Chapter 109 Return Date

Su Xi had a dream.

The scenes in the dream were strange and bizarre, and each scene was extremely chaotic. As a 'planetary consciousness', Su Xi did not dream, and as a human, with her mental power becoming stronger and constantly improving, she had not experienced such a tiring dream for a long time.

But after waking up, I couldn't remember anything.

Su Xi closed her eyes and suddenly turned over and sat up. She found that there were a few small medicines on her arm. The room she was in was full of bottles and jars, and there were many medical instruments.

This is not the core module!

"You have been asleep for too long. This is the Sun Swallow."

A deep, magnetic voice sounded, and a tall alpha turned around from the semi-dark corner. In his hand, he was holding a tube of transparent medicine, which he was shaking slightly.

Su Xi looked over and was slightly stunned. It was clearly the same person, with the same appearance, figure, and familiar and pleasant pheromone smell.

But the Fitzgerald in front of her had a slight wrinkle between his eyebrows and a cold and distant temperament. He was completely different from the alpha who, although he usually had a cold expression, had her in his eyes and his pheromones were always chasing and entangled with her.

He made her vaguely recall the feeling that the indifferent man gave her when she first met him on the Sun-Swallowing Ship at the beginning of her time travel.

"Sun Swallow?"

Su Xi opened her mouth and asked in a low voice, "How long have I been in hibernation this time? When did we... connect with the Sun Swallow?"

With the slight sound of fabric rubbing against each other as he walked, the red-haired alpha's facial features were fully revealed under the bright light. He pulled out a chair and sat in front of Su Xi, but did not respond to her immediately.

He just lowered his eyes slightly, staring at the medicine he was preparing in his hands.

The slender fingers held the transparent test tube and shook it gently. Tiny bubbles slowly rose up from the colorless solution.

Su Xi sat up suddenly, feeling a little exhausted. She leaned back on the automatically rising pillow, hugged the soft quilt, and stared at the alpha in front of her without blinking.

Looking at him carefully, from his neatly combed back hair, to his slightly pursed lips, his firm facial lines, to his long and distinct fingertips, Su Xi felt relieved.

There are some subtle changes, but it's still the same person.

After being stared at for a long time, a cold voice finally answered her doubts: "Since leaving the gravitational limit of the gas star, less than seven light years have passed in external time."

Less than...seven light years?

At this time, Su Xi certainly knew it. She opened her lips and felt her throat was extremely dry and hoarse.

What she really wanted to ask was, in their normal timeline, how long had she been sleeping, and how long had he been waiting?

Su Xi recalled the hibernation capsule she was lying in when she woke up. It was obvious that the model was not the one she lay in at the beginning. There were no conventional prompts about coordinates, time, etc. She looked around the room again. There was no quantum clock, nor any specific tools that could allow her to understand what had happened.

In the assimilated state, for her, who was almost equal to a planetary life form, a glance back was really just a "moment". But using the human time scale to calculate, seven light years is equivalent to the external time having passed for nearly... 30,000 years?

Planet BV32-II has been drifting outside the gravitational trap of the giant gas planet for more than 30,000 years.

Although the flow of time is normal for the core module wrapped in the consciousness energy group in the core of the planet, for her body in the hibernation module, time is almost at a standstill.

But the alpha in front of her had obviously blocked all tools that could display 'time' the moment she woke up, so as long as he didn't say anything, Su Xi had no way of knowing how much time had passed on his 'timeline'.

But no matter whether it is the maximum value or the minimum value, no matter whether he has experienced three hundred years or three thousand years... that is longer than the lifespan of a normal human being.

They were silent.

Su Xi seemed to be back to the first time she boarded the Sun Swallow. That nervous feeling of trying hard to figure out what the man opposite her was thinking.

The only difference is that she probably, maybe? already knows why this distant alpha has become like this.

On Earth, accidentally making a boyfriend wait for half an hour on a date is probably not a big deal, and you can just act cute and be done with it. But in this situation, he...just looked at her day after day, waiting for almost three hundred years? Or even longer?

Su Xi felt a little guilty, so she pulled up the soft quilt and buried herself almost entirely in the soft cotton fabric, with only half of her head exposed. Her amber eyes rolled around a few times.

Before she could stay in the quilt for long, a crack appeared in the soft quilt.

Fitzgerald sat down beside the bed from his chair and said simply, "Stretch out your hand. Change the dressing."

Hearing this, Su Xi very obediently stretched out her hand from the gap in the quilt, cooperated with him in changing the dressing, and glanced at him from time to time. This slightly depressing atmosphere made her feel a little uncomfortable as she had just woken up.

Fitzgerald changed her medicine and the atmosphere between them remained silent. There was only the occasional sound of dripping liquid in the room. He stood up and fixed the IV bottle to the head of the bed.

Su Xi moved her hand with the needle restlessly, but was stopped by a look. Then a warm hand reached out to help her re-fix the bandage.

Occasionally, his fingertips would occasionally brush against the blue blood vessels on the skin, touching the omega's slightly cool skin due to long periods of hibernation and hypothermia, and his extremely steady fingers would tremble.

Then he shrank back as if nothing had happened.

After the transparent bubbles of the supplementary prepared medicine dissolved, the entire tube turned into a light pink semi-gelatinous substance, indicating that it had fully reacted and could be taken.

"drink."

He handed it to her lips. Su Xi raised her eyes and glanced at him. Without asking any questions, she opened her mouth and gently bit the medicine tube. She drank it obediently with the strength of his hand feeding her.

The red-haired alpha's handsome face remained expressionless. He just lowered his eyes and stared intently at her swallowing movements.

Su Xi drank slowly on purpose, and he didn't rush her, being very patient.

Until the light pink semi-gelatinous drug thoroughly moistened her lips, it seemed that the omega in front of her looked a little more real as a "human" than before when he was lying coldly.

Fitzgerald's half-lidded eyes were dazed for a moment.

How much medicine can be contained in a small test tube?

You can finish it even if you take your time.

Seeing her looking up at him intently, the alpha stopped pinching the test tube with his index finger and was about to withdraw it, and as if possessed by a demon, he wiped off the remaining gel solution on the corner of her lips.

"Fitz..." Su Xi obediently took his finger that was about to leave, raised her eyes to look at him with a pitiful expression, and called him vaguely. The fingers between the teeth moved slightly. Su Xi quickly held it tighter and shook her head slightly nervously.

Su Xi couldn't read his expression, but she felt the coldness wrapped around her alpha softening little by little. The usually restrained alpha's temperament could no longer be restrained, and the bitter and cold top notes instantly overflowed like a collapse, filling up his surroundings little by little...

Su Xi suddenly felt a lump in her throat.

Fitzgerald's slender finger was bitten by her and he couldn't move. He had to take the test tube with his other hand and put it back on the table. Then he turned around and saw the mysterious eyes of a little squirrel holding his finger.

Alpha frowned slightly, and the emotions buried deep in his heart were about to burst out uncontrollably.

“Everything went smoothly afterwards.”

He spoke silently.

"Thirty years after sliding across the fifth orbit, it rendezvoused successfully with the Sun Swallow."

"The core module had aged and could no longer be used after several space-time disturbances. I modified a part of the Sun Devourer and moved it in."

“It went very smoothly.”

He repeated himself in a very bland way.

*

Too old to be used?

Su Xi's pupils constricted and her teeth loosened.

The knuckle that she was holding took the opportunity to straighten out and probe inside, gently rubbing her teeth and tongue. Su Xi was startled and quickly opened her mouth to let him go.

She raised her eyes and looked straight into a pair of eyes with deep and suppressed expressions.

As if he couldn't bear the way she looked at him, Fitzgerald leaned over and covered her eyes with his warm hands.

No, it didn't work.

The warm and sweet breath under his palm disturbed his reason. Unable to control his strength, Fitzgerald suddenly pressed Su Xi into the soft quilt.

The omega's obedient posture without resistance made his fingers tremble. Su Xi immediately hugged her back warmly, stroking his back, and the broad back muscles immediately tightened and hardened. But the slightly cool body temperature under his palm, the thin waist that seemed to be broken at any time... all reminded him. Fitzgerald stood up, stretched out his arms, quickly pulled up the extra quilt beside him, and wrapped the lost omega tightly again.

Then he hugged her tightly from behind again through the quilt.

His head rested on her shoulder and he didn't move again.

a long time.

"You didn't go into the sleep pod?"

Feeling his suppressed and deep breathing, Su Xi buried her head in the quilt, her voice hoarse, "Just like this... keep waiting for me."

She trembled at the end of the voice.

"Tell me, how long did it take you?"

“Fitz…”

Tears fell on the quilt, wetting a small area.

"Don't cry, don't worry." He kissed her earlobe and whispered, "It didn't take long."

Fitzgerald did not enter the hibernation chamber because he was afraid that she might wake up at any time and could not see anyone. The storms of time and space were unpredictable.

The newly awakened omeg scent was very light, but its presence was extremely strong, filling this small space bit by bit, diluting the bitterness in the top note of the red-haired alpha scent and warming the almost despairing coldness.

His high nose rubbed against the soft flesh behind Su Xi's ear, and he said in a low voice, almost whispering:

"I didn't wait all the time. I went to the ground three times."

"I really miss you. I'll come back to see you."

Feeling the omega in his arms struggling to turn over and hug him, he opened his mouth and bit her shoulder to stop her.

"I……"

Su Xi hugged the quilt, feeling his warm breath dye her ears red. She couldn't see his expression, but she could feel the bitter and cold top notes of the alpha scent gradually dissipating, and the bright middle notes gradually regaining vitality.

"Want to go to the ground level?"

Look at everything I have prepared for you.

he asked.

Su Xi felt sad and nodded.

"Um."

Su Xi agreed, stretched out her hand from the tangled quilt, groped along the strong arm to find his hand, and her slender white fingers went deep into his fingers and entangled with him.

The force of the bite on her shoulder became stronger. The warm and powerful hand opened and reflexively held hers, and their fingers, one big and one small, were intertwined.

As if we had never parted.

Su Xi bit her lip to restrain herself from crying, but her body couldn't help trembling slightly.

*

ground.

Su Xi was completely astonished. The planet already had a thin atmosphere, primitive oceans and lakes appeared. Although there was no higher life, algae and primitive lichens were already dotted on this red soil.

But she knew clearly that the surface of the planet had only been there for more than 30,000 interstellar years. Even if the planet had a small mass and a short rotation period, it was still not enough for the planet to have gone through a long geological period to form the prototype of organic life.

Until she looked up and saw the thin white silver belt scattered in the sky, with a beautiful arc running from east to west through the entire sky. It was the "acceleration ring" above the planet.

Fitzgerald pinched her chin and reached out to help her adjust the oxygen-enriched veil on the thin isolation suit. "Put it on. The air here is not up to standard."

Looking down at her, the red-haired alpha understood her confusion without asking: "It's not entirely the effect of the acceleration ring. During the second explosion of the supernova, the surface of this planet passed through a fast time zone of rapid expansion."

Su Xi narrowed her beautiful eyes slightly, and looked at the distant horizon through the veil, recalling her time as a 'planetary consciousness'. She had a vague impression of it.

“I don’t quite remember.”

I only vaguely remember that in certain moments of crisis, I must do whatever it takes to protect what is protected deep in the earth's core.

Looking at her distant gaze, Fitzgerald paused, his slender fingers were originally adjusting the air hole on her isolation suit, under which there was originally a complete heart chakra. In the process of pulling with the giant gas planet, her originally unstable chakra was destroyed in half, and the information shared with the planet was forced to be lost at the moment of assimilation from the planet's consciousness.

If we lose this opportunity, we don’t know when we will be able to recover to the same state next time.

There was tenderness and guilt in his eyes, as well as extremely complex and secret emotions.

"Are you ready?"

"alright."

They are now on a plain in the subtropical region.

This place is vast, dotted with lakes of varying sizes, one after another, and the flat lake surface reflects the gray-blue sky. In the distance are continuous mountains, and the one in the center rises abruptly, almost blocking the horizon and the light of the distant stars.

"Where are we going?"

A light curtain appeared in front of the two of them, marking the places they would pass by and rest during the next 41 days of their journey. The final destination was the top of the highest mountain.

Her long-dormant body needed recovery, which was one of the most important reasons why he brought her up.

"Let's go."

"Why--"

A soft cry came from the vast plain.

"I, I want to go by myself."

"When you get down to the crack in the ground, there will be an oxygen-rich zone. I'll let you walk on your own."

Carrying a bag that was almost as tall as Su Xi and holding an omega in his arms, Fitzgerald walked very easily. But he didn't walk fast. He lowered his eyes and looked at the girl's curious look looking around. He explained bit by bit the causes of the landforms, as well as the strange geology caused by the chaos of the acceleration ring and time zone. scene.

For example, the special mineral layers of the Hadean Eon left behind tiny specimens of Paramecium, while the fossil specimens of amphibians from the Diaspora contained the remains of incompletely digested angiosperms, and the jet layers of the Carboniferous Eon detected fluctuations of radioactive elements from the Archean Eon...

Along the way, the heavy-hearted girl was trying to find out how long he had been going through, but after someone's deliberate inducement, she happily jumped down and began to collect those special stones.

After getting rid of the annoying doubts, the red-haired alpha's face, which had been cold for a long time, finally showed a relaxed smile.

He unpacked his bag and set up a makeshift campsite.

From time to time, he looked up and saw Su Xi not far away, holding a geological shovel and a sampler, having a lot of fun.

"Is it time for dinner?"

After carefully removing a piece of debris with tweezers and putting it into the testing box, Su Xi turned her head and felt a hot breath coming from behind her. After a long and careful kiss, the petite girl was half-squatted and hugged by the tall alpha.

"Hey, can we change the position?" She patted his strong, half-exposed arms and protested! "It's like holding a ball!"

"good."

He answered crisply and then changed to a princess hug.

"It's been nine days! I can walk on my own!"

"Walk by yourself? Who fainted during a kiss last night - um"

His mouth was covered, a pair of amber eyes stared at him fiercely, and a smile appeared in the deep eyes of the red-haired alpha. Su Xi was stunned for a moment, and then felt a hot and wet kiss on his palm.

Great! He laughed again.

Su Xi's expression softened all of a sudden, and then she rushed forward and took the initiative to hook her arms around his neck, burying her expression in his collar.

He didn't want to give a specific answer, so she stopped asking. But Su Xi could feel that the dead silence and alienation of this alpha was fading day by day. When he kissed her at night, the bitter and cold top notes of his pheromones gradually turned into a hot and cautious desire...

very nice.

The first section of the journey took them nine days of walking, stopping and starting.

In the first three days, considering Su Xi's physical condition, they descended directly from the plains to the oxygen-rich zone in the canyon.

In stark contrast to the situation on the ground, in the crevices and shaded areas of the canyon, some green ferns are faintly growing. Clear springs from the ground nourish them, and the canyon's curving terrain keeps the area sufficiently moist.

Here, Fitzgerald let her take off her veil and walked with her patiently. At first, Suxi's movements were very slow, and she would sweat profusely every half an hour, and then stop to rest. So she had to be carried in the second half of the journey until she reached the preset camping site.

She spent several days peacefully as a waste, taking medication, receiving rehabilitation massages, and taking daily meals and rest, all of which were taken care of by someone.

For the first section of the journey, they moved even more slowly than ants moving house.

It was not until the seventh day that Suxi was able to walk a little more, and Fitzgerald brought her to the surface.

The scenery on the ground is completely different. When you stand on a high place and look at the lakes, they look like small puddles. But when you experience them in person, you will find that each puddle is misty and boundless.

Different lakes have different water quality and ecological environment. Sometimes he took her to camp by the waterside and fell asleep with the waves; sometimes he built a transparent round safe house floating on the water, watching the double moons rise at night and the silvery and thin "accelerator ring" across the sky, as bright as the day.

The journey to the lakes took them another ten days.