ITOTIABSAM | Interstellar Orcs | 109
Having an intelligent protagonist become emperor has its benefits, one of which is saving him from many baseless suspicions directed at Gu Cong.
Of course, perhaps one reason for this is that neither the Xie nor the Gu families could leave heirs behind. When Yan Beilin ascended the throne, there was a wave of cleansing in the court.
Apart from the Fourth Prince's faction, there were also officials like Gu Cong who remained neutral throughout. Although they were not promoted, they were not affected either.
After all, the functioning of the court requires officials. If everyone were to be killed, it would only give headaches to Yan Beilin himself.
As for whether the other party would settle scores after stabilizing their foundation, Gu Cong had no worries about this. If the grasslands and the Yan Dynasty could maintain peace indefinitely, he actually had no intention of being a general for his entire life.
Throughout history, the world has been divided and united repeatedly. Fortunately, during the years when the protagonist and the emperor ruled together, it was the heyday of the Yan Dynasty. Although Yan Beilin had ambitions, he did not expand his territory through warfare, but rather focused on governance, strengthening his own state, and attracting neighboring small countries to pay homage voluntarily.
In the fifteenth year of Yan Beilin's reign, with the country prosperous and the people at peace, Gu Cong, weary of the factional struggles in the military, submitted a request and retired to the mountains with Xie Ye.
Compared to other animals, the lifespan of horses is long enough. Although Wuyun and Ta Xue are getting older, their steps are still vigorous as they carry Gu Cong and Xie Ye, enjoying the many beautiful scenes in the world.
The early battles left too many hidden wounds. For the first time, Gu Cong walked ahead of Xie Ye. When the person beside him no longer breathed, Xie Ye closed his eyes, and Gu Cong, like in the past, sat by his bedside.
Their intertwined hands gradually grew cold, and he finally experienced what it was like to be the one left behind.
In a calm akin to drifting into sleep, Xie Ye whispered softly, "System."
【Withdraw.】
He was familiar with the sensation of dizziness, and once again, he fell into darkness.
Drip, drip.
Like a classic scene from a horror movie, the monotonous sound of water broke through his drowsiness, awakening Xie Ye's consciousness.
Opening his emerald eyes, he found himself lying in a narrow alley, soaked through, with rainwater streaming down from the eaves, carrying dust and dirt, making him feel dirty.
Was he injured?
Or was he on the run?
As he lifted his hand, Xie Ye's pupils contracted.
Tangled, dusty fur was wrapped around it.
—A paw.
"Eh? Eh!" It took a moment for 1101's mechanical voice to locate the host, "Xie...Xie Ye, you seem to be a small kitten."
Xie Ye: ...
Four limbs, a tail... Clearly, it was the body of a small kitten, but he didn't have the familiar feeling of control. Swaying unsteadily as he stood up, Xie Ye approached a small puddle on the left side, lowered his head, and indeed saw the face of a cat reflected back at him.
It was small in size, about the length of an adult's forearm, excluding the wet and no longer fluffy tail behind it.
The fur on the head was cleaner than the rest of the body, mostly white with a hint of silver at the tail end. The eyes were like the clearest emerald, with pupils as black as can be. In the dim light of the current environment, they were round and not dilated, giving off an innocent appearance.
Most importantly, the legs were a bit short.
It was clear that this was a domestic breed with no significant threat.
Just how weak was the protagonist of this world, or was he also an animal? Otherwise, how could a cat become the antagonist?
"Uh... actually, you're a human," 1101 quickly recalled the original story and reminded, "Do you know about the beastman society? It's like a space version now."
In short, humans in this world had the ability to transform into animals naturally. They could sense each other in special ways, distinguishing them from ordinary, wild animals.
Beastmen, transformed from humans, possessed immense strength. Over time, they evolved various abilities. Among them, the outstanding individuals would be conscripted by the federation, involved in politics, and military, becoming top-tier citizens.
Unfortunately, none of this mattered to his alter self. In the original story, which was a light-hearted novel, his identity was that of the CEO of a technology company in the capital city.
However, due to a kidnapping incident, he accidentally lost his human scent and couldn't transform back into human form, becoming a full-fledged "beast."
Or rather, a stray cat.
During this most fearful and vulnerable time, his alter self encountered the protagonist, who took him home and took care of him diligently. So when the medication in his body metabolized and his alter self regained his human form, in a cliché and melodramatic turn of events, he began to compete ruthlessly with the protagonist for the affection of the protagonist's love interest. In the end, he lost both his love and his wealth, even his company.
Struggling to suppress the urge to lick his fur, Xie Ye frowned and shook off the water droplets from his body. "It was Xie Tianhua who kidnapped me?"
"Exactly," the cute and sweet-looking little cat was right in front of him, and the tone of 1101 softened a bit. "He's always had a grudge against you as the illegitimate child."
Xie Ye was born into a prestigious family but was a hidden illegitimate child. While his parents and siblings were majestic white tigers, he was just an ordinary white cat.
After his mother's death, he was taken back to the Xie family. Due to being too young, he couldn't control his transformation freely. When he fell asleep, he would turn into a palm-sized kitten.
Xie Tianhua resented Xie Ye for taking away his father's love, Xie Tianhua would put on a friendly face in public but would transform into a tiger in private, chasing and biting Xie Ye as if he were a ball.
By the time he reached high school, the bullying became even more severe. Despite being an adult cat, Xie Ye's size couldn't compare to that of a tiger, especially with Xie Tianhua always surrounded by his group of friends.
As a human, Xie Tianhua showed some restraint, which made Xie Ye's life a bit easier. However, like his sudden transformation into a beast, Xie Ye naturally carried a rare neurological disorder.
It was called Kleine-Levin Syndrome, commonly known as Sleeping Beauty Syndrome.
He would fall into a deep sleep without warning, regardless of time or place. Taking advantage of these episodes, Xie Tianhua would use medication to forcibly transform Xie Ye into a cat. Then, he would wake him up from his dreams and play a hunting game.
Until Xie Ye graduated from university and established himself, swallowing up several businesses and becoming the well-known and formidable Xie Group's rising star, bidding farewell to the past in just five years.
On the other hand, Xie Tianhua, after taking over the company, faced several major project failures, and his father's health deteriorated rapidly.
Seeing the company on the verge of collapse while Xie Ye's career was flourishing, Xie Father couldn't help but entertain the idea of bringing Xie Ye back home to take over the sinking ship and turn things around. This undoubtedly infuriated Xie Tianhua.
In a fit of rage after yet another argument with his father and getting drunk, Xie Tianhua decided to take drastic action and hired someone to abduct Xie Ye.
Ever since entering university and distancing himself from his family, Xie Ye hadn't exposed his beast form again. Nobody understood better than him why this was the case. It was precisely because of this that he wanted to capture Xie Ye’s most pathetic moments on tape, revealing to everyone that the esteemed Xie Group CEO was nothing more than a trembling kitten in his grasp.
He wanted the whole world to see the version of himself that Xie Ye detested the most.
However, things took an unexpected turn. The drug injected into Xie Ye by Xie Tianhua to forcibly maintain his beast form for an extended period turned out to be unstable and experimental.
Xie Ye transformed into a real cat.
A cat that couldn't be recognized by humans, vulnerable and easy to manipulate.
Seizing the opportunity while Xie Tianhua was momentarily stunned by this turn of events, Xie Ye unleashed unprecedented potential, scratching the man's face and escaping through the narrow ventilation ducts.
Then, the Sleeping Beauty Syndrome struck, and he collapsed in the alley.
When he opened his eyes again, his soul had returned to his true form.
【Both Xie Ye's home and company are far from here, so he's probably afraid that Xie Tianhua will directly go to these two places to intercept him.】Accessing the surveillance of the entire capital planet, 1101 quickly discerned, "You were very cautious. The escape routes you took are all in blind spots. For the unavoidable camera shots, I'll replace the footage."
Avoiding the puddles, the rain-drenched cat continued walking outward.
1101: "Don't you want to rest for a while and wait for the rain to stop?" There's at least an old-model intelligent trash bin nearby, which, controlled by it, could help block the wind for the host.
Xie Ye: "I'm not interested in being picked up by the protagonist."
Even less interested in the dog-blooded plot that would follow.
"True," almost forgetting to scan the host's body data, 1101 paused for two seconds before reminding, "Your left front paw... your left hand is injured. Maybe I can blind the cameras and disable the checkpoint mechanism, so we should be able to wait for an empty hover bus and hitch a ride."
In the interstellar society, it's the perfect world for it to operate in.
Slightly awkwardly, Xie Ye raised his paw to inspect it, staring at his pink paw pad in silence for a long time.
There was indeed a deep and long cut on it, probably from Xie Ye injuring himself while escaping. At this moment, it had scabbed over and wasn't bleeding, so Xie Ye, feeling sore all over, didn't pay attention to it.
Trying to get used to walking on all fours and dragging a big tail behind him, Xie Ye placed his left paw back on the ground. "Let's get out of here."
【Let's go.】
Outside the alley, neon lights shimmered in the rain and mist. The sky was dark, with few pedestrians passing by. Under 1101's intrusion, the cylindrical, patrol-intelligent AI units all turned a blind eye to the cat suddenly appearing on the street, rolling past Xie Ye.
From this low and unfamiliar perspective, the surroundings, already unfamiliar, became an even stranger and more bizarre world.
Not seeing Gu Cong for the first time made him feel a bit anxious.
But soon, "ding-ling," a 24-hour convenience store opened its doors, and a pair of long legs in trousers stepped out from inside. A gentle female mechanical voice sounded: "Thank you for your patronage."
"Welcome back next time."
A person.
A person taller than a mountain to a cat.
Xie Ye instinctively wanted to hide in a corner, but he heard 1101's excitement: "It's Gu Cong! It's Gu Cong!"
His tail stiffened, and he strained to look up, meeting a pair of familiar amber eyes.
In a suit, tie, and leather shoes, Gu Cong was dressed in an elite attire that Xie Ye rarely saw. He held an umbrella in one hand and a plastic bag filled with fast food in the other.
Just stepping out of the convenience store, Gu Cong still carried the warmth of the store and the aroma of fast food. His stomach, long deprived of food, grumbled in protest. If it were any other cat, they would probably have already approached while meowing.
But Xie Ye felt a bit repulsed by his dirty appearance and unconsciously stepped back.
However, he underestimated his short little legs.
With just one step, Gu Cong caught up to him, squatting down and tilting the umbrella to cover Xie Ye. "Are you lost?" he asked. "Don't be afraid, I mean no harm."
Author's note:
The fifth world opens, and the true cat is online.
1 Comments
Kitty!! Lol tq
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