"Wouldn't it be better to express this description in a more subtle way? Is writing it this way too blunt, or should it be even blunter to truly express my feelings?"
"What on earth are you doing?"
The sudden voice gave Luoqi a huge fright. He turned his head to look and discovered that it was actually his good friend Caelus, with whom he used to conduct experiments and research topics back on their original planet.
"Caelus! Oh my, long time no see! I didn't expect you to come to Herta Space Station too!"
Luoqi was very happy. He didn't expect to see an old friend here. This was truly rare.
"Oh, I only just arrived a short while ago. I've been helping out in the Data Calculation Room and familiarizing myself with the internal situation of Herta Space Station, but unfortunately, I encountered the Antimatter Legion invasion. Luckily, with the help of the people from the Astral Express, the danger was resolved quickly. Back to the topic, when I saw you just now, I thought you were acting really strange. How is a guy who specializes in science researching liberal arts stuff?"
Mentioning this, Luoqi's expression inevitably carried a hint of showing off.
"Hehe! Let me tell you, buddy, I've found the love of my life here! We get along so well, and I can feel that she's interested in me too. We're just one confession away from declaring our feelings to each other!"
"So you were muttering poetry and talking about modifiers just now to try to compose the perfect love poem, and then confess your feelings, is that it?"
"Yeah."
"Although I'm not very good at this either, my personal assessment is, why don't you go online and look up some basics of liberal arts?"
"Of course I'll look it up. I'm just starting now, this is only the first draft. I'll revise it into a second and third version later."
"Well, good luck. I'm going to continue familiarizing myself with Herta Space Station."
Caelus was just about to withdraw his influence on Luoqi's memories and leave, when Luoqi called out to him, saying, "Wait a second, Caelus. For the sake of us having been best friends, do me a favor."
"What favor?"
"I've been using the Galactic Radio Relay to communicate with Leslie. She took a spaceship to the Abundance Galaxy for a study visit, and we've been communicating this way for a while. But recently, I don't know what's wrong, I haven't been receiving any messages from her. I've expressed some of my feelings in our communications, but not getting a reply for so long makes me very anxious!"
"Every time I want to go check the Galactic Radio Relay, my mentor stops me. He has never supported my relationship with Leslie. Plus, with the Antimatter Legion invasion, I don't dare to go check other places alone. Can you help me find the people from the Astral Express? I want them to help me check whether there's a problem with the Galactic Radio Relay, or whether messages are being received but not reaching me?"
"Why doesn't your mentor support this relationship?"
Luoqi sighed, his expression looking very helpless.
"Leslie is a star researcher in the [Herta, Department of Arcane Research]. Even on this Herta Space Station, which is full of geniuses, she is considered a genius. My mentor thinks that a mediocre person like me being with a genius like Leslie will only be temporary, and that our relationship is destined to fall apart because of our different philosophies and lifestyles."
"But I won't just give up because of other people's words. Even if Leslie and I might separate in the future, right now, our feelings for each other are absolutely firm and sincere!"
"Fine, fine. So where is that instrument? I'll go take a look for you."
Caelus collected the scent of love drifting from him and tasted a bit. Hmm, it was quite sweet, much purer than the so-called scent of love he had tasted earlier in the Data Calculation Room.
It felt like the difference between industrial saccharin and real sugar.
For the sake of this sweet taste, Caelus decided to help this young man solve his problem.
"Good brother, I'm counting on you! If Leslie and I really make it, I'll ask you to be my best man!"
Caelus bid farewell to the excited Luoqi and headed to the location of the Galactic Radio Relay.
By operating the control panel, Caelus took a brief look and discovered that the error in the system was very obvious, the device was missing two parts, so it couldn't operate at all.
"Was the instrument damaged because of the previous Antimatter Legion invasion, or was it dismantled by someone?"
In a normal situation, Caelus should go to other places to collect parts, then assemble the collected parts onto the instrument to complete the repairs, but that was a normal situation.
"Mem."
"Mem!"
Mem floated to the instrument, then raised one of her hands and tapped the instrument.
Accompanied by the diffusion of the power of memory, the surrounding space was filled with Memory, and the power of memory acted upon it, causing time to begin to reverse.
Within this area, all the broken and damaged parts were quickly repairing themselves, and at the same time, the two missing parts of the instrument flew out from some corner, reattaching themselves to the instrument.
"Although it looks like time reversal, in essence, it is reproducing the state of the item's past memories. This directly reverts the instrument to its state before it was damaged, and the retained data is also fine."
Caelus opened the system log and flipped through it for a while. He discovered that the kid really wasn't bragging, he and the woman named Leslie really did chat quite well. Although they occasionally had small arguments, their feelings for each other were indeed good.
And in the final record, Luoqi did indeed confess, and for some unknown reason, Leslie took a very long time to reply. As for the content of the reply, due to incomplete data, the specific answer was unknown.
Caelus had been working in the Data Calculation Room for so long that he could tell at a glance that the so-called incomplete data had most likely been deleted directly by someone.
In that case, the reason for the missing Galactic Radio Relay parts must also have been that person's doing, and as for who that person was, the answer seemed quite clear.
"So, old gentleman, why did you delete the data?"
Caelus had directly obtained the surveillance footage from a Herta Space Station puppet and also located the person who had tampered with it.
The culprit was none other than Luoqi's mentor, Bernard.
The old man turned around, looked at Caelus, and asked, "Are you a friend of Luoqi's?"
"Yes, when he was still on his home planet, we were very close friends."
"Then you must also know that his talent isn't exactly formidable. On this Herta Space Station teeming with geniuses, he is just an ordinary member. Leslie and he are not on the same path. The more effort invested in this relationship now, the more miserable the eventual outcome will be."
"But that isn't for us bystanders to decide. As you said, the ending of this relationship might be very bleak and bitter, but to jump to conclusions before anything has even begun, isn't that being a bit too targeted?"
"You're right, their relationship is indeed beautiful at this stage, and Leslie accepted that kid's confession. But it's impossible for them to ever be together, because Leslie encountered a Starquake."
A so-called Starquake, simply put, is when the gravity of a star system undergoes a massive change, causing a huge disparity between the flow of time in that space and the outside world. It's very possible that while only a day has passed there, several months or even half a year have passed outside, and this time difference may continue to increase.
"Space can be traversed, but time is untouchable."
"Let this doomed romance end with an answer that will never arrive. For Luoqi, that might be a good thing."
"However, what you said earlier also makes sense. How to handle the end of a relationship might be better left for the parties involved to decide. So, I will leave the choice to you."
"I have kept the data I deleted. Give it to Luoqi, let him know the truth, and let him make the decision himself."
"The other copy contains fabricated data, stating that Leslie rejected Luoqi's confession. This might be a relief for him... You are his friend, you decide what kind of truth that kid should face."
With that, the old man stopped speaking and gazed silently at the starry sky outside Herta Space Station. Perhaps he was recalling his own past.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)