After discussing for over twenty minutes on all the other strategies that Kraft had drafted during his stay in the War Room, they had come to the conclusion that the brute force way was indeed the most efficient way to clear this. There were some complicated plans suggested by Evon, but the Grizzly Bear Clan members disapproved, stating that there were too many variables to consider.
“Even with the blueprints, we still do not know the kind of guards and felony convicts that will be on each level. We just know from Moloch that the deeper we go, the harder it will be. We might be the legendary foxes that rebelled, but our powers and stamina have a limit.” Tsu backed up the Grizzly Bears.
“There is also no guarantee that we can somehow manage to sneak down 109 levels and make our way back up without getting caught. It is a maximum-security prison for goodness sake! You expect us to enter under the assumption that your drugs will be effective against everyone, which isn’t the case. Remind me, was it a Whale Cultivator or a Turtle Cultivator who had reached a level that he only needed to breathe once every few days, making all your tricks pointless against them?” Pei questioned, and Evon was stuck without any answers.
“So yeah, especially given their different physiology, someone out there will definitely be immune to your psychedelic drugs and what can we do after that?” Kiyu reinforced the point.
“You should at least give Evon some credit for thinking up such a ludicrous plan. I liked some of his ideas.” Rex consoled Evon, and the Frog Clan member thanked him with a silent nod.
Suddenly, there was a shift in the winds within the room and Rex instinctively went for his waist only to realise that there was no sword there as the portal opened. However, his chi aura was immensely dense, and Kraft stood up and instantly teleported to place his hand on his shoulder asking his big brother to lower his guard.
“Please calm down, Big Brother. It’s just the surprise that I ordered so I hope you can lower your killing intent.” Kraft saw the disappointment in Rex’s face that his beloved sword, the only relic from his past linked to his ‘father’, was not with him and rightly so.
Although the System had cleared him as a potential threat, at least for the time being, he wasn’t too different from someone on probation. Kraft might vouch for him, but giving him a weapon was still too much of a flight risk.
“Ah! I see. My bad.” Rex smiled to clear his embarrassment, and then he smelt a familiar scent. “Wait…is this smell?! My lips are already wet!” He thought to himself.
What came in was a series of dishes that was served personally by the Head Chef in Jin’s dungeon store, Lynn. “We thought that a good decent meal would serve its part by boosting our strength a little before going into battle,” Kraft said, and the rest were already eager to dig in.
“Lynn, I hope you won’t hold this against him. Just being freed, he will take time to get used to his newfound freedom.”
“No harm done. Now dig in. A soldier with a filled stomach is a soldier that can fight to his fullest.” Lynn said and placed the dishes on the table. She looked over the foxes, surprised at their alternate forms.
“Feel free to take a picture.” Kiyu winked at her with a charismatic smile.
“Not even Jin has seen most of us in our human forms. It used to be hard to take on this form, but thanks to the System, it is now easy to do so. Nevertheless, most of us prefer our fox forms.”
“Mainly because our cultivated auras are still too strong to handle for a normal person after we recovered from the black sludge experiment that broke us out from Kraft’s idiotic ‘bullet’- erm cage. And at this point, we have already suppressed most of our cultivation.” Pei explained but realised Lynn might not have known that the foxes were once held as permanent bullets in Kraft’s gun. Only after the System’s successful experiment to use Jin’s black sludge to release Pei, Kraft proceeded to release the rest in the same way too.
Knowing that it was not the right time and place to talk about this, Pei quickly changed the subject by assisting Lynn with the placement of the dishes. (Of course, pushing the meat dishes towards Rex and the vegetables to Kraft’s side of the table.)
“Royal Peking Duck Meat, Nine Rainbow Vegetable, Steamed Egg Custard, Hangzhou Steamed Fish and Sichuan Mapo Tofu with seafood to go with it. I have also prepared and placed some sauces, cabbage, and even toasted buns to go with your food. As for the carbs, my penguins will bring it in but any preference over rice? Noodles?” Lynn introduced the current cuisine in front of them, and everyone immediately asked for noodles instead.
They knew Lynn’s noodles were top tier and capable of winning awards even without any cultivation. “You do know they taste better with rice.” Lynn giggled as she looked at the group as if they were wagging their tails in front of her.
“May I be so shameless to ask for both?” Rex asked, and Lynn returned the answer with a gentle smile.
“No problems with that. Ask the peggies to give you a refill if you need.” Lynn agreed, and the moment she gave permission to eat, everyone thanked her loudly. However, to her surprise, no one started yet. At first, Lynn thought it was odd, but she realised that everyone was waiting for the main lead to begin picking his food first.
It had been so long, way too long for Rex to enjoy a proper meal time with the entire group. The last time he remembered eating with them was already too vague for recollection. All this time in solitary confinement, Rex only reminisced about the war and the rebellion against his ‘father’.
He had way too many things to think about other than eating peacefully.
As he picked up his chopsticks, he eyed the steamed fish first since it had always been a favourite whenever he returned from the Western Kingdoms after the tiresome diplomatic trips. Rex pinched a little and dipped it into the soup beneath it.
With a slight whiff, his nose was filled with a rich scent of aroma, and the bite was equally appetising. Yet, the moment Rex placed it in his mouth, chaos ensued. Everyone rushed to take a piece of the food with the goal to give it to Rex.
As a form of Chinese tradition, the younger ones would always give a small portion of their food to the eldest as a sign of respect and concern. But in this particular situation, everyone was dying to put that little piece of meat on Rex’s rice bowl. Even the meek Itori did not hesitate in attempting to put her portion of meat onto Rex’s bowl.
“… You guys! Be respectful of my food!” Lynn warned in a stern voice as she saw the chaos in its purest form but the foxes immediately obliged.
“Good, now take turns to give the food to your senior and then proceed to eat the rest.”
“Mdm, yes Mdm!” The foxes responded in unison and followed Lynn’s instruction.
“Good. I will be leaving and bringing you desserts in ten. And Rex?”
“Yes, Mdm Chef?” Rex accidentally blurted out his formalities.
“Welcome back to their family. Please enjoy this meal.” Lynn said with a smile that made Rex heart skip a beat as it evoked long lost memories.
