Chapter 29: This Cat Refuses—Screw It! Part 4

Suddenly, his vision blurred for an instant. The image in the mirror changed—it was no longer him but reflected a strange environment.

Misty white sandy ground stretched endlessly. On the raised dunes grew countless purple crystal stones, like clusters of blooming violets.

Li You seemed bewitched. He raised a paw and stepped toward the mirror surface, but his foot met nothing.

A sensation of weightlessness and dizziness followed one after another. He was pulled into the “mirror” by an overwhelmingly strong force.

Outside the Imperial Military fortress, in the center of the deep pit smashed by the black unidentified giant stone, Li Ye wrapped and strangled the monster he held in the air, dealing with the last one attracted by the black stone. He immediately opened visual sharing with the Little Black Cat. The first scene he saw was Li You being swallowed by the “mirror.”

His expression darkened abruptly. He retracted his tentacles and hurried toward the Imperial Military base. After a few large strides, he stopped abruptly and forced himself to calm down. He turned back, issued the cleanup tasks, instructed the on-site officers to collect fragments of the strange stone and send them back to Prime Star. Only after arranging everything did he rush back to the room. He pushed open the door, recalled the anxiously pacing Little Black Cat by the mirror, and picked up that not-small-sized, bizarre mirror that had never appeared in the room before.

The mirror surface glowed with white light, showing scenes from another space inside. The back was made of black stone material, releasing an unidentified magnetic field that felt somewhat sticky to the touch—same material as the strange stones outside.

He’d been played.

This wasn’t an ordinary mirror; it was a high-tier mutant species, with unknown rank and skills.

It continued to openly display scenes from another space without any attempt to hide.

Clearly, the target was Li Ye, but it had mistakenly pulled Li You inside.

Li Ye’s expression was icy cold. The hand pinching the “mirror” applied pressure, and it emitted “crack crack” sounds, quickly developing cracks.

But this mutant species remained utterly unmoved—no fleeing, no struggling, no sign of compromise or submission.

Li Ye reached his hand into the mirror, his expression darkening to the extreme: “Then let’s see if I can kill you.”

The “mirror” pulled him in. The people in the room vanished in an instant. The floating “mirror” fell to the floor. The otherworldly scene inside faded, and the mirror shattered into slag the moment it hit the ground.

–

Li You’s head spun badly. He opened his eyes but squeezed them shut again from the light stimulation. After adapting, he looked around and found himself in the center of a cluster of crystal stones.

Translucent violet crystal stones surrounded him, flashing brilliant colors from all sides. Farther out was misty white sandy ground, with countless small dunes growing even more crystal stones.

The sky was deep black, dotted with a starry expanse.

The temperature was very low—so low that even he, a cat with such thick fur, felt cold.

He shakily stood up and approached a cluster of crystal stones for a close look. He was absolutely certain.

These were A-187X crystals.

Mountains of A-187X crystals—what kind of place was this?

No human figures could be seen for miles around. Li You felt a bit panicked. He pushed through clusters of crystal piles and walked for a long time but still saw no one. He meowed helplessly a few times.

Tired, cold, and hungry, he huddled behind a large cluster of crystals to block the wind and recalled the events before arriving here. The more he thought, the stranger it seemed, but he couldn’t find any way to resolve it.

Freezing to the point of immobility, he really didn’t want to move, but staying here longer would definitely lead to trouble.

Li You forced himself to muster his willpower and stand up to continue on his way.

He had no clear goal, just wanting to find a place to shelter from this biting cold first.

Just as he was about to collapse, a unfamiliar voice came from afar.

“Yo, where’d this little kitty come from?”

Li You saw a tall man with neat short black hair walking toward him. The man wore an Imperial Military uniform, his shoulder insignia proving his identity.

He was an imperial general.

Li You was picked up. The man wrapped him in his military coat, gently patting the kitty while comforting him in the tone one uses with a child: “There, there, it’s okay now.”

The cat softly mewed once and noticed the pin on the man’s chest—it was the same style as General Peisengke’s.

“The night wind and dew are heavy. Little lost kitty, would you like to come to my temporary little home to escape the cold?” The man smiled, carrying the cat back as he spoke to himself, “Mm, you say yes, so let’s go home.”

Li You slept for a while. When he woke, he found himself in a little nest, covered with a goose-yellow small blanket.

He slowly blinked, pushed up on all four legs to crawl out from under the blanket, and looked around.

It was a small space, somewhat like a lab shed. The surrounding walls were all sheet metal, seemingly pieced together haphazardly, but well-sealed, so the indoor temperature wasn’t low.

Beside his little nest was a simple sofa and tea table. The tea table’s four legs were different colors—even one was replaced with a steel pipe—clearly also makeshift.

The room had a unique style. Where Li You was should be the living room. Behind the glass door to the semi-open kitchen, a faint light shone, with some slight movements.

He tilted his head and quietly padded over, standing behind the frosted glass door to peer inside.

The man in a black form-fitting combat suit had his back to him and was chopping vegetables at what looked like a kitchen counter.

Li You stared at the man’s back and finally recalled what happened before he lost consciousness.

He had arrived in this strange place and been picked up by a strange man.

And this black-haired man was, without a doubt, an upper general from the Imperial Military.

Li You withdrew his gaze and searched the living room, spotting the military coat hanging on the rack by the door. He confirmed the shoulder insignia again.

Indeed, an imperial general.

He turned back to look at the man, who still faced away. From the sounds, he was chopping vegetables with deft movements—he must have cooked for himself often.

Why was this general here?

And what exactly was this place?

Mountains of A-187X crystals, desolate white dunes, abnormally cold weather, and this sheet-metal pieced-together dwelling.

Li You remembered that before coming to this eerie area, he had been pulled in by a “mirror.”

That “mirror” should have been a mutant species.

Li You’s cat face scrunched up, his expression grave.

In the kitchen, the man added the chopped vegetables to the simmering soup without turning back, then put the minced meat into a small pot nearby to cook.

“Wait a bit longer; your dinner will be ready soon.”

Li You froze and looked around, seeing no one else. He raised his head in confusion toward the man’s back and let out a short “meow.”

The man set down the ladle, turned back with a beaming smile at the cat half-hidden behind the glass door: “Actually, this meal should count as breakfast. Dawn is coming soon. You’ve slept a long time; you must be hungry.”

He was… talking to him?

Li You nervously kneaded his paws, softly mewing.

The man walked over and squatted a step away from the kitty, smiling as he said: “I don’t know why you appeared here, but since you’ve come and met me, I will definitely take good care of you. Looking forward to our time together.”

“Kailenoa District used to be a high-concentration abyss pollutant area. After Your Highness Youyou resolved the widespread pollutants in the empire, this place was cleaned up too. But the environment is still harsh, the soil poor. I’ve been here nearly a year and only managed to grow a tiny bit of vegetables. It’ll be hard on you following me.” The man’s hand gently pinched the cat’s paw pads, laughing wryly through the bitterness. “But if I find a way back to the empire, I’ll definitely take you with me. Things will be better then.”

He picked up the unresisting cat, cradling him steadily in one arm, and walked to the somewhat crude stove. With his free hand, he picked up the ladle to stir the soup, chatting to himself: “It’s been so long since I’ve seen another human—or a cute little one like you. There are only attack monsters here, but luckily some can be eaten, so I haven’t starved.”

“Poor little thing, how exactly did you get here?” the man asked.

Li You felt a pang of bitterness in his heart, unable to speak it, and could only mew.

“Sorry, you look a bit sad. Let’s change the topic.” The man’s gaze returned to the pot as he continued pouring out his heart.

He really hadn’t spoken to anyone in so long.

Finding this little kitty filled him with pity but also much joy.

“I think I haven’t introduced myself yet. Even though you’re just a little cat, I feel it’s necessary.” The man said, “My name is Qi Yu. I’m a…”

He thought for a moment and gave a wry smile: “My profession isn’t easy to explain. In short, a year ago I was stationed at the Imperial Military. Now… I’m not sure.”

“If they haven’t counted me as dead in battle, I should still be an upper general of the Imperial Military.”

Li You’s mood grew complicated.

In this short time, he’d received too much information.

This eerie place was Kailenoa District, and this man named Qi Yu was the empire’s missing general.

He had been missing for a whole year, still without a way to leave.

Li You recalled the dense scratches along the edge of a wooden surface in the living room. He hadn’t understood them earlier, but now he did.

Those were Qi Yu’s way of counting time—one line per day.

There seemed to be several hundred lines.

The empire had countless planets, each with varying day-night cycles, but all used ancient Earth’s standard: twenty-four hours a day, with only slight differences in exact lengths of hours, minutes, seconds. No one knew if a day in Kailenoa District equaled several days on Prime Star or fewer.

General Qi had endured alone in Kailenoa for a very long time.

Li You began to fear—they might never get back.

“Your cat food is ready. Let it cool a bit and you can eat.” Qi Yu served the simple cat meal into a dish nearby, then carried it to the living room.