Chapter 90: Where’s the Cat?

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

The senior members of the Federation’s High Military Council, stationed on New Blue Star, expressed grave concern over the unexpected incident during the Xiaoying exercise. After a direct call with Supreme Commander Chen Qiu, they resolved to continue the maneuvers, while ordering the six major corps and fleets involved to divert portions of their forces to strengthen patrols and security in the region.

As for General Zhou Yunchen… under his own determined resistance and the Secretary of the Space Planning Department Chang Jian’s icy pressure, the council’s venerable old men and women turned a blind eye to his dereliction of duty. So long as Zhou Yunchen did not care about the exercise’s outcome and handed command to his subordinates, he was free to tear apart every data stream from the fortress satellites if that was what it took.

In addition, the military summoned an extra detachment and contacted the Federation Star Police to join the search. Even if the council wasn’t afraid of Chang Jian kicking down their office doors, the abduction of the Federation’s Chief Mecha Engineer from within a military-controlled zone was a slap across their faces. If they failed to recover Lu Yao, their names would be branded forever on history’s pillar of shame.

“General! General!” Zhao Minghe pushed through the crowded data operations floor and hurried toward Zhou Yunchen. Zhou Yunchen lifted his head from the glowing displays of analyzed jump vectors, irritation and gloom shadowing his features. “What is it?”

“We found traces of the Black Sea Pirate Group’s jump.”

“What!” The techs buried in data cried out even before Zhou Yunchen did. No one had expected someone to beat the military to the analysis. “Whose data? Where?”

He had cut in on the General’s words—a man far above his own rank—but no one paid it any mind. Zhao Minghe’s news set the entire room buzzing, anticipation sparking across every console. Even Chen Qiu, stationed further back, rose from his chair at the commotion.

“The Black Sea Pirates’ warship Yuantao appeared in the Aristophanes Sector, Sigma Region,” Zhao Minghe reported, though his expression carried unease and suspicion.

“Have we dispatched forces?” Marshal Chen Qiu stepped forward. Zhao Minghe hesitated, then answered, “The report came from the Sigma Star Police system. Twelve hours ago, they received intelligence that a pirate band would jump into their jurisdiction. They mobilized seven warships to intercept. Two hours ago, the pirates appeared as predicted—but the moment they emerged from the jump, they opened fire. All seven police warships were destroyed.

“When reinforcements arrived, the pirates had already jumped away. While sweeping the battlefield, the police confirmed the enemy was the Black Sea Pirate Group. They suspect the anonymous tip-off came from the pirates themselves—a deliberate taunt.”

“They kidnapped Chief Engineer Lu, mocked the Federation military, and then turned around to provoke the Star Police as well…” Chen Qiu’s face darkened. “Their audacity borders on madness.”

“Because space is vast,” General Li Qingshan interjected quietly. “The pirates have no advanced weaponry, yet still dare to act so brazenly. Their only reliance is the boundlessness of the cosmos. Unless caught red-handed, hunting them is like searching for a needle in the sea.”

No… Zhou Yunchen sensed something more. If the Black Sea Pirates had only wanted to provoke the Federation, why go to the trouble of seizing Lu Yao with an electromagnetic snare? Lu Yao was still alive. The puzzle of the pirates’ true ambition remained incomplete.

“There’s more,” Zhao Minghe said. He glanced at Zhou Yunchen, jaw tight, voice trembling as if caught in his throat.

“Speak,” Zhou Yunchen ordered, his gaze like ice.

“The only reason the report reached the military was because blood was recovered at the battlefield—blood not belonging to either the police or the pirates. The Star Police suspected it might be linked to the personnel abducted during the exercise. Given Chief Engineer Lu’s sensitive status, comparing the DNA required special clearance.”

“Then give them the clearance.” Zhou Yunchen’s tone dropped heavily, like the snarl of a wounded lion.

“Secretary Chang already authorized it,” Zhao Minghe said. “The analysis confirmed the blood belonged to Major General Lu. Field scans estimated his blood loss at over sixteen hundred CC.”

Eight hundred CC was enough to trigger hemorrhagic shock in an adult. The thought of double that—of what kind of trauma could spill so much blood into the void—was unthinkable.

“Only blood?” Zhou Yunchen asked. He tried to control his voice and expression, but the steel of his jaw, the strain from neck to shoulders, betrayed him. His fingers dug into the console as if to leave dents in the metal.

Chen Qiu understood he still clung to a sliver of hope. But Zhao Minghe had to break it. “Only blood. From the dispersal pattern and battlefield analysis, the Star Police concluded it was caused by blunt-force trauma.”

Blunt-force impact. Severe blood loss. Vacuum exposure. Each word stripped away another chance of survival. Zhou Yunchen said nothing. His brows knotted like mountains, his eyes tightening, but inside them swirled nothing but chaos.

Chen Qiu sighed inwardly. “General Zhou, I know this is not the outcome we wanted. Rest assured, no matter how far the Black Sea Pirates flee, the Federation will exhaust every resource to bring them to justice.”

Zhou Yunchen stood rigid, immovable, as if he were carved from stone. Chen Qiu’s words seemed not to reach him at all. His soul churned in fire and storm.

“General…” Zhao Minghe began.

He saw the blood drain from Zhou Yunchen’s lips, his face paling like a winter field under snow. Zhou Yunchen shut his eyes hard, then asked, “The cat?”

“What?” Chen Qiu blinked.

“I asked about Lu Yao’s cat.” Zhou Yunchen turned, eyes sharp as a hawk’s. “Torque wasn’t found at the scene. Did the Sigma Star Police see him?”

Zhao Minghe faltered. After a pause he replied, “The police sent all their reports. None mentioned a cat.”

“General Zhou,” Chen Qiu said gently, “the dead cannot return. If you wish for a keepsake, modern cloning can recreate the animal from its DNA.”

“I’m not looking for a relic,” Zhou Yunchen snapped. “Torque is just an ordinary cat. To anyone but Lu Yao, he means nothing. The fact that neither the wreckage nor the reports mention him—means the Black Sea Pirates may have taken him aboard the Yuantao. If this was only about abducting or killing Lu Yao to provoke us, there was no reason to take the cat as well.”

For a fleeting moment, everyone present wondered—ridiculously—whether the murderous pirates simply liked kittens. But no. That made no sense. Nor did Zhou Yunchen’s reasoning.

Chen Qiu stared at the bloodshot fire in Zhou Yunchen’s eyes. “General Zhou, you can’t let emotions cloud you.”

“Why not?” Zhou Yunchen’s voice rose, threaded with fury he barely noticed. “The Federation, humanity itself—none of it means as much to me as Lu Yao does.”

A splash of cold water struck Lu Yao’s face. His already pale complexion grew even more fragile under the shock. Droplets clung to his thick lashes, trembling as if the weight was too much to bear. His eyelids quivered faintly, thin and cold, veins showing blue beneath the skin. His eyes shifted beneath them, signaling he was about to wake.

The alpha looming over him grew impatient at the sight of him hovering between consciousness and oblivion. A sharp slap cracked across Lu Yao’s cheek, then another, prying his eyes open. He swayed his head slightly, dazed and unfocused. Fingers gripped his cheeks hard, forcing his half-lidded gaze upward.

Through blurred vision, Lu Yao made out a shadow crouching before him, staring down. His face ached from the pressure; he couldn’t form words.

“Finally decided to wake up?”

Lu Yao’s mind was a swamp of bubbling haze, the alpha’s voice a garbled murmur. Heat and chill surged through his body in turns. His arms felt as if filled with lead, every twitch agony, bending them nearly impossible.

“Who… are you…” Lu Yao rasped, his throat dragging out broken gasps, each breath laced with the taste of blood.

“Who am I? The famous Chief Engineer of the Federation wants to know my name?” The alpha’s laugh dripped with scorn. He pressed down on Lu Yao’s arm when he saw him stir. “What’s this? Planning to run?”

The weight of the hand drove pain like stars exploding behind Lu Yao’s eyes. He nearly forgot how to breathe. Darkness, heavy as midnight, swept over him again.

“My name is—” Hatred twisted across the alpha’s face. As leader of the largest pirate band in the border regions, his name alone could strike terror.

“Boss, wait!” A tall, heavyset subordinate yanked at the alpha’s arm. “He passed out again!”

The alpha glanced down. Lu Yao’s eyes had sealed shut once more, his pale face drained of all color, his breath so faint it might vanish altogether.

“Damn it!” the alpha cursed. “Didn’t I tell you idiots to watch the blood draw?”

“Boss, you’re the one who kept saying to take more and more.”

“How was I supposed to know New Blue Star omegas were this delicate?” His anger flared, then cooled with frustration. “Forget it. Get him in the med bay. If he dies now, this whole job’s a loss.”

Several pirates, dressed in a mishmash of gear, scrambled forward and hauled Lu Yao away. When he woke again, no shadows crowded over him. Instead, restorative fluid in the medical pod wrapped him in warmth. Gentle light glowed above, soft and unblinding. Blinking up, he caught sight of the battered, half-scratched model number etched into the pod’s cover. Awareness trickled back. He had been taken by an outlaw crew.

 

 

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