358: Chapter 358 Situation

No one spoke in the Command Hall. The Middle-aged Man took a step forward, standing directly in front of the screen, and stared at Chen Yuan's face for a few seconds.

"Chen Yuan, report your status."

The corner of Chen Yuan's mouth twitched as if he wanted to smile, but he couldn't manage it.

"Current status..." He paused, his breathing growing heavier, "Parasitized. That thing is still inside my body; I can feel it."

A stifled gasp echoed through the hall. Someone subconsciously took a step back, and someone else covered their mouth. The Middle-aged Man's expression didn't change at all, but his eyes, fixed on the screen, narrowed slightly.

Chen Yuan continued speaking, his voice intermittent, but every word was clear.

"But for some reason... maybe it's the virus... some of the leaked virus infected me." He raised his hand and pointed to his throat, his movements slow, as if every motion required immense effort. "My immune System is fighting back desperately... and that thing is being attacked along with me. It... can't move right now. I can't move either. We're... in a deadlock."

He paused.

"But I can still stay conscious. At least for now."

The Command Hall fell so silent that only the sound of breathing and the hum of machines remained. The Middle-aged Man stood before the screen, motionless.

Chen Yuan looked into the camera, his gaze very calm.

"When I was first parasitized, I thought... this was how it would end," he said. "But it didn't. I want to make a request."

The Middle-aged Man spoke, his voice deep: "Go ahead."

"My clearance isn't high enough," Chen Yuan said. "I need to apply for... my exile. Or whatever you want to call it. Just, don't let me come back."

His gaze swept across the screen, as if he were looking at everyone in the hall.

"The virus in this module, and myself—I'm already in a parasitized state. Regardless of whether that thing can move now or not, I can't possibly return to the surface. So, I am requesting to be exiled in space."

He stopped for a moment, his breathing becoming even heavier as beads of sweat rolled down his cheeks.

"After this transmission, I clearly feel that I have no way out," he said, his voice becoming even calmer. "So after this transmission, regardless of whether I send any more messages, or what those messages say—those on the ground must absolutely not approve my return. Absolutely not."

He took a deep breath.

"I'm prepared to die here."

No one in the hall spoke.

Lu Jianchuan stood in the corner, staring at the pale, sweat-drenched face on the screen without saying a word. Shen Mingyuan stood beside him, also silent. Golden Bone leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets, his face unreadable.

The Middle-aged Man remained silent for a long time.

He stood there with his back to everyone in the hall, only the light from the screen illuminating his face, making the silent silhouette exceptionally clear. His shoulders moved slightly, then stopped.

Then he spoke, his voice even deeper than before.

"I approve your request."

His voice was steady, but one could tell that steadiness was forced.

"I will approve it and revoke all return operation permissions related to you. You will remain on this Space Station... until the end."

After saying this, he didn't speak again.

On the screen, Chen Yuan looked at him for a long time. Then he nodded, his movements very slow.

"Thank you."

After the communication was cut, Chen Yuan was the only one left on the Space Station.

He sat before the communication device, staring at the black screen for a long time, then slowly slid down to the floor. In the weightless state, his body floated lightly, only stabilizing once he leaned against the cabin wall.

A faint sound of mechanical operation came from behind him.

Xiao Qi floated out from the corner, its silver-white chassis hovering beside him as an infrared scanner swept over him.

"Astronaut Chen Yuan," Xiao Qi spoke, its voice the same steady electronic tone as always, "Your return permissions have been deleted by the Ground Control Center. You will lose most operation permissions here, including communication, hatch control, and emergency evacuation. Life support permissions—such as food access, oxygen supply, and temperature regulation—are retained."

Xiao Qi paused.

"You may continue to live within the restricted area until..."

It didn't finish.

Chen Yuan let out a laugh.

"Heh," he said, his voice so raspy it was almost inaudible, "You really know how to kick a man when he's down."

Xiao Qi didn't respond. It hovered there, its infrared scanner flashing once more.

"Detected that your physical condition is in a high-risk state," it said. "Core body temperature is 39.7 degrees Celsius and rising. Heart rate is abnormal, respiratory rate is abnormal, and unknown spasms are appearing in muscle tissue. It is recommended to take antiviral medication immediately and enter the Medical Bay for a full examination."

Chen Yuan shook his head slowly.

"Forget it, Xiao Qi," he said. "This is a space virus. Not to mention that thing inside me. What's the use of taking medicine?"

Xiao Qi was silent for a second.

"We can attempt to remove it surgically," it said. "The Medical Bay has basic surgical capabilities. If the location is accurate, an excision can be performed under local anesthesia—"

"So what if it's removed?"

Chen Yuan interrupted, his voice devoid of anger, containing only a weary calm.

"Surgery here? Do you know how many types of viruses are in this cabin right now? How much stuff floated out after that storage cabinet was smashed open? Doing surgery now wouldn't be removing a parasite; it would be a full bacterial assault—the virus would enter my bloodstream directly through the incision. How long do you think I'd last?"

Xiao Qi didn't speak again.

Chen Yuan leaned against the cabin wall and closed his eyes.

"Let me be quiet for a while, Xiao Qi," he said, his voice growing lower. "Right now... I just want to die in peace."

Xiao Qi hovered in place, its mechanical arm moving slightly before retracting.

"Understood," it said.

The silver-white chassis slowly backed away, floating toward the corner and disappearing into the shadows of the cabin.

Chen Yuan was left there alone.

The Space Station was very quiet. There was only the hum of the ventilation System and some faint metal vibrations coming from somewhere unknown. Outside the window, the Earth rotated slowly, its blue arc cut into a curved band of light by the porthole.

He closed his eyes, waiting for something.

But that thing didn't want him to die.

It was inside him. It could feel this body being attacked by both the virus and the immune System, slowly heading toward collapse. It didn't want to die. It wanted to live, to reproduce, to go to more places, and to find more hosts to parasitize. This was just a stop; it shouldn't be the end.

So, it began to move.

It had already crawled near the brain. The virus had slowed it down significantly, and the immune System had been attacking it, but it was alive after all, and it was conscious. It found the edge of the brain and began to release signals that it couldn't understand but knew were useful.

Stimulate.

Release.

Chen Yuan's eyelids flickered.

Images began to surface in his mind.

His childhood home. The balcony that always caught the sun, his mother hanging laundry, his father sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper. He was squatting on the floor, playing with a plastic space shuttle model, making "whoosh, whoosh" sounds.

The sunlight was very warm.

The scene shifted.

The year he graduated from high school. He and several good friends were standing on the sports field, wearing graduation gowns, arms around each other's shoulders, grinning foolishly at the camera. The sun was intense that day, making them sweat, but no one wanted to move away.

"Where are you going later?"

"Don't know. Anyway, I'm not becoming an astronaut; it's too tiring."

"Hahaha—"

The laughter was loud.

The scene shifted again.

The training center. Entering the centrifuge for the first time, being pressed by several Gs of overload until he could barely breathe, the instructor beside him shouting, "Hold on! Just five more seconds!". His face was distorted, but his eyes were fixed on the indicator light ahead until it turned green.

After coming out, he collapsed on the ground. The instructor walked over and kicked his leg.

"Not bad, you passed."

He grinned and laughed.

More and more images appeared.

The day his parents saw him off to the launch site. His mother cried; his father didn't, but when he shook his hand, he held it very, very tightly.

Seeing Earth from space for the first time. That blue planet suspended in the darkness, so quiet it made one want to cry.

The last time he drank with Zhang Xiaodong. That guy had drunk too much and held his shoulder, saying, "You must come back, come back and we'll drink again."

I must come back... Chen Yuan's eyelids trembled violently.

He opened his eyes.

The high fever made his vision blurry, but those images were still swirling in his mind, layering over one another, refusing to leave. He remembered the meals his mother cooked, he remembered the strength in his father's hand when he patted his shoulder, and he remembered that day on the balcony when he held up that plastic space shuttle and shouted to his father—

"I want to go to the sky!"

He wanted to go back.

He wanted to go home.

He wanted to return to that sunlit balcony, to those grinning friends, to Earth, to stand on solid ground and breathe the dust-scented air.

He wanted to live.

But he had said it.

He had said that no matter what happened next, no matter what message he sent, they must not approve his return.

He had said he was prepared to die here.

Two voices tore at each other in his mind.

Want to go back.

Can't go back.

Want to live.

Can't live.

He curled up against the cabin wall, his whole body shaking. Tears had started flowing at some point, mixing with his sweat, floating into small droplets in the weightless state, suspended in the air.

The distant Earth was still rotating.

It was so beautiful and blue.