Huo Jiuxiao picked up Ruan Bai, placed him in his lap, and put the optical computer back on him.
“I was wrong. Don’t be mad anymore. Hmm?” His deep, magnetic voice carried an obvious coaxing tone.
For the past two days, Xiao Bai hadn’t paid any attention to him, sticking closely to that tabby cat instead, clearly still angry that he had taken his optical computer.
Ruan Bai ignored him.
Hua Hua said that humans are the best at taking an inch and wanting a mile.
He couldn’t be coaxed so easily; otherwise, the man would dare to snatch his spirit stones next time.
Seeing the huffy little kitten, Marshal Huo pinched his tiny paws.
He opened his optical computer right in front of him and browsed the snack section.
“Does Xiao Bai like eating snacks?”
The Marshal hadn’t thought about buying snacks for Xiao Bai before. At that time, he didn’t know whether the little cat demon’s diet was the same as an ordinary cat’s, and he was terrified that the little kitty might get an upset stomach.
However, over the past few days, Xiao Bai had been eating with him.
He wouldn’t take a single bite of food specially made for cats.
Aside from disliking nutrient solution, he liked pretty much all human food, he was a genuine little foodie.
After eating human food for so long, his checkup results were still completely normal.
In that case, having some snacks in moderation was fine.
Xiao Bai was still young, so naturally, whatever human children had, he could have too.
If Ruan Bai knew what he was thinking, he would probably roll his eyes at him and inform him that he was a great demon who had lived for tens of thousands of years.
Although most of that time had been spent sleeping.
Ruan Bai pulled his little paws back, tucked them against his chest, and turned around to face away from Huo Jiuxiao, looking completely un-tempted.
It would have been much more convincing if those two sharp little ears of his hadn’t perked up and twitched from time to time.
Seeing him like this, Huo Jiuxiao’s heart melted completely: “What do you want to eat? Come take a look, I’ll buy it for you.”
The little cat demon, who hadn’t eaten many snacks, was instantly tempted and turned back around.
He still had some misgivings about what Hua Hua said regarding taking an inch and wanting a mile, so he grabbed onto the Marshal’s arm with his two little paws and meowed cutely to act spoiled.
Marshal Huo, who didn’t understand cat language, was suddenly struck by a flash of inspiration.
“I won’t snatch your optical computer in the future.” He specified that he wouldn’t snatch it; if the little cat demon handed it over of his own accord, that wouldn’t be breaking his promise.
Bai Bai, who had never witnessed human cunning before, was very happy.
“Meow~”
He also wanted spirit stones.
Ruan Bai had only ever seen other little cubs acting spoiled with their parents, and whatever they wanted, their parents would buy it for them.
But he had no parents.
From the moment he gained consciousness, he had been a homeless little cat demon wandering outside.
The monsters on Myriad Monster Mountain were very nice; they always thought he was weak and would take extra care of him.
Actually, he wasn’t weak.
He could beat up some minor monsters when he was very young.
But those minor monsters would cry, and as soon as they cried, big monsters would come to help.
Every time, he would end up getting beaten up, and it hurt so, so much.
No one would help him apply medicine, and no one would ask if it hurt.
When human children fell, adults would ask if they hurt and even buy them treats.
He was very obedient; he could go without treats.
He just wanted someone to hold him when he was in so much pain he felt like he was dying, and tell him he wasn’t an unwanted little wildcat.
He didn’t want to die, so he stopped fighting.
Later, when he went to Myriad Monster Mountain, Grandpa Tree Monster would protect him.
However, Grandpa Tree Monster had suffered very severe injuries, and he didn’t want to cause trouble for him.
Now that someone was willing to pamper him, he couldn’t help but want a little bit more.
Huo Jiuxiao looked at the trace of cautious, careful yearning hidden deep within those bright golden eyes, and felt as though his heart had been pricked by a needle, sending tiny, dense ripples of pain.
As far as he knew, most demons were reckless and willful; this kind of cautious emotion had no business appearing in those beautiful eyes.
That was the finest scenery in the entire world and should not be tainted by even a hint of gloom.
At that moment, Huo Jiuxiao just wanted to present everything best in the world right before the little kitten.
“Whatever you want, I’ll buy it for you.”
He reached out to stroke the little cat demon’s head, and decisively bought several portions of the dozen or so snacks with the highest sales volume, along with various flavors of dried small fish.
Although Xiao Bai preferred spicy food, he was still young after all, and Huo Jiuxiao was afraid his stomach couldn’t handle it.
If he tried some other flavors, maybe he would find something he liked even more.
Ruan Bai watched as he bought a whole pile of goodies for him, and his mood turned wonderful.
He even forgot what Hua Hua said about not forgiving someone too easily.
His two little paws resting on Huo Jiuxiao’s arm unconsciously began to make biscuits, his little ears twitched, and even his meows were much softer and sweeter than usual.
You could tell he was giving the Marshal plenty of face.
Marshal Huo, currently like a ruler whose mind had been captivated by a beauty’s smile, happily made a promise: “Aside from what the military requires, you can have as many of the remaining energy crystals every month as you want.”
Although it sounded very much like the behavior of a fief-ruining tyrant, the quantity “required” in the Marshal’s mouth far exceeded the daily supplies of armies under other marshals.
If it weren’t for the fact that the mineral star in Huo Jiuxiao’s hands had an extremely massive yield, it probably wouldn’t have been able to support those several legions.
“Meow~”
Ruan Bai’s tone instantly became excited.
He could eat spirit stones every day now.
Hua Hua said Huo Jiuxiao was very rich, having as many spirit stones as their previous world.
And Hua Hua indeed wasn’t speaking without foundation; the Marshal’s mineral star was a “mineral star” in the truest sense of the word.
Aside from energy crystals, it basically had nothing else, even the native population was pitifully small, with a population of probably less than ten million, all of whom were elderly, weak, sick, or disabled.
The location of the mineral star was very remote, being located in a distant planet of the Sixteenth Star System. The environment was harsh, and from time to time it would be shrouded in a layer of mysterious black fog.
Over the past hundred years, the frequency of the black fog appearing had increased significantly, and its duration had also grown longer.
This black fog would impact people’s spiritual consciousness seas, driving otherwise normal people to madness. Therefore, the residences on the mineral star nowadays were built using the highest-grade insulation materials.
The composition of the black fog shared similarities with Zerg toxins, but the group over at the research institute hadn’t figured out its exact composition yet.
One of the common sense facts known to all Empire citizens: energy crystals and Zerg toxins seemed to mutually repel each other; they had never seen energy crystals appear in places where a large number of Zergs were active.
Since it was close to Zerg toxins, naturally no large amounts of energy crystals would appear nearby either.
To the emperor at the time, rewarding a newly appointed Marshal who had just driven back the Zergs with a barren star that had no people and no resources was truly a win-win business.
It reaped plenty of fame while offloading a useless, garbage planet.
Given the harsh local environment, it was practically the most suitable place to train new recruits in operating mechas.
So the Marshal dragged all the mecha rookies over there.
He had originally intended for them to undergo some rigorous tempering.
Who could have expected that a rookie recruit driving a mecha would directly crash into a hilltop, only to find out that about two meters of soil layer had fallen away from the hill, rendering the mecha completely totaled.
Taking a closer look, goodness gracious!
An entire hilltop full of energy crystals.
The former wasteland planet had turned into a coveted treasure mineral star, and back then, everyone had to remark on how lucky Marshal Huo was.
The little kitten, who had instantly achieved freedom of spirit stones, was very happy. He lay down on a pile of spirit stones, ready to watch educational cartoons.
Huo Jiuxiao thought about it and still decided to turn on the live stream for him.
The netizens’ enthusiasm for the little kitty was very high right now, and denying them a look would only produce the opposite effect.
However, if Xiao Bai wasn’t willing, he wouldn’t fear any trouble either.
“Xiao Bai, do you want to stream?” A hint of coaxing colored the Marshal’s tone: “These netizens are quite annoying.”
Annoying?!
Wasn’t that just lively and bustling?!!!
The little cat loved lively atmospheres.
His eyes shone brightly as he stared at Huo Jiuxiao.
Huo Jiuxiao ignored the tiny trace of displeasure deep in his heart, turned on the live stream for him, and with a very petty mindset enabled pure stream mode, meaning netizens could only watch, and sensory sharing was completely nonexistent.
Nuannuan “swished” over, stopping three meters away from them.
“The housekeeper asked me to inform you that the express delivery has arrived, and to ask if you need it brought up.” The mechanical electronic voice was rigid and formal, and the electronic screen displayed a solemn expression.
Viewers pouring in from the live streaming room discovered that the streamer had turned on pure stream mode, and a sense of “as expected” welled up in their hearts.
The streamer was still that same streamer, truly inhuman!!!
They looked at the little kitten with benevolent, loving gazes while chatting idly in the barrage.
[Is this the newest model of smart robot??]
[Seems like it? Not sure, let’s keep watching.]
[Aren’t robots of this model supposed to be super quick-witted? Why does this one look so rigid and mechanical? It practically looks like a first-generation model that was completely phased out decades ago.]
Following continuous updates and iterations, current robots basically possessed human-like thinking patterns, and the latest generation of robots was even more flexible, sometimes even having their own little emotional quirks.
[This is definitely the newest model of robot, but this one looks so dull. Even though the one at home is a bit of a dork, it looks way smarter than this.]
[I’ll never complain about my little dummy at home tripping down the stairs while sweeping again.]
Legislation regarding robots in the interstellar era was also relatively well-developed; one couldn’t beat, scold, or destroy robots without cause, or else they would face hefty fines or even prison sentences.
[The one at home locks itself in the small attic every day. Locking itself in is one thing, but it insists on taking the key inside with it, making me constantly have to climb through the window to fish it out QAQ.]
Ruan Bai knew that express delivery meant getting things delivered to the door. Hearing that the package had arrived, he looked obediently at Marshal Huo, his pair of beautiful, large eyes moist and glistening.
He wanted to eat snacks.
But he was lazy, didn’t want to move, and still wanted to watch cartoons.
Understanding this lazybones’ intent, Huo Jiuxiao sighed helplessly: “I’ll go downstairs and get them for you.”
[Even so, this cat dad’s voice is so deep and attractive!]
[Doesn’t seem like the same one as last time?]
[So what? That doesn’t change the fact that I want to knife him!!!!]
[Wuwu, me too, I want to pet the cat.]
Huo Jiuxiao packed up the snacks and brought them all up; packages of all sizes piled up a small corner.
Unpacking express deliveries wasn’t troublesome either; packages in the interstellar era all used rapidly biodegradable materials.
You just needed to give the package a gentle press, and it would rapidly degrade, leaving behind only the packaging bags containing the snacks a moment later.
Huo Jiuxiao quickly put everything in its place and handed him two packs of small fish of different flavors.
“I have some business to attend to. Be a good kitty.”
Ruan Bai hugged his small fish and nodded obediently.
The very second Marshal Huo closed the door, a claw flashed out, tearing open the packaging bag, and he pulled out a piece of dried fish to eat with great relish.
Mmm, so fragrant, truly delicious.
Nuannuan was no less swift, instantly sliding over to Ruan Bai’s side. Its voice was soft and gentle, completely devoid of its previous strictly professional demeanor.
“What does Baibai want to eat? I’ll go get it for you.”
It extended a mechanical arm to stroke Ruan Bai’s little head, replacing the solemn expression on its electronic screen with happy emoticons.
[Gosh, Nuannuan changes face so fast!]
[That’s more like it! I knew the latest generation of robots wouldn’t be so stiff.]
[But why can it pet Xiao Bai’s head when I can’t even touch the holographic projection??!!]
Unreconciled, the netizens started making trouble, various users calling out to Nuannuan to open up holographic mode for them.
The robot that successfully petted the kitten stood to the side, feeding Ruan Bai snacks and water so he could watch his cartoons more comfortably.
Detecting the netizens’ demands, it maintained a solemn expression: “Master does not allow holographic mode.”
Looking at the impervious robot, the netizens felt their teeth itch with frustration and began stirring up chaos.