But just a few seconds later, the radiant arms finally caught up with the ship. The deadly hand grazed Tuan's cheek, causing his skin to blister and peel away. He screamed in agony, raising his hands to shield his face, only to be blocked by the helmet. The pain burrowed deep into every cell, gnawing relentlessly at every nerve. It tore and devoured his body like a feast for maggots. The IEVA suit began to overheat and burst into flames. Tuan tore off the helmet and flung it aside, then collapsed onto the floor, hoping this would shield him from the radiation streaming through the window. He rolled back and forth, trying desperately to extinguish the fire engulfing his body.

  But nothing went the way he had hoped.

  Short-wavelength radiation pierced effortlessly through the thick door and struck his flesh directly, causing his body to blister and ulcerate. Waves of pain crashed over him nonstop, making him want nothing more than to lose consciousness. Realizing his efforts were futile, Tuan struggled back to his feet and tried to flee as far as possible from the gate of death. His head felt as though it were being split apart by hammers, his blood vessels bulged, and fresh blood seeped across his face. He ignored it all and continued crawling forward. Tuan understood that the farther he could get from the gate, the greater his chances of survival would be. Other trivial matters could wait.

  Then, without warning, the spacecraft accelerated violently, flinging Tuan backward to where he had started. The acceleration slammed him flat against the massive door, making it nearly impossible to breathe. His body was pinned to the main gate, resembling nothing so much as a sculpted figure from the Renaissance.

  Fortunately, it lasted only a brief moment. The deadly arm could no longer reach the spacecraft. Tuan collapsed onto the floor and crawled toward the nearby EVA room, slipping inside at once. He adjusted the environment back to normal, then staggered toward the automated shower unit. His hand snatched up an empty fashion sphere, using it to strip the burning suit from his body. He turned on the water and sank into the cool stream. The relief weighed heavily on his eyelids. After standing there for a long while, his strength finally gave out, and he collapsed onto the floor. His breath came in shallow gasps, and his vision slowly faded into darkness.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  ***

  When his memories fully returned, Tuan finally jolted at the realization of what had happened. Panic surged through him as he reached up to touch his face, checking instinctively – yet he felt no roughness at all. He raised both hands in front of his eyes to look more closely, only to be stunned once again: every single blister was gone.

  Confusion spread across his face. His brows knitted together, clearly betraying his doubt toward himself. Could it be… that everything he had just experienced was nothing more than a dream?

  By then, Valentina had already pushed herself upright on the medical bed, her reddened eyes following Tuan’s every strange movement. It was only when their gazes accidentally met that he finally realized the petite girl sitting in front of him was the same childhood friend who had been by his side since they were little. Without hesitation, Tuan leaned forward and wrapped his arms tightly around her. The sudden embrace made Valentina freeze for a brief moment, but she soon lifted her hand and gently rubbed his back. That simple gesture of comfort gradually steadied Tuan’s heartbeat. The dark cloud suffocating his mind seemed to dissipate at once. The space around them felt as though it had filled with warm sunlight, and the trembling in his body quickly faded away. The sensation stirred memories of the peaceful days he once shared with Dr. Giáng Tiên. Though that time had already turned to ashes, it would remain forever preserved as a beautiful memory deep within his heart.

  While continuing to stroke Tuan’s back, Valentina leaned in and whispered into his ear in a soft voice meant only for the two of them:

  “You were really lucky. I heard the robot guy say that if it had been even a little later, the radiation would’ve killed you – just like it did everyone else at the L.A.B.”

  She hesitated briefly, then continued in the same quiet tone:

  “At that moment, the ship had just barely entered the acceleration gate and escaped the Sun’s explosion, saving you by a hair’s breadth. The robot guy also said that the reason you survived was because your body had been heavily enhanced through various experiments – especially because of the nanobots. They’re what helped you cross the line between life and death and stay alive until now.”