Chapter 8 To: Faded Star (Part )
(If you have experienced this branch story in the game, you can skip it if you feel appropriate. This book is the true storyline, and you can also read it for different endings.)
The solar wind in the universe is smooth, gravity is normal, and it is another good day.

"yawn"

Yao Luo sat on the hospital bed and stretched lazily. A crackling sound came from his spine. After a night's rest, Yao Luo had recovered his health.

Bored, he decided to take a walk in the space station and changed out of his hospital gown with the help of the nurse.

Yao Luo was given a set of dry and comfortable clerk uniform, along with a little bit of "small modification" to his abilities.

The tall collar, deep black, double-breasted buttons, dark blue lining, black and white belt, and the hem that symbolizes power in the miHoYo universe make it look very much like a certain Pava man.

After putting on the well-fitting clothes, Yao Luo's temperament suddenly changed, and he looked like a...foreigner.

Because Yao Luo's attire was different from that of most other staff members in the space station, he attracted a lot of attention wherever he went.

"He's the one who saved the space station, he's good-looking and has an outstanding temperament.

"There was a lot of noise on the platform at that time. I could hear it from next door."

After filtering out some incomprehensible remarks, it can be seen that the actions of the Star Train crew have been spread in the space station, and the friendship level is at least at a good level.

But Yao Luo could not see any tension or fear on the faces of some older clerks. The space station had experienced countless dangers here. Perhaps for the older clerks, this was just a part of the countless dangers.

The person who brought them confidence and hope was the nominal leader of this space station - Black Tower.

Judging from the information I searched on the information terminal in my spare time yesterday, the 83rd seat of the so-called genius club, Ms. Heita, has achieved countless achievements.

Such a talent was ranked 83rd, and Yao Luo couldn't imagine what kind of monsters were in front of him. Although he knew that the ranking was not the size of his achievements, he must be no ordinary person to be able to join the genius club before such a character who might not be easily selected in science fiction novels.

Yao Luo walked and stopped in the space station. He could feel the strong scientific research atmosphere of the space station while walking, standing, sitting and lying down. Along the way, 30% of the people were talking about post-disaster reconstruction, and 50% of the people were discussing scientific research topics that Yao Luo could not understand. Yao Luo felt dizzy after listening to them, as if he was going to grow a brain.

As for the remaining 20%, they are too abstract and difficult to translate.

A familiar gray-haired figure flashed before my eyes, with hurried footsteps and aggressive eyes looking around for something.

"Xing, long time no see." Yao Luo waved his hand. Seeing Xing's energetic appearance, it could be seen that she was in good condition.

"Yao Luo!"

A hint of surprise flashed across Xing's golden eyes. He didn't expect Yao Luo to recover so quickly.

As if looking at some rare treasure, Xing quickly came to Yao Luo and looked around at him.

"Okay, okay, I'm very healthy." Yao Luo patted Xing's shoulder, "We've both just recovered from a serious illness, how about taking a walk around the space station?"

Xing was also very happy to walk with Yao Luo.

"Good idea, let me tell you about the strange thing I saw yesterday..."

Xing turned on his cell phone and brought up a communication screen that Yao Luo did not recognize.

Yao Luo leaned his head over and began to read the message.

Lodge:

Lily, are you okay? Why haven't you replied to my message yet?
星：
Who is Lily?

Lodge:

Sorry - but no matter who you are, if you meet Lily, remember to tell her that Rocky will be waiting for you in the "Black Tower".

星：
So who is Lily?
星：
???

"Strange..." Yao Luo frowned and thought for a while with his chin in his hand.

"Judging from his profile picture and background, he should be a member of the space station."

"I was just about to go find him, would you like to join me?" As a fun-loving person, Xing naturally wanted to see what tricks this Rocky had.

"Let's go." Yao Luo had no reason to refuse.

After going around in circles and asking several staff members, the two of them came to an inconspicuous corner of the space station. Looking at the sign, they found that it belonged to the [Black Tower·Universe and Earth Science Department], one of the five major departments of the space station.
A geographer.

Of course, they are engaged in interstellar geography.

"It corrupts morals! It ruins academics!"

From far away, a scolding voice with a stern tone came from a distance.

An old man with white hair was yelling at a young man who looked to be about 20 years old and had gray-purple hair. The young man held a piece of thin paper in his hand, raised his arms, and ignored him.

Seeing someone coming, the old man snorted coldly, turned around and said no more.

Yao Luo looked at the situation in front of him and whispered to Xing: "Go talk to that old gentleman."

Xing nudged Yao Luo with his elbow, and put his hand to his mouth: "I'm not going, why don't you go, are you scared?"

Yao Luo narrowed his eyes, thinking that he could not lose the battle even if he lost the fight, "Go ahead, and treat me to a meal later."

Xing blinked, neither agreeing nor denying.

Yao Luo took a deep breath and planned to communicate with the old man politely. After all, he always respected the elderly.

Coming to the old man, Yao Luo bowed slightly and asked politely: "Hello, you should be the famous Mr. Bernard." Yao Luo glanced at the ID on the old man's chest without leaving a trace.

Bernard looked at Yao Luo with a sidelong glance. After all, one should not hit a smiling person. Even though he was angry, he still patiently communicated with Yao Luo.

"Boy, I saw you talking for so long just now. You are here to look for my student Rocky, right?"

Being exposed at once, Yao Luo couldn't hold it anymore. He winked at Xing, who was watching the show with a smile on her side, and told her to go find the real culprit quickly.

Xing smiled and seemed to hide a little further away.

"No, no, I'm new here and would like to learn about each department. I'm sure the Geological Survey Department where you are must be an important department of the space station." Yao Luo returned to normal and asked tentatively.

"Hey, kid, are you new here? You actually asked me, Bernard, this kind of question. I don't know if you are asking for trouble or you are just too stupid and naive!" Bernard didn't know what nerve was touched and scolded in a slightly harsh tone.

"Ah, this?" Yao Luo was also confused and didn't know what he had said wrong.

"Hey--"

Seeing Yao Luo's bewildered look, Bernard sighed helplessly, and his tone softened a lot, saying in the tone unique to the elderly:

"The stupidest rule of this space station is to divide talents and knowledge into rigid departments."

"The second stupidest rule is an implicit rule: different departments are divided into different levels!"

Yao Luo raised his eyebrows. In Yao Luo's mind, the Black Tower Space Station has always been a place full of reason and wisdom. The staff members are dedicated to science and work together to study scientific theories. He did not expect that there are such hidden rules beneath the surface.

Bernard's voice gradually rose. "In the space station, many people from other departments look down on the Department of Geosciences. In the space station, those who are good at speaking and doing things are glamorous and admired, while those who are silent and devoted to research are called old-fashioned and useless. This is the part of this space station that needs to be changed the most!"

The old man's passionate words made Yao Luo fall into deep thought. He didn't expect that the ideas of the survival of the fittest and utilitarianism had not been eradicated in the space age.

"Ahem... But I'm an old man too. I don't have the ability to bring about any reforms. To be honest, it's up to the young people to work hard on their own." Bernard was a little out of breath, coughed twice, and advised Yao Luo earnestly.

"Thank you for your advice, old man." Yao Luo replied politely.

"You are also a young man, and your words are more contagious than those of an old man like me. If you have time, go and persuade my stupid apprentice."

"Ah! Love between men and women, romance, is simply an obstacle on the road to scientific research and knowledge!"

Bernard's tone was full of loneliness, and he seemed to be a man with a story.

"Sure, sure." Yao Luo bowed and quickly withdrew. If they continued chatting, it would probably take more than half a day to finish.

Wiping his sweat off his forehead, Yao Luo quickly ran to Xing's side. Although he respected the elderly, he still couldn't handle such a situation.

Xing has been beside Rocky for a while, holding a piece of paper in his hand, seeming to be admiring something.

Yao Luo picked up another one. It turned out to be a love letter that Rocky wrote to "Lily", and he was asking Xing about her feelings.

Black Tower Love Poem No. 3:

In addition to the giant ring and the starlight, there is also a woman in the Milky Way, who carries my questions. The deadline for the question is my lifetime.

The answer lies at the fragile edge of a black hole.

Her eyes are the breath of clouds, and the blue is written as my name by loneliness.

Rocky Martinez

Yao Luo has read very few love poems, so he can't really tell the good from the bad, but according to Yao Luo's standards...

"Not bad." Yao Luo affirmed.

"It's very interesting." Xing gave a similar answer to Yao Luo.

"Right! Right!" Rocky's gray-purple hair swayed slightly as he spoke. He was very satisfied with Yao Luo and Xing's answers. "They all think I'm not doing my job properly. Only you two understand the fun of it. Tell me! Which version do you like?" Yao Luo looked at other versions again. Most of them were either too straightforward or too corny. He felt that the first version was better.

"But like I said just now, it doesn't matter how well the poem is written. What matters is that we have the opportunity to send the poem out." Rocky said to Xing solemnly: "So, I'll leave the matter of repairing the repeater to you."

Xing nodded, took Yao Luo's hand and walked out.

As they walked and talked, Yao Luo gradually understood Rocky's story.

Rocky is an ordinary clerk in the Geological Survey Department on the space station. In Rocky's hometown, he was once a top genius on the planet, but in the Black Tower, every clerk has been called a "genius".

He fell in love with another woman, Leslie, who was hailed as a genius rarely seen in a century.

Leslie is a star staff member of the Secret Scroll Department and the only visiting scholar to be sent to the Fertile Star Region in this Amber Age.

That is the "Lily" that Rocky mentioned.

According to Rocky, Rocky and Leslie could talk about anything, including the starry sky, the universe, mineral veins, and even any small topics that others might think were boring. The two of them could talk happily about them.

Soon, Rocky fell, and he planned to confess his love to Leslie, and at the critical moment when he was about to confess.

Communication is down.

Yes, it was very melodramatic. When Rocky had already written the love poem and everything was ready except for the right time, the connection between the two was cut off at a strange time.

The two communicated via galactic radio wave repeaters, spanning tens of thousands of light years, engaging in a veritable "galactic love."

Before Rocky confessed his feelings, Leslie happily told Rocky about a cosmic wonder:
【Starquake】

Everywhere you look you'll be surrounded by cosmic flashes and gamma rays, and gravitational collapse caused by stars can illuminate a starry sky.

Rocky could feel Leslie's happiness and excitement.

But at this critical moment, there was no news from Leslie.

Rocky believed that the interruption of communication must be caused by the damage of the repeater, and commissioned Xing to repair the repeater.

Yao Luo said he fully understood, but he soon raised a question:
"Why doesn't he go himself?"

Xing shrugged and replied, "His teacher, Bernard, refused the request for repairs for various reasons, and the reasons for his refusal were reasonable."

"First, the station has just been attacked, and restoration work is imminent. The repair of a repeater has to take a back seat."

"Second, since Rocky couldn't contact Leslie, he lost his appetite and delayed his research in geography. That's why Bernard didn't let him go."

"Third, repairs should be handled by the engineering department. Rocky should not interfere."

"Uh..." Yao Luo thought about it. It sounded like Bernard was not at fault, but his intuition told him that Bernard might be hiding something.

"Everything will work out when the time comes. Let's go check out the repeater first." Yao Luo decided to do it first.

Xing agreed with Yao Luo's idea. After some twists and turns, the two came to the control room where the repeater was located.

After gathering all the necessary parts, Yao Luo and Xing finally saw the information they wanted to see.

Rocky's call record with Leslie:

Receiving Party: [Black Tower] Rocky Martinez

Leslie:
Hello Rocky!

Leslie:
The interstellar expedition team has landed on an inner planet in the galaxy near the Fertile Star Region. The atmosphere here is so fresh!

Leslie:
Even though it is not the territory of a star god, this planet has an extremely high oxygen content simply due to its proximity.

Leslie:
This is the first time I witnessed the descent of God... I used to be stuck in the space station, not realizing that what I learned from books is always shallow.

Leslie:
The repeater signal is about to end... I always feel like I have said a lot of nonsense, sorry.

Leslie:
While you are staying in the [Black Tower], you must also work hard and strive to be like that old senior Jose whom you admire, so that you can come out and meet the stars as soon as possible.

Sender: Rocky Martinez

Lodge:

Congratulations on your safe arrival, Leslie!
Lodge:

Leslie, what you said is very interesting, not nonsense! Whatever you see, tell me, I will wait for your news.

.....................

Lodge:

Leslie, are you still carrying the chisel I gave you?
.....................

Leslie:
Oh, silly Rocky, the star drill is already an antique! Hasn't the one in your department been kept in the collection cabinet?

Leslie:
However, since you gave me the star-prospecting drill, I will study it and try it out. I think it shouldn't be a problem to dig up some rare earth treasures.

.....................

Leslie:
Rocky! Do you know what I'm going through right now?!
Leslie:
The main star of the Fecund Star Region experienced a gravitational collapse due to unknown forces, which subsequently triggered a starquake!
Leslie:
As far as my eyes can see, there are dazzling cosmic flashes and gamma afterglows everywhere.

Leslie:
It's obviously a sight you'll never see again, but the team member who said he wanted to come with me ran away early... Oh, it would be great if you were here.

Leslie:
So don't be angry, okay?

.....................

Lodge:

I'm not angry... I even regret having a quarrel with you. When you said starquake, I was so scared that I thought something bad would happen to you.
Lodge:

But now I know that the beauty of starquake also comes from its danger.

Lodge:

Next time, let's go and see it together. Even if there is danger, I will stay by your side.

Lodge:

do you understand?

........................

Galaxy Radio Repeater

There is no record of radio signal translation during this period.

Yao Luo's heart was filled with ripples. Before participating in this event, he only regarded it as an ordinary love event. However, a love event happening around him was more exciting than watching a hundred love movies.

With his gossip spirit burning in his heart, Yao Luo couldn't wait to see Leslie's answer.

.....................

Leslie

Silly Rocky, of course I understand what you mean. As for my answer...

(This record is corrupted.)
"The record is damaged at this time?"

Xing's voice was also filled with indignation.

"Damn!" Yao Luo said anxiously, "This is ridiculous, too ridiculous!"

"I want to read the next chapter now!"

Galaxy Radio Repeater

Unrecognizable, unrecognizable, biological emotion fluctuations detected.

Galaxy Radio Repeater

Warning! You have entered the "Black Tower" panoramic monitoring area. Please do not make inappropriate moves on the repeater.

Galaxy Radio Repeater

~The~wave~has~been~offline~
"Let's go! To the monitoring room!" Yao Luo was full of anticipation and pulled Xing to look for clues.

In the monitoring room, a surprising discovery made the two look at each other.

A familiar figure appeared in the surveillance video:

Bernard!
　Congratulations, the contract was signed successfully. There may be a lot of quotations from the original text of Tiedao in this chapter, but they are all typed by the clumsy author, please forgive me. This branch is my favorite mission in the space station. The protagonist is expected to leave the space station in chapters 11 and 12 and attack Beloberg Station. The Skyfire that everyone expects will also reappear on this ice planet! ^_^
　　
　
(End of this chapter)