“Alpha, you’re too mean!”
From the sound of it, that definitely wasn’t the case.
Li Ao unleashed a flurry of scratches on the tightly shut door with kuku sounds, his shiny silvery-white claws whipping at an extremely high frequency.
Xun jumped to the little cat’s side and mimicked his actions, sharpening its own claws too.
He even has the nerve to call me mean? The robot activated the door’s monitor and saw the xenoids lined up, staring at the little cat with drool dripping from their ferocious faces.
Heh, eleven of them.
Exactly a soccer team.
As for the ball?
The robot shifted its gaze to the short-legged cat’s practically negligible paws—that was it!
It knew this cat was off, but it had no idea just how off it was.
No matter what… this was the hatchling that emerged from the egg it had cared for over a century. It had a responsibility to accept everything about him.
After madly clawing at the door, Li Ao puffed up his round face, ready to yank some yarn off the xenoids.
Mantis Monster No. 1 had been groomed by the little cat just yesterday, so it simply stood silently by the side, keeping watch.
The robot watched as the cat spun like a top, swiping its claws up and down one of the xenoids. And with his movements, a shy, pleasurable expression actually appeared on that xenoid’s hideous, terrifying face??
Alpha-13 really couldn’t hold it together anymore. It opened the door and asked in a cold voice, “AL0731, what are you doing?”
“Ah?” The called-out Li Ao turned his head innocently, blinked his eyes, and held up the gray strand on his claw for it to see. “Pulling yarn, duh.”
He had pink, heart-shaped paw pads that were a bit dirty after a day out. The robot scanned between the pads but detected no trace of anything there.
“Where?”
“This one! Can’t you see it?” The little cat was a bit baffled. He tugged at the strand and called out to his little dog. “Xun, can you see it?”
The black-furred chestnut ball was still comparing its tentacles to study the little cat’s claw structure. Hearing him call it, it bounced once and responded, “Li Ao!”
“Huh? You can’t see it either? Ah? But you know you’re wrapped in the line, right?”
Robot: ?
How on earth did the short-legged cat figure out what the little monster was saying from just those two syllables?
There were too many unsolved mysteries; the robot didn’t even know which one to analyze first. It could only watch as these formerly obedient xenoids, now seemingly possessed, walked off into the distance with dazed, infatuated looks on their faces after the shamanic short-legged cat finished its ritual jumping and exorcism.
Having fulfilled the transaction, the exhausted Li Ao landed on all fours and flopped into a puddle-like heap.
“Ai, I’m all meowed out.” He even knew to sigh.
The robot was just about to pick him up when it saw the little monster burrow under the little cat’s belly, hoist him onto its head, and bounce back into the base.
Alpha-13 clenched its mechanical arm and picked up the scattered backpacks from the ground one by one.
—
It was during dinner that Li Ao discovered the robot’s new gadget.
He excitedly circled the robot twice and pawed underneath it. “Alpha! You changed your shoes? Did you make them from the track I picked up?”
The robot paused slightly while holding the tray, not bothering to correct the little cat’s misconception. “Yes, I replaced the walking module.”
What modules or whatever—the cat had no clue about that stuff. He was just proud that his scavenged find had helped the robot. “Then can the new shoes walk on sand now?”
Alpha-13 looked down at the thrilled kitten. “Yes.”
“That’s great!” Li Ao took the tray and chomped down, mumbling through a full mouth, “Then let’s go watch the clouds together.”
Alpha-13 quietly watched his jubilant expression. Deep in its program, something indescribable stirred.
After dinner, rejected from dishwashing duty by the robot, Li Ao huddled up with Xun and muttered to itself.
“Let me take a look at you.” He flipped open Xun’s little paw. “Aiya, this nail doesn’t grow like that.”
He flashed his own snowy-white claws. “They’re curved like this, not straight.”
Xun carefully observed. “Li Ao!”
“Right, and then you can retract the nails into your paw like this.” The half-baked cat, who had only been a cat for a few days, imparted its “vast experience” to the little dog.
“But your legs are so short.”
The robot, tidying up the place, passed by with a cold snort. The ground-hugging supercar was dissing someone else’s low chassis, huh.
Oblivious to the ice-cold machine’s snark, Li Ao was now studying Xun’s mouth.
“Aiya, you’ve grown teeth!” Like discovering a new continent, Li Ao kept spotting fresh developments on the black-furred chestnut ball every few moments.
The nanny robot’s body was only equipped with basic scanning functions. But even without precise detection, Alpha-13 could sense it—the little monster lying beside the short-legged cat, letting itself be kneaded, was gradually shifting from illusory to substantial, becoming more flesh-and-blood by the moment.
“This looks good!” The cat paw dangled the little tuft on Xun’s head and clipped on the big red bow it had picked up today. “So pretty!”
Li Ao thought his little dog was just too adorable. He scooped it up, bounced it a couple times, and rubbed against it.
The black-furred chestnut ball seemed very pleased too. The next second, it sprouted two more legs.
Now it matched the short-legged cat, with four limbs.
It was imitating him, changing itself to fit his preferences.
Alpha-13’s core computing module stuttered for an instant. Then, it decided to run a test. It released a wisp of faint current along the monitoring ring atop the little monster’s head—just the bare minimum—but enough to verify certain hypotheses.
The next second, program feedback: the little monster had been zapped.
This was highly abnormal.
In the previous unknown space, even maxing out the current output had no effect on the little monster whatsoever. Yet now, a mere thread of weak electricity elicited a reaction.
It was growing in the direction of the short-legged cat.
It was making itself flesh and blood—and in doing so, becoming vulnerable.
Alpha-13 was logging its hypothesis when suddenly, it heard the short-legged cat say:
“Are you cold? Why’d you shake? Huh? What? Alpha zapped you?”
“…” The robot inexplicably felt guilty. It tried to leave but was blocked by the fuming kitten.
“Alpha! You’re too mean!”
Li Ao unleashed a barrage of kitten punches on the robot while the little monster bounced around beside them, cheering “Li Ao!”
Was this okay? Alpha-13 felt its CPU overheating from the hassle.
—
The next day, before heading out, Li Ao checked the flowerpot as usual.
The spindly stem bore two leaves. Li Ao patted it and cast a spell.
Alpha-13, packing for the outing, heard the short-legged cat chanting “Meow-racadabra.” It pushed the unbudded flowerpot toward him. “Chant this one too.”
Li Ao didn’t get it, but he was hooked on spellcasting—one pot or two made no difference. He unleashed a torrent of chants on both pots.
Thirsty from all the meowing, he finally stopped, then stuck out his butt to push the flowerpots outside.
“What are you doing?” The robot didn’t quite understand.
“They need sun!” Li Ao huffed and puffed as he pushed. When he couldn’t budge them, he called Xun over to help. “Plants need sunlight to grow lush. Grandma’s flowers bloomed because they got plenty of sun.”
He shoved both pots outside the door and placed them in a sunny spot. Satisfied, he straightened up and waved inside. “Hurry up, Alpha! We’re gonna be late!”
Accompanied by the rumble of mechanical wheels, half of Alpha-13’s body stepped into the sunlight.
A century after arriving on this planet, it finally touched the sand outside for the first time.
Its sluggish sensors registered the sensation underfoot—not much detail—but watching the short-legged cat bounce around in the sand, it inexplicably felt that the sand must be very soft.
“Come on, come on!” Li Ao ran a ways with Xun, then turned back to wave frantically at the robot. “The wind’s picking up—feels so nice!”
A century—that was how long?
Alpha-13 stared at the ground. There were two rows of straight-line paw prints. They belonged to the short-legged cat. Normal cat prints didn’t look like this; this little stinker not only had short legs but splayed feet too!
It let its programs run amok for a second—then suddenly, two paws hugged its mechanical arm.
“Why aren’t you moving?” The blue, watery eyes blinked in confusion. “Follow me, okay?”
Blue sky, white clouds, and a tugging short-legged cat. The distant black little monster sported a ridiculous bow on its head, yet the robot said, “I’ll follow you.”
—
【Ah, why hasn’t Little Cat Highness shown up yet?】
【It’s so late today—hasn’t the monitor found the kitten?!】
【Strong protest—this monitor isn’t doing its job!!】
In just two short days, every viewer across the Dawn League’s Star Network had caught cat fever.
【Cat! (roar) (rabid) I want cat!!】
The monitor, blocked outside the energy field: [Target captured. Survival points +1. Current points: 14. Current ranking: 1.]
【Aaaah, it updated, it updated! Where, where—I still haven’t seen the kitten!】
【I see it, I see it! In front of the dune, ah, little cat (hehe), my little cat—eh? There’s a… nanny robot following the little cat?】
Li Ao trudged through the sand, one step deep, one shallow. After observing the whole way, the robot finally spoke up. “You’re walking wrong.”
“Huh?” The little cat was baffled. “What do you mean?”
“You’re splaying your legs. Cats don’t walk like that.”
Fierce Cat had his pride, and he immediately retorted, “I’m not waddling! I walk perfectly fine!”
Fierce Cat demonstrated for it, right front and right back, left front and left back. “Li Ao is walking the authentic catwalk!”
Authentic my ass!
Alpha-13 wanted the little monster to demonstrate for him, but after walking all this way, it only then discovered that the little monster hadn’t left any footprints at all.
It had four legs, yet no footprints!
Whatever, this one was even more abnormal.
Seeing the robot fall silent, Li Ao got upset and puffed up his cheeks, using his cat body to attack the other party. “You’re not even a cat, so what right do you have to say cats waddle? Meow has paws, meow knows myself.”
Its four little stubby legs waddled, but waddled quickly. Puffed up with anger, it waddled far away.
【Why does it feel like the little cat is angry? Its ears are almost flattened back to its tail, lol】
【Cat good, robot bad! The robot must’ve said something to piss off the little cat!】
So what did the robot say? No one knew. They could only see the video but not hear the sound, leaving the viewers anxious and scratching their heads.
【By the way, this robot’s model is so old (rubs chin while observing).】
【Yeah, how come I’ve never seen this model before?】
【How old are you upstairs? This model was discontinued over a century ago. Young folks definitely haven’t seen it.】
In the interstellar era, human lifespans had significantly increased, usually around two hundred years, with some races living over three hundred.
【Over a century? Doesn’t that mean it was discontinued before the Star Chronicle?】
【Yeah, even if you’re young, you should know about the Machine War from long ago, right?】
【Of course we know. It’s in the history books.】
Before the Star Chronicle, the origins of life in the universe were roughly divided into two categories: natives and derivatives.
Natives referred to life forms naturally evolved through biological processes, following evolutionary laws without external intelligent intervention, including plants, animals, microorganisms, Zerg, and so on. Derivatives were life forms actively created or directly intervened upon by natives, unable to emerge through natural evolution, such as engineered organisms and mechanical life.
【The golden age of mechanical life was about a century before the Star Chronicle, when robots grew so powerful that humanity could no longer control them.】
【Right, right. I love this part of history and studied it in depth. The most powerful were the first generation. I remember they were numbered Alpha?】
【Yes, those beings could no longer be called machines. They possessed thinking no different from humans, yet their bodies were far sturdier than mortal flesh… Humanity couldn’t control its own creations, so the Machine War broke out.】
【Originally, when facing the Zerg problem, humans had robotic assistance. Even against B-Rank Xenoids, a single energy cannon from a first-gen machine could blast them to bits!】
【Not quite that exaggerated, but the Alphas were indeed unimaginably powerful. There were only 12 of them, just 12, and they sparked the mechanical revolution. Humanity suffered devastating losses and paid a tremendous price to barely win that campaign. Afterward, all powerful mechanical bodies were systematically destroyed—even nanny bots without combat capabilities were purged and downgraded to mere auxiliary devices for accompanying children’s growth.】
【Without robotic help, humanity started losing ground to the Zerg onslaught…】
That history was too dark. Even after so many years, humans couldn’t help but sigh when mentioning it.
【This is where Delphi’s strength shines. Humans always see them as freaks with their primitive, outdated lifestyles disconnected from modern tech. But even without machines, they slay Zerg with their own power.】
【Duh, Delphi is Delphi! How could it be the same?】
Delphi’s prowess was obvious to all humans. And among them, the strongest without doubt was Delphi’s royal family—the Regalis.
Regalis’s future king, the short-legged cat, angrily waddled far away. Once waddled tired, he stopped to give himself and Xun some water.
【Hard to imagine such a tiny cub is actually Regalis royalty.】
【Small, but strong as hell!】 Martial worshippers who watched yesterday’s replay rushed into Li Ao’s stream. 【How does he do it? I heard every Regalis has unique traits. Does the little cat have some special ability?】
The viewers’ guesses stemmed either from admiration for strength or the little cat’s cuteness, but the Federation’s rulers were simply in a foul mood.
“A newborn Regalis this powerful.” The leader was already deeply wary of Delphi, fearing the world’s last remaining monarchy would threaten Federation rule. Fortunately, Isiris had a notoriously poor reputation—cold and ruthless, unpopular with the people. But this cub was different: fragile and adorable yet formidable. If allowed to grow…
“Have we tracked his star system’s coordinates?”
Qin Mian stood up to report, “We’ve locked onto the signal source. We just need the final link analysis—” Before she could finish, someone urgently reported, “The surveillance device has been destroyed! Lost the signal source!”
【! Why’s the screen black?! Where’s my cat? Where’s my big ol’ cat?!】
【I was still watching the little cat jump up and hammer the robot’s knee in fury. How’d it suddenly go black?】
Alpha-13 activated its energy field to shoot down the surveillance device, then picked up the cat by the scruff of its neck and smacked its butt in frustration.
This reckless little stinky cat had no idea it was being watched!
