Chapter 165: Katrina’s Corpse
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
“Dr. Lin, is this part of the plan too?” Godric hesitated as he looked at the news headline reporting Heinrich’s treason. He had assumed Lin Xu wanted the journey to the Alliance to be kept more secretive.
“No, this isn’t my doing,” Lin Xu slowly furrowed his brow. The news said that the traitor Heinrich Chu had fled the Dionysus front with five Imperial starships. It urged all Imperial citizens to report any sightings immediately. Where was Heinrich headed?
Lin Xu had Metz relay a message to Heinrich — was he aiming for the Long Whale Region? But Heinrich had no idea where Lin Xu was. Lin Xu pressed his fingers against his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. “I’ll go see Ika and try to contact Heinrich.”
“He’s been at the Seva Biological Laboratory lately. I’ll help you get in touch.”
“Okay.”
Godric called Ika. It was clear Ika had been buried in experiments and hadn’t paid attention to Imperial news. Godric briefly explained the situation. Lin Xu asked if there was a way to contact Heinrich while avoiding StarNet surveillance. Ika thought for a moment. “Dr. Lin, I’ll be waiting for you at the Yobel Laboratory. Godric knows where it is.”
Godric nodded quickly. “Got it. I’ll take Dr. Lin there.”
Wasting no time, Lin Xu followed Godric and boarded the flyer headed for Yobel Laboratory. The lab wasn’t located in the tech park. They flew north, crossing a low mountain. A grand waterfall thundered down the mountainside, where a hydroelectric plant was built beside it. On the plain below the falls, a quiet white building stood. Not far off was a small nuclear fusion plant, providing power along with the hydro plant.
Light screens floated around the lab, warning: “Transformer station ahead, exercise caution.” and “High-voltage underground cables, drive carefully.” The flyer landed safely in a secure zone. Ika waited at the entrance. “Dr. Lin, you and Ika go inside. I’ll wait out here,” Godric said.
Lin Xu nodded, jumped down, and walked quickly toward Ika. Together, they entered the white building. Ika led Lin Xu down a vast corridor and into an elevator that descended deep underground. Lin Xu asked, “What kind of research happens here?”
If it was a research lab, Lin Xu hadn’t seen anyone else all the way there.
“No research,” Ika said. “This is a large-scale data storage facility.”
“Storage of what?”
The elevator doors opened. In front of them was a huge chamber packed with thousands of humming server units — Lin Xu estimated at least three thousand. “Consciousness data.”
They moved deeper inside. The air thickened with a chemical sting — bitter and suffocating, inducing physical discomfort. An elliptical machine stood at the room’s center, cables running from it to the servers beneath the transparent floor. The lower half of the machine was white; the upper half transparent. Approaching it, Lin Xu could see inside clearly. Floating in a pale green liquid was a woman — no, a corpse.
The bitter chemical preserved her body, but even so, her skin and muscles had lost vitality, shriveled and wrinkled. Only the remaining bone structure hinted at her former beauty. It was Katrina. Lin Xu realized her full name was Katrina Yobel.
“She…”
“This is General Katrina Yobel,” Ika answered, walking around to the operation console at one end of the elliptical machine. He began inputting commands. Lin Xu stepped closer and saw countless probes and wires connecting to Katrina’s head and spine. Her left chest rose and fell gently, causing ripples on the calm green liquid, as if she were still alive.
“I thought she died in the battle thirty years ago.”
“Almost,” Ika said. “When we found Katrina, her heartbeat had stopped, but her consciousness was still linked to the Blizzard mecha — she hadn’t suffered brain death yet. Doctors tried to revive her but failed. Then I thought about trying Whisper Sect technology.”
“Before her brain died completely, we uploaded her consciousness into a machine — like a mecha’s consciousness control system. This tech came from the Spiritual Monarch, but it’s not fully developed yet. The consciousness can’t fully exist separate from the body, so we had to keep Katrina’s corpse preserved with an artificial heart to maintain blood flow to the brain.”
“Does Heinrich know about this?”
“The Marshal knows. Part of the funding for this lab came from him.”
“I mean, does he know you’re a member of the Whisper Sect?”
“No.”
“Katrina didn’t tell him?”
Ika blinked. “Katrina was a member too, but she hid all this. The Marshal only thinks the lab is hers.”
Lin Xu was surprised. “She was a member too?”
“She introduced me to the Whisper Sect, Dr. Lin. Don’t look at us like that — the Whisper Sect is very secretive. We rarely proselytize outsiders.”
“Alright…” Lin Xu murmured.
“Katrina’s designs on the Victoria include Whisper Sect tech. I think you can use it to communicate with Marshal Chu.”
While they talked, Ika finished entering the commands. He stepped back as countless points of light rose from the machine, projecting a female figure in midair. Once the projection stabilized, Katrina smiled at the two in front of the machine.
“Long time no see, Ika Igor, and this little one… I think your name is Lin Xu?”
“Hello, General Yobel,” Lin Xu replied. “You know me?”
“No need for formal titles, just call me Katrina. I sometimes communicate with Ruth, asking about Abyss Fleet’s situation, and about Heinz. The wind told me to look after him carefully. Ruth says Heinz keeps fighting with some beta.”
Lin Xu remembered Zhou Pingbo once telling him that Ika had a crush — on Katrina. Katrina had built the Victoria, and Ika had written the Ruth AI program as a “rose” offering to her. But now Lin Xu suspected Ika understood very little.
Even standing before Katrina’s projection, Ika wore a blank expression, like an innocent owl — no emotion beyond admiration for the strong, beautiful eagle. Katrina continued, looking at Lin Xu, “You came because of Heinz?”
“Yes. Do you know about the disturbances in the Abyss Fleet?”
“Yes. I noticed the situation when Heinz activated the core control room.”
“Can you contact him now?”
“Yes. The lab’s satellites can communicate directly with receivers on the Victoria — very stealthy. I’ll help you connect.” Katrina’s consciousness manipulated the data flow, then frowned slightly.
“Wait a moment. Heinz is… in combat.”
Lin Xu quickly asked, “How’s the battle going?”
Katrina closed her eyes, seeming to receive data from the far side of the galaxy. After ten seconds, she opened her eyes again, her expression calming.
“Don’t worry. The fight’s nearly over. Sit tight for now. I’ll connect you when Heinz is free.”
Several smart seats glided between the server racks for Lin Xu and Ika to sit. Katrina’s projection floated quietly, silent. The lab was otherwise still. Ika stared off into space.
Lin Xu began pondering where to place the Victoria. Staying inside Imperial territory risked constant pursuit, but hiding a ship that large was impossible. Half an hour later, a cold, familiar voice echoed through the lab.
“Katrina, what do you need?”
Lin Xu looked up sharply, but only heard the voice — no video.
“It’s not me, it’s your little friend looking for you,” Katrina answered. Heinrich’s voice came, trembling slightly.
“…Lin Xu?”
Katrina glanced toward Lin Xu.
“It’s me,” Lin Xu said, surprised his voice was hoarse and shaky, even to himself. “I’m in Haven now. Safe.”
“Good, good,” Heinrich muttered.
“Did you get Yuanxiao, sent by Arnold?”
“Yes, he’s here with me, though he keeps hiding inside his shell, unwilling to come out.”
After confirming the child’s safety, Lin Xu continued.
“I’m heading to the Alliance.”
“Coming back?”
“I don’t know. You come with me.”
Lin Xu’s tone was blunt, almost a command rather than a request. Katrina looked at him in surprise. In her memory, Heinrich wasn’t a man who followed orders easily — stubborn as a mountain. Then a voice from the Star Ocean side came through the speaker, without hesitation.
“Okay. When? I just entered the Long Whale Region.”
“My schedule was set for five days from now, but with you piloting the ship…” Lin Xu sounded uncertain, “Can the jump bypass Michael’s Sword defense line?”
“No. Michael’s Sword defense has blockers that can cut jump paths. I can try a force break where it’s weakest.”
“No. That’s too risky,” Lin Xu said. A direct break would cause relentless pursuit afterward. Between Imperial and the Alliance lay a no-man’s zone with no resupply or fuel. The Victoria could be stranded there and starved. “I have an idea… I need to confirm and get back to you.”
“Okay. I’ll keep contact with Katrina.”
“Be safe.”
Afterward, Ika left the Yobel Laboratory together with Lin Xu, boarding the flyer piloted by Godric to return to the Whisper Church.
“Dr. Lin, have you thought of a solution?” Ika asked as soon as they boarded. Godric overheard and immediately asked, “Did you run into trouble?”
Lin Xu said, “I need to figure out a way to get the Victoria through the Michael’s Sword defense line…”
Godric glanced at him. “That’s not going to be easy.”
“I know, Mr. Chapman. Could you help me contact a few physicists who study spacetime and Zerg holes?”
“That’s possible. A large portion of the Whisper Sect are physicists. But Lin, you want to break through the isolation generators of Michael’s Sword defense line? That’s not going to be simple — and it could easily spark disputes between the Alliance and Imperial. The Alliance wants things kept as low-profile as possible, at least no direct combat near Michael’s Sword.”
“No, I want to bypass it directly.”
On Thales, the Spiritual Monarch had taught Lin Xu several spacetime formulas. He vaguely felt that the Spiritual Monarch had deliberately selected those formulas. They seemed to align with Lin Xu’s own spacetime abilities.
Author’s note:
I commissioned a rabbit-cat drawing but couldn’t find a place for it here, so I put it on my column avatar—you can click in to see it.
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