The next day came quickly.
Or rather, Cen Yao hadn't slept for very long at all.
Leaning against Zhu Lingxi, she had dozed off fitfully for a few hours. When a pale, faint light began to touch the horizon, her consciousness was pulled back by a familiar sensation of weightlessness.
Her bones shrank, her limbs touched the ground, and her field of vision plummeted.
The loose Witch's Robe, magic wand, earpiece, Nuo mask, and wheelchair she wore were all temporarily swallowed by the dungeon.
When Cen Yao opened her eyes, she had once again turned into a dark brown civet cat.
She looked down at her furry paws.
The exhaustion from overexerting herself yesterday was still there, though it felt much better than it had during the night.
Her small chest rose and fell, and her tail thumped heavily against the ground in annoyance.
She was a cat again.
She hated the daytime.
Cen Yao looked up.
Not far away, Zhu Lingxi had also turned back into a civet cat.
She was as beautiful as ever, with a darker coat and a long, silky tail, though her eyes held a touch of post-sleep daze.
She had been trying to get her bearings, but after turning around in a half-circle, she nearly plunged headfirst into the pile of grass that had been scorched yesterday.
Cen Yao quickly ran over and patted her with a paw.
Zhu Lingxi looked up and twitched her ears upon seeing Cen Yao.
“Miss Cen.”
To human eyes, her voice would have sounded like nothing more than a faint meow, but Cen Yao could hear her clearly.
“Morning.”
“Morning.”
Cen Yao raised a paw and pointed at the sky.
“The sun is up. Let's get to work.”
Zhu Lingxi nodded obediently.
“Okay.”
On the other side, Pei Tinglan had also turned into a civet cat once more.
He crouched with his front limbs supporting his weight on the ground. Even with his two hind legs disabled, he was still unreasonably handsome.
However, perhaps because he hadn't slept well last night, a heavy, gloomy aura hung in his pale eyes.
Clearly, turning into a cat was not something he had gotten used to, despite how many times it had happened.
Seeing him, Cen Yao's mood instantly improved.
“Pei Tinglan.”
Pei the cat looked over coldly.
“What is it?”
“Time to go to work.”
“...”
The tip of Pei Tinglan's tail flicked impatiently.
He didn't talk back, only turning his head to look toward the outskirts of the coffee plantation.
During the day, the dungeon had restored most of the traces left by last night's fire in an almost brute-force manner.
The scorched earth was once again covered with damp soil.
The collapsed cages were set upright again.
The remains of the cat-headed and dog-headed workers on the ground had vanished without a trace.
It was as if nothing from last night had ever happened.
Only the rescued civet cats remained.
Along with the Soul-Condensing Array, Soul-Stabilizing Array, and Karmic Retribution Array on the open ground.
The dungeon had not erased them.
They glowed quietly in the morning mist, like three silent nails driven into this hell disguised as the "Cat Cafe."
Before long, the staff began to emerge from the dormitory area one after another.
They wore matching grayish-green uniforms. Some carried buckets, some dragged feed carts, and others held stun batons and capture nets in their hands.
One of the fat men yawned, cursing as he walked.
“What were those beasts fussing about again last night? I couldn't even get a good night's sleep.”
Another younger staff member spat.
“The manager said to prioritize catching the ones that escaped today. Once we get them back, we'll starve them for two days and see if they still dare to run.”
“What about those old ones?”
“Dispose of them if they're useless. We don't have many tourists lately anyway, keeping them is just a waste of coffee cherries.”
Cen Yao lay low in the grass, flattening her ears.
She stared at those people, her cat eyes filled with cold severity.
Zhu Lingxi stood beside her, completely still, but the fur all over her body began to puff up bit by bit.
The souls had told her last night.
It was these very people.
Some had used stun batons to break their legs, while others had thrown sick civet cats into the pool, laughing as they watched them struggle.
Some had purposely starved them for days just to film videos, then threw in a tiny piece of food to watch them tear into each other.
It wasn't that they didn't understand.
They simply felt that since they were just animals that couldn't speak, no one would ever know.
Pei Tinglan walked out of the grass, not rushing to get close.
He looked up, his pale eyes locking onto the staff member carrying the stun baton.
The next second, he opened his mouth.
A very soft meow sounded.
“Meow.”
To human eyes, this was just an ordinary meow.
But the staff member's steps suddenly ground to a halt.
The impatience, sleepiness, and irritability on his face were slowly smoothed away as if by an invisible hand.
His pupils dilated for a brief moment.
Immediately after, he turned his head stiffly.
He then looked at the other staff members.
“Bring out all the phones, tablets, computers, monitoring equipment, and power banks.”
He spoke in a flat tone.
“The manager wants us to check the equipment.”
The staff members did not doubt him.
Or rather, they were simply incapable of doubting him.
Pei Tinglan's Talent was like an invisible thread, silently wrapping around their consciousness.
One person was controlled, then two, then ten.
More people emerged from the office area, breeding area, and warehouse. Their eyes were vacant, yet they followed orders in an orderly fashion.
Some went back to the dorms to get phones, while others went to the office to bring out live stream tripods.
Some even dug out the drones and stabilizers used for the plantation's promotional purposes.
Others retrieved over a dozen spare phones, two laptops, and a box of brand-new portable power banks from the cabinet in the manager's office.
Cen Yao squatted in the grass, her eyes growing wider and wider.
“You really control as many as come, don't you?”
Pei Tinglan couldn't be bothered to look at her.
“I told you yesterday.”
“Don't lump me in with your daytime state of being a bit slow-headed.”
Cen Yao: “?”
Just as she was about to rush over and swipe at this bad cat, Zhu Lingxi earnestly blocked her path.
“Miss Cen, please do not be angry.”
“He does not watch his words; retribution will find him in due course.”
Pei Tinglan: “...”
Cen Yao: “...”
Cen Yao's anger suddenly vanished, and she nodded in deep agreement.
“Lingxi is right.”
Pei Tinglan sneered.
“It's a pity you two aren't biological sisters.”
Zhu Lingxi didn't catch the sarcasm in his words and tilted her head.
“Thank you, Master Pei. I, too, would very much love to have a sister like Miss Cen.”
Pei Tinglan: “?”
Cen Yao couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Only after she finished laughing did she remember their main task, quickly squeezing out of the grass.
“Are there enough devices?”
The white cat glanced at the mountain of electronic devices.
“Enough to open ten live streams.”
“Good.”
Cen Yao looked toward the magic arrays.
“Then let's begin.”
The sunlight slowly filtered through the coffee trees.
The rescued civet cats stepped out from the corners.
They had eaten and drank yesterday, and their injuries had been eased by the healing magic Cen Yao had left behind.
Yet, after prolonged confinement and abuse, they still habitually hung their heads, trembling whenever they saw the staff.
At this moment, dozens of eyes stared at Cen Yao.
There was fear, hesitation, and a sliver of hope that they weren't sure they should believe in.
Cen Yao stood outside the retribution array.
She was currently in the form of a civet cat, without her magic wand or her loose Witch's Robe.
Yet when she raised her head, all the civet cats fell silent of their own accord.
“Don't be afraid.”
Her voice rang in their ears, clear and firm.
“After today, this place will no longer confine you.”
A civet cat with a torn ear took the first step forward.
Its tail had once been clipped off with iron pliers by the plantation staff, and its neck had been choked and injured by a capture net during an escape attempt.
It walked very slowly, its body trembling slightly with every step.
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