Lin Xi took several steps back, looked at the extravehicular activity (EVA) suit he had just finished repairing, and sighed. It had taken him about four hours to complete the repairs and replace the rusted ventilation door. But that was all he could do; it had almost exhausted all his patience. Yet, when Lin Xi carefully examined his work, he still had to admit that it looked like a piece of junk. Well, that wasn't surprising. Lin Xi's assessment of the suit wasn't wrong, since it had originally been salvaged from a junkyard.
As Robert enthusiastically pushed forward Taran's hastily proposed plan, he seemed to forget that the ordinary crew members on board the Helios had no plans for exploration. With not enough extravehicular activity suits available, they eventually had to salvage some nearly unusable, damaged suits.
Lin Xi thought the idea was utterly foolish, but the environmental data collected by the exploration team gave Robert and his group a strange sense of confidence—they seemed to believe that in the relatively mild and friendly environment of the alien planet, wearing slightly worn exploration suits wouldn't be a fatal mistake. With this mindset, the exploration suit Lui assigned to Lin Xi was probably the age of his grandfather, even though the higher-ups firmly stated that they had given these damaged suits the most thorough repairs, but…
"I'd really like to hear their explanation for that broken airlock, don't you think?"
Lin Xi muttered to himself, shaking the broken parts he had replaced in his hand.
It was only after a while that he suddenly realized that "Number One" was now pupating, and there was no longer a terrifying-looking insect lying in the glass culture tank, responding to his words.
Lin Xi was stunned for a moment, then he forcibly suppressed the sadness in his heart.
To be honest, Unnie had already noticed this and reminded him that he might indeed be investing too much unnecessary emotion in "Number One".
“If we can return to Earth, that star butterfly won’t belong to you alone. And if we can’t return to Earth… ha, then it will have even less to do with you.”
Lin Xi frowned as he recalled Unnie's nonchalant words of comfort.
Snapping out of his reverie, he heard a visitor request. He pressed his personal terminal and was surprised to find that it was Bryce.
Lin Xi opened the metal door, and his brother strode heavily into the greenhouse, his face looking quite grim. However, Lin Xi didn't pay much attention to that, since Bryce had been in a near-mad state ever since the exploration mission.
However, Bryce's visit this time still carried a hint of something unusual.
Since Lin Xi told Bryce that he had placed the adult Star Butterflies in the greenhouse, Bryce had never come here again. (Lin Xi had reason to suspect that her brother might actually have a phobia of large insects, just like Oni), but now he had taken the initiative to appear in the greenhouse, and he even stood in front of the "Number One" cocoon and looked at it for a long time.
"Is this... the Star Butterfly?" Bryce asked.
"That's right, this is it. It's currently pupating, and I don't know if it will survive. It's said that they can die mysteriously at every stage of their growth."
Lin Xi nodded and then spoke seriously.
“You’re being a little too concerned about it. I remember you only took care of it temporarily at first…”
Bryce forced his gaze to stay on the cocoon, and he suppressed the disgust in his voice as he said to Lin Xi, "But now, I feel like you're completely absorbed in it. I've never seen you take anything so seriously before."
“Maybe?” Lin Xi raised an eyebrow. He didn’t understand why everyone was telling him that he was too invested in the Star Butterfly. “After all, it was hatched in my hands… Okay, don’t make that face. You look like you’re about to throw up… If you really do that, I’ll force you to do a big clean-up for me.”
Lin Xi looked at Bryce's face and, of course, did not miss the extreme disgust that Bryce showed the moment he saw the Star Butterfly Cocoon.
"Actually, it's just a bit big, but once you get used to it, you'll find it's quite pretty..."
(If you ignore the fact that its wings perfectly mimic its surroundings.)
“Beautiful?” Bryce’s facial muscles twitched slightly, and he, like Oni, wore an expression of disbelief. “You actually say this thing is beautiful?” He pointed to the huge, pale golden cocoon in the glass tank. “Don’t you think it looks like it just emerged from the devil’s nightmare?”
Unable to contain his emotions, Bryce blurted it out directly to Lin Xi.
"...I think...it looks alright?"
Lin Xi rarely saw Bryce show such strong emotions. He looked at the cocoon of "Number One" with a puzzled expression. The pale golden oval body was covered with some spots. To be honest, Lin Xi thought that "Number One" looked much better at this moment than when it was jumping around with its wings flapping.
But Bryce seemed unable to bear even seeing its cocoon.
His swaying, pale face seemed somewhat similar to O'Neil's. The only difference was that O'Neil almost fainted after just one glance at "Number One," while Bryce seemed to be challenging himself, forcing himself to look at the cocoon.
Of course, Lin Xi really couldn't understand their disgust for "Number One's" appearance, but considering her brother's blood pressure, Lin Xi finally forced Bryce to sit in front of the desk in the corner of the greenhouse.
He handed Bryce a small calming gel stick, the same kind of stuff that Unnie had used to calm down before. After Bryce swallowed the sticks in large gulps, his complexion did indeed improve.
Lin Xi observed Bryce silently.
"Hey buddy, what's wrong? You seem... a little overly worried."
He said.
At least in his memory, Bryce was not the kind of person who would rely on calming gel to soothe his nerves.
Lin Xi is now very worried about Bryce's reaction.
"I thought Alyssa had explained everything clearly, so there wouldn't be any major problems... well, that is, assuming the piece of junk they assigned to me doesn't cause any issues."
After Lin Xi finished speaking, he suddenly felt a little unsure, so he quickly added something else.
"...Perhaps I don't need to be so nervous? After all...I've heard them calling this place 'Second Eden' in private. Didn't some people previously plan to enter the outside world and build a brand new Earth village after the Sun God ship was completely disabled..."
"I'm fine, I'm just a little... stressed."
Bryce barely managed to maintain his usual calm and composed demeanor in front of Lin Xi.
"I just don't really like insects, especially star butterflies... well, I don't really like anything transported from Sunu..."
Bryce said hoarsely to Lin Xi.
After a brief silence, he suddenly spoke.
"Shizuo Ando wants to see you."
"Dr. Ando?"
Lin Xi suddenly raised her voice.
His eyes lit up instantly, so he didn't notice that it was his enthusiastic attitude that made Bryce feel a tightness in his chest.
“I heard he had been in a deep sleep for a while—” Lin Xi quickly realized he was getting a little too excited, and he quickly added, his tone filled with a hint of doubt and anticipation.
Ever since obtaining Dr. Ando's notebook, Lin Xi had been hoping to meet this Sunu enthusiast and expert. The notebook answered many of his questions, but at the same time, it also left many more doubts in Lin Xi's heart.
“That’s right. Our initial treatment of him was to put him into a coma, but after the Sam incident, many people were skeptical about the effectiveness of the tranquilizer, so we woke him up and placed him in solitary confinement. He asked to speak with you shortly after waking up.”
At this point, Bryce twitched the corner of his mouth, revealing a strange expression.
Lin Xi knew it was because he was thinking of John Brunson.
But in reality, there are many things Lin Xi doesn't know.
For example, after waking up, Shizuo Ando still seemed to be insane. His mind seemed to have entered a world that only he knew, and almost no one could communicate with him effectively.
This is precisely why the investigation into Liz Chan's death could not proceed at all.
But even in this state of extreme madness, Ando was able to make an unusually clear request to others to meet with Lin Xi... Coupled with the incoherent ramblings he uttered during his madness, Bryce felt quite uneasy.
He hoped more than anyone else that Lin Xi would refuse the meeting, but after seeing Lin Xi's current appearance, he knew that was an impossible expectation.
“Actually, you don’t have to see him,” Bryce whispered hoarsely. “Dr. Ando used to be a respected scholar, but now he’s just… just a madman. His ramblings are completely meaningless. If I were you, I’d stay in my room and check the weapons and equipment. I’ve heard there are a lot of those strange bugs outside…”
“Hey, Bryce.” Lin Xi sighed, stretching out his arms to hug Bryce. “You’re too tense. I’ll be fine—I swear I’ll take good care of myself during the extravehicular exploration. Alyssa has adjusted my team; I’ve seen the roster, and they’re all good people. By the way, visiting a professor in solitary confinement under the watchful eye of a secondary armed officer isn’t dangerous, you know, even Sam—”
He sensed Bryce stiffen noticeably when that name was mentioned.
However, Lin Xi continued speaking calmly.
“I’ve even taken down guys like Sam before, so there’s really nothing to worry about, man.”
Bryce's face twitched, a movement that made the wrinkles around his eyes and mouth more pronounced.
He looked at Lin Xi and suddenly felt a surge of emotion, similar to anger, flowing through his body.
How could he not be worried?
Bryce wanted to shout.
To many, Shizuo Ando's incoherent ramblings after regaining consciousness sounded like utter madness, but to Bryce, those vague and obscure shouts contained many ominous omens.
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