Chapter 2

[May 13, 20XX Continued]

I was taken back to his nest by this dominant species male.

Though it was only a small, primitive concrete nest, I had to admit it was the first time I’d felt indoor warmth since the spaceship crash. The sensation wasn’t bad.

On the way to the nest, my temporary shelter provider kept talking to me: “We’ll go home first to get some money, then take you to the hospital for a check-up. After that, we’ll give you a bath and buy some cat food and litter—oh, do you know how to use a litter box? If not, I’ll have a headache.”

Though the synchronized translation from my computer didn’t include any obscure vocabulary, I still couldn’t fully grasp his words. In truth, I had specifically loaded an application for semantic analysis in alien cultural contexts into my computer for this trip. However, the food I’d ingested earlier needed time to convert into energy, and during this period, I couldn’t overuse the computer’s advanced functions.

I hoped these sentences I couldn’t comprehend wouldn’t bring me any trouble.

My shelter provider stayed in the nest for only a very brief time before carrying me to another nest.

The new nest didn’t seem to be a residence: it was large, crowded with many mixed species—all non-dominant species were kept in cages—and filled with strange metal facilities.

A toxic gas lethal to bacteria lingered in the air. This place was likely the “hospital” my shelter provider had mentioned. Such primitive institutions had once existed and played an important role on my homeworld as well, but by the mid-to-late stages of primitive society, the Genetic Revolution had rendered them obsolete forever.

To encounter a “hospital” on this extremely low-civilization planet, even in less-than-ideal circumstances, excited me.

As a professional Starfarer, understanding a new planet sometimes mattered more than my own safety.

—Besides, I didn’t believe this “hospital” had the capability to harm me.

“Hey, Xiao Ning, you picked up another cat?” A dominant species male I identified as a “hospital worker” expressed surprise to my shelter provider.

“Brother Zhao, could you check him out for me?” My shelter provider handed me over—based on their conversation, his name was “Xiao Ning,” right?

The male he called Brother Zhao quickly began examining my body.

My Mimetic Camouflage was flawless. At this planet’s level of civilization, there was no way they could detect any flaws.

“Physically healthy, no fleas—good boy, stay still, let me check your ears—ears are clean too, no ear mites… Must’ve run away from home, right? Doesn’t look like a stray.”

“Not sure. Found him by the roadside. Looked like he hadn’t eaten for days.”

“Hmm, nothing wrong—wait a second!”

“What is it?”

Pinned to the table, I couldn’t move. The fur on my back tingled slightly: the “doctor” seemed to have found something there.

“It’s got a parasite—see? A blood-sucking bug, most likely a tick, still moving…”

—A blood-sucking bug? Bugs on this planet couldn’t even approach my body, let alone suck my blood… Wait, had I overlooked something…

“Brother Zhao, what do we do about this?”

“I’ll pull it out with tweezers. After that, you can deworm him.”

“Got it.”

“Might hurt a bit. Help hold him down.”

The back of my neck was pressed down, and my spine was wiped with something wet, sending a chill through me… My spine? My spine!

My Biocomputer!!!

Damn it! Once Mimetic Camouflage is activated, the computer automatically simulates an object matching the disguise. Since the computer had been drawing energy from my blood, of course it would mimic a blood-sucking parasite during the transformation—how could I have overlooked something so crucial?!

“I’m pulling it out now—”

“MEOW—!!”

I struggled desperately.

“Hold still! It’ll be over soon, it’s okay!”

“!!!”

A sharp pain, as if my spine were being ripped out—my mind went completely blank for a moment!

By the time my consciousness gradually returned, I didn’t even have the strength to move.

“……””……” The dominant species were talking around me, but without my computer, I couldn’t understand their conversation.

I barely lifted my head: the computer had been discarded in a small metal tray placed right in front of me.

Severely damaged from the forced removal, my Biocomputer would die if left untreated. I had no equipment to repair it, leaving me with only one option.

—A very bad option.

Trembling, I stood up and lunged at the computer—

“Hey! You can’t eat that!”

The moment I bit into the computer, I heard my shelter provider scream.