Chapter 25: Connecting the Cat to the Livestream Part 1

The robot figured the kitten’s nonsense dream came from watching too many cartoons, just like human parents blaming a kid’s illness on too much phone time.

But that very night, something felt off.

Alpha-13 was modifying the Star Network program when it suddenly heard the little monster shouting for Li Ao. In all the time it’d known it, it’d never heard it sound so panicked.

A sense of unease spread through its programming. The robot immediately dropped its work and rushed toward the source of the voice. The moment it entered the room, its gaze locked in place.

The kitten was floating mid-air, enveloped in a warm white glow. His eyes were open, but his blue cat pupils were unfocused, as if his soul had left his body.

“Li Ao?” A mechanical arm extended to pull him down, but it was repelled by an unknown energy field the moment it got close.

The kitten vanished.

—

Xun angrily rammed into the energy field. It could no longer suppress the violent impulses in its nature and couldn’t bear being unable to approach the one existence it truly cherished.

The next second, unpassed-down memories broke through. A young black dragon beat its wings and soared high, smashing through the base door in pursuit of its treasure.

Of course, dangling from its talons was a robot that insisted on tagging along.

Li Ao was swimming in his dream.

He sprawled atop the star river, kicking his legs back a little to drift far away.

So fun~ Fierce Cat happily chased his tail in circles.

“Eh?”

He stopped, because he spotted a white butterfly so translucent it was nearly invisible. It flapped its wings, carrying a soft glow as it landed before the kitten.

“You’re so pretty.” The kitten reached out to touch it, and it obligingly landed on his paw.

Li Ao was thrilled and cupped it in his paws. “I’m Li Ao! What’s your name?”

The butterfly didn’t answer and instead flapped away into the distance.

“Don’t go! Wait for me!” The kitten doggy-paddled after it. The butterfly flew faster and faster; the kitten panted and struggled, then one powerful kick sent him tumbling to the foot of the snow mountain.

The towering snow mountain loomed right before him. Li Ao was dumbfounded as to how.

Ah… Am I really this awesome? Like the Great Sage Sun, one somersault cloud takes me this far?

Countless glowing butterflies danced around, forming a winding light bridge that spiraled upward from Li Ao’s feet, guiding his path forward.

Li Ao couldn’t quite comprehend the scene. He stood there dazed for a while, but they didn’t rush him—they simply accompanied him silently.

Finally, the kitten started moving.

The sky was blood-red. He approached the summit step by step. The -200°C temperatures didn’t make him feel cold at all, and the knife-like gale winds dissipated before they could touch him.

Just days ago, Li Ao had come here with the robot and Xun. But they hadn’t climbed to the peak—they’d only scooped some snow at the snowline midway up.

Only now did Li Ao realize that the very top of this mountain actually grew a tree.

It was a small tree emitting firefly-like specks of light.

Its trunk was dry and thin, without a single leaf. There was a hollow in its center, as if its heart had gone missing.

The kitten’s legs were too short to reach the hollow. The butterflies lifted him up and delivered him to the entrance.

“This is a planet infected by a virus, on the verge of death. It has only a final wisp of energy left. If you accept, it will become your cradle henceforth.”

They didn’t want to force him. They were waiting—for Li Ao to accept it all.

“She created everything. She is the Law.”

“In the universe, there are over a quadrillion planets. On those habitable by life, their stars are called suns, and their satellites moons.”

“All things follow the Law: survival of the fittest, adapt or perish.”

“She does not permit any one side to grow too powerful or too weak. Every life she nurtures has weaknesses and strengths.”

“Mutual restraint, mutual evolution. Endless cycles of life, prosperity and flourishing. This is the cosmic order the Law seeks to protect.”

Li Ao felt like he didn’t understand what this unknown voice was saying, yet somehow he did.

He didn’t hesitate for long. His paws gripped the edge of the hollow, and with a leap, he jumped inside.

The instant he entered, green leaves sprouted from the dry branches.

“But the order was broken. Countless planets were polluted and died one by one. As the Law, drained of life’s energy, teetered on collapse, she beheld a wisp of consciousness.”

“She bade him reborn on one of a quadrillion planets. She commanded the evil dragon of the Abyss to guard him, the secondary beings to teach him, and the mightiest man to be his father.”

“This is the Reborn Son—the only one permitted by the Law.”

“Li Ao, the road ahead will be perilous and long. Even the Law cannot violate its own order; it cannot provide you much aid. You must strive to grow, to become strong. Eliminate the Xenoid Variants, awaken the planet’s consciousness, help the Law recover its energy. In return, when the universe’s new order is restored, you will find the way… home.”

Li Ao curled up like a flower bud amid the green leaves. He shifted from kitten to human form, then back to kitten—like nestling in his mother’s womb, body and soul utterly relaxed.

The black dragon flew on carrying the robot. Alpha-13 watched countless light points surging toward the mountain peak.

Those light points were the planet’s last remaining energy. They gathered into threads, pouring into Li Ao’s heart.

The black dragon folded its wings to descend on the target, but the planetary energy Li Ao had absorbed passed through the kitten’s body, transformed, and was released anew by him.

The next second, time reversed.

The breached base door restored itself. The little black dragon reverted to a black-furred chestnut ball. The robot returned to its workbench to tidy the Star Network. The kitten twisted around and slept soundly, eyes rolled back.

“Good… plant lots of trees for you… plant a few tomatoes for Li Ao himself…” Xun was woken by his sleep-talking. He blinked, curled himself into a ball, and nestled onto the cat’s belly.

Time rewound, and no one remembered what had happened to this planet overnight. When the robots opened the gates the next day, they were greeted by a vast expanse of emerald water in front of the base.

“AL0731!” The robot instinctively looked for the short-leg cat. “Get over here! Was this you?”

Water had bubbled up from the desert! This was utterly absurd!

“Wow—” The kitten’s eyes lit up, his four paws scrambling as he pounced toward the water. “What a huge bathtub!”