Stellar Colony 7, 1600 hours
"What?"
Aric was taken aback by the comment.
He sniffed the air and raised his arm to smell it. He then replied blankly, "I don't smell anything."
"It's an unpleasant smell!" the mess hall attendant raised his hand decisively and waved it in front of his nose. "You're stinky, but you don't notice it yourself. I'm just giving you a heads-up. Others might not be as kind."
He wasn't willing to offend a regular customer.
To his surprise, Aric laughed out loud after a moment of shock. "Thanks for the friendly reminder. That could have been super embarrassing."
Seeing Aric walk away with a broad smile, the attendant shook his head with a grin. "This darn kid is a good lad, but he's really quite stinky."
Aric was happy for a reason. If his body was emitting a strange smell, it meant something significant was happening to him—something beyond the ordinary.
It indeed seemed like this anomaly was a transformative experience, not just an unreal incident.
It was easy to clean up on Nebula Station 7 since there were shower facilities in the maintenance bay.
Considering that his clothes might also smell bad, Aric returned to his quarters to grab a change of clothes, but he noticed his roommate Rian Grayson's workstation with a comm charger on it.
Why don't I use his charger? Aric thought to himself.
He didn't want to risk ruining his own new charger right after buying it.
This time, he used his right hand and successfully connected the charger.
His old comm device started to charge slowly but steadily.
Aric looked around, then plugged the charger into the outlet under the bed. He turned off his comm device and hid it under the bed too before grabbing his clean clothes and quickly heading out.
When he stood under the shower, he found that his body was really filthy. The layer of grime on his skin was nearly the same color as his skin, and it had blended in so well that he hadn't noticed it.
It probably did stink, but not unbearably, or the mess attendant wouldn't have allowed him to stay and eat there.
Clearly, the descriptions of transformative processes in old sci-fi stories weren't accurate; the grime wasn't black, nor was it terribly smelly.
Aric used the cleansing gel to scrub himself thoroughly three times, which strengthened his determination to continue staying on Nebula Station 7. Bathing elsewhere would cost credits, and the station provided free cleansing gel.
After the shower, it was almost 1300 hours, and the station wasn't busy at this time.
Aric left the station and took a station bike to a tech shop about five kilometers away to buy a cheap charger, which only cost him 15 credits. In fact, he was tempted to buy the newly-launched comm device on display under the glass at the counter.
He didn't want to be frugal after experiencing the anomaly.
But in the end, he restrained his impulse, not only because he hadn't yet found a way to make credits from the anomaly but also because the dorm was too unsafe. He worried about being robbed when he used the old device, let alone the new ones.
After returning to his quarters, he replaced Rian Grayson's charger with his own. He then placed the comm device under the bed before lying down for a nap. Unfortunately, he forgot to turn the comm device back on.
When he woke up from the nap and powered on the comm device, he was surprised to find that it was already 1600 hours.
The battery level of his old comm device had reached 83%.
It was enough to last for the day, so he unplugged the charger. Just as he was about to check his messages, Rian Grayson ran into the room.
He was sweating, gasping for breath as he shouted at Aric, "What's wrong with you? Why did you turn off your comm device? Director Langston wants to see you right now."
Aric frowned and asked with confusion, "Is it urgent?"
"It's about what happened yesterday," Rian replied with a gloating smile on his face. "The station has been dealing with power issues, and Director Langston didn't have time to see you until now. The generator is repaired, and you were absent from your shift yesterday afternoon."
Aric gave him a glance. "Are you happy that I'm in trouble?"
"Of course not!" Rian denied it immediately and pretended to be serious. "You broke the rules, and the station has to address it."
Aric sighed as he stepped outside.
The station was already somewhat busy at this hour, but most of the people moving around were crew members finishing their shifts or preparing for the night cycle. They were experienced professionals who didn't need much supervision.
Director Langston had some free time, so she gathered all the available engineers and technicians in the diagnostics hall for a quick briefing. "Aric Renner, don't you know you're very late?" She gave Aric a glare as soon as he walked in.
Aric was annoyed by her tone, but he forced himself to remain calm. "I'm sorry, I overslept today. You can penalize me for being late."
Dr. Langston, however, wasn't ready to let him off easily. "You're late today, but what about yesterday? You failed to uphold the standards of our station, and you were even absent from your shift in the afternoon. I'm curious to know how you justify being so confident."
"The station provides for you, but you've let us down. Do you think you can do whatever you want with your double degree? To be honest, there are countless graduates out there, and you're not as special as you think!"
Hearing that, Aric was filled with anger. As a graduate, he could mock himself by saying that. Other graduates could do the same thing, but Dr. Langston was a high-ranking official, and hearing it from her felt like an insult.
"I work to get paid. Why do you think I'm getting room and board for free? What happened yesterday was Commander Hale's fault, and you can't blame me for that!"
He was in a terrible mood now, and he thought about quitting this job again. What a shame he wouldn't have free showers and cleansing gel anymore.
"Why?" Dr. Langston laughed sharply, and her voice became even more cutting. "Commander Hale is the operations officer, so you can only be the one who's wrong here. What? Do you disagree?"
Although it was the truth, it still stung. However, this was the reality of life on the station—a senior officer was always more important than a low-level technician. After all, only a few people had the advanced certifications, while there were countless young, strong workers.
Aric wasn't furious, but he responded in kind. "So what? Right is right, and wrong is wrong. A certification is just a piece of paper in my eyes!"
Hearing that, all the engineers in the hall were displeased. They thought Aric was causing trouble.
Actually, the moment Aric blurted it out, he regretted saying it, but he couldn't take his words back.
Hearing that, Dr. Langston smiled with disdain. "Let me tell you something—a certification is indeed more important than your double degree in this field."
Aric's hands, hanging at his sides, slowly clenched into fists. His eyes narrowed, and he gritted his teeth as he asked, "Are you trying to humiliate me?"
"Don't flatter yourself," Dr. Langston replied coldly. "What? Do you want to challenge me?"
Aric didn't have any intention of challenging her. He was reluctant to confront a superior unless absolutely necessary.
He simply wanted to quit. The anomaly had nothing to do with the dormitory. Even if he left now, only his expenses would increase.
However, just as he was about to say that aloud, a calm yet authoritative female voice interrupted them.
"What's going on here?"
Everyone turned around and was surprised to see Commander Hale entering the hall.
Commander Hale was wearing a standard issue uniform with a small insignia denoting his rank and a light blue utility belt.
Other officers might have looked official in that attire, but Commander Hale was different; he exuded authority.
Officers who didn't wear additional accessories seemed to have less flair, but Commander Hale didn't need any extras to assert his command presence.
Dr. Langston hadn't noticed their superior's arrival until now, and she apologized right away. "Commander Hale, I'm addressing a disciplinary issue. He's late again today."
"Really?" said Commander Hale, his tone neutral.
Dr. Langston pointed at Aric. "He needs to learn a lesson today and adjust his attitude at work from now on."
After a moment, she added, "Some of the crew appreciate his work, but he isn't grateful."
"Oh?" Commander Hale sized Aric up. He clearly knew what it meant when crew members appreciated a technician's work. "Isn't he the one with the double degree?"
Aric frowned. He disliked it when people reduced him to just "the double degree guy."
"Right," Dr. Langston nodded. "His name is Aric Renner, and he never gets along well with others on the station."
"I know." Commander Hale nodded again. His eyes suddenly lit up. "Aric, you're 'Celestial Gardener' in the simulation, aren't you?"
"Uh..." Aric felt a little embarrassed to talk about simulations during work hours.
"Right, his handle in the sim is 'Celestial Gardener'!" Rian Grayson chimed in.
Commander Hale gave him a glance and dropped the topic.
In fact, he had come to the hall today for a specific reason.
"Dr. Langston, don't harass our junior staff again, or you'll be held accountable. Do you understand?" Commander Hale's eyes fell on Dr. Langston.
Dr. Langston felt a shiver of fear and answered at once, "O-Of course."
No one dared to ignore Commander Hale's orders.
He was their superior, and they had to follow his directives.
Dr. Langston felt a cold sweat forming.
After that, Commander Hale glanced at Aric and nodded slightly. "You've got a good grasp of the sim, keep it up."