CAT Chapter 48: Limitless (1)

Ling Yi put away the photo and gazed out the porthole at the endless darkness.

He had always had a special sense of connection with Lin Si, but the moment they entered subspace, that connection was completely severed, just like the signals from this spaceship could no longer reach the Voyager.

His gaze was somewhat lost, and he extended his right hand to press against his chest, feeling its heartbeat, knowing that he had permanently lost something.

The children who ran away from home in a fit of anger can always return if they want to, but he couldn’t. This was a journey that only moved forward.

He might die, might never return, might be buried on a strange planet, or become dust in the starry sea, or lost in a black hole. By then, Lin Si would never be able to wait for him to come back.

After a long time, he snapped out of his daze, raised his wrist, and opened the communicator, seeing a few unread messages.

The sender was Lin Si.

He quietly stared at the name for two minutes, then opened the message.

Originally, he had planned to leave quietly when Lin Si was asleep, but it seemed Lin Si had still seen him. The message was short, with a misspelling in one of the words, something Lin Si would never do—he must have written it in a hurry.

“I want to ask you why, but there’s no time.”

“Protect the people on the spaceship, then come back safely.”

“Take care of yourself.”

Ling Yi trembled all over, his vision quickly blurred, and large tears fell.

He wiped away the tears blocking his vision, but new ones kept coming, his cheeks felt icy, and his beautiful black hair was soaked.

“I’m orry,” he replied to Lin Si’s message.

“I regret it. I was wrong.”

“But I really have to go.”

“I’ve cried until my hair is wet, but you can’t see it anymore.”

In a subspace with no signal, the message failed to send, and all of those words were preceded by a terrifying exclamation mark.

For the first time in his short life, he understood what it meant to feel like his heart was being torn apart.

After a long time, he gathered all his emotions, washed his face with cold water, and knocked on the command office door.

The Colonel, somewhat surprised, asked, “You’re here. Was something uncomfortable with your quarters? Feel free to tell Svenya.”

Ling Yi shook his head, his voice calm. “No, everything is fine.”

The Colonel smiled. “Then what made you think of coming to find me?”

The Colonel then looked at his not-so-good complexion and, with concern, added, “You must be feeling homesick, right?”

Ling Yi nodded slightly.

The colonel encouraged him, “It’s okay, I felt the same way when I left home to join the army. Later, I was transferred to the Los Angeles base, and I could only go home once every six months. It was tough for a long time, but everyone goes through it. It gets better over time. Kids have to grow up.”

“I know,” Ling Yi said, “There’s something else.”

The Colonel, “Hmm?”

Ling Yi spoke a little slowly, but his meaning was very clear, “There will be many dangerous missions during exploration and travel, which might result in casualties, but I can take them on… I know that because of Lin Si, you’ll take extra care of my safety, but Lin Si can’t manage things here anymore. I hope that when there are dangerous tasks, you can prioritize me.”

“No,” the colonel firmly shook his head, “You’re still too young.”

“I want a military rank,” Ling Yi said.

The Colonel looked into his eyes, his expression becoming serious.

He could tell from Ling Yi’s tone that, though calm, it was firm.

The Colonel closed his eyes for a moment, as if thinking, “You’re already an adult. Boys at your age should be like this… Good. You’re right. No matter how capable Dr. Lin is, he can’t control things here.”

“I have some promotion authority,” the Colonel continued. “When we complete the mission and return to base, there will be an official evaluation, and awards… I’ll give you the opportunity.”

Ling Yi, “Thank you.”

“This is a bit different,” the Colonel raised an eyebrow, “Since you don’t want to be our little darling, you’ll be my subordinate from now on.”

Ling Yi thought for a moment, then clenched his right fist and placed it near his chest on his left shoulder, giving the colonel a standard Voyager military salute. “Yes, Colonel.”

The Colonel laughed heartily and extended his fist to bump lightly with Ling Yi’s. “Wishing you a bright future.”

Ling Yi smiled faintly.

His profile was still as beautiful as ever, with a certain otherworldly, distant, and mysterious aura. When his lips curled into a smile, he was a breathtaking beauty, but the expression in his eyes was calm, making the Colonel always feel that Ling Yi was somehow different from before.

The days in subspace aboard the Expeditioner were peaceful.

Training, rest, mobilization, training, rest.

When most people had left, Ling Yi was still at the shooting range.

He closed his eyes, pulling the trigger repeatedly, then opened his eyes to see that all the bullet holes were dead center in the target, yet there was no expression of joy in his face.

The cold light from the overhead lamps cast his side profile against the transparent partition wall. The black military uniform highlighted his tall, lean figure, his attire immaculate, his expression nearly frozen. Only the soft black hair falling from his shoulders hinted at a trace of gentleness.

Lucia stood behind him, having no idea how long she had been there. She then spoke, “You should rest now.”

“Thank you,” he replied to Lucia.

The day’s training was over. He put the training equipment back in place, thought about what he had done throughout the day, and felt somewhat satisfied.

He had wanted to grow up in a place without Lin Si, but it wasn’t just about growing up.

He needed to stand on his own, without relying on Lin Si, and if possible, even share some of Lin Si’s burdens. To do that, he had to acquire power. In their current environment, power was linked to military rank, and military rank was tied to merit. The base didn’t produce merit, but the expeditions did.

When he left the shooting range, he saw a soldier still staying behind for extra training. His accuracy wasn’t very high, and the extra practice was probably to make up for his weaknesses.

Ling Yi walked over.

“The muscle you need to engage is right here,” he said, placing his hand on a specific spot on the soldier’s right arm, his expression serious. “If you do it this way, your wrist will be much more relaxed.” He demonstrated, guiding the soldier to take a steady and fast shot.

The soldier looked at him gratefully. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Ling Yi smiled slightly. “Actually, you might be overtraining. You should get some proper rest.”

The soldier nodded.

Ling Yi returned to his room, washed up, and prepared for bed.

His routine was very disciplined, and he always kept his training within the limits his body could handle.

Just like the last message from Lin Si.

If possible, help the people on the spaceship and take care of himself.

And in the end… complete the mission and return home.

Before falling asleep, he took a pale amber perfume bottle from his drawer and sprayed a mist into the air.

The faint scent of wood gradually spread, creating an illusion—as if Lin Si were right beside him.

He closed his eyes and repeated the Colonel’s words to himself, “Wishing you a bright future.”