The people of Delphi revered nature and never deliberately interfered with or massively altered the ecological and climatic environments of planets. The same held true on Aiai’ang’ang.
It was summer, with scorching sunlight blanketing the yellow sands. Though seasonal winds blew, they couldn’t withstand the intense heat brought by the prolonged daylight.
But Li Ao loved the summers on Aiai’ang’ang. The summers in his hometown were just as fervent, with scorching sun that burned the feet and air filled with the scent of summer.
“Grandma would chill watermelons for me in the water.” The little cat stood by the lake, his paws being spun and scrubbed in circles by the mechanical arm. “Ice-cold and super tasty.”
His body was covered in foam, his fur wet and clinging to him in streaks, making him look both skinny and round. His little belly was bulging, washed to a faint pink sheen.
The mechanical arm scrubbed with utmost professionalism, finishing the front paws before moving to the back, not even sparing the tip of his tail.
Li Ao was scrubbed into a daze and started muttering again, “Ice-cold and super tasty!”
How could Silver Wing not know his nature? With a brain no bigger than a fist, his entire mind was on eating.
“The watermelon isn’t ripe.”
“It is ripe!” Li Ao immediately piped up. “I patted its belly, and it told me it was ripe and wanted me to eat it.”
The nanny robot continued its cleaning program expressionlessly, poking at the little cat’s belly, which looked even rounder after getting wet. “Can you even fit more?”
Li Ao immediately sucked in his belly, his slippery paws hugging it. “I can! I can eat a ton and get super fat.”
“…” The obsession with eating and getting fat was practically etched into this cat’s genes.
The nanny robot fell briefly silent. As its program ran, it couldn’t resist poking the cat’s belly again.
It wasn’t that it hadn’t analyzed it—this little “quirk” of Li Ao’s wasn’t gluttony, but… a fear instinct deeply buried in his memory circuits. The loneliness and starvation of his early years had left too deep a scar on his body.
“Wash yourself clean.” The robot tossed the foam-covered little cat into the lake and turned to head to the distant fields to pick a watermelon.
Li Ao hit the water and started dog-paddling on instinct. The bath gel was a modern product, so there was no worry about polluting the lake.
The little cat was scooped up by Xun, who swam over. The two little ones floated lazily on the surface together, like two clumps of water weeds, bobbing gently with the waves.
The sun was half-set, evening glow rolling golden scales across the water. A shadow flashed by extremely quickly underwater, silently approaching them.
But as soon as it neared the two, the shadow slammed into some invisible barrier and jerked to a halt.
Xun didn’t move, merely tilting his head slightly. There was no expression in his red eyes, but the water surface rippled subtly with his breathing.
The shadow couldn’t get close and could only reveal its coal-black face from afar, letting out a mosquito-like buzzing whine toward the little cat, full of grievance.
The little cat wanted to cover his ears upon hearing it—he’d been pestered by this guy all day and was thoroughly annoyed.
Luckily, that’s when Mantis Monster No. 1 came to pick up its kid. The six-legged xenoid had a little cat pendant hanging from its chest. It smoothly passed through the toothed grass blades to the lake’s edge and let out a massive roar.
Hearing Mom call, Little Logic shut up but still looked longingly at the little cat, hoping he’d put in a good word.
Li Ao squeezed his eyes shut, chanting in his mind: Cat sees no cat, cat sees no cat. The little cat, forced to babysit all day, was no longer soft-hearted.
The little monster, denied the little cat’s pity, immediately burst into earth-shattering wails, scaring Li Ao into frantically paddling all four paws to scramble ashore.
“Shut up.” Xun suddenly shifted to human form, covering the cat’s ears with his hand. He said coldly to Little Logic, “Dare to babble again.”
He didn’t finish his words or say what he’d do to Little Logic. But force and authority were the most effective threats against bratty kids, whether human or xenoid.
The little cat was soft-hearted after all. He cracked open his eyelids, glanced at the big guy, sighed, and beckoned it with a paw.
Now the brat perked up, no longer afraid of Xun. It kicked off with its hind legs and lunged over, shoving its pitch-black face toward the cat.
Li Ao patted its head—his paw smaller than the cracks on its face. “Time to go home. Mom’s calling you.”
After much sweet-talking and coaxing, he finally shooed the bratty kid ashore. The little cat, topped with his drenched fur, looked utterly world-weary.
“Li Ao.” The robot returned with the watermelon. “You have a call.”
The little cat shuddered, his ears shooting straight up with a “whoosh.” His eyes lit up instantly. His four paws paddled furiously, big tail swinging like an oar as he clambered ashore. “Is it Xixi? Did Xixi call me?”
The robot handed him the comm terminal. As soon as he held it to his ear, a familiar voice came through: “Leo.”
“Xixi~”
That drawn-out cry was soft as water, making even the robot’s program glitch for a moment.
“Have you reached the Abyss Frontline yet?” The little cat sprawled on the ground, twisting left and right on a towel to rub himself half-dry, then pressed his ear to the receiver.
“Almost.”
This little guy had the nerve to complain about Little Logic being chatty. In fact, when it was his turn, he wanted to pry into every detail, down to what color underwear the guy was wearing today.
Silver Wing was truly baffled. Could that aloof, powerful man really listen word-for-word to what the short-legged cat was saying?
But Isiris really was listening and responding earnestly. Calls with him always lasted at least half an hour, and even with the little cat munching watermelon mid-chat, it didn’t annoy him.
Blood ties were probably that wondrous. Or maybe this little cat was just that likable to him.
“Leo practiced swordplay, and Lian Susu praised me too, saying I’m awesome.” The little guy bragged in Delphian, making Isiris chuckle softly. “Very good.”
“I’ll practice more.” The little cat tossed the watermelon rind to the grass blades to eat. “Once I’m good enough, I’ll go to the Abyss Frontline with Xixi.”
Isiris didn’t promise anything, just saying, “Eat well and grow up happy.”
Luckily, the little cat didn’t overthink it. He was quickly led off-topic by the man, chattering on about everything he’d eaten that day. From the morning milk porridge to the evening snacks, he even counted out how many pieces he’d divided the watermelon into.
Isiris just listened quietly, occasionally responding, his tone unusually gentle.
He kept talking until the sun sank and the golden light faded from the horizon. Only then did the little cat stop contentedly, rubbing his eyes and softly, reluctantly bidding his dad goodbye.
Once the little cat hung up, Isiris slowly put away his terminal.
The faint warmth on his face faded, his golden eyes restoring their cold sharpness, as if that softness had never existed.
“Has the Third Legion’s command ship signal connected?” The golden-haired Monarch rose and walked to the comms station.
“Still out of contact.” The comms officer said, “We’re about to enter the frontline zone. Midway through, we might pick up intermittent signals.”
The Abyss was a massive rift spanning the cosmic border. Unlike a black hole with a stable gravitational center, it was a chaotic region that devoured all rules and physical laws.
Even light was torn apart inside, energy lost order, and time-space coordinates collapsed.
Visually akin to a black hole, it was far more terrifying. Humanity still couldn’t parse its structure or observe its interior.
Only xenoids could approach it—the cradle birthing xenoids, spawning millions anew each year.
Humans had drawn a buffer zone tens of thousands of light-years from the Abyss proper, called the Abyss Frontline.
This was a vast defensive perimeter encircling the Abyss’s outer edge, segmented and guarded by various factions and legions. It served as both alert outpost and the final signal boundary.
And the Third Legion’s signal had gone dark in the frontline’s end segment—the area closest to the Abyss, the T-9 Observation Zone.
By coordinates, they’d hugged the limit. One step further, and there was no turning back.
“Something’s off.” Shen Que said. “Since the Abyss’s unknown tremor twenty years ago, the frontline shifted outward a lot. Why would the Third Legion push so deep?”
Isiris looked out the battleship window, where alliance forces had come to escort them.
“Sun, the other side requests to board.”
With the Monarch’s nod, the ships docked. The connecting passage extended, the metal hatch slowly opened, cabin pressure equalized, and footsteps approached from afar.
At that moment, seeing the visitor’s figure, Shen Que’s relaxed shoulders instantly tensed.
“Fitt Claven.”
The black-haired, purple-eyed Fitt was handsome to the point of demonic allure. His folding fan tapped lightly against his cheek. He first saluted Isiris, then turned to Shen Que with a smile that irked him. “We meet again, my little brother.”
Shen Que gripped his tang dao tightly, his face turning icy.
Isiris had no time for their undercurrents and cut straight in. “Why did the Third Legion venture so deep into the frontline?”
Fitt dropped his smile, raising index and middle fingers to beckon behind him. “Your Majesty Isiris, please look.”
The projection device activated at once, the screen displaying footage of the intel the Federation forces received before going dark.
“A distress signal came from the Abyss, originating from the fallen Federation star—Shen Xun.”
At that name, even Isiris frowned. “Shen Xun? Your uncle?” He turned to Shen Que.
“Impossible.” Shen Que’s molars clenched slightly for an instant. “He died on the battlefield decades ago, his body completely lost.”
This was common knowledge to everyone, but how could they explain the footage clearly originating from the other party’s communication signal?
“General Shen Xun was the Federation’s star of old. The Federation is treating this incident with utmost importance, so they dispatched a scout team to the T9 observation belt.” Fitt tapped his hand again, signaling his subordinate to switch the projection. “Right as the Federation set out, the Third Legion contacted our forces to head there together. We weren’t told the reason, but for a trip this dangerous, it’s naturally better to have company.”
The Federation had received a message from a dead man.
Isiris gazed at the Third Legion Commander on the screen, a guess forming in his mind.
The only thing that could make such a cold, steely, steadfast man this anxious—to the point he couldn’t even rush back to the signal zone to relay the intel home—was if he too had received some message related to Delphi.
What could it be, to make him care so much?
“Li Ao!” The Machine stood outside the courtyard, calling into the yard. “Someone’s looking for you.”
“Huh?”
The kitten, diligently sharpening its claws on the tree trunk, paused mid-motion. Its claws were still hooked into the bark, not yet retracted. Its round head swiveled halfway around as it tilted to look over.
“Who’s looking for me?”
