[What?! He blacklisted them without a second thought!!]

[Did anyone else catch a glimpse of the blacklist? It was full of Imperial Scientific Research Department mask addresses, wasn't it?]

[Well, they were all labeled as Imperial Scientific Research Department...]

[Are cats really this loyal to their owners? Damn, I'm so jealous. My useless ScalyPal could never!]

[ScalyPals are pretty cowardly, though. They curl up into a metal ball at the slightest disturbance.]

[Mine does the same thing!!]

[To be fair, apart from the wild animals on unexplored planets, all domesticated animals have evolved due to wormhole travel.]

[Yeah, it's hard to balance practicality and aesthetics, so they've all become a bit... less attractive.]

"Meow!" Yue'an protested indignantly at this comment.

This time, someone immediately understood his meaning.

[Yue'an, who embodies both practicality and aesthetics, begs to differ!]

Yue'an puffed out his little chest and swished his tail proudly. "Meow-ow!"

[C-cute... This word seems tailor-made for creatures like cats.]

Yue'an let out a smug little purr and sat down on the dining table to groom his paw.

His pink tongue delicately lapped at his fluffy paw, which then curled slightly to brush against his snow-white face. The soft paw pads peeked out with each movement.

[I'm... I'm completely defenseless against this cuteness...]

[Oh no, I think I've caught a terminal case of 'If-I-don't-get-a-cat-I'll-die' disease!]

[It's incurable, I'm afraid.]

[Am I the only one still looking at that plate of food? Aren't you going to finish it?]

[Maybe he's saving it for the Marshal.]

[The Marshal is in court, remember?]

[Aww, he's leaving it for when the Marshal comes back :D How sweet.]

[The trial just started, though. Won't it be cold by the time he returns?]

Yue'an's ears twitched, and his beautiful, translucent blue sapphire-like cat eyes revealed the obsidian pupils within.

The dining room was well-lit, but there was no direct sunlight.

His round cat eyes looked innocent and pure. With just a soft "meow," one couldn't help but associate him with words like "warmth," "beauty," and "innocence."

This pure and beautiful little ball of fluff, as pristine as freshly fallen snow, leisurely put down his paw after reading those comments. He arched his back in a long stretch, then turned and polished off the last plate of food in one go.

[...]

[Umm...]

[.]

[LOL]

[Hahahaha! Bet you didn't see that coming! This cat was just taking a mid-meal break!]

[I'm dying of laughter.]

[Yue'an: I ordered this takeout with my own hard-earned money! Why should I save any for the Marshal!]

"Meow-ow!" Yue'an agreed emphatically.

That's right!

After disposing of the last takeout container in the trash, Yue'an scampered towards the cat tree he hadn't properly explored yet, his neural interface bobbing along with him.

The little fluffball casually tossed the neural interface aside and dove into the small tunnel. The tracking camera hovered left and right at the tunnel entrance, only to be suddenly pounced on by the white ball of fur, pinned under his paw.

[Ahhhhh! Pounce on me instead!! I want to feel those toe beans so badly!]

[From this angle, the curve of his chin is so adorable. You can see his cute pink muzzle >////<]

[Oh my, you can even see his tiny fangs! They're so small and cute!!]

Yue'an batted at the unresisting camera a few times before losing interest. He retracted his paw and turned his attention to the plush toys hanging from the small platform above.

Cats are simply powerless against things that sway when touched.

Like cat wands, hanging plush toys, hopping insects and frogs, and birds flying in the sky.

Oh, and those laser pointers humans used to make.

Yue'an released the camera and jumped onto the first level of the cat tree, then leaped to the second. Crouching at the edge, he batted at the little toy mouse with his paw.

To be honest, it was a bit ugly.

But it was impressive that Ji Xiuyun had managed to identify the toy mouse from such old, blurry photo records and even handmade it.

Yue'an patted the green toy mouse, his little head swaying in sync with the toy.

[Hey, guys... do you smell calming wood?]

[Huh? I was too busy admiring the cat to notice.]

[You're right, and it seems like quite a large amount.]

[Now that you mention it, I'm feeling a bit drowsy.]

[Clever me, I've already notified several elders who suffer from insomnia to come and enjoy the calming wood effect.]

[Waaah, I want to pet him so badly QAQ]

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

[I want to pet him and keep him! When can we have a second cat?]

[□□ is illegal, you know :)]

[Shut up!]

[Cultivating life forms based on gene sequences is also illegal, you know :)]

[You're so annoying!!!]

[Pet theft is also... well, no one could steal a cat from the Marshal anyway...]

[...Waaah, what's wrong with wanting to keep a cat!!]

[Nothing's wrong! We can't keep cats, but we can send money.]

[Right, right, let's send money!]

[Come to think of it, the money Yue'an spent on takeout might be what we sent last time?]

[True, the Marshal wouldn't compete with a cat for money, would he?]

[I'd like to emphasize that cats are sentient beings. When we determine that a sentient species has no hostile intentions, we must treat them with friendliness and equality. This is written in the Basic Law and taught from early schooling!]

[Actually... the platform has released a lot of copyright information about Yue'an's image, but the details are still being negotiated with manufacturers — that's money too.]

[So, in the end, we're the ones supporting Yue'an.]

[!!!]

[Oh no! I can't control my money-throwing hands!]

[Then can little Yue'an enable tactile sensors?! It won't affect you!! You can set areas that are off-limits.]

[Please enable it... I've been working overtime for three months straight, and even my A-grade gene constitution can't take it anymore. The stress is killing me, I can almost see the grim reaper. Please, cat overlord, heal me a little o<-<]

Yue'an jumped down from the second level, pausing when he saw this comment.

"Meow?" Yue'an tilted his head, searching back and forth on the neural interface page for a long time, but couldn't find where this setting was.

[What are you looking for?]

[The sensor settings?]

Yue'an shook his ears at the camera: "Meow-ow~"

[The holographic sensor settings default to olfactory only. I think the sensor settings are under the third icon in the top right corner.]

Yue'an followed the instructions and found the settings. He promptly put a big X over his private parts and tail on the body model.

Then he obediently sat down and clicked confirm.

[!!!!]

[I'm dead!!!!!]

[Don't save me!! Nobody save me!!!]

[Waaaaaah I'm crying!! Mama, I touched a cat!!!]

[This is heaven!!!!]

[Ahhhhh!! My life hasn't been in vain after all!!]

[So soft, so soft QAQ]

[Ahhhhh I can't let go!]

Yue'an waited for a long time, but didn't see any more comments from the person who said they were working themselves to death with overtime.

He remained seated in place, his paws kneading the soft, fluffy carpet involuntarily.

Yue'an was particularly sensitive to the word "overtime."

His first owner, the little girl's father, had worked overtime for years until he collapsed, spending months in the hospital recovering.

The little girl had to study and went to bed early. Her father wasn't home when she went to sleep and had already left when she woke up. Sometimes, he even worked at the company for entire nights and weeks at a time.

The little girl had cried in her bed several times, hugging Yue'an and mumbling complaints about her dad working overtime. Her mother always attended parent-teacher conferences, and her classmates said she didn't have a father who cared for her.

The usually carefree girl who always smiled so widely her eyes disappeared into crescents, crying while hugging him, left a deep impression on Yue'an.

Yue'an was extremely grateful to this little girl who had taken him in when he was abandoned in a cardboard box and cared for him for a year.

If it wasn't for her, he probably would have died in that box.

So even when her parents secretly gave him away later, Yue'an didn't feel resentful - he had gone to see her afterward.

The little girl now had a younger sister, a British Shorthair cat, and a big Golden Retriever. Her father had been promoted successfully and no longer needed to work overtime desperately. The whole family lived harmoniously and happily every day.

On the desk in the little girl's room, there was a meticulously cleaned photo frame. It showed the little girl holding a newborn Yue'an, who had just opened his eyes and hadn't been weaned yet, her face beaming with joy.

Yue'an was content with this.

He also vividly remembered the reason that had made the little girl cry.

His tail swayed lazily on the fluffy carpet, his white fur distinct and glossy, almost glowing in the sunlight.

Yue'an stared intently at the interface.

[Wow, what a big surprise to come back to!!]

[It's so blissful to bury my face in the fluff when I maximize the screen! The fur feels so good, I can even roll around in it, and there's the warmth of sunlight! It's been raining for over three months where I live, and the combination of overtime and rain has been utterly depressing.]

[Thank you, little Yue'an. I feel like I can live on properly starting tomorrow. Could I perhaps borrow your belly for a quick nap? o<-<]

Seeing these comments appear, Yue'an felt inexplicably relieved. He meowed softly at the camera in front of him, "Meow-ow," and walked to a spot where he could enjoy the warm sunlight for an extended period, flopping down right there.

It's not just humans who want to sleep after a big meal; cats do too.

Add to that the effect of the calming wood, and it made one even drowsier.

When the Marshal returned home after a grueling day, he found not only a new dining cart in the dining room but also his cat sprawled out under the cat tree in the living room.

A camera hovered nearby, and the neural interface tossed on the edge of the sofa was broadcasting the sleeping cat in real-time, with countless new comment bubbles popping up endlessly.

Ji Xiuyun wasn't surprised; on his way back, he had already learned about the big news his cat had stirred up again.

Like starting a livestream and eating 360,000 credits worth of takeout, blacklisting the Imperial Research Department on live broadcast, being confirmed as a sentient species, enabling tactile sensors, and giving a treat to hundreds of billions of cat-obsessed fans...

The Marshal walked into the room, gently setting down two different styles of thought-sensing helmets he was carrying. He walked to the sofa and bent down to pick up the neural interface.

He glanced at the livestream duration.

7:21:45

The Marshal ended the livestream, took the neural interface, and squatted down next to Yue'an, picking up the camera and tucking it back into the neural interface.

Yue'an's ears twitched, and he lazily opened his eyes, exposing his little belly and swishing his tail.

"Get up if you're awake," the Marshal said, rubbing Yue'an's head.

Yue'an rolled over, got up, shook out his fur, and turned to look at the neural interface in Ji Xiuyun's hand. He reached out a little paw to poke it. "Meow-ow!"

Surprisingly, Ji Xiuyun immediately understood what Yue'an meant.

He obligingly opened the platform account, and seeing the nearly ten-digit balance, he profoundly recognized Yue'an's money-making ability.

Yue'an's eyes sparkled with delight: "Meow!"

"It's all yours," the Marshal said, handing the neural interface to Yue'an.

Hehehe.

Yue'an hugged the neural interface as if it were a great treasure.

The Marshal brought over the two thought-sensing helmets he had brought back. "You can order takeout if you don't want to eat in the cafeteria, but you must practice combat skills."

"This is for military use," the Marshal said, waving the black one in his left hand. Then he held up the red one in his right hand, "This is for civilian use."

Yue'an had no objections. The little cat, having earned a fortune, happily swished his tail: "Meow!"

He put down the neural interface, rolled over to sit up, and walked to the front door under Ji Xiuyun's watchful gaze.

"Meow!" Yue'an turned his head and meowed at Ji Xiuyun.

Ji Xiuyun: "Want to go out?"

Yue'an opened the door directly.

He had seen many food recommendations in the livestream comments, and apparently, there was a restaurant with quite good food in this military family residential area.

Ji Xiuyun didn't know where Yue'an wanted to go, so he simply followed behind, watching the little fellow look around carefully, choosing his route.

Yue'an looked as if he was confirming his territory, the Marshal thought, slowly striding along on his long legs.

The Marshal spent most of his time on battlefields and in military encampments, rarely having the opportunity to stroll so leisurely and peacefully in a residential area.

To be fair, the environment in this residential area for high-ranking military families was quite nice, with convenient transportation.

Everything that needed to enter this residential area had to first pass the inspection of the guards responsible for protecting the place, so the security level was also very high.

The Marshal was very familiar with the layout of this place, having memorized the entire map. But as for actually taking a leisurely stroll, he hadn't done so since his parents had sacrificed their lives.

Ji Xiuyun looked at the little ball of fluff leading the way in front of him, then at the surroundings rich with the atmosphere of daily life, and found this sense of leisurely living quite novel.

Yue'an led Ji Xiuyun through three intersections.

The Marshal didn't tell the little cat that they had already passed this intersection twice.

In a rare good mood and with some leisure time, the Marshal was willing to waste a bit of time accompanying the soft, fluffy little one.

Just as Yue'an had finally figured out the complex routes built by humans and was happily heading towards his destination, Marshal Ji suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Stopping at the same time as him was the Head of the Research Department, who had come from another path.

The two men, who had just come from battling it out in the military court, faced each other from a distance. One gritted his teeth, his face ashen, while the other remained expressionless and unmoved.

Fate works in mysterious ways.