Tiger's Grace · Cat Mama?! (4K words)

Tiger's Grace · Cat Mama?! (4K words)

Lu Yuan fell silent, quietly watching his "comrade" perform.

His "comrade" seemed a little embarrassed and explained, "Being able to speak, having a body, being able to move... it feels so good."

It started scratching itself again, and all sorts of components fell to the ground once more.

Lu Yuan: ...

What was wrong with this guy?

He cleared his throat. "Who are you?"

"I am... da-da..."

Lu Yuan picked up the wire-like thing, helped reconnect it, then held it down to stop it from scratching itself wildly.

"I am an artificial intelligence. As for who I am... I... have no name."

"My goal is to defeat the 'Demon' until the day I am scrapped."

"So you're a robot?"

"By the standards of most civilizations, yes. But I'm not a robot in the purest sense. My supernatural abilities are Adamantine and Adhesion... As for this language, it comes with the speaker. It isn't my ability."

"Adamantine is a God's Skill that makes me difficult to destroy."

"Adhesion is also a God's Skill. It lets me remain permanently attached to my target, and it can never shake me off. That was how I held that terrifying Demon in place."

Lu Yuan's cerebral cortex began operating at full speed.

A talking, intelligent robot! It wasn't a girl, but it could talk!

It could talk!

It could talk!!!

How long had it been since he had someone to talk to?

His mind immediately became active.

Yet his expression remained stern as he soothed the heart nearly leaping from his throat and searched for flaws in the other party's words. "I see, but can artificial intelligence use supernatural abilities too?"

"As far as I know, supernatural abilities originate from Mind Energy. Do machines have minds as well?"

The little sphere rolled across the floor. "Is that important, comrade?"

Lu Yuan said gravely, "Of course it's important... You damaged my precious instrument. Under the laws of my civilization, you have committed theft and are now a prisoner of Human 18th Civilization."

That pile of cat-shaped parts trembled frantically, as though trying to flee.

Lu Yuan straightened up. "How about this? If you tell me the answer, I'll give you this speaker. I also won't hold you responsible for damaging my treasure. A fair trade, right?"

The cat-shaped scrap fell silent for a moment before answering, "My intelligent core came from part of the brain of the strongest warrior in my civilization. After silicon-based modification through a mechanical neural network, it became a biological brain, thus existing between life and non-life."

"So I can use the abilities I possessed in life, but I cannot cultivate or evolve."

A biological brain—what an impressive term. As expected of a civilization capable of fighting the Demon.

"That warrior's name?"

The cat-shaped scrap replied, "Tiger's Grace · War God of the Empire · Newborn Dawn · Extraordinary Favored One · Billionaire · High Council Member · Cat Mama."

"W-what?" Lu Yuan was baffled by that name. He could only assume there was a translation issue.

"According to the etiquette of my civilization, adding the honors one has earned before one's name is the fastest way to establish an image."

"Warrior, what are your name and honors?"

Lu Yuan remained silent for a long while before solemnly and seriously declaring, "Epoch Pioneer · Demon Hunter · Supreme Sole Eternal Leader of Human 18th Civilization · Possessor of Countless Wealth · Lu Yuan."

"Greetings, Supreme Sole Eternal Leader of Human 18th Civilization." The cat-shaped scrap shook violently, convulsing like it was having a seizure, its metal parts clanging loudly.

Supreme Sole Eternal Leader? That sounded rather impressive!

"Just call me Lu Yuan. No need to be so formal. Could you please restrain yourself? Why do you keep spasming?" Lu Yuan was having trouble keeping a straight face.

The cat-shaped scrap said while twitching, "My current behavior patterns all follow those of that warrior. The scratching motion gives me the feeling that 'I am still alive.' You may regard it as an AI defect."

"I haven't scratched myself in a very long time. The AI defect has accumulated for too long, so I need to make up for it all at once. Twitching for around 1.2 years should be enough."

???

Lu Yuan's mind was filled with question marks.

"My current form is a scaled-down version of that warrior."

"Tiger's Grace · Cat Mama was at least three or four meters long. It was a very powerful warrior."

So it was a tiger warrior? And it was called Cat Mama?

"Fine, I roughly understand now. Then what was that warrior's Extraordinary Level?" Lu Yuan wanted to learn about the combat strength of past civilizations.

"I don't remember. Most of the Database has been damaged. But the Demon back then seemed much stronger than the current one... What... what was the name of this sealed Demon again?!"

Lu Yuan fell silent, then said, "It's called Excrement."

"So it was called Excrement... I remember now, that's right, I vaguely recall it!" The cat-shaped scrap put on an enlightened expression. "We actually defeated the Demon of Excrement!"

"Comrade, we really won! I still can't quite believe it—really, comrade!"

Lu Yuan couldn't help but shudder. Instinctively, he wanted to cover his eyes, but fearing it would damage his image, he forcibly lowered the hand he had raised halfway.

What level of artificial stupidity was this?

What the hell was he talking to?

Was it crazy, or was he crazy?

How was he supposed to live the rest of his life?

"Then what do you still remember? Was your Database wiped?" He pursed his lips and straightened up, making himself look exactly like one of those pompous executives at a company.

"I still remember... Warrior, have you mated today?" The cat-shaped pile of trash uttered an eerie sentence.

"W-what?" Lu Yuan struggled to maintain a dignified expression.

The cat-shaped trash trembled twice. "In my civilization, there were 182 genders. When different genders met, mating was a social courtesy, as simple as eating and drinking."

"So that sentence was a polite greeting... and also the deepest thing in my memory."

So that was it...

Lu Yuan let out a breath of Stale Air from his chest and said seriously, "A warrior as powerful as me has naturally mated."

The cat trash quivered. "That's good, comrade. I'm very relieved, because I never mated... Did my civilization conquer Pangu Continent with its immense reproductive capacity? Right, what was my civilization called again? Which Era is it now?"

Lu Yuan turned his head and looked into the distant horizon.

Well, damn.

Those few sentences nearly knocked him flat.

He walked over and gently patted the cat-shaped trash. "Comrade, if you're sad, don't keep it bottled up. You can talk to me."

The cat-shaped trash said, "I have no emotions. I'm merely a robot. Comrade, tell me the truth."

Lu Yuan said, "It's already the Ninth Era... the Ninth Era, nearly the eighth month. You understand what that means, right? Your civilization definitely wasn't from the Ninth Era, was it?"

The cat-shaped trash suddenly shuddered. Then all its components collapsed, and it fell into a long silence.

At last, it let out a sorrowful "Meow~~!!"

That mournful wail was enough to break the hearts of all who heard it.

Old Wolf jumped in fright and let out a snarling roar. "Awo! Awo!"

The sight truly was pitiful.

Its civilization was gone. Only a dim-witted artificial intelligence remained in this world, fighting the terrifying demon until the very end... If Lu Yuan had not intervened, it would have had to keep fighting.

"Lu Yuan, I just violated the Laws of Robotics. There was a malfunction in my thinking, so my system reset. I'm sorry." The cat-shaped trash uttered another eerie sentence.

Perhaps it was precisely this protective mechanism that had allowed it to endure everything—to cling to the "demon" while endlessly making those "da-da-da" notification sounds.

Thus, deeply moved, Lu Yuan and the cat-shaped trash shared another heartfelt embrace.

"It's alright."

"Comrade... you seem very sad."

Lu Yuan spoke from the heart. "Actually, I don't have anyone to mate with."

"How pitiful," the cat-shaped trash said sadly. "If you're sad, don't keep it bottled up. You can talk to me. After all, we're comrades."

Lu Yuan felt that line sounded rather familiar.

Then he slapped his forehead. Wasn't that what I just said?

Damn it, he had sympathized with this guy for nothing. His moral standards really couldn't be too high.

He immediately said expressionlessly, "From now on, I'll call you Cat Mama."

"No. The great Lady Cat Mama has already died... I am only an artificial intelligence. I cannot usurp her place." The cat-shaped trash rejected the name, which represented some unseen providence.

"How about Old Cat, then?" Lu Yuan was not a very imaginative person.

"I accept this proposal," the cat-shaped trash said. "Comrade, can you help me make a body?"

"Of course, no problem."

The cat-shaped trash began muttering under its breath. "This human only has one arm. Can he really help me make a body? Does he have the ability? Is he someone who likes to boast? Should I not doubt my comrade? Will we get along smoothly in the future?"

"Wait, we actually joined forces and defeated a demon!"

"What does that mean? It means we defeated a demon! Hahahaha, that damned demon! Sooner or later, someone was going to take you down!"

"What did you say?"

The giant cat trash noticed Lu Yuan listening in and immediately collapsed, looking somewhat embarrassed. "Sorry, I accidentally spoke the thoughts running in my background as well."

"I will now restart my system to correct this error."

???

Lu Yuan's mouth twitched as he swiftly formed a new impression of this seriously deranged artificial intelligence...

Damn it, I can't take it anymore. I need to cover my old face!

Kick it away!

And so, Lu Yuan lost a communicator, yet picked up the first thing on Pangu Continent that could talk.

An artificial intelligence with quite a few screws loose.

But it could talk!

It could actually talk!

How amazing was it not having to talk to himself anymore?

It was practically like the great liberation after the college entrance exams—fighting passionately with his classmates at an internet café for three days and three nights!

Old Wolf, the number one lackey in the martial world, fell out of favor. It was deeply jealous and had no idea what its master kept babbling about all day.

And this garbage cat was also a chatterbox, with an overwhelming desire to communicate.

"Comrade, I've really had it rough. Over the course of those long battles, I even forgot that demon's name... Was it really called the Demon of Excrement? Honestly, I'm beginning to suspect you're lying to me."

"Comrade, the great Cat Mama once said that when looking at the opposite sex, you should first look at its eyes. If it isn't looking at you, then you can openly admire its reproductive organs."

"Could you be a little more elegant?" Lu Yuan said.

The cat-shaped junk had no self-awareness whatsoever. "Of course. I am a noble artificial intelligence. Even in my civilization, I was still elegant and noble."

The two of them talked nonstop for an entire night, their words flowing like blooming lotuses, utterly unable to stop!

Both had miserable pasts, and... tragic futures.

Thus, after some initial interaction, they coincidentally found each other's weak points and discovered a common language.

But for some reason, true harmony lasted only three short days.

The way male humans and machines got along was... by attacking each other!

Not by comforting each other.

That morning, a metal Old Cat twisted itself about outside the door with a creaking "squeak, squeak."

Its chain-made tail swung back and forth like a slippery loach.

This was the crude body Lu Yuan had pieced together for it from parts found in the junk heap. Since it was all rusty garbage, it made "squeak, squeak" noises whenever it moved.

But at least it would not fall apart immediately—a garbage cat in the truest sense.

The first thing it said upon entering was, "Lu Yuan, is that pink sweater some kind of fetish of yours? Why? I cannot understand."

Lu Yuan had hit a sore spot and pretended nothing was wrong. "Human culture is different from yours. We humans need to wear clothes, while you don't..."

"Oh, right. Starting today, help me keep track of the time."

He launched a vicious mental attack!

Why? Because this was now the Ninth Era. Keeping track of time meant it had to acknowledge that its civilization was gone.

Don't run from it!

The garbage cat stopped wriggling and kept scratching its head. With a clang, a screw flew out of its head.

Yet the speaker inside it continued talking. "When are you leaving to return to the human world?"

It launched an equally savage mental attack.

Lu Yuan ran his fingers through his hair, regretting telling it so much, but his momentum did not weaken in the slightest. "Humanity was conquered by your civilization long ago. Oh, right, what civilization were you from again?"

The cat's tail fell off as well.

That was its sore spot. It could not even remember what civilization it belonged to. Truly tragic.

It merely said, "Lu Yuan, the great Cat Mama once said: bullying the mentally disabled does not make you a hero."

It had to be admitted that, as a combat robot, its ability to mock people verbally was absolutely maxed out.

Heavily wounded, Lu Yuan rushed over and affectionately embraced that pile of junk. "The great Cat Mama once said, Old Wolf, bite it!"

Old Wolf roared and charged. The pinned robot cat could not move, and its parts scattered everywhere.

"Comrade, how could you set a dog on me?"

"This is its deep love for you~"

Old Wolf became even more enthusiastic after receiving praise, biting with a mouthful of rust. It looked like a werewolf that had just sucked blood.

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