Stardate 2017, November 2nd.

The Synthes Empire, boasting control over the eighteen most resource-rich galaxy systems known to mankind and tens of thousands of habitable planets, was rocked by shocking news!

Marshal Shi Xiuyun, the youngest of the empire's three supreme commanders, had been ambushed during a routine inspection tour. His whereabouts were currently unknown.

As soon as this news broke, it garnered attention from all corners of the empire.

Shi Xiuyun was a military leader held in high regard throughout the Synthes Empire. Young and capable, with exceptional military acumen, he was the empire's sharp blade in expanding its territories. He had conquered an entire galaxy system for the empire, earning him the moniker "Silver Blade," the God of War of Synthes.

Most importantly, in this grand cosmic era where the average life expectancy stretched beyond three hundred years, this marshal had just turned ninety - still in his prime, with an incredibly bright future ahead of him.

Under mounting public pressure, the military department spent two days feigning ignorance before finally buckling. They dispatched a press officer to confirm the news, stating that while there was no concrete evidence of Marshal Shi's demise, search and rescue teams had been deployed to the region where he had disappeared.

Despite this announcement, the public held little hope. After all, official reports indicated that the ambush occurred in the main star of the Thirteenth Galaxy System, a border region, just before entering the planet's atmosphere.

In other words, Marshal Shi had vanished in the vast expanse of space before reaching a habitable human world.

Disappearing in space meant facing not only various radiation issues without a protective suit but also the vacuum environment that could kill a person within minutes.

Even for a commander of the "Army of War Gods" with the highest genetic enhancements, the fact remained that humans were extremely vulnerable in the cosmic environment.

Throughout the Synthes Empire, young women who admired the hero and harbored a sort of idol complex fell into a collective gloom.

On the social platforms of the galactic network, people had already begun lighting virtual candles for this outstanding commander who had likely perished in the vast cosmos.

The military department was infuriated by these pessimistic civilians!

The marshal's death hadn't been officially confirmed yet!

They hadn't even found a body!

Couldn't people think more positively?

However, the military's optimism was shattered just a day later. Media outlets went into a frenzy, releasing report after report:

The Fifth Search and Rescue Team detected an anomalous gravitational field at the border of the Thirteenth Galaxy System!

The First Search and Rescue Team recovered spacecraft debris at the Thirteenth Galaxy System's border. On-site material analysis confirmed it to be remnants of the propulsion system from Marshal Shi's flagship, the "War God."

The Eighth Search and Rescue Team discovered mecha fragments at the edge of the Thirteenth Galaxy System, confirming them to be from the main power source of the marshal's "Silver Blade" unit!

The Sixth Search and Rescue Team located the main body of the "Silver Blade" mecha, with damage levels reaching 93%!

The Third Search and Rescue Team successfully recovered the main body of the "War God" flagship, 70% damaged, with the bodies of two of the marshal's personal guards found inside!

As these messages continued to pour in, the shadow looming over the empire's citizens grew ever darker. The last remnants of hope in the military department were being hammered away, piece by piece.

It wasn't until the fifth day that the military received a message from the Fourth Search and Rescue Team through internal communication channels, reigniting a glimmer of hope for a miracle.

The Fourth Team reported that they had located the wreckage of the "War God's" escape pod section. After data restoration, it showed that all six escape pods had been safely ejected.

With no sign of the marshal's body, there was still hope.

After a tense week of searching, the military headquarters on the imperial planet received news from the First Army Corps, which had been on the inspection tour with Marshal Shi Xiuyun.

They had found traces of the marshal and confirmed his well-being. The entire army was now breaking camp and would return to the imperial planet with the marshal in three days!

The military department heaved a collective sigh of relief. The following day, they finally managed to establish communication with the marshal who had been missing for a week.

One of Shi Xiuyun's capable generals, who had been waiting anxiously, reported in detail about the internal spy purge that had taken place following the marshal's disappearance.

"If possible, we hope you could make an appearance before the media when we reach the imperial planet," the military's press officer said nervously, looking at the hologram before him.

"Understood," the marshal in the projection nodded, his voice as cold and unyielding as millennia-old ice.

Unlike his relaxed demeanor when dealing with Yue'an, Shi Xiuyun habitually maintained a stern facade, devoid of emotion, when facing his small, milky-white companion alone.

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But in front of colleagues and the public, he always kept himself tightly wound.

The empire needed a sharp blade, the military needed a pillar of support, and the people needed a beacon.

Someone had to stand at the pinnacle, at the forefront, to lead them, protect them, and give them a sense of security.

Shi Xiuyun was that figure.

Marshal Kevin's golden age had passed, his physical condition declining. Shi Xiuyun was universally seen as the promising successor.

So he had to be sharp, resilient, and fierce.

This aura, even across the vast expanse of space and time, through a mere hologram, was enough to make the desk-bound military officer, who had never seen a battlefield, tremble.

After a brief exchange, the marshal was the first to cut the communication.

The press officer exhaled deeply, took a moment to compose himself, and then hurried off to prepare for the press conference.

The missing imperial marshal had not perished; he was returning unscathed with his troops!

This news electrified the populace. Media outlets mobilized en masse, camping out a full day early at the location provided by the military.

Meanwhile, the marshal, eagerly awaited by millions, was undergoing a physical examination on his battleship.

No one knew what Shi Xiuyun had been through. They only knew that the ambush had caused the marshal's disappearance, resulted in severe damage to the battleship and mecha, and cost the lives of two personal guards.

Everyone had prepared for the worst - the marshal being critically wounded, on the brink of death, or even having perished. But to everyone's surprise, when Shi Xiuyun made contact, he was completely unharmed. When the reconnaissance ship picked him up, he was in high spirits, showing no signs of distress.

For the medics responsible for the marshal's health, it was even more astonishing.

All of Shi Xiuyun's old wounds and chronic ailments had vanished, his entire body renewed.

If not for the various identity verification procedures confirming this was indeed the marshal himself, the medics conducting the examination would have suspected their leader had been replaced by an impostor.

For those who had crawled through the crucible of war, it was rare to find anyone without lingering injuries or chronic conditions.

Marshal Shi Xiuyun, known as the Silver Blade God of War, was particularly susceptible to battle scars — despite his high-level genetic optimization and formidable mental strength, he couldn't escape this inevitable result of warfare.

However, upon his return from his mysterious disappearance, Shi Xiuyun's body had miraculously recovered to the peak condition his genetic level allowed!

In the medical bay, the medics repeatedly examined the returned marshal, finally having to admit that their initial assessment wasn't wrong.

"Marshal, did something happen? Your body..."

"Mm." Shi Xiuyun grunted in response, donning his military uniform and sitting up. His gaze shifted to the small white furball squeezing through the door crack.

"Meow!"

Yue'an leaped onto the bed, perching on Shi Xiuyun's leg. It extended its claws, shredding a corner of the hospital bed mattress to express its dissatisfaction.

"Meow! Meow meow!"

"..." The marshal lowered his head, meeting the little creature's gaze for two seconds before understanding its meaning. He explained, "I had to undergo an examination."

Yue'an scratched the mattress again: "Meow!"

Is that your excuse for abandoning me among a bunch of strangers?!

This ship is so big! If it weren't for my keen sense of smell, I wouldn't have found you!

Yue'an thought, angrily clawing at the mattress again.

The two medics watched the milk-white little animal throwing a tantrum, both slightly worried that it might be splattered with blood the next second — who didn't know that Marshal Shi was a cold-blooded, ruthless killing machine!

But the reality was starkly different from their imagination. Under the astonished and somewhat horrified gaze of the two medics, the marshal picked up the little furball and said, "It won't happen again."

Yue'an remained silent.

Its beautiful cat eyes contracted into thin lines under the bright lights of the medical bay, revealing a shallow, pretty light blue.

The marshal glanced at the two medics standing nearby, placed the white furball on his shoulder, and walked out.

Yue'an felt uncomfortable, pressed against the epaulettes on Shi Xiuyun's military coat, but it knew better than to embarrass a marshal in public.

So it waited until they left the medical bay before swatting Shi Xiuyun's face with a paw, then unceremoniously slid into his coat, only poking its little head out from his chest.

"...Sorry." Shi Xiuyun realized that not everyone could face an unfamiliar environment as calmly as he could.

Especially not the little creature he had brought from its home planet — Yue'an's size suggested it wasn't even fully grown yet.

"How about I compensate you with an energy crystal?" He reached out, patting Yue'an's little head and scratching under its chin as it tilted its head up. "And some snacks too."

The marshal's chin-scratching technique, perfected over several days, was just right. The little furball in his arms narrowed its eyes in pleasure, its ears flattening, purring contentedly, looking utterly blissful.

The sensation under his hand was pleasant, fluffy, and warm.

The marshal stroked for a while before lowering his hand. Yue'an shook its ears and looked up at Shi Xiuyun.

"Meow."

I'll forgive you this time, for the sake of the energy crystal.

Yue'an thought, extending a paw from under Shi Xiuyun's coat to reach for the marshal's hand.

Clearly, it wanted more chin scratches.

However, the marshal gently pressed its paw down, his expression turning cold as he watched several soldiers turn the corner.

The soldiers were startled for a moment.

They quickly saluted: "Marshal!"

Shi Xiuyun nodded slightly, then walked past them.

Yue'an's little head kept peeking at the left chest of their uniforms, its beautiful blue eyes wide open.

After the soldiers were out of view, Yue'an turned to look at the emblem on Shi Xiuyun's left chest.

It wasn't the familiar flag design.

Could it be that the regime had changed again in these decades or nearly a century?

As Yue'an was pondering this, its keen ears caught the soldiers' hushed conversation.

"Is that the little creature even the science division couldn't identify?"

"Yes, I heard it ran from the cockpit earlier. Didn't get to see it then, didn't expect to encounter it here."

"It's quite cute actually."

"Seems a bit out of place with the marshal."

"Ha! As if it would suit you better?"

"..."

Yue'an's little ears twitched, delighted to hear the humans praising its cuteness.

Shi Xiuyun carried Yue'an through the wide, bright corridors of the battleship back to his quarters.

As the door opened, boxes of snacks in the corner immediately caught the eye.

He took Yue'an out of his arms, but instead of opening the snacks, he carried Yue'an straight to the bathroom.

Man and cat faced the mirror.

Yue'an looked bewildered.

After a long moment, the marshal slightly furrowed his brow, looking at his reflection in his pitch-black, crisp military uniform and the snow-white Yue'an.

"Don't we match?"

We look perfectly suitable together, the marshal thought confidently.

Yue'an: ...

Do you really not see how a cute little cat like me doesn't match your default cold expression?

"I think we match well," as if seeing through Yue'an's silent thoughts, the marshal calmly asked, "Yue'an, what do you think?"

Yue'an swished its tail and lowered its head to lick its paw.

"One energy crystal," the marshal said.

Yue'an paused: "..."

The marshal's expression remained unchanged as he raised the offer: "Two."

Yue'an looked up at him.

"Three," Marshal Shi looked at Yue'an, holding out his palm, and asked, "Do we match?"

Yue'an promptly placed its paw on Shi Xiuyun's palm, unhesitatingly bowing to the power of energy crystals.

"Meow!"

We match, we match! No one could match better than us!

Whoever says we don't match, I, Yue'an, will jump up and smash their dog head!