In the early morning, White Cat smoothed down a tuft of fur on his chest with his claws, mentally preparing himself as he cautiously pushed open the door to the office of the Minister of Finance. “Oh, damn it,” muttered the bald parrot unfriendly, lowering his head while glancing up at White Cat. “Sorry, didn’t see you come in. I’m not talking about you, I’m talking about the huge funds those old dogs applied for.”
“It’s okay.” White Cat lifted his head and stepped inside, pretending he wasn’t late.
“By the way, your allowance for this month was revoked three minutes ago,” said the bald parrot, biting on a piece of wood, his eyes scanning through projection data.
White Cat sighed, completely unsurprised by the outcome.
For a bald parrot, being stingy seemed normal; after all, he couldn’t pluck out even if he wanted to.
“Just as I came in, I noticed the entry and exit schedule. It seems the Chief is doing a surprise inspection today,” White Cat started working, mentioning his unexpected discovery.
“Normally, unless he’s on an official trip, the Chief arrives half an hour early. It’s been eight years without fail. Today is quite strange,” White Cat licked his paw, trying to smooth down the fur on his chest again.
The bald parrot narrowed his bird eyes, realizing something was amiss.
“You’re saying the old spotted leopard is doing a surprise inspection today?”
“Yes.” White Cat licked his paw. “You can check the entrance and exit time projection in the lobby. It’s all recorded there.”
The bald parrot quickly checked the schedule, frowned tightly, paced anxiously on the floor with the wooden block in his beak.
“Unusual. It looks like that old spotted leopard is in trouble. I noticed earlier his eyes were a bit off. I thought he was just trying out new contact lenses early, but now that I think about it, it might be his mating season starting early, and he hasn’t taken his medication.”
The bald parrot folded his wings around his chest, his expression serious. “Now, prepare a new perception board immediately! Notify the medical team to prepare a large dose of sedative. If there’s any issue, we must respond immediately to protect the Alliance’s property!”
White Cat’s paw paused, confused. “Minister, it’s just a surprise inspection. I do this often; isn’t it a bit much?”
“You know nothing,” the bald parrot flapped his wings angrily. “Have you ever seen what happens when an beastmen goes into uncontrollable mating frenzy?”
“Yes,” White Cat tilted his head. “Minister, didn’t you forget? Last time I went to your house for dinner, your mother told us that you once went into a mating frenzy, hugged a piece of wood, cried while singing love songs, and finished your father’s liquor, then got stuck in a bottle. She had to call an ambulance to get you out intact.”
“Stop talking nonsense!” The bald parrot jumped around angrily on the ground. “My mom’s dementia stories aren’t to be trusted!”
“We all saw the video,” White Cat replied earnestly.
“My brother did that, you know, our family leaders all look alike,” the bald parrot quickly calmed down and smoothed out the sparse feathers on his head.
“Anyway, an beastmen going into uncontrollable mating frenzy is a terrifying thing, especially for the old spotted leopard’s combat power, it’s even more dangerous.” The bald parrot looked at White Cat seriously. “You should know, the old spotted leopard comes from a military background. He’s not a civilian. He rose step by step from the front lines fighting the Zergs.”
“His decisiveness and fierceness are extremely rare. Countless Zergs have died at his hands. Even when he was just a colonel, the Zerg Queen already knew his name and feared him greatly.
Have you seen the documentary from the Interstellar War? Once he discovers a comrade parasitized by the Zergs, he doesn’t hesitate. He shoots them directly in the forehead with a laser gun. Even if it’s someone who used to be by his side, he doesn’t even blink!”
White Cat stopped licking his paw, listening intently, stunned.
“There are many clips like this, most people our age have seen them. Some admire him, but many fear him. When he ran for Chief, he competed with the previous Speaker of the House, an old politician, but when he stood together with the old spotted leopard, his legs were shaking.”
The bald parrot sighed. “Although the shaking wasn’t obvious, when I saw that scene from below, I knew who the new Chief would be.”
“You’ve only been in Black Pearl for seven years. You don’t know that the pace in Black Pearl used to be much slower before, and many things were handled with ease. But when the old spotted leopard came, he applied the military’s methods to us. Now, every shift feels like going to war. Look at my feathers, they started falling out when he took office, and now, only a few are left!
“My doctor said I should relax and rest more. Look at me, do I look like someone who can relax?” The bald parrot spoke sadly, on the verge of tears. “I’m really, really struggling.”
White Cat sympathetically placed a paw on the parrot’s back and gently patted.
“Then why doesn’t anyone voice their concerns? Maybe the Chief would consider your requests.”
“Then… why don’t you go and suggest it?” The bald parrot turned his head.
“I… I have elders to care for, and a bunch of little ones below me. Besides, you just said the Chief might go into mating frenzy at any moment, so…” White Cat stepped back two steps, looking around awkwardly, scratching his neck with his hind leg.
“Heh.” The bald parrot chuckled coldly, returning to his desk, biting on the wood, visibly agitated as he resumed work.
“Since you can’t suggest anything, you’d better be prepared to change the perception board at any time.” The bald parrot flapped his bare wings. “Good luck.”
However, fate works in mysterious ways. Despite the cat and bird trembling in fear that morning, they didn’t receive any alerts of perception board damage.
Unable to resist procrastination, White Cat searched the star network for documentaries on the Interstellar War, but found almost no segments featuring the Chief. Many videos had clickbait titles with keywords related to the Chief, but upon viewing, there was nothing substantial.
“Minister, I can’t find any records or documentaries featuring the Chief?” White Cat attempted to source some information.
“Since the old spotted leopard became Chief, the Council worried these videos might have a negative impact, so they’ve been removed from the star network. However, I have copies, one-time use only, you can’t distribute them.” The bald parrot generously sent over the video. “Take a good look, young one.”
White Cat eagerly opened the video, sneaking a peek. The quality wasn’t great, but it clearly showed the Chief’s face from his younger days.
“The soundwave monitor shows that ahead are the zerg mutated from the previous group of working insects, eighty percent are first-level occupation, and the remaining are second-level ships!” The soldier’s eyes reflected despair as he shouted, “Even if we retreat with all our might, we’ll be surrounded by zerg within ten minutes, just like Team X08, left with nothing to spare!”
“Why? I said to retreat, why did you insist on pursuing! Now you’re leading us all to be devoured by the zerg, are you satisfied?” The middle-aged soldier angrily roared at the young soldier standing calmly beside him, the future Chief, judging by his shoulder patch—a mere lieutenant at the time, while the middle-aged man held the rank of captain, evidently the squad leader.
The lieutenant met the captain’s gaze evenly, his eyes betraying an unnaturally calm demeanor.
Suddenly, the captain collapsed to the ground.
White Cat, bewildered, quickly adjusted and slowed down, witnessing the young lieutenant swiftly strike with a punch to the middle-aged man’s upper lip, where soft and hard cartilage met, causing the man to topple over.
“Losing composure leads to wrong decisions. According to rank, I’m taking command now,” the lieutenant stated expressionlessly, as if he hadn’t just knocked out his superior.
The soldiers momentarily froze at the scene before quickly regaining their composure.
“Change course, switch to X-ray millisecond pulse star navigation, land on nearby Planet P6033 within five minutes. Everyone else, prepare for landing!”
The ship sprang into action, soldiers swiftly donning protective suits. The lieutenant calmly inputted commands at the control panel. In the final minutes, they suited up and placed the captain in a radiation-resistant sleeping bag.
“Number Three, carry the captain. Everyone, once the ship lands, quickly move away, find concealment, use breath camouflage, leave no trace!”
“Lieutenant, are we abandoning ship?” a soldier queried, realizing, “P6033 is a barren planet, our supplies are limited, even if we evade the zerg, survival…”
“Number Six.” The young lieutenant’s imposing aura was palpable, his golden eyes intimidating, “Are you questioning my orders?”
Number Six clenched his teeth and bowed his head. “Number Six will strictly follow orders!”
The ship shook as it barely landed in a short span of time. As the airlock opened, the soldiers swiftly disembarked, with the lieutenant being the last to leave.
Thousands of insect ships landed on the barren planet, with the spaceship at the center, constantly provoking. The spaceship remained motionless, only flashing lights intermittently, seemingly intentionally drawing their attention.
The Brain Bug sensed something amiss and attempted a quick retreat, but the spaceship suddenly self-destructed. It was like a silent pantomime, with fire clouds and black dust staining half the sky red. Countless insects instantly turned to ashes, many unable to react before their bodies disintegrated into dust.
After a brief interruption, the video resumed, showing the entire team resembling savages, their protective suits tattered, huddled together eating roasted unidentified meat.
“It’s over. We’re definitely getting disciplined when we get back. You, kid, dare to hit me, you’re finished!” The captain had woken up, his beard grown longer, glaring at the lieutenant while fiercely biting into his roasted meat.
“But we’re all still alive,” Number Six responded cheerfully. “Thanks to the communicator the captain brought out, the Alliance already knows our coordinates!”
“Communicator? I didn’t bring one, though?” The captain looked confused.
“Uh, my mistake, it was the deputy.” Number Six grinned at the captain, glancing at the young lieutenant who remained silent, focused on his food.
As one video ended, White Cat’s eyes shone brightly, increasingly admiring.
“Keep watching,” the bald parrot had been sneakily observing White Cat’s expression, intentionally teasing, “Next, you’ll see them hunting in groups. Number Six was seriously injured, couldn’t hold out until the rescue team arrived, in such pain that he attempted to secretly end it with a laser. The others found out.
While everyone was comforting Number Six, your beloved Chief, during his watch, heard Number Six crying for death, wiped his tears away, and actually snapped his neck.”
White Cat shivered.
“You might not know this, but he faced a military tribunal for that. What did he say? He said a soldier must never take his own life. Rather than let Number Six lose his dignity as a soldier and cry himself to death, he chose to end it in his own hands.” The bald parrot sneered.
“How did the military tribunal rule?” White Cat asked nervously.
“What else could they do? Based on the autopsy results, Number Six couldn’t have held out until rescue arrived, and it was his own wish to leave. It was a case of force majeure, so they had to find him not guilty and let him continue fighting.”
1TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you and Enjoy reading! ❤️”
