Hearing this, Vincent tried to understand with great difficulty.
The chief of the White Tower? Y? The Y who landed on the blacklist four years ago and firmly occupied the first place? The Y who designed the starship's central control system for them?
But wasn't the man in front of him their employer, a sophomore student at Turan Academy?
Vincent was a little dizzy.
Moreover, the Y in the legend was in his forties, and it was unknown whether he was a man or a woman, but he was a taciturn middle-aged man with a pair of eyes full of wisdom and a wrinkle between his eyebrows!
How old is Qi Yan? He just came of age, how can he be called a middle-aged man!
Another calculation, the starship's central control system was completed by Qi Yan... when he was sixteen?
Vincent turned to Erich, who knew nothing, and wanted to pull him over and tell him everything he knew immediately! Unfortunately, the occasion was not right, so he had to hold it in, not daring to utter a single word, and it was extremely difficult to endure.
Erich did not notice Vincent's glances, and was only surprised by Y's appearance and age. He also found that Lu Fenghan stood there and did not raise his hand.
It was very strange.
The military and the White Tower have always maintained a good cooperative relationship. In the interstellar era, wars are no longer simply filled with human lives, but more of a competition in tactics and technology.
For example, a few decades ago, based on the White Tower's innovation in space communication technology, the rebels suffered several forced interferences in the communication system for a full ten years, and were suppressed by the expeditionary force like loose sand.
Therefore, the military has always held an attitude of respect for the White Tower, especially the expeditionary forces standing on the front line who have a deeper understanding - the things sent by the White Tower are often things that can save thousands of lives. They have always been very cautious.
But now, Lu Fenghan completely ignored the hand that Y stretched out.
Just when Eric wanted to remind him secretly, Lu Fenghan finally moved. He raised his hand and held Qi Yan's hand. The force was not strong, but he did not let go quickly.
Pricked by the cold temperature of his fingertips, Lu Fenghan whispered: "Why is it so cold."
As he said, he let go of his hand, took a half step forward, and at the same time unfolded the military jacket in his left hand, and carefully draped it over Qi Yan.
In the action, it was as if he was holding Qi Yan in his arms.
Obviously, he should feel uncomfortable with such a sudden close distance, but his body seemed to be completely accustomed to it, standing still without moving, without any resistance.
There was a slight weight on his shoulder, and Qi Yan subconsciously grabbed one side of his collar and looked at Lu Fenghan, and realized that he was surrounded by the other party's strong breath in an instant.
The discomfort caused by the interstellar migration was strangely relieved at this moment.
His hand was still a little itchy, and the palm of Lu Fenghan's hand that had just been held was burning hot and rough, and seemed to be covered with small wounds, scabs and thin ropes.
Qi Yan was inexplicably concerned.
Lu Fenghan stood up again, and instead of returning to his original position, he asked Qi Yan at a very close distance: "What did you bring?"
Wearing Lu Fenghan's coat, Qi Yan said: "I brought the source structure of a new detection system, named 'Wind Catcher'. However, before actual combat use, it needs to be connected to the starship's central control system for testing and adjustment."
Lu Fenghan raised his eyebrows: "Wind Catcher? Who named it?"
Qi Yan replied: "I picked it from the unused name list."
"The previous 'White Falcon', 'Twilight', 'Sundial', are they all?"
Qi Yan nodded: "Yes."
"Well," Lu Fenghan asked, "According to your habit, what name would you give it?"
These questions were irrelevant, but Qi Yan instinctively answered Lu Fenghan's questions one by one: "CE0701 New Detection System."
Lu Fenghan's lips curled slightly, and finally caught a sense of familiarity from under the ice.
Looking at Qi Yan's thin appearance, he thought that he really didn't eat well, and asked again: "Start testing now?"
Qi Yan nodded: "Yes."
Lu Fenghan didn't say much, and called "Po Jun": "Take Qi Yan to the equipment room of the central control system."
"Okay." Po Jun's voice appeared in the radio, saying hello, "It's nice to meet you, my designer."
Vincent next to him took another breath of cold air.
Eric did not hide his surprise.
Qi Yan was neither surprised nor excited by Po Jun's sudden words. He just ordered, "Let's go."
After walking a few steps, he stopped again, turned around, his eyes fell on Lu Fenghan's hand, and said hesitantly, "Your hand--"
Lu Fenghan: "What's wrong?"
Qi Yan lowered his eyes: "Nothing."
After that, he followed the guide signs that Po Jun showed him at his feet and left the bridge.
When there were only three people left on the bridge, Eric said, "Commander, you and Y--"
His voice was interrupted by Vincent, "Commander, what happened between you and Qiyan? Aren't you all fine in Leto? Why does he feel..." Vincent thought of a word to describe it, "Why does he feel unpopular?"
After saying that, he secretly winked at Eric, indicating that he would explain it to him later.
The relaxed expression on Lu Fenghan's face was restrained as much as possible. He looked at the direction where Qiyan left, his eyes were very deep, and there was obvious restlessness in his eyes.
"Free? Eric, make me a new defense list and submit it before dinner. Vincent, go see if Weiss has spoken."
Seeing Lu Fenghan's extremely cold eyes and a layer of "stay away from the living" aura wrapped all over his body, Vincent and Eric followed his heels and answered neatly: "Yes!"
Lu Fenghan returned to the command room.
He took a cigarette from the cigarette box and bit it between his teeth without lighting it. He remembered that in Leto's coffee shop, Qi Yan took a sip of his cigarette out of curiosity and complained that the taste was not very good.
The pain in his heart did not spread until this moment, and Lu Fenghan tightened his breathing in pain, and the veins on his hands that were supported by the table were exposed.
After several minutes, he came back, leaned against the wall, and asked Pojun: "What is Qiyan doing now?" Pojun
: "In the equipment room, entering the central control system database."
Lu Fenghan was completely trapped in the shadows. After a few breaths, he continued to ask: "Did he say anything else?"
His voice was hoarse, with a hint of expectation and an unobvious fear.
Pojun: "Yes, he asked me to remind him to rest after six hours, and also asked about the injury on your palm."
"Injury?" Lu Fenghan was slightly startled, and he lowered his head to look at his open palm, only to find that there were many small wounds on it, all of which were left during his six months at Chenxi Star, some old and some new. I didn't feel any pain at the time, and after the scabs formed, I felt even less.
Only that little spoiled girl would think that this was an injury.
She would take these injuries...to heart.
His heart felt a little sour and a little bloated, and Lu Fenghan didn't know why, but his eyes were slightly sad.
He closed his eyes and imagined what Qi Yan looked like when he approached just now. He
was thinner, and the silk shirt looked empty on his body. I don't know how long it has been since he had a good meal. His wrists were already thin, and now they were so thin that they seemed like they would break if bent.
When she put clothes on him, she was as obedient as before, showing him a trustful gentleness.
But how had Qi Yan been doing in the past six months?
How did he become such a statue of ice and snow? Why
did he stand in front of him and call him "General" in a distant and indifferent way?
He leaned his back against the cold metal wall, and the coldness penetrated into the bone seams. After a long time, Lu Fenghan asked hoarsely: "Can you pick up Eliza from the White Tower?"
He had only heard two names from Qi Yan, one was Eliza and the other was August. These two people should be very close to Qi Yan.
Po Jun quickly replied, "Sure."
Lu Fenghan said, "Hmm," and "Connect the communication."
A few seconds later, the communication was successfully connected. Due to the long distance, there was some unclear signal noise.
Lu Fenghan spoke first: "Hello, I'm Lu Fenghan. I'm sorry to bother you so suddenly."
Eliza was not surprised and said in a gentle tone: "I guessed that you would contact me soon. You have seen Qiyan, right?"
"Yes, he has lost weight again." Lu Fenghan felt a sense of depression and emptiness in his heart. Considering that this was Qiyan's elder, he tried to soften his tone, "I want to know, what's wrong with Qiyan."
"How much do you know about Qiyan's confused memory?"
Lu Fenghan frowned slightly: "He often remembers things wrongly and is very confused."
"What about his mother Lin Zhi?"
Lu Fenghan didn't know why the other party connected these two issues together. It made him feel like he was hanging in the air, unable to touch the ground at all.
"I know about this. He told me."
A few seconds later, Eliza's voice rang again: "When Qi Yan was eleven years old, his mother Lin Zhi quietly left the White Tower and returned to the house where she lived with her parents when she was a child, and ended her life there. Without our knowledge, Qi Yan stayed by Lin Zhi's side alone for a long time. No one knew what he felt or thought at the time. It was not until he took the initiative to contact the outside world that he was taken back to the White Tower."
Hearing this narration, Lu Fenghan suddenly felt a sense of familiarity. Thinking about it again, this sense of familiarity dissipated like smoke and could not be captured.
Eliza: "You know, Qi Yan has a good memory."
"Yes," Lu Fenghan continued, "as long as he has seen it, he will not forget it."
That's why he asked Qi Yan to forget this memory if possible when he ejected from the life capsule.
He didn't want that scene to become Qiyan's new nightmare.
"Yes, he wouldn't forget. So when he returned to the White Tower, we were all very worried. But soon we found that things were more serious than we thought, and there was something wrong with Qiyan's memory."
Eliza took a long breath and recalled that time.
"In his memory, Lin Zhi is not dead. Qi Yan would tell us that his mother was in the laboratory, in the garden, in a meeting, or had just said good morning to him five minutes ago. He could describe in detail what Lin Zhi was wearing and what his expression was like at the time. In his eyes, Lin Zhi has always been in the White Tower and has never left."
Without giving Lu Fenghan time to slow down, Eliza concluded: "This is because, based on his extraordinary memory, Qi Yan deconstructed and reorganized the memory fragments about his mother in his mind to form new memories, and then replaced the real memories with new false memories."
A certain conjecture suddenly crossed his mind, and immediately came to his mind.
In the past ten years, Lu Fenghan had never felt fear no matter what situation he faced. But at this moment, he didn't dare to face this conjecture.
His voice seemed to be hanging with a heavy stone. He wanted to ask "then", but he couldn't make a sound.
"We soon discovered that Qiyan was confusing reality and showing signs of being addicted. During that time, he was like a puppet, sitting still in one place, but his mind was constantly fabricating memories. After trying many methods, he finally woke up. But we were still powerless to solve the problem of confusing reality, and even the drugs he had been taking only had an auxiliary effect."
Eliza continued, "Later, last year, because Qiyan's confusion of reality became more and more serious, I suggested sending him to Leto. On the one hand, it was to protect him, and on the other hand, I hoped that changing to an unfamiliar environment and meeting different people might alleviate his condition."
Lu Fenghan closed his eyes.
It was like a sharp blade hanging high above his head, about to fall straight down and pierce his chest and back.
Finally, Eliza said, "After you died, Qiyan was taken back to the White Tower, but his memory was fabricated. He said that you were always by his side, and never left, and would remind him to put on slippers and eat.
In order to strengthen the authenticity of the false memory, he even cut a bleeding wound on his arm every day, and then bandaged it himself and tied a bow. Then he told us that it was Lu Fenghan who saw that he was injured, so he applied healing gel on him and bandaged him, and he would be healed soon."
Every word was like a sharp nail, piercing into Lu Fenghan's flesh and blood.
Lu Fenghan didn't even dare to breathe hard, for fear that it would hurt his internal organs.
His little coquettishness.
Even when his ear was pricked by a grass tip, he would frown in pain.
In a trance, a crack appeared on his chest, and the pain of torn skin and flesh spread throughout his body like a spider web.
"Later, Qi Yan admitted that you were dead, but reason and emotion were in conflict. He fell into complete confusion. He couldn't sleep or eat for a long time. He could only survive in the treatment cabin. He was like a bowstring that was stretched to the limit and would break in the next second. August and I had no choice but to give him medicine."
"What medicine?" Lu Fenghan found that his throat was already dull and painful after he finished speaking.
Eliza's voice softened a little: "A medicine that eliminates emotions. After it takes effect, he will no longer feel pain and sorrow, but he will also not feel happiness, satisfaction and... love."
Lu Fenghan thought of Qi Yan's outstretched hand.
It was as cold as holding snow.
"August and I thought that we would first use drugs to maintain 'absolute rationality' for a period of time, and then gradually reduce the dosage, so as to keep Qiyan rational to the maximum extent possible, so that he would not be overwhelmed by negative emotions all at once." Eliza's words revealed guilt, "But even if we use such a... cruel method, the risk is still very high. I still only have 20% confidence that I can keep Qiyan in this world."
What kind of hopeless situation was Qiyan in at the time that forced Eliza to use such drugs to grasp the faint hope?
His Qiyan...
At this moment, Lu Fenghan's self-loathing reached its peak.
A searing pain like a blast of fire came over him, and the light from the frigate passing by the porthole reflected on his facial features, revealing the pain of suffocation.
In the extreme silence beside his ears, Lu Fenghan heard his own voice: "What can I do?"
In the equipment room, Qi Yan connected the new detection system to the central control while chatting with Po Jun at the same time.
Because on the barren planet, Lu Fenghan had expressed the hope that Po Jun could talk more, so Qi Yan set it up like this.
Now Qi Yan found that once there were no restrictions, Po Jun was indeed a chatterbox.
Thanks to Po Jun, he now knew the origin of every tiny wound on Lu Fenghan's palm.
"The general has very strange hobbies. On the Dawn Star, he likes to sit for a long time in the deepest part of the cave. It seems that humans do have special hobbies."
Pojun imitated Qiyan and called Lu Fenghan "General".
Finding that Qiyan did not answer, and the central control system had already opened the database and was accessing the data stream of "Catching the Wind", Pojun was interested and did not say anything.
It was not until Pojun reminded him that it was time for a break that Qiyan's thoughts broke away from the vast data stream.
He pinched his eyebrows and vaguely sensed something. He turned his head and saw Lu Fenghan wearing a uniform shirt, standing against the wall by the door, his eyes fixed on him, and he didn't know how long he had been looking at him.
But Qiyan didn't know how to react appropriately now.
He had all the memories of his past interactions with Lu Fenghan, but he didn't know what to do now, or what to say.
Lu Fenghan walked over first.
He held Qi Yan's wrist gently, his eyes scanning the cold white skin, and after a long time he asked, "Does it still hurt now?"
Qi Yan blinked, two beats late, and answered, "No, it doesn't hurt anymore."
Although he still remembered what that pain felt like, when he recalled it, the pain he felt at the time was no longer there.
This sense of loss made him feel a little cold.
But because his wrist was held in Lu Fenghan's hand, the coldness just came up and was quickly dispelled.
After listening to this, Lu Fenghan was silent for two seconds, and then spoke again: "On the founding day, after being attacked by a medium-sized ship, I shouldn't have acted on my own."
This was an apology.
Qi Yan was getting more and more confused about what to do, and tentatively answered, "It's okay."
After he answered, under Lu Fenghan's aggressive gaze, he wanted to get closer, but at the same time, he felt helpless and wanted to stay away.
Lu Fenghan noticed this helplessness.
He let go of Qi Yan's wrist, watched him put his hands behind his back, and slowed down his voice: "How long do you plan to work until?"
Qi Yan subconsciously answered every question from Lu Fenghan: "Eleven o'clock in the evening."
Lu Fenghan nodded: "Okay." After saying that, he pinched Qi Yan's face.
After Lu Fenghan left, Qi Yan stood there for a long time, feeling a little cold, and unconsciously tugged at the military jacket that belonged to Lu Fenghan.
There was no distinction between day and night on the starship, and there was no reference to the passage of time. When Qi Yan sorted out the data flow generated when "Catching the Wind" was connected to the central control system, he felt a little sore in his neck, and guessed that a long time had passed.
He asked Po Jun: "What time is it?"
Before Po Jun answered, a voice came from the door: "It's eleven o'clock."
Qi Yan looked in the direction of the voice and saw Lu Fenghan standing at the door, looking at him.
"Why are you here?"
Lu Fenghan had a reason: "I came to pick you up from work. This is your first time on a command ship, and I was afraid you would get lost."
Qi Yan wanted to say that with Po Jun here, he couldn't get lost, but his body had already reacted and stood in front of Lu Fenghan.
The two walked side by side, led by Lu Fenghan.
"In peacetime, the ship will simulate day and night, just like now, except for those on duty, everyone will rest in the room, and the lights will be turned down to the lowest." Lu Fenghan finished laying the mat, "I will also come to pick you up on time tomorrow night. It will be dark everywhere, and you may fall and get lost easily."
Qi Yan felt that Lu Fenghan's words were illogical, but his instinct was still faster than his reason, and he nodded and agreed: "Okay."
Lu Fenghan was stabbed in the heart by this "Okay" without hesitation.
When he arrived at the door of Qi Yan's room, Lu Fenghan told him: "The door can be opened with your personal terminal. If you have any problems, call me immediately. I'm next to you. No matter what, it's OK."
Qi Yan still agreed.
When Qi Yan opened the door with a "beep", Lu Fenghan saw him preparing to go in, stood still for three seconds, and at the last moment before closing the door, he stretched out his hand to stop the door that was about to close.
Qi Yan stood inside the door, not exerting any more force, and looked at him in confusion: "Is there anything else?"
Lu Fenghan extended his hand forward: "My hand is injured."
Qi Yan's eyes fell on Lu Fenghan's palm. The small wounds on it were not treated. Some had healed, and some were still red and had not scabbed.
There was a faint pain somewhere in his heart.
Taking a step back, Qi Yan said: "Come in."
Qi Yan was not familiar with the layout of the room, so Lu Fenghan took out the medical kit and took out the healing gel from it.
At this time, Qi Yan finally realized that there must be healing gel in Lu Fenghan's room.
As if he saw Qi Yan's doubts, Lu Fenghan made up a lie: "I ran out of the one in my room, so I came to you."
Qi Yan accepted this explanation.
Lu Fenghan's palms were broad, his knuckles were slender, and there were thin silk threads everywhere. Qi Yan was very patient and applied the healing gel evenly on the wound.
Qi Yan only paid attention to the wound and didn't notice that Lu Fenghan was looking at him.
After applying the medicine, Qi Yan thought for a while, picked up another piece of bandage, wrapped it around Lu Fenghan's palm twice, and finally tied a smooth bow.
"Okay."
Lu Fenghan clenched his fingers and stared at the bow made of the bandage for a long time.
The softest part of his heart twitched violently, and he almost couldn't control his expression.
Qi Yan wondered why Lu Fenghan didn't leave yet, and vaguely wanted him to stay for a few more minutes. With this strange mentality, he didn't say anything, but put the medical kit back in place, poured himself a glass of water, and took out the transparent medicine bottle, ready to take the medicine.
But strangely, he was somewhat resistant to taking the medicine in front of Lu Fenghan.
So he held the medicine bottle and stood in front of Lu Fenghan again, choosing his words carefully: "It's getting late, do you want to go back and rest?"
Lu Fenghan looked at the person in front of him intently, his eyes were complex and Qi Yan couldn't understand.
Qi Yan felt that he was fixed by this gaze.
It was as if the entire timeline was artificially slowed down, and each frame was slow and clear.
Qi Yan watched Lu Fenghan walk closer, watched Lu Fenghan lean over and rest his head on his neck.
The back of the hand hanging at his side covered the palm with a familiar temperature.
The medicine bottle was held by two hands.
In the dim light, the collar at the side of his neck was slightly damp. Qi Yan listened to Lu Fenghan whispering in his ear, his voice was hoarse, containing immeasurable sadness, and extremely gentle.
"Pray."
"Hmm?"
"From now on, I will confirm what you cannot confirm. I will distinguish what you cannot distinguish."
"I will be your medicine."