Chapter 163
In fact, it is not just Tono and Lanxi. Seven years ago, eighteen years ago, thirty-five years ago, fifty-five years ago, and eighty years ago, a small habitable planet each disappeared from the star network for similar reasons.
These disappeared planets "happened" to be near the star region that Liukasao passed through.
Of course, in space, the distance of "nearby" is measured in light years. And if there is no suitable wormhole as a springboard, even if two stars appear to be almost close to each other in the star map, it may take dozens or even hundreds of years to travel from one planet to another by spacecraft alone.
Therefore, even if the people in the alliance found that these destroyed asteroids overlapped with the route of Liukasao, they would regard it as a coincidence. After all, the starry sky is so vast that there are all kinds of things, and there are too many coincidences.
But Rong Yuan doesn't think so.
There are pillars of creation in the Eagle Nebula, and there may be wormholes inside the pillars of creation that lead to galaxies outside the Milky Way. Things that are beyond the norm in the Milky Way often appear here, so it is not impossible to cross light-year distances without the help of wormholes.
Most importantly…
Rong Yuan opened his eyes.
His eyes are different from those of ordinary carbon-based humans. The average person has three types of cones, collectively known as the three primary colors, and the world they see has millions of colors; but some people have four types of cones, and they can see nearly 100 million colors. The world in their eyes is more brilliant than ordinary people can imagine.
There are many races in the universe whose eyes have dozens of types of cones. Even Rong Yuan cannot imagine what the world looks like in their eyes.
Rong Yuan's eyes were integrated with a layer of the Heaven Eye exchanged in the Merit Book. Each upgrade of the Heaven Eye was equivalent to adding a cone cell to his eyes, but it did not allow him to see more colors in the usual sense. When the Heaven Eye was upgraded for the first time, Rong Yuan could see the soul or spiritual energy of life; and after the second upgrade, he could see energy in the physical sense.
Under the influence of the third eye, the world in front of us seemed to be covered with a layer of colorful coating. The people coming and going on the street were shrouded in a layer of soul light, bright or dark, colorful. The light of some people was even so dazzling that it obscured their facial features and body shapes.
Outside the crowd, buildings, vehicles, clothes, utensils, and even roads all displayed lights of different colors. Some were burning like flames, some were like wisps of smoke rising from the ground, some were condensed and did not dissipate, some came and went, and some suddenly appeared, expanded, and then disappeared in a very short time.
But in addition to this dreamlike color, the more conspicuous thing is the black smoke that covers all people and objects. It completely submerges the world like the sea. Everyone walking in this black fog looks like a ghost in the underworld. I wonder if these people on the spaceship can still live here peacefully if they see that the place where they live is like this.
Outside the spaceship, there were seven streams of black water extending from the far space, firmly attached to Liukasao, like a persistent evil ghost entangled all its resentment on this spaceship. Rong Yuan also followed this black river to find this place. However, after arriving on the spaceship, the black fog was everywhere, spreading like smoke, making it impossible to find the specific direction.
After half a day of repair, they finally repaired the collapsed bridge and the surrounding damaged buildings before it got dark. During this time, Rong Yuan had already become familiar with all the members of his 7th team and the operation of various repair tools. They also had a preliminary impression of this new member, but because they were tired after a day's work, they didn't say anything and went home after the work was finished.
On the way back, Xi Zhenhai still walked with Rong Yuan.
"You've made rapid progress today. It looks like you should be able to operate independently in less than a week."
Xi Zhenhai was very happy to praise Rong Yuan. Although he had given Rong Yuan a guarantee in front of the captain, he was actually not sure how well Rong Yuan could do, and he was worried all day. Later, he was pleasantly surprised to see that Rong Yuan did almost as well as the veteran team members.
"Oh." Rong Yuan replied.
Seeing him like this, Xi Zhenhai couldn't help but shook his head and lectured him in a condescending manner: "Alas, you can't do this. Young people should talk more, socialize more, and be more lively, so that people will like you more. You are too docile and easy to be bullied!"
When they first met, Xi Zhenhai thought Rong Yuan had bad intentions, but after spending a day together, he began to worry about Rong Yuan. In his opinion, this young man was too honest and too quiet. He barely said a few words a day and always said yes to everything, as if he would never refuse any request from others. He looked like someone who was easy to bully, not at all like an adventurer who had traveled through the stars.
Then again, maybe it's because he's like this that he can't make it in the outside world?
That is to say, the relationship between colleagues in the maintenance department is relatively harmonious, or the busy work consumes everyone's extra energy, so there is no time to do anything messy. Otherwise, if someone like Rong Yuan is placed in an environment like the fiercely competitive political department, wouldn't he be eaten up by others without leaving any bones?
Rong Yuan knew that he meant well, but he just smiled and whispered, "Yeah, I understand."
Seeing this, Xi Zhenhai knew that his words were in vain. He could only shake his head helplessly and could not help but remind him: "You are a smart kid and learn quickly. These operations should not be difficult for you. But you must remember that the formal assessment will not only test your operations, but also a lot of theoretical knowledge. There will be no intelligent assistant to help you, and all the knowledge must be remembered in your mind. Tonight I will organize the materials I have learned before and send them to you tomorrow. Take some time to read them carefully and try to get a good score. I can also ask the captain to get you the qualification of a formal member."
"Okay." Rong Yuan paused and said, "Thank you."
"Hey, what are you thanking me for? Since I brought you into this industry, I have to be responsible." Xi Zhenhai said, and suddenly he thought something and his expression became gloomy again.
Rong Yuan didn't ask any more questions, and the two of them returned to the area where they lived in silence.
Each floor of the spaceship was hundreds of meters high. On the top floor and the surrounding walls, various near-realistic natural environment changes were simulated. However, the living area still showed that it was just a spaceship. The buildings, like huge walls, extended from the ground to the top floor. Because there was no need to consider the lighting, the distance between all the buildings was very narrow. It looked like a narrow passage between two steep mountain walls. Each floor had dozens or hundreds of rooms. The doorways of various sizes looked like black honeycombs from the ground, or like lifeless eyes.
There are several elevators outside the building for going up and down. Muter's home is on the 22nd floor. Not only is the room bigger, but the water supply, heating, and air quality are better than those on the lower floors. The house Xi Zhenhai is currently renting is on the second floor. Each room is very small, and the doors are almost next to each other from a distance. However, because the floor is low, he can go up through the emergency passage next to it, so he doesn't have to pay an extra elevator fee, and the rent can be cheaper.
Xi Zhenhai walked downstairs and involuntarily stopped to look up. His home was the thirteenth room from the left on the second floor. He didn't need to count, he could see at a glance that the two most important women in his life lived in that dark room with no light coming through the window.
Rong Yuan also stopped with him, looked up, and asked, "Is anyone in your family sick?"
Xi Zhenhai asked in surprise: "How do you know?"
He didn't remember telling Rong Yuan about his family affairs, and there was no need to tell others about such things. Xi Zhenhai didn't like to see other people's sympathetic eyes, and he didn't want his misery to become a topic of conversation for others.
"I heard them talking about it while I was working today." Rong Yuan said.
In fact, when Rong Yuan was waiting outside the door this morning, even if he didn't listen deliberately, every word in the room entered his ears. Later, when he was in the maintenance department, he heard everything Xi Zhenhai and Morrison said. Of course, when they were working later, several colleagues also talked about Xi Zhenhai's recent desperate overtime.
But Xi Zhenhai had no intention of saying more about this matter. He just waved his hand casually and said, "Oh, it's nothing. You are tired today. Go back and rest early."
He did not work overtime today, because Xi Zhenhai has found that his presence or absence at home is crucial to his wife and daughter. He thought that he was working overtime for the family and his daughter, but in fact, this would only make them feel more miserable. Instead of doing this, he should spend more time with them at home, even if it is just chatting with them or just sitting together, it will make them feel much better.
In his heart, he had already accepted that he might not be able to cure his daughter's illness in the future. Therefore, he hoped that he could spend every second with her in the days ahead. If he could make her live happily every day in her last days, it might be better than prolonging her life and letting her suffer more.
Seeing that Xi Zhenhai no longer paid attention to him and went upstairs quickly, Rong Yuan was not in a hurry, because he estimated that he would stay here for a long time. At the same time, since he had something to investigate, it would be better for him not to expose his extraordinary abilities for the time being.
He did not take the elevator, but walked up the stairs slowly, thinking about something. Before he knew it, he had reached the 22nd floor.
Muter's house was at the end of the corridor on the right. Outside the door, there was a flower stand made of old jars against the wall, with some colorful flowers and plants planted on it. There was a rack on the outer railing with some clothes hanging on it.
Rong Yuan walked to the window and looked inside.
The table was filled with food, so much that there was almost no room for more. Muter also brought a plate of spicy and fragrant-looking fried meat from the kitchen and placed it on the table. Then he hurriedly blew air on his hands, pinched his ears, and looked out the window.
Rong Yuan subconsciously hid behind the wall.
It was bright inside but dark outside, and Muter did not see Rong Yuan standing in the corridor. She was stunned for a moment, as if she remembered something, and turned around and hurried back to the kitchen.
Rong Yuan just stood there, watching her busying around, and from time to time he would stand by the window and look out. The house was steaming hot, and seemed very warm and beautiful, like an unreachable dream.
He had never had such an experience in his life - his mother stayed at home, prepared a table of meals, and waited for him to come back, caring about him, protecting him, and loving him all the time.
But this is ultimately... just a dream.
He was not her real son, and she was not his mother. Their acquaintance was the result of a mistake and a lie.
He is a wandering traveler, a lonely passerby. Everyone is just a passer-by in his life and will leave him one day.
Rong Yuan has never been more aware of this than now.
