Cat 306: The Cat Finder’s Errand Boy

Chapter 306: The Cat-Finder’s Errand Boy

In prison, the post-meal walk is referred to simply as exercise time.

Now it was recreation hour for all inmates—a full hour, freely at their disposal, but limited strictly to the exercise yard.

The yard was equipped with basketball and badminton courts, ping-pong tables, a running track, and basic workout structures like single and parallel bars.

Someone had long since claimed the single and parallel bars.

Sister Liang led her teammates to meet up with Qi Feng and the others.

There were quite a few inmates from Block Eight; only a small fraction had made trouble in the cafeteria earlier. After the exercise bell sounded, inmates from their block came out in dribs and drabs, including the team of players from the Smoking Cessation Guild. They nearly approached to regroup, but Qi Feng waved them off.

This was not the right time for communication.

Leveraging her status as a female prisoner, Sister Liang successfully struck up a conversation with a group of seemingly frail women inmates.

He Yuanle and another teammate returned to report to Qi Feng what they had learned about the prison’s rules.

They’d just read the main rules and saw the meal schedule:

06:30–07:30: Wake up, tidy dorm, breakfast, clean up;
07:30–11:30: Physical training, sewing machine duty, or study;
11:30–13:30: Lunch and rest;
11:30–17:30: Physical training, sewing machine duty, or study;
17:30–20:30: Dinner, national news, educational programs;
20:30–21:30: Washing up, roll call.

At the moment, they were in the lunch and rest period.

Lan Mo remarked, “These time slots are too tight! How are we supposed to finish any tasks?”

Shi Yan said, “It’s not impossible. We could sneak out to look for people after roll call.”

Qi Feng wrote out the timetable from He Yuanle’s memory on the ground. “Dinner is another window. For now, let’s split up and dig for news.”

After his earlier brawling spree, Wu Chen picked a spot to nap, refusing to divulge any more intel.

The team broke up, each member approaching other inmates for information. Not every prison mate was a brute; some could be asked a thing or two—no detail was too small, and their questions were simple and unthreatening.

Qi Feng assigned them the straightforward task of asking if anyone in the prison kept a cat.

Their responses were surprisingly uniform.

Gu Wenzhu asked another inmate, “Does anyone keep a cat here? I mean, food can be scarce even for humans.”

Lan Mo approached a younger inmate, “Keeping a cat in prison sounds pretty trendy, bro—any way you could hook me up with one?”

Sister Liang asked a timid inmate, “A cat? Just hearing you mention it makes me miss my own. I wonder if someone’s taken her in since I’ve been stuck here. Such a sweet little thing.”

Sister Liang: “What breed did you have?”

The inmate: “Big British Shorthair, golden color.” She caught the blank look and clarified, “Actually, a tiger.”

Sister Liang gave her a thumbs-up. “Impressive.”

The inmate sighed. “Isn’t that why I got locked up?”

Sister Liang understood immediately. “So you had more than one, huh?”

Inmate: “But if you want someone who actually keeps a cat, there’s probably no one in Blocks One to Eight. Security’s too tight—aside from us, there are no other living things. But Block Nine is a different story. I heard from my sister that things are special over there. If you’ve got money or power, you can get anything you want, cats included. Guards will even sneak them in for you.”

Sister Liang exclaimed, “You learn something new every day.”

Inmate: “Right? If an inmate can live that well—clearly, those people aren’t ordinary.”

As teammates quietly gathered intel, Qi Feng remained busy himself. He sat motionless, but his eyes never stopped roving over the yard, sizing up the various factions.

Now that he was with Wu Chen, outsiders grouped him into Wu Chen’s camp. While he observed others, they were sizing him up as well.

He counted three main factions on the yard, plus his now-aligned group with Wu Chen, totaling four.

Each of the other three had distinct leaders. The first was led by a swaggering, yellow-toothed man chewing a toothpick, enjoying a leg massage from lackeys. The second was headed by a slick-haired man perched on the steps, every inch a boss, quick to lose his temper and boot his followers. The third was led by a short-haired woman surrounded by girls playing basketball; despite their gender, none looked easy to mess with.

Beyond these, the rest seemed uninterested in conflict; everyone kept to themselves unless the balance was upended.

Qi Feng had no interest in managing the internal politics. His goal was to find Yan Jiyun.

After a long chat with the timid inmate, Sister Liang returned with news.

“Feng-ge, that woman told me that prisoners in Block Nine are rich and powerful, with privileges we can’t even imagine. Compared to here, that place is pure heaven.”

Gu Wenzhu, returning with his own findings, leaned on his cane. “That matches what I heard too. In Blocks One to Seven, rules are strict, no exceptions. If there are any, it’s just guards helping out the hard-up inmates—like me, for instance.”

Qi Feng processed the feedback: “We need to get into Block Nine and see for ourselves.”

Sister Liang hesitated. “Block Nine is for the most dangerous inmates. Yan Jiyun can’t possibly be over there, right?”

Qi Feng replied, “You don’t know him. With his luck, he’s bound to end up in Block Nine.” He withheld the second half—whether he’d end up as a mob leader’s cat or one of those ferocious villains.

Lan Mo asked, “So we’re heading to Block Nine?”

Qi Feng replied, “The yard’s too crowded to attempt anything now. We’ll have to try during afternoon activities or after lights out.”

They debated the logistics—none of them knew the layout. Guards patrolled everywhere; each area was locked down tight. They were like caged birds with nowhere to fly.

While they discussed, Wu Chen suddenly woke from his nap and joined the conversation, “You guys want to get to Block Nine? Even if you sneak out of Block Eight, you’ll never get in. Security is airtight—infrared sensors, robots, and all.”

A He, the engineering buff, interjected, “I can handle the robots.”

Wu Chen grinned around a blade of grass he’d procured. “Before you can take them out, you’ll need to find the robot control room. Block Nine is locked down from all sides.”

Qi Feng had deliberately drawn Wu Chen into their group, knowing he’d provide valuable intel.

Feigning confusion, Qi Feng asked, “Aren’t we all just criminals without weapons? Why all the extra security?”

Wu Chen replied, “The security isn’t to keep inmates from escaping—it’s to protect the ones inside. Who told you it was to stop them from hurting people?”

Chang-ge: “Then who’s it protecting them from?”

Wu Chen: “You guys are clueless—it’s to shield them from attacks by outsiders. Every last one of them is a heavyweight. As long as they’re alive, someone outside wants them out—or wants them dead.”

Lan Mo sighed in awe. “I thought prison was safe once you were inside—not the case, eh? And we’re not heavyweights. There’s no way we could even meet the ones inside.”

Sister Liang turned to Wu Chen, “Didn’t you say your boss is in there? You must know a way to get us inside?”

Wu Chen scoffed, “Why should I help you? We’re not even friends.”

Sister Liang gave a sly grin. “Because now you’re stuck with us, like it or not.”

Wu Chen glanced around. Sure enough, those who’d previously tangled with him now saw him as part of this group.

The point made, Qi Feng didn’t repeat himself. “We need a plan to get into Block Nine.”

Qiu Xi asked, “Boss, any ideas? We’ll back you up.”

Qi Feng had a plan, but he needed Wu Chen’s help—that was why he’d worked so hard to bring him over. Without Wu Chen, it wouldn’t happen.

“I’ve got a way, but we need Xiao Chen’s support.”

Wu Chen immediately shed his lazy air; he sensed real danger from this man. “Wait a minute. I don’t even know you—why would I help?”

Qi Feng taunted, “Or are you afraid you can’t take them on?”

Wu Chen couldn’t stand having his courage questioned. As always, the provocation worked. He glared, “As if! Your old man here isn’t afraid of anyone in this dump.”

Qi Feng clapped his shoulder, “Didn’t think so. You just knocked out two burly guys all by yourself.”

While Wu Chen dozed, Qi Feng noticed the greatest animosity toward him came from the first gang led by the toothpick-chewing man. That group would want payback. Why not exploit Wu Chen, and use the chaos to get into maximum security?

He quickly spelled out the plan to his team.

That afternoon, during study period, they made contact with the Smoking Cessation Guild players and shared their intentions.

The Smoking Cessation Guild players were old hands, bartering smuggled cigarettes for goodwill among the NPC inmates; by late afternoon, their numbers had swelled.

To claim power in prison, you had to stir up trouble. Only by escalating things would the authorities take notice.

Qi Feng wasn’t sure if this would work, but for Yan Jiyun, he had to try.

By dinnertime, his group had become powerful—formidable enough to rival the three other factions.

Sister Liang mediated with the women’s faction; they promised neutrality but warned they’d strike back if provoked.

With inmates already this tough, Qi Feng couldn’t imagine how savage the big names in Block Nine would be.

In any case, Qi Feng’s first step was to stir things up.

During dinner, he made no moves himself, but his people began clashing openly with two other factions—conflict was brewing.

At lights out, on the way back to their cells, the second faction’s boss—the man with slicked-back hair—bumped Qi Feng’s shoulder hard and snarled, “Planning to mess with me, kid? You know who I am?”

Qi Feng slammed him against the wall by his shoulder, the thought running through his mind: You’re just my errand boy for finding the cat.