Chapter 2: Cat Ball

‘Don’t see me, don’t see me…’

Li You crawled on the ground, sneaking cat-like as he inched forward, trying to escape Mito’s line of sight.

The little cat wasn’t very old, but his fur was long and his legs short. As he crawled slowly through the tender green lawn, he looked like a moving white oval ball.

Li You’s four paws pedaled faster and faster. He drooped his ears and tail, resembling a giant fuzzy caterpillar. Just as he was about to burrow into the woods, another gust of wind blew through, tousling his already messy fur even more.

The little cat froze in place, squinting his eyes until the wind passed. Soon everything calmed, and he opened his eyes—only to be startled by a pair of black military boots that had suddenly appeared in front of him. He let out an involuntary “Meow.”

Before he could react, countless similar military boots descended from all directions, steadily planting themselves on the lawn and surrounding him in the center.

Li You, with one paw still hovering in the air, stared blankly and looked up along the boots.

So… so many unfamiliar humans.

That gust of wind earlier had been the airwave from a starship landing. Now, this helpless little cat found himself completely surrounded by humans.

Li You recognized their uniforms—they belonged to the Imperial Military.

Reinforcements had arrived.

He knew he was safe now, but being surrounded by so many people was a bit embarrassing. The little cat awkwardly retracted his hovering paw, bringing his front paws together. Still prone on the ground, he looked just like a cat pancake, timidly observing his surroundings in a way that was utterly pitiable.

“It’s a little cat!!”

Someone exclaimed—it was a female voice.

Li You turned his head toward the sound and saw a blonde big sister in military uniform squatting to the side.

“How could there be such a pretty little cat in Yel Forest?! Look at how beautiful its fur is!”

“Oh God, could it have been abandoned here by its owner?”

“Yes, it clearly looks like a house cat. Look at that pitiful appearance—it must be starving!”

“Little guy, don’t be afraid. We’ll take care of that monster.”

…

As the blonde big sister discovered the cat, the other officers around also noticed and began chattering, condemning the bastard who had abandoned the kitty.

Li You’s cheeks were pinched and rubbed by the big sister’s hands. He couldn’t help but let out purring sounds, rubbing against the officer sister’s hand in the friendly cat way to show politeness.

This action completely melted the lady’s heart. She tentatively tried to pick up the cat and surprisingly lifted him easily.

“Alright, little cutie. We’re soldiers from Prime Star—you’re safe now.” The blonde big sister held the cat in one arm while taking out her communicator with the other, her brows sharpening with authority.

“Soldiers, before Your Highness devours Mito, we need to clean the filth off that nasty thing.” She issued the order crisply. “Move out now, teams. Report progress to me every five minutes. Done.”

At her command, the officers scattered like shadows in the wind.

Li You pressed his two paws on the female officer’s shoulder. He dazed for a moment, then lowered his head to look at her insignia.

This sister was a lieutenant colonel in the military.

Prime Star, military, Your Highness…

Li You realized something. His cat eyes suddenly widened, and he whipped his head toward Mito’s direction.

He saw countless officers swarming toward Mito, with dense clusters of warships hovering in the air around the human-bodied snake monster.

These were reinforcements from Prime Star, and one of them was a Your Highness.

Li You’s heart pounded wildly, his breathing halting.

From his rebirth until now, he didn’t know what time it was, what had happened to the empire, or who the current ruler was.

Li You had two older brothers and one older sister—any of them could be the empire’s Your Highness.

Beyond that, he had another brother with no blood relation, one he had picked up and brought back to the Imperial Palace at age seven, the playmate he had begged his father to keep by his side for ten years.

It couldn’t be such a coincidence.

Li You lowered his eyes, turned back, and nestled on the officer sister’s shoulder. Suddenly, he felt a pang of sadness. He smacked his lips, swallowing the rising sorrow, then quickly turned back into a happy little cat.

Those were things from before—don’t think about it, don’t think about it…

Li You coaxed himself. Beside his ear, the officer sister continued issuing orders.

After about ten minutes, she commanded: “Regroup! All teams withdraw to a safe distance!”

A large-scale retreat began. The emptied path saw people and warships pulling back together, a dense flock of fighter craft flying rearward in the sky.

Li You sniffed a faint dampness in the wind. He looked up at the sky—the thick clouds from earlier had dispersed, leaving a circular hole in the air through which light poured down.

Above the mutant species, stripped bare by the army, a black dot appeared in the beam of light.

Before he could make it out, the black dot expanded rapidly. A massive black round-headed creature with jagged teeth split open its giant maw and plummeted from the sky, swallowing Mito whole in one bite.

In just a few short seconds, Mito was devoured entirely by the unknown creature, not even a bone left behind.

Li You stared in shock, dumbfounded. At the same moment, a brief image flashed in his mind.

Inside a warship cockpit, a man in military uniform toyed with a small snake slithering over his hand. The snake was black, eyeless with only a jagged mouth. It dangled from the man’s fingertip, coiled around a few times, then burrowed into his hand.

The image vanished in an instant. Li You hadn’t seen the man’s face clearly, but he knew who it was.

That was his brother.

It was Li Ye.

Li You was shocked to discover that even after his rebirth, he still had the ability of future premonition—brief, but absolutely accurate.

In his previous life, it was because he had gained the ability to foresee the future early that…

Li You forcibly cut off his wandering memories and pondered the scene he had just seen with a serious expression.

That little monster was still alive, not dead.

Li You was certain: the monster that had devoured Mito was that little monster—or more precisely, his brother.

That thing wasn’t his brother’s pet; it was part of his brother.

Li You had known this in his previous life. He knew his brother was a monster, but…

Why?

Wasn’t his brother okay?

“As expected of Your Highness—even a high-tier mutant species is child’s play to him.” The officer sister’s face lit up with a relaxed smile. She issued the regroup order via communicator, then securely cradled the cat in both arms and strolled casually toward the warship.

Li You boarded the starship and left the forest where he had wandered for half a month, taken to an unfamiliar place.

Judging by the officer sister’s travel time on the warship, they hadn’t left the current planet.

Li You was brought off the warship again, passing through an unfamiliar garden to arrive at a fairy-tale-like village. There, he was handed over to the sister at a pet shop.

The officer sister flexed her wrist. “Little guy, you’re not light at all. You’ve taken good care of yourself—impressive.”

“…” Li You squatted on the ground and looked up with two “meows.”

“No need to thank me; it’s what I should do~” The officer sister squatted down to pet his head, then stood and said to the pet shop sister, “He’s in your hands now.”

The black-haired sister with freckles smiled and nodded. “Don’t worry.”

The two ladies chatted. With nothing to do at their feet, Li You simply groomed himself, meticulously licking his paws—left, then right.

“I heard something happened in Yel Forest?”

“It’s been handled.”

“That’s great. Was it Your Highness Li Ye?”

“Yeah, he came personally. You know what tomorrow is.”

“Tomorrow…” The pet shop lady’s voice dropped, almost a murmur. “Tomorrow marks ten years since Your Highness Youyou left us.”

As she spoke, she wiped her dry eyes with the back of her hand. “We all miss him so much…”

Li You, who had been grooming diligently, paused at this and looked up. “Meow?”

The two ladies looked down together at the obedient little cat squatting nearby. The pet shop lady squatted down, giving a gentle smile tinged with sorrow, and lightly scratched under the little cat’s chin. “Kitty, kitty, do you miss Your Highness Youyou too?”

“…” Li You gazed at the lady’s smiling yet sad face, his heart a tangle of emotions. Unsure how to respond—and only then realizing he was a cat now—he could only “meow” at her.

Why did they look so sad when mentioning him?

Li You didn’t quite understand. In his previous life, he hadn’t been well-liked—at least until his death, no one had ever given him such an expression.

Oh, wait—not true. There was one.

“This little cat probably wasn’t even born when Your Highness Youyou passed away.” The officer sister chuckled softly, speaking to the cat and the lady on the ground. “Alright, I have to go. See you.”

Li You watched the female officer leave, then was picked up by the pet shop lady. Listening to her chatter, he was carried deeper into the village.

In the short journey, he learned a lot.

It was now ten years later. The empire’s current ruler was Li Ye. This sea of flowers village was called Sunrise Village, where everyone’s job was simple: managing the nearby Memorial Garden.

And that Memorial Garden was built by the empire’s people to commemorate Li You.

Nestled on the lady’s shoulder, Li You found the experience bizarre. Reborn, witnessing his reputation reversed—and even visiting his own memorial site personally.

Too strange.

“Today I’m trimming the flowers in the garden. You play in the Sunlight Palace; I’ll come get you.” The lady placed the little cat in the palace at the garden’s center, fetched a saucer of milk from the storage room and set it before him. “I’ll be back soon.”

With that, she left, pulling the palace door shut behind her.

Li You flicked his tail from where he squatted and looked up to observe the palace.

It was called a palace, but it was more like a glass greenhouse, cultivating many flowers and plants. Through the skylight, he could see the outside sky—the clouds had cleared, and the sunlight was perfect.

Li You withdrew his gaze, marveling inwardly. In his previous life, he had dreamed of owning such a garden. He never imagined realizing it this way.

He lowered his head to lap at the milk, then prowled around the Sunlight Palace with cat-like steps, as if patrolling.

Li You spotted a butterfly hovering around the flowers. He slowed his pace to observe the pretty butterfly, his steps turning cautious.

The little cat crept silently, staring unblinkingly at the butterfly.

Li You wasn’t really interested in catching butterflies; he was just bored and wanted to play a game with it.

Yeah, just that.

The little cat’s steps grew lighter, his body lowering. With each step, he squatted to check the situation.

Three steps away, the cat ball launched like a missile toward the butterfly—but missed. The butterfly flew off, the cat landed, dizzy but unhurt.

Li You wobbled to his feet, shook his head, and looked up for the butterfly. Nothing.

“Meow—”

Too bad, so close.

He padded forward on his paws, one paw pressing down on something soft.

“Meow?”

Li You looked down in confusion and unexpectedly met a pair of deep red pupils.

These were abyss-like eyes, ones that could instill dread and fear in anyone—except Li You.

Li You froze instantly. The paw on Li Ye’s chest neither retracted nor lifted. His heart raced with guilt and turmoil, a whirlwind of emotions boiling down to a single soft “meow.”