Cat’s Rose

From the depths of the vortex (3)

Translator:Eyljee

May our souls return to our homeland.

This little thing had already made several people anxious when he hadn’t woken up. After waking up, he had also brought up a lot of chaos. 

New and old hatred were remembered with a vengeance. Ling Yi refused to let Lin Si get close again. 

And, with a history of dismantling hibernation pods with his bare hands, the youngsters would shudder as they approach him. 

In the end, it was Seth who mixed the nutrient with highly concentrated glucose water. After he coaxed Ling Yi for an unknown amount of time, it was finally fed to him. 

After eating, he was very quiet and well-behaved. He neither spoke nor did anything else. He was wrapped in a quilt, watching several people come and go in the laboratory. 

“He’s watching you guys,” Lin Si came up with the result. “He’s smart. Let’s raise him as a baby.” 

At that very moment, Lucia unexpectedly greeted Ling Yi, “Hello, Ling Yi.” 

Ling Yi immediately raised his head and whipped his head at the corner of the ceiling. 

Lin Si took out a chart and drew a star in the listening column. 

Lucia’s voice design was very humanized, it practically had a direct echoing effect on human ears. Normal people wouldn’t be able to distinguish where the sound had come from, but this little thing could accurately locate the source of the sound in a very short period of time. 

Lucia continued, “Hello, Ling Yi.” 

“Lucia?” Lin Si asked, “Are you teaching him?” 

“Yes, Mr. Wizard.” 

Ling Yi still looked at where the sound came from, while Lucia repeated over and over, “Hello, Ling Yi.” 

Finally, Ling Yi opened his mouth and hesitantly let out a syllable. 

The word “hello” was easy to pronounce, so there was no mistake. Several people waited for his next sentence. But what they hadn’t expected was that Ling Yi wouldn’t repeat his name, but said, “…Lucia.” 

Seth made an exaggerated face. 

Since he could recognize Lucia’s name, it meant that he’s indeed very intelligent and could understand human language――so no matter how the physiological structure changed, in the end it was still a person. His threat level plummeted sharply. 

But Ling Yi was human, and Lucia wasn’t. Even if she has high intelligence, she wouldn’t coax the child like a mother, so it would only mechanically repeat over and over again. 

“Ling Yi, welcome from waking up.” 

“This is Voyager’s Zone 6.” 

“It is now the year 2681 A.D. You’ve been away from Earth for 137 years.” 

Ling Yi looked at her, not quite fully understanding. 

He had a sensor chip attached to his skin, monitoring his physical condition at all times. The kid in charge of observing the data gave a “huh”. “His relaxation is to a great degree.” 

Another sniffed and said, “This kind of situation is a common occurrence whenever pups are in close proximity to females; They’re very sensitive and take the initiative to stay away from aggressive individuals and approach the less aggressive ones.” 

Several youngsters quietly turned their eyes to Lin Si in unison. 

Lin Si was writing the logbook of the voyage, which was one of the things that the leader of the ship had to do everyday according to the rules of navigation. He was holding a ballpoint pen――a very retro way of writing, but one that quite a few people liked. 

The buttons of his white shirt were buttoned to the top; his sitting posture was extremely pole-straight, and he donned an expressionless look―― He seemed edgy from head to toe when he wasn’t smiling, as he wrote meticulously and with precision.  

Several people shrunk their necks in unison, each withdrawing their gaze to perform their tasks obediently―― Although Lin Si wasn’t much older than them, he’s much more frightening than their own mentor. 

With Lucia’s mechanical repetition and Ling Yi’s occasional response, time passed for a long time until a small timer on Lin Si’s desk ticked. 

He got up from the table and took off a syringe. 

As soon as Ling Yi saw him approaching, he stiffened. Rejection was written all over his body. 

Without uttering a word, Lin Si walked up to Ling Yi and pulled up his wrist. 

While Ling Yi was still unaware of what was about to occur, the tip of the needle had already gone in. 

――Then the syringe turned crimson. 

Lin Si swiftly pulled out the needle and Seth took the large half-tube of blood to test it. 

The series of actions were neatly done in one go, without even doing the preparatory work you’d usually do to a normal person before drawing blood. 

Ling Yi was dumbfounded. 

The next moment, large tears rolled down from his eyes. He glared at Lin Si incredulously, looking both angry and wronged. 

Lin Si looked at him closely. 

Ling Yi cried even more fiercely. He was beautiful, still a half-grown teenager. Seeing him cry would simply break the hearts of those sympathetic people. 

――Except, of course, for Lin Si, who had turned around and walked away. 

Ling Yi watched him walk out the door, trembling with rage. He sobbed a few times, his face full of tears. 

People with eyes could see that this little thing was completely holding a grudge against Lin Si―― Yet, he was afraid and dared not to fight back. 

They had also figured out Ling Yi’s personality. Although the body mutation brought some amazing changes, he was unaware of it. So he wouldn’t lose control, and the aggressive behavior that showcased when he first woke up wouldn’t occur. 

Of course, there were still problems. The child was somewhat lacking in emotion――except for the time when Lin Si came near, and when he was with Lucia, he would give a reaction. Yet he was totally indifferent to several other people. Sometimes he would even resemble a lifeless doll. 

Lucia released a 3D projection of herself to teach Ling some basic knowledge such as how to prescribe nutrients, how to walk, how to wear clothes. 

Her anthropomorphic image was a white-armored female knight with blonde and blue-eyes, filled with heroic spirit and sacredness. Being the only woman on board the ship, she was universally loved. 

“Goddess Lucia,” said Seth reverently, “may I have a picture taken with you?” 

Lucia leaned on her greatsword and spoke in a flat tone, “Insufficient authority.” 

On the other side, Ling Yi came over and called out “Lucia”. He wasn’t quite accustomed to walking; his pace was slightly stiff, with a certain cautious grace. 

Lucia turned around and walked towards Ling Yi. 

Seth hung his head and accepted his position at the bottom of the authority chain. 

His companion let out a yelp and said, “I suddenly remembered that for Dr. Lin’s human experiments, all the experimental subjects were randomly selected from the frozen bodies of the military. How could there be such a young child?” 

Seth returned to his senses and replied, “Maybe it’s the dark curtain¹ of the ship’s tickets. In the first place, the top influential figures on Earth may not be able to send their children on the spaceship. Not everyone can be as steadfast in his principles as Marshal Joyce, who can even give up his own wife and children.” 

“It’s almost impossible for a shady deal to happen,” Someone shook his head. “It’s not like you didn’t know how strict it was back then――Apart from the marshal and Mrs. Chen, no one can control the qualification to board the ship, but both of them were obviously extremely abiding by their principles. I heard that back then, Mrs. Chen was sorry that Dr. Catherine couldn’t come aboard and even decided to give her her own ticket to the ship――just because the quota couldn’t be relaxed. So it must be because there’s something special about this little cutie.” 

The chatting time soon ended, and they figured that he wouldn’t be aggressive for no reason. With Lucia’s help, Ling Yi no longer needed several people to watch, observe and record his data together. 

They had to clean up the mess of the black hole accident as soon as possible and keep detailed records of the damage of each lab so they could apply for supplies from Zone 2 after returning to the “Voyager”. It was also necessary to reinforce and protect the precious instruments and experimental materials that weren’t damaged to prevent further thrashing. 

As for the 3% chance of returning to the “Voyager”, although low, the probability still existed. But after a few days, their situation was getting less and less optimistic. 

Their energy supply was running out. There wasn’t much water and nutrients left, and the navigation conditions in the black hole increasingly turned complicated. The force field diagrams were arranged in a crisscross pattern; the slightest mistake would shatter it to pieces. 

Sometimes, in one moment, Lucia’s 3D image would stand beside Ling Yi. Next, it would be distorted and broken――It’s because the amount of calculation required at this moment was so great that it couldn’t be paralleled with any other program. 

Lin Si was watching the countdown. 

Oxygen, temperature control and gravity systems have been lowered to the point where they could barely sustain life. As they traversed in the spaceship, not only were they dizzy and cold, they were also floating. 

The youngsters, who fell over like ninepins, received Lucia’s notice and came east to assemble. They saw Lin Si, who was draped in a black coat, sitting behind the table. On the light screen behind him was the countdown: 

29 minutes and 46 seconds before energy depletion. 

There were a few supplements on the table. Seth half-floated over, his eyes listless. “Supper― the Last Supper, Lord Jesus, we don’t have enough people, ah.” 

Lin Si’s face was expressionless. “Virgin Mary is bringing Judas here soon.” 

Seth looked back at the corridor. “How could it be Judas? It’s obviously a little angel, ah.” 

The little angel was wearing a white shirt that was slightly larger than him. His snow-white, slender ankles were showing under the pulled-up trouser legs, like a doll. 

——Unfortunately, his complexion didn’t look good. He walked side by side with Lucia and looked at the wall very hard. He hadn’t even glanced at Lin Wei. 

Oddly, he wasn’t having any reaction to weightlessness. 

Lin Si drew two stars on the column “body coordination”. 

As Ling Yi also came over, the corridor lights went out. Only this one room in the entire ship was still lit to maximize saving energy. 

“Everyone’s here. Then first of all,” Lin Si pushed his silver-rimmed glasses, “We have to ask this little friend. Did you pull off the cat grass I planted in the beaker?” 

Ling Yi didn’t speak. 

“Not admitting is equal to acquiescence,” Lin Si tsked. “Next question, did you pull them off because you like to play like this, or is it an indirect retaliation against me?” 

Ling Yi could already understand many sentences, but this sentence still seemed too complicated for him. 

He only knew that this extremely annoying person was playing a trick on him! 

“Not talking is equal to acquiescing to the second one,” Lin Si grinned, “No sugar in today’s nutrient.” 

It was a simple statement that was easy to understand. 

Ling Yi was about to cry once again. 

Lin Si ordered coldly, “Come here.” 

Ling Yi glanced at Lucia for help, but Lucia wasn’t able to give any response. According to the information he got from his observation in the past few days, everyone had to obey Lin Si’s orders―― He had to reluctantly go over. 

And Lin Si’s actions were beyond his expectation. Instead of pricking himself with a needle or doing anything else that made him feel uncomfortable, he reached out and buttoned up the top two buttons of his shirt. 

When his fingertips inadvertently touched Ling Yi’s skin, the little thing immediately quivered. 

Lin Si trailed off with a low, amused chuckle. “That afraid of me?” 

Ling Yi looked away from him. 

Lin Si glanced at Seth and the others. 

The youngsters knew that Lin Si had deliberately teased Ling Yi just now, and catching Seth’s previous “Last Supper” joke was to lighten the atmosphere. 

The countdown had gone to 23 minutes and 14 seconds. 

“No surprise, we’re going to die,” said Lin Si as he flexed his knuckles and tapped the table. 

“Although you’re all firm materialists, I still hope that all of your souls will return to your homeland.” 

“To make your death a little more pleasant, I permit you to add sugar to the nutrient.” 

Seth was lifeless as he picked up a tube of nutrients. “May your soul, Dr. Lin, also return to your homeland.” 

Several other young people also picked up the nutrient. “May our souls return to our homeland.” 

There was one left on the table. 

Ling Yi didn’t quite understand what was going on, only that the remaining one was definitely going to be taken by the detestable Lin Si. 

Lin Si did take it up, but faintly said, “I wouldn’t have to.” 

He handed the nutrient to Ling Yi. “Sweet.” 

Ling Yi held the slightly cool nutrient in the palm of his hand, a bit lost.