Chapter 112: Mutated Cat Madam Purple

Cat King Li Ao had swept through the entire class in the week since the start of school, reclaiming his status as the Fierce Cat and washing away the humiliation of publicly transforming during the division ceremony! (Not really)

But when it came time to do homework at night, the lazy bum revealed his true colors. He sprawled on the desk, munching snacks while directing Little Ke to write it for him.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t doing it at all—he was dictating, and having Little Ke write it down.

Li Ao had a french fry in his mouth, mumbling indistinctly, “For this question, use the formula v squared equals two g h…”

Little Ke was also a genius, accurately deciphering the meaning from his garbled mumbling and writing swiftly: v² = 2gh.

Li Ao was acting like a total lord and master, eating his fries and then wanting the bag of chips next to them, making Little Ke tear open the packaging for him. The metal ball obliged without complaint, ripping open the bag with a “tear.” At the same time, there was a “creak” from the door as it was pushed open.

The little cat didn’t move his body, his butt facing the door as he twisted his head around. “You’re back? Why so late today?”

Xun walked in, his movements light. He set his backpack aside and casually hung his jacket over the back of a chair. “The student council had a sudden meeting,” he said, his gaze landing on the little cat’s round and fluffy butt.

Li Ao nodded while chewing. “Oh… You had a meeting, and I’ve been busy too. I have so much homework to do. After this, I still have to write the common language assignment.”

Xun took a few steps closer and poked the cat butt. His eyes swept over Little Ke, who was writing furiously, and he raised a brow. “You wrote it?”

“I dictated it.” Li Ao turned his head and winked at him. “I said, let Little Ke write it. See how smart I am.”

“Mm.” Xun’s voice was faint. He reached out and plucked a chip from the cat’s paw, popping it into his own mouth and crunching. “The cat is smart?”

“Yeah.” Li Ao was utterly righteous about it. He stood up straight, using Xun’s chest like a cat scratching post and stretching a few times. “When you’re not here, I can only settle for second best with Little Ke. When you’re around, I go for you.”

Xun looked down at him, a faint smile flickering in his eyes. “I’m number one, huh.”

“Of course.” The little cat took it for granted. “You’re Li Ao’s little doggy!”

The easily coaxed little dog took the pen from the metal ball. Amid his busy schedule, he sat down to write homework for the little cat. “Are you getting used to Mortalis? Has anyone been giving you trouble?”

“How could there be.” The Fierce Cat flicked his tail, puffing out his chest with an immensely proud expression. “These classmates are all too weak. Not a single one can beat me!” As he dictated the homework, he muttered to Xun about what he’d done that day, even squeezing in questions about whether Xun had eaten.

The metal ball, robbed of its task, wasn’t annoyed. Both little ones were under its care, so it turned to sorting Xun’s dirty clothes.

The beginner class homework wasn’t light, but Mortalis focused more on physical training and actual combat. Cultural classes were much lighter compared to the other two academies—perfect for the little cat.

Even when the little cat got an idea wrong, Xun didn’t correct him. He faithfully wrote down everything as dictated and put the finishing stroke. “Done. Time to rest.”

It was nearly eleven at night by then, and Li Ao really was sleepy. With bleary eyes, he was picked up and carried to the bedroom to brush his teeth and wash his face.

“What did you do today? Caelum has a lot of classes, and student council stuff too.” He stood on the sink, tilting his head up to look at Xun’s increasingly sharp-jawed face, seeming a bit heartbroken. “Are you tired?”

“Not tired.” The youth wrung out the towel and carefully wiped the snack crumbs from the corners of the little cat’s mouth. The crumbs clung to the fur, so he wiped gently, one slow stroke at a time, afraid of hurting him.

His red eyes reflected the bathroom light, deep like crimson pomegranate seeds. “As long as you’re by my side, it’s good.” With his learning ability and stamina, these classes were nothing to him. No matter how heavy the coursework, how complicated the social dynamics, or how harsh the targeting, he could handle it all with ease. Isiris was right—he could just be a beast, following by the little cat’s side, letting him ride through the skies.

But to be a mate, mere companionship wasn’t enough.

So two years ago, he’d discussed it with Li Ao and come to the Federation to study ahead on his own. Nothing else was difficult for him—only the separation was unbearable. During the tensest class breaks, he’d pull up photos of Li Ao, looking at cat form, human form, over and over.

Sometimes when the cat craving hit, he’d want to burn the babbling politicians on stage. But in the end, he’d just return to the dorm, silently clutching the little cat keychain, sitting like that all night.

Compared to the past two years, having him right by his side now was more than enough.

“All clean.” He leaned down, his gorgeous lips lightly brushing the little cat’s round head. “Time for bed.”

“Wake up—” A soft voice sounded by his ear. Li Ao rubbed his eyes and looked up to see a female student wearing black round-framed glasses.

“Li Ao classmate…” She seemed a bit timid, her face already red before she finished speaking. “Class is over. We need to hurry to the cafeteria for food.”

Li Ao’s brain was still foggy. He rubbed his eyes and realized the teacher had already left.

“It’s fine.” The girl thought he was worried about getting in trouble and whispered, “The teacher stopped lecturing right when you were just falling asleep. It’s an elective anyway, and considering everyone was tired from the start of term, he let us have self-study or rest.”

Li Ao, just woken up, didn’t register how she knew when he’d fallen asleep. He quickly got up and thanked her. “Thanks, got it.”

The big dummy Elnik was squatting by the desk, gazing at the little cat with honest eyes full of expectation and fawning. “Your Highness, are you going to the cafeteria? Can I go with you?” He liked the little cat—had liked him ever since seeing him in videos as a kid. It was pure affection, pity for the little short-legged cat’s appearance, which was just too cute. And after getting beaten up by Li Ao a few times since school started, that liking now mixed with admiration. So pretty and so strong—not for nothing my idol little cat!

“There’s a roast chicken place in the west corner of the cafeteria that’s super good. Let me treat you, okay?” Elnik was tall and burly, with a huge appetite. Luckily, his family was well-off, and as the youngest of three, his older siblings doted on their silly little brother, giving him plenty of pocket money each month—all spent on food.

“I’ll treat you.” Li Ao took Little Ke out of his bag, hopped off the desk, and led the way. “As thanks for the little cake you gave me yesterday.” Brave fools enjoy the world first—the little cat magnanimously accepted his first lackey in middle school.

Elnik followed behind the cat’s butt with a silly grin. The little cat’s legs were short, but he pedaled at a high frequency, so the two walked side by side, more or less. But their height difference was ridiculous—one nearly two meters tall, the other shoulder height twenty centimeters… Big nose, big everything, waddling along in uniform, fluffy as could be. Elnik kept his head down comparing, feeling like the cat wasn’t even as big as his shoe. This only made him more worried, afraid he’d accidentally step on the cat.

“Your Highness, why is your tail so big?” The big dummy gestured with his hand. “Bigger than your whole body.”

Li Ao was encountering someone like Elnik for the first time—truly a novelty. The guy looked dumb, talked a lot and bluntly, but had no malice at all. He spoke without thinking, purely on instinct, making friends impulsively.

“Just call me Li Ao. No need for all the ‘Your Highness’ stuff.” The little cat said it without any airs. “We’re classmates—no need to be so formal.”

“Got it! Li Ao Your Highness!” Elnik nodded like pounding garlic.

“As for the tail, my transformed body is a primitive munchkin cat—just like this.” He flicked his fluffy big tail, instantly drawing gazes from passersby.

These two were actually both instinct-driven types, similar in some ways. Two pure-hearted youths always got along great. They chatted all the way to the cafeteria, chatted while eating, and were still talking when they walked out again.

“I can’t teach martial arts, but my Xun can. Next time, have him guide you.” Li Ao said it while swishing his tail, tone full of pride and smugness. “He’s super strong. Lots of moves he taught me during sparring. And he’s tall too—you two—” He didn’t finish before a chorus of exclamations rang out. The whole cat was knocked backward and fell flat on his butt with a “thud.”

“Li Ao Your Highness!” Elnik’s voice boomed like thunder. Seeing the little cat tumble, his face changed, and he roared as he charged forward to help. But before he could take a step, a piercing cat yowl froze him in place.

“Hiss—!!” The cry was shrill, thick with wildness.

What had knocked Li Ao over was a mutated feral cat. In the interstellar era, plenty of mutated cat breeds existed, but since their looks didn’t match human aesthetics for “cute,” few were kept as pets. To avoid Xenoids and Xenoid Variants, most roamed city outskirts or wild suburbs, living feral lives.

And this one was a typical mutated specimen. It was covered head to tail in deep purple scales that gleamed faintly between one another. Its fur was extremely sparse, barely growing in wisps of fine fluff along the spine and limb tips, clinging invisibly to the skin.

Sleek build, silhouette somewhat like a leopard cat, with sharp shoulder lines—a born hunter at first glance. Especially that tail: thin and long, like a slithering snake.

“It’s Madam Purple!”

“Madam Purple’s the school bully! She shows up on campus now and then, undefeated everywhere. Tons of upperclassmen have gotten schooled by her!”

“It’s said that she particularly can’t stand people acting pretentious. Her claws have scratched countless show-offs. A senior student once casually said something in the hallway, and Madam Purple jumped down from the rooftop, slapping him flying… straight to the hospital. It stirred up resentment from Caelum’s side, with them demanding the school put it down or drive it out of campus.”

“Why did it knock over the little cat?”

Li Ao was dumbfounded too. He plopped down on the ground and sat there for a good while, blankly watching the purple cat—with its scales bristling—hissing at him, his mind a total blank. It wasn’t until Elnik worriedly pounced over that he shook his head and waved a hand at the big dummy.

“I’m fine.” He stood up, patted the dust off his clothes, then turned his cat face toward the bizarre opponent with fur and scales both bristling in a serious stare-down.

Think you can bristle your fur? Meow can too! Fierce Cat immediately puffed up into a massive furball.

The two cats both lowered their heads, arched their backs, and sidled toward each other like crabs. Their tails arched high one after the other—one fluffy like a dandelion, the other sleek like a snakebone whip.

The onlookers held their breath. Someone immediately ran off to find a teacher. “Oh no, oh no! Madam Purple is about to attack Little Cat Highness!”

“Hurry and call the guard team! Protect the little cat!”

“Hey hey, call the cops quick—this is Delphi’s Highness! If something happens to him, who’s taking responsibility?”

But the next second—as everyone expected an earth-shattering cat brawl—the two cats reached each other, stopped in unison, and then—

Gently bumped noses.

Just that soft, fluffy little bump.

Then something even more outrageous happened.

The wild cat with purple scales all over suddenly lunged forward, threw its paws around Li Ao’s neck, and pulled his whole body into an embrace. Its tongue shot out with a “whoosh,” licking from the top of his head all the way to his chin.

It had started grooming him.

“Ah? …”