Campaign

Chen Miemie teleported directly back to the vicinity of the Fat Orange Hotel.

He didn't want to expose his ability to teleport in and out of rooms to this "man-eating" hotel so quickly.

Standing beneath the Fat Orange Hotel building, the massive orange cat-shaped structure loomed in the night.

He wasn't sure if it was just an illusion, but Chen Miemie felt as though the colossal architectural orange cat tilted its head and blinked at him.

He rubbed his eyes, and the building returned to its motionless state.

"Qinghua, Pure Water, did you guys see that just now? The building moved and blinked at me."

"I didn't see it."

"I didn't see it either."

Unable to find any other witnesses, Chen Miemie walked through the hotel doors.

A group of cats near the entrance stared at him, their guest, from the darkness.

Over a dozen pairs of slit-pupiled cat eyes were half-hidden in the shadows.

Chen Miemie noticed that the bowls meant for cat food were already empty; these cats were probably a bit hungry.

The cat-eared girl was still at the front desk.

"Hi there, miss. What's your name?"

"Hello, guest. My name is 85."

"85?" Chen Miemie thought it didn't sound much like a human name.

"Yes." The girl had absolutely no intention of explaining.

"Alright, 85. Let me ask you, besides accommodation, what other services does the hotel provide?"

"We are the most high-end hotel in the city. We have a complete range of complementary services such as dining, bathing, and exercise. Here is the price list."

Chen Miemie took the price list. There were quite a few items on it. He glanced over a few at random and found them to be rather expensive.

Bathing category: Cat Bath, 30 hours per session;

Dining category: Cat Food, 10 hours per meal;

Exercise category: Teasing the Cat, 3 days per session.

"I've been running around outside all day anyway, so give me a Cat Bath."

After collecting the fee, 85 immediately made the arrangements.

"Guest, here is your bath ticket. The bathhouse is on the second floor, you can head straight up."

Chen Miemie went up to the second floor.

It wasn't that he actually needed a bath, but rather he wanted to seize the last bit of the night to explore this hotel a bit more.

He originally thought a "Cat Bath" meant there would be cats by the bathing pool, or that cats would soak in the bath with him. To his surprise, it was nothing of the sort.

The large bathhouse on the second floor was incredibly spacious with very high ceilings.

By the edge of the pool sat a white cat larger than a public bus.

Just its two front paws were about as thick as a human torso.

The giant white cat could also speak.

It revealed a not-so-friendly smile: "Guest, let us begin."

Without waiting for Chen Miemie to reply, it pounced, leaping right over and extending its front claws to grab him.

The white cat's speed was incredible, so fast that Chen Miemie couldn't even react. And according to his probing strategy from earlier, the anomalies on his body didn't make a move to intervene.

Chen Miemie was merely caught by the two cat paws; he wasn't attacked.

The claws remained retracted.

The pair of fleshy paw pads pressing against his body actually felt a bit comfortable.

Before he could enjoy the comfort for long, his entire body was lifted up, and the next moment, he was dunked into the large water pool next to them.

After that, Chen Miemie was like a little yellow rubber duck floating on the water.

Bobbing up, being pushed down, bobbing up, being pushed down...

It tormented him for a full ten minutes before finally letting him go.

"I say, white cat, your 'Cat Bath' here really means a cat giving a person a bath."

"Of course. We don't deceive our customers."

"Then couldn't you be a bit gentler? If it were anyone else, they'd probably be drowned by you."

"No, I think 'probably be drowned' is just a false impression born from your own misunderstanding. With me around, it's perfectly safe."

Dark lines formed on Chen Miemie's forehead. "It can't just be what you think; you have to make me feel that way too. If I don't feel a sense of security, I'll struggle, but since I can't break free from your immense strength, it could lead to both of us getting hurt."

The white cat looked a bit confused. "Isn't that how humans bathe cats? Why doesn't it work the other way around?"

Chen Miemie left the bathhouse feeling depressed and went back to his room to sleep. He actually couldn't out-argue a cat.

9:45 AM.

The Society Alliance Office Building.

The Society Alliance had its own independent office building.

It was a six-story structure not far from City Hall.

The interior of the election conference room looked somewhat like a courtroom from Chen Miemie's memories.

There was a row of audience seats below, and in front was a triangular layout belonging to the three parties.

As part of the candidate Dawn's friends and family group, Chen Miemie sat in the first row of the left audience section along with Fina and Kassan.

Quite a few people had come today. Aside from the heads of the major societies, Chief Sun from the municipal government and Dean Deng from the academy were also present.

Of course, non-society members, even the Big Three, were only here today as witnesses and could not interfere with the Society Alliance's internal election.

The current President An was the host of this election.

Chen Miemie had thought there would be a fierce dragon-and-tiger battle, involving tactics like exposing each other's dirty laundry, challenging each other to duels out of defiance, or making grand vows to canvass for votes.

In the end, the entire election surprisingly lasted only ten minutes.

The first segment was the self-introduction and statement of philosophies by the three candidates.

An Hengyang of the Return Journey Society directly announced his abstention and threw his full support behind Dawn.

Nan Jun of the Nan Jun Society also quickly gave up, stating that the strong command respect and expressing deep conviction in Dawn.

Chen Miemie felt that doing things this way was simply a waste of his chance to sleep in.

At least An Hengyang of the Return Journey Society had negotiated terms with him, but why was this Nan Jun acting the same way?

"Why does it feel like these two aren't genuinely here to run in the election?"

Fina sat to the side, her Rubik's Cube head turning slowly. "The election rules state that there must be at least three candidates. Nan Jun had no intention of competing this time anyway, but I just don't know what's going on with An Hengyang. He was full of fighting spirit before, but suddenly changed his attitude."

How could Chen Miemie let slip such an opportunity to claim credit? "I'm the one who negotiated with him. I was still drinking tea at his society in the dead of night yesterday."

Fina: "Heh."

Even Kassan couldn't bear to watch and gently patted his arm. "Stop messing around, Miemie. This is a serious occasion."

Chen Miemie: ...

In this day and age, no one believes you even when you tell the truth.

The Society Alliance's efficiency was far higher than that of City Hall, with incredibly streamlined procedures.

From winning the election to inheriting the title of President and receiving all relevant authorizations of power, Dawn completed the entire process in one seamless go right here in the election conference room.

The whole process took no more than an hour.

Chen Miemie was stunned by this efficiency.

Over at the municipal government, wouldn't issuing a document and releasing an announcement take at least ten days to half a month?

Kassan explained in a low voice, "It's very difficult for societies made up of Mystics to gather like this, so anything that can be completed on the spot under everyone's witness will not be delayed in the slightest."

Just as Chen Miemie was preparing to leave.

Fina ambushed him with a sudden question.

"Chen Miemie, now that the Silver Moon's First and Third Seats have been vacated, do you have any ideas?"

"What about the Third Seat?"

"Upon becoming President, one must leave their original society, at least in name. So Dawn's Third Seat has also been vacated."

Kassan was greatly surprised. "Fina, Chen Miemie? Him? Going straight for the First or Third Seat? Climbing right over my head?"

Hearing these words, Chen Miemie was not very pleased.

"Master's wife, you are thinking too small, way too small. It shouldn't be that hard to admit my excellence, right?"

Fina: "So, your choice is?"

Chen Miemie looked triumphant, wearing an "I see right through you" expression:

"I don't want any of them. I know you are feeling the pressure from me, Fina. You just want to use a seat to placate me and wear down my ambition to challenge your throne as the president. Hmph, in your dreams."