Zhao Yao walked over to the phone and picked it up.
"Hello? Who am I speaking to?" he asked curiously.
There was a pregnant pause before the person on the other side of the line began to speak.
"I am the God of Death. You must be the Headless Horseman?"
"Oh?" Zhao Yao raised his eyebrows in surprise, "You're the God of Death?"
"It seems that you have decimated my men."
Silence fell again.
When the God of Death spoke again, he sounded even more somber than before.
"I doubt that are unfamiliar with the amount of power and influence that Ivory holds as an organization. We have friends everywhere. We're in finance, politics, education, entertainment, construction, transport… We are so deeply embedded in this country's infrastructure that we can no longer be separated."
A deep crease settled between Zhao Yao's eyebrows. He asked, "Your point is?"
"Join us," God of Death answered briskly, "I can bestow upon you a rank in the organization that is second only to mine."
Zhao Yao could hear muffled voices rising in the background. It sounded like this offer was met with much opposition among Ivory's men. Soon, however, the commotion died and silence was restored again. It was obvious that the God of Death had hushed them, demonstrating just how much authority he held in the group.
"What say you?" God of Death continued in a tantalizing tone of voice, "Join us and you'll be in complete control. You can mobilize billions of dollars as you deem fit and change the fates of thousands of men as you please. The history of the entire country, no, the entire world, will be your making…"
His words were met with shock and apprehension among his men. Even Butcher, Black Panther, and their respective companions took a collective intake of breath. They fixed their gazes on Zhao Yao, waiting to see how he would respond to this proposition.
To Butcher, the God of Death was the most powerful human because he could unite thousands to work together for one purpose. The Headless Horseman, on the other, was the most powerful superhuman because he was gifted with unimaginable abilities.
Ivory was already invincible with the God of Death by its side. If the Horseman was added into the mix, Butcher had no doubt that they could take over the world.
Of course, he had no idea that such a day would never come. The God of Death had no desire to work hand-in-hand with his newfound enemy. He was extending an olive branch to draw the Horseman in and destroy him.
Every person in the room waited with bated breath for Zhao Yao to speak.
Xiao Ming kept his eyes firmly locked onto the Horseman's back. He thought, "This phone call could start something that would change the world as we know it. We're watching history being made…"
"Well," Zhao Yao scratched his chin when he finally spoke, "Joining you is not out of the question."
The Butcher, along with the men standing alongside him, began to pale.
The God of Death, on the other hand, heaved a sigh of relief, "We can discuss this once we…"
"On one condition," Zhao Yao interrupted, "I get to be Ivory's leader. Promise me this and I'm in."
Silence followed. It was only broken when the God of Death began to hoot with laughter.
"Haha…"
"Hahahaha…"
It was as if Zhao Yao had told the funniest joke in the world. The God of Death was laughing so hard that he could not catch his breath. When he finally calmed down, he said, "I get it now. You have no intention to join us. That's alright. What I can promise you is that as long as you around, Ivory will not step foot in Jiangmen City."
With that, he hung up. When he whipped his head to face his men, he said coldly, "Gather Ivory's strongest apostles immediately. The Headless Horseman...is mine."
On the other end of the line, Butcher's shoulders visibly sagged with relief when the conversation came to a close.
Zhao Yao looked at them pointedly. "You three," he started, "Now's not the time to relax, is it? Your families are still under his control."
Butcher's heart lurched painfully against his chest.
"Crap," he thought, "I've forgotten about that due to the commotion."
The three men exchanged nervous glances. Zhao Yao shrugged his shoulders carelessly and said, "You guys can leave if you want to. I'm not going to stop you. However, before you go, do you mind telling me what plans Ivory has for the prison?"
The men did not hesitate to divulge everything that they knew. Unfortunately, they did not bring any new information to the table. The crease between Zhao Yao's eyebrows began to deepen.
"Do you know how they managed to get the Cat King of the West to do their bidding?" he asked, "He's just a supercat after all. I doubt he has family that they can threaten him with."
Butcher shook his head, "We're not sure too. All we know is that he is not controlled by the God of Death, but an American named Michael. He's in this prison too. We don't know what his role is, but it's somehow linked to the meteorite."
"American? Meteorite?" Zhao Yao wondered, "All of this points to Star Cats. This Michael fellow must be the key to unlocking all the remaining secrets in this prison."
He turned back to Butcher. "Okay, you can go now. I would suggest that you check in on Champion before you leave though. He's very concerned about you guys."
Butcher's eyes were shining with admiration and gratitude. He said, "Thank you. Seriously, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Do not hesitate to call us if you need our help in the future."
As Zhao Yao watched the trio's retreating figures, the mission panel was refreshed. He had successfully completed the task of saving the Muscle Society. In return, he was rewarded with 1,000 * 2 experience points. The Book now stood at Level 6 (27,122 / 20,000).
Once the Butcher and his men were gone, Zhao Yao focused his attention on Black Panther and Xiao Ming instead. His eyes narrowed when they landed on the supercat that was curled around the former's shoulders.
"If I stole this cat and chucked it on Cat Island, Black Panther would never be able to stab me in the kidneys ever again with that dumbass superpower of his," he thought wistfully.
As much as he wanted to put this to action, he could not bear to do so. The cat was clinging onto Black Panther like his life depended on it. So, he simply sighed and said, "How did you guys end up here? You know what, I don't even wanna know. Just go. Get out of here before you get into trouble again."
Xiao Ming spun on his heel immediately. He was more than happy to leave. However, Black Panther held him back. He had some things to say to Zhao Yao first.
"Sir No Head, I never knew that this is what you really look like."
At the moment, Zhao Yao had used the illusory choker to feign the most ordinary and forgettable appearance he could muster. He scowled at Black Panther.
"Call me by the wrong name one more time and I'll neuter you," he threatened menacingly.
Black Panther nodded rapidly in response, saying, "Yes, sir. Please accept me as your disciple and let me work for you!"
A look of alarm flashed past Xiao Ming's face. He gripped onto a corner of Black Panther's shirt and tried dragging him away.
"What a fool!" he thought, "He'd be in mortal peril every day if he stayed by the Headless Horseman! The enemies this man makes are dangerous. Very, very dangerous!"
After all, he had just witnessed the confrontation between the Horseman and Ivory. He had no interest in joining any fight of that kind. All he wanted to do was to make money so that he can pay off his debts.
Zhao Yao had no intention of keeping them by his side either. He rolled his eyes and said, "Get out of my sight."
With that, he summoned a force field to knock them off their feet and launch them into the passageway. He then shrunk the force field to encase him perfectly like a second skin.
"Well, since I've been exposed, there's no need to be surreptitious anymore."
He pressed the force field against the ground to lift himself a meter into the air. When he darted forward, it looked like he was flying.
Zhao Yao walked over to the phone and picked it up.
"Hello? Who am I speaking to?" he asked curiously.
There was a pregnant pause before the person on the other side of the line began to speak.
"I am the God of Death. You must be the Headless Horseman?"
"Oh?" Zhao Yao raised his eyebrows in surprise, "You're the God of Death?"
"It seems that you have decimated my men."
Silence fell again.
When the God of Death spoke again, he sounded even more somber than before.
"I doubt that are unfamiliar with the amount of power and influence that Ivory holds as an organization. We have friends everywhere. We're in finance, politics, education, entertainment, construction, transport… We are so deeply embedded in this country's infrastructure that we can no longer be separated."
A deep crease settled between Zhao Yao's eyebrows. He asked, "Your point is?"
"Join us," God of Death answered briskly, "I can bestow upon you a rank in the organization that is second only to mine."
Zhao Yao could hear muffled voices rising in the background. It sounded like this offer was met with much opposition among Ivory's men. Soon, however, the commotion died and silence was restored again. It was obvious that the God of Death had hushed them, demonstrating just how much authority he held in the group.
"What say you?" God of Death continued in a tantalizing tone of voice, "Join us and you'll be in complete control. You can mobilize billions of dollars as you deem fit and change the fates of thousands of men as you please. The history of the entire country, no, the entire world, will be your making…"
His words were met with shock and apprehension among his men. Even Butcher, Black Panther, and their respective companions took a collective intake of breath. They fixed their gazes on Zhao Yao, waiting to see how he would respond to this proposition.
To Butcher, the God of Death was the most powerful human because he could unite thousands to work together for one purpose. The Headless Horseman, on the other, was the most powerful superhuman because he was gifted with unimaginable abilities.
Ivory was already invincible with the God of Death by its side. If the Horseman was added into the mix, Butcher had no doubt that they could take over the world.
Of course, he had no idea that such a day would never come. The God of Death had no desire to work hand-in-hand with his newfound enemy. He was extending an olive branch to draw the Horseman in and destroy him.
Every person in the room waited with bated breath for Zhao Yao to speak.
Xiao Ming kept his eyes firmly locked onto the Horseman's back. He thought, "This phone call could start something that would change the world as we know it. We're watching history being made…"
"Well," Zhao Yao scratched his chin when he finally spoke, "Joining you is not out of the question."
The Butcher, along with the men standing alongside him, began to pale.
The God of Death, on the other hand, heaved a sigh of relief, "We can discuss this once we…"
"On one condition," Zhao Yao interrupted, "I get to be Ivory's leader. Promise me this and I'm in."
Silence followed. It was only broken when the God of Death began to hoot with laughter.
"Haha…"
"Hahahaha…"
It was as if Zhao Yao had told the funniest joke in the world. The God of Death was laughing so hard that he could not catch his breath. When he finally calmed down, he said, "I get it now. You have no intention to join us. That's alright. What I can promise you is that as long as you around, Ivory will not step foot in Jiangmen City."
With that, he hung up. When he whipped his head to face his men, he said coldly, "Gather Ivory's strongest apostles immediately. The Headless Horseman...is mine."
On the other end of the line, Butcher's shoulders visibly sagged with relief when the conversation came to a close.
Zhao Yao looked at them pointedly. "You three," he started, "Now's not the time to relax, is it? Your families are still under his control."
Butcher's heart lurched painfully against his chest.
"Crap," he thought, "I've forgotten about that due to the commotion."
The three men exchanged nervous glances. Zhao Yao shrugged his shoulders carelessly and said, "You guys can leave if you want to. I'm not going to stop you. However, before you go, do you mind telling me what plans Ivory has for the prison?"
The men did not hesitate to divulge everything that they knew. Unfortunately, they did not bring any new information to the table. The crease between Zhao Yao's eyebrows began to deepen.
"Do you know how they managed to get the Cat King of the West to do their bidding?" he asked, "He's just a supercat after all. I doubt he has family that they can threaten him with."
Butcher shook his head, "We're not sure too. All we know is that he is not controlled by the God of Death, but an American named Michael. He's in this prison too. We don't know what his role is, but it's somehow linked to the meteorite."
"American? Meteorite?" Zhao Yao wondered, "All of this points to Star Cats. This Michael fellow must be the key to unlocking all the remaining secrets in this prison."
He turned back to Butcher. "Okay, you can go now. I would suggest that you check in on Champion before you leave though. He's very concerned about you guys."
Butcher's eyes were shining with admiration and gratitude. He said, "Thank you. Seriously, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Do not hesitate to call us if you need our help in the future."
As Zhao Yao watched the trio's retreating figures, the mission panel was refreshed. He had successfully completed the task of saving the Muscle Society. In return, he was rewarded with 1,000 * 2 experience points. The Book now stood at Level 6 (27,122 / 20,000).
Once the Butcher and his men were gone, Zhao Yao focused his attention on Black Panther and Xiao Ming instead. His eyes narrowed when they landed on the supercat that was curled around the former's shoulders.
"If I stole this cat and chucked it on Cat Island, Black Panther would never be able to stab me in the kidneys ever again with that dumbass superpower of his," he thought wistfully.
As much as he wanted to put this to action, he could not bear to do so. The cat was clinging onto Black Panther like his life depended on it. So, he simply sighed and said, "How did you guys end up here? You know what, I don't even wanna know. Just go. Get out of here before you get into trouble again."
Xiao Ming spun on his heel immediately. He was more than happy to leave. However, Black Panther held him back. He had some things to say to Zhao Yao first.
"Sir No Head, I never knew that this is what you really look like."
At the moment, Zhao Yao had used the illusory choker to feign the most ordinary and forgettable appearance he could muster. He scowled at Black Panther.
"Call me by the wrong name one more time and I'll neuter you," he threatened menacingly.
Black Panther nodded rapidly in response, saying, "Yes, sir. Please accept me as your disciple and let me work for you!"
A look of alarm flashed past Xiao Ming's face. He gripped onto a corner of Black Panther's shirt and tried dragging him away.
"What a fool!" he thought, "He'd be in mortal peril every day if he stayed by the Headless Horseman! The enemies this man makes are dangerous. Very, very dangerous!"
After all, he had just witnessed the confrontation between the Horseman and Ivory. He had no interest in joining any fight of that kind. All he wanted to do was to make money so that he can pay off his debts.
Zhao Yao had no intention of keeping them by his side either. He rolled his eyes and said, "Get out of my sight."
With that, he summoned a force field to knock them off their feet and launch them into the passageway. He then shrunk the force field to encase him perfectly like a second skin.
"Well, since I've been exposed, there's no need to be surreptitious anymore."
He pressed the force field against the ground to lift himself a meter into the air. When he darted forward, it looked like he was flying.
