Chapter 481: Big Orange Cat, I Am the First Secretary-General of the United Government, Chu Bamboo

“…Interesting!” Su Po’s expression became quite a picture. In truth, if the Big Orange Cat’s master wasn’t *that person* in the myths, he would have already started mocking it. ‘This cat’s intelligence is clearly questionable—

First, it believed Chu Bamboo’s story about God telling the Big Orange Cat to run with him… And then, it seems it didn’t realize it could teleport until it got all the way here?!’

‘Heh. A lowly member of the Ten Thousand Races, after all! It’s only natural that it couldn’t conceive of something only the noble Human Race could think of.’

“I have shown you enough courtesy, but since you remain so obstinate! Then, if I get a little rough now, even my ancestor will have nothing to say about it.” Su Po stood upon the void, his tone indifferent. “Your speed is impressive… but it’s a pity that where you now stand… is the territory of the Empire!”

“O, space that We have conquered! Tell Us, where is Our foe? Furthermore, We command you to open for Us a spatial path to the enemy’s location!”

His word became law.

The void twisted.

Forming a tunnel.

‘What does it mean to be the God of Nations and Conquest? It means that on this land, We are the nation! We conquer and control all!’

Su Po walked into it without a moment’s hesitation.

「Five seconds later.」

A pair of nearby trees, one tall and one short, trembled slightly and transformed into Chu Bamboo and the Big Orange Cat.

It was an identity swap!

The Big Orange Cat had swapped its identity with a tree, and Chu Bamboo had done the same. The cat had initially planned to dive into the bushes, but Chu Bamboo felt they couldn’t treat Su Po like an idiot, so he simply applied a Rewrite to both himself and the Big Orange Cat.

Then, the Big Orange Cat added some unknown buff, causing the two trees Chu Bamboo had applied Rewrite to to come to life… before she tossed them who knows where!

“Let’s keep moving!” The Big Orange Cat slapped its paw on Chu Bamboo’s shoulder, its expression severe. Its delicate little paw tapped the ground again, and their figures vanished in an instant.

「Meanwhile.」

Su Po stared at the tree that had reverted to its original form in his hand and fell into deep thought. ‘…Have We been played?’

‘But how is that possible?!’

Su Po couldn’t understand. The edict he issued had locked onto those two. It was one thing for *him* to mistake them… but for the nation as a whole to mistake them… This!

After a moment of thought, Su Po’s expression changed. ‘Oh no!’

He quickly warped back to the Nuwa Base. A quick scan of the area made him realize two trees were missing. A shadow fell over his eyes.

After a brief silence, Su Po issued a command with a blank expression, “Nuwa No. 17, begin searching for any information on Chu Bamboo and the Big Orange Cat! No matter where they appear… you must notify me immediately.”

Su Po pulled out his phone. Just as he was about to issue an order in the work group chat to have all Nuwa units across the nation synchronize the command, he heard…

“Warning! Your clearance is insufficient! Unable to issue this surveillance command.”

Su Po: “?”

After a moment of silence, a look of astonishment appeared on his face. “Are you serious?!”

‘Who was he? The ruler of the Human Empire!’

‘In theory, his clearance level within the Nuwa Mainframe… was the absolute highest!’

‘It wasn’t that Nuwa couldn’t deny him—but for that to happen, the Wa Huang would have to be awake!’

“…Who… is he?” Su Po narrowed his eyes. The title of Crown Prince alone couldn’t possibly make Nuwa respond this way. In other words…

‘Should I say, as expected?’

A stir of agitation rose in Su Po’s heart, and a strange smile touched the corners of his lips. ‘Truly worthy of being the one designated by the Pope, the existence suspected of being connected to *that person* on Mars…’

To this, Nuwa No. 17 replied: “Second warning. You do not have the right to inquire!”

Su Po gave the illusory screen projected by Nuwa a deep look. He said nothing more, simply issuing an order on his phone, cranking the search level to its absolute maximum.

“The Crown Prince has been abducted by a big orange cat! Spare no expense! Even if you have to turn over every inch of the Empire’s territory, you will find them both!”

「Three seconds later.」

The order, transmitted via quantum communications, spread throughout the entire nation—even citizens of the Empire dwelling on distant stars received it.

And so, the entire nation was thrown into an uproar!

…

“…Where is this?” Chu Bamboo took a shallow breath and immediately started coughing violently. ‘Why does it smell completely of industrial exhaust? Where did she bring me?’

Looking around, Chu Bamboo’s expression gradually changed. This was an extremely old factory. It was still running, but very slowly, spewing out countless streams of industrial exhaust. ‘If all this black smoke were white, it would actually have the ethereal, misty feel of the Celestial Court!’

As it was, Chu Bamboo just found it outrageous. Back in his 21st-century home in the Divine Continent, the environmental protection department would have strung the factory director up and given them a lashing for this!

Most importantly…

Chu Bamboo raised his head with a strange expression. He saw a blue planet—undoubtedly Earth!

“This is the Old Guanghan Palace Industrial District!” The Big Orange Cat licked its paws, then seemed to remember something and added, “Okay, that’s a bit too specific… basically, it’s the Moon!”

“I see.” Chu Bamboo nodded, outwardly calm, but his mind was racing. ‘So that means the Big Orange Cats from other timelines are probably on the Moon too? Interesting.’

‘But doesn’t the Moon have defense mechanisms? So…’ Chu Bamboo looked thoughtfully at the Big Orange Cat.

“What are you staring at, meow!” The Big Orange Cat’s gaze turned wary. “Don’t think that just because you can say those two names, we’re suddenly best buds… I may have saved your life, but that was only for God’s sake! Let’s leave it at that… I’m retired. I don’t want to get involved in all that messy stuff anymore!”

Then, the Big Orange Cat turned without hesitation and, with a cat-like strut, waddled its chubby body toward a factory building in the distance.

Chu Bamboo naturally followed close behind, but after ducking inside, his expression froze.

The Big Orange Cat was sitting in front of a giant light-screen computer. It expertly opened two bags of potato chips, used a claw to pop open a can of cola, and gleefully launched a 2D anime-style game Chu Bamboo had never seen before… ‘Though the character art is actually pretty good!’

It’s just…

“…This is a travesty!”

Chu Bamboo slapped a palm to his face. ‘That damned cat is actually…’ He could only say that the changes between worldlines truly held infinite possibilities!

“…Still haven’t left?” The Big Orange Cat’s brow furrowed, but it didn’t even turn its head. “Then you can just starve to death here! Don’t even think about stealing my cola and chips… or I’ll claw you to death, meow.”

“Hasn’t virtual reality technology been popularized in your era?” Chu Bamboo suddenly asked.

The Big Orange Cat’s body stiffened for a moment before it exploded as if its fur were standing on end, “What’s wrong with being a purist 2D gamer! Is that the only card you arrogant online VR players know how to play? Ptooey! Disgusting!”

“…” Chu Bamboo was silent for a moment, then took a deep breath, only to choke on the air again. “I was actually just trying to build a better rapport with you!”

“…” The Big Orange Cat sneered. “I can see that! Your methods are just too crude.”

“But, since it’s come to this! Let’s just put our cards on the table.” Chu Bamboo pondered for a moment before finally choosing to lay everything bare. “Luan! You should… still go by that name, right…?”

The Big Orange Cat’s ears twitched.

Chu Bamboo stared at the Big Orange Cat’s back as it sat in its gaming chair and said sincerely, “You might not believe this, but my true identity is… the first Secretary-General of the 21st-century United Government! Chu Bamboo.”