Lin Xiaohe sat down and listened as Old Black slowly laid it all out.
His brows were knitted into a deep frown, and he rubbed his temples, unsure where to even begin.
Lin Xiaohe’s heart sank, but she kept her composure and said, “One thing at a time. No rush.”
Old Black took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “The shadow in your eldest brother’s brain has grown larger since the last check-up.”
Lin Xiaohe’s body went stiff, and her tone turned cautious: “Some of the Federation soldiers we rescued from Moro Star also have shadows inside them.”
“Oh?” Old Black raised an eyebrow. “Any idea what’s causing it?”
Lin Xiaohe replied, “Our initial guess is that it’s related to the Zerg. Those soldiers were all injured by Zerg attacks.”
Old Black’s brow furrowed even deeper. “But your eldest brother wouldn’t have been exposed to Zerg when he was a child.”
Exactly. So what was going on here? Were the shadows inside those soldiers the same as the one in her brother’s brain?
Old Black shook his head. “Let’s put this aside for now. I’ll organize a team to give those soldiers another thorough check-up. That way, we can figure out if it’s the same kind of shadow.”
Lin Xiaohe asked with concern, “Is my brother’s worsening condition related to that shadow in his mind? Is there any way to suppress it?”
Old Black gave a bitter smile. “I don’t know.”
That shadow—visible, yet untouchable.
He’d once suggested that Xiaohe take her brother to the Nebula Regenerative Medical Center on the Third Star Ring. But now, it seemed that even the Federation’s current medical capabilities couldn’t solve the shadow problem.
Lin Xiaohe hadn’t expected the shadow to be so stubborn—not even evolution could get rid of it. “Alright, I understand. Old Black, is there anything else?”
“Yes.” Old Black looked at Lin Xiaohe with a trace of pity in his eyes.
Lin Xiaohe had a gut feeling that something bad was coming.
And sure enough, Old Black said, “Your mother’s illness is not Radiation Stardust Sickness.”
“What?!”
Old Black blurted it all out in one breath: “Radiation Stardust Sickness only affects human genes and causes the body to break down—it doesn’t eat away at one’s mental strength.”
Unless, of course, the mental strength had been directly exposed to a stardust impact.
Because they’d always assumed Lin Xiaohe’s mother had Stardust Sickness, every previous examination had focused on the degree of physical deterioration.
But this time, when Old Black gave her a full check-up, he discovered something else.
“Your mother’s mental strength is zero.”
Lin Xiaohe felt dazed. “Are you sure you’re not mistaken?”
“Xiaohe, it really is zero. Your mother isn’t in a vegetative state right now—she’s an empty shell. She has a body, but no soul.”
Lin Xiaohe drew in a sharp breath. “You haven’t told my family about this, have you?”
“No.”
“Good. Keep it that way.” Lin Xiaohe’s face was expressionless. “What other bombshells do you have? Just lay them all out at once. I can take it.”
“Does your second sister have a habit of sleepwalking at night?”
“No.”
“Mm… well then, congratulations—she does now.”
Lin Xiaohe was speechless. “Is that supposed to be good news?”
Old Black sneaked a glance at her and said weakly, “At least, compared to the others, your second sister’s condition is the mildest.”
“Your father seems to have developed a self-perception disorder. I don’t know how that happened. After all, I’m just a regular doctor, not a psychologist.”
Lin Xiaohe felt at a loss. “Perception disorder? My second sister said Dad just likes digging holes. That’s just a quirky hobby—surely it’s not severe enough to be called a perception disorder?”
Old Black let out a heavy sigh. “But he says that humans are supposed to be underground creatures, that civilization was born from the earth’s core—and he’s even tried feeding dirt to your grandparents and siblings.”
Oh, come on.
That definitely couldn’t be explained away as just a hobby.
Lin Xiaohe was completely numb. With a wooden expression, she asked, “What about my grandparents? They sing and dance—that’s fine, isn’t it?”
Old Black couldn’t bear to continue, but he had to tell her the harsh truth: “Xiaohe, have you ever considered that your grandfather might have Alzheimer’s?”
Lin Xiaohe stared blankly. How funny—in the interstellar age, Alzheimer’s still exists?
Old Black nodded solemnly. “The stronger a person’s mental abilities, the harder Alzheimer’s is to treat. They… ah, just go see for yourself.”
As soon as they stepped out, they saw Lin Jingqiu standing by the door, frozen in place and looking helpless. She asked cautiously, “Little Sister, do you know everything now?”
Lin Xiaohe’s nose stung with emotion. She took Lin Jingqiu’s hand and choked out, “It’s okay. It’s just that we’ve all been under too much mental stress—that’s why this happened. Now that I’m back, you don’t have to worry about anything. Leave it all to me—things will get better!”
Lin Jingqiu’s eyes lit up, and she gave a beautiful smile, full of trust. “Okay!”
The two sisters went to find the others. According to Lin family tradition, whenever Lin Xiaohe came home, they had to have a reunion dinner together!
Lin’s father sent a message: “Don’t wait for me—I’ll bring something back.”
Lin’s eldest brother called: “Can I bring a friend along for dinner?”
The sisters exchanged a glance. “Sure!”
Lin’s grandfather and grandmother didn’t reply, so the sisters went to look for them.
They found the old couple dancing gracefully beneath the Divine Tree, their faces solemn as if performing some kind of special ritual.
“Grandma, I’m home!” Lin Xiaohe put on a bright smile and trotted over.
But Lin’s grandmother pointed at her with a wooden stick. “Who are you?! How dare you disrupt our prayer ceremony?!”
Lin Xiaohe’s breath caught. She really does have Alzheimer’s?!
With tears in her eyes, Lin Xiaohe said, “Grandma, I’m Lin Xiaohe—your little sweetheart.”
“Little sweetheart?” Lin’s grandmother’s eyes wavered in confusion. After a long moment, she finally came to her senses, threw her arms around Lin Xiaohe, and sobbed, “Grandma’s little sweetheart—you’re finally back!”
That reunion dinner left Lin Xiaohe feeling utterly disheartened.
Her eldest brother, Lin Chiyang, pointed at empty space and introduced his “good companion,” Old Mountain.
The “delicious food” Lin’s father brought back was a lump of red mud.
Her grandparents kept forgetting who they were and would let out sudden yells every now and then.
Thankfully it wasn’t nighttime, so her second sister didn’t sleepwalk—otherwise, Lin Xiaohe wouldn’t have known what to do.
After dinner, everyone went to their rooms to rest.
Lin Xiaohe gazed up at the bright Taiyin Star and felt that the world was so unfair!
She had saved so many people, yet she received no good karma in return. The moment she came home, she found that everyone in her family was sick—what a bittersweet feeling.
A family of seven, and not a single one of them was normal!
Of course, Lin Xiaohe couldn’t count as normal either—there was still that giant grave in her mental sea!
…
Over on Jiuzhou Star, life went on peacefully, but the Federation and the Empire were both in dire straits.
Once the threshold was crossed, the development speed of the Giant Grave Zhou was unstoppable.
Every single day, an enormous number of Zerg were born.
The Zerg devoured the resources of this starfield at a terrifying rate, squeezing out the living space of all other life forms.
The legion led by Chu Huaizhi was retreating step by step. After losing the Second Star Ring, they could only hold their ground at the First Star Ring.
“If the situation becomes irreversible, we will activate the Dead Hand System to uphold the Federation’s dignity!”
This proposal faced fierce opposition from both the Federal Parliament and the Federal Government.
