Cat and Rose - Cat & Rose - Chapter 26 - No Meaning in Anchoring (2)

Chapter 26 – No Meaning in Anchoring (2)

After retrieving Ling Yi’s blood sample, Lin Si left it inside the apparatus for processing, then took Ling Yi to Area 9.

This was the first time Ling Yi stepped foot here.

Area 9 was different from the other areas where the corridors would wind and circle, the walls would be embedded with many doors, and the rooms inside would be in many sizes to maximise the usability of each room.

While this area in particular was simply separated into several floors.

Every floor was like a giant, ring-shaped graveyard. Compared to the place Ling Yi woke up, it was a graveyard that was several hundred times larger than Area 6’s experiment sample storage hall.

The oval-shaped sleeping cabins were densely lined up, packed into a dense pile of dark matter from a faraway distance that could not be touched by one’s vision.

Ling Yi thought of a popular science documentary film he watched about the ships that transported enslaved African people.

But the air was clean here, the temperature was well-adjusted, and the people in the sleeping cabins were sleeping soundly and would not disturb each other. They also would not have any biological needs, so it was a much better condition than those ships.

In between the sleeping cabins in the narrow pathways, there were up to hundreds of small robots who moved according to a preset pathway, surveilling the sleeping bodies and checking whether their data appeared normal.

Area 1 and Area 9 were always the areas on the ship that exhausted the most energy. Area 1’s energy consumption was high due to the extremely frightening calculations done by the universe simulation system, as well as some high-energy physics experiments that were constantly running, whereas Area 9 needed to operate up to ten thousand vitality systems that could not stop. Area 9 was never a simple freezer, as purely using low temperature to cryogenically freeze a person would not guarantee they would still be able to wake up afterwards. A frozen human body would need many additional complicated technologies to support it.

Stepping into Area 9, Lin Si headed towards the reception on the side of the main lobby.

In front of the silver-white desk sat two middle-aged women, who were the only two residents of Area 9 that were living people. Their job was to manage applications and operate the cryogenic freezing and defrost processes, as well as assessing the examination results by the little robots. If there were any abnormalities that occurred, they would determine whether or not it was necessary to apply to Area 6 for medical assistance.

Logically, as the boss of Area 6, Lin Si would have had many interactions with the two ladies, so their relationship should not have been bad.

But the situation was not like that. When Lin Si made his way over, out of the corner of his eye, Ling Yi saw cold expressions appear on the faces of the two middle-aged women.

“What are you here for?” one of the women asked stiffly.

She was cold, and the Lin Si who was never used to appearing amicable was, of course, expressionless too. “Selecting people for defrosting.”

“The active population around Area 6 is already at its limit for the past three years,” said the woman.

“I need it for my project,” said Lin Si.

The woman rolled her eyes upwards, “Then you better take out your defrost permit from Area 2.”

Lin Si tapped a few times on his communication bracelet, at the same time, the woman’s bracelet buzzed.

“The Marshal’s Skeleton programme has SS-level authority, I don’t need a defrost permit,” said Lin Si.

The woman huffed from her nose, retrieving a form. “And what’s the role you’re preparing for this person?”

“My assistant.”

“Assistant…” The woman laughed coldly. “I remember. Your last assistant just applied for cryogenic freezing herself. Of course nobody would be able to stand working long hours with a demon.”

Lin Si did not answer.

Ling Yi’s eyes widened. This woman’s gestures and attitude made him very uncomfortable, and it seemed like she held great antagonism towards Lin Si.

He wanted to refute the woman’s words, but Lin Si glanced at him briefly, using his eyes to stop him.

That woman continued, “Moreover, I don’t think it is necessary for you to defrost an assistant. Among the current staff in Area 6, there is absolutely someone who is competent enough for the job.”

“My standards are very strict. My assistant will have to touch upon projects involving brain microchips, and you know very well that this is not Area 6’s primary field of research,” Lin Si said calmly, his tone without any accentuation. “Furthermore, the final stages of the experiment will involve real human brains. If you are willing to be responsible for potential failure, I can go back to Area 6 right now and pick a random assistant.”

Although his tone was calm, the connotations in each word he spoke were authoritative and aggressive. Everyone who interacted with him knew Lin Si was someone who had a very oppressive aura.

He only needed to wear that simple white dress shirt, sit behind his work desk, and every person who glanced at him for the first time would immediately think in their hearts—that this was a young, cold, but ambitious person. His talent and drive never showed its colours like how the sharp edge of a blade glinted, because he was the sharp edge of the blade itself.8

Sometimes, Ling Yi felt like he did not know this particular Lin Si.

The impression he had of Lin Si had stopped at the time he had just awoken. When the fierce, unbearable pain invaded him, what arrived was also an embrace that made him feel very safe and secure.

He felt like this was what Lin Si was really like, even though that side of him seldom appeared.

When he snapped out of his thoughts, the two in front of him were still engaging in discourteous conversation.

“Your reasons are indeed substantiated, so I’ll give you the selection authority,” the woman said coldly. “But remember, you better not choose to undertake cryogenic freezing one day, because then I definitely won’t be able to control myself and inject potassium cyanide into your blood.”

Lin Si was expressionless. “I will wait for all of you in hell.”

Looking at them, Ling Yi was at a loss, not knowing why the conversation had developed in such a direction. That woman and Lin Si seemed to have deep enmity and hatred in between them, while the other woman was silently looking at the computer the whole time, unquestioning and uncaring about the situation.

He thought again; on the ship, besides Zheng Shu and Tang Ning, Lin Si did not seem to have a good relationship with anyone.

He grabbed Lin Si’s hand, and was only slightly comforted when Lin Si gripped back.

It did not matter how other people saw Lin Si, whether they called him a “warlock”,9 or even worse, a “devil”… It was certainly because they never went to approach the real Lin Si. It was certainly the case.

Lin Si obtained the selection authority, walked towards the large floating screen, and began to input his requirements.

This person could not be too old, and needed enough energy to withstand the strenuous tasks every day. They needed to specialise in neuroscience, needed to be a distinguished researcher, and at the same time, it would be best if they had experience in interdisciplinary collaborative programmes, as neuron implants were a very classic product of interdisciplinary collaboration.

At this moment, the woman’s rough, hoarse voice sounded. “Even I know there’s one person who fits all of your requirements, and yet you still insist on doing the selection. Is it because you don’t want to face her?”

Simultaneously, the search results showed up.

The first result was someone named Su Ting. She was unexpectedly youthful. In the photo, she appeared as a young woman with brunette hair and a very carefree and bright smile

The profile displayed her academic achievements, the laboratory and university she belonged to, as well as her instructor.

Ling Yi saw Ye Selin’s name.

Then he also remembered, the name “Su Ting” had also been brought up yesterday night.

At that time, Lin Si told him about how Ye Selin’s students loved her very much. “One time she cut her hand on some broken shards, my junior—her name is Su Ting, when she saw the wound, she even started crying.”

Although the second result after Su Ting also matched Lin Si’s requirements, Su Ting’s resume was evidently more impressive. Anybody with eyes would be able to tell who was the most suitable for defrosting.

Lin Si went silent for a while, then finally—finally pressed the confirmation button on Su Ting’s profile. That brief moment of hesitation was not unnoticed.

“Poor girl.” The woman let out a cacophonous laugh. “She’ll go mad when she wakes up, since her beloved teacher isn’t on the ship, but rather another person who should not have been here.”

Lin Si glanced at her coldly and walked out of the lobby.

Ling Yi could not help but look back at the slowly-closing silver metal door. He saw that woman gazing at him, and right before the door completely closed, the look in her eyes suddenly lost control into madness and near-hysteria, the insides of her eyes glistening with tears.

“Lin Si—” Her voice was hoarse. “You will go to hell!”

The door closed, he turned back, and realised that the hand Lin Si used to hold his own had slowly loosened.

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