Li Lin hadn't even had time to test the mech's capabilities before he was whisked away to the government building. He rushed into his multifunctional office, waving his hand to summon a real-time holographic projection of the outer space orbital space station. After more than a month of tireless effort from thousands of mechanical engineers, this grand project in outer space was finally complete. If it hadn't been for the mid-project switch to a more efficient and safe energy source—the energy cube reactor—its construction timeline could have been shortened even further.
Li Lin held back his excitement and asked, "What's the situation?"
[The energy reactor setup has been completed, and tests show no issues.]
[The internal oxygen circulation system is finished, and the oxygen levels have been adjusted to the ideal concentration for human needs.]
[Anti-gravity technology is now in place, and the gravity in the space station is equal to that of the Freljord.]
[Currently, mechanical engineers are cultivating soil and planting super-genetic crops.]
[The first batch of "space" food is expected to be delivered to the temporary storage warehouse in about a month.]
"Great." Li Lin rubbed his hands together, excitement clear on his face. "Quick, notify the professors, it's time for a visit to the space station... Oh, and get Caitlyn, Kai'Sa, and Zoe as well. Call them all."
As time passed, Caitlyn was the first to arrive at Li Lin's office. Despite it being a rest day, she had been busy finishing her training to take over as the new sheriff of Piltover, so she'd spent the weekend in the precinct. As soon as she'd changed out of her battle armor into normal clothes, she was pulled into Li Lin's embrace, a quick kiss landing on her soft, pink lips.
"I did it!" Li Lin said, his face shining with triumph.
Caitlyn raised an eyebrow, looking puzzled. "What did you do? Did you invent something new again?"
Li Lin gestured upward. "What else could it be?"
Though his gesture was a little abstract, Caitlyn, knowing him well, immediately understood. A bright gleam appeared in her blue eyes. She already suspected what the purpose of her visit to the administrative building might be.
"Your space station is finished?" she asked, her voice filled with excitement.
Li Lin nodded with a smile.
"That's amazing!" Caitlyn stood on tiptoe and gave him a kiss on the cheek before snuggling into his embrace. "I never imagined we'd have the chance to reach the heavens."
"Actually," Li Lin teased, "If you put on a future combat suit, you could already fly to the heavens."
"That's not the same," Caitlyn said, poking his nose with a slender, pale finger. "This is a space station. It's a place where we can live. Just wearing a combat suit won't make that happen."
At that moment, a golden light appeared, and a familiar portal opened in the enclosed space. The next moment, Zoe and Kai'Sa walked through, clearly coming from the underground training facility of the Kiramman estate.
Before receiving the AI's notification, Zoe had likely been training with Kai'Sa, using magic to create puppets for sparring. Lately, the two girls had been inseparable, often whispering secrets to each other, and Zoe had even set up soundproofing magic when they spoke. Li Lin couldn't help but feel that the two were "plotting" something.
After all, Kassadin had once tried to arrange a marriage between him and Kai'Sa, which Li Lin had postponed for the time being, citing their age difference. Meanwhile, since returning to Piltover, Li Lin had been focused on building the mechs and hadn't had the chance to clarify his relationship with Zoe to Caitlyn, which had led to some complaints from Zoe. Fortunately, her temperament had changed a lot compared to before, and she'd learned to be more understanding.
"Good afternoon~~ Caitlyn, Li Lin," Zoe greeted them with a sweet smile, waving her hand.
Li Lin exchanged a glance with Caitlyn, both of them raising an eyebrow in confusion. Zoe, usually a mischievous troublemaker in their eyes, seemed to have completely changed today, her mood surprisingly sweet and calm.
"Good afternoon, Li Lin, Caitlyn." Kai'Sa also greeted them, and as expected, she too wore a gentle smile that matched Zoe's.
For someone like Kai'Sa, whose appearance and figure have mostly matured, she doesn't quite suit this style. Her small face, paired with her naturally cool demeanor, feels a bit out of place. However, unlike before, there was no sign of unease from her this time—well, if you ignore the flicker of nervousness in her purple eyes.
Recently, the AI had mentioned that Kai'Sa and Zoe had been visiting Seraphine at the academy every day, and that Kai'Sa's "idol route" was leaning towards a pure and sweet style… Could it be that they asked Seraphine for advice? Li Lin began to realize what was going on, but since Caitlyn was there, he didn't want to ask too much.
Perhaps Seraphine just thought she liked that type. In Li Lin's view, Kai'Sa and Zoe didn't need to "please" him in this way; they should just be themselves. He sighed inwardly but still smiled, greeting the two with the utmost gentlemanly demeanor. "Good afternoon, you two beautiful ladies."
"Hmm..." Kai'Sa stared at Li Lin's face and made a sound of indeterminate meaning. When she noticed Caitlyn's gaze, she nervously averted her eyes, a faint blush appearing on her delicate cheeks, as if embarrassed. Zoe, on the other hand, was different.
She flashed a smile, seemingly mimicking Seraphine's teachings, before quickly returning to her usual carefree self. If Caitlyn hadn't been there, she would have likely thrown herself into Li Lin's arms and kissed him without hesitation. Since returning to Piltover, they had barely had any time alone together, except for that first day.
"The professors, Heimerdinger and Jayce haven't arrived yet. Let's wait a little longer." Li Lin gestured for them to come to his desk, where he gave them a detailed introduction to the functions and features of his space station. After about ten minutes, the door to the office was abruptly pushed open, and the first to enter was Jayce, with his massive frame.
Behind him followed Viktor, and because of his slow pace, Heimerdinger chose to sit on Jayce's shoulder. As soon as Heimerdinger entered, he asked Viktor to set him down, and after adjusting his somewhat disheveled professor robe, he hurried over to the workstation. His light blue eyes showed clear astonishment.
"Hey! Kid, your space station is already completed?!" Heimerdinger exclaimed sharply. Jayce and Viktor shared the same look of surprise, staring intently at the real-time projection of the space station orbiting in space.
"This… It hasn't been long since you launched your space program's fourth phase, right?" After Jayce, Viktor continued, "Did you start the project early?"
Li Lin shrugged with a smirk. "I only had the idea ahead of time. Building the space station took a while, and assembling it in space took even longer—about two months. Not too short, right?"
Heimerdinger, Jayce, and Viktor were all left speechless. In just two months, Li Lin had constructed a space station capable of housing 100,000 people in space—a monumental achievement, and he still thought the time was too long? Heimerdinger took a deep breath, puffed out his white beard, and pulled out a smartphone with projection capabilities from his pocket.
"I've received the data transmitted by the AI. Your space station is basically complete. So, you invited us here today…" He and both Jayce and Viktor focused their hopeful gazes on Li Lin.
"Yes," Li Lin replied with a smile. "The reason I invited you is that I'm planning to take you on a space journey today."
…
Due to the immaturity of the space-time transmission technology and Li Lin's recent lack of free time to continue its research, it couldn't yet transport living beings. Additionally, leaving Runeterra meant losing the spiritual domain, and arcane magic couldn't be used, effectively rendering Hextech teleportation useless. Therefore, in order to reach the space station, they had to rely on the "most primitive" method—spaceships.
Since this was Li Lin's first time visiting the completed orbital station, he didn't let Zoe open a portal to it directly. Instead, he chose to take a spacecraft that had already been built to travel through space. It was large enough to accommodate everyone. This was also why he hadn't invited others like Orianna, Seraphine, Powder, the Kirammans, Mel, Skye, or the other professors from the academy.
After Heimerdinger, Jayce, and Viktor changed into protective nano-suits and boarded the spaceship, it slowly ascended and accelerated. Before long, they had left Runeterra. Aside from Li Lin and Zoe, this was the first time the others had seen the entire planet from space. They couldn't help but marvel in awe.
"So this is what the outer world, the Celestial Realm, looks like…" Li Lin held Caitlyn's hand and whispered in her ear, "The universe is vast and endless. Our planet is but a tiny drop of water in the boundless sea, insignificant."
"If we still have tomorrow, I'll take you, take all of you, to explore the heavens, just like the ancient star giants once did."
"I can help too~~" Zoe chimed in.
Caitlyn bit her lip, unsure how to express her current emotions. Instead, she tightly grasped Li Lin's hand, interlocking their fingers as if to calm herself from the overwhelming sense of insignificance. Just then, Kai'Sa called out, "Look, we're here!"
Everyone unconsciously turned to look out her window. They saw a massive cylindrical structure, a "steel giant," quietly hanging above Runeterra.
(End of Chapter)
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