[Another chapter!!!
Today's my best friend's bday so imma as well publish for this great day.]
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The young Astixian has made up his mind.
Xiu Lin, who was eating his third carrot and reading the intergalactic map, finally felt full for the incoming activity. Keeping what he wore with him and a healing bandaged arm, the young man was planning to leave Fei's house without hesitation.
To where will he be going? He's going to Planet Sur to die.
After logically speculating that Planet Sur will become the next target of the alliance, he will make sure he'll get entangled with the chaos and be caught in the stampede and die.
He got out of the house finally being able to see that Fei Yang's house was quite big. Big to the point that the main gate was a few yards away. While doing so, he was familiarizing the surroundings. When he reached the gates, he noticed a problem.
'Something's wrong.' Xiu Lin mumbled.
[What is it host?] the system asked.
'Fei Yang's food stash is really full.'
[And...?]
'I'm too lazy to carry some. But I know in a matter of a few hours, I'll be famished.'
[...and...?]
'And I feel bad if the food may spoil if I didn't take some.'
[You scam host.]
'I am helping with waste consumption.'
The system was speechless. This person is reasonably unreasonable! He's a scam. All he says makes sense but everything he thinks about is bad things but makes it sounds good on his part!
'Well, anyway, let's go.' Xiu Lin coolly went to the barricaded gate and hacked it open after that, he called a cab outside and got away.
Fei Yang, who thought he could surprise the little guy with the cake he cued half an hour for, came home to an empty house.
At first, he thought that the young man would have been sleeping somewhere in the corners of his house, but he smarted his assumption and decided to check the security camera.
He really didn't like hiring maids recently. The smart house releases fully charged smart robots to clean the house every two days which is why Xiu Lin was the only living person in this house whenever he leaves for work.
When Fei Yang checked the home camera, he frowned. At first, Xiu Lin was leisurely eating carrots while watching tv in peace, after that he went to check on the space map. Then he dazed out for a few minutes before standing up and getting out of the house. He calmly made his way to the entrance gate and hacked the gate open. The last scene was him, calling a flying cab and leaving the place.
It never really came to mind that Xiu Lin would actually decide to leave like that... because he was lazy to even move. Which is why he still couldn't believe it.
He also lost his memories, why would he do such a thing? Where is he going?
Did he feel lonely being alone in his house every day eversince he came here? After all, a memory loss and the only person Xiu Lin knew right now in person is only Fei Yang who had been helping him out.
Quickly, he called on to the Xiu brothers Zuo and Hao, informing them about Xiu Lin, leaving the house and asking if they ever contacted their little brother.
On the other line, Fei Yang heard a bored reply from Xiu Hao. "Maybe he got bored at staying in your ugly house. Y'know. Lin don't like ugly and boring places."
"Go find him then. What if he gets in danger? His injury still didn't heal." the general explained, feeling a bit pissed by Xiu Hao's suggested possibility of why Xiu Lin left. His house isn't that bad, okay?! It's tidy and clean. Spotless. Everything were in place and the area is quite bright when the sun is out and dim when it's evening. He can sleep comfortable and eat comfortably without thinking about work.
"Easy, just check out the danger detector planted on Lin. Each of us siblings placed a safety detector in our bodies in case someone picked us up while we're sleeping." Xiu Zuo explained.
"Do you have his location locked?" Fei Yang asked.
"Yeah, he's on his way to Planet Sur." Hao replied.
"Why?"
"Probably to die."
"What do you mean 'Probably to die.'?" Fei Yang was a bit furious. To think that Xiu Lin's own biological older brother can even joke like this about his own death.
"Boss, I forgot to report. The next target of the alliance happened to be Planet Sur. It has little population and weak inhabitants. Even their technology are a bit lacking. They are the next perfect target." After explaining, a yawn followed and Xiu Hao continued. "Boss, you know Astixian's personalities. They are straightforward people. Their decisions are absolute and reasonable. Even if you want to stop it, they will do so again and again unless there will become a variable in their plans."
Fei Yang frowned when he was given a vague idea. But he didn't have time to sit and think when he knew that a planet is about to be invaded! And that young man he was trying to protect right now is actually making his way to a warzone.
"Xiu Hao, call Du Jin and explain the situation. Prepare to dispatch troops--"
Fei Yang wasn't able to finish his sentence as the call line was cut off. And when it was cut off, it's already given that Xiu Hao fell asleep in the middle of their conversation. He could only deadpan... Xiu Hao, it's your younger brother's life we're talking about here.
However, before he could contact Du Jin himself, it was Du Jin who called first. "Boss General! Darling Zuo forwarded your orders! Confirming that I have fully received the order and will do it right away!" Du Jin hung up, leaving Fei Yang no room to reply.
A sigh escaped his lips, unable to hid his smile as he once again left his empty house. In his mind, Xiu Lin's unfading image never left as if permanently engraved to his mind, pestering him over and over again.
They will kill themselves unless there's a variable that will interfere. Something that will make them turn around.
For a moment, Fei Yang's eyes turned cold. He tapped his pockets and fished something out. In his hand, a faded fountain pen. By the style of it's model, it seemed that it's a pen that had been produced hundreds of years ago. Manufactured at a time when ancient earth are still using the traditional papers and pen. It has scratches and fading colors but there are still gold linings, intricately crawling from the lower part. Like veins, it goes up until the mid section of the fountain pen.
Because of the rising technology that most people use their own smart gadgets to either record the data in their own memory storages which they could easily save and review or even print anytime anywhere. Meanwhile, manuals like writing down long researches.
This was the reason Xiu Lin and him met. This was the only thing he remembered when he lost almost all his social memories.
Where could this Fountain Pen had come from? Why is it important to him?
As all possibilities directly circulated around his mind, he was already on his way to the base to instruct the army. Right now, time is of the essence. Not only Xiu Lin, but the entire planet is at stake. As well as a time to finally rethink this emotions he's been feeling towards the young man he had housed and taken cared of.
Maybe this piece of pen could change his absolute decision that he can never be able to regret. Probably the pen might even tell what was troubling his mind. Holding into this thin fragile thread in search for the needle hole, Fei Yang hold on to that small chance.