Chapter 160: The Smart-Brain Cat

Ninglu returned inside the palace; the Psycats he lifted with two fingers were over a meter long, the largest of the thirty-six.

The Psycat's bright eyes stared fixedly at Ninglu; the black-armored giant radiated an aura that filled it with terror.

Its ginger fur stood on end, and it suddenly opened its mouth to let out a hiss.

Accompanying the hiss, the Primarch felt as if a large stone had smashed against his chest.

The Primarch's imposing frame did not even sway: 【"Psychokinetic" Heavy Strike.】

While he was thinking, the Psycat let out another shriek, and a burst of flame erupted, smashing toward his arm.

【Flame-type "Flame Blast"? Forcing me to let you go, then using "Freeze Time"?

By the standards of a masterless Psycat, the three-part spell selection was quite appropriate; it must have been a family member of a Battle Witch in the past.】

Although the Psycat possessed powerful psychic abilities, its intelligence was low and it could not use spells properly; the three-part spell was already a decent tactic.

Ninglu perceived the Psycat's consecutive spells in an instant; his arm gave a slight twitch, and the Warp Flame grazed past his armor, smashing into the obsidian floor with a boom that made the entire palace shake from the explosion.

At the same time, the Primarch applied force with two fingers, and the Psycat let out a mournful cry.

A moment later, Ninglu returned to his quarters, staring at the weak Psycat in his hand.

The Primarch's black eyes focused on the Psycat's sapphire-like pupils, and his consciousness spread to the ginger body in his hand.

The Psycat's mind-gate was just like it was when it curled up, like a cat's ball of yarn.

The Primarch's consciousness slipped through the gaps in the ginger ball of yarn and saw its heart's desire.

Stemming from a deep-seated need, the masterless Psycat needed a master and needed a family.

The Primarch's consciousness transformed into a large, warm hand, gently touching the Psycat's mind.

The Psycat's bristling fur gradually smoothed down, and its sapphire eyes no longer flickered with terror.

Not a cat in essence, it nonetheless lay in Ninglu's palm, enjoying the sensation just like a pet cat.

The Psycat had found the feeling it needed, and it was even warmer and more comfortable.

The feeling created by the Primarch's powerful psychic strength enveloped the Psycat.

A psychic link that would take others weeks to establish with a Psycat was completed in a few minutes.

Ninglu selectively opened up a warm side he rarely showed, establishing a psychic link with the Psycat while cautiously opening only a small portion of his mind to it.

Even so, the Psycat immediately underwent an obvious change; a hint of black appeared in its sapphire eyes.

Ninglu knew the Psycat would exhibit a slow metabolic change; they would gradually become similar to their masters in physiology, temperament, and habits.

On the day the Primarch established the psychic link with the Psycat, Arsena and Diana also began establishing psychic links with their new family members.

Although the Primarch Attendant was not a Mind-type psyker, he used telekinesis to block various attacks and firmly restrained the brown Psycat.

Arsena estimated that it would only take ten work cycles for him to establish a psychic link with the Psycat.

Compared to the powerful psyker, the trouble Diana faced was much greater.

The Psycat she received was the weakest of the thirty-six; it was not yet an adult, only fifty-eight centimeters long, and it had only mastered one Biochemical-type spell: "Accelerate Metabolism."

Even so, the captain of the flagship still encountered huge trouble.

Within a few hours, she experienced a slight increase in heart rate, felt slightly hungry, and her body temperature rose by three degrees.

Diana suspected that if she were not wearing the Protective Orb bestowed by the Primarch, she would have already died from a physical collapse.

Because of the Protective Orb, the impact she received was very weak; if she were not wearing physiological monitoring equipment, she would have subconsciously ignored it or attributed it to fatigue.

After Diana underwent a comprehensive physical examination at the Milaojiapans and found no major problems, she decided to temporarily hand over the matter of installing the Ether cannon to the Artillery Supervisor who was more skilled in this area.

The female captain decided to take the initiative and attempt to tame the Psycat.

The method Diana first adopted was the way Terra nobles often used to build connections with pets: taking the pet for a stroll.

Thus, she ordered her attendants to bring high-grade pet food processed from emergency Cradle of the Sea rations.

After hesitating for a moment, Diana bit her lips and bravely picked up the Psycat.

The Gunship took off from the Shadow of Sovereignty, which was currently being fitted with the Ether cannon, and swept rapidly across the surface of Vostonia's moon.

Diana kept an eye on the changes in the Psycat in her arms, but it only bared its teeth from time to time.

Whenever this happened, the female captain would feel a certain part of her body wrapped in her Carapace Armor get soaked with sweat.

Diana hugged the Psycat in her arms tightly with her right hand, then lifted her left hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead with the back of her fair hand.

Afterward, she pointed forward: "Let's land in that canyon."

The Lieutenant beside her immediately checked the Data Slate and reported to the female captain.

"My Lady, that was originally a mine. There is a special kind of ore here with moon patterns on it, known as Moonstone."

"The Primarch was very interested in this ore, so when the satellite shipyard was established, it was mined on a large scale."

"Later, the ore here was mined out, leaving only a canyon-like pit. When the miners left, they used ordinary stones to build a Moon."

Hearing that there was ore here that interested the Primarch, Diana became even more interested.

She put on her breathing Mask and personally put a breathing canister specially made by the Techmarine on the little ginger Psycat.

Afterward, the guard squad walked off the deck first to establish a Jingjie line, and only then did the female captain walk out of the Gunship holding the Psycat.

Diana then looked at the Moon built by the miners, and after examining the sphere made of silver ore in front of her for a moment, she spoke.

"I have never seen Luna from the Hive City on Terra, but the books record that in the past it looked like a silver plate, and we can also see a shining circle when looking from afar on the spaceship."

"It is indeed similar."

The Lieutenant nodded in agreement.

Diana then turned her attention to the Psycat in her arms, unable to sense any sign of pleasure from it upon leaving the ship and arriving in the outside world.

The female captain frowned and placed the Psycat on the silver disc.

The miners of Vostonia had cleverly crafted the silver ore into a whole; the little Psycat stood on it, and the disc did not sway in the slightest.

After hesitating for a moment, Diana followed the way she used to tease pets when she was a child, picking up a piece of ore from the ground and tossing it toward the Psycat.

As the female captain of the flagship, she should have let the Lieutenant and guards disperse before performing an action so inconsistent with her usual dignified image.

However, the cockroach-brain cat has not yet been tamed and might take the opportunity to escape; the Arc Projectile Gun in the guard's hand can electrocute it if it tries to run.

The stone thrown by Diana flew past the little ginger-colored creature; it only needed to reach out a hand to touch the stone, but it didn't move at all.

The female captain took it to tour the hollowed-out canyon again, and after returning to the Gunship, she tried feeding it again, but there was no effect at all, as if the cockroach-brain cat was not interested in anything.

Just as Diana finally gave up in frustration, the Seventh Legion returned to Vostonia, and the Shadow of Sovereignty slowly docked at the Xinggang.

After Ninglu listened to the briefings from Commander Sanchez, Szczesny, and others, he confirmed through observation and questioning that Sanchez and the other four "Hunters" had already completed their digestion.

He ordered them to send their subordinates to deliver all the eyes of the Naerchong and Thalassians to the palace and wait outside, then he returned to the "Kingdom of Disorder".

Ninglu intended to use the Squig behemoth to prepare the "Provocateur" Potion; unlike in the past, this time the volume and quality of the main Potion Material far exceeded the minimum standard.

He knew from the common knowledge he had accepted that the better the quality of the main material used, the better the effect of the prepared Magic Potion, but the degree of improvement would not be too great.

The Magic Potions Ninglu had prepared previously did not have such a significant difference.

Ninglu brought the Squigs, which were imprisoned as if in amber, to the side of the furnace.

The Primarch sent a Mind Pulse to the space ape, ordering it to begin preparation according to the "Provocateur" Potion Formula.

Subsequently, Ninglu mobilized his Spirituality and poured it into the Silver Gauntlet.

Golden light flickered, and according to Ninglu's will, he judged the Squig behemoth to be released from "Imprisonment".

The released behemoth let out a confused roar.

Ninglu keenly sensed that releasing the Squig behemoth consumed far less Spirituality than the Imprisonment had.

【Is it because of the volume, or does releasing inherently consume less Spirituality than "Imprisonment"?】

While Ninglu was pondering, he emitted a Psychic Shockwave.

The aggrieved Squig behemoth hadn't even figured out what had happened before it suffered the psychic impact and fainted instantly.

At this moment, the other Potion Materials had been added, and while the space ape stood there blankly, Ninglu threw the Squig behemoth in; the furnace with a cross-section diameter of eleven meters was just enough to accommodate the Squig behemoth.

Amidst crackling sounds, as if a chemical reaction were occurring, the Squig behemoth "melted" rapidly.

After Sanchez and the other four newly promoted "Provocateurs" left, Ninglu sat on the Black Throne, recalling and comparing the differences they displayed.

【After promoting to "Provocateur", Sanchez is more powerful than the other Order Shadows, but this cannot be entirely attributed to the Magic Potion.

Sanchez was already stronger than them to begin with; he is even the only descendant among the Terra-born to have truly awakened "Warp Insight" so far, just as Howard is the only one among the Vostonian-born.】

The Primarch frowned tightly; he recalled every detail and could only vaguely estimate, through the changes in the aura and presence of the five descendants including Sanchez, that the enhancement effect of the "Provocateur" Magic Potion made from the Squig behemoth versus a regular Squig was between four and eleven percent.

【This also fits the definition of a small margin.】

Ninglu then thought: 【What is so-called quality? It is by no means that the Squig behemoth is larger than a regular hopper, but the difference in the amount of Spirituality they contain.

Based on this inference, higher Tiers compared to lower Tiers also contain a difference in Spirituality, but it should not be quantity, but quality.】

Ninglu tapped his fingers on the back of the chair and continued to think.

【If I have a choice, I should also use higher-quality materials to prepare Magic Potions.

Of course, if there is no choice, there is no need to wait for this slight increase.

Promoting to a high Tier as soon as possible to enhance strength is the optimal choice.

Promoting to a high Tier will cause a qualitative change; this bit of increase can only be said to be better than nothing, or rather, only high Tiers are worth selecting the best of the best for Potion Materials.】

After Ninglu reached his conclusion, he sent a message to Diana Polin, summoning her to come.

(End of this chapter)