Chapter 88: Who Dares to Claim the Moon
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
Ika transmitted the formulas compiled from Ye Shanshan and Yan Yuan’s notes to Godric, reminding him to send these two formulas to Professor Holland after returning to Haven.
Professor Holland, the head of the Physics Department at Haven University and a member of the Whisper Teachings, had been hailed as one of the ‘Imperial Physics Twin Stars’ from a very young age. His achievements in physics far surpassed those of the junior researchers under Godric’s command in commercial research.
The same formulas were also given by Ika to Zhou Pingbo, fulfilling Zhou Pingbo’s request for computational results. Zhou Pingbo could only barely understand them.
The precise divisions in modern science lay between applied biology and theoretical physics. Upon returning to Imperial, Zhou Pingbo planned to seek help from a trusted friend. Human physics had stagnated for a long time, seeming trapped in its exploration of matter, unable to move forward but only to endlessly repeat within its confines.
The discovery of a completely new wave and particle could shock the entire galaxy, ensuring the discoverer’s place in history. Yet, current political and historical dilemmas made Zhou Pingbo doubt whether to disclose this discovery. He needed to discuss this with a friend who could keep a secret.
—
Since Ika compiled the two formulas, Lin Xu had often come to him, looking hesitant to speak.
Lin Xu had asked him several times, each time prompting Ika to pose philosophical questions that were puzzling, such as “What kind of existence is humanity?”, “If humans didn’t exist this way, would there be another way of existence?”, and “Is being human a good thing?”
Lin Xu suspected Ika’s mind was confused by recent events and tried to reassure him, saying, “Humans aren’t predefined; you can be yourself.”
“Professor Lin, what about me?” Ryan asked nearby with a grin.
“… Up to you.”
Ryan chuckled, bounding over to grab Ika, who was lost in deep thought about life, to take him to see the rolly-polly cub.
During the emergency retreat from Kun Ling, Ryan hadn’t had time to return the panda to the mountains, so he had carried it with him. Professional counterpart Zhou Pingbo had looked at it a few times and personally prepared suitable nutrition for the black-and-white little creature, saying it could be brought back to Imperial.
The Nature’s Evolution expedition ship had already loaded many captured Earth creatures, preparing to continue research back on Imperial. The planning team responsible for the expedition’s promotion was considering how to use these adorable creatures for a public science exhibition.
Although this expedition had hastily ended due to force majeure, unlike the first time, the humans returning to their mother star brought back something other than photos and celestial coordinates.
The tense atmosphere belonged to the two Imperial fleets responsible for guarding and fighting. The expedition team had been informed only that the early return was due to unstable cosmic conditions in the Solar System.
Apart from annoyance over their interrupted plans, most were happy. The storeroom of the Nature’s Evolution was almost filled with products from Earth. Until they set sail again, there were no more “dark events.”
Although all previous deficiencies had been repaired, the engineers of the fleet were still troubled by the reasons for the incident. In their final report, they could only state with scientific rigor, adding numerous presumptions, speculations, and likelihoods, that the chain reaction caused by several supernova explosions in the galaxy had led to the powerful energy that damaged the Imperial starship. In reality, supernova explosions at most affected some small functional spacecraft in the fleet and couldn’t possibly cause widespread destruction to a starship like the Victoria.
Fortunately, the two commanders accepted the report without objection, easing the tension for scientists and engineers. After sorting out Ye Yuan and Wang Feng’s notebook manuscripts, Lin Xu found himself idle again.
After leaving the Solar System, there were no further attacks or appearances by the Spiritual Monarch and the survivors. Lin Xu hadn’t gleaned more information related to Spiritual Monarch from the notebooks.
Ye Yuan had never mentioned anything related to extraterrestrial civilizations in his diary, and the only connection to the Spiritual Monarch seemed to be the Spirit Realm Project buried beneath the snow-capped peaks.
Lin Xu’s clues had suddenly run out. After thinking for a long time, he decided to start studying physics again to better understand the Ye Waves and Yan Particles. But this was causing difficulty for Lin Xu himself.
His writing skills and linguistic sensitivity far exceeded those of ordinary people, but his basic physics level was worrying. Under the stellar glare, he listened to physics lectures, pulling at his hair, feeling dizzy, and eventually falling asleep at his desk.
Due to the reconstruction of the Silver Fortress, the interstellar routes were congested and blocked, so the two fleets didn’t return by the original route but chose another passage in the Abatis Galaxy.
Billions of years ago, the Abatis Galaxy was formed from a collision of two star systems under a supernova. At the junction of the two star systems was a blue light material bridge composed of countless stars. The Victoria was sailing towards this place.
The interior of the material bridge was filled with young stars. Even though Ruth had activated radiation and anti-glare modes for the entire starship, the intense light still seeped through the portholes, almost illuminating every corner of Lin Xu’s room.
Blackie and Snowy lazily basked by the porthole, squinting their eyes sleepily. When Room 004’s door was knocked on a while later, they barely lifted their heads, seeing a familiar face, then dropped their heads again.
Heinrich had just walked in and found Lin Xu asleep at his desk, his black hair bathed in the pale blue-white light of the stars, giving off a slightly warm temperature. It would have been a bit too warm to put a coat on him.
Heinrich abandoned the idea of taking off his military uniform to cover Lin Xu’s shoulders. Instead, he sat down beside the desk and glanced at the lesson playback on the screen.
The course materials were generously provided by Zhou Pingbo, encompassing all the physics courses from Capital Star University and Deep Blue Military Academy. In less than a month, Lin Xu had already learned the advanced basics of physics.
Half an hour later, Lin Xu’s nap alarm clock woke him up on time. He had dreamt for a while, with another Lin Xu teaching him physics in his dreams and explaining the analysis in detail, suddenly clarifying the long-standing issue for Lin Xu. Lin Xu suspected he was going crazy, even dreaming about physics formulas.
Just as he picked up a pen to jot down the answers he got in his dream to continue his studies, he caught a glimpse of Marshal Chu sitting upright beside him. “When did you get back?”
“Twenty minutes ago.” Under the dazzling starlight, Heinrich’s face appeared even more flawless and beautiful. He sat in his chair with his black military uniform perfectly creased, fingers crossed in front of him. During those twenty minutes, he had done nothing but sit there, gazing at Lin Xu sleeping.
“You could have woken me up.”
“I didn’t have urgent business.”
Heinrich said this, but how could the Abyss Fleet Commander’s work be relaxed and easy? But Lin Xu didn’t comment on Heinrich’s words, just straightened up, pushed his messy long hair behind his ears, looked at Heinrich, and waited for him to say something “not urgent”.
After a moment, Lin Xu saw Heinrich get up and walk over, taking a square box from the pocket of his uniform and placing it in front of him. But after putting down the box, Heinrich hesitated for a moment in place, then turned back to find the blue diamond comb, and circled behind Lin Xu again, taking his long hair and gently combing it.
When the blue diamond teeth touched the scalp, there was a cold sensation, but Heinrich’s seemingly cold and powerful hands carried a dry warmth, even though the fingertips had calluses, they were still soft.
When Lin Xu reached for the square box, Heinrich continued to stand behind him with the combing action, so he couldn’t see Lin Xu’s expression. He didn’t know if Lin Xu would like what was in the box. He worried that Lin Xu would be disappointed.
It was a metal square box slightly larger than Lin Xu’s palm, about five centimeters thick, with a cold gleam on the surface, a bit heavy, making Lin Xu unable to guess what was inside.
He opened the lid of the box along the seam and found a gray-white stone covered in shadows inside the box. Lin Xu raised an eyebrow slightly, and until now, he still didn’t understand what this was.
He thought for a moment, since Heinrich handed him this thing barehanded, he should be able to touch it directly, so he took out the stone and put it in the palm of his hand. Under the starlight from behind, the stone held in his hand was illuminated white, and the surface pores were clearly visible.
“What is this?” Lin Xu asked Heinrich sideways.
“The moon.”
“The moon?” Heinrich looked down, just able to see Lin Xu’s profile when he turned his head, the smooth and delicate arc of his profile seemed to glow under the starlight. But this piece of moonstone wouldn’t glow.
Heinrich pursed his lips, “It’s a fragment I picked up in the Moonstone Belt during my patrol. It used to be part of the moon. When I just picked it up, the detection showed excessive radiation, so I didn’t give it to you immediately. I left it for a while, and now the residual radiation is harmless to the human body.”
Heinrich has had this piece of moonstone for a long time, but there had been too much happening recently, and he hadn’t found a chance to give it to Lin Xu until today. His voice was low, seemingly emotionless, like a gust of wind brushing past the ear, but he was talking about the moon.
Suddenly, the scene of the two of them in the Sands star desert flashed into Lin Xu’s mind. The Sands star also had its own satellites, which reflected the starlight. The moonlight passed through the thin atmosphere, lacking refraction and diffraction, and was a cold silver-gray.
At that time, both of them were covered in scars and were in a sorry state. Heinrich lay by the fire and asked him – do you want a piece of the moon? Lin Xu didn’t refuse, nor did he accept.
It wasn’t that he didn’t have an answer, but that he didn’t know how to answer Heinrich. Upon arriving at the Solar System, the Moonstone Belt surrounded Earth like silk. Heinrich had always remembered this, and now he finally picked up a piece of moon and brought it to Lin Xu.
Lin Xu carefully put the moonstone back into the box and closed the lid. Heinrich paused with his hand combing his hair, “Do you not like it?”
His voice trailed off. The moonstone that fell into his hand would reveal its true appearance, pitted and dim, completely different from the bright white frost imagined by people.
“No, I don’t.” Lin Xu grabbed Heinrich’s hand from behind. Although the moonstone fragment held in his hand wouldn’t emit a clear light, it was still the moon, and it belonged to Earth’s moon.
Who dares to claim the moon as their own out of love? Heinrich Chu dared. Lin Xu looked down at his slender fingers, feeling as if his heart had been seized by these hands, filling with some unknown emotion.
He had always felt that the lake in his heart was complete enough to be calm or stormy, but at this moment, he found that besides the abyss beneath the lake’s surface, there could also be mist, rainbows, and sun and moon above the lake’s surface. A strange tingling sensation spread outward from his chest, to his back, arms, and knees…
Lin Xu opened his lips and continued, “I’m afraid it will break if it is exposed to air and moisture for a long time. I should keep it safe.”
“Mm.” Heinrich’s tense muscles gradually relaxed, and his fingers began to braid Lin Xu’s hair, “When we get back, we can make a transparent cover for it, vacuum-sealed.”
Lin Xu glanced at the blue diamond comb on the table and added, “Using normal materials.”
Heinrich took this sentence seriously. After the braid was done, Heinrich’s hand was grabbed by Lin Xu. Lin Xu turned around and asked, “Do you have nothing urgent later?”
Heinrich shook his head. Lin Xu got up, pulled Heinrich away from the desk, “Just right, I can’t study anymore…”
Heinrich was stunned for a moment, then reacted, asked Ruth to open the door, and drove Blackie and Snowy out first.
Author’s note:
*Adapted from the lyrics of “Under the Fuji Mountain”
Spiritual Monarch: You promised to study physics with me, but you ran off to *%JHK#… Early love hurts
This Title is available for faster chapter releases through paid Patreon membership. Any proceeds go to keeping the website running. Check it out HERE.
