CAT Chapter 6: To The Distant Home Planet(2)

Ling Yi’s mutation had not fully formed yet, and his body was still undergoing gradual changes. As a result, his sleep duration was exceptionally long. Not long after Lin Si laid down, he couldn’t resist feeling drowsy and eventually fell into a deep sleep.

—When he fell asleep, at first, he was curled up on the other side of the bed, but then he moved and rolled over to Lin Si’s side, resting his head against Lin Si’s chest.

Lin Si’s communicator vibrated lightly.

“Lin, I’ve reviewed the data. I need to confirm some other information.”

It was a short message from Madam Chen.

Unlike the aggressive Marshal Sius, Madam Chen was a scholar, a wise, calm, and kind mathematician. This didn’t mean she lacked the strength of a man, but rather, her decisions were more thoughtful and convincing.

Lin Si replied, “Understood, Madam.”

“Did you decide to take care of him because of his identity?”

—”The test subject was randomly selected by the system. When I saw the data, he had already undergone preprocessing. When the system set the criteria for selecting test subjects, there was no age restriction. That was my mistake. No matter who Ling Yi is, I would still choose to take care of him until adulthood.”

“Alright.”

After this brief message, Lin Si waited for further communication, but Madam Chen didn’t send anything for a while. It wasn’t until about three minutes later that the screen lit up again, displaying a line of text.

“Lin Si, you’ve been in constant conflict with the Marshal. This year marks the 137th year since the Voyager left the mother planet. Are you still living in pain?”

—”If the Marshal no longer targets me, I would be much happier.” His reply seemed evasive.

“I expect a genuine answer.” Madam Chen evidently noticed his evasion.

Lin Si remained silent for a moment, then responded, “Yes.”

Madam Chen was silent for a minute before sending the next message. “You’ve gained guardianship over him before he reaches adulthood. I hope that this young life can bring you a different experience.”

—”Thank you.”

With the conversation ending, Lin Si closed his communicator and also turned off the lights in his room.

In the dark, he lay there for a long time, unable to close his eyes. The only sound was Ling Yi’s gentle breathing.

Ling Yi was dreaming.

He looked up and saw a scene above him that he had never seen before. It was not the ceiling, but something very high and thick, gray in color. Suddenly, a strange word appeared in his mind.

Sky.

He was standing in front of something large and round, with a woman placing her hand on his shoulder.

“Darling, Mommy and Daddy can’t come pick you up today.”

Ling Yi couldn’t see her face clearly, but her voice was pleasant.

He tried to look closer, but at that moment, he woke up.

“Time to get to work—get up and get moving!” A voice echoed down the hallway, dragging out the words.

Though they had left Earth, the spaceship still followed a 24-hour schedule, with sleep ending at six o’clock every morning to begin work.

Ling Yi opened his eyes and found that Lin Si wasn’t beside him.

He rubbed his eyes and called out, “Lin Si…”

Lin Si was on the other side of the room. Upon hearing the voice, he walked over and stood by the bed, asking, “Can you dress yourself?”

Lucia had been taken for an upgrade by the Zone 5 yesterday, so she couldn’t attend to Ling Yi’s daily needs.

Ling Yi nodded slightly.

Bethy had already prepared clothes suited to Ling Yi’s size the previous day. With continuous progress in science, sewing and weaving had been replaced by a type of 3D printing technology that could quickly form clothing by inputting the model.

Ling Yi buttoned up his clothes, noticing a brown ribbon left over. Unsure how to use it, he looked up at Lin Si.

Lin Si took the ribbon from his hand, wrapped it around the collar, and tied a bow in front.

His fingers were slender, and his movements as he tied the bow were smooth and graceful. Ling Yi found it fascinating—so Lin Si’s hands could do more than just prick himself with needles, they could also do this.

Lin Si finished, then untied the bow and said faintly, “Got it?”

Ling Yi’s memory was entirely focused on Lin Si’s hands, and he couldn’t remember much else. He fumbled with the ribbon for a while, then looked up at Lin Si.

His small face was beautiful, and with his wet black eyes, he looked like a little kitten.

Lin Si: “….”

He untied the knot in Ling Yi’s collar, then demonstrated it once more. The little one nodded, half-understanding.

After adjusting the bowtie, putting on his clothes, and then stepping into the brown boots, the retro style of the outfit prepared by Bethy made Ling Yi look like a young master from a manor in a long-forgotten era on Earth.

Lin Si opened his to-do list for the day.

He needed to disband the second phase of the “Limitless” experimental group, redistribute the members to other projects, handle a collaboration with Zone 5, and finally, take Ling Yi to report in at Zone 3.

The guardianship had been granted to him, but Marshal Sius required strict surveillance of both him and Ling Yi. The little one also needed to understand and learn how to use his own body. In this aspect, the military was clearly much more professional than Zone 6.

Lin Si planned to first familiarize Ling Yi with the environment of the ship, then take him to Zone 3.

He unfolded a 3D map of the spaceship, and Ling Yi watched curiously.

Zone 1 was the Mathematics and Physics Research Area, where Madam Chen was located. The core of Zone 1 was a massive cosmic simulator, operated by 1,500 super-intelligent minds, simulating the surrounding universe for thousands of light years. Based on this, the “Voyager” mapped its course. Zone 2 was responsible for energy and material management, as well as housing the main engine.’

Zone 3 was military territory, home to many small ships and landing vessels, often used for extravehicular activities.

Zone 4 had been abandoned. Zone 5 was the largest, a mechanical industrial area under the supervision of Zheng Shu, involving numerous fields. Zone 7 had also been abandoned.

Zone 8 was the electronic database, holding the largest mainframe, storing all knowledge and information the “Voyager” could record before leaving Earth.

“Do not go to Zone 9, it contains cryogenically frozen bodies,” Lin Si said.

He saw Ling Yi’s confused gaze and added in a way the little one could understand, “There are many people sleeping in Zone 9. Don’t disturb them.”

Ling Yi nodded.

Afterwards, Lin Si took out a new communicator. The device looked like an ordinary silver bracelet, which he clasped onto Ling Yi’s wrist. “If you encounter something you can’t handle when I’m not around, use this to contact Bethy. If Bethy can’t solve it, contact Zheng Shu, the one we saw yesterday. Just call out his name.”

He paused for a moment and continued, “On the spaceship, trust me first, and then trust Zheng Shu.”

Ling Yi nodded again.

After briefing Ling Yi on the necessary matters, Lin Si was ready to take him to Zone 3.

Just as they were about to open the door, Lin Si’s communicator started vibrating wildly.

It wasn’t a text message but a direct call.

Lin Si answered, and Madam Chen’s face appeared on the holographic projection. Her expression was serious, and her words came rapidly. “Lin Si, drop everything right now. There has been a fusion accident in Zone 1, level 7 neutron contamination.”

Lin Si responded briefly, “Understood.” He then disconnected the communication with Madam Chen and instructed the communicator, “Activate the district-wide broadcast.”

Half a second later, all communications across the district were forcibly connected.

“All personnel in Zone 6,” his voice remained calm, as usual, but anyone could hear the seriousness of the situation.

“Level 7 neutron contamination has erupted in Zone 1. Activate the third nuclear contamination contingency plan and prepare gene therapy equipment.”

He looked at Ling Yi and said, “Sorry, I need to leave Zone 6.”

He reached out and ruffled Ling Yi’s hair. “Wait for me to return.”

The situation was urgent, and as soon as he opened the door, he ran into Bethy, who had also hurried over.

“Lin,” she said, “The small shuttle is ready. We’re heading there now.”

The door to the room closed in front of Ling Yi. He looked at the closed door, then around at the empty room, lowering his eyes with a pout, almost on the verge of tears. He kicked off his boots and curled up back on the bed.

Unable to sleep, he restlessly tossed and turned in bed, thinking to himself: that Lin Si, either poking him with needles or throwing him aside time after time, truly the most detestable person in the world.

His neck felt tight, and he had intended to yank the tie off, but then he remembered how Lin Si had tied it, letting out an irritated “Hmph” before lowering his hand.