Chapter 136: When the Airship Set Sail |
When the first passenger airship of the Stardust Starway set sail, Lin Mo stood on the observation deck of the starport, watching the vessel glide past the glow of the energy towers. The Stardust Flower painted with star crystal powder on the airship's side shimmered in sunlight, its petal curvature perfectly matching the sketches in Lin Chen's logs. A robot suddenly handed him a polished star crystal slab engraved with coordinates of the new starway, a small smiling face left in the blank space at the bottom—the AI assistant had imitated Lin Chen's handwriting.
"Children from the barren star system painted murals inside the airship," the investigator's image appeared on the holographic screen. The footage showed children in coarse cloth using Stardust Flower pigment to doodle on cabin walls, their naive strokes depicting countless hand-holding figures stretching from an indigo planet all the way into Chenxing's auroras. "That old man with leg wraps insisted on boarding the maiden voyage, saying he wanted to see with his own eyes whether the auroras would catch the star crystals he'd carved for thirty years."
When the airship traversed subspace, the starport's monitors suddenly detected anomalous energy fluctuations. While reviewing the data, Lin Mo discovered Stardust Flower pollen forming luminous trails in the energy currents, like a breathing ribbon winding along the starway. The robot excitedly rotated its optical lens, mechanical arm pointing at a screen corner—within those pollen-formed light spots, faint traces of star crystal powder from Lin Chen's protective suit could be seen drifting with air currents.
When the message from Zell system's crystal towers arrived, Lin Mo was organizing Stardust Flower cultivation data. The crystal craftsmen sent footage showing hundreds of Stardust Flower seeds planted in the starlight sand at the tower base. When sprouts emerged, their roots automatically twined into the shape of starways, each new leaf reflecting the contours of barren star systems. "Children call these 'roots of light'," the craftsmen leader stroked leaf veins, "like how all star systems' light grows from the same soil."
On the night the passenger airship reached Chenxing, Aurora Valley suddenly experienced a star crystal rain. Lin Mo stood beneath the signal tower watching translucent fragments pass through auroras to form complete star charts on the ground. The leg-wrapped old man squatted beside the fragments, rough palms gently cradling one piece, his clouded eyes reflecting the aurora's seven-colored rings: "If my son were still here, how he'd love this. He always said star crystals are rocks when cracked open, but stars when whole."
The robot suddenly dragged a tin box to the valley center, dumping wrenches and energy blocks onto the star crystal fragments. Miraculously, upon contact, these old objects began emitting faint light that resonated with the medal on Lin Mo's chest. The AI assistant's voice carried an electric tremor: "Detected Lin Chen's residual biological signatures. The star crystals are reconstructing his energy imprint."
Lin Mo crouched down, fingers touching the rusted half-wrench. Instantly, countless images exploded in his mind—Lin Chen repairing a mining shuttle at an abandoned outpost, tucking Stardust Flower specimens into his suit pocket, the two of them burying energy blocks in starport sand as children, saying they were "saving light" for future starways. The robot's optical lens suddenly fogged up, its mechanical arm clumsily mimicking a human wiping tears.
Three months later, the Stardust Starway's first transfer station was completed on a newly discovered asteroid. When naming the station, Lin Mo's holographic screen automatically displayed Lin Chen's handwriting: "Call it 'Stardust Whispers Station', like stars murmuring, catching all lost light." The station's energy core was powered by two combined medals. Upon activation, the entire asteroid belt suddenly illuminated with Stardust Flower light bands stretching from Chenxing to the barren star system's horizon.
The leg-wrapped old man erected a star crystal monument at the transfer station's observation deck, engraved with all starway builders' names including Lin Chen and the specimen-delivering child. On the monument's unveiling day, the passenger airship brought new residents from barren star systems carrying Stardust Flower seeds to plant around the station. "Our children's textbooks will feature not just Chenxing's auroras, but also stories of how light finds its way home," a mother lifted her child to touch the monument's names.
The AI assistant suddenly marked a new coordinate on the star chart—a newly discovered dwarf planet covered in thick star crystal deposits. Lin Mo's finger hovered over the screen, ready to name it.