The Fourth Fleet Commander, who had just finished gently squeezing the small paw pads, obligingly pulled over the holographic panel floating nearby.
Marshal Xiu Jun glanced at the panel, initially intending to skim over it quickly. However, his gaze lingered, and he found himself looking back at it more carefully.
He realized that the characters on the panel were in complete disarray, riddled with typos. Even after a cursory glance, he couldn't make sense of the titles.
"Who did..." the Marshal began to ask, but his words trailed off as he looked down at the small furry bundle crouched in front of him.
The little ball of fur also tilted its head up, its beautiful azure cat eyes staring intently at him.
Marshal Xiu Jun: "..."
Alright, now he knew exactly whose handiwork this panel was.
It must have been quite a challenge for Yue'an to type out so many characters with his tiny paws. After all, those little paws were both small and short, and Yue'an himself wasn't known for his patience. Tapping a few buttons to input words that could be predicted by autocomplete was one thing, but writing out long sentences would have been torturous for him.
The fact that he had managed to produce even this basic panel was worthy of encouragement. Usually, even if you placed a panel in front of Yue'an and asked him to type a few words, he would swat it away with a paw and continue his willful meowing.
As the Marshal examined the panel, he found himself irresistibly correcting the typos and jumbled sentences, all the while wondering how his three fleet commanders could possibly tolerate such poorly written panel documents.
"Mahjong rules?" the Marshal inquired as he continued his corrections.
The Fourth Fleet Commander nodded. "Yes, it's an ancient Earth game for entertainment. Quite interesting, actually. It helps train mental arithmetic, quick memorization, observation skills, and even counter-intelligence through facial expression management. The rules... well, Yue'an spent the entire morning painstakingly typing them out."
Yue'an puffed out his little chest proudly, his tail swishing back and forth, his eyes sparkling as he gazed at the Marshal.
Xiu Jun looked at his cat, meeting those expectant feline eyes. He swallowed the criticism and list of errors he had been about to voice, instead reaching out to pat Yue'an's head.
"Not bad," the Marshal said. "We still have a few primer books at home."
Yue'an: "..."
I just wanted praise.
I don't want to study.
Studying makes cats lose weight.
The Marshal eyed him knowingly.
Objection overruled.
Yue'an turned around, presenting his backside to Xiu Jun in protest.
Marshal Xiu Jun observed the tip of Yue'an's tail as it swayed back and forth in front of him. Judging from the frequency and force of the swaying, he deduced that Yue'an wasn't actually upset.
The lazy, casual swishing, with the tail slightly arched, clearly indicated a good mood. The pouty act was just for show.
Xiu Jun tilted his head and continued examining the panel.
In essence, it described the rules of a game, but it was riddled with typos and the logic of the explanation was terribly flawed. It was a perfect example of feline-style composition—writing whatever came to mind, wherever it seemed to fit, with complete creative freedom.
If you can't understand it, it's because your IQ is too low, Yue'an seemed to imply.
The fleet commanders' IQs were far from low, however. After being thoroughly thrashed by Yue'an (who understood the rules) for two hours, they finally managed to decipher the game's mechanics from the typo-laden instructions. They then proceeded to exact a brutal four-hour revenge on the cat.
By the end of those four hours, Yue'an felt like his fur had been nearly plucked bare.
However, the scene that Yue'an and the three fleet commanders had been anticipating—playing mahjong together with Xiu Jun—did not materialize.
Because after the Marshal had finished editing the typo-filled and grammatically incorrect document (his perfectionism kicking in), he casually hit save, stood up, picked up his cat, and turned to leave.
Yue'an: ??
The three fleet commanders: ????
Wait a minute?
This wasn't how the script was supposed to go!
Yue'an, being carried, flailed his four paws in the air: "Meow!"
The Marshal paused mid-step and reached down to support the cat's bottom. "What is it?"
Yue'an, now sitting in the Marshal's hand, extended a paw towards the group of three fleet commanders.
What happened to avenging me as promised?!
"No time for games," Xiu Jun said, tucking Yue'an into his pocket.
Yue'an was about to struggle and climb out when his paw lightly brushed against something small and hard.
He paused, burrowing back into the pocket to take a look. The two chips he had retrieved last night were nestled safely there.
Yue'an immediately became docile.
After all, his future catnip supply depended on this.
Marshal Xiu Jun brought Yue'an home.
After resting for one night, he would once again be taking the Research Department to court—specifically targeting the No. 1 Tier Laboratory.
This time, it wouldn't be a military tribunal, but the Empire's Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court was renowned for its absolute strictness, fairness, and transparency.
As per usual procedure, once the court had verified and investigated the case evidence and accepted his lawsuit application, the formal hearing would commence three days later.
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Xiu Jun hadn't specifically informed the Military Publicity Department or his legal team about his personal matters, knowing they would dig deep into every detail—partly out of curiosity, partly due to professional ethics. They would need to match every statement with corresponding evidence.
In the coming days, they would liaise with the Acting Director of the Research Department, obtain relevant evidence, and seek professional assistance in preparation for the court hearing.
Although the outside world would eventually learn about the Marshal's past as an SS-grade genetic test subject, there was a vast difference between knowing this fact and having the experimental records laid bare as evidence before them.
It was like the difference between someone telling you "My foot hurts" versus "I accidentally kicked a needle and it went under my toenail, tearing off a piece of flesh." The former is vague and might elicit sympathy, while the latter, even just reading the words, can induce a visceral, painful reaction.
Xiu Jun was well aware of his standing in the military and among the general public.
If the textual and audiovisual records of the experiments were to be released, all hell would break loose. Not only would the staff of the No. 1 Tier Laboratory face an explosion of outrage, but the reputation of the entire Research Department and all scientific researchers would plummet instantly.
The Marshal did not wish to see such a situation unfold.
The pursuit of understanding life, exploring the universe, and seeking out fundamental truths was, in itself, a highly commendable endeavor.
But ordinary people, blinded by anger and a sense of righteousness, wouldn't see things as clearly and precisely as he did. They would likely condemn the entire scientific community, developing a sense of disgust and fear towards this group.
When drafting the lawsuit documents, the Marshal had strongly emphasized that the experimental details used as evidence must not be made public.
Upon returning home with Yue'an, Xiu Jun, feeling exhausted, rubbed his temples and rested on the sofa for a good while before picking up the two chips that Yue'an had retrieved.
When Yue'an had taken the chips, he hadn't brought the box, so he couldn't tell which one was for catnip and which one contained Xiu Jun's records.
Xiu Jun, for his part, assumed both chips contained his experimental records.
Even at this moment, Xiu Jun still believed that Yue'an had stormed into the Research Department out of anger over being attacked, coupled with the uproar caused by the live stream comments about the SS-grade genetic body. He assumed Yue'an had gone there with the intention of bashing in the heads of those responsible.
The Marshal hadn't doubted for a second that the chips Yue'an had retrieved would be anything but useful. His cat might be lazy, but he was incredibly intelligent.
As these thoughts ran through his mind, Xiu Jun inserted one of the chips into his holo-computer.
Yue'an rolled over on the carpet, leaped onto the sofa, and crouched on Xiu Jun's lap, exposing his little belly. His front paws wrapped around one of the Marshal's hands.
Xiu Jun was tall, his entire body larger than the average person's, including his hands. When he spread his fingers, he could encompass almost all of Yue'an—leaving only the cat's small head exposed.
Yue'an hugged his hand, gently patting it with his little paws, as if checking the ripeness of a watermelon before purchase.
While waiting for the chip's encryption to be broken, the Marshal lowered his head, watching the small furball on his lap. He occasionally moved the hand that was embraced by the soft, warm little body, straightening his index and middle fingers to scratch Yue'an's chin now and then.
Yue'an opened his mouth and gently bit Xiu Jun's index finger, not applying any pressure. His pearl-white canines and soft pink tongue lightly grazed the finger pad, causing a slight tickling sensation.
The Marshal allowed him to nibble, reaching out with his other hand to grab a second primer book from the table.
"If you have nothing to do at home, study this," he said.
Yue'an tilted his head up for a glance, then curled up in the Marshal's palm, pretending not to have seen it. His tail remained outside, swishing back and forth lazily.
Seeing this reaction, Xiu Jun put the book aside and glanced at the now decrypted interface. He gently extracted his hand from Yue'an's embrace and clicked into the main page.
His eyebrows suddenly twitched.
"Catnip reagent?"
Yue'an's voice was syrupy sweet: "Meow!"
The Marshal gave his cat a meaningful look as Yue'an started to act coy. He moved the experimental records to one side and opened the backup of the cat's file he had copied earlier. After searching for "catnip," he picked up the cat from his lap.
"You went to the Research Department for this?" the Marshal asked. "The reagent they used when they caught you, was it this?"
"Meow!" Yue'an's answer was quick and decisive. Then he stretched out his front paws to touch Xiu Jun's face, acting adorable. "Meow~"
The Marshal was at a loss for words.
Who could have imagined that Yue'an's rampage through the Research Department wasn't due to feeling offended or seeking revenge on Xiu Jun's behalf, but was actually for the catnip that few people even knew about?
If he said this out loud, Xiu Jun wouldn't believe it himself.
The staff at No. 1 Tier Lab would probably faint from anger if they knew.
After all, before leaving the military prison, those two were still furiously claiming that he had used Yue'an to enter the Research Department and frame them.
The Marshal hadn't anticipated this turn of events either.
The No. 1 Tier Lab staff had practically used their lives and careers to vividly demonstrate what it means to "let the cat in," to be "caught off guard," and to experience the "utterly unexpected."
Yue'an continued to roll around and act cute: "Meow~"
The Marshal removed the chip, marking it: "I'll hand this over to the Science Team."
Satisfied, Yue'an sat up, contentedly grooming his ruffled fur while perched on Xiu Jun's lap.
The Marshal looked at the other chip and asked him: "This one?"
"Meow." Yue'an nudged the chip towards Xiu Jun.
"Mine?" Xiu Jun said as he inserted the chip into the holo-computer.
"Meow!"
Yue'an lifted his little head and raised one front paw.
Then, as the Marshal gently squeezed his paw with a slightly puzzled expression, a small flame suddenly appeared at the tip of Yue'an's claw.
"Meow!"
Not only did I bring back the chip for you!
I also burned the remaining muscle tissue and blood samples!
Bet you didn't expect that!
The Marshal, with his zero-level cat language skills, indeed did not expect it.
He glanced at the small hole burned in his sleeve by the tiny flame and admonished, "Don't play with fire."
The chip recording the SS-grade genetic body contained a vast amount of information.
The Marshal had no interest in revisiting the painful sights of his younger self, so he skipped the audio-visual files and quickly scanned through the text.
The results were disappointing.
After all this time, they were still only at the level of speculation, without even a precise conclusion about the SS-grade genetic body.
Xiu Jun skimmed through the records, ejected the chip, and extracted the parts that could serve as evidence for future use. Then he rubbed his temples, showing signs of fatigue.
He hadn't closed his eyes since yesterday.
Tomorrow, he would need to wake up early.
The Marshal looked at the cat, already curled up on the sofa with eyes half-closed, about to fall asleep. Without hesitation, he picked up Yue'an and headed upstairs.
The next day, media outlets across the various star systems of the Cinters Empire, despite their time differences, all received explosive news.
— Marshal Xiu Jun of the Empire, who had previously withdrawn his lawsuit due to an incident involving his cat, was once again taking the Research Department to court!
This time, it wasn't due to accusations from others, but stemmed from Marshal Xiu Jun himself, with a very specific target.
He was suing all six research staff members of the Empire's Research Department's No. 1 Tier Laboratory, including the three who had been suspended pending investigation and the former head of the Research Department who had resigned to take responsibility.
This time, the chosen prosecuting authority was no longer the military tribunal that had accepted the military's accusations, but the Empire's Supreme Court.
This was a special court renowned for its absolute strictness, fairness, and impartiality. It was said to neither cover up nor be swayed by public opinion, operating strictly according to laws and regulations. It didn't accept random applications except for major injustices or important cases, and would conduct extensive, detailed investigations before formally opening a trial.
It had been three years since the Supreme Court's last trial.
This time, the court swiftly accepted Marshal Xiu Jun's accusation and announced on the same day that the first hearing would take place in three days.
The situation investigation lasted only one day, which, compared to the Supreme Court's usual month-long detailed investigations, seemed as fast as a rocket launch!
But what did this imply?
It suggested that the plaintiff's evidence was so substantial that it only needed verification rather than a new investigation!
Everyone knew that just the night before, Marshal Xiu Jun had furiously led troops into the Research Department!
What exactly had happened in between??
The media went into a frenzy, swarming towards the Empire's Supreme Court in an attempt to glean any information from the staff.
Meanwhile, Yue'an's livestream channel, which had garnered some of their attention, was open as usual.
In the video, the small white furball was seen carrying a box of oddly patterned stone cubes with his tail. He raised his soft, fluffy paw and knocked on the door of Marshal Kevin's residence.