John Brunson’s “forced departure” (a somewhat conservative word, but who cares) was like an invisible signal that the impromptu meeting, which had not made much progress, was finally coming to an end.
The crew members were not in good condition, and John's shouts were just some crazy talk, but they still affected everyone present.
disturbed.
Hesitation.
Fear.
Feeling lost.
Lin Xi could almost see the words directly on the faces of those who silently left the meeting room. Among them, Alyssa looked particularly bad; her once beautiful face was now covered in greasy cold sweat, her lips were pale and dry, and her hair was a mess, like a tangled clump of straw.
Hey, Elisa, are you okay?
Lin Xi had never seen Elisa in such a disheveled state before, which made him somewhat worried.
Hearing his whispered question, Elisa trembled violently before turning to look at him.
Lin Xi felt that his question just now seemed to have startled Elisa, which surprised him greatly.
Elisa is not the kind of delicate and weak woman; in fact, you could say that her willpower and adaptability are far stronger than many others—she is the kind of person who is truly suited to be the captain of a spaceship.
A failed jump is certainly a bad incident, but it shouldn't have caused Elisa to end up like this.
"I...I...I think I'm just a little too tired."
Elisa stared intently at Lin Xi, her gaze momentarily unfocused before quickly returning to normal.
She snapped out of her daze and answered Lin Xi in a dry voice.
"You know, the situation is terrible. In every way."
She said.
“You look really bad right now… I think you really need a professional doctor and a loving partner by your side.”
Lin Xi tried to appear relaxed and spoke softly to Elisa: "However, luckily, if I remember correctly, there happens to be a man on the ship named Bryce who fits the bill—I'll take you to him; I think he'll probably be happy to see you too."
Elisa's gaze trembled slightly, and after Bryce was mentioned, her face, which was as gray and hard as concrete, finally softened a little.
But at that moment, Taran's ghostly voice rang out behind him.
"Dr. Lin Xi, allow me to remind you that we still have a mission briefing to complete."
Lin Xi rolled her eyes at Taran with her back to him.
For God's sake—
He silently mouthed to Elisa.
Why would Taran still think of him at a time like this?
Lin Xi originally thought she could slip by and submit a simple written report, then use being busy as an excuse to slip away in the chaos.
“I’ll have Bryce check on him, don’t worry about me.” Alyssa looked at Lin Xi being called by Taran, and seemed to cheer up a bit. She forced an awkward smile and said to him, “...By the way, good luck.”
After saying that, she glanced quickly at Taran and then left the meeting room.
The metal hatch creaked shut in front of Lin Xi.
At this moment, only Lin Xi and Taran remained in the huge conference room—a fact that was tragic enough.
Lin Xi thought of Elisa's tired yet compassionate eyes before she left, took a deep breath, and then turned around to face the captain with a gloomy face.
"I have sent all the mission logs to your personal terminal, sir."
Lin Xi immediately said.
Regardless of how bad his personal feelings toward Taran may be, at least on the surface, he is trying to appear compliant and friendly.
After that meeting and John Bronson's sudden outburst, it's obvious that Taran must be in a terrible mood, and Lin Xi doesn't intend to cause herself any more trouble.
Taran gave a cold laugh.
"Oh, you mean the task report? Ah, sorry, I thought it was some middle school essay that someone mistakenly sent me... Did you write your papers like this at the United University?"
Taran's tone was utterly disdainful.
(Oh, hold it in.)
Lin Xi looked at Taran and said to himself in his heart.
(It's not like you just found out today that this guy is a complete jerk.)
The little angel in his heart called "reason" tried hard to convince himself.
"Well, in fact, my papers have been published in quite a few well-known journals. Perhaps those professional and top editors have different opinions on my writing style."
Lin Xi took a step forward so that she could confront Taran directly.
However, he quickly shifted his gaze from Taran's face. Perhaps because of the intense disgust he felt for Taran, he felt that Taran's appearance had subtly changed. The deeply sunken eye sockets, the excessively thin cheeks, and the pale purple veins showing through the bluish-white skin, combined with those neurotic eyes that were always slightly trembling—Taran was already ugly enough, but Lin Xi felt that before he entered the sleep pod, this man didn't seem so repulsive.
Lin Xi couldn't even face him calmly, despite constantly reminding herself not to cause trouble.
Upon hearing Lin Xi's response, Taran's facial muscles twitched again. He seemed about to say something, but Lin Xi interrupted him first.
"Oh, by the way, I also have something I'd like to remind you, my esteemed Captain—strictly speaking, I'm just an 'assistant' assigned to handle some simple professional tasks, not one of your crew members. The agreement I signed before boarding didn't include this kind of exploration work or maintenance inside the spaceship. If you really have any complaints about my previous assignments, I have a better suggestion—send down someone more specialized to take a look."
Lin Xi smiled and then spoke the rest of her words in one breath.
(Oops, the plan failed.)
A voice deep inside him whistled.
He really didn't want to cause trouble for himself, but... you see, things are just that strange. Sometimes, just seeing Taran's neurotic face makes it hard to control your emotions.
Moreover, Lin Xi swore that there was nothing false or exaggerated in what she said.
Although he had to pretend he was completely unaware of the unwritten rule: on a spaceship, the captain has the right to command and control everyone on board, whether or not he is a crew member.
"..."
Upon hearing Lin Xi's blunt words, Taran's expression quickly twisted.
He took a deep breath, as if he was about to say something.
Lin Xi clenched his fists in secret, ready to fight. He was certain that what Taran was about to say wouldn't be pleasant, and he might actually end up fighting this bastard.
but……
The changes that happened to Taran the next moment left Lin Xi feeling somewhat bewildered.
Just after taking a deep breath, Taran's body suddenly trembled violently.
Lin Xi had been on guard against Taran, so he noticed very clearly the obvious changes in the man's face: the man's nostrils twitched, his lips trembled unnaturally, and his small eyes, set in deep-set eye sockets, suddenly widened, so wide that it seemed as if the eyeballs could roll directly out of their sockets, yet his pupils shrank very small.
"Ho—"
A strange, mumbled murmur rolled out of Taran's throat.
But it was just a simple syllable. The next second, Taran's throat tightened, and he stood there as if struck by lightning, unable to utter a sound for a long time.
Lin Xi looked at him in surprise, and before he knew it, he was staring into Taran's eyes again.
He swore he had never seen Taran look at him like that before; there was an extremely strange emotion in the latter's gaze.
It's as if he's no longer himself, but has suddenly transformed into a panda or an elephant or something...
Lin Xi felt that Taran would be better off sticking to the familiar routine; his current appearance was giving Lin Xi the creeps.
A chill ran down his neck.
"Is there anything you need, Captain Taran?"
Lin Xi and Taran stared at each other for a few seconds.
Those were the longest few seconds of his life.
In the end, Lin Xi was the first to give in, his attitude softened, and then he tentatively asked.
The old air intake in the conference room was still running, creaking and panting, and the noise mingled with Taran's increasingly heavy breathing.
Lin Xi himself admired his own overly strong willpower—if it weren't for this willpower, he probably would have already run away.
Taran's current appearance, and his gaze...
Lin Xiwan couldn't find any words to describe his eeriness; that sticky, burning gaze was more chilling than any horror movie.
"Get out of here—get out—"
Just when Lin Xi thought Taran would faint in front of him due to an epileptic seizure or something, Taran suddenly spoke again.
He staggered back several steps and then yelled at Lin Xi.
He was as domineering and rude as ever, but Lin Xi wouldn't miss the trouble and fear in his voice.
...What exactly happened?
Lin Xi recalled the conversation that had taken place between him and Taran.
He couldn't figure out why Taran had suddenly become so strange.
However, even though he was completely confused and bewildered, Lin Xi was more than happy to leave since Taran had so bluntly told him to go. He quickly walked out of the meeting room.
However, just as the metal hatch of the conference room closed behind him, he clearly heard a loud bang coming from behind the door.
It was obvious that Taran had left something on the hatch—Lin Xi guessed it was the chair he had been holding.
And he was quite certain that Taran really wanted to smash him.
"Hmm..."
Lin Xi's confusion was growing like never before, almost arousing his curiosity about that scumbag Taran Ida.
But thank God, my disgust for that guy eventually outweighed my curiosity.
"Who knows if that guy's gone insane too?"
Lin Xi muttered to herself.
On her way to find Bryce and Elisa, Lin Xi looked out the panoramic window at the scenery.
The view outside the window was still filled with those strange creatures whose bright colors seemed unreal (if, as the meeting had said, this really was the planet AS192, then those things could at least be called plants). They huddled tightly around the Helios, swaying slowly like living things in the hazy, unidentified mist.
For some reason, just looking at the view outside the window made Lin Xi feel uncomfortable all over.
This is a crazy planet.
The thought appeared in his mind for no reason and wouldn't go away.
As he gazed at the plants' soft, anemone-like branches, his mind kept replaying the faces of the crew.
Bryce, John, Elisa... and even Taran.
They are all completely different from before.
Although Lin Xike could explain their abnormal behavior by the pressure brought about by the failed jump, deep down she couldn't deceive herself.
Even the most oblivious person should be able to vaguely sense that a faint, ominous aura was spreading throughout the spaceship. The thought sent a chill down Lin Xi's spine, as if a hairy spider had crawled over his feet.
Of course, if Lin Xi could see what was behind that metal hatch, he probably wouldn't just be shivering.
Taran was alone in the meeting room. The enclosed cabin was empty now that everyone else had left.
The air purification system was still running frantically, buzzing and humming, interspersed with faint metallic cracking sounds.
However, that captivating aura did not fade away with Lin Xi's departure; instead, it grew stronger and stronger.
At least that's the case for Taran.
After completely locking down the memory room, he no longer needed to care about how he appeared in front of others.
He collapsed to the ground, his body curled up tightly and convulsing uncontrollably.
His heart was pounding, a sharp pain shot through his chest, and an intense itching spread beneath his skin.
Taran's fingernails dug deep into his skin, and he scratched at them until they were filled with his own blood and bits of skin.
It was hellish pain, but even then, Taran was still unable to extricate himself, frantically gasping for air like a drowning person craving their last breath.
He greedily absorbed that scent.
The faint scent emanating from Lin Xi.
"Ho-ho-ho-ho-"
Taran's throat started gurgling again, and his chin was wet; he knew he was drooling.
But he couldn't care less about that anymore.
He fainted.
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