"No... no problem, probably..."
Bryce replied, his voice quickly returning to normal, and the extra solemn attitude before seemed to be just Lin Xi's misunderstanding.
"Based on these physiological data, I shouldn't prescribe any more calming gel sticks for you," Bryce said. But in the face of Lin Xi's incredulous look, he still backed down. "However, your dark circles do impress me. Three low-dose calming gel sticks are my bottom line, and you need to promise me that you will stop taking them as soon as your sleep condition improves—"
"Okay, I will. I promise. I won't do anything rash! I'm only using it to help you sleep!"
Lin Xi raised his hands towards Bryce and promised solemnly.
Although Lin Xi was a little disappointed that he didn't get the enhanced calming gel stick he wanted, it's better to have it than not - Lin Xi is not the kind of person who is overly greedy.
He watched with joy as Bryce took out the prescribed amount of gel sticks and placed them in his hand, then he looked at his personal terminal and pretended to be embarrassed.
"Oh, damn, the monitoring system reports that another water orchid in the laboratory has been infected by insects."
Lin Xi exclaimed in a slightly exaggerated tone.
"I was planning on having lunch with you, but now it looks like I have to take care of that water orchid first. Oh, those damn bugs are driving me crazy..."
As Lin Xi spoke, he grabbed the gel stick and stuffed it into his pocket, then walked quickly towards the door.
Bryce watched Lin Xi's exaggerated performance helplessly, but did not expose his non-blood-related brother.
"Remember to ask Professor Ando to take the egg sheath back. Your cabin is for resting and sleeping, not for raising insects!"
However, he still couldn't help but follow Lin Xi and bring up again what he had said many times before, emphasizing it over and over again.
Lin Xi dealt with it with a fake smile, but didn't really take those words to heart.
Shizuo Ando seems to have been busy taking care of Liz, whose condition is getting worse (otherwise, seeing the obviously active ootheca, he would probably find a way to sleep on the floor next to Lin Xi's bed and observe his beloved little cutie 24 hours a day).
Occasionally, Lin Xi passed by Ando in the corridor of the laboratory, and the latter did not even notice his presence. The baby-faced man who always smiled now looked more like a miserable mummy. There was no way that Lin Xi would really follow Bryce's request and return the egg case of the star butterfly to the unfortunate man at such a desperate time.
As for Bryce's nagging, well... Lin Xi had to admit that Bryce was really nice to him, but the nagging was really annoying. If it wasn't for that, he wouldn't have tried every possible way to avoid lunch with Bryce.
"Lin Xi—"
Just as Lin Xi hurriedly left the medical room and was about to turn at the end of the corridor, Bryce suddenly called him again.
"What's wrong? Anything else? Like maybe you suddenly figured it out and are willing to give me some more calming gel sticks?"
Lin Xi took a deep breath, then turned around and forced a smile to look at Bryce.
His brother was standing at the door of the medical room, staring at him. That strange look appeared on his face again, and this time Lin Xi was sure that it was not his illusion.
"Bryce?"
Lin Xi became more serious.
However, after waiting for a long time, what came out of Bryce's mouth were still the same old clichés that Lin Xi had heard so many times.
"Eat less food packets and stay away from the exploration team members. Don't always think about taking advantage of them. Your reputation is already bad enough. Promise me that you won't mess around, especially during this special period..."
"I know, I will. I have already changed my ways. You should trust your brother a little more, okay?!"
Lin Xi didn't know why, but he felt relieved after hearing the familiar muttering.
He dealt with it perfunctorily just like before and ran away without looking back.
What he didn't know was that after his back disappeared at the end of the corridor, Bryce still stood there looking in the direction he left for a long time, and then he dragged his heavy steps back to the medical room.
He did not enter into his routine work flow as efficiently and quickly as usual, but instead retrieved Lin Xi's physiological data. Then, with a flick of his fingers, he flipped through several other physical examination reports and placed them side by side with Lin Xi's report on the electronic screen.
Bryce took a few steps back, staring at the reports in a daze, the wrinkles between his brows becoming deeper and deeper.
The reports he retrieved came from different people on the Apollo, and the time was after the spacecraft made an emergency landing on this unknown planet.
Most of the reports came from exploration team members who frequently went out for exploration, and some came from technicians responsible for repairing the spacecraft's hold.
These people came to Bryce for different reasons. Some were allergic to insect bites, while others had mental problems due to accidents and excessive work pressure... However, when Bryce examined them, their physical condition also showed good results.
Just like Lin Xi.
However, compared with Lin Xi, the physical data of the exploration team members and technicians were obviously better: metabolism, cell activity, and the oxygen content in their blood... all far exceeded the average.
Bryce had previously attributed this change to the pure and pollution-free environment of this strange planet (at least according to the data analysis robot's report, the natural environment here is indeed much better than that of Earth, after all, that planet has been almost completely messed up by Earthlings). In addition, another important factor is the food packages that the crew consumes on a daily basis.
Compared with other frozen and packaged foods on the spacecraft, this food specially developed for space travel contains rich nutrition. In addition, because of the addition of ground milk, this food package can also adjust the body's condition and improve physiological functions to a certain extent...
After the Apollo made an emergency landing, Captain Taran approved the use of this expensive food in order to avoid unnecessary casualties after the accident.
Everything seemed to be fine, just like Bryce had told Lin Xi before.
However, a subtle, inexplicable feeling of uneasiness gradually spread in Bryce's heart.
He nervously flipped through the data and documents left behind by the crew.
… Yes, the bug bit me. No, there was no direct contact, I am sure. But even through the isolation suit, there was still a deep wound on my hand… But the wound healed quickly…
—File number hz1876a
Crew: Chris Sundarara
Position: D-level member of the external environment survey team
I feel fine, doctor, although it sounds a little incredible, maybe it's because my leg pain hasn't occurred for a long time. It's a miracle. Since I accidentally broke that leg at the moon base ten years ago, it reminds me of my recklessness from time to time... Oh, God, this is amazing, you mean the old injury can't be seen on the scan record
—File number hz2342b23
Crew: Sirius Christopher
Position: A-level member of the external environment exploration team
… Thank you, doctor, I feel much better after the treatment… Ah, yes, sorry to ask, but I am really curious… My tattoo disappeared after these few treatments, so can the treatment device really remove old tattoos? I made a bet with my friend, and he insisted that the treatment device would not care about the laser graffiti on your skin, but look, I used to have my ex-ex-boyfriend's name on my arm, but the damn word is really gone now…
—File number: hz88671234
Crew: Ava Rania
Position: Senior Electrician, Advanced Technology Department
…
During the treatment, Bryce listened to the audio recordings left by the clients repeatedly as background music.
Rapid healing of wounds.
Healing of old injuries.
And the fading of tattoos.
These are all good things, Bryce muttered to himself.
Yet he still felt panic.
It was a bit too rude to think like that, but after seeing the exploration team members' old injuries healed and new injuries healed quickly, the first person Bryce thought of was Liz.
The fetus in the belly of the Sunu mixed-race woman was expanding rapidly and was so full of vitality that it was threatening to dry up the mother and kill her.
Is this increase in vitality really due to that food packet
still…
Bryce put down his work and slowly walked to the window of the spacecraft. Even though the Apollo had been here for so long, Bryce still couldn't get used to the bright and curly "plants" that were within his sight.
Those "plants" that seemed to be alive and always trembled slightly always reminded Bryce of many bad things, such as colorful insects, the indescribable monsters in the ghost stories he heard when he was a child, and the paintings of a postmodernist painter he particularly hated.
"Huh..."
He couldn't help but sigh deeply. Just now, he almost told Lin Xi those unfounded speculations of his. But at the last moment, he looked at the fatigue that could not be concealed on Lin Xi's face, and finally suppressed those bad expectations in his heart.
If only that person were still here.
Suddenly, someone's pale face appeared in Bryce's mind.
When that man was still alive, both he and Lin Xi would feel extremely at ease and relaxed, because they knew very well that no matter what problems they encountered, that man would solve them in his own way.
However, just thinking of him, the long-lost grief came out like a poisonous snake, instantly poking its head out and gnawing at Bryce's heart.