The captain had always been there

Late at night, outside the Special-Grade Medical Pod in the Base Cabin of Herta Space Station.

The doctors and nurses had already finished their shifts, and the staff taking over had yet to arrive.

A black-clad figure darted past and used the Key Card in his hand to swiftly unlock the door to the Special-Grade Medical Pod.

Indeed, after lengthy preparations, Lin Feng had finally made his move, sneaking into Himeko's private room.

"Hiss... why does this feel like stealing? Was I too hasty in agreeing to Melon Farmer's weird request?"

"Oh well, I'm already here. I can't leave empty-handed."

With a plan in mind, Lin Feng used the key from inside Himeko's room to unlock the access permissions, preventing any trouble later.

Soon, he reached the snow-white bed and saw the lovely figure he had not seen in so long.

Her long red hair cascaded across the white pillow, while the elegant, mature beauty lay quietly with her hands resting over her chest.

Her closed eyelids curved like crescent moons, and her long lashes fluttered faintly with the rhythm of her breathing.

Beneath her finely sculpted nose, her enticing rosy lips gleamed with a faint, translucent sheen.

With her imposing commander's coat removed, her delicate shoulders and collarbones stood out sharply against her snowy skin in the dim light.

Her gown, resembling a white rose, outlined the full contours of her proud, snowy peaks. Their combat power was astonishing.

The hem of her gown lay beside her waist, revealing long, full, snow-white legs that looked flawlessly smooth.

Even asleep, the red-haired beauty before him still possessed a mature, elegant charm that made it impossible to look away.

His heartbeat quickened a little. Looking at Himeko, Lin Feng began to understand Melon Farmer's tastes.

Indeed, even he could not help being drawn to a charming, elegant, commanding older woman like Himeko.

"Seductive photos... let me think. What's the best way to take them?"

While Lin Feng stood momentarily dazed, considering the best angle, the sleeping Himeko furrowed her delicate brows and rolled over on the soft white bed, shifting from her back onto her side.

Beneath her tousled, flame-red hair, her slender, swanlike neck and exquisite profile were especially eye-catching.

Of course, even more devastating were the full peaks beneath her white gown. Pressed together, they formed an even deeper cleft.

"Ahem... she really does have a killer figure. There's my seductive photo, right there."

Slowly crouching, Lin Feng took out his black phone, found the right angle, and captured the alluring sight before him.

"How could one be enough? Another angle, a few more shots. Hehehe..."

A wicked smile tugged at his lips. Already getting hooked, Lin Feng pressed the shutter repeatedly, taking a full set of sleeping portraits of Himeko from every angle. Opportunities like this were rare. Surely that meant he ought to put in a little more effort.

Just then, a trace of sorrow appeared on Himeko's exquisite face. Her rosy lips parted slightly, as though she were saying something.

He could faintly make out warm, glistening tears slipping from the corners of her closed eyes.

"Is... is she having a nightmare?"

Lin Feng frowned in confusion. What a coincidence. He had come to sneak photos of Himeko, only to find her crying.

As far as Lin Feng knew, Himeko, the navigator and nominal leader of the Astral Express, was a gentle but strong woman.

She had weathered so many storms on the Path of Trailblaze that she had long since learned to remain composed, never letting her emotions show.

She would never look as fragile and helpless as she did now, much less shed tears of sorrow over something.

Puzzled, Lin Feng brought his ear close to Himeko's lips and finally heard her barely audible murmur.

"C-Captain? Is that you? Don't go..."

Those few words struck Lin Feng's heart like a ripple swelling into towering waves.

Memories shattered like fragments of a mirror threatened to surge back, sending a splitting pain through his head.

Though the tide of memories remained a collection of blurred, broken silhouettes, he could dimly see that the valiant woman with fiery red hair in his recollections had almost exactly the same face as the Himeko before him.

While Lin Feng struggled against those sharp-edged memories, a slender, smooth hand tightly clasped his own.

The black premium-edition phone fell to the floor with a clack, but Lin Feng paid it no mind.

"I'm here, Himeko... I've always been here..."

Lin Feng spoke slowly, forcing a strained but gentle smile onto his handsome face, which had gone slightly pale with pain.

Though those broken memories stabbed at his mind like shards of glass, a faint intuition stirred in his heart.

Perhaps he and Himeko truly shared a profound bond that words could not describe.

What Lin Feng did not know was that, in Himeko's dream, the figure and face of the young man in a commander's uniform were gradually coming into focus. Their bond and shared past unfolded scene by scene, like images on a revolving lantern.

"Starting today, you're the captain of the Hyperion. Don't worry... your big sister will be here to help!"

"Captain... that place is too dangerous. Are you really going there with me?"

"The students are all on vacation. Now there's only you and me left aboard this enormous Hyperion!"

"Captain, you're becoming more dependable by the day. Could you lend me your shoulder for a little while? Just a moment..."

"Captain! Do you have plans tonight? If not..."

"Come to think of it, you still owe me a dance, Captain. I even bought a new gown for it!"

"Captain... you know the state my body is in. There's still so much I want to tell you, but..."

"Captain... goodbye. There's something I have to do. Don't grieve for me... all right?"

It seemed that, in that unfamiliar world, she was not a scientist, but a courageous warrior known as a Valkyrie.

From beginning to end, the man she called Captain had always stayed beside her, until the final moment of her life.

Their footsteps had spanned the planet as they rushed headlong into countless dangers and crises, fighting to protect the last beautiful things in the world.

When the flames falling from the sky faded and her brilliant life burned out completely, she had fulfilled her duty as a teacher and bid farewell to her life as a Valkyrie. Yet a small regret remained in her heart, one concerning that man...

Now, she had begun to understand why her heart had been thrown into turmoil when Lin Feng blocked a fatal blow for her on Herta Space Station's platform.

It was because Lin Feng bore far too strong a resemblance to the man in her dreams whom she called Captain.

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