A Chemist's Interstellar Saga

Chapter 206: Back Home
Chapter 206: Back Home

Sister Gwen was over sixty years old, with gray temples, a face full of wrinkles, and a pair of reading glasses perched on her nose.

”Who are you?” Sister Gwen asked kindly, though she didn’t recognize the three young men in front of her.

”Arf!” Arix flew out of Deanna’s arms. She transformed into human form mid-air, and pounced directly into Sister Gwen’s embrace.

”Sister Gwen, did you miss me?” Arix rubbed her snowy white face against Sister Gwen’s arm affectionately.

Sister Gwen was stunned for a moment. Then, she touched Arix’s hair in disbelief and said, ”Arix, is it really you?”

”It’s me,” Arix said, looking up with a bright smile.

”Good, good.” Sister Gwen held Arix’s little face excitedly, touching her repeatedly as if she couldn’t get enough.

Arix smiled warmly and let Sister Gwen stroke her, seemingly never getting tired of it.

Deanna, watching the heartwarming scene, felt touched and a bit envious. She looked up at her brother and found Marceau looking down at her. Instantly, Deanna’s lips curved into a bright smile, and she reached out to hold his large hand.

Marceau looked at Deanna with affection, then gently ruffled her hair.

After Arix and Sister Gwen finished expressing their longing for each other, Sister Gwen remembered the three others standing nearby. She smiled and said, ”You must be Arix’s friends. Please, have a seat. There are some snacks on the table, help yourselves.”

”Thank you, Sister Gwen,” Drexel said seriously. Out of respect for an elder and gratitude for Sister Gwen’s care of Arix over the past ten years, Drexel’s respect for Sister Gwen was as strong as for his own grandfather.

Deanna and Marceau also thanked her before sitting on the nearby couch.

Still in Sister Gwen’s arms, Arix almost forgot to introduce everyone. She quickly got up and said, ”Sister Gwen, this is my second brother Drexel. These are my classmates Deanna and Marceau. Deanna, Marceau, this is Sister Gwen.”

”Hello, Sister Gwen,” the three of them said sweetly.

”You’re all sweet kids. You haven’t had dinner yet, have you? Come with me,” Sister Gwen said with a happy smile.

”Okay, thank you, Sister Gwen,” the four of them replied obediently and followed Sister Gwen to the dining hall.

During dinner, Arix found herself surrounded by enthusiastic little fans.

All night long, she was busy hugging kids and handing out gifts. Even Drexel and the others made friends with many of the cute kids, which made their Space Button storage shrink significantly.

They stayed at the orphanage until the next morning before preparing to leave. When it was time to say goodbye, Arix clung to Sister Gwen, refusing to let go until Sister Gwen, pretending to be angry, gently pushed her into the Lev.

”I’ll come back to see you when I have time,” Arix said, waving reluctantly from the car.

”Okay, go on now,” Sister Gwen replied with a gentle smile.

”Goodbye, Sister Gwen.” After the four of them said their goodbyes, the Lev started up.

Sister Gwen watched the car drive away, her gentle, smiling eyes gradually becoming more complicated.

She knew that the current Arix was not her Arix. Sister Gwen worried that the real Arix might have encountered danger or been harmed by this new one. But after spending the night together, she was certain that this Arix was also a kind child who would not harm her Arix.

As Sister Gwen stood there, feeling sad and worried, she suddenly received a message on her opticomputer. She was slightly stunned, then opened the message, and what she saw instantly brought tears to her eyes.

”Sister Gwen, worry not. The Arix you love has gone back home, back to her beloved family.”

In the car, after sending this message, Arix put away the screen.

She had a feeling that Sister Gwen might have noticed something was off but didn’t want to believe it. So, she sent this message on impulse.

If she was wrong, Sister Gwen would just think she was talking about herself. If she was right, Sister Gwen would understand the hidden meaning.

Arix sighed slightly. Whether Sister Gwen understood or not, it was better than leaving her to guess wildly in the future. She wasn’t confident she could fool Sister Gwen, who had cared for Arix for ten years.

”Arix, what are you thinking about? Why do you look so worried?” Deanna asked, concerned.

”Nothing, just feeling a bit sad and sorry,” Arix smiled, making up an excuse. What was really in her mind wasn’t suitable for discussion now.

Fortunately, Deanna didn’t think much of it and assumed Arix simply didn’t want to leave the orphanage so soon.

She hugged Arix and said, ”It’s okay, I’ll come back with you next time.”

”And me,” Drexel said, turning his head briefly.

Marceau also nodded. Arix felt warm inside and smiled gently, ”Thank you, everyone.”

”No problem, we are partners, aren’t we?” Deanna said, linking arms with Arix and smiling.

”Yes,” Arix nodded with a smile.

”Arix, where are we going next?” Drexel asked while driving the Lev.

”There’s a guy I need to visit. After that, we can go home. I’ve sent the address to your opticomputer,” Arix said, sending the location to Drexel’s device.

”Got it, let’s go!” Drexel glanced at the address, memorized it, and then sped up.

Soon, they arrived near a junkyard.

”Arix, is this the place?” Drexel asked uncertainly. All they saw were mountains of garbage, with no sign of livable houses around.

”Let me check,” Arix said, leaning out the car window. Instead of finding the house, she spotted the person she was looking for being chased by several insectoids.

”Open the door now!” Arix shouted anxiously.

”Oh! Okay, okay,” Drexel quickly opened the Lev’s door.

”Arix, what’s happening?!” Deanna asked, her hair blowing in the wind, her voice tense.

”The guy I’m looking for is in danger!” Arix didn’t have time to explain. She transformed into her beast form, flapping her wings, and flew rapidly toward the man in peril.

”Arix!”

”Arix!!” Drexel gritted his teeth and turned Lev in the direction Arix flew.

On the other side, a middle-aged man was dragging his injured leg, stumbling through the junkyard, trying to escape. He occasionally picked up debris from the ground and threw it at the insectoids behind him to buy some time.

Unfortunately, the debris was just that—debris. The insectoids easily sliced it in half with a flick of their forelimbs.

Crax’s face was serious but not panicked. He remained calm, engaging in guerrilla warfare with the insectoids. He was a retired soldier from the Alliance, and he would never lose his edge.

The insectoids didn’t care if he was a retired soldier or not. They raised their sharp forelimbs and attacked the already heavily injured prey.

Crax twisted his waist, narrowly dodging the attack. The intense movement worsened his leg injury. He groaned, biting back the pain, and got up to run again.

But the continuous bleeding from his leg made his body heavier, and his vision started to blur. He tripped over some garbage and fell heavily to the ground. Despite this, he gritted his teeth and struggled to get up.

He couldn’t fall now, as he hadn’t delivered the message about the insectoid attack to the Fifth Legion.

Crax bit his lip until it bled, desperately trying to crawl forward. But while he fought against himself, he couldn’t outrun the insectoids chasing him. The reality of being unable to escape dealt him a fatal blow.

The sharp limb of an insectoid pierced through his abdomen, and a torrent of blood instantly dyed his stomach red, staining the filthy, stinking ground.