Chapter 32: Little Cat Learns to Fly Part 2

The small monster hugged the little cat, and the robot embraced both of them. “We’ll definitely go back.”

Even if Earth was in the Abyss, it would wield its lightsaber and carve a path home for him.

A good, hearty cry was beneficial for the growth of cubs and humans alike.

The little cat had cried himself out, but his little body still trembled now and then from the aftershocks. The robot picked up a piece of fruit and stuffed it into the little cat’s mouth.

“…” Li Ao sniffled, still hiccuping as he started chewing. “W-want… want it wrapped in sugar.”

“Eating too much sugar will make your teeth fall out. I’ll make some for you tomorrow.” This wasn’t the robot scaring him—it had calculated based on human age that this little guy was indeed nearing his tooth-shedding period.

The freshly cried-out little cat was easy to placate. After eating one piece, he proactively took another. His throat still held traces of his crying voice as he softly patted the little dog. “You eat too.”

The Mantis Monsters, who had been standing worriedly in the distance since the little cat started crying, saw him wave his paw at them and immediately ran over.

Even the Strangling Vine got the grass sprout’s permission and creepily crawled over to the little cat’s side, spitting out flowers for him.

“Hehe…” Surrounded by his friends, the little cat felt shy. He stuck his two little feet into the lake, his paws blooming open.

A person’s personality is closely tied to their growth environment. For a child to become outgoing and optimistic, they need a tremendous amount of love.

His biological parents hadn’t given him that love, but Grandma next door, with no blood ties, had.

Just how much love had it taken to grow Li Ao into such a little sun?

The robot rubbed the little cat’s head and asked about that lady’s name for the first time.

The little cat remembered it clearly. He puffed out his fluffy white cat chest proudly. “My grandma is called Yi Yulan! Dependable Yi, beautiful magnolia Yulan!”

“Is that so?” The robot felt warmth seeing that proud little expression. “It’s a truly, very beautiful name.”

The little cat gave him a look that said you have good taste, then jumped into the water, dragging the small monster along to doggy-paddle.

The robot said, “I still have to tell you about your father—but not the one from Earth, the one from your body.”

The little dog-cat tilted his head, not quite understanding. “The one from my body?”

The robot pondered how to explain. “Aren’t you curious how you turned into a little cat? Don’t you wonder how the little cat was born?”

Li Ao really hadn’t thought about it. After all, he knew Dong Xixi had turned from a human into a little cat, so he didn’t find it strange at all.

“Your little cat form comes from your genes.” The robot exerted a tremendous effort to make this walnut-brained kitten cub understand.

“Oh.” The little cat floated belly-up on the water like a dead fish, then suddenly froze. “Am I going to have a dad now?”

Though everyone speculated the little cat was Zane Regalis’s child—and he had the same striking blue eyes as Zane—the robot suspected his genetic origin might not be Zane.

“Yes, you have a father now.” A powerful one who had made a promise for him.

“Sun!” The soldier in imperial military uniform saluted. “Federation warships are tracking us.”

Isiris didn’t shift his gaze from the vast stars, speaking indifferently. “Shake them off.”

“We’ve already shaken off several waves of trackers, but there are too many Federation garrison stars. Passing through the next star system, and we’ll be caught again.”

Like stubborn plaster, but they couldn’t actually open fire and blast them—truly frustrating.

“Then let them follow.” The golden-haired emperor sat back in his armchair. “Even if they arrive at Aurilion at the same time, I’d like to see if they dare rob from me.”

The brown-haired, gray-eyed strategist picked up an orange from the table, peeling it while slinking sleazily to sit beside the emperor. “Exactly, if they’ve got the guts, let them fire on our Sun.”

The brown-haired strategist raised a segment of orange flesh to the emperor’s mouth, only for Isiris to slap it away with his hand.

“Hateful, Your Majesty~ I peeled it for you out of the goodness of my heart.”

“Sun.” Shen Que entered from outside, interrupting the strategist’s playful words. “Approximately seven interstellar days until we reach the Aurilion star system.”

Isiris slightly raised his chin, looking at Shen Que’s violet eyes. “What happened?”

A mere journey wasn’t worth a special report.

“We’ve detected a meteor approaching Aurilion at extreme speed. It’s projected to enter the atmosphere in five interstellar days.”

The golden brows furrowed slightly. “How big?”

Shen Que’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Large enough to destroy the planet.”

The brown-haired strategist dropped his playful demeanor and sat up a bit straighter. “The Mandjet can destroy the meteor, but there’s over two days’ delay… Are there any suitable wormholes nearby for spatial jump?”

That was the crux of the problem.

Shen Que’s voice deepened slightly. “The Aurilion star system is in a cosmic void caused by a massive war. This empty region spans millions of light-years. Forget wormholes—aside from that lone star system, there’s virtually no matter at all.”

“No.” Isiris stood. “Without a wormhole for jumping, even sailing for a century wouldn’t get Yi Xiangjin and Alpha to that planet. Activate the detectors for a wide-range scan.”

As if thinking of something, Isiris paused. “Contact Aurilion. That robot might have clues.”

“Machine!” The little cat held up his test paper for the robot to see. “I’m done! I want to watch cartoons!”

“Wait a bit.” The robot dried its mechanical arm with a towel. “90 points or above for one episode.”

The little cat tensed at those words, swallowing hard. He didn’t know a few questions and had secretly copied from Xun—but Machine probably wouldn’t notice, right?

“…” Silver Wing was utterly speechless.

Which good kitten copies physics answers for math problems? Pathetically dumb, couldn’t even copy right.

Its deathly stare shifted down, seeing the dumb cat gulp even harder… Fine, he’d attended several classes today too. Spare him this once.

“The TV’s on.” The robot said.

“Hehe!” The little cat’s airplane ears turned into bunny ears in a second as he bounced off to find the small monster. “Xun, you done? Let’s watch cartoons together!”

Once the little cat left, the robot received a prompt from the Star Network AI: [Received a Star Network signal source. Link?]

The Star Network was under Interstellar Federation control. Silver Wing was always cautious with its information and hadn’t exposed its signal source to anyone outside Delphi.

But aside from that initial connection to the little cat’s livestream, there’d been no contact from Delphi afterward.

“Link.” The robot sensed something had happened.

The emperor’s handsome, god-crafted face appeared on the screen. This was the robot’s first time facing him alone, and it felt a trace of tension.

“A meteor large enough to destroy your planet will approach the atmosphere in five interstellar days. I need seven to arrive via warp speed.”

Without giving the robot time to respond, the call was unilaterally disconnected.

In the second before the screen went dark, Silver Wing grasped the meaning of the call.

Even at warp speed, Isiris needed seven interstellar days to arrive. Without a wormhole for spatial jump, he couldn’t rescue them before the meteor hit.

He needed wormhole coordinates around Aurilion, undetectable by the Federation via Star Network.

The little cat watching cartoons didn’t notice, but the small monster blinked, seeing the robot zip toward the adjacent living area.

The builder’s residual consciousness had vanished when Silver Wing activated its main body. Silver Wing thought the program had run its course, but it suddenly realized—even mechs couldn’t fly through space forever. Without a wormhole jump, its energy couldn’t even cross the Aurilion system.

Its mother had wanted it to go to Delphi so badly; she must have planned the route for it.

“There must be clues, there must be.” The robot rummaged through the living area like it was treasure hunting.

Finally, in Yi Xiangjin’s room, it found a silver figurine. Very small, yet a perfect 1:1 replica of the mech body.

The moment it picked it up, it heard the builder’s voice: “Finally at the last step? With your tsundere personality, you’ve probably suffered quite a bit. But I sincerely hope this time wasn’t too long, so I could see you one more time before my long slumber.”

“Even if there’s a wormhole that lets you perform spatial jumps, the mech’s energy isn’t enough for long-distance interstellar travel. But beyond the cosmic void, there’s a primitive, simple planet at the edge. No humans are there—you can fly around on it and find the energy supplies I left for you. Once you’ve had enough fun there, you can find another wormhole not far from its star… Just keep going like this, and you’ll avoid human settlements to reach Delphi.”

“Even if you run into people, don’t be scared. There are plenty of good people and plenty of bad ones too—you have to learn to get along with them. You can’t have human flesh and blood, or the so-called soul, but you can have a self of your own. As long as you make it to Delphi, my Monarch will surely accept you. All the citizens of Delphi will be under His wings’ protection.”

“My child, my time is running out. I hope I can still wait for you.”

The Machine couldn’t shed tears; it could only let out the sorrowful wail belonging to steel.

A century of solitude—it hadn’t been without grievances. It had grieved that its creator abandoned it, setting off alone on the road home.

But a century later, it finally realized that its mother had never abandoned it. Humans feared Alpha Machines; she had struck a deal with someone to preserve the final spark of the Machine.

To humans, her actions were betrayal, but she had pressed on alone, charting a path to new life for it.

Unbeknownst to it, the little cat had pulled the little monster to the robot’s side. He stood up, hugging the Machine. “Your mama loves you very much.”

Though he was still little, though he didn’t fully understand what that lady had said, he knew it was a whole lot of love.

Just as much as Grandma’s love for him.

Some became mothers because of blood ties, while others became mothers out of love.

It was simply her great love.