Chapter 56: Tail-Wagging Dog Vibes

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Yan Jiujiang walked toward the fissures under the blazing star. “Twenty-four years ago, when I first set foot on this land, I couldn’t believe what my colleagues told me—they said Lu Yao had spent that entire year living on this planet.”

B13 was barren and scorching, with no human settlements except for the occasional star raiders.

“That same year, Lu Yao was seriously injured during his mecha training internship at the Military Academy, and he chose to withdraw. I always assumed he just needed a few months to recover physically and mentally before returning,” Yan Jiujiang stopped at the edge of a massive oval-shaped fissure, “and then join the mecha research base.”

“Even after Lu Yao graduated from Federation Central University, I had invited him to work at the First Research Base, but he declined. Later, when I found out he entered Morningstar Military Academy’s mecha design program, I realized that, compared to the space strategy research position I had originally offered, he preferred to design and build mecha. So, in his second year in the mecha design program, I went to sign a special agreement with him: after graduation, he would join the base as a mecha engineer.”

Yan Jiujiang couldn’t help but smile. “When I mentioned I would secure Lu Yao early, a group of colleagues who had been observing eagerly tried to meet him. But Lu Yao didn’t like chatting, and he didn’t even meet them—so someone who had known him for years, like me, got the advantage.

“So when I discovered that Lu Yao disappeared for half a year after leaving school, with no news at all, I began to suspect the proverbial cooked duck had flown away.”

“I contacted many people to find out where Lu Yao was, but everyone said he had vanished. They were searching but had no results.”

At the time, the situation was far more serious than Yan Jiujiang recounted so casually. Lu Yao had been missing for six months, and even the Federation Intelligence Bureau’s most powerful AI couldn’t locate his personal data trace.

The intelligence bureau was nearly ready to put Lu Yao on the wanted list, but Mr. Teng stopped them, preventing a hasty escalation.

Yet none of this was for the audience. Even Yan Jiujiang, who had been present, only knew the gist: Lu Yao had been caught in a conspiracy and suffered both physically and mentally.

“Until we discovered a batch of unusual raw material transport records, including metals like titanium, copper, and gold, along with large amounts of silicon and energy. The purchases and transfers were completely legal, so initially no one noticed anything. But one day, an AI calculated the quantities together and suddenly issued an alert,” Yan Jiujiang omitted all organization and personnel names, keeping only aliases.

“Based on the amounts and ratios of materials, it seemed likely that the purchaser was manufacturing high-energy weapons.

“The transfer location was in the Nameless Star Region. We initially thought star raiders might be attempting to make weapons, but someone quickly dismissed that—they had no capability. Others guessed it might be smuggling with a downstream recipient. When I reviewed the material list, one thought came to mind—these were the materials and ratios Lu Yao liked to use.”

“So when the Federation decided to inspect B13, I went along.” Yan Jiujiang stepped onto a rock at the cliff edge, pointing at the massive fissure. Shadows of the mountains stretched across the valley, shifting rapidly with the sun. The ground was covered with yellow sand and gravel.

“Beneath the fissure were old scientific labs and manufacturing facilities. That year, Lu Yao lived here alone, with only an AI, forging steel, drawing schematics, and assembling mecha.”

“I followed the team here and saw Lu Yao’s true skill for the first time—I saw the mecha he built by himself.”

“Don’t mind how empty it is now. I guarantee, anyone seeing Lu Yao’s first mecha would be astonished. I convinced Lu Yao to return to work and had his mecha brought back to the research base museum. You, the audience, will be the first to see it.”

The camera shifted. In the vast underground space, a mecha over ten meters high appeared. Why was “mecha” referred to as a “long object”? Because it really was a long, elongated mecha. Viewers finally saw the giant metallic cat mecha in full light, and the comment section flooded with:

“?????”

“Cat mecha!???”

“This little kitty is cute, isn’t it?”

Yan Jiujiang climbed a platform, looking down at the cat mecha with pointed ears and a long tail. The metallic feline crouched, paws tucked, as if napping. “Let’s start it.”

Immediately, the cat mecha’s eyes glowed blue. Engines roared, and metal parts clanged continuously. It didn’t stand up immediately; first, it stretched its front paws forward, raised its hind legs and tail, elongating itself—just like a real cat waking and stretching. Gears and hydraulics thundered. Netizens commented: “It’s really a cat!!! I’m dead!!!”

“Unfortunately, there’s no pilot who can operate this mecha yet. Human neural control systems can’t adapt to feline movements. Lu Yao designed a simple intelligent program for it, like this.”

Yan Jiujiang shone the spotlight on the cat mecha, creating a bright patch of light on the floor.

The metallic cat lowered its head, pawed at the light—thump!—the camera seemed to shake. Yan Jiujiang moved the light elsewhere, and the cat mecha leapt toward it. A loud rumble—this time the platform Yan Jiujiang stood on shook three times, dust falling. It seemed the cat mecha wanted to continue playing, but then suddenly turned and ran elsewhere. The light followed its steps until it stopped, revealing a human figure. The giant metallic cat lowered its head gently to him. Lu Yao stood before the mecha in the museum, lifting his hand to lightly touch the cat’s nose. The light formed a halo around him.

“The little kitty’s owner has arrived,” said Yan Jiujiang.

General Forum

 #No one can resist the cat mecha! No! One! Can!

Post 1: Chief Engineer Lu, I love you!!! I want a cat mecha too!!!

Post 2: But humans can’t operate this mecha, what’s the OP going to do?

Post 3: The cat mecha has AI, I don’t need to operate it myself.

Post 4: Then why not just get a robotic cat?

Post 5: Because this is a cat. Mecha. Wuwu, take me with you, OP, I want one too.

Post 6: Wait, wait, a few days ago Lu Yao was being criticized for shady dealings, so why is the forum homepage now full of cat mecha posts?

Post 7: Didn’t you watch the extra episode of the documentary? It explained that Lu Yao was specially recruited to the research base, and he did have an accident when he withdrew from school.

Post 8: I care why the homepage is all about cats. Lu Yao was thrown a huge bucket of dirt, and now all people care about is cat, cat…

Post 9: I want the cat, I want the cat!

Post 10: To reply to post 8: the media accounts stirring trouble have already been flooded. I’ve been reporting from the frontlines, and word from the field says the military and Mecha Research Institute have sued them for defamation and reputation infringement. The court has accepted the case; the outcome is predictable. No worries.

Post 11: The general forum atmosphere is relaxed now. Once people see it’s fine, they start chanting “Cat Mecha Cult.” Coming back from those closed forums, my eyes were opened—people there don’t wear pants.

Post 12: Tell me, tell me! I’ve never been able to get in.

Post 13: The closed forums are discussing whether to be Lu Yao’s dog or his cat. Beyond that, they fantasize about the B13 planet in the extra episode—a deserted planet with only Lu Yao and his dog, or Lu Yao imprisoning “me” in an ancient underground base… My mind is blown.

Post 14 DW: .

Post 15: DW master! Any important announcements today?

Post 16 DW: I am Lu Yao’s cat.

Post 17: Just one sentence, but I read a wagging-tail dog energy from it.

No one expected the extra episode of Steel Titans to surpass the main documentary in popularity, even exceeding current theatrical releases, topping both viewership and discussion charts.

Fans flooded Wang Chuanshan’s social media, demanding to see the cat mecha. He had no choice but to coordinate with Yan Jiujiang and Lu Yao.

Yan Jiujiang consulted Lu Yao, and after discussing with Carriédo, they contacted the Federation Academy and the Federation’s Mecha Research Institute. They decided to hold a special public exhibition, showcasing uniquely designed mecha and starships previously stored by the Academy and the Institute. Because mecha and starships are enormous, the exhibition was set in space.

Cat mecha, octopus starship, eco-friendly dry-ice spacecraft, honeycomb shuttles… a series of historically imaginative flying machines were displayed publicly for the first time. It became clear: the universe and machines were not as coldly orderly as people had assumed.

Riding this wave, Steel Titans even entered the Federation Documentary Golden Star Awards for Best Documentary. Stellar Craftsmen, however, remained unremarkable in various award categories, slightly less artistic.

“You’ve seen what’s happened recently, how do you feel?” Elaine asked Lu Yao, seated calmly across the sofa.

“Many things have happened.”

“Many things outside your normal work and life routines,” Elaine added. “I want to know your thoughts, since the extra episode touches on your past wounds.

“The viewers see your victories and creations and celebrate, but those past events were never joyful for you.”

“You mean… has all the public discussion affected my mental state?” Lu Yao asked.

“You can see it that way.”

“Not really,” Lu Yao answered. “I rarely read this kind of information.”

“Then what prompted you to contact me proactively, to consult ahead of time? That’s unusual for you; you’re not talkative.”

“I’ve been… thinking about some things. About what you mentioned before—having Zhou Yunchen help me with the alpha pheromone stress adaptation training.”

Author’s Note: 

Metal cat mecha stretching its paws, bang bang bang

 

 

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