CAT Chapter 16: Fly Towards The Infernal Lava

“Xiao Ling Yi, you came,” the colonel in the cockpit greeted, recognizing Ling Yi’s footsteps the moment he entered. His gait was steadier than most but noticeably lighter.

After the greeting, the colonel resumed adjusting the cockpit parameters, muttering, “What’s going on? Other teams always have professional research crews when landing, so why don’t we get one this time?”

He felt like they were done in on purpose, so his mood soured.

But then, another set of footsteps approached. Turning his head, he saw Lin Si, who remarked blandly, “I heard…you wanted a research crew?”

“No, no need for that. With Dr. Lin here, who needs a research crew?” The colonel gestured a wave repeatedly.

The cabin intercom came to life, with Svenya’s voice announcing, “This is Deep Space Command. I’m Svenya. All personnel, prepare and confirm the signal transmission system is operational.”

The colonel pressed the confirmation button.

One side of the Voyager’s bowels began to open, revealing a landing ramp that extended nearly a kilometer. Ten or so silver-white, spindle-shaped spaceships slid down in sequence. Their nuclear-powered engines roared to life, emitting blue light at the rear.

The engines ramped up to maximum power, and the leading ship smoothly disengaged from the ramp, heading toward the ashy yellow atmosphere and trailing a silvery-blue streak.

The other ships followed suit, aligning in formation before spreading out toward their pre-assigned regions.

These smaller spacecraft, limited in size and materials, lacked warp drives and subspace capabilities, making them incapable of faster-than-light travel. However, their flexibility far exceeded that of the Voyager itself, making them ideal for planetary exploration.

Planetary exploration was a routine task for the Voyager, as it needed to extract resources from various planets. However, this mission was different—this was a comprehensive survey of a settlement planet, requiring far greater caution than mere resource mining.

The ships descended from deep space, leveling off at high altitude. Through the windows, the crimson-hued planet grew larger, and its curved horizon came into view.

The colonel whistled. “After all these years in space, we’re finally seeing land again.”

“Ship One, in position.”

“Ship Four, in position.”

Confirmation messages from the other ships came through in succession.

“Received,” Svenya’s voice responded. “Deploy satellites.”

The side hatches of each ship opened, releasing a small satellite.

Given the planet’s diameter, nine satellites were enough to achieve full coverage. With a faint hum, they activated, relaying real-time imagery back to Deep Space Command, where the data was converted and transmitted further to the Voyager.

“Hold tight, we’re descending straight down now.” Having completed the satellite deployment, the colonel eagerly maneuvered the ship. A strong sense of weightlessness hit—the small ships had no gravity simulation systems.

Lin Si pulled Ling Yi, who was clinging to the window and staring outside, back to prevent him from falling.

The crimson expanse of land came into clearer focus.

Strong winds whipped up dust storms, endlessly shaping the planet’s terrain. The ship completed its descent and skimmed swiftly over the surface. As far as the eye could see, there were silent canyons, crisscrossing ravines, and deep mountain folds everywhere.

Ling Yi’s eyes widened, gazing unblinkingly.

For someone who had only ever known the mechanical walls of his world, this was a vast and majestic sight. True, the starry seas were boundless and equally breathtaking, but they lacked the tangible presence of solid ground.

The landscapes from other ship regions were also being recorded by cameras and displayed on screens, showing similar scenes with slight variations in terrain.

The colonel studied the images and muttered, “Doctor, something feels off.”

Lin Si, “What feels off?”

“There’s nothing but mountains and dust storms. No oceans, no visible water. Can anyone live here?”

Ling Yi smugly glanced at the colonel. “Lin Si’s domes can collect water.”

“Most planets don’t have liquid water,” Lin Si explained while typing on a virtual keyboard. “This planet experiences intense stellar radiation, leaving only the poles with solid water.”

The colonel scratched his head. “Water can be solid?”

Lin Si. “Ice.”

“Oh,” the colonel said. “Doctor, couldn’t you use simpler terms from the start?”

Lin Si adjusted his glasses. “I can’t. It’s not my habit.”

Lin Si’s habits were obvious to anyone who interacted with him—rigorous, precise, and utterly without error.

The colonel sighed.

Seeing the colonel share his struggles with Lin Si, Ling Yi was delighted.

Still, the little guy knew that if he snuggled up to Lin Si and asked, Lin Si’s demeanor would soften, and he’d explain things in simpler terms. Unfortunately, the colonel was far too big for Lin Si to allow that sort of closeness.

But then a problem arose—Ling Yi would eventually grow taller!

Determined, Ling Yi decided to start eating less.

Meanwhile, the colonel pressed on with his questions. “We really can’t find a planet more like Earth? Do we have to settle here?”

“Colonel, think about it,” Lin Si said. “If there were better options, would we be here?”

“Out of all the planets, there’s nothing better?”

“That’s the reality, Colonel. Intelligence is a valuable trait, and I recall enhancing your neural response speed. Has that not given you even a slight increase in IQ?” Lin Si replied coolly.

“Doctor,” the colonel said seriously, “there’s something I’ve been meaning to say for a long time.”

“Say it.”

“Have you been cursed or something these past few years?” The colonel asked, looking genuinely puzzled. “Back on Earth, when I was in service, we didn’t have much entertainment, so we often watched interviews. You used to speak so elegantly. Why don’t you talk like a normal person anymore?”

“I’m very satisfied with my personality,” Lin Si replied expressionlessly.

The colonel sighed heavily, visibly dejected.

When Ling Yi heard the colonel mention Lin Si’s time on Earth, his ears perked up. Unfortunately, the topic didn’t continue.

“The environment here is just too harsh.”

“Colonel, you should be glad we didn’t find a second Earth. Otherwise, you’d be on the frontlines fighting alien life forms.”

“We could just nuke them.”

“Thermonuclear weapons have a 7% energy efficiency rate. If their weapons have even 1% higher efficiency, it’s an overwhelming advantage,” Lin Si calmly quashed the colonel’s enthusiasm for combat.

The colonel refused to discuss the topic further. “Doctor, your way of thinking is dangerous. It’s too pessimistic.”

Lin Si, “I’m very optimistic.”

The colonel, “…”

——No hope left!

——How desperate must you be to try talking to Lin Si?!

He turned to Ling Yi. “Xiao LingLing, how do you even tolerate Lin Si?”

Ling Yi curved his eyes in a smile but said nothing.

Lin Si smirked faintly.

Most of the universe lay in dead silence. The conditions for life were far too stringent, and the odds of its emergence were minuscule. This desolate planet showed no signs of what humans feared most—any indication of extraterrestrial life.

Lin Si sent a message to Svenya: “We can land.”

The deep-space command issued the landing order. The propulsion engines powered down, and the spacecraft slowly descended to the surface. The crew began donning protective gear in preparation for disembarkation.

The colonel handed a set of equipment to Ling Yi. “The doctor will stay on board. LingLing, you’re coming with us.”

Lin Si interjected, “He doesn’t need equipment for now.”

The colonel suspected Lin Si was about to make things hard for Ling Yi.

Sure enough, Lin Si headed toward the hatch. “Come with me.”

Ling Yi followed.

The hatch slowly opened, revealing a blazing sun and hot, oxygen-poor air rushing in. It immediately made everyone’s chest feel heavy, as if their lungs were aflame.

Lin Si frowned slightly—the environment here was indeed harsh.

Adding to that, the planet’s gravity was only 73% of Earth’s, which posed further challenges to the human body.

Quick to react, the colonel, noticing Lin Si’s pale face, fitted a breathing mask over him.

——If something happened to this man, no one could afford to compensate for it.

Lin Si took a few breaths of oxygen-enriched air, steadied himself, and removed the mask before asking Ling Yi, “Can you manage?”

Ling Yi nodded. “It’s a bit uncomfortable, but manageable.”

The crew finished gearing up, wearing breathing masks and preparing to deploy instruments and collect soil samples on the planet’s surface.

Lin Si told Ling Yi, “I’ve placed a monitoring chip on you. If it gets unbearable, suit up immediately.”

Eager anticipation lit up Ling Yi’s eyes. “Okay.”

——The little guy was itching to set foot on solid ground.

Lin Si chuckled, ruffling Ling Yi’s hair. “Stay close to the colonel.”

Ling Yi nodded, walked to the edge of the hatch, looked down at the ground below, and jumped. He took a few delighted steps on the surface before turning back to wave at Lin Si, his eyes sparkling.

After bidding farewell to the little thing and sealing the hatch, Lin Si returned to the cockpit. A holographic display showed all of Ling Yi’s vital statistics in real time.

Exposed to low oxygen levels, extremely dry air, and scorching temperatures, the conditions were a severe test of all bodily functions—especially the heart and lungs.

Ordinary humans couldn’t survive in such an environment. Ling Yi was the rare exception.

To create a livable environment, the strength of the protective dome needed to increase significantly, a feat that remained challenging both technically and theoretically.

If the resilience of the human body could be enhanced—just a bit—then this could be applied to the majority of people…

Lin Si stared at the constantly fluctuating parameters on the holographic screen.

——He still couldn’t let go of the Limitless plan.