A Monkey Versus A Dragon.

"With this, the device has been analyzed."

A blueprint of the Sonic Gun. Alex inspected the panel closely and said,

"I should send this to Alice when I have time. For now, store this in your memory."

The panel vanished.

"Mei is here."

The system alerted Alex. He opened his eyes as she entered the cell.

"Did you sleep well?"

She placed the bowl of soup in front of him and took a seat beside him.

"I always sleep well. That question was weird."

He raised his eyebrows as he said that.

"The sheer volume of your lethargy keeps on increasing overtime, therefore I deduced that you must have many nightmares."

He smiled.

"You know what? I am going to miss this bland soup and your constant taunts."

He brought the soup to his mouth.

"I have some news for you."

While he was busy drinking the soup, she made a serious face and said.

He finished the bowl and asked,

"What is it?"

"We are going to be moving a prisoner to this cell by the evening."

He placed the bowl down and asked,

"Who is he?"

Mei shrugged and said,

"I don't know, but he is a very important person considering the family head is going to bring him here."

So an important prisoner.

"Why here though?"

Mei picked up the bowl and said,

"His decision. He asked me to inform you."

Alex looked at his hand. Knowing how Zhao Lei thinks, this might be an elaborate plan to either test him, or make his life more difficult.

"Well, what can you do?"

Only time could tell what was going to happen. No point in overthinking that now.

"Do you want me to arrange a room for you?"

She asked.

"No. I will be fine here."

If Zhao wanted to test him, he was game.

Mei smiled. If nothing else, Alex was confident about himself.

------------------------------------------

At around 6:45 pm, Lei walked down towards the cell. He had a person in tow with him.

Alex was paying full attention. Dressed in a a tattered white gown, the prisoner's limbs were bounded by chains. One of his eyes was covered with an eye-patch, while the other was visible. White hair, dried skin, parched lips, and a blank expression. He was clearly incapable of putting up a fight. It was most probable that this guy had been suffering for a long time.

The Zhao family head looked towards him and asked,

"Make sure that you two get along. And be respectful towards him."

He opened the cell, and pushed the prisoner in. Alex continued to scan the prisoner.

'He isn't even capable enough to move his body by himself.'

Lei was helping him walk. His body language didn't seem to be staged.

After helping him sit down in a corner, Lei removed his chains and said,

"If you have problems staying in the same cell with him, inform Mei. She will arrange a room for you."

He took the chains with him and left.

Alex continued to stare at the prisoner.

'Who is this guy?'

Lei asked him to be respectful. He was bounded in chains, even when it was certain that Lei didn't need to restrain him to bring him here.

'A test or a deliberate attempt at making throwing me off?'

He could rule nothing out.

"Stop thinking so much."

Out of nowhere, the prisoner spoke.

"I am just a prisoner. Don't waste so much of your brain power on me."

Fluent English.

"What did you do to end up here?"

Alex asked one of the questions he had in his mind.

"None of your business."

His voice was dry.

Alex quietened down. His new cellmate wasn't too friendly.

"Suit yourself."

Alex laid down and closed his eyes. His interest was piqued, but he couldn't force this man to say anything.

"Curran family?"

Once again, out of nowhere, the prisoner spoke first. Alex was startled.

"Born there."

He managed to calm himself and answered.

The tension in the air was increasing for some reason. Alex was being swept up in his pace.

"And who are you loyal to?"

A strong question.

"None of your business."

A suitable answer.

The prisoner smirked.

"Hmm. For a kid, you hold up well."

"Don't be fooled by my appearance, Mister..."

"Hao Qiao."

He gave up his name.

"Hao Qiao. Pleasure to meet you. My name is-"

"A people pleaser, or a backstabber?"

Hao Qiao interrupted him.

"Excuse me?"

"What are you? A people pleaser, or a backstabber?"

Alex didn't like to be interrupted. But he said,

"People ple-"

"Depends on the situation, right? You like being a backstabber more though."

He interrupted Alex mid-sentence for the third time.

"Maybe. Who knows?"

This guy was testing his patience.

"Seems like you have a lot of secrets. Most of which you can't afford to be exposed."

Alex was feeling pressure. This guy was weaker than any other assassin he had met in his life, but his confidence was unnerving.

"Do you like killing?"

He took a deep breath in.

"Sometimes."

Hao Qiao nodded his head slowly.

"Good attitude."

And then, an hour passed. No one spoke a word. Alex had prepared himself for another question, but that question never came.

He continued to stare at the man named Hao Qiao.

By their conversation, it was evident that this guy wasn't any ordinary person.

"What do you feel about the Zhao family?"

Another question.

"What do you mean by that?"

"It isn't a good sign to be deaf at this age. Instead of asking a useless question, how about answering with an answer?"

Qiao made a snarky comment.

"A strong family, but they are too restrictive with the outside world."

"See, was that so hard?"

'I already hate him.'

Alex sighed. This man reminded him a lot of his mentor in the previous world.

"If you hate me, why don't you just say that?"

A shock.

'Can he read my mind?'

Despite his feelings, Alex had kept a poker face all this time.

"No, I cannot read your mind."

Hao Qiao smiled.

Alex took another deep breath in.

"Because Lei asked me to be respectful."

"And also because I remind you of someone, right?"

"What in the-"

How the hell is this happening?

"Quite simple. At first, you were doing a good job with your mind. It was curious, but calm. Now that I have managed to get into your psyche, it has become really easy to analyze what you think."

So I need to calm down.

"Sure. But with me here, that wouldn't be possible."

Then I should,

"Sure. Leave. But wouldn't that make you look weak in front of the collective?"

Alex froze.

"You care about your face. If Lei defeats you, then you wouldn't lose anything. But if a broken man like me can force you to leave, what does that tell everyone about your attitude?"

Outside, Zhao Lei was in his room. Mei brought a kettle of tea and placed it on a nearby table.

"Zhao Mei. Let's make a bet."

She was startled.

"About what, master?"

Lei smiled.

"If Alex doesn't ask you to arrange a new room in two days, I will treat you with Red bean cakes."

Her favorite dessert.

"What do you want from me?"

"You have nothing to lose."

She immediately accepted.

'A monkey against a dragon. Let's see who wins.'