Chapter 29: Little Cat’s Dance Part 1

What could the event organizers say…

The specially revised scoring rules targeting the little cat had just taken effect and were already broken. What could they do? They were pretty desperate too.

The programmers and sector administrators reported to Qin Mian with a hint of breakdown: “Chief, what do we do? Adjusting it again would be too deliberate. Those cat fans who already call themselves the Meow-Meow Holy Cult would flip out.”

Qin Mian took a sip of tea and smiled: “It’s fine. Score it as per the rules. It won’t make much impact.”

The programmer didn’t understand why, but since the boss had spoken, the big stone in his heart finally dropped.

In the footage, the kid was caught by tentacles the instant he fell, then shifted back to cat form.

Delphians came with innate companion weapons and possessed the only human bodies immune to Doom Virus corruption—complete freaks among humans. And their royal family, Regalis, were monsters among monsters.

The woman looked back at the kid’s eyes that had instantly shifted from blue to gold when using his ability, and sneered: “No wonder you’re making the Federation government so nervous.”

She hadn’t agreed to tweaking the scoring rules but couldn’t defy the higher-ups and had to compromise. But even with targeted tweaks, so what? The strong would break the rules anyway.

She curved her eyes in a smile, a sly glint in those aged eyes: “What a shame.” Though no one knew what she meant.

Still too young, handsome for all of three seconds.

Cat Ao Tian’s battery had run out.

He curled up listlessly in the cardboard box, all four paws tucked softly in front, breathing heavily.

“How’s that xenoid doing?”

The little monster tucked the blanket over the little cat’s belly and replied to it: “Won’t die.”

“I figured.” Alpha-13 inexplicably let out a breath of relief. Humans and xenoids had clashed for a millennium, well aware of their terrifying regenerative abilities. “As long as the heart doesn’t die, they can recover.”

The little monster ignored it. It wanted to stand guard while the little cat slept. Like a dragon guarding its treasure, it burrowed into the fuzzy blanket, bundling the little cat tight in its arms.

As the robot turned off the lights and left, the room plunged into deep silence. Time ticked by, and after who knows how long, Xun—blended into the darkness—opened his crimson eyes.

It was changing. Bones growing, emitting faint cracking sounds in the dark. Limbs elongating, body proportions becoming more balanced. As the transformation deepened, its face sharpened—a kid’s face. The features nearly identical to Li Ao’s human form, save for those crimson beastly pupils retaining the Abyss’s terrifying aura.

The cardboard box had long been burst apart. The little cat lay on his side on the ground. Feeling the cold perhaps, eyes still shut, he subconsciously twisted his paws and crawled toward the warm source.

Once snuggled up, he smacked his lips, curled into a ball, and kept snoozing.

Xun reached out and pinched his ear—soft, Q-bouncy, slightly cool. So this was what it felt like to touch with hands? It sensed it curiously.

From an indescribable big monster to a little monster humans could look at straight, it was gaining a physical form, needing food and water, even developing human body temperature.

And now, from little monster to little kid.

It scooped the little cat into its arms and took a deep sniff. The base’s bath supplies were scentless, yet his fur always carried a faint fragrance.

He’d said it smelled of lavender, but it had only been mimicking his scent.

So this was lavender.

The newly grown nose kept sniffing all over the little cat. It loved this smell—calm, warm, stirring joy in its heart.

It was developing rich emotions.

Liking the little cat, annoyed by the obtrusive robot, hating having to wait in the back during the little cat’s streams, loneliness when the little cat slept, and jealousy.

It was so jealous, jealous that lowly thing could block that fatal strike for the little cat. It could too—it could offer everything for the little cat.

Li Ao was Xun’s little cat. Xun was Li Ao’s little doggy.

When a monster evolved from body to emotions toward humanity, what was it then?

It was still that monster. Only now, it had shifted from “it” to “he.”

—

When the robot came the next day to wake the little cat, it discovered the black-haired, red-eyed little boy.

“…” It backed up two steps, shut the door. Two seconds later, it reopened it, red lights flashing wildly in its electronic eyes. “Put some clothes on!”

Xun’s newly grown hands could finally hold the little cat.

The red-eyed kid in a T-shirt gripped the little cat under the armpits, hoisted him up, and shouted solemnly toward the light: “Li Ao!”

This Lion King pose interaction stunned the just-woken Li Ao. The little cat struggled to rub his eyes with his paws, confirmed it wasn’t a hallucination, then cried out: “Xun, you look just like Li Ao!”

The little cat was hugely interested in his little doggy’s new look, chattering nonstop from breakfast to class.

“Quiet!” The robot slapped the paper on the table with a smack. “Today, it’s your turn for the exam.”

Exam? What was an exam?

The human-formed little monster blinked at the test paper in front of him.

The little cat’s nonstop yapping finally stopped. His paper ears perked: “Can we skip it?”

Alpha-13 gave a death stare. “You think?”

“I-I think we can.”

“I think not.”

The robot was ruthlessly cold: “Full score 100. Less than 90, no cartoons for a day. 80, two days.”

The little cat stood up baring his teeth in protest. The little cat got flipped by the robot. The little cat kicked his legs but couldn’t roll over. The little cat, mouth flattened, wrote on the test.

7-5=

Two paws clutched the pencil, shakily writing a “2”.

First exam, questions super simple. The little cat quickly found some fun in answering and even had time to teach Xun: “Do you know what 7+7 equals?”

Xun watched the little cat puff up his round face smugly, obediently shaking his head.

“Aiya, Li Ao will teach you.” He set down the pencil, stuck out two round paws and one round leg, all three waving: “14! It’s 14!”

Star Interstellar Ouka Movie Emperor Winner · Xun’s crimson eyes shone with adoration. “Li Ao is so awesome.”

“Of course!” The little cat snatched up the pencil, full of vigor as he kept answering.

The robot proctoring on the side: “…”

The robot proctoring on the side was speechless. It extended a mechanical arm to knock the table, reminding the little monster to hurry with his inequality equations.

Yes, Li Ao was illiterate, so his kindergarten-level test was totally different from Xun’s.

When the papers were graded, the perfect-scoring little cat puffed out his chest proudly and immediately made demands: “Li Ao wants to watch three episodes of Pink Electric Hairdryer Head Little Pig right now!”

The robot had its countermeasures. Casually tidying pencils and papers without emotional fluctuation: “You’re not going to check on the mantis monsters?”

“!” Right… The little cat forgot all about cartoons. His little paw hooked Xun’s clothes and tugged outward: “Come on, let’s go see the mantis monsters.”

Xun scooped him up, and they walked out the base gates together.

Noon sun blazing hot. The monitor, fixed on the vast blue sky, suddenly activated.

[Target detected alive. Points +1. Current points: 106. Current rank: 1.]

【He’s out! He’s out! Little cat still in human form!】

【Aww, he’s wearing clothes. Finally can see the full view.】

Yes, during yesterday’s transformation, the monitor had auto-censored the little cat’s body with mosaics.

【Those little arms, those little legs. Little Cat Highness’s human form is also… (perv face blushing giggling freezing) Wait, that’s not Highness?】

Of course it wasn’t Highness! If that was Highness, then who was the one in Highness’s arms?

【Huh? How come? Who’s this guy? Looks just like the little cat’s human form?】

The monitor zoomed in, and people spotted the subtle difference.

【Eyes different color—red!】

【This wouldn’t be that little coal ball, right?】

【Why does he look just like the little cat’s human form? Twins?】

【My god, so that unknown creature is a Complete Evolutionary Body too?】

Xun naturally wasn’t some complete body. In fact, if he wanted, he could mimic anything. As his control over his powers sharpened, he’d soon mimic the universe’s strongest lifeform.

Invincible below dimensions. A match even above.

All things cycle birth and restraint. The law to bind this evil dragon was, of course, the treasure cradled in its arms.

The treasure little cat didn’t wanna be carried. Treasure little cat jumped down to toddle himself. Pitter-patter-pitter-patter, scampering super fast, leaving a trail of crooked pawprints in the sand.

“Mantis Monster No. 1!” He burrowed into a sand hole, touched the curled-up xenoid inside. “How are you? Still hurt?”

[No pain]

Truthfully, it barely counted as pain. For xenoids, physical wounds paled against the agony of corruption.

“Where’s No. 2?”

[Food]

“Oh.” The little cat stepped worriedly. “I forgot to bring you cookies.”

Just as Li Ao was blaming himself for not thinking to bring food, he spotted Mantis Monster No. 2 returning.

【Creation God’s stinky shoe… A xenoid using tools…】

That xenoid extended its mouthparts, clamped a small bucket, and wobbled back with water.

【I don’t even dare to think about it. If they learn how to fire cannons, what will humans do…】

【Ha, haha… Don’t joke like that, it’s too terrifying.】

Why had the Xenoids, who had been beasts for thousands of years, suddenly developed these changes? Naturally, it was because they now had someone they wanted to imitate.

[Little Cat]

Mantis Monster No. 2 plopped the water bucket in front of No. 1, tucked in its six legs, its compound eyes full of longing.

Water Master Li Ao Cat raised a paw and patted it as a reward. “You’re such a good boy.”

[Pet competition!]

Mantis Monster No. 1 wanted to lift a leg and kick it, but it had no legs left on that side of its body, so it could only stretch its mouthparts into the bucket and gulp down the water.

Li Ao looked at it in confusion. “Can you get full just by drinking water?”

Xun crouched down and poked at the low-level one’s healing and regenerating wounds. “It’s not ordinary water; it’s water infused with your energy. I made them stop eating indiscriminately to avoid worsening the pollution. During this time, just drinking water can satisfy their beastly urges.”

The low-level one trembled from being poked by the superior being and pitifully nodded for some reason.