Over the past few days, Li Xu often stood silently by the porthole, gazing at the pitch-black space outside and the faint nebulae visible to the naked eye, seemingly lost in thought.
The spaceship was not particularly large. Out of courtesy and for the sake of safety, Li Xu had so far only stayed in the rear cargo hold and the main lounge. He had never been to the control room, nor had he touched anything he shouldn’t.
He usually spent his rest periods quietly inside the hibernation pod. The spaceship actually had a spare rest room, but Li Xu had refused to use it. Cheng Weilu did not press the matter and had Xiao Wei temporarily turn off the video surveillance in the rear cargo hold, giving him a certain degree of privacy.
The owner of the spaceship, Cheng Weilu, seemed like a person who did not talk much. Most of the time, she stayed by herself. Sometimes she would read e-books in the lounge or write notes and organize data. Other times, she would go to the main control room to check the cruising route and star maps. During meals, she would chat with Robert and ask about Li Xu’s physical recovery. Other than that, she did not pry into anything.
She seemed to have little reaction to having another person aboard her ship. She showed no excessive curiosity about him, neither treating Li Xu as though he were invisible nor displaying too much enthusiasm.
This kind of interaction, which maintained a certain sense of distance, suited Li Xu very well. He felt as though he had already been living aboard this ship for a long time.
But Li Xu also did not know whether Cheng Weilu’s friendly and relaxed attitude toward him was simply her natural disposition or because he was still wearing the wristband that held his life in her hands.
The spaceship’s intelligent system, Xiao Wei, was like a human-machine version of Cheng Weilu. Perhaps the spaceship’s owner had given it that name simply because she was too lazy to think of anything else. It appeared to be an intelligent system with a gentle tone and an unobtrusive presence. Li Xu discovered that it was actually quite meticulous, but it only issued prompts when necessary.
Of all the people he had interacted with over the past few days, Robert had left the deepest impression on Li Xu.
He had never seen a robot that loved talking to people so much. It would chat away while its hands remained busy with one task after another, like an old woman living in a little cottage in an ancient fairy tale who would warmly offer bread and jam, along with a mended linen shirt, to a passing hero.
Moreover, it was extremely efficient. In the past few days alone, Li Xu had already received two sets of everyday clothes and one set of pajamas from Robert.
Li Xu smiled as he saw Robert off after their usual idle chat. He put away the handmade shoes he had received and closed the door to the rear cargo hold.
He lay down inside his hibernation pod and watched the white hatch slowly close. Red light descended from the ceiling of the pod and swept across his pupils. When he was not smiling, his overly sharp features made him look somewhat cold.
A faint mechanical voice sounded inside the hibernation pod.
“System startup successful… Identity verification successful… Attempting external connection…”
Li Xu’s brows furrowed. His hands, which had been resting loosely at his sides, clenched tightly, his grip so hard that his knuckles turned white. He shut his eyes tightly, as though enduring tremendous pain.
“Attempt… failed… Unable to breach firewall… Failed…”
With a beep, the mechanical voice disappeared.
Li Xu gasped and opened his eyes. His face was pale, and a fine layer of sweat had formed on his forehead.
He had never encountered a mental firewall he could not breach before.
Li Xu raised his hand, his gray eyes quietly fixed on the black wristband around his wrist.
Who are you?
─────── ✦ · ˚ ✧ · ˚ ✦ ───────
On the seventh day of the return journey, they were already close to the G103 jump point.
Cheng Weilu brought up the star map. Baicheng Star was already very close.
Xiao Wei’s safety alert sounded. Cheng Weilu glanced at the main control screen.
“What is it?”
“I think I need to remind you that Li Xu has attempted to establish a mental connection with the spaceship.”
Cheng Weilu paused, thinking of the man’s gentle demeanor and those inscrutable gray eyes…
That so-called gentleness, friendliness, and sense of boundaries were probably nothing more than a facade.
“Not surprising…” Cheng Weilu thought for a moment. “His combat uniform is an old Alliance model. The equipment he was in had a high-specification hibernation pod and was involved in an accident fifty years ago. And then there’s that location…”
Cheng Weilu recalled the fortress that had disappeared for unknown reasons.
“Hmm… There’s a very good chance he was a combat aircraft involved in that Alliance War, and he was probably its pilot.”
Thinking of that handsome face, Cheng Weilu sighed.
“Fine. I put a wristband on him that can threaten his life, so he wants to keep the initiative in his own hands… That’s understandable.”
Cheng Weilu exited the e-book, adjusted her posture and mindset, then leaned back in her seat and looked up at the ceiling of the main control room.
“Xiao Wei, tell me the specific process and data results.”
“The first connection was six days ago. Connection compatibility: 70%, a high compatibility level. One connection attempt.”
“The second connection was four days ago. Connection compatibility: 80%, a high compatibility level. One connection attempt.”
“The third connection was today. Connection compatibility: 91%, an extremely high compatibility level. Three connection attempts.”
“Attempt to breach the mental firewall failed. Attempt to take control of the spaceship failed.”
“What did he use as a medium?” Cheng Weilu asked, somewhat puzzled. Whenever she used an optical-brain link to perform micro-control operations, she still needed to make use of the optical-brain in her mask.
“The optical-brain monitoring system built into the hibernation pod,” Xiao Wei said. “It was extremely well concealed. I discovered it while filtering redundant data in the background. He processed the data.”
Cheng Weilu was silent for a while.
“How do you evaluate him?”
“An average compatibility of 30–40% is enough to pilot a spaceship. His compatibility rose to an extremely high level within a week, which indicates that he was originally a naturally gifted pilot with exceptionally strong mental strength. A compatibility of 91% is the highest value I have currently encountered in the database apart from yours.”
Cheng Weilu said nothing, listening as Xiao Wei continued.
“This is still the level he recovered to within a week of awakening. If he has not yet reached his upper limit, I recommend implementing preventive measures in advance. If his compatibility continues to increase, there is a risk that you could lose control of this spaceship.”
“Do you think that’s possible?”
Xiao Wei fell silent for a moment.
“…With your numbers, it seems unlikely. However, my mental-strength analysis samples only include you, and my knowledge of the methods of controlling a spaceship is limited. There may be other risks.”
“He won’t try again.”
“Why?”
“He should only have been testing the extent of his mental-strength recovery. Judging from the numbers you gave me, he really is an exceptionally talented combat aircraft pilot.”
Cheng Weilu closed her eyes, her tone calm.
“Every connection to and disconnection from a spaceship consumes a great deal of energy. If he wants to take control of this spaceship, he needs to continue increasing his level from 91%. High mental-strength values correspond to high energy consumption. His physical condition is quite good, but no matter how quickly he recovers, he is still someone who has been in hibernation for decades. Three attempts were probably already his limit. If he continues trying…”
“Intense cerebral stimulation could cause brain damage and lead to traumatic empty-brain syndrome,” Xiao Wei summarized, extracting the key terms.
“Exactly. Also…” Cheng Weilu spread her hands and looked around. “We’re just a civilian spaceship that salvages junk. Even if he takes control, all he can do is change the flight route. There’s nothing else to gain. Surely it’s not worth a distinguished combat aircraft pilot damaging his brain by exhausting his mental strength, right? If he wants the ship, he can just buy it from me. As long as he offers enough money!”
“All right. A Luo, I often feel that your view of humans is overly optimistic.”
“Probably because I trust my instincts.”
“What kind of instincts?”
“Instincts that say no one’s mental compatibility value can exceed mine.” Cheng Weilu smiled. “If someone really exceeds it, then he’s the chosen one. The preventive systems wouldn’t work on him anyway. If I lose, I’ll just have to accept it.”
As soon as she finished speaking, someone knocked on the door of the main control room.
“It is Li Xu,” Xiao Wei said.
Cheng Weilu adjusted the back of her seat and sat up straight, then had it open the door.
The man standing outside wore a gentle and friendly smile. Cheng Weilu turned her chair toward him.
“Come in.”
The main control room was not large, and the doorway was a little low for Li Xu. He ducked as he stepped through, but did not continue farther inside. Instead, he leaned against the doorframe, his long legs relaxed. He was wearing the handmade shoes Robert had made for him. His entire appearance was refined and gentle. Just standing there made the plain little main control room seem to glow with distinction.
This man’s looks were truly exceptional. Just which high-ranking pilot had been sleeping in a remote corner of deep space for fifty years without anyone knowing?
Cheng Weilu silently grumbled to herself. What she had not told Xiao Wei just now was that this handsome face was actually the biggest reason she had lowered her guard. She was generally more tolerant of good-looking people.
Li Xu looked at her and spoke bluntly.
“I tried to connect to this spaceship.”
Cheng Weilu showed no surprise. She nodded to indicate that she already knew.
Li Xu carefully studied her expression before saying, “I’m sorry. That was very offensive of me.”
Cheng Weilu lowered her eyes and chuckled softly, waving her hand to show that she did not mind.
“If the connection had succeeded and you had successfully taken control of the spaceship, you should have been able to erase those records without leaving a trace and then disconnect. I wouldn’t have discovered it, right?” Cheng Weilu lightly tapped her fingers against the table.
“The main control authority overrides the automatic system. You could order Xiao Wei to ignore the traces of your operation. Then, only at critical moments, you could exercise the highest level of main control authority and take over this spaceship in my place.”
Li Xu heard her continue.
“I put a wristband on you that can threaten your life. You don’t trust me and wanted to leave yourself a way out. I understand, so I don’t feel offended.”
“…”
With his intentions exposed, Li Xu had nothing to argue. He let his smile fade, no longer looking as gentle and refined as before. His slightly downturned lips were set against a pair of cold gray eyes.
Cheng Weilu discovered that when this person wore a cold expression, he was beautiful in an entirely different way, like clear floating ice in a frigid pool.
Looking at his expression, Cheng Weilu said calmly, “You must have a great deal of confidence in your mental strength, enough that you’re even somewhat arrogant. But I think arrogance to this degree is still acceptable.”
“Why?”
“Because my moral standards are rather low, and I’m also very tolerant of people. As long as you don’t break the law or cause trouble for me, there’s not much I can’t accept.” Cheng Weilu glanced at him. “At the same time, I’m arrogant too. I simply believe that no one can breach my firewall. And…”
Cheng Weilu paused.
“Mr. Li, you used to be an Alliance combat aircraft pilot, didn’t you?”
Li Xu felt there was no need to hide it.
“Yes.”
Cheng Weilu smiled.
“Someone who flies combat aircraft probably wouldn’t take a liking to my garbage-salvaging spaceship, unless you want to rob the garbage I’m carrying and sell it for scrap. If you want it, just name a reasonable price. There’s no need to compete with me for my business.”
“Or,” she spread her hands, “if you want to become a salvager, you can just get certified and register through the Association forum.”
Li Xu somehow followed her train of thought and lowered his head with a smile.
“Your spaceship is very good. Miss Cheng, can you tell me what your mental-strength value is?”
“No.” Cheng Weilu’s smile disappeared, and she gave a soft snort. “You can keep trying to connect if you aren’t afraid of damaging your brain.”
“But I advise you not to make trouble for yourself.” She spun her chair around and waved her hand, giving him only the back of her head. “Before you raise your level to its upper limit and manage to reach my value, I’ll definitely have thrown you off the spaceship already.”
…
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