The deafening hum of the earth splitting open shook the heavens, causing the hovering surveillance drones in the air to tremble amid the shockwaves.
[Earthquake?]
[The footage is shaking too much, I’m getting dizzy.]
[Aaah, stabilize the drone already!]
[Did you guys notice? Why is the ground only sinking on the xenoid’s side?]
It was like a clear divide between Chu and Han, a world of difference.
The rift where the little cat was remained stable, while the ground where the xenoid stood sank like the tide. It was as if the earth itself couldn’t bear to see the xenoid threaten the little cat’s life and opened its giant maw to swallow the polluted Zolax into the Abyss.
The ground-hugging supercar Meowzilla was pure flesh in motion without any pollution, but its endurance only lasted three seconds.
After three seconds of dashing handsomely, the cat was done for. It flopped limply on the ground, its little wings drooping pitifully, and mumbled from its mouth, “I’m very angry.”
He was clearly spouting tough words, yet his tone was full of grievance.
Xun retracted his tentacles, wanting to coax the little cat. He tentatively licked the little cat’s ear, letting out a purring rumble.
“Xun knows he was wrong.” Even though he didn’t think he was wrong and had no idea where he went wrong, admitting fault first was always safe. “Li Ao, don’t be mad at this little doggy.”
“But I am angry.”
Before meeting Xun, Li Ao had never had a playmate his age, but he had encountered a dog once.
It was a skinny yellow mongrel wandering the streets of Kitten Street. They met over a small piece of cake—probably leftovers from some kid’s birthday. The sickly sweet, whitening cream smelled irresistibly fragrant to Li Ao back then. Clearly, the big yellow dog thought the same.
Kid versus big dog.
The big yellow dog bared its teeth at Li Ao in warning, while Li Ao barked like a puppy to psych himself up and scare it off.
Perhaps his imitation was too clumsy, because the big yellow dog actually shut its mouth in speechless silence.
One kid and one dog stared at each other, and one kid and one dog reached an agreement. They shared that little cake together.
They met every day at the dump on Kitten Street, and on rainy days, they’d huddle together under the park slide to shelter from the rain.
Until one day, a group of older kids discovered them.
“So dirty.”
“Stinks to high heaven.”
“Definitely covered in fleas.”
They were talking about the dog, and also about Li Ao, who had parents but no one to care for him.
They threw stones at the kid, snatched the food he’d barely scavenged. The big yellow dog could have run away, but it bared its teeth and stood in front of the kid.
Li Ao had been too young back then—in theory, he shouldn’t remember anything from before age three—but he remembered it so vividly. He remembered the sorrowful look in that big yellow dog’s eyes when it glanced back at him, and the resolute figure as it charged at the older kids’ backs.
So Li Ao would never abandon a companion.
“I’m really, really, super angry.” The little cat wiped its eyes, trying not to cry. Only then did Xun realize exactly what he’d done wrong.
Empty apologies were the most useless and insincere. The little monster nuzzled against the little cat. “From now on, I’ll always take Li Ao with me. I won’t leave Li Ao alone to fight by himself anymore.”
The little cat’s voice still trembled. “Then let’s pinky swear. This is… this is a deal.”
Even though this deal didn’t involve any specific give-and-take, to the little cat, a deal was the most reliable thing.
“Okay.” Xun extended his short tentacle claw and hooked it with the little cat’s paw. “I promise you.”
[Live and die together, never abandon.]
He’d finally coaxed the little cat, only to hear a sound coming from below the rift.
[Little cat! Little cat, run quick, aaah that xenoid is actually climbing up!!]
The massive-bodied Zolax originally lacked the ability to climb, but the flesh membrane on its body turned into thin threads that burrowed into the rift walls, hauling it upward.
Its enormous horns gleamed coldly, its grayish-white eyes crested the horizon, and it let out a heaven-shaking roar.
“Sizzle—” Like cold syrup hitting a scorching pan bottom, it instantly erupted in a burst of intense crackling.
Alpha-13 stirred in circles with the mixing stick, the caramel scent growing richer. It turned off the heat, picked up the skewered fruits, and coated them in syrup.
The short-legged cat would like these, right… The robot thought silently. He loved eating so much; eating this should cheer him up, right?
Sigh…
Alpha-13 let out a deep sigh in its programming. A solid fifty-pound kitten indeed had quite the temper.
It finished coating the candied fruits one by one and was about to set them aside to cool when it sensed the earthquake.
“…” This wasn’t very scientific. Aurilion’s crust was unusually stable, and the base’s location had been meticulously selected by surveyors to ensure no earthquakes or geological activity for tens of thousands of years.
The little cat was still outside.
Alpha-13’s program tightened. It quickly linked to the surveillance drone to check on the little cat. Upon seeing the infected Zolax, the robot could no longer stay put.
Danger.
The little cat was in danger.
The panic surging in that instant made it disregard any risk of exposing itself. It only knew it couldn’t lose that cub.
It activated full power and raced toward the living quarters.
Faster, faster. It kept accelerating.
It passed through the gates, through the long corridors, to the concealed metal door. It pressed the mechanism button and heard the builder’s voice: “Ready to unwrap your gift?”
Alpha-13’s inorganic voice was tense. “Please rapidly integrate into the consciousness stream. I need to go to his side.”
“…” The builder’s voice carried a hint of amusement. “That’s not the answer I expected, so the preset program doesn’t know how to respond. But regardless, welcome. You’ve finally mustered the courage to step into a new life.”
The polluted xenoid had already poked its head out from below the rift. Li Ao forced his limp limbs to move, actually wanting to run over and kick it.
“Bad cow-cow! You dare come up!”
The little monster hurriedly scooped him up by the waist and dragged him back. “Li Ao, let’s retreat first.”
He hadn’t found this xenoid’s weak point yet and couldn’t destroy its heart in an instant. He couldn’t let the little cat stay here adventuring, nor could he abandon him again, so he kept coaxing, “We’ll run together and figure it out on the way.”
But the xenoid clearly wasn’t giving the two little ones any chance. Part of the flesh membrane threads hauled its body upward while the rest morphed into needles stabbing toward them.
Xun hugged the little cat and decisively leaped back. However, those needles were like heat-seeking missiles, pursuing relentlessly with ferocious momentum.
The needles stabbed into the sand, kicking up dust. Xun kept jumping to widen the distance.
[Watch out! The xenoid climbed up aaah!]
[Oh god, go little coal ball, aaah, run fast! Damn, what the hell is this thing? Why is Zolax moving so fast!!!]
A normal Zolax couldn’t exhibit such agility with its massive build, but this virus had granted it such terrifying power.
Li Ao knew his short legs couldn’t outrun it and didn’t push his luck. He obediently let Xun carry him while meowing loudly at the Mantis Monster No. 2 that wanted to chase over, “You run the other way!”
Those needles were clearly locked on them; it would be safer for the Mantis Monster to flee elsewhere.
Before the words even finished, “Watch out—” Li Ao cried out in fright to warn Xun. “It’s splitting again.”
The flesh membrane wrapping Zolax had its base embedded in its flesh, and the needle tips now forked into countless barbs. In this short time, it had evolved.
“Xun!”
The needles shot toward them rapidly. The little monster’s pupils contracted sharply. Rainbow light was about to spill from his mouth when, in the next second, a broad beam blade descended from the sky, severing all the needles.
A silver-white mech descended like a titan, slamming into the ground on one knee, steadily blocking in front of the two little ones.
Li Ao wasn’t scared by the xenoid’s appearance but was stunned by this mech.
“Get back.” A familiar voice rang out, and the little cat’s pupils slowly widened. “Machine?!”
[Holy… is that Alpha?]
[Mechanical wings, energy sword—no mistake, this is the original Alpha machine.]
[My creator god, weren’t those 12 Alphas destroyed? Where did this one come from?]
Alpha-13 braced with one hand on the ground, agilely leaped over the assault, swung its lightsaber in a slash, and rapidly struck at the xenoid’s face.
The xenoid retreated step by step, roaring as it mutated again.
The split needles retracted into the main body, reforming the flesh membrane to rewrap Zolax.
“So you haven’t formed an energy field yet.” Alpha-13 held the sword in its right hand and raised its left. “That means I can blast you.”
The mech’s palm suddenly glowed, quickly forming a light orb.
The energy gathered tighter and tighter, collapsing to its limit before a blinding beam erupted like thunder piercing the air, directly penetrating the target.
[Damn (not the plant), just like in the history books—Alpha machines come equipped with gamma ray cannons!]
[Sorry, but this is too cool.]
The sheer power instantly blasted a huge hole through the xenoid’s body. Zolax halted, its massive frame crashing to the ground.
Sand and dust filled the air. The little cat gaped, repeatedly looking down at the mech’s feet then up at its head, chattering to the little monster, “What do we do? From now on, can I only reach its feet even if I jump?”
The little cat, who still couldn’t use his wings yet, completely forgot that he could fly up to scratch.
Alpha-13’s temple twitched as it picked up its lightsaber and walked toward the Xenoid Variant.
Those fleshy membranes turned back into threads, surging endlessly in an attempt to patch up the host’s body. Just as Alpha-13 raised its lightsaber to strike, it heard the little cat say, “Wait a minute!”
Li Ao glanced at Xun, his cat face serious. “I feel like I can do it.”
The little monster nuzzled against the little cat’s chest. “I believe you.”
The towering standing mech and the massive fallen Xenoid Variant loomed before them like two mountains. The little cat, tiny in comparison and almost invisible, closed its eyes and took a deep breath. When it opened them again, it charged forward without hesitation.
