Qi had an expression of awe on her face, her eyes wide open, her chin drooping, and her sliding hair swaying. She had both heard and seen this phenomenon that unfolded before her, but it was truly breathtaking to witness it with her own eyes. She stood at the entrance to a huge atrium, an open space packed with thousands of people. Normally, such a large group of people is accompanied by a certain amount of confusion, especially when they are crammed into one place. Competing for seats, kids running around, and all sorts of body odors mingling together are just a few of the factors that contribute to a noisy, noisy atmosphere.

However, this is the third great British Empire – a civilization and culture built on a series of ancient, sometimes peculiar, traditions. One of them is their obsession with queuing, where people wait in line calmly and quietly, which manifests itself in the dizzying long queues. No one tried to cut the line, argue with the waiter, or otherwise inconvenience those around them. People can even leave their position for a few minutes and then come back without having to say a word to the person in front or behind. The only sound that could be heard was of the clerk and staff calling out for the next person in line, at which point everyone in the line took a step forward almost in unison. All in all, it was a display of order, which was impressive due to the almost complete lack of regulation, not to mention its sheer scale.

"Maggie? Hi Maggie!"

“…… Yes. What's wrong, Joe?"

"You're right? You faint for a moment. ”

"I'm fine. I was just overwhelmed by this queuing. ”

"Oh, that? Yes, I understand you. It's too much chaos with so many people, isn't it? Not even a normal straight line. ”

The girl stared at the unreasonably tall man in the row, and at other times at the man in confusion. Even she could not imagine how high his standards for queuing would be if the presentation in front of her was considered "quite chaotic". Admittedly, it's not perfect. Like he said, the line isn't exactly straight, sometimes someone has to push it, and so on. However, these flaws are so trivial that complaining about them is like fussing over a few dead pixels on a wall-sized monitor. Then again, Joe has been staring at that metaphorical screen all his life, so perhaps from his point of view, these flaws are even more prominent.

"Again, which plane are we on?" Joe asked, looking toward the atrium.

"445-015-B," Maggie replied.

"Ah, let's go over there," he said, pointing to one of the dozens of lines. "Come on, let's finish this. I hate that damn spaceport. ”

The couple walked down the steps to the designated boarding dock. Maggie stood at the end of the line, eager to be a part of this peculiar British tradition. Joe, however, was far less enthusiastic. He kept complaining in a low voice until he sat down behind the girl, and then completely shut his mouth. As usual, his bad temper was caused by something irrational. That is, his astrophobia. Not only does he have to confront his own fear of space travel, but it's technically his own fault that he's in this situation.

Maggie is known for imitating the famous actress Melinda Sparksta

and was accused of copyright infringement. Joe is unfamiliar with the details of the law, but he knows that such accusations cannot be taken lightly. Today's genetic models are so good that it's very easy to imitate what celebrities look like and imitate them. Such imitations can cause considerable trouble, although they will never fool automated security systems. In fact, this fraud is closer to identity theft than copyright infringement, but is still considered the latter due to the puzzling way in which the law is written. Essentially, hire Meli

da Spa

klesta

of studios have the rights to her appearance, and they have a duty to crack down on anyone who matches her enough.

It was clear that Maggie met this criterion because her face was almost exactly the same as that of the actress. To make matters worse, she deliberately chose that way. If she had been born with this disease, the situation would have been completely different, but this is definitely not the case. Admittedly, she didn't know that the face she took from Joe's brain was copyrighted, but the law didn't really care about the situation. She looked like Melinda Sparkstal by choice, which meant her employer, Bubble Spotlight Studios, had the power to force her to change her face or risk a fine and jail time.

Naturally, the couple was not too happy with this development. While it is a trivial matter for a Level 3 entity to create a new image for themselves, both she and Joe are emotionally too attached to the way they look. They discussed their options and decided to challenge the copyright claim in court. Neither of them is a lawyer and doesn't know any lawyers, but Maggie absolutely believes in her ability to defend herself. Joe has to admit that if anyone can successfully navigate the intricate rules and regulations that make up modern copyright law, it is an unfathomable intelligent entity of the cosmic order.

That's all well and good, but to take the matter to civil court, they must first meet with the legal team representing Melinda Sparkstal and her employer. The law firm doesn't have an office in Joe's solar system, so he and Maggie line up at the spaceport to board the shuttle. The man silently reproached himself for his short-sightedness in the past. Why didn't he let Maggie pick a different face from his memory in the first place? No, he knows the answer. Because she's really sexy and he's really stupid. In addition, it was also his idea to go on vacation to the beach last week, which may have been the reason why the studio noticed Maggie in the first place, given the time. No matter how he looked at it, it was his own fault, and he was about to climb into a metal box to be launched into the void of space.

Well, it's not all bad either. Boarding a starship and hitchhiking to another planet, the girl is very excited. Joe could tell her to smile from ear to ear, even though he could only see the back of her head. She rarely shows such enthusiasm, and her good mood is contagious. This eased his nervousness somewhat, though nothing completely dispelled his fears. He became more and more agitated as his team moved steadily forward. By the time he walked up to his desk and had to talk to the employees of the spaceport, he was already sweating profusely and his face was rather pale.

"First flight, sir?" The girl behind the counter asked knowingly.

"Ahh Well, well, yes," he replied reluctantly.

"So, do you want to buy a pillowcase?"

"Hmm...... What?"

"A sleep stand, sir. This is an accessory on the neck with your P

P implants are synchronized, causing a harmless coma throughout the voyage. From your point of view, you'll take a nap before the plane takes off and wake up at your destination in the blink of an eye. ”

Joe considered the offer. As far as he knows, his journey will begin with a 10-hour shuttle flight to a freighter, and another 6 hours will take another 6 hours to adjust to the appropriate position before starting the wormhole generator. The jump itself takes only about 20 seconds, but he still has to sit for another 13 hours on a space flight before finally landing on Lancaster 3. It was about 30 hours of travel in total, and he was scared out of his mind the whole time. Skipping all these unpleasant options seems too good to be true.

However, he caught a glimpse of Maggie's expectant face, and a wave of guilt came over him. The girl undoubtedly wanted to share the experience with him, and she would be disappointed if he just clocked out from work. Sleeping with a pillowcase is selfish and cowardly, and no one wants to show such a pathetic side in front of their loved ones. Therefore, Joe sighed, frowned, and decided to grit his teeth.

"I'm not going, thank you."

"As you wish, sir. Please place your luggage on the trolley at your feet and your hands on the scanner. ”

The man complied, placing his duffel bag on the wheeled auto next to the clerk's desk, and it sped away from nowhere, allowing another machine to take its place. Joe then pressed his palm against a small, glowing panel, and after a few moments, the panel beeped for sure. The attendant thanked him, pressed a few buttons, and directed Joe to Dock 213-A, the same as Maggie. The couple made their way through a series of corridors and escalators to a rather crowded waiting room. The seats were barely big enough for ten people, but that wasn't a problem because there was no one else around at the time. The metal wall is empty, with only a few vending machines at one end and a huge window at the other. Joe's eyes were drawn to the bulletproof glass, behind which lay the ship he was about to board.

In the middle of the docking compartment is an arrow-shaped orbital shuttle. Its shell is painted bright white with a black stripe around the edges. The designation of OS-64-M is printed on the tip of the wing in large chunks. Joe recognized the model. It is also known as the "Silver Storm" and is the equivalent of a premium sports car. It stands out in several games in Joe's game library, and every virtual manifestation of it is like a dream.

"Wait, we're going to board one of them?!" He finally realized it.

"Yes," exclaimed Maggie happily. "I arranged it on purpose."

The girl was also impressed by how the ship behaved in the digital world and wanted to see if the real deal matched the simulation.

"You're not going to drive it yourself, are you?" Joe asked.

"I'd love to go, but I haven't gotten my pilot's license yet."

Driving is one of Maggie's natural mechanical skills. Unfortunately, it takes more than just innate ability to get a pilot's license. The most troublesome prerequisite is that she needs to complete a virtual training course that includes 200 hours of mandatory flight practice. She hasn't found time to do it yet because her other hobbies, interests, and responsibilities keep her busy. Not to mention, she couldn't afford her own shuttle, pushing time-consuming chores to the bottom of her list of priorities.

"Therefore, I have to wait for a later opportunity to fly the OS-64-M," she added.

"Hey. Can we pull some ties to get you standing behind the stick?" Joe grumbled. "I know you're an amazing pilot, but I don't believe a random stranger takes me around."

The girl smiled sweetly and rubbed his shoulder comfortingly.

"It's going to be fine. Even if the worst happens, and the cabin undergoes explosive decompression, I'll be able to keep you alive for at least two weeks, even in a vacuum. ”

"Listen, Maggie, I know you want to help, but saying things like 'explosive decompression' and 'vital functions' really doesn't help."

"I apologize. Will you lie on my lap?"

“…… Yes, thank you. ”

The couple sat down, and Joe rested her head on Maggie's lap, who gently stroked his hair. He doesn't usually have such an excuse to be spoiled, so he made the most of the opportunity. After a while, the room began to fill with other passengers. Joe has always been shameless, so he doesn't care too much about strangers. Unfortunately, this feeling is not mutual. The British are notoriously conservative when it comes to openly expressing affection or intimacy, which means that the couple's disgustingly sweet display is very embarrassing to strangers. A lady in a luxurious fur coat stepped forward as if to protest, but she glanced at Maggie's face and stepped back without saying a word.

She didn't know why, but she suddenly had a strong premonition that something terrible would happen to her if she dared to ruin this moment.

About half an hour later, the radio announced that the shuttle was ready to board. Joe, Maggie, and 14 other passengers all walked over to the boat and began to squeeze in. The interior of the carriage is just as spacious and comfortable as the subway, but with more space and a wider selection of complimentary snacks and drinks. After all, it's first class on a top-of-the-line plane, so a small luxury like this is a matter of course. It's much better than the "passenger mover" in economy class, which traps passengers in tiny hibernation pods and treats them like real luggage.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," a skilled voice came over the intercom. "My name is Charles Far Away, and that's a fitting name, because it's my job to take you away from here."

"Ah, it's this guy again," someone in the back row shouted.

"I would like to issue an official warning to all passengers," the pilot continued. "The ship's internal inertial dampers are a bit 'leaky' at the moment, so you might feel some amplified gravity during takeoff. We apologize for the inconvenience and ask you to go out and have a walk if you wish. The launch will begin in 13 minutes, so please fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the ride. ”

"Leaky? What does he mean by he says leaking?!" Joe panicked a little.

"Do you want me to explain this glitch in detail?" Maggie.

“…… How long will that take?"

"About three and a half hours."

"You know what? Yes, of course, let's hear it. ”

The girl's face was brighter than before. This was the first time someone had agreed to listen to her lectures, which were very detailed and painstaking. Truth be told, Joe needs some way to distract himself, and he can do anything worse than listening to Maggie's tech. Sure enough, in her explanation, she threw out terms like "Mueller particle field" and "movie projector projection" in less than two sentences. The words worked as if by magic, and Joe's brain was instantly overloaded, he just smiled and nodded, and the words went from one ear to the other. He barely noticed that the 13 minutes had passed like this, until the engine rumbled and there was a strong sinking sensation in his guts, but he quickly got used to it.

"So, Long decided to make a tuna casserole for the twins."

"Wait, Dragon?" Casserole? What?"

Joe's trance lasted for almost an hour, until the ridiculous words woke him up from his trance.

"I've been reciting a novel for the last seventeen minutes, just to see if you're paying attention." Maggie pouted unhappily. "You didn't hear a word about inertial dampers, did you?"

"No, no, I heard that," he insisted. "I just wasn't listening."

Maggie narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but then sighed, letting go of her glare. Strictly speaking, the man said he would "listen" to her lectures, not "listen". She was too excited to ignore it.

"I just think your voice is really cute, you know? He tried to put things straight. "You can talk to me about anything, I'll still like it. So, anyway, tell me more about this dragon that makes casseroles. ”

The girl smiled softly and began to recite a light-hearted fantasy novel, "The Roasting Dragon". From a critical point of view, it is absurd, derivative, repetitive, and poorly written. Why and how this literary train wreck was added to her memory was a mystery that Joe knew, and it was best not to ask. At least, he thinks it's in memory, not that she's reading it in real time from the internet. It is known that once out of the planet's atmosphere, the internet connection does not exist on the orbiting shuttle, and "Butte

po

D-4 was already rapidly shrinking behind them. At least that's what he thought. He had a feeling that a glance at the scenery outside would trigger panic, so he tried to avoid doing so, while also trying not to think about his situation. It was good for him to put his full attention on Maggie and her soothing voice. This made the ten-hour flight time pass much faster than he thought.

"Attention passengers, this is your pilot," the walkie-talkie crackled. "We are currently approaching our destination and will be docking with the Trafalgar in about 20 minutes. Those of you who wish to see the freighter in action can switch to external camera number 4 on your personal screen. ”

Hearing this, Maggie gave up the Roasted Dragon, which she was reading, and switched to the announced channel. Sure, she could see clearly through the shuttle's outer shell, but she wasn't far enough to see any celestial bodies or other spacecraft. After all, space is really, really empty. Joe also listened to the show with some reluctance. The allure of seeing a living cargo ship was enough to overwhelm his fear of floating in space. In fact, the images coming back from the external camera No. 4 are spectacular.

A large area of brown, bare rock stretched out in all directions. It's butte

po

D-4a, the only natural satellite in Joe's hometown. Its shell cracked in a large piece, like someone peeling a giant hard-boiled egg. Canyon-like fissures filled with molten rock converge into a small liquid sea of fire, with a mountain-sized crust in the center of the fire. This strange island is dotted with the glow of civilization – a sign of ongoing mining activities that rapidly and aggressively extract nearly 250,000 tons of metals and minerals every day.

A fleet of autonomous cargo ships transports all of these raw materials to high orbit and directly into the loading bay of a freighter-class ship. The capital ship was bigger than Joe had imagined. It is many times larger than a super skyscraper and has about the same shape, only on the sides. The front half of it is a huge cargo compartment, covered with a featureless shell of red and white. The rear of the freighter is mainly controlled by four rectangular fusion engines. On either side there is a series of open docks for small boats, with two control towers protruding from the top and bottom of the midship. Everything else is black metal, punctuated with flashing yellow lights. Last but not least, the name "ICF-M42 Trafalgar" is clearly and cleanly pasted near the nose of the boat.

"Wow! It's so cool!" Joe couldn't help but be in awe.

"It's quite a remarkable space project," Maggie agreed. "It is eight kilometers long, with a mass of 380 million tons and a cargo capacity of 150,000 cubic meters. It is the ninth largest freighter in the Empire's space. ”

"That's a big number."

For a simple-minded man, it's so big that he doesn't even try. He was so excited that he almost forgot that he was still in space. He remained in this position until the shuttle began a landing maneuver, causing the camera footage he watched in a daze to sway through space. The sudden change in the scene caused him to jump from his seat screaming, and he instinctively hugged Maggie's torso. It took him a full five seconds to calm down, and he could make out the strong, soft pile of flesh pressed against one of his arms. He jerked the girl's chest open again, this time out of embarrassment.

"I'm sorry!" I didn't pay attention!"

"I don't mind," she said happily. "You can hold it for as long as you want."

Joe could almost hear the heads of a dozen people turning to stare at him and the girl. Maggie covered her mouth with her hand, and she realized that she was too loud and rude, but it was too late. The man buried his face in his palms in embarrassment. There were only three minutes left in the landing procedure, but somehow those three minutes felt longer than the previous ten hours of flight. It wasn't until the couple disembarked and arrived at their private cabin aboard the Trafalgar that Joe finally calmed down. Still, his ears burned red as he couldn't stop hearing Maggie's proposal echo in the back of his head. He lay on that uncomfortable little bed, buried his face in the pillow, and shouted at the pillow like an over-hormonescent teenager trying to deal with the embarrassment of accidentally bumping into someone he likes. Actually, almost identical. Thankfully, the girl had already left to join a guided tour of Trafalgar, so she didn't see this shameful display.

Regardless, Joe and Maggie were late when they left Bart Pound IV, and the long shuttle itself was tiring. Knowing that he was in a completely enclosed room, surrounded by millions of tons of armor, his astrophobia was calmed to the point of insignificance, causing him to inadvertently doze off. At the same time, his girlfriend scans the mountain-sized ship from bow to stern while following the guide, pushing the human part of her brain to the limit. She does more than just observe, though. She compared the actual construction of the "Trafalgar" with the blueprints and schematics obtained in advance from her military contacts. There are thousands of deviations between the two. Most are inconsequential minor changes made during repairs, like a row of rivets welded together all the time because they are always loose. Maggie has a vested interest in this discrepancy, as one of her obligations to the Third British Empire is to make its starship slightly less disruptive to reality.

Unfortunately, due to an unexpected but equally interesting outcome, she was unable to learn anything about the Trafalgar wormhole generator. The device was wrapped in layers of radiation and energy shielding, which also hindered her ability to peer through solid matter. It's a bit odd considering it shouldn't get in the way of psionic energy. At least not intentionally. However, the wormhole generator utilizes enough energy to create and maintain an artificial black hole, while releasing an anti-gravitational field to ensure the integrity of the spacecraft. Such a ridiculous output will immediately liquefy any living thing within 100 kilometers without too many precautions and countermeasures.

All things considered, the shield blocking psionic energy isn't all that unusual, although it's not explicitly designed to be such. Still, it is possible that this property is related to the lasting damage this device does to the structure of reality. Maggie kept in mind that she would delve deeper into the shield in the future. She wanted to do it right away, but she couldn't get into the wormhole generator room without violating her obligations to the British government. It's a bit of a pity, but the mystery will have to wait until a later date.

The rest of the tour guide is frighteningly boring in comparison. ICF-M42 T

afalga

It is a so-called construction freighter. It is designed to transport a mountain of metals and minerals to the middle of the galaxy, and then convert these raw materials into a space station. Transporting people is just a side hustle to it. As a result, it has a relatively small passenger capacity of only 2,000 people, with little to no entertainment. In other words, there is hardly anything on board that piques Maggie's curiosity. She briefly became interested in the hordes of drones and robots that shuttled between walls and floors, but she grew tired of them when she realized they were just doing maintenance.

When the girl finally returns to the cabin and sees Joe quietly napping, she finds that she doesn't have much to do. The fun part of the boat is forbidden for her to leave Butte

po

The D-4 was too far away to access its online resources. She considered waking up her boyfriend, but she didn't want to disturb him unless there was an emergency. A strange thought popped into her mind. It was unusual for the observer Maraslek to crave such a thrill. The third-class people are accustomed to drifting in an emptiness for thousands of years, and nothing can occupy their immense wisdom. Of course, just a few hours of inactivity shouldn't be such a scary prospect.

After a brief period of introspection, Maggie concluded that the past few months of research on human nature had made her ...... Lost patience. Addictive, even. She gains new knowledge about this reality at a frantic pace, which is intoxicating. Admittedly, a lot of this information would be perceived by others as trivial, and for good reason. Watching nearly a thousand hours of soap operas isn't as impressive as learning about the science behind wormhole generators. However, Maggie did not discriminate. Knowledge is knowledge, regardless of its source, form, or content. If she is too picky about which parts of memorizing reality, she will never be able to know everything.

And yet here she was, ignoring things she wasn't entirely familiar with, simply because they weren't as interesting as the mysterious exorcism barrier. For example, she can easily take a closer look at those repair robots. Yes, they were simple, brainless machines, she had seen them many times. However, she doesn't know everything about them. Their construction was immediately apparent, but where they were made, who designed them, and what was included in their program were invisible to her. Of course, if she wants to be more productive with her time, she will take the opportunity to learn these details. In particular, she has access to their local network, access to their electronic brains, without alerting anyone, and without violating her obligations.

So why didn't she do it from the beginning? Is her study of human nature beginning to have a deeper impact on her? In fact, it's a stupid question. Yes, definitely. Her research on the subject is in-depth, not on a whim. It would be strange if the third category below did not change in some way. However, while the observer Marasrak welcomes this, it also cannot allow much change in its inner self. It is ultimately an entity of order, and it must be ensured that it does not deviate too much from its essence. Change is good, but in moderation. So, before performing a digital dissection of the maintenance robot, the Level 3 cosmic entity decided to do some work on itself first. Nothing drastic, just dividing out specific thought patterns, clearing out some thoughts that are too confusing, and mentally transcending the veil of reality to reach out to some of your peers.

Of course, all this is not obvious to outsiders. If a complete stranger walked into Maggie now, they wouldn't know that an unfathomable intelligence from another reality was reassembling its thought process. All they could see was a pale, black-haired beauty hovering ominously in the middle of the cabin, while a random creature snored quietly in the background. It was a strange, potentially terrifying sight, to be sure, but it could hardly say anything about what was actually going on in her head. It also took a long time, as the girl was still deep in thought, and Joe was woken up by the announcement of the whole ship.

"Attention all passengers and staff."

The startled man sat up from his cot.

"I'm Captain Grace," the female voice continued. "We just cleaned up Butte

po

The orbital plane of the d galaxy, which will perform wormhole jumping after T-90 seconds. I'm sorry for the hasty announcement, but we're going to move the schedule a little earlier. As usual, the artificial gravity field will be disabled during the skydive, so make sure you buckle up or grab something. ”

Joe shouted, blinking, he tried to process the information, but failed. He hadn't fully woken up yet, his left arm was on pins and needles, and his attention was almost non-existent because he slept strangely. He didn't know what the captain had just said, only the last sentence "Grab something". "It's not a problem because the cot he sleeps on has these handy fences for him to grab." That's what he did, though he's not sure why.

"Please note that I am Captain Grace. We'll be jumping in thirty seconds, so you'd better be prepared lest we'll get hit hard when we come out of the other side. ”

Fortunately, the second statement cleared up much of his confusion. This may be Joe's first interstellar trip, but he's seen enough movies to know what to expect through a wormhole. That said, he was a little angry because they didn't give him more reminders. Well, no big deal. Even if he falls asleep on the radio, the worst is that he will float upwards when the artificial gravity is turned off, and then fall again when the artificial gravity is turned back on. It will hurt, but it may not be enough to cause harm.

Then, Joe noticed Maggie. The girl circled silently a few paces away, her eyes closed, her hair swaying wildly. He had absolutely no idea what she was doing. However, he had a hunch that now was not the right time to do it. So, when the feeling of weightlessness overcame him and the girl began to drift towards the ceiling, he was a little worried about her safety.

"Maggie! He shouted at her. "Oi, Maggie! We're going to jump, so-"

He didn't finish the sentence in time. The ship carried him through the wormhole that had been generated, making a strange "shhhh He couldn't see, hear, or feel anything, not even his own heartbeat or the clothes on his body. Joe finds himself in an unsettling and unfamiliar environment, and his panic attacks quickly escalate into severe panic attacks. After a few frantic seconds, he regained consciousness, and just then, his back hit the bed hard. Immediately after, there was a heavy, painful thud from the center of the room.

Joe's head jerked towards the source of the sound. Sure enough, when artificial gravity came back into play, Maggie fell hard. Objectively speaking, he really doesn't need to worry about her. She is quite durable and is actually immortal. However, no man can remain calm when he sees his girl hurt. His adrenaline was already pumping from the rollercoaster of emotions, and Joe climbed out of bed to see her. He completely forgot about his situation, although it was mostly because all he got out of this ordeal was a nasty surprise.

"Maggie! Are you alright?!"

When he puts his hand on the bare shoulders of the prone girl, his fears prove justified. He immediately noticed that her skin was not as warm as usual, but was warming upright. Not only that, but the swirling light in her eyes was gone, and her hair was completely lifeless. Normally, this means that she is either temporarily dead or unconscious, but neither of these seems to be the case. She breathed smoothly, and the jet-black iris deliberately stared at Joe's face.

"Maggie? How are you?"

The man waved his hand in front of her and snapped his fingers a few times. She didn't say anything, but she did react by tracking the movements. Not with the eyes, but with the whole head. It's not just a little disturbing. Joe didn't know what to do, so he tried to help her up. The girl listened to the order and stood up easily, but did not move again. He tried a few more times to get her to answer. Everyone was attracted by his blank, unblinking gaze.

"Ah, bastard," the man pinched the bridge of his nose. "You should already know. You're coming from another dimension, and of course, something changes when you walk through a damn wormhole. ”

"Question: What is the relationship between the upright position of the breast and the artificial anomalies in the space-time continuum?"

Well, she's talking. If it weren't for her flat tone and strange way of speaking, this would have been good news. It was clear that something was wrong, but Joe was completely overwhelmed and he struggled to say or do anything. It's not like she's having a relapse or something. Even Maggie a few months ago showed more emotion.

"Q: What is the relationship in the upright position—"

"No, okay?!" The man blurted out without thinking. "It's a figure of speech!"

"Question: What part of your statement is rhetorical?"

"That's—that part."

"Question: What does titup mean?"

"Uh, meaning something went wrong."

"Statement: admit and keep it in mind," the girl declared, and then fell silent again.

Joe couldn't do anything but rub his face in confusion and shouted angrily. It's the last thing he needs to deal with when he wakes up. At least he wasn't panicking anymore, which allowed him to try to figure out what was really going on. First of all, it's Maggie, so it's probably something that's both ridiculous and completely logical. Thinking back to before the jump, she looked so busy that she ignored not one, but two notifications.

The brain, bewitched by the media, came up with a ridiculous explanation at breakneck speed. What if Maggie's body is intact, but her brain is lost during transportation? An analogy, of course. If her head was really empty, she couldn't do much, let alone look around and ask questions. But if she died, who took control of her body? Maybe some kind of autopilot? Considering who Maggie is and what kind of person she is, this is almost impossible. Hey, if it's a matter of getting her mind back to her body, Joe knows what to do.

"That's right. Either it succeeds and I'm the best," he muttered under his breath, "or it fails, and it's terrible." ”

He stepped forward and gently held her head. He pulled the girl into the room and kissed her on the lips, and the girl did not resist at all. Sure enough, he felt a familiar sensation as "something" welled up his throat and into Maggie's. After a few breaths, he pulled the car away and was relieved to see the pale girl return to her original appearance, including swirling eyes and writhing hair.

"I'm impressed," she smiled sweetly. "You found out faster than I expected."

"Yes, sometimes I'm really good. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, yes."

"Good, good. Shh......h "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"As we walked through the wormhole, my consciousness was forcibly ejected out of my spaceship," she confirmed his theory.

"Does this happen every time we go through a wormhole?"

"Yes," she nodded. "I'm an outsider to this reality, so it's easy for me to get out of it."

"Can't you, I don't know, tie up your brain or something?"

"I can try to develop some appropriate countermeasures. However, considering how easy it was for you to bring me back, I felt like it was a waste of my time and energy. ”

"yes, okay. Leave it to me," he proudly declared. "I'll kiss you as many times as I want!"

"As you know, mouth-to-mouth contact is not critical to the recovery process. The most important factor is the physical distance between the anchor and the ship. ”

Joe's eyes narrowed, trying to grasp the implications.

"So...... Kisses are unnecessary, but appreciated?"

"That's right," the girl said with a smirk.