Stars See Me [Interstellar] | Chapter 275 | The Vessel of Will | Novela.app

Several times, Evenheiler nearly lost his hold on Lei Ting. Finding a point of balance and performing a space-time leap amidst a tempestuous barrage of attacks was a feat of difficulty beyond ordinary imagination. During this process, multiple timelines were severely destabilized, some even obliterated from their point of divergence. Lei Ting was forced to spend less time in the manifest world to avoid involving too many innocent lives. His experiences during this period caused his abilities to advance at high speed, but despite his abundant energy, everything currently remained just shy of a certain threshold. He had to—he *must*—cross that line. Within the radiance, Lei Ting caught a faint glimpse of innumerable threads. They appeared delicate and soft but were actually thick and resilient. Looking closer, they were revealed to be long chains composed of countless interlocking fine rings. Within each ring, the shifting of stars, the turning of constellations, and the joys and sorrows of a universe played out. Any existence that gazed upon them would be struck by a massive surge of pressure. The moment Evenheiler saw them, he closed his eyes. He had already exhausted himself; he had become too weak. Lei Ting forced himself to look a few moments longer. Tears of blood streamed from his eyes, and his lenses showed signs of clouding. He quickly shut his eyes, but in that moment, he understood—this was the essence of space and time. A "sea" composed of countless intersecting chains. Only a "ship that does not exist in the manifest world" could traverse this sea. If a person wished to endure here without a ship, they had to turn themselves into a vessel that carried something. Only by moving forward toward a goal held firmly in one's heart could one withstand the pressure brought by the chaotic waves. As for Lei Ting, he currently lacked the protection of "Immovable"; he only had his vast energy burning in an extremely extravagant manner. His heart held his civilization and his country, and his arms held his lover, returned from the dead. Perhaps he was not a ship at all. He was just a man. But at this moment, he carried everything he cherished. For that, he could naturally plunge into this turbulent space-time without a second thought. ... In the rapidly shifting future battlefield of the star sector, Crater 900 no longer appeared. Lei Li opened his eyes. "So," standing alone, he met the gaze of a pair of eyes formed from illusory blue light, "your name is 'Wan Huan'?" "The process of modeling 'my' personality was based on an Orion Human individual of that name." A voice rang out from the darkness in all directions. It was ethereal and hallucinatory, yet possessed a strange rationality—a rationality devoid of the concepts of "reason" and "emotion." "From the perspective of soul-study research theories in interstellar society, I am 'Wan Huan.' However, in the traditional concepts of the Orion Human race, I am not 'Wan Huan.' Whether I am or not depends on your perspective, not my existence." "...What do you mean?" "It means that the concept of 'I' is like 'existence,' 'meaning,' and 'time'—they are things created after the fact. Since that is the case, they can be deconstructed and their definitions modified. Every individual possessing the concept of 'I' will understand them differently." As the voice spoke, a blue light descended from the darkness, sketching an illusory three-dimensional tableau before Lei Li's eyes. —[Inside a spacious tactical deduction hall, two figures, a man and a woman, sat facing each other from a distance at a tactical demonstration table on a high platform. The area was isolated by a repulsion field.]— —[Beyond the field barrier was a massive tiered assembly hall. A holographic battlefield approximately two kilometers wide unfolded above the hall. Below, countless blurred phantoms looked up at the two people on the platform.]— —[A wide, translucent light screen was displayed at the very top, bearing a line of text in the common tongue of the Human Federation—]— "...The '????' Annual War Situation Deduction Competition of the Federation's First Military Academy??" Lei Li froze for a moment, his focus naturally drifting off course. "What's with all those question marks?" "Oh, don't mind that," the woman on the platform turned her head. "'I' forgot which year it was exactly when I was creating 'myself'... But I do know that right now is the moment to decide the winner and crown the champion." Great. The atmosphere had suddenly collapsed. "Fine..." Lei Li muttered. Then he looked at the male figure and realized with surprise that the person gave him a subtle sense of familiarity. It was so familiar that it sent a chill down his arm. Then the person turned his head. That young, handsome face was exactly as he expected. "This is the moment where my impression of your father is most profound." The woman's figure, glowing with blue light, also turned to look at him. In an instant, the scene on the platform shifted to beneath Lei Li's feet. He gazed at the young man who could still only be called a "boy," and at those eyes that turned back to continue watching the holographic sand table. He realized his height was greater than his—at least greater than he was at this time. "...Lei Ting," he murmured the name, a trace of imperceptible resentment leaking through the gaps of his teeth. Deep within the pupil of his left eye, in a space of boundless darkness, a static, suspended golden spear of light glowed faintly. A sharp, hot pain made his left eye twitch, and scalding tears rolled down from his reddened eye socket. The artificial construct calling itself "Wan Huan" offered no comment on this. She simply watched the phantom of the young man push forward his final plan, stand up from the table, and leave without looking back amidst the thunderous cheers erupting outside the barrier. He had achieved victory and was rushing back to see the person he loved. And at this moment, Wan Huan's thoughts were... "...This guy is really punchable." She gritted her teeth. "During our entire time at school, as long as he wanted it, all the glory was his! Everything was easy for him to learn, and everything he wanted to do, he succeeded in. Was he born with a cheat code??" ...Hearing this tone, Lei Li couldn't help but feel that his life might be forfeit in this pit left behind by his irresponsible, trouble-making father. "...However," Wan Huan's tone shifted as she said softly, "I know that this didn't come without a price. For a long period of time, 'I' walked through chaotic space-time because of the turbulence caused by his actions. 'I' went to countless worlds... and saw countless versions of you and me. Of course, in the vast majority of timelines, you never had the chance to be born." Lei Li remained silent. He knew the other party was just speaking her mind and didn't expect an answer. "You are a key, child," Wan Huan said. She raised her illusory hand and extended a finger, pointing toward Lei Li's left eye. "Here, in this sea of chaotic space-time intersections," the voice echoed in the void, "you can briefly 'become him,' and then..." A golden glow flashed in Lei Li's eyes. His vision suddenly went black, and he lost consciousness. When he woke up in the same spot, he realized that although his vision and perception were normal, he had completely lost control of his body. A layer of not-too-heavy golden light emerged in front of him, blocking Wan Huan's "touch." It was a form of energy interaction; a slight lapse could have posed a threat to Lei Li... though the latter's focus was not on that right now. His focus was on the fact that the person currently controlling his body was so powerful that he could find no opportunity to reclaim control, nor could he even summon the will to resist. He didn't even feel fear or shock. After all, when faced with unknown natural scenery, a person does not fear it until it becomes a disaster. And this person would not become a disaster for Lei Li. ...He was simply someone who was frequently absent from the latter's life. *** "...Bring victory," Wan Huan said. "Lei Ting." She was smiling. The voice synthesizer allowed her to speak that name—her old classmate, the former leader of the Human Federation. The light screen of the simulated repulsion field barrier lowered. The blurred figures had stopped their cheering and commotion at some unknown point, quietly looking up at them. Illusory features were becoming real. These were the former crew members of Crater 900. Including Wan Huan, many of them were in the same year as Lei Ting. There was a face that had once interned with Lei Ting, smiling foolishly—it was the grey-haired, grey-eyed Alan. He was dead. He had died not long ago, and he had also died in the distant past. At this moment, they were waving at Lei Li's back, joking or playing around. Just as they had in school, and just as they had in the space of days gone by. "Actually, they don't all come from our world... This ship has been through a lot over the years; we've visited many parallel worlds. Many people left us forever, but versions of them from other timelines would fill those spots." Wan Huan spoke. She gazed into "Lei Li's" tranquil eyes, not flinching from the edge of that golden radiance. Because "her" existence had no soul to support it, nor a "true self" in any real sense, she naturally could not be intimidated. How do you make a string of data understand the meaning of destruction and death? It was as impossible as making an ordinary person perceive the essence of dark matter. "We saw many 'Lei Tings'... hidden among Federation soldiers, becoming traveling merchants, adopted by real space pirates, joining the resistance from the start, growing up as the son of a wealthy man on a Ringworld, wandering the edges of desolate star sectors since childhood... Without exception, after being tempered by the waves, they all possessed eyes like yours." Wan Huan smiled. That fake smile drawn by parameters seemed so real at this moment. "As long as they could survive," she said. A cruel truth. Not every world's "Lei Ting" was that powerful, and even if they were, they didn't necessarily survive. "Although I don't know what time period you come from, and 'I' am not exactly your friend... we believe in you." Wan Huan said. "We believe in you," she repeated, like transcribing a classical letter. "These are the words your classmates in the crew wanted to say to you." "..." "Lei Li" remained silent, as still as a statue. After a while, he slowly moved his eyes, his golden-bright gaze turning toward "Alan." That person who had once been so vivid—he had lived, studied, made mistakes, and fought for humanity... but now he was dead. Even his soul had dissipated, leaving only a false phantom. "Lei Li" closed his eyes slightly. The golden glow of "Immovable" flickered in his—or rather, *His*—eyes. Every blink was like the sun setting shortly after rising, the light briefly gathered into the end of the world by the curtain of night. At the same time, the real Lei Li felt something. In the dark, empty spiritual realm, he looked back. He saw a sun suspended alone in the darkness. That was... the "Solar Star." That was his father—or rather, a part of his father. At this moment, the cold yet scorching, heartless flames had already singed the tip of his nose, but they did not harm him. Instead, they settled on his shoulders, surrounding him like an embrace. He could feel it. His long-absent father was right here. They were within reach. *** Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation --- | --- | --- 万幻 | Wan Huan | A character and the AI modeled after her; the name means "Myriad Illusions." 阿兰 | Alan | A former classmate and colleague of Lei Ting; a crew member of Crater 900. 不动 | Immovable | Lei Ting's signature power or state of being, representing absolute stability. 阳星 | Solar Star | A title or manifestation of Lei Ting's power, associated with his role as a source of light/energy. 环形山900 | Crater 900 | The name of the starship that travels through different timelines. 人联 | Human Federation | Short for the Human Interstellar Union/Federation (人类联合). 猎户人族 | Orion Humans | A specific branch or ethnic group of humanity in the story's setting.