Taran tapped his fingers lightly on the table.
He stared at the egg case on the table with a strange look in his eyes. For a brief moment, Lin Xi thought he saw a mixture of awe and obsession on Taran's face, but when he looked closer, Taran Ida was still Taran Ida, a complete bastard. His face was pale, his expression blank, making it impossible to read his thoughts.
"The egg case of the star butterfly?"
He spoke in a hoarse voice after an unknown amount of time.
"How can you be sure this is the egg case of the Star Butterfly?"
Then he looked at Shizuo Ando.
"As you mentioned before, the Star Butterfly is sacred, rare, and poorly documented; we can practically say we know nothing about it. Professor Ando, I have great respect for your scholarship, and I swear that's true. However, if you insist that this is the Star Butterfly's egg case, you should at least provide some evidence. Otherwise, considering your relationship with Dr. Lin Xi, I find it hard to believe that your previous statement wasn't just a fabrication to exonerate your colleague."
He spoke as if he were absolutely certain that the thing wasn't a star butterfly egg case.
Ando was taken aback, and then a hint of anger appeared on his baby face. He was clearly offended by Taran's sarcastic speculation.
“Yes, there are virtually no records of this mysterious creature in Earth’s literature, but the reason I shared that immature speculation is because…” Ando paused, hesitated for a moment, and then continued, “In fact, my wife Liz told me about the Star Butterfly Egg Sheath. When its photo was transmitted to my cabin, Liz saw what it looked like and exclaimed in surprise. I couldn’t help but ask her more questions, and that’s how I got the answer.”
Ando said.
When Liz's name appeared, even Taran choked up, his lips twitching slightly, as if he regretted not being able to find any other words to nitpick.
Lin Xi and Elisa exchanged a glance.
Okay, since that guess came from Liz...
The true identity of the thing on the table was already clear in their minds.
After all, Liz is no ordinary person.
Liz Chan is now known as the wife of Shizuo Ando, but she is not just the wife of an Earth researcher.
She is also a Sunu.
Of course, strictly speaking, she is not a pure-blooded Sunu (if she were, she would probably have died in the Sunu madness long ago); she is just a half-Sunu and half-Earth child.
Liz Chan's mother was a high-ranking Earth government official stationed on Sunu, and her father was also a prominent figure on Sunu, at least before they became so insane. Her parents' backgrounds allowed Liz to grow up and live a normal life on Sunu—even the "exchange of goods" between Earthlings and Sunu people relied on her parents' help and influence on that mad planet.
As the Sunu aliens' madness intensified, her escape from Sunu aboard the Apollo spacecraft during this scientific expedition was tacitly approved by the government.
Of course, no one knows whether her falling in love with and marrying the Earthling Shizuo Ando during her long voyage was also part of some ulterior motive.
Many people have this speculation, but Shizuo Ando doesn't seem to care. He loves his alien wife as deeply as the male protagonist in a romance novel, and his whole soul is devoted to her.
But regardless of the conspiracy theories or rumors, no one can deny that Liz Chen's knowledge of Sunu is probably more convincing than the entire crew of the Sun God combined. If she says it's a Star Butterfly egg case, then it is a Star Butterfly egg case.
"...If needed, I can have Liz come to the captain's office. I think she can give us a more detailed explanation."
Ando Shizuo's face tightened before he spoke.
The captain's cabin fell silent again.
Everyone was watching Taran, waiting for his next response or, more accurately, his challenge.
But at that moment, the egg case of the star butterfly suddenly twitched inside the life-sustaining capsule.
It is now just a huge, translucent "pod," and the wriggling is by no means violent, but it is quite noticeable in this situation.
"Hmm..."
Lin Xi jumped back uncontrollably, startled and shuddering.
He knew his actions were somewhat cowardly; normally, he would never show such a pathetic side in front of outsiders. But just now, the moment the egg case twitched, he felt something twitch beneath his skin. Such nerve twitches weren't uncommon in space, but the timing was just too perfect. Lin Xi subconsciously connected the twitching with the egg case's movement.
In his delusion, the egg case seemed to wriggle inside his body.
Fortunately, he wasn't the one with the most exaggerated reaction among those present, so he doesn't need to feel ashamed about it now.
"Bang--"
Taran, who was closest to the star butterfly egg case, was the one who attracted everyone's attention.
He seemed a little startled, specifically because he accidentally swept the water glass next to him onto the floor.
The commotion made Lin Xi glance at him again, and then Lin Xi was somewhat surprised to find that Taran looked like he was really scared rather than "a little frightened" - his pale, bastard-like eyes were staring at the Star Butterfly Egg Sheath on the table with such force that it seemed as if his bulging eyeballs were about to fall out of their sockets.
Taran's eyes were trembling unnaturally, and Lin Xi even doubted whether he could still focus properly.
However, as usual, it only took Taran a short time to return to normal, which is his usual annoying appearance.
"No need—no need to trouble Liz."
Taran's throat bobbed, and he spoke hoarsely.
He ignored the water glass that had fallen to the ground, and did not look at Ando, but stared straight at the egg case on the table.
"Since you all believe this is a star butterfly egg case... Professor Ando, can you take good care of it?"
Taran suddenly asked.
Shizuo Ando was stunned for a moment, then a look of ecstatic joy appeared on his face.
"Captain, you mean I should keep this egg case and take care of it?"
The baby-faced man was so excited that his voice was trembling.
Taran, however, looked impatient. He seemed to be enduring something, and his breathing gradually became heavy.
"Yes, of course. It's a living alien thing, and quite valuable at that. We can't just leave it in the warehouse. And you're the only one on the ship who can take good care of it—"
(Besides, the Sun is currently stranded on a planet whose number and location are completely unknown. The other crew members all have their own things to do, so you bunch of idle researchers should help me out with some trouble—)
This was the unspoken message Lin Xi added for Taran in her heart.
Of course, despite his inner grumbling, he remained obediently silent in the face of the overjoyed Shizuo Ando and the increasingly unsteady Taran.
“In fact, Dr. Lin Xi also—” However, after hearing Taran’s words, Ando subconsciously interrupted and mentioned Lin Xi.
However, upon seeing Taran's face instantly turn to disgust, he quickly changed the subject: "I will take good care of it, I can assure you, sir, I will take good care of it!"
After receiving permission, he carefully held the egg case in his arms.
"Of course I know... damn it..."
Taran was still staring at the egg sheath. He seemed to want to say something more, but as soon as the egg sheath was in Ando's arms, Taran suddenly bent over and let out a painful cry mixed with curses.
"captain?"
"Sir?"
Ando and Elisa both asked in a panic.
Huff... huff...
A few heavy breaths.
After a long while, Taran rubbed his temples and struggled to straighten up. His eyes were even redder than before, and his thin fingers looked as if they were trying to pierce his skin.
"It's just a headache."
"Taran said, panting."
"Now that the matter has been resolved, you can all leave."
He said this with great impatience.
Of course, the other three people present could all see that Taran's condition didn't seem to be caused by a simple headache. However, Lin Xi genuinely didn't care about Taran's safety, and Ando Shizuo's attention was entirely focused on the Star Butterfly Egg Sheath in his arms. The only person who showed any concern about it was Elisa.
Moreover, since Taran had already spoken, they had no choice but to leave the captain's cabin quickly.
However, after Ando eagerly left the captain's room with them, Elisa inexplicably started talking to Lin Xi about Taran.
"...I thought you knew I didn't like that guy."
Lin Xi frowned and said, finding it strange that Elisa would bring up this topic.
Elisa pursed her lips.
She stopped and turned to face Lin Xi.
Her complexion was still very bad, and Lin Xi could tell that Elisa herself was hesitant about whether she should say what she was about to say.
“I don’t know… Lin Xi, I don’t know what’s going on. Sometimes I feel like something’s really wrong with me, after all, the pressure from this ship, this damn accident, is too much… I…” Alyssa looked extremely uneasy, “but the feeling is too strong, I can’t convince myself. Lin Xi, Taran is acting strange, really, really strange, but I can’t tell anyone else, I’m afraid it will affect the morale of others…”
“I believe no one on this ship likes Taran.”
Lin Xi comforted her.
Elisa shook her head vigorously.
“It has nothing to do with his popularity, but… I don’t know how to say it… something terrible happened to him, and it’s still happening now.” Elisa suddenly turned her head and looked into the distance at the captain’s cabin, which had disappeared at the end of those corridors. “You know what? Just today, before you and Ando were called over, it was just Taran and me in the captain’s cabin, and he suddenly asked me, ‘Did you hear that? That guy screamed.’”
"ah?"
Lin Xi frowned even more deeply.
"That does sound really bad. Maybe that guy was also overwhelmed by the pressure? Everyone knows that Taran Ida has been suffering from mental health issues before this, and everyone is saying that this voyage is probably his last. Given his previous condition, he won't pass the next mental health test. In short, to me, he just has space delusions."
Lin Xi pretended to be very relaxed and said to Elisa.
But Elisa's eyes widened, and she looked terrified.
"No……"
Elisa murmured.
“When he insisted that I listen, I felt… I seemed to… hear some voices.”
At this point, Elisa shuddered, her body went limp, and she almost fell to the ground.
"Elisa!"
Lin Xi quickly hugged her.
Then he noticed that Elisa was trembling slightly.
"What happened? What did you hear?"
Elisa looked up at Lin Xi in a daze.
“You…you have to be careful during this time, okay?” she said in a trembling voice. “I still can’t figure out what that thing is. Maybe I was just scared by Taran’s appearance, maybe…maybe something else. I have a very bad feeling, a really bad feeling.”
Recalling Elisa's long-held intuition, Lin Xi's eyes grew even more serious.
"Whose premonition is it? Taran's? Me? Or..."
"It's about Taran, and about you."
Elisa murmured weakly.
"And all of us."
She added.
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