VESSEL - Extinction Countdown 930: Trans Tribulation

As Pang Niu’s convoy vanished in a roar, Lu Zhengwu collapsed onto the dirt, unable to stand.

Chaos engulfed the worksite; Foreman Wang and Captain Li stood frozen, urgently summoning a stretcher from the infirmary.

Fang Ling, frantic, slung her backpack, vowing to confront Pang Niu—only a crowd’s restraint stopped her.

Soon, hands hoisted Lu Zhengwu to the infirmary. Though merely “pushed by Ye Shisan, landing on his rear,” his age spurred Fang Ling’s insistence on a thorough check.

She bustled about, unconvinced by the doctor’s clearance, muttering about a hospital scan.

Lu Zhengwu opened his eyes, beckoning the crowd. Fang Ling leaned close, but he waved her off, gesturing toward Ye Shisan.

Pushing through, Ye Shisan sat beside him: “Uncle Lu, speak freely.”

“Pang Niu’s men held back—they’re hired thugs, not his usual crew. Mr. Ye, your stand for me may draw fierce trouble.”

Ye Shisan chuckled. “Trouble? I’m no stranger to it—one more’s nothing.”

“No, I owe you a warning. These guys might be tied to something worse than Pang Niu’s gang. I dragged you into this… Mr. Ye, take some money and leave.”

“I don’t run after causing trouble. If I go, you’d suffer in my place. Ye Shisan fears nothing.”

“Good! Mr. Ye, I've roamed across lands for years and met too many people who'd bend over backwards or follow the crowd. But today, I'm making you my friend!”

“Uncle Lu, you flatter me!”

“Mr. Ye, we truly embody the saying: No fight, no friendship! I’m old, childless, save for Fang Ling. Her father died young, her mother… well, no matter. She’s my sole concern.”

Ye Shisan couldn’t help but feel perplexed. How had Lu Zhengwu managed to tie his family troubles to me? And with that tone, was he seriously hinting at entrusting this girl—wait, no, this young man—to my care? No, no, no! It’s not like I’m against the idea, but this isn’t something I want to try!

Though such thoughts swirled in his mind, Lu Zhengwu looked so frail that Ye Shisan’s words shifted the moment they were about to leave his lips.

Despite his thoughts, Lu Zhengwu looked frail. Ye Shisan softened. “Uncle Lu, Miss Fang’s tough. She stood up to those punks for you. She’ll handle anything.”

Fang Ling got flustered as well, “Uncle, stop it! I’m no child!” Her furtive glance at Ye Shisan brought a flush to her cheeks.

A meow cut through. Yi Qing, cradling Hong Lin, stepped up, her tone glacial. “Mr. Lu, Ye Shisan’s busy. Your niece is in her twenties, capable. No babysitter needed.”

Hong Lin hissed at Fang Ling, bristling with hostility.

From patient’s bed, Lu Zhengwu shook his head weakly. “No, you misunderstand… Fang Ling’s solitary, wary of strangers. This world’s cruel. I fear for her safety. Mr. Ye’s upright, bold—I hoped to entrust her to you…”

Mid-sentence, the old man abruptly shut his eyes, and began to snore.

The doctor approached, ushering all out: “Boss Lu needs rest. Everyone, out! Miss Fang, go home—he’ll wake soon.”

Stunned by her uncle’s words, Fang Ling protested: “He didn’t finish! How’s he asleep?”

“Miss Fang, he’s worn out from site chaos, relying on sleeping pills for naps. Today’s clash overpowered the dose, but now, relaxed, he’s succumbed. Let him rest.”

With that, the doctor hustled them from the infirmary.

Foreman Wang and Captain Li dispersed the workers, leaving only Ye Shisan, Yi Qing, and Fang Ling at the infirmary door.

Fang Ling glanced at Yi Qing, then Ye Shisan, blurting, “I don’t need coddling. At most, Brother Ye can stay at my place!”

Ye Shisan nearly choked. Stay at your place? And Brother?No way!

Anger flashed in Yi Qing's eyes as she fixed Ye Shisan with a stare so intense it sent chills down his spine. “Ye Shisan, you’re really something—there's no one you can't handle, huh?”

Her words carried the bite of truth, implying his talent for wooing women, from the young Vanilla to the mob princess You Long'er, and even herself—not to mention captivating a wealthy heiress with mere flirtation. But Fang Ling heard it as a veiled jab and instantly bristled, snapping back.

“What? Jealous I’m prettier?”

As the saying goes, a man in feminine grace could surpass any woman. Even Yi Qing conceded Fang Ling’s beauty rivaled the radiant You Long’er, blooming at eighteen.

Yet, consumed by jealousy, Yi Qing missed the deeper meaning in Fang Ling’s words.

Ye Shisan quickly stepped in to smooth things over. “Uncle Lu will be asleep for at least two or three hours. We’re not standing here, right?”

Yi Qing shot him a look. “Jeep’s trashed. No Touxiang Village today.”

Fang Ling’s eyes lit up. “You’re from Touxiang Village? My dad hailed from there! How about... how about come to my place? Once Uncle wakes up, he’ll head home for dinner together.”

Yi Qing relented, nudging Ye Shisan with a look that screamed, She’s eager to whisk you off.

Caught between laughter and tears, Ye Shisan simply couldn’t reveal directly that Fang Ling was, in fact, a man.

Yet Yi Qing’s curiosity stirred—Fang Ling’s father, from Touxiang Village, might hold clues. Whenever Ye Shisan's interests are involved, Yi Qing becomes remarkably selfless, perhaps a trait she developed during her military service.

Little did they expect that Lu Zhengwu’s one and only living relative, his niece, would be cruising around in a weathered, third-hand Jeep—a sight truly beyond belief.

“Don’t assume I share Uncle’s wealth,” Fang Ling declared proudly. “My experiments? I fund them myself. You thought I was some spoiled heiress?”

Her pride, perhaps sparked by her cherished projects or Ye Shisan’s unexpected warmth, visibly lifted her spirits.

During the drive, Ye Shisan and Yi Qing gleaned from Fang Ling the peculiar ties binding her to Lu Zhengwu.

Lu Zhengwu had a sister, Lu Lai, a prodigy with a photographic memory and an IQ exceeding 200, was plucked by foreign universities in youth, earning multiple PhDs by her teens and founding an academic discipline.

But the good times soon unraveled. In her early twenties, Lu Lai confessed to struggling with gender dysphoria, a lifelong yearning to live as a man.

But in a world bound by the constraints of society, tradition, and her own kin, such aspirations were out of reach. For decades, “male Lu Lai” was trapped within her female form—until she met Fang Ling’s father, Fang Hua.

Though Fang Hua grew up as a scrappy child from a remote village, his natural brilliance made him a rare prodigy. The only “flaw” in him was his open identity as gay. Even more awe-inspiring, Fang Hua dismissed the entire weight of social judgment without a second thought.

To reveal one’s truth and challenge the foundations of tradition in that age was nothing short of Prometheus daring to steal fire.

Like two asteroids brushing past each other in the vast expanse of the galaxy, only to be captured by one another’s gravitational pull, Fang Hua—a proud gay man—encountered Lu Lai.

Fang Hua ardently pursued Lu Lai, who, battered by societal scorn, sought marriage to quell the storm.

And so, in his early forties, Lu Lai welcomed the birth of Fang Ling.

Later, Fang Hua succumbed to illness, and when Fang Ling turned ten, Lu Lai vanished without trace.

Whether a curse or fate, Fang Ling inherited her parents’ prodigious intellect and her mother’s research, yet within her male form, a solitary girl’s soul lay captive.

Fang Ling had long resigned herself to the idea that her fate would reflect her mother’s—a bleak inevitability, it seemed. Yet deep down, her spirit rebelled against such submission.

How could my life be surrendered to fate’s whim? Could it truly be my fault that the heavens had imprisoned a girl’s soul within a man’s body?

Why must I bear the burden of blame and sorrow alone?

She couldn’t fathom why she poured her heart out to strangers, driven only by a yearning for liberation, to shatter her cocoon, to be loved.