Author: 唇亡齿寒 / Lips Gone, Teeth Cold
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 86
Following the route provided by Leo, Joshua successfully avoided the ship’s crew and reached the preparation chamber where the sky shuttles were stored. The Dante carried many items, essentially everything that could be taken from Earth—from plant specimens and animal genetic maps to electronic versions of hundreds of millions of books. This turned the small spacecraft into a floating Noah’s Ark in space, carrying the last of humanity in search of a new home.
The preparation chamber housed numerous aircraft and sky shuttle models, all scaled down to original proportions so that they could be replicated upon arrival at the colony. As for the sky shuttles, these smaller items were brought aboard directly—fortunately, they had decided to do so.
Joshua picked up a sky shuttle and, following Leo’s instructions, ran to the ship’s lower pressure chamber, where Leo would open a door for him. Along the way, the AI kept urging him, “Hurry! Once the ship starts accelerating, you won’t have another chance! You’ll either be squashed into a pulp by the acceleration or thrown into space and explode!”
His threats were highly effective. Joshua ran faster than he ever had in his life, even more so than during the long-distance races at school. If he had had metal braces on his legs, he could have starred in a movie. Once inside the pressure chamber, he felt breathless—not from overexertion, but because the air in the pressure chamber had indeed been significantly reduced.
“This is for your own good,” Leo explained. “This is the air pressure you’d find at four thousand meters altitude. If I didn’t do this, once I opened the chamber door, you would be sucked out and die from altitude sickness…”
“Can you stop with the dying talk?” Joshua complained, frustrated. “Are you that eager to see me dead?”
“In fact, you humans do tend to die quite carelessly,” Leo remarked nonchalantly. “A reminder—you might want to hold onto the railing next to you…” He hadn’t finished his sentence when the pressure chamber door slid open with a hiss. Perhaps the pressure had been reduced too much, as a blast of air rushed in, nearly blowing Joshua back into the corridor. He grabbed the railing with one hand and struggled to activate the gravity grid on the sky shuttle with the other.
“Now at an altitude of 3,573 meters, I’m glad to see you’re still standing,” Leo commented. “Go ahead, Joshua. The next time we meet, it’ll be in space.”
Joshua stepped onto the sky shuttle, feeling the gravity grid securely anchor him to the board. When his peers were still on Earth, they often rode sky shuttles over the forest from the research institute all the way to the beach, filling their pockets with shells and conches before heading home. He was adept at handling the sky shuttle. This time, the altitude was just a bit higher than usual, but he wasn’t scared.
“Goodbye, Leo.” The sky shuttle rose, carrying him slowly towards the exit. “See you in space,” he said, thinking to himself, ‘Farewell. We may never meet again.’ It was only much later, when they did meet again, that Joshua had to admire the foresight of AI and mock his own youthful naivety and arrogance.
He flew out of the depressurization chamber, and the door closed mercilessly behind him. The low air pressure at high altitude was terribly uncomfortable, and he descended quickly. Soon, the Dante turned into a small dark cloud above him, and after a while, it was no bigger than a bird.
The sky shuttle allowed Joshua to descend smoothly. He dared not descend too rapidly for fear his heart couldn’t take it. It took him two hours to get close to the ground, over an unfamiliar forest. The sky shuttle whisked him past the treetops. He pulled up a map on the communication terminal and realized he was over five hundred kilometers away from home. The sky shuttle could reach a top speed of 90 kilometers per hour, and it took Joshua over six hours to wearily make his way back to his front door.
Stepping onto the ground, his legs felt weak as if walking on cotton, each step dizzying. The short distance from the yard to the front door nearly drained all his strength. He had never felt that this path, which he had walked countless times, could be so long. Reaching the door, he almost collapsed. Would Kester be at home? It was more likely that he was at his lab at this hour, but Joshua’s instincts told him Kester was inside the house.
He rang the doorbell.
Seconds later, he heard soft footsteps and Kester’s muffled voice from behind the door. “Who is it?” Kester liked to ask first and then open the door without waiting for an answer, which Joshua had pointed out was dangerous. “What’s the danger? Unless monkeys have learned to knock,” his brother had replied.
The door opened, revealing Kester’s still weary face. Seeing Joshua standing in front of him, Kester didn’t show the confusion or joy the young man had expected but a mix of shock and anger, as if not his brother stood before him but an enemy with deep grievances.
“How dare you… How dare you…” Kester’s lips twitched, his eyes bloodshot. Before Joshua could explain why he was there, Kester raised his hand and struck him across the face.
Joshua was knocked off balance by the slap, nearly falling if he hadn’t grabbed the doorframe. He couldn’t believe Kester had hit him. Although Kester could be serious and had been furious with him when he made mistakes, he had never hit him before…
Then, Kester grabbed him by the collar and dragged him into the house, treating him more like an object than a person. He threw Joshua onto the sofa and then walked upstairs without looking back.
The young man curled up on the sofa, his cheek burning with pain and his body aching from exhaustion, but these were nothing compared to the emotional hurt. He had been so eager to return to his brother’s side, yet Kester had treated him so coldly. Did he hate him now? Did he see his return as bad news? Were the tears shed at their parting all fake?
It was a long time before Kester came back downstairs. He carried a tray with two cups of hot tea on it. He placed the tray on the coffee table in front of the sofa and pushed it gently towards Joshua, indicating for him to drink.
Joshua remained seated without moving.
Kester walked around the coffee table and sat next to him. The young man kept his head down, refusing to look at him.
“Why aren’t you speaking?” Kester asked.
Joshua turned away. His brother forcefully turned his shoulder, gently touching his swollen cheek. The touched spot stung painfully, but Kester’s cool skin was surprisingly comforting.
“Does it still hurt?” his brother asked.
Joshua choked up and nodded.
“I’m not going to apologize,” Kester said. “You brought this upon yourself by being willful. You deserve it, and I’m not going to apologize to you.”
Joshua nodded again, this time tears falling involuntarily. Kester sighed and pulled him into his embrace.
“Giorgione reported to me that you were missing. Do you know how worried I was? You disappeared from the ship… I thought… I thought something had happened to you…” His voice trembled. He neurotically combed Joshua’s hair, then patted his back. “How did you come back?”
“…By sky shuttle,” Joshua whispered.
“Did you fly for a long time?”
The young man curled up in his brother’s arms and murmured affirmatively.
“Stupid kid,” Kester said. “Why did you risk coming back?”
“…I didn’t want to be apart from you.”
Kester released him and kissed the reddened corner of his eye. “You must be exhausted. Have some hot tea and go rest. Luckily, I didn’t clear out your room…” He laughed to himself. “Now I have to contact Giorgione to tell him you’re alright.”
Joshua picked up the cup of tea and took a sip. Perhaps it was the relaxation of his nerves, but he began to feel drowsy. His limbs felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead, and he slumped against Kester’s shoulder. Suddenly realizing this wasn’t just a natural bodily reaction, he suspected Kester had put something in the tea! Then, he lost consciousness.
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