"I have a + circle, I have a - circle..."
Aidan fitted the smaller ring into the inner circle of the larger one, and it happened to lock into place.
"Now, let's see what happens next."
Aidan was also interested.
"Calculating..."
As everyone knows, science is like crossing a river by feeling the stones. If you're lucky, you can solve in an afternoon what others take hundreds of years of trial and error to achieve—of course, if you're a genius, that's a different story.
But luck is also a very important factor in scientific research.
Aidan waited for two seconds.
Nothing happened.
"Looks like noth-" March 7th hadn't even finished her sentence.
Hum—
Both rings lit up simultaneously. It wasn't the gentle golden glow from before, but a blinding blue-white light, like short-circuiting electric arcs dancing wildly across the metal surface, which then grew to roughly the height of a person.
"Didn't you say it was for teleportation? Why does it look like a time bomb now?!"
"No, this is the state of stable output..."
Aidan signaled for March 7th and Stelle not to come over, reaching out his hand to grope around inside the enlarged ring.
Groping, searching...
"...!"
"What did you feel?"
"A hand."
The hair on March 7th's neck stood on end.
"Hey, hey, a hand? Are... are you sure?"
"Yeah... I don't know whose hand it is."
Aidan felt the hand; it was slender with smooth skin, but completely devoid of warmth.
"Judging by the feel, it should be a woman's hand, but she seems to be dead, possibly for a long time."
"Are you sure she's been dead a long time?" March 7th's voice trembled slightly. "Could she be alive and just sleeping or something?"
"Extremely low probability."
Stelle, being the bold one, leaned in to try and peek inside, but Aidan blocked her with his other hand.
"Don't get too close. We don't know the situation inside yet."
"If her status is unknown, then she's dead," Stelle said as if it were a matter of fact. "You've felt it, and you've confirmed she's dead. Just let go already."
"I'm trying," Aidan's voice sounded a bit subtle, "but... right now, it's grabbing onto me and won't let go."
"..."
March 7th's face turned a shade paler.
"You... don't joke around like that."
"I'm not joking." Aidan exerted a bit of force with his arm, trying to pull his hand back, but failed. "She's quite strong..."
Aidan tapped his pocket with his left hand, and an auxiliary mechanical arm instantly covered his right hand.
"Come—out!"
— — —
Delta: Fervent Tempo Δ
Huff... huff...
The girl's breathing finally steadied.
"Aidan, is she really okay now?"
"She's fine. Hyperion's medical technology can easily heal her."
Huff...
Even in a deep coma, the girl's brow remained tightly furrowed, her teeth clenched, and her hands unconsciously balled into fists.
"Who is she?" March 7th leaned in closer, studying the petite figure on the bed. Long pink hair with cyan highlights, lips pressed tightly together even in sleep, and... were those a pair of strange horns on her head?
"An... acquaintance of mine, of sorts. Mr. Welt knows her too."
"I feel like you and Uncle Yang know so many people."
Stelle, quite interested, squatted by the bedside and stared at the girl's face for a long time.
"She's pretty cute."
"You're focusing on the wrong thing. Is now the time to discuss whether she's cute or not?" March 7th complained.
"Then what should we discuss?"
"Discuss... why she was inside that ring! Isn't that ring for teleportation? How can it hide a person?"
Aidan's gaze fell on the golden ring, which had now returned to its calm state.
"Theoretically, the Directional Space-Displacement Rings connect two fixed spatial coordinates. If I place one ring on the Astral Express and the other... somewhere else, then a stable spatial channel will form between them. However, if that happens, it could lead to unpredictable consequences, such as connecting to unknown spaces—likely connecting to other World Bubbles."
"Her physical condition is terrible. Severe rejection reactions, long-term sleep deprivation, and... a mental state similar to post-traumatic stress disorder. Her current tension is entirely due to her body's instinctive defense mechanism."
Stelle leaned toward the light screen, looking at the dense charts on it, which she couldn't understand at all.
"Rejection reaction?" Stelle pointed to a red icon on the screen. "Does that mean there's something in her body that doesn't belong to her?"
"Her body has been fused with the tissue of another person. From the genetic match, it should be a close relative. This fusion was very crude; while it saved her life, it also brought her endless pain."
As soon as Aidan finished speaking, the repair fluid inside the medical pod began to churn violently.
Beep—Beep—Beep—
The girl snapped her eyes open.
Those were eyes full of alertness and mania, like a beast driven into a corner. Ignoring the various IV tubes and monitoring patches connected to her body, she swung her right arm and slammed it hard against the glass cover of the medical pod.
There was a loud bang.
Although the high-strength glass did not shatter, it emitted a tooth-aching vibration.
"She's awake!" March 7th was startled and quickly took two steps back, getting into a defensive stance. "Her temper is way too explosive!"
The girl ripped off the tubes on her body, ignoring the blood seeping from her arm, and pressed her hands firmly against the edge of the glass cover. With a harsh tearing sound, she actually forced open a gap in the sealed medical pod door.
This... is not ■■'s hospital... it's not.
The girl's anxious gaze finally locked onto Aidan.
"Who... are you?"
"I am the Captain. Hello—Captain Rozaliya."
"Captain?" The girl's voice was raspy, carrying obvious hostility. "I don't know any Captain. Where is the Marshal? What place is this?"
"The Marshal is not here, Captain." Aidan took a step forward. "This is not the world you're familiar with. You are currently on a battleship named Hyperion, in the infirmary."
"Battleship?" Delta's gaze quickly swept over the glowing precision instruments around her, then fell back on Aidan's face. Her long pink hair, stuck to her cheeks by sweat and culture fluid, made her look somewhat disheveled.
"—What nonsense are you talking?"
She tried to crawl out of the medical pod, but that single strike against the glass had exhausted almost all her strength.
"Don't move." Aidan stepped forward and pressed his hand against the edge of the medical pod. He didn't touch her, but he blocked her way. "In your current state, you'd collapse before you could take three steps."
"Move."
"No."
A flash of mania crossed the girl's eyes. She clenched her right fist, preparing to smash the glass again.
"Go ahead and smash it." Aidan's voice was very calm. "Once you break this glass, the repair fluid inside will leak out, the wounds on your body will get infected, then you'll run a high fever, start talking nonsense, and finally fall into a coma. If that's what you want, I won't stop you."
Clang!
The girl ignored Aidan's warning.