The Interstellar Cat-Petting Handbook

[The main story is complete. Please check out my new novel, Learning Mecha Is No Match for Growing Potatoes!] Programmer Tang Xi accidentally transmigrated into the body of a pitiful girl in the interstellar age. Her parents died when she was young, and now, at just thirteen, she lived comfortably on welfare. She also had a cheat: every so often, she could draw a mystery box from the System shop. After a month of scrimping and working hard, Tang Xi drew a tabby cat, hoping to get rich. Tang Xi, with her stomach growling: What a piece of junk! Just as she was about to train the tabby to jump through a flaming hoop and earn its keep, someone told her that although her parents had died, they had left her an inheritance: a key and a planet so tiny that even interstellar radar couldn't detect it. * On the second day after Tang Xi moved to Desolate Planet 9527, a middle-aged woman from the Interstellar Alliance's neighborhood committee showed up to deliver the compulsory education order and arrange for her to attend Long Aotian High School. Tang Xi only wanted to build infrastructure. Besides, with a degree from a 985 university, high school subjects would be a breeze. But when she realized she could earn more points by attending school, draw more mystery boxes, and build up the planet even better, she gave in. Looking at the main subjects on her terminal, "Mecha Fundamentals," "A Grand History of the Interstellar Age," "Individual Combat Physical Training," and "On Spiritual Values," along with the elective subjects tucked in the corner, "Chinese" and "Mathematics," Tang Xi fell into thought. * With alien races liable to invade at any moment, the Five Academies were scrambling to recruit talent. Tang Xi had only just scraped her way in, and all she wanted was to coast. But then she challenged Rong Qian, a genius with over 800 spiritual value. Her reason? He'd stolen her cat. Rong Qian passed the challenge to his older brother, the famously temperamental man from Musta. Rong Qian: "How about turning back into a cat?" Rong Shen: "...What the hell are you talking about?" * The Musta royal family's feline bloodline is the strangest in the ATB Galaxy. Until they reach 200, they keep the appearance of an eighteen-year-old. In the interstellar year they come of age, they revert to their feline form. The higher their bloodline rank, the rarer the breed they become, such as Ragdolls, LaPerms, and Maine Coons. But when this tabby appeared before the genetic testing machine, Inspector Lusika unceremoniously shoved it aside. "Whose stray is this? It actually thinks it can board a wormhole ship bound for Musta!" Tang Xi repeatedly apologized and held Budong close in her arms. Rong Shen leaned against Tang Xi's shoulder, glaring with murderous contempt at the lowly creature that had once groveled at his feet. He spat out an insult. "Meow!" Rong Shen: ... Reader's note: 1. This is a feel-good interstellar story, with aliens everywhere, including ones humans can marry. Most look human, not like the grotesque creatures you see in some stories. 2. There are lots and lots of original worldbuilding details, so don't get hung up on them. The power system is called spiritual value. You can think of it as the mental strength traditionally used to operate mechas. Once it reaches a certain level, which is quite high, spiritual value develops special abilities, much like superpowers. 3. The author is terrible at physics, and a lot of this comes from my imagination. Please be kind if you have criticisms. Let's keep things civil and friendly. 4. The male lead is a tabby cat. That's just how he's written; it has nothing to do with discrimination against any breed. It's fine if you don't like it, but please don't leave a negative rating. Thank you. Coming soon: Companion story: The Interstellar Cat-Petting Chronicles Liang Yan is the daughter of a princess of the Karst royal family. Kidnapped as a child and abandoned on a junk planet, she grew up alongside mutant wolves. By the time she was found, she'd become the little tyrant of the junk planet. Back in Karst, Liang Yan has plenty to eat and wear, an adopted older sister who barely registers but is determined to make it up to her, a beautiful and frail father who always takes her side, and a childhood betrothed she's never met. In the future interstellar world, humans awaken as Sentinels and Guides. Men and women are equal, and those with extraordinary abilities can become rulers. Liang Yan's mother married her father and is also the heir to the Karst Empire. Although she's descended from the empire's strongest Sentinel, Liang Yan never awakened as a Sentinel. She's only a Grade B Guide. No one knows, however, that she's the only Guide with a healing spiritual companion, the Vermilion Bird. Liang Yan has already made up her mind: once she's successful, she'll marry a beautiful wife, just like her mother. Xiao Changling is an S-rank Sentinel, a rare Dark type who can hold the front line without needing a Guide's comfort. But no one knows how agonizing his every bout of frenzy is. He turns savage and bloodthirsty, like a demon from hell, and has to fight to control himself, leaving him covered in wounds. After being badly injured, he has no choice but to temporarily become his spiritual companion, Nigel, and hide in a cave until he heals. Then a little girl, covered from head to toe in protective gear, finds the cave. He's on guard. Liang Yan meets his gaze, pauses, then raises her brows in delight. "What a pretty little black cat!" Xiao Changling: "..." The flower-shaped cat paw that had been poised to strike with its claws feels a warm, healing energy the moment it touches her. Xiao Changling has been kidnapped and turned into a house cat. His black fur is brushed smooth every day. Every few days, he gets chicken breast and little fish to eat. He lounges in a magnificent palace and sleeps on a soft bed. Until one day, another Sentinel trespasses on his territory: Liang Yan's former fiance. The man's powerful possessiveness nearly makes him bristle. The agile black cat leaps onto the kitchen counter and starts picking out a handy assassination weapon. "What is your cat doing?" "He's playing. Look how happy he is!" Xiao Changling: "...?" Theme: Learning scientific knowledge about interstellar mechas