Jing Xi had checked Chi Yao’s personal file in the imperial database. There was no household registration, only a record of him becoming the leader of Extreme Shadow five years ago.

This was only recorded because he had been targeted by the military; otherwise, there would be no trace of this person.

The imperial star chart was vast, and there were still a few planets with backward technology that couldn’t promptly bind a terminal to a newborn infant, leading to the loss of personal data.

Some children, separated from their families due to poverty, disaster, or other reasons, could end up as undocumented individuals.

Those who committed serious crimes and had their household registration canceled would also become undocumented, but in those cases, they would either be imprisoned for life or executed, and would not reappear in the public eye.

Jing Xi thought back to his past encounters with Chi Yao.

Although it was back and forth, and they had injured each other about the same number of times, he always felt that the other party hadn’t used his full strength.

For an ordinary child born on a poor planet to have such good skills was already very rare. To also be able to take charge of a huge star pirate group at a young age was simply inexplicable without some special experience.

Jing Xi took a quick combat shower and pulled a pair of underwear from a drawer in the wardrobe.

Just as he was about to put them on, his fingers suddenly stiffened.

He ran a hand through his hair, then opened a new box and changed.

Walking out of the rest cabin, he saw a middle-aged, burly alpha rushing over.

The leather jacket on the man was so old that its original color was indiscernible. The tight sleeves outlined exaggerated muscle lines, making him look very fierce.

This was Li Yuan, the assistant Chi Yao often had by his side.

Next to him was a border collie nearly two meters tall. This was Chi Yao’s pet, a top-tier mutant species with combat power equivalent to a squad of five hundred.

Ordinary people wouldn’t even dare to keep a mutant species as a pet; just looking at one would make their hearts pound. The only one who dared to do so was Chi Yao.

“Boss, you’re awake! You scared me to death!”

Li Yuan looked him over carefully, and only after confirming that the boss hadn’t lost any limbs did he breathe a sigh of relief.

But something still felt off.

Why were the boss’s collar and cuffs so buttoned up today?

The big dog saw Jing Xi and whimpered as it pounced over, squatting on the ground to rub against his palm.

“Awooo—woo?”

It tilted its head, looking at Jing Xi, and sniffed at his head, neck, and chest.

“Woo woo?”

Jing Xi stiffened slightly, his hands clenching at his sides.

A level-five mutant species had abilities beyond human comprehension. Had it discovered something?

Just as that thought flashed through his mind, the big dog swiped with its front paw.

Jing Xi was about to strike, but the next moment he was buried in soft dog fur.

“…”

Li Yuan laughed from the side. “How many times a day do you need to mark him? If you don’t let go, the boss is going to cut off your food supply.”

The big dog seemed to understand and immediately let go, placing its front paws neatly in front of it, not daring to move.

Jing Xi: “…”

Li Yuan: “The ore has been counted, a full 240 carts. Do you want to go see it now?”

Jing Xi brushed the dog hair off his clothes. “Let’s eat first.”

The cabin door opened, and a huge wave of noise came from inside. Jing Xi’s brow furrowed.

It was lunchtime, and the dining hall was a chaotic mess of people.

Some were eating with their feet on the chairs, some with their hands, some shouting while eating. Their table manners were simply unbearable to watch.

The floor was littered with dropped food, looking like it hadn’t been cleaned in a long time.

The smell of food mixed with sweat assailed his nostrils, ruining his appetite.

These people were less clean than a dog.

Li Yuan: “Boss, why aren’t you going in?”

Big Dog: “Woo?”

“Forget it,” Jing Xi said with a cold face, walking back along the metal corridor.

Just looking at it had made him full.

Li Yuan: “But—”

Jing Xi: “I’m not hungry.”

Just as he said it, his stomach growled betrayingly.

Jing Xi: “…”

How long had it been since he had eaten to be this hungry?

Li Yuan awkwardly rubbed his nose. “You haven’t eaten for almost two days. Should I make a few dishes and bring them to you?”

Jing Xi: “You’ll cook?”

Li Yuan was just like his appearance: burly and rough. He was a good fighter; Lu Meng, the captain of the Flying Dragon Vanguard, had fought him several times and barely gained any advantage.

He could cook too?

Receiving his distrustful gaze, Li Yuan became indignant.

“I am a professional chef with a national first-class chef’s license! Being a star pirate is just a hobby!”

Jing Xi: “Oh, I couldn’t tell.”

Li Yuan: “…”

Meanwhile, Chi Yao sat in the command seat of the Flying Dragon main ship, eating fruit and watching a movie, feeling very content.

Jiang Feng came by regularly to report on the fleet’s various daily data.

“We’ll arrive at the military industrial star space station in an hour. Your body has just recovered, so it would be better for you to return to the imperial capital star to rest first. This expedition wasn’t long, so the inspection should be simple. I’ll contact you again when we get back to the imperial capital.”

Before and after every expedition, all of the corps’ military equipment needed to go to the military industrial star for routine inspection, which usually required the commander or vice-commander to be present to supervise.

“Okay,” Chi Yao agreed readily.

Inspections were such boring matters, of course he would push them off if he could.

Jiang Feng understood but was still a bit surprised.

In the past, even when injured, the commander would always personally supervise. He took military equipment safety very seriously.

It seemed the injury this time was really severe.

After the fleet docked, Chi Yao took his exclusive spaceship directly back to the imperial capital star.

As he walked out of the landing hall, a grand hovercar suddenly landed in front of him.

As the car door opened, an AI’s voice sounded in his mind.

[Master, welcome home. Shall we go to the military headquarters or home now?]

This was Jing Xi’s car?

Chi Yao sat down in the driver’s seat without any burden and smiled. “Home.”

[Understood.]

Land in the imperial capital star was worth its weight in gold, and it wasn’t a place you could live just by having money.

Currently, the residents of the imperial capital, besides the royal family, were mainly divided into three categories: natives, high-ranking military and political officials, and nobles.

With Jing Xi’s status, his home should at least be a mansion.

That’s what Chi Yao had originally thought. But as the hovercar entered the military district and drove further and further into a remote area, his expectations gradually lowered.

The hovercar finally stopped in front of a small garden house.

Chi Yao looked at the house, which had a total area of less than two hundred square meters, and was very disappointed in Jing Xi.

The hovercar went to the garage automatically. He walked along the cobblestone path.

The fence around the courtyard was covered with roses, filling the air with fragrance.

“Achoo!” Chi Yao rubbed his nose.

It was too fragrant.

Just as he opened the door, his terminal rang.

Chi Yao glanced at it. It was Jing Xi.

“You miss me already?”

Chi Yao said as he walked inside. Suddenly, a dark shadow flashed before his eyes.

His expression changed slightly, and his hand subconsciously went to his middle finger, but the place where his ring used to be was empty.

In that moment of distraction, he was attacked in the face by a small, furry creature.

“Meow—”

Chi Yao: “…”

A cat?

He pinched the scruff of the cat’s neck and pulled it down, holding it up to look.

It was a Maine Coon, of excellent quality, the length of his forearm. It didn’t look like a mutant species.

“Well, so handsome. It’s a female cat,” Chi Yao said, shaking his hand. The cat’s dangling limbs swung back and forth, as limp as if it had no bones.

“Meow!”

The cat lord seemed to have understood his teasing and stretched out its paws, scratching wildly in mid-air, but its short legs just couldn’t reach him.

“Yao Yao.”

Hearing this affectionate call, Chi Yao was stunned and turned his head to look at the virtual screen.

To make contact easier, Jing Xi had returned to the rest cabin.

Seeing both the cat and the person look over, he explained, “I was calling my cat, not you.”

Chi Yao looked at the cat in his hand and sneered. “Its name is Yao Yao?”

A female cat with the same name as him? Was this really not intentional?

Jing Xi: “Yao Yao, the ‘yao’ from ‘yao tiao shu nu’ (graceful lady).”

Chi Yao: “…”

Chi Yao put his fingers to his lips and whistled.

The screen flickered, and a large dog appeared next to Jing Xi’s seat.

Chi Yao looked at the dog and smiled. “Xi Xi is so well-behaved.”

Seeing Jing Xi frown, he forcefully explained, “Don’t misunderstand, it’s the ‘xi’ from ‘you mei ren xi’ (there is a beautiful person).”

Jing Xi: “…”

Doggo: “?”

Chi Yao closed the door and walked inside. The cat in his hands sniffed all over him, then suddenly scratched him and jumped to the floor, disappearing.

“Even the cat has such a bad temper?” Chi Yao said sarcastically. “Like owner, like cat.”

Jing Xi looked at the big dog squatting next to him and thought to himself, isn’t this dog just like you?

Seeing his nemesis enter his own home, Jing Xi said coldly, “You’ll stay in the south-facing room on the inner side of the second floor.”

Chi Yao: “Is that your room?”

Jing Xi: “The guest room.”

Chi Yao slowly wandered around the first floor, then went up the stairs to the second floor.

He sneered, “What, you think I’m dirty? This body is yours.”

Jing Xi: “If you don’t want your group to get into trouble, don’t open the bedroom door.”

“Haven’t you been threatening me a bit too much lately?” Chi Yao laughed lazily. “Do you still remember you’re the embodiment of justice?”

Jing Xi’s face was expressionless. “But I’m a star pirate now.”

Chi Yao: “…”

Seeing Chi Yao go up to the second floor, Jing Xi reminded him again, “I think following the rules would be beneficial for both of us.”

“That makes sense,” Chi Yao stopped in front of the master bedroom door and retorted with his own words, “But in my current capacity, how could I possibly listen to a star pirate set the rules?”

Jing Xi: “…”

Chi Yao put his hand on the doorknob and waved at him with a smile. “I’m going to rest now, bye-bye.”

Jing Xi frowned. “Chi Yao!”

But before he could finish, the screen went black.

He immediately redialed, but it showed that he was out of the service area.

Suddenly, there was a warm, furry touch on the back of his hand.

Jing Xi was startled and turned his head to look.

The big dog had its chin resting on his hand and was looking at him with its big, watery eyes.

“How did you end up with such a master.”

Jing Xi scratched its chin. The fur was soft and thick, and he couldn’t smell any odor even up close.

This was probably the cleanest thing in the entire star pirate group.

“Awooo?”

The doggo rubbed against his palm.

He hadn’t expected the big dog to be so well-behaved.

A level-five mutant species wasn’t just larger in size; it was also more ferocious and brutal than ordinary dogs.

Jing Xi asked tentatively, “Is your name really Xi Xi?”

The dog’s rapidly wagging tail suddenly stiffened. It drooped listlessly.

It silently turned its back, faced the wall, and lay down without moving.

Jing Xi: “…”

__

Author’s note:
Chi Yao: The ‘xi’ from ‘you mei ren xi’ (there is a beautiful person). [solemnly]
Jing Xi: The ‘xi’ from ‘ke lian xi xi’ (pitiful), right?
Doggo: …I’m depressed.
#My name was so cool, now it’s gone.#