Chapter 526: The Twelfth Day of Transmigrating into an Interstellar World

Chapter 526: The Twelfth Day in the Interstellar World

An Yi smirked: "Pure luck."

Cong Tianyue knowing about this meant she had pretty wide-reaching sources.

Cong Tianyue smiled: "Luck is a kind of strength too."

She waved her hand: "Take a seat."

An Yi sat down, and Cong Tianyue looked at him: "So, what brings you here?"

An Yi spoke up: "Professor, I want to continue my studies."

Cong Tianyue looked at him.

An Yi said: "I want to take the research path, not go into the military branch."

Cong Tianyue frowned: "Why?" She remembered An Yi hadn't said anything about this before.

An Yi thought for a moment: "This mission got me thinking."

Cong Tianyue waited for him to go on.

An Yi continued: "I realized I might be better suited for something else than going on missions. When I'm around machines, I find them fascinating—how engines run, how systems are built, how to improve them."

He said: "I want to research this stuff."

Cong Tianyue was silent for a moment: "You little..." she said: "So you found out after the mission that it wasn't for you?"

An Yi smirked: "I guess so."

Cong Tianyue looked at him: "But didn't you do well out there?"

Then she paused, and waved her hand again: "Never mind."

She said: "It's your call."

An Yi nodded: "Thank you, professor."

Cong Tianyue leaned back in her chair: "If you go the research route..." she said: "Your grades are good enough, but you need to pick a direction—ship design? Engine R&D? Weapons systems? Or something else?"

An Yi thought about it: "I'm interested in all of them. For now, I'm planning to focus on engine development."

Cong Tianyue paused: "All of them?"

"Mm-hmm." An Yi said: "I want to study all of them."

Cong Tianyue stared at him for two seconds, then she laughed: "You've got a big appetite, kid."

An Yi smirked: "Think it's not doable, professor?"

Cong Tianyue straightened up: "Whether you can do it isn't for you to say—it depends on whether you've got the skills."

She thought for a moment: "Tell you what..."

She said: "Go back and redo the assignments I gave you. Turn them into formal research reports. I'll see what you've got, then help you find the right direction."

An Yi nodded: "Okay, thanks, professor."

Cong Tianyue looked down and got back to work: "Anything else you need?"

An Yi stood up: "No, that's all. See you, professor."

Cong Tianyue nodded: "Off you go."

----------

Four days later, An Yi finished packing up his dorm room. He put the last few books in the box, stood up, and hesitated by the cabinet for a moment.

He tapped his wristband, and the screen showed the messages he'd gotten over the past few days—mostly from George.

George: [An Yi, what are you doing!]

George: [The cafeteria's got a new chef today, and the food's pretty good. You eaten yet?]

George: [Ma Zhiye actually said two whole sentences to me today! Two!]

George: [Cheng Hong was leaning against the wall being quiet again today. I'm used to it!]

George: [The captain today... eh, never mind about him.]

George: [Forget it, the captain's got nothing worth saying.]

George: [An Yi, text me back~]

An Yi chuckled. He looked down, tapped the screen, and sent George a message: "I'm heading back to the capital star with my professor. See you around."

After a moment's thought, he opened the other chats and said his goodbyes too.

He sent each person a short goodbye.

Finally, Xing Ruize.

An Yi looked at the contact name "E-10, Xing Ruize" in the chat, and typed a line: "Captain, I'm heading back to the capital star with my professor. Thanks for taking care of me on this mission. Hope we cross paths again."

Sent.

Then he put away his wristband and headed out, following Cong Tianyue toward the transfer port of the space station.

----------

Xing Ruize saw the message more than three hours later.

He had been busy at the time.

He'd just finished a mission and was writing his report. The command room was quiet, with only him inside. The data pad sat on the desk, the screen's glow illuminating his face. His brow was slightly furrowed, and the pen in his hand spun around his fingers again and again, occasionally pausing as he scribbled on the data pad.

By the time he finished, it was almost dinner.

He put down the pen, rubbed his brow, and picked up his wristband—it was out of power.

He found the charging dock, connected it, waited a few seconds, and the wristband lit up.

He looked down and noticed a message. The sender was An Yi.

Xing Ruize froze for a second, then immediately tapped it open.

"Captain, I'm heading back to the capital star with my professor. Thanks for taking care of me on this mission. Hope we cross paths again."

He stared at the message for three seconds.

He's gone?

Heading back to the capital star?

When did he leave?

He checked the timestamp on the message—three hours ago.

Xing Ruize shot to his feet, the chair scraping back with a soft sound.

He opened the chat, wanting to reply, his finger hovering over the screen, but he had no idea what to say.

In the end, he typed four words: "Safe travels."

Sent.

A few seconds later, he asked again: "Did you already leave?"

As he typed, he headed out, moving faster than usual. The transfer port was a ways off, and he nearly ran the whole way.

He waited two minutes. No reply.

When he got to the transfer port, he asked the staff and found out the ship to the capital star had left three hours ago.

Xing Ruize stood there, staring at the message on his wristband, a little disappointed.

But... he thought, An Yi still remembered to text him before leaving, and An Yi had also said "hope we meet again sometime."

So An Yi must be looking forward to meeting again too, right?

Just like him!

After all, he'd been An Yi's temporary captain, so it was only natural they'd want to meet again.

Half an hour later, his wristband buzzed. Xing Ruize opened it right away—a reply from An Yi.

Two words: "Thank you."

Xing Ruize pursed his lips.

----------

George was the first to reply. The moment An Yi boarded the transport ship to the capital star, his wristband buzzed.

He opened it—a voice message from George.

The moment he played it, a string of wails came through: "An Yi, how could you just leave! I still wanted to grab a meal with you! When's the next time we'll meet? You gotta be clear! Ahhh, I'm gonna miss you!!!"

After listening, An Yi smiled slightly and replied, "We'll meet when we get the chance."

George replied almost instantly: "When's that!!!"

An Yi replied: "Depends on fate."

George sent another round of wails.

An Yi leaned back in his seat, watching the space station shrink through the porthole.

The massive ring structure was slowly receding, the docking bay lights slipping past one by one, shrinking until only a faint outline remained.

The smile at the corner of his mouth deepened.