With a single word from Evenheller, the core technical strength of the Resistance was mobilized. Soon, a deep examination began on a starship far removed from the fleet.
It took two hours to prepare the high-precision equipment and refit it into a medical support ship, followed by an hour of flight. Once they reached a safe distance, the examination commenced.
Every necessary condition was met, and all useful personnel and materials were integrated. The high efficiency and organizational prowess of the Resistance were displayed to the fullest during this process. This was not only because the power of that high-risk metal could wipe out the entire fleet if triggered, but also because the one whose life was under threat was 'Starstream'—their most trusted comrade and most respected friend.
"Beginning metal density scan now," the voice of Tan He, operating remotely, came through the speakers. "Starstream, you can relax a little."
At the moment, Tan He—whose back of the head was connected to over a dozen cables—had only used spare prosthetic parts to assemble his basic frame. Many parts of his body lacked shock absorption, waterproofing, or structural filling. He looked like half a robot, while the other half was a scattered mechanical skeleton.
"Yes, relax," Arni said from the side, performing a final calibration on the medical pod specialized for Evenheller. "I need to check your body... barring any accidents, the physical exam report will be sent to you three minutes after the check is complete."
"My external optical terminal is gone," Evenheller said, spreading his hands.
He truly didn't have an external terminal right now. Although Raytin hadn't removed it when he first imprisoned him, during... well, 'that time'...
During 'that time,' in the five hours before Raytin left, he had actually spent three and a half hours fighting the man—the physical grappling kind.
Relying on the fact that the 'Yang Star' didn't want to hurt him or evaporate his soul, he had successfully pinned the other man down several times. However, that guy's physical strength was simply absurd. Despite having an unaugmented Orion body, Raytin could easily bend solid alloy bars with his bare hands without using any superpowers, using them as shackles to pin Evenheller's hands...
And then, control had slipped completely away from him, as it always did.
*Tsk.*
Evenheller swallowed a solution containing a large number of medical nanobots, his expression somewhat stiff.
Since his return, he had been using his collar to hide the back of his neck. Although the hickeys slightly further down had still been seen, this at least ensured that the number of people who knew the full extent of the problem was kept to under three.
For instance, Arni—whose full name was actually Anamtrins Public—suddenly paused her movements not long after the solution had automatically dispersed through his body and begun the sensory scan.
Then, she quickly glanced at the names of the IDs currently in the communication channel and muted her microphone.
"The Yang Star has a good physique?" The well-traveled doctor arched an eyebrow with interest.
"...Indeed." Evenheller’s gaze drifted. "I mean... uh, don't worry, I wasn't permanently marked."
"Then you must have threatened him with your life," Arni remarked dryly, turning the monitoring screen toward Evenheller. "It’s clear he really wanted to get you pregnant, and... if you hadn't come back, he certainly would have succeeded."
"Cough, cough, cough... stop joking, we're both high-level espers..." Evenheller coughed violently, his face flushing red—though whether from the coughing or something else was unclear.
"Now you know how to be embarrassed?" Arni let out a short laugh. "Seriously though, what were you thinking?"
"...What?" Evenheller blinked.
"According to the personality profile of the 'Yang Star' simulated by 'Eternity' based on our data, he isn't the type of person who would casually—" Arni’s finger circled the screen, highlighting the imaging of Evenheller’s reproductive cavity, "—do this," she said. "He nearly filled you to the brim."
"Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough...!!!" Evenheller coughed until his brain felt like it was steaming.
"You definitely provoked him, and in a very unusual way." Arni, who maintained a clinical lack of psychological gender in a medical environment, remained unfazed. "What exactly did you do? You know that was a foolish decision, right?"
"..." Evenheller’s eyes darted around.
"Be honest. Don't hide things from your doctor," Arni said. "You aren't usually someone who makes wrong choices so easily. Therefore, I have to question your psychological state..."
"...It was indeed my psychological state," Evenheller whispered.
"What?" Arni’s expression turned serious. "Tell me in detail. This is the patient's self-report phase."
"At that time, I seemed to be influenced by an intense negative emotion. It condensed into hatred and twisted malice, driving me to hurt him, to kill him, or at the very least, to say things that would cause him pain."
Evenheller spoke briefly, his expression darkening as he remembered Raytin’s mountain-like silence when he had uttered those heart-piercing words.
He had expected a thunderous response—but there was none.
Even if he didn't know if he could use words like 'lenient,' 'merciful,' or 'saintly' to describe that young man now, he knew that when faced with verbal assault, that person had simply taken it all without striking back.
Was the reason that person reacted that way truly 'Immovability'?
Evenheller sighed; he didn't dare think too deeply about the answer to that question.
If Raytin had become so 'excessively stable' because of 'Immovability,' then such behavior might very well become the fuse for some future disaster.
If Raytin hadn't done it because of 'Immovability,' the problem was even greater—if the self deep within his heart was still lenient, kind, and merciful, then what kind of external pressure had turned him into what he was now?
And what kind of disaster would this starry sky face—one that even a 'Double S-class' would treat with such overwhelming gravity?
"Wait," Arni frowned. "How did you attack the 'Yang Star'?"
"A lot. I said a lot," Evenheller said softly. "Words that weren't exactly vulgar, but were malicious enough. That's about it. At the time, I really wanted to see him hurt, to see him crushed. I wanted to see 'Immovability' collapse like a mountain before a tsunami. I wanted to see him bow his head to me, looking overwhelmed..."
Arni was startled, her face turning solemn. "The level of mental pollution you've suffered might have increased again, Even."
"..." Evenheller fell silent.
"You and I both know that if it were you twenty years ago, you would have chosen to protect him as much as possible in this relationship, whether he needed it or not," Arni said. "And five years ago, you said that if such a day must come, you wanted to fight him to the very last moment..."
"Now I want to ruin him." Evenheller’s expression was calm. "Just as I secretly want to ruin almost everyone. My mental shift is accelerating. Perhaps on some day within a year, I will mutate into a new Xenodemon. At that time, I will become a disaster... I hope that before that day comes, amidst the busyness of life, I can find the leisure to end my own life."
"..."
Even the doctor, who was accustomed to life and death, fell silent.
After a long moment, she grumbled, "I told you not to go work at some company while under cover. I suspect this mindset of yours was developed from working overtime."
"..." Evenheller’s expression couldn't help but turn strange. "I don't think it's quite that..."
"With that guilty tone of yours, are you sure?" Arni quipped while editing Evenheller’s physical exam report.
Evenheller...
...Evenheller fell silent!!
For a moment, the small medical support ship was completely quiet, save for the sound of auxiliary robots floating back and forth.
A short while later, Arni laughed. "Alright, the job's done. Here is your report. I'll submit another copy to 'Eternity.' As before, only Solo, you, and I have the authority to view it. I should congratulate you, Even. Your physical condition hasn't accelerated in its deterioration as before. Instead, it's maintaining a gentler downward slope. This state can probably be maintained for fifteen days to a month and a half."
"That's a staggering data range," Evenheller muttered.
"The former is based on frequent combat; the latter is based on eating and sleeping well." Arni patted his shoulder. "Next, you just need to throw out a few beacons. I will personally supervise your recovery."
"But I can't truly recover." Evenheller let out a long sigh. "I'm going to die one day, Arni. Instead of that, I'd rather do what I need to do before that disastrous day arrives, and then jump into some sun. Though it sounds a bit too nihilistic... I actually quite like that way of dying. Silent, painless, and swift. All matter evaporated, remaining in the sun or wandering the stars forever after..."
"..."
Arni suddenly stopped talking.
After a moment, she slowly turned her head and stared into Evenheller’s azure eyes.
"Now I know why he was so angry he almost disregarded your physical health," she said. "Look at the marks on your wrists, Evenheller Kang. If he had been any heavier, you would have had fractures."
Evenheller remained silent.
"Of course, I'm not trying to defend an enemy I've never met who nearly took my comrade away, but honestly," Arni said seriously, "even I get angry hearing that. You know, when I'm angry, I'll prescribe you medicine so sweet it's sickening, making everything else you eat taste bitter."
Evenheller was visibly horrified.
But just as he tried to jump up and plead for mercy, Arni cut him off with a single sentence.
"By the way," she said, "I must tell you that your bloodlines are combining in your body. This is a miracle occurring between two high-level espers. For S-class and above, the probability of successfully conceiving an offspring within the last three hundred years is 0.3%—and that's only because your numbers are small to begin with, and one S-class is a 'Bug.' As a high-level esper, as long as you are aware of this, you can stop the embryo's development or directly prevent this combination at any time. Of course, whether to do so is up to you."
She packed her things, not looking at the dumbfounded Evenheller.
"I rarely offer advice to any patient on this matter, unless the existence of the embryo itself already affects the health and future of the parent."
Arni waved her hand, indicating she was about to open the comms.
"However, Even, you know that regardless of whether 'it' possesses superpowers... an Orion embryo must draw nutrients and energy from the mother," she said. "And with your physical condition, it will be very difficult for it to be born smoothly."
Evenheller stared at her back in shock, his gaze vacant and dazed.
Wearing that collar and the detection instruments clamped onto it, he looked at the ceiling, then at his lower abdomen. He almost let out a sound that was just a long "WHAAAAAT????"
"What's wrong with him?" Morgan and Tan He, who had just joined the comms, asked one after another. They had never seen him have such a genuine reaction that could be described as 'panicked and lost.'
"Nothing." Arni shrugged. "How are the metal test results?"
At the mention of this, Solo Morgan became visibly tense, but Tan He burst out laughing.
"Hah!" He waved a hand. "What 'Yang Alloy'? It's just an ordinary copper-gold alloy suppressor! At most, the material purity is just a billion times higher, and the hardness is a billion times higher too!"
***
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