Industry: Cthulhu

Chapter 30 Garden
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

Rashid never looked for Fang Yan. Every time Fang Yan asked the crew, he would always be told that he was very busy and to wait a little longer.

So Fang Yan simply stayed on the ship. Apart from the time for eating and sleeping, he went to observe various parts of the starship. He was full of interest and curiosity about this weapon of war that spanned the planetary sea.

After dinner, Fang Yan came to the stern of the ship and wandered around. While wandering around, he suddenly noticed a slightly open door. He walked in out of curiosity, and the scene in front of him made him stop in his tracks.

I saw that there was a garden behind the door.

The garden is not big, but it is full of exquisite designs. The transparent dome perfectly presents the deep starry sky outside. The stars are twinkling silently, like diamonds inlaid in the sky, casting a tranquil blue-purple halo on the entire garden.

Plants grow in an orderly manner around the edge of the garden. They are not common plants on Earth, but strange life forms from other galaxies in the Milky Way.

The slender branches and leaves are like silver threads, and are covered with gem-like flowers. The petals are a light blue-purple, and the edges of each petal slowly change color, gradually changing from dark purple to bright gold.

Fang Yan walked to the center of the garden, where there was a circular pool with exquisitely carved patterns around the edge. The water was crystal clear, but the water was not the usual blue or transparent, but had a faint fluorescent green light.

The fish in the pond made Fang Yan's eyes light up. Those fish were not like the goldfish on Earth. They had slender bodies, and their scales reflected countless tiny stars under the light of the water. Whenever they swam, their tail fins would slide across the water, leaving a brief fluorescent trace.

Fang Yan felt much more relaxed. Although this garden was on the starship, it seemed to be isolated from the outside world and was a rare quiet place.

Sitting down on the edge of the pool, Fang Yan took out his e-cigarette and took two deep puffs.

cough~

Suddenly, a light cough sounded from behind.

Fang Yan hurriedly looked back and saw a boy of about twelve or thirteen years old sitting at the other end of the pool. He must have been choked by the strong smell of triple mint.

The boy had delicate features and was very handsome. He was hiding under the shade of the plants, so Fang Yan didn't notice him just now. There were no stone steps under the boy, but some kind of device similar to a magnetic levitation flying disc, floating forty to fifty centimeters above the ground.

Fang Yan smiled and gently raised the green e-cigarette in his hand, "Why, can't you stand this smell?"

The boy was slightly startled, with a hint of rebellion in his eyes, "Who can't stand it? I just wasn't paying attention for a moment and got choked."

"Would you like to have a bite too?"

The boy hesitated, then lightly tapped the touch control stick with his finger, driving the hovering flying disc to Fang Yan's side.

Fang Yan then saw clearly that the boy had no legs. They were severed at the knees, and some kind of mechanical connection device was installed, which should be designed for assembling mechanical prostheses.

"Just try it."

The young man had a spirit of not admitting defeat. He took Fang Yan's green e-cigarette, took out a white silk scarf from his arms, wiped the mouthpiece, and then mustered up the courage to take a puff.

cough~

As expected, the boy started coughing again, so painfully that it felt as if his internal organs were about to be coughed out.

The boy complained, "What the hell is this? It tastes sharp in my throat and is freezing in my lungs. My whole body feels like it's fallen into an ice cave."

Fang Yan took back the e-cigarette and smoked it nonchalantly. "Triple mint, I mixed it myself. Normally mint flavor is already very stimulating and cold, but this one has three times the dosage, and the nicotine is twice that of the common models."

"You're still young, it's normal that you can't stand the smell."

"Why do you want to smoke such a stimulating thing?" the young man frowned and asked in confusion.

Fang Yan thought for a moment and said, "Maybe he likes the peace of mind that nicotine brings, or maybe he's just too lonely."

The boy seemed to understand, "I have to say, this stuff is really intoxicating when you smoke it, but it does help your brain calm down quickly. Why is that?"

Fang Yan said: "Nicotine is an alkaloid. When nicotine enters the blood through the lungs, it crosses the blood-brain barrier and directly affects the activity of brain neurons."

"It takes only 10 seconds for nicotine to bind to acetylcholine receptors in the brain. Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter that regulates muscle movement, cognition, and mood.

"When nicotine binds to these receptors, it activates neurons, leading to increased transmission of nerve signals and the release of dopamine."

"In the human body, dopamine is responsible for the reward mechanism, pleasure and emotion, so when you take nicotine, it is equivalent to activating the brain's reward system at the same time, without doing anything, it can make people feel happy and relaxed, and reduce anxiety." "Even more amazingly, nicotine also acts on serotonin and norepinephrine at the same time.

, glutamate, etc. ”

"In short, nicotine has almost no drawbacks other than its addictiveness. Furthermore, e-cigarettes use water vapor as a carrier, which perfectly avoids hundreds of harmful substances such as tar that come with cigarettes. People used to say that smoking is harmful to health, but that was referring to traditional cigarettes. E-cigarettes, at most, have a little flavoring, nothing else, so they can't be said to be harmful to health."

"It activates the brain's reward mechanism without paying any price. Whatever you think, I think it's pretty good. After all, getting something for nothing is human nature."

The boy was a little confused. He never expected that a simple question of his would lead to such a complicated answer involving biology, chemistry, and even philosophy.

"Are you studying chemistry?" the boy asked.

Fang Yan shook his head.

"biology?"

"Genetics?"

"Molecular anthropology?"

The boy asked questions repeatedly, but each time he got a negative answer from Fang Yan.

"Actually, I learn everything, but I'm not proficient in anything," said Fang Yan.

The boy curled his lips and said, "Doing nothing and getting rewards directly, I don't care about such boring things."

Fang Yan said calmly, "I didn't care before, but when I was the only one left at home, I realized that having someone reward and encourage you is actually a very precious experience."

The young man was slightly startled, as if he sensed something from Fang Yan's words.

Without saying a word, the boy stretched out his hand again, and Fang Yan handed him the e-cigarette. He waited for him to take a puff and then returned it to Fang Yan. Fang Yan also took a puff and handed it over again.

Before they knew it, the two of them started taking turns smoking an e-cigarette. More than ten minutes passed as they stared at the sky above their heads without saying a word.

"What's your name?" the boy suddenly asked.

"Fang Yan."

"Fang Yan? Literally, it means stone?"

"Well, that's not wrong. What about you? What's your name?"

"Rose Isabelle..." The young man suddenly paused, "Bei, yes, my name is Rose Bei."

Fang Yan looked at the handsome young man in front of him suspiciously, "The name of this ship is the Rose. Are you related to the owner of the ship?"

Bei looked embarrassed, but fortunately at this moment, his communication watch suddenly made a beeping sound.

"The teacher called me to class."

"Oh, then go ahead." Fang Yan waved to him.

Just as the Bei-driven hover disc was about to leave, he suddenly stopped, turned around and asked, "Shi Tou, which department do you work in on the ship?"

Fang Yan smiled and said, "I'm not a crew member. I was just introduced by a friend to take this ship to the inner ring of the Milky Way."

"And my name is Fang Yan, not Shi Tou."

"So that's how it is." Bei muttered to himself, and he turned to leave the small garden. "Nice to meet you, Stone."

"My name is not Shitou!" Fang Yan waved his arms in protest at Bei's figure.

(End of this chapter)