it strange that the apartment complex, which previously had been reduced to rubble, was standing again. When he opened the door to his bedroom, he spotted a strapping lad on top of a beautiful woman.

"Ah, Zhao Yao? I'm sorry, but I'm in love with him, not you."

Zhao Yao had never seen these two NPCs before, but a voice in his head told him that the woman was his girlfriend.

"Hehehe!" Nightmare Cat crowed with delight, "You've been made a cuckold! This is the secret shame that burns the strongest of men to rubble. Let's see how you'll survive this heartbreak."

His gleeful gloating came to an abrupt halt when Zhao Yao slammed the door shut, shook his head, and sighed, "Hmm, there's no way in hell that I'll get a girlfriend. I must be dreaming."

When he opened the door again, the man and woman whom were locked in an embrace had vanished.

Nightmare Cat was livid by now.

"S**t!" he yelled, shaking his head violently in disbelief, "This guy! Even in his subconscious, his sense of cognition is functional enough to alter the dreamscape! How can he be so sure that he can't have a girlfriend? What's he trying to do? Be a 40-year-old virgin?!"

"Darn it!" the cat said through gritted teeth, "Let's try something else then."

In an instant, every human in Zhao Yao's dreamscape had disappeared, leaving him all alone.

Nightmare Cat was chuckling again, "Loneliness is a fear shared by every living being that walks this earth! How long can you take it, I wonder? Enjoy your spiral into madness!"

He watched with bated breath as Zhao Yao left his apartment to look for people and food. The search lasted a disappointing five minutes before he returned home to start a single-player game.

"What the heck?!" Nightmare Cat exclaimed, roving around Zhao Yao, "Seriously, you stop looking after five minutes? Just five minutes? Aren't you worried about your friends, family, or parents? You didn't even haul your lazy butt out of the neighborhood! Are you a living, breathing person or not?"

Michael was perplexed as well. The furrow in his brow was in full force.

"Maybe he just hasn't felt the impact of the disappearances yet. You should fast forward the time. He'll feel it soon," he suggested.

Nightmare Cat nodded in agreement. "That must be it. He just hasn't realized that he's literally the only man left in this world."

With that, he sped up the time in Zhao Yao's dreamscape. The rate at which time passed had always differed greatly between dreams and reality. As a dream maker, Nightmare Cat could easily widen that chasm as he pleased.

However, he could not exempt either himself or Michael from the time lapse. They were also in Zhao Yao's dreamscape after all. When the fast forward ended, all the events and changes that had taken place during the jump will hit them at once.

Nightmare Cat started slow. When he jumped forward by a week, Zhao Yao was still glued to the game.

He sped things up again, this time by a month. 30 days' worth of events were crammed into Nightmare Cat's head all at once. Unfortunately, every day was the same. Zhao Yao never stopped playing.

He swore loudly, then pulled another fast forward. One year later, Zhao Yao was still doing the exact same thing.

The cat gawked at him, partly baffled but mostly infuriated.

"What the hell is wrong with this guy?! He's been doing nothing but play games for a year! Are computer games that fun?"

Michael, who had been watching Zhao Yao like a hawk, suddenly cried, "He's getting up!"

The pair kept a weather eye on him as he shuffled forward. He lifted his laptop from the recliner and moved it to his bed, then resumed playing.

Nightmare Cat felt like he was dangerously close to exploding from anger!

"I don't believe! I'm going to fast forward again. He has to stop at some point!"

"No, there's no need to do that. I've found his weakness," Michael said quickly, "Disable the Internet. Disable his internet connection right now!"