The kitten sprawled on the table, propping his chin with both hands, eyes sparkling as he listened for more.
But after a long wait, there was no follow-up. The kitten asked blankly, “And then?”
There was no “and then.” It had been in the human world for so long, yet it had almost no noteworthy experiences—aside from the adventures with the kitten.
Li Ao followed up, “What was the creator?”
“…” What was the creator? The machine replied, “The creator is the person who made me. She programmed me and built my body.”
“Oh.” The kitten nodded in understanding. “So that’s your mommy?”
Mommy… Alpha-13 didn’t know why it felt so flustered hearing that word. It denied, “No, she wasn’t.”
“Alright, time for you to do your homework. After that, you have to go live.” The robot awkwardly turned away to change the subject.
Li Ao didn’t know about its inner turmoil. Unhappily, he pulled over the homework sheet and scribbled a few strokes with his paw pads. Suddenly, he lost his temper. “Li Ao hasn’t watched cartoons all day!”
He’d finished his exam, harvested the veggies, done his homework—why couldn’t he watch cartoons yet? The kitten was mad but helpless. The little monster was different, though.
Xun jumped off the table and soon returned with a tablet in his mouth. “Li Ao.”
The kitten’s eyes lit up. He glanced at the robot, who hadn’t returned yet, snatched the tablet with both paws, and bolted toward the Star Network area.
He was clever, knowing the robot wouldn’t chase him into the Star Network zone. Hugging the tablet like a tyrant dragon clutching treasure, he pedaled his hind legs super fast.
By the time the robot came back, it took one look at the empty table and instantly understood. “Li! Ao! You are unbelievable!”
The unbelievable kitten synced with the Star Network login sound as he climbed onto the round platform. Sneakily, he powered on the tablet, found Pink Electric Fan, and started watching.
[Ah—Kitten’s live!]
[I came, I came—a slide tackle and I’m here!]
The kitten’s streams weren’t on a fixed schedule, and Delphi was in the early morning hours.
Golden morning light, bustling breakfast markets filled with the aroma of food, crowds laughing and chatting.
“His Little Highness is just too adorable. Look at those legs—so short, yet so nimble!”
The breakfast stall worker served noodles and buns to customers, chuckling as he passed by. “His Highness’s little wings are all pudgy and round too.”
“Hahaha—”
The worker got carried away chatting and forgot other customers, until the boss—bellied like a general—leaned out and scolded him.
“Aiya, Old Mike, don’t be so stern-faced first thing in the morning!”
The boss ignored the customer’s teasing. Everyone knew his personality and didn’t take offense.
The stodgy, serious boss turned back to the kitchen and shut the door…
“Meow meow meow~ Meow meow meow~ I’m a little kitty~”
Thick thighs and a general’s belly twisted wildly. Hearing the net cafe broadcast announce that Little Highness Kitten was live, his dance froze. The next second, he and the other customers rushed out the door together.
[Kitten dance is so addictive lol]
[Don’t even—I’m slacking at work now. Soon as my butt leaves the seat, I wanna shake my belly.]
[Eh, no Kitten dance today? What’s he doing?]
No dance from the kitten. The kitten was engrossed in his cartoon. At exciting parts, he even opened his mouth in a shocked expression.
[Don’t say… these cartoons are actually pretty good…]
Who could’ve imagined that one day, billions would tune into the Star Network to watch a kitten watch cartoons.
“Li Ao!” The robot stood at the Star Network entrance, its expressionless face screaming get out now.
Kitten ears flattened. The kitten turned around and aimed his butt at it.
Not listening, not listening—the Machine Turtle chants scriptures.
Just as Alpha-13 was about to charge in and spank the cat, it overlooked Xun jumping inside too.
Viewers unfamiliar with the Dawn League wondered:
[What’s this thing?]
[Feels like a spiky black sea urchin?]
A cool little thing sidled up beside him, and of course the kitten noticed. “Xun! You came too!”
The kitten sat up happily, grabbed the little monster with both hands, and pushed him in front of the camera. Beaming with pride, he announced to everyone, “This is Li Ao’s little dog. His name’s Xun!”
[What? What’s this? A dog?]
[No way does this look like a dog?]
The interstellar era hadn’t had primitive dogs for ages—just mutated evolved breeds. But none resembled this black furry chestnut ball.
Alpha-13 couldn’t take it anymore. It shoved open the door, grabbed one by the scruff with each hand, and hauled them out.
The kitten was stunned. Why’d the Machine chase in? In his little brain, he’d thought the robot wouldn’t dare.
Where was Alpha-13 not daring? This body was just an ordinary nanny bot—what did it have to fear? The reason it’d never crossed into the Star Network area was… because it was a socially anxious machine.
“Li Ao won’t go! Li Ao worked hard all day—why can’t he watch cartoons?!” The kitten dangled by his scruff, wriggling like a fuzzy caterpillar.
[Yeah, let the kitten watch wuwuwu]
[Ah—nooo, don’t let the nanny bot take the cat away!]
[Let the kitten keep watching!!!]
But the robot followed the Cub Rearing Guidebook strictly, mercilessly shutting down the Star Network and dragging the cat off to study.
Back at the study table, Li Ao was clearly unhappy. “I’m mad now. I’m not talking to you anymore.”
Who wants to listen to your nonstop chatter every day? The robot retorted stiffly, “No talking? Still gotta do homework.”
The kitten angrily finished his homework without saying a word to the robot, then jumped down, dragged Xun back to his nest, and balled up in a huff to sleep.
Even the next day when he got up, the usually vain one refused the robot’s help grooming. With his fur all poofed up, he went out junk-picking.
“…” Alpha-13 handed him lunch. “Don’t go too far. If you run into a Xenoid Variant…” Before it finished, a small paw snatched the lunch pack and darted away.
The robot raised its hand, as if to grab him, but didn’t. In over a century, this was its first quarrel with another being? Was it even a quarrel? The robot didn’t know—just felt its programming all clogged up.
The little monster sensed the kitten’s bad mood and tugged his tail. “Li Ao.”
The kitten sniffled and told Xun, “I’m still mad.”
He didn’t know what was up with the robot lately, forcing him to study nonstop. He’d finished his homework—why more nonstop writing?
Fierce Cat was unhappy.
Alpha-13 was unhappy too.
It knew it’d been too harsh on the kitten lately. But it would soon be unable to stay by his side. If it wasn’t strict and taught him more, what would he do?
The little monster could serve as the kitten’s external brain, sure—but he himself was an outlier. Once the kitten returned to human society, how could he rely on him?
The robot didn’t know what was wrong with itself. Its programming was anxious as hell.
It was an autistic machine. Its database was vast as the sea, yet it lacked the command to output: A parent’s love for their child plans far ahead. It wasn’t his parent, yet it worried for his future.
Especially the future without it.
He was just a kid, after all—Li Ao’s anger came fast and went fast. Once he dove into the junk pile, those feelings were thrown to the back of his mind.
“Xun!” The kitten happily held up a big floral handkerchief and waved it. “This is so pretty! I can make you a little scarf.”
The kitten’s tastes were the little monster’s tastes. Xun gladly accepted—but sensed something off.
The ground trembled. Sand and gravel danced to heavy footsteps.
“Huh?” The kitten looked at the familiar scene, excitement on his cat face. “Is it the moo-moo cow back? It’s here to trade with me!”
“Li Ao!” Xun stepped forward, blocking the kitten from running toward the sound. “Don’t go. It’s polluted.”
That dumb low-level idiot—he’d already warned it not to eat corpses from the cliff base, but it did anyway.
As the footsteps drew near, the massive body blotted out the sun.
[Holy crap!!! Is that the Zolax from before?]
[Did it get polluted?]
Humans already had relevant experimental data and knew that the most prominent feature of a Xenoid after contamination was its body wrapped in a fleshy membrane. Besides that, there were its grayish-white, lifeless pupils.
The fleshy membrane had yet to fully envelop Zolax, but its pupils were already overtaken by gray.
“Go!” Low-level contamination greatly boosted strength. Xun extended his tentacles, hurling the little cat toward the distant Mantis Monster No. 2. “Take him back to base.”
“I’m not going!” The little cat angrily fluffed up into a dandelion. “I’ve said it so many times—Li Ao won’t abandon his friends! Why won’t you ever listen!”
He had been pissed at those two guys since early that morning, but it had really gotten to the little cat.
Meanwhile, Xun had no time to deal with it. His tentacles coiled around the Xenoid Variant’s feet, trying to trip it.
The contaminated Xenoid Variant had a massive body but incredibly agile movements. It suddenly lowered its head, chopping at the tentacles with its horn.
Xun swiftly retracted, but one tentacle was still severed.
“Xun!” Seeing the little dog hurt, fury surged to the little cat’s head. “Let me go! I’m going to help him!”
He twisted down from Mantis Monster No. 2’s body, but it still blocked his path.
Wild beasts had an extremely keen sense for danger. Zolax’s level was originally higher than its own. If even a superior being couldn’t subdue the foe, there was no way it could.
It couldn’t let the little cat rush to his death, so Mantis Monster No. 2 silently pinned him in place.
The little cat was truly furious now—furious at the robot, furious at the little dog, furious at the mantis monster, furious at Niu Niu turning bad. He was seething with rage. Flame-like gold ignited in his sapphire eyes as his two claws slammed fiercely into the ground.
Xun sensed it immediately.
The ground rumbled—not from Zolax’s weight, but from vibrations deep within the planet.
The entire planet was his cradle, his domain.
As if answering the call of his wrath, the crust quaked with deep, resounding booms. The earth shook and mountains trembled as a fine fissure suddenly cracked open between Xun and the Xenoid Variant.
The earth was splitting apart.
