Chapter 254 Lin Mo's Orders

February 22, 2039. Seven in the morning, Sanya People's Hospital.

Chen Xueming opened his eyes and still saw only the white ceiling. The smell of disinfectant remained pungent, and the ticking of the instruments remained rhythmic. He turned his head and found that the bedside was empty.

Lin Mo was not there. Li Xiao was not there either.

He froze for a moment, then his memories slowly returned—falling into the water, being rescued, the high fever, being sent to the hospital... Yesterday's events flashed through his mind like fragments.

He looked down at himself, wearing a hospital gown, an IV needle stuck in the back of his hand, and numbers pulsing on the ECG monitor beside him. He tried to move, but his whole body felt weak and sore, as if his strength had been drained away.

But there was only one thought in his mind: the platform.

The cables were still stopped, the workers were still waiting, the repair robot plan hadn't been finalized, and there were so many things waiting to be handled—how could he lie here?

He struggled to sit up. As soon as he moved, the IV needle tugged at his hand, causing sharp pain. He gasped and laid back down.

"Damn it."

He stared at the ceiling, feeling as if ten thousand ants were crawling in his heart.

Just then, the door was pushed open.

Lin Mo walked in, carrying a thermal container. Seeing that Chen Xueming was awake, his footsteps paused for a moment; then he walked to the bedside and placed the container on the nightstand.

"You're awake?" Lin Mo's voice was calm.

Chen Xueming nodded. "Old Lin, about the platform..."

"The platform is fine," Lin Mo interrupted him. "Liu Jianguo is watching it, everything is normal."

Chen Xueming opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but was blocked by Lin Mo's gaze.

Lin Mo opened the thermal container, ladled out a bowl of porridge, and handed it to him. "Eat first."

Chen Xueming took the porridge and lowered his head to drink it slowly. The porridge was fragrant—it was century egg and lean meat porridge—warm and just right to eat. But he drank it absentmindedly, his mind entirely on the platform.

After finishing the porridge, he placed the bowl on the nightstand and looked up at Lin Mo.

"Old Lin, when can I go back?"

Lin Mo looked at him without speaking.

Chen Xueming continued, "What did the doctor say? Is the pneumonia serious? How many days do I have to stay? I..."

"Chen Xueming."

Lin Mo's voice suddenly became very stern.

Chen Xueming was stunned. He had never seen Lin Mo speak to him in such a tone.

Lin Mo stood up, looked down at him, and said word by word:

"Listen to me carefully. From now on, you have only one task—to recover properly. I will watch over the platform. Li Xiao is working on the repair robot. Section Chief Wu is producing the new cables. Zhao Gang is guarding security. Everyone is at their posts, and you are the only one who is going to lie here and recover."

Chen Xueming opened his mouth: "But..."

"No 'buts'," Lin Mo interrupted him. "Do you know how high your fever was yesterday? Forty-one degrees. The doctor said you have a lung infection; if you had been sent here a step later, it could have developed into severe pneumonia. Do you know what that means?"

Chen Xueming was silent.

Lin Mo's voice lowered, but it remained very stern: "Xueming, I am not discussing this with you. This is an order."

Chen Xueming looked at him, his eyes slightly red.

"Old Lin, I..."

"You are to recover properly," Lin Mo said. "I will watch the platform. If you dare to mess around again, I will personally tie you back here!"

Chen Xueming looked at him blankly, not speaking for several seconds.

Then he lowered his head and said softly, "Understood."

Lin Mo looked at him, the sternness on his face slowly fading, replaced by exhaustion and heartache. He sat back down by the bed and patted Chen Xueming's shoulder.

"Xueming, listen to me. The platform is important, the space elevator is important, but you are also important." His voice softened. "If you fall, where am I going to find another Chen Xueming?"

Chen Xueming looked up at him.

Lin Mo smiled. "So recover properly. When you're better, we'll work together again."

Chen Xueming nodded without speaking.

But the redness in his eyes deepened.

At nine in the morning, Li Xiao pushed the door open and entered.

She was holding a stack of documents, and seeing Chen Xueming awake, her eyes lit up: "Senior Brother Chen, you're awake!"

Chen Xueming nodded. "I'm awake."

Li Xiao walked over and placed the documents on the nightstand. "This is the latest plan for the repair robot. I wanted to show it to you and get your opinion."

Chen Xueming glanced at the documents, then looked at Li Xiao.

"Senior Brother Lin sent me," Li Xiao said softly. "He said that you definitely wouldn't be able to stay idle lying here, so he asked me to bring you something to look at, to keep your mind from wandering."

Chen Xueming froze for a moment, then smiled.

"He certainly knows me well."

Li Xiao also smiled. "Of course, you've known each other for so many years."

Chen Xueming picked up the documents and flipped through them page by page. Li Xiao sat nearby, explaining things from time to time. The two discussed the robot's structure, the coating process, and the crawling method, and time passed without them realizing it.

At noon, Master Liu had someone deliver lunch. As Chen Xueming ate and looked at the documents, he suddenly felt that lying down didn't seem so unbearable after all.

At three in the afternoon, Zhao Gang called.

"Chen Xueming, I heard you're awake?" Zhao Gang's voice came through the receiver, still with that booming volume.

Chen Xueming smiled. "I'm awake. Brother Zhao, how is it over at the platform?"

"It's doing great. Just focus on recovering, I'm watching it, not even a fly can get in." Zhao Gang paused. "You brat, don't go wandering around alone at night in the future. If you want to check the equipment, bring someone with you. If you fall into the sea again, I'm not going to bother fishing you out."

Chen Xueming laughed out loud. "Got it, Brother Zhao, I'll definitely bring someone next time."

After hanging up the phone, he looked at the ceiling, a smile still hanging on the corners of his mouth.

"This bunch of people, really..."

In the evening, Lin Mo came again.

When he pushed the door open to enter, Chen Xueming was leaning on the bed reading the documents Li Xiao had left behind. Seeing Lin Mo, he put down the documents and sat up straight.

"Old Lin."

Lin Mo walked over, sat down by his bed, and looked at the documents. "Li Xiao brought these?"

Chen Xueming nodded. "I've been reading them all afternoon; her plan is well-made."

Lin Mo smiled. "She really has grown up now."

Chen Xueming also smiled. "Yeah. That clumsy little girl from before can now handle things on her own."

The two were silent for a while.

Then Chen Xueming said: "Old Lin, about today, thank you."

Lin Mo looked at him. "Thank me for what?"

"Thank you for... that scolding you gave me." Chen Xueming lowered his head. "I know you did it for my own good."

Lin Mo was silent for a few seconds, then said: "Xueming, do you know? When you fell into the water yesterday, I was scared to death."

Chen Xueming looked up at him.

Lin Mo's voice was very soft. "Those twenty minutes from the base to the platform, my mind was full of all sorts of worst-case scenarios. I thought, if something really happened to you, what would I do? What would the platform do? What would the space elevator do?"

He paused, looking out the window.

"Later I realized. The platform can be rebuilt, the space elevator can wait, but if you are gone, you are truly gone."

Chen Xueming's eyes turned red again.

"Old Lin..."

"So you must live well for me." Lin Mo turned his head to look at him. "When you're better, we'll continue working. No matter how long you want to work, I'll accompany you."

Chen Xueming looked at him, for a long time.

Then he nodded, his voice slightly choked. "Okay."

At eight in the evening, Chen Xueming lay in bed, watching the night outside the window.

The ward was very quiet, with only the ticking of the instruments. Outside the window, the city lights were scattered like stars, and in the distance, the lights on the sea were vaguely visible—were those the lights of the platform? He didn't know.

His phone rang. It was a message from Wang Lei:

"General Manager Chen, I heard you're hospitalized? We're all worried about you. Everything is fine here at the platform, please focus on your recovery. When you come back, we'll work together again!"

Below it was a string of thumbs-up emojis.

Chen Xueming looked at the message and smiled.

He replied:

"Thanks, brothers. Wait for me to return."

After sending it, he placed the phone on the bedside table and continued to look at the night outside the window.

Suddenly, he felt that lying down wasn't so bad after all.