Alpha-13 grabbed the cat’s tail to stop him from jumping in, feeling a phantom pain despite having no heart—it was exhausted.
“Explain yourself!”
The deal between the laws and Li Ao had been erased by the time reversal. Nothing in the universe knew about it—not even the parties involved.
“Why blame me again? How would I know?” The kitten grumbled in dissatisfaction.
The robot eyed him suspiciously but eventually figured it made sense. No matter how bizarre this cat was, he couldn’t alter the natural environment. It must have been overthinking.
Even if Li Ao didn’t remember, the energy gifted by the planet was still at work.
He hadn’t gone outside these past few days, but if he did, he would discover that all the native creatures of Aurilion would submit to him. Even the crimson frost would no longer freeze him.
The kitten kept rubbing his back against the corner of the wall, twisting left and right.
“What are you doing?” The robot suspected he was itchy.
The kitten flattened his mouth and admitted, “Li Ao’s back is so itchy.” It was unbearably itchy. He whined to Xun, “Scratch it for me.”
The black-furred chestnut ball obliged, extending two tentacles to rub and knead the kitten’s back.
Alpha-13 turned to draw a bath, planning to give him a proper wash.
[ Imperial Warship | Mandjet ]
“Sun God!”
Countless soldiers bowed to the Monarch as Isiris strode across the bridge into the conference room.
“Any leads?”
“The surveillance footage used our army’s encryption to leave a person’s name,” the technician said in astonishment. “This encryption method was popular a hundred years ago but hasn’t been used since.”
Another technician presented the data to Isiris. “This person’s name is Yi Xiangjin, a renowned master of machine manufacturing in our nation.”
“Her?” Isiris naturally knew who she was. Her achievements in machine manufacturing were second to none—no one dared claim first.
During the pre-Star Calendar machine wars, the main force on the robot side— the first-generation machines Alpha—had their core programs partially crafted by her.
After the machine wars broke out, not only did humans hunt for her, but the machines did too. She vanished for years. Only in the first year after the Star Calendar’s establishment did she return to her home planet, Delphi. The newly formed Federation repeatedly demanded Delphi hand over Yi Xiangjin, only to be told to get lost by Isiris’s father—the Old Lion King.
The technician said, “She passed away in the imperial hospital in Star Calendar Year 11.”
Isiris’s slender fingers flipped the page. “She worked for the imperial fleet, so knowing the encryption is normal.”
The technician was puzzled. “But she’s been dead for 90 years?”
The brown-haired advisor said, “She’s dead, but her successor lives on.” He let out an undignified hiss mid-sentence, stroking his stubbled chin. “Who is her successor? And why leave a clue in the surveillance?”
Isiris said coolly, “Are you waiting for me to answer that?”
The advisor saluted sloppily with a grin, saying he wouldn’t dare, then answered himself. “Whoever tampered with the surveillance is extremely skilled. He anticipated the kitten being targeted by all sides. On one hand, he didn’t want their location exposed; on the other, he needed someone to know it. This suggests he’s seeking something from outsiders but doesn’t dare entrust it casually due to the kitten’s special abilities.”
“It’s not seeking something for itself,” Isiris said, his golden eyes darkening. “Most likely, the kitten has an issue and needs outside contact.”
The advisor hummed in agreement at His Majesty’s wisdom, lacing his fingers behind his head. “He trusts Yi Xiangjin, so he has some fondness for Delphi. He judged that if we want the kitten, we’ll find the clue and get the star system coordinates.”
The technician said, “In fact, the clue was buried very deeply.”
“Naturally. If it were easy to find, how would it show Delphi’s sincerity?” The advisor’s playful smile turned icy. “Only if it’s truly Regalis’s bloodline is he worth it.”
The ability to tame Xenoids was powerful indeed, but the Delphi Army didn’t need to rely on a kitten to conquer battlefields.
Alright, let’s wish this advisor well—that he doesn’t get slapped in the face too hard by cat paws in the days ahead.
The robot had no idea the kitten was Regalis’s descendant. It simply trusted the Builder and the nostalgic look on her face when mentioning Delphi. She had said she’d never betrayed her homeland, believing it would protect her no matter what.
And indeed it had. The Old Lion King’s one real brink-of-war with the Federation was solely to safeguard his people.
Alpha-13 looked out from the base entrance. The short-leg cat was playing in the lake with the little monster. Several Xenoids guarded them, occasionally dipping their heads to drink from the lake, then showing blissful satisfaction. Even a tendril of the Strangling Vine had extended to openly siphon water.
This put the robot on edge. Not because these creepy things looked like perverts peeping at a beauty’s bathwater, but because their pollution levels dropped after drinking.
Water soaked with the kitten could reduce virus pollution… Who’d believe that? Xenoids could drink it, but humans? If humans knew cat foot-soak water eased Doom Virus symptoms, would they drink it?
Just imagining the scene made the robot want to short-circuit.
The cat’s abilities were growing, and it lacked instruments to figure out why.
It urgently needed outside contact—not just for Earth leads, but for the short-leg cat’s health.
Such terrifying power—could it really come without a cost?
But those worries weren’t for a cub. For now, he just needed to eat, drink, and study hard.
“Li Ao.” The robot called with a towel, urging the cat ashore. “Time to eat.”
Alpha-13 thought the kitten didn’t need worries, but Li Ao was indeed troubled.
“I want seeds.” He couldn’t explain why, but he really wanted to farm on this planet.
“Ai—” He even knew to sigh. He picked up a scrap of floral fabric, draped it around Xun’s waist like an apron, then clipped a colorful hair clip onto his forehead.
The black-furred chestnut ball let him fuss happily, content as long as the kitten petted him occasionally as a reward.
“L-Lei—A-Ao…” The robot’s CPU twitched at the little monster’s garish getup. It fought the urge to toss these aesthetically challenged critters out the door and said, “I need to tell you something.”
“Then tell me.” The cat paws kept busy.
The robot wasn’t putting all its chips on Delphi. It had learned that besides the massive interstellar democratic republic—the Federation—there were other human civilizations, big and small. Including the sole monarchy Delphi, and many Freemen groups—interstellar pirates and mercenaries.
The former was unpredictable; the latter could be hired for cash. High-tier mercenary groups were pricey but reliable.
The robot decided to make money. Worst case, hire mercenaries to pick them up.
As for how… Its electronic eyes turned to the short-leg cat still dressing the little monster in frills.
It had surfed the Star Network for days, seeing how bored and empty interstellar folk were. An ugly mutant cat sunbathing got hundreds in tips—why not the short-leg cat?
That chubby butt, those fluffy legs—how were they less appealing than those mutants?
Parenting competitiveness fully ignited, it grabbed the Elizabeth collar Fierce Cat had scavenged and snapped it on him. “You, come with me. We’re live-streaming to make money.”
Huh? Me?
Fierce Cat hadn’t reacted when “zí—” he was dragged to the Star Network login.
“Remember what I told you?” Before logging in, the robot repeatedly drilled the precautions.
Li Ao didn’t want more nagging. He pulled his ears down to cover them, only for the robot to flip them up, pinch one, and demand, “Repeat what I said.”
Fierce Cat pouted. Fierce Cat thought it was so annoying, but if he didn’t listen, no more TV.
“Li Ao was born a kitten, not a human turned cat. I’m looking for Earth to vacation, not go home to grandma. I don’t know the way, so I don’t know where I lived.”
That was true enough—the robot had only said the planet was Aurilion, in alien tongue. To the kitten, it sounded like Aiai’ang’ang.
The robot mulled it over, deemed it fine, released the ear, and said, “Alright, log in.”
[ Imperial Warship | Mandjet ]
It was already rest time, yet someone knocked on the emperor’s bedroom door.
“Sun, the technician has cracked another new clue.”
“Enter.” Isiris, dressed in a bathrobe, sat on the large armchair, wiping down his companion weapon, the Sun God Sword.
The emperor’s damp hair was still uncombed, his robe disheveled. This was the scene Shen Que saw upon entering—he lowered his eyelids, not daring to look. “We’ve calculated a sequence number.”
His fingertip glided over the sword’s edge without drawing blood. Half of Isiris’s face reflected on the sharp gleam, his golden pupils burning like fire. “Stellar coordinates?”
“No.” Shen Que replied, “Through research and matching, we found it’s an encrypted link to the Star Network. It leads to a Star Network live stream room, but we can’t retrieve specific location info.”
“Oh? Is there a cat in the live stream room?”
“The technician hasn’t connected yet. Awaiting your orders.”
“Connect it for me.”
[Connecting you to the Star Network. Please state your login name.]
The little cat with the flower collar obediently perched on the round platform, lifting its small head to reply, “We’ve met again, hello. I’m Li Ao.”
[Understood, Li Ao. Login complete. Would you like live stream guidance?]
“Either is fine. Do you want Li Ao to accept?” The little cat didn’t understand, but asked it anyway.
In the Star Era, high-intelligence machines were no longer permitted for production, but disembodied high-intelligence AIs were still allowed to assist human work under supervision.
This was the first time it had been asked its opinion by a human. After a brief pause, it responded: [Understood, Li Ao. Commencing tutorial guidance.]
“Thank you!” The little cat patted its paws, finding the voice quite pleasant.
The robot, along with the little monster, had been monitoring from behind. Seeing the little cat perform well, they breathed a sigh of relief for now.
The tutorial went quickly—mostly the AI instructing, with Li Ao simply following along.
[Tutorial passed. Li Ao is so obedient and smart~] The AI didn’t even notice the cub-coaxing tone in its own voice.
The little cat’s fluffy white chest puffed out proudly. “That’s right! Grandma says Li Ao is the smartest!”
[Live stream opened. Please wait patiently for viewers.]
The little cat hadn’t interacted with many people before. At this moment, he grew a bit awkward, his tail curling around from behind to cover his paws.
Just as he adjusted his posture, ding-dong—someone entered.
