“Machine!” The kitten unhesitatingly pointed a paw at the robot lurking in the shadows. “Li Ao’s friend, Machine.”
As expected.
Isiris lowered his gaze, his golden velvet lashes veiling the thoughts in his eyes. Speaking to the kitten, but actually to the robot: “He is Regalis’s descendant. He is about to sprout wings. This will consume a massive amount of energy. Take good care of him, and you will have one promise from me.”
But Alpha-13 felt itself tense up.
The short-legged cat had hatched from the Blue Morpho Butterfly’s egg—that was confusing enough, but now it was tied to Regalis too?
This mess was getting more incomprehensible. This cat seemed almost fated to be born here.
No matter the Blue Morpho Butterfly or whatever else, that egg was destined to hatch this cat of Regalis’s bloodline.
Gotta admit, the robot had pieced it together.
Astral Projection could only last ten minutes, and soon the AI reminded Isiris it was time to log off.
The golden-haired emperor set the cat back on the ground and rose, saying to him, “Be good. Await my arrival.”
Since he was indeed Regalis’s cub, Mandjet would sail for him to anywhere.
—
After the golden-haired emperor logged off, the barrage exploded again.
【Holy shit holy shit, so the kitten really is Little Highness AAAAAH】
【Highness! As expected of Highness, daring to roll around on the tyrant’s lap!】
【Rumor has it that twenty years ago, when Isiris was studying at Tassion, someone confessed to him. He said: ‘Scum dares dream of the sun’s favor?’ And that person vanished!!】
【Your intel is so chuuni, is this tea legit? (skeptical)】
【Of course it is (tsundere). My little aunt’s second cousin’s big sis was the witness’s aunt】
Others’ opinions wouldn’t occupy Isiris’s mind for even a second, but the nagging finance minister was starting to wear on him.
“Sun, what did you do? Huh? What did you do that cost a million in ten minutes?”
Delphi’s finance minister was probably the most relaxed one in the universe. Because their emperor never spent money. Isiris’s personal account was directly linked to the national treasury—the finance minister knew their monarch had zero interest in material things.
He didn’t indulge in food, clothes, or entertainment. Every day he opened his eyes to exterminate bugs, and his only hobby was probably soaking in the Purification Pool.
His account had been tied to the treasury for years without spending a single credit. It put the minister at ease. But just now, he’d dropped a full million!
Was Delphi poor? No. A million was pocket change. But this was Isiris! Why would he spend so much?
Bewildered, the finance minister’s alarms blared upon seeing the expense listed as Astral Projection. Because this hyper-realistic tactile tech was often abused by the rich for lewd purposes.
The Sun wouldn’t be… looking for the Moon, right?
Isiris wanted to bypass this yellow-brained fool lost in his fantasies, but he was suddenly hugging his legs. “No, Sun, tell me, please tell me! What did you use Astral Projection for?”
No way? Aaaah no no no, only ten minutes!
Isiris pinched the bridge of his high nose in headache, but even his coldest glare couldn’t scare the man off. It had been like this for decades.
He kicked him down, planted a foot on his chest, and leaned over. “Do I need to report my actions to you?”
Golden hair cascaded from Isiris’s shoulders, brushing the man’s face on the floor with a faint itch. Gazing up at the emperor’s scorching eyes, he forgot to reply.
“Enough. Get lost.” Isiris lifted his foot and stepped over him. “I’m going to rest.”
Shen Que had been silently guarding the corner. Only after the monarch left did he speak. “We are about to welcome a new Highness.”
“What do you mean?” The finance minister shot up. “Whose? Did Reniya have another cub?” With finances and military separated, he didn’t know about the kitten yet. Since the kitten being Regalis’s bloodline was nailed down, Shen Que figured telling him was fine—better than letting him spread rumors about the Sun.
“Zane left a son outside. Your Majesty just met him via Astral Projection.”
“What?!”
Shen Que had wanted to tell him to calm him down, but the guy went even crazier: “Your Majesty, open up! I’ll top up your Star Network account—connect with the kitten again!”
“Shen Que!” Irritated by the hassle, Isiris ordered his loyal dog through the bedroom door. “Get him out of here in three seconds.”
“Yes, Sun.” The purple-eyed man smiled as he dragged away the powerless finance minister.
—
Unaware that his existence was about to be publicized in Delphi, Li Ao was receiving his second viewer.
The first viewer’s identity had skyrocketed the stream’s popularity. The AI automatically enabled message filtering and viewer screening for Li Ao.
[Is this setup okay?]
The kitten nodded. “It’s fine, thank you!”
[Screening and connecting your second paying viewer now. Target found. Connection successful.]
The girl was incredulous when she got the system notification. So many people wanted to connect with the kitten now—they had to pay and wait for the lottery. Her luck was trash; she couldn’t snag things even two people were fighting over, let alone thousands.
“Y-You hello?”
A big sis? Be extra polite to girls! He sat neatly. “Hello, sis! What do you want Li Ao to help with?”
A fluffy, super cute kitten who was the empire’s Little Highness, treating her so nicely?
The girl clutched her chest, feeling like she’d melt from cuteness.
She didn’t speak for a while, and Li Ao didn’t rush her. Got tired of squatting, so he spread his short legs and plopped down on his butt, silently playing with his tail.
The girl hadn’t even thought of what to ask the kitten for. She’d just connected because cats are cute, never expecting to get through.
But since she did… she decided to share her troubles, mimicking the kitten by spreading her legs to sit. “Sigh, I miss my fiancé.”
She was talking now, so Li Ao stopped playing with his tail. He nudged her shoe with his paws. “Where’s he at then?”
The girl couldn’t help staring at the kitten’s stubby legs, envious of the first viewer for affording Astral Projection—she wanted to pet the cat too. Shaking her head to refocus, she continued, “He’s on a business trip, won’t be back for days. I’m bored alone, so I hopped on Star Network to surf.”
“You can call him on a business trip?”
The girl blanked. “…Uh, he’s super busy with work, so he often doesn’t pick up.” Truth was, she’d tried a few times before, always catching him busy and getting nagged, so she’d stopped.
The kitten looked at her, his little cat face suddenly serious. “He doesn’t love you.” Li Ao had watched tons of TV with Grandma—he was dead certain this wasn’t how you showed love.
Even when Grandma went out to toss trash, he’d wait at the window for her. If he really loved her, how could he not answer calls?
“Impossible!” The girl reflexively denied and deflected. She rattled off excuses for her fiancé, countless ones, but staring into the kitten’s innocent eyes, she couldn’t continue.
She wavered, even pulling out her phone for the kitten to analyze. “I’ve always suspected he’s cheating. Here’s the photo he sent proving he was sleeping alone.”
The kitten leaned in to look.
【WTF, sis, you’re asking a 6-year-old cat for relationship advice?】
【OMG, what does the kitten even know?】
The girl thought her own actions were pretty ridiculous. Embarrassed, she was about to put her phone away and say forget it when the kitten declared, “He’s cheating.”
The kitten was indignant, paw smacking the ground. “Scum male!”
【No way, how’d you see that?】
【Bullshit, what does a little kid know?】
Done talking, Li Ao remembered to check on her feelings. The kitten looked tentative. “Don’t be too sad, okay? There are so many people in the world—we don’t need scum males.”
Seeing his expression, the girl inexplicably felt warmth in her heart. She wiped a tear, calmed down, and asked, “Why do you say he’s cheating?”
“Look, there’s a glass cup on the table. There’s, uh…” Little Cat didn’t understand reflections. “A person’s face reflected on it.”
【Holy shit, it really is!】
【There’s really a woman’s face! Holy shit, divine detective!】
【Divine detective, holy shit!】
The barrage was filled with “holy shits,” and the girl cursed “shit” too. Before the truth was certain, she had been reluctant to believe it, but now that the facts were right in front of her, she got it.
“Dead scumbag!”
“Yeah! Too scummy!” Little Cat joined her in venting, maxing out her emotional value.
【This one hundred bucks was so worth it, wuwuwu. Little Cat isn’t just a divine detective—he also listens to people vent their black material!】
【Tip more! Aaaah, tip Little Cat!! Raise the connection threshold and let me connect with Little Cat!!】
Emotional Master Little Cat Li shot to fame overnight. Lovestruck fools lined up endlessly to connect. But there was only one cat, and the cat definitely couldn’t handle them all. The AI asked Li Ao if he wanted to raise the connection price.
Li Ao had no real concept of money. To him, one buck was the best. He could pick two bottles and sell them for a dime, so he’d have to pick a ton of bottles to make a buck—then he could use that buck to buy flowers for Grandma.
The flower shop owner was a chubby auntie. Every time Li Ao held out a buck, she’d pick out a really pretty flower for him.
A buck could also buy a steamed bun to eat. In Li Ao’s heart, a buck was the best.
He only knew about one buck anyway. He’d never even touched a hundred, let alone a thousand or ten thousand.
So when he heard the AI’s question, he fluffed up his fur in a daze, not knowing how to respond. The robot took over the process, having the AI raise the ticket price to a thousand.
Even then, applicants to connect kept pouring in. The robot set a daily limit of just two connections—no more.
At the same time, it announced that anyone who could provide an Earth travel guide could connect for free once.
Just like that, in merely one week.
Never dated but an emotional expert. Only six years old but a divine detective Little Cat. He exploded across Star Network.
He didn’t need some title like Delphi’s little Highness, nor any special ability to make Xenoids submit. Li Ao himself was a miracle.
