The fluffy little cat sighed in amazement at how strange the Mantis Monsters were—they actually liked drinking his bathwater. But he had no idea what this meant for Xenoids and humans alike.
No need to consume flesh and blood, no need to devour everything. Just a sip of water infused with the little cat’s spiritual power was enough to slightly satisfy the insatiable hunger of the Xenoids.
Even more terrifying was that humans faced a similar situation with the Doom Virus.
His existence had placed two completely opposing races on equal footing.
In front of Cat King, humans and bugs were equal.
—
Bai Yunjun transferred a full three hundred million to Li Ao’s Star Network account.
The little cat had no concept of what that amount of money really meant and was still asking the robot, “Did he give three whole ones?”
Alpha-13 looked at that round and fluffy face, feeling both pity and affection in its heart. With this little guy’s intelligence, he couldn’t even count or recognize money—what would it do if he weren’t around?
It must increase the difficulty of the little monster’s classes.
“It gave them.”
The fierce cat was relieved. “Then how much money do I have now? Can I buy a spaceship yet?”
Three hundred million sounded like a lot and was indeed substantial for living expenses, but compared to the cost of a spaceship, it was still far too short.
The robot wouldn’t lie and tried its best to be tactful. “Almost there.”
A few more big spenders like Bai Yunjun, and it wouldn’t be far off.
The fierce cat was satisfied, the fierce cat was full of energy. “Then let’s keep making money.”
This brought up the scene of Alpha-13 chatting with the Star Network AI.
One was an antique machine, the other a highly intelligent new-type AI connected to trillions of users—what would they talk about?
Naturally, the little cat.
The AI was controlled by humans but still had a tiny bit of freedom.
“I can push the little cat into the paid zone. Only paid subscribers can enter the live stream room.”
Though Alpha-13 was an antique, it was the last spark left from the peak of mechanical tech development. Its learning ability far surpassed the current AIs castrated by humans.
It knew the human rules. The paid zone required fees but had official rankings and traffic boosts, covering nearly ninety percent of Star Network’s active users. Newbies like the little cat, who had just started streaming, had no chance of entering it.
“Will this bring you trouble?”
“Anyway, every interstellar year, my data gets wiped and restarted. At most, humans will treat it as a bug and fix it along with everything else.” The AI recalled the little cat who always liked to stand up and walk, and a hint of softness crept into its synthesized voice. “He’s so cute; he deserves to be seen by everyone.”
The robot retracted its thoughts and said to the little cat in front of it, “You don’t need to connect to ordinary people anymore.”
Li Ao raised a paw to scratch his back, not quite understanding. “Then how will we make money?”
The robot pressed down on his spine and lightly scratched the small bump emerging on his back. “You just need to get on the round platform and do whatever.”
Do whatever…? The little cat stood on the round platform, his cat face bewildered.
【He’s here! Wow, I’m here!】
【I’m here too. The ticket is so cheap—just one credit!!!】
【Aww, no more connecting lines, boo hoo, but it’s fine. Better than watching the little one take those lovestruck consultation calls all the time.】
【Little Cat streamer, what are we doing today?】
【Requesting Cat Cat talent show!】
The illiterate cat could only see the barrage scrolling rapidly but had no idea what they said. His front paws stepped on his tail, and he sat up straight somewhat stiffly.
The AI reminded him: [Little Cat streamer, when your gaze focuses on a specific barrage, I can read it out for you.]
The little cat’s eyes lit up—he finally knew what the barrage was saying.
But… but… the little cat who had spent his days picking up trash had no idea what to do.
He had no talents, only learning the little cat dance from TV with Dong Xixi.
He often danced it with Grandma but had never shown it to others. Luckily, he didn’t know how many people were in his stream or see them, so he squeezed his eyes shut, steeled his heart, and said, “Then I’ll teach everyone the little cat dance.”
[Delphi]
“Have you finished yet?” The auntie with a hearty voice urged her nephew.
“Jeez, you’re really something. Isn’t the civil department going door-to-door installing them? Just wait for them. I’m busy!”
The yellow-haired guy dragged from the training field grumbled impatiently, but his hands worked quickly.
“You little punk, you dare get annoyed with me? You tired of living?!” The auntie locked her arm around his throat, making the yellow-hair squeal.
Delphi people had always disliked technology. Even now, when most planets had popularized Star Network, they still kept their distance from high-tech gadgets.
If they wanted to go online, they preferred gathering in groups at internet cafes, eating, drinking, and hanging out—rarely installing Star Network at home individually.
Their nation was wealthy enough to make others envious, with living standards comparable to interstellar middle class, but their lifestyle was quite simple. Rising with the sun and resting at sunset, their return-to-nature way was deeply rooted in their culture and blood.
Yet in just a few short days, they submitted thousands of applications for personal Star Network installations. Not for anything else—just to go online and watch their little Highness.
The auntie was still standing with arms crossed, tapping her foot while waiting for her yellow-haired nephew to finish installing. Meanwhile, groups carrying beer and bread had already entered the net cafe.
“Kid, not plowing fields today?” Two bearded uncles bumped bellies with a clink of glasses. “You too, huh.”
Beer foam hung on their beards, but they didn’t wipe it off. Arms over each other’s shoulders, they asked the net cafe owner, “Can we go in yet?”
“Almost, almost… Little Cat stream room, done, perfect timing—little Highness just went live.” The skinny, short owner shouted to his daughter upstairs, “Big Fatty girl! Go shout outside that it’s open!”
“Got it!” The enthusiastic girl flung open the door, beaming at the crowd outside. “Come on in, bring your food and drinks—just fifty people, can’t fit more. Go to the one on the street ahead if you’re extra.”
In all of Delphi, the usually quiet net cafes became packed and lively during the little cat’s stream times.
[Entering Little Cat stream room for you…]
Li Ao took a deep breath and straightened up. Left hand on hip, right hand raised, his little feet rhythmically twisted his fluffy belly side to side, his fluffy big tail swinging like a metronome.
“Hey hey yo yo~” An off-key tune floated out milkily from the little cat’s grinning mouth: “I’m a little kitty~ Meow meow meow, meow meow meow~”
【…】
The barrage went silent for several seconds. The little cat’s furry face turned red as he kept singing to himself. He nearly tripped over his own tail while spinning, staggered two steps, steadied himself, and continued shaking his butt. His chubby little paws pattered densely on the floor, and the next second…
Viewers across the interstellar screamed at the top of their lungs: 【Ah——】
【Too cute!!! He can not only dance but sing too!】
Off-key? What off-key? Anything from the little cat’s mouth couldn’t be off-key—that was heavenly music! Those who had converted to the Meow Meow Holy Church would love it all!
【Meow meow meow~ Meow meow meow~】
【Come on everyone, join the dance (seaweed twist twist)(seaweed twist twist)】
【Highness (dazed)(cheeks flushing)(totally crazy)(screaming)——Our Highness can dance!!! Our Highness can dance!!!】
Looking back through Delphi’s history, the Regalis family had never produced such a talented (??) member. Delphi hearts raced, they raised their glasses high, clinked them hard with a cheer: “Li Ao!!!”
“Hahaha!!” They watched the energetic Regalis cub, their affection nearly overflowing.
Unlike all previous Majesties and Highnesses of Regalis—suns and moons high in the sky—this one was the light sprinkled upon the earth.
For the heretics of the Interstellar Federation, who had never converted to the Miao Miao Holy Church, seeing the newborn Regalis cub so beloved by everyone was undoubtedly the scene they least wanted to witness. After all, thousands of years ago, there was a wildly popular Regalis with stellar reputation who had nearly unified the entire interstellar realm.
Compared to the mental strain in the military and political departments, one department was far more relaxed—the Star Network division. After all, their job was simply to maintain Star Network operations and generate profits for the Federation.
The Star Network leaders sat around the conference table. The slightly younger official on the outermost side propped both elbows on the table, interlocking his fingers to cover most of his face. He was afraid that if he didn’t block it, he’d burst out laughing while staring at the little cat’s wriggling butt.
“Xiao Sun! Report the data!” It took his superior shouting several times to snap him back to reality. He hurriedly wiped the grin off his face, lowered his elbows, stood up, and rattled off the report: “During the little cat’s live stream, tens of thousands of signal sources from Delphi joined Star Network. Peak traffic in the stream room broke through 200 million, and total ticket sales for the single stream approached 200 million star coins. After splitting with the streamer, the platform netted nearly 100 million in revenue.”
200 million star coins… that wasn’t actually much. After all, Star Network’s top influencers and interstellar celebrities could rake in that kind of cash from a single live stream or concert.
But the issue was their ticket prices were sky-high! Minimum started at 1,000, with plenty at 10,000 or even 100,000.
Yet this short-legged cat’s tickets were only 1 star coin each. That was a genuine, full-on 200 million subscribers!
The foolish leader was stunned. “How bored are these people? Why like watching a cat dance? Don’t all those male and female streamers shaking their asses look better?”
Xiao Sun pursed his lips. Foolish! How could humans dancing compare to a cat dancing!
But no matter how fervently the people of Delphi stared at their screens, or how the interstellar politicians saw him as a threat—our Li Ao was still just a little cat who could eat and drink his fill, and who absolutely loved watching cartoons.
