"This is…"
Tingyun and Jingliu, who had experienced the various events on Punklorde with Wende, recognized the celestial body before them at a glance. It was identical to the wormhole they had encountered inside the Legendary Tower, though from its appearance, this one was considerably larger.
"Is this the wormhole you spoke of before? How could this type of celestial body, something never before officially discovered in the real world, suddenly appear here?" Himeko asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.
Even within the Genius Society, the geniuses' understanding of wormholes was still purely theoretical. In theory, wormholes did indeed exist, but even when considering the scale of the entire universe, no one had ever seen a real one…
"This…"
Gazing at the wormhole, Welt also wore a contemplative expression.
The purple light constantly reminded him of unpleasant things. Could it be that he had become too obsessed with the game? How could there be so many coincidences…
However, the universe was vast. Anything was possible. It was simply a matter of probability; as long as it wasn't absolute zero, it could happen…
"Yes, this wormhole is very similar to the one we encountered before, but its diameter is much larger," Jingliu confirmed with a nod, her gaze involuntarily shifting to Wende.
After all, when Wende entered that first wormhole, he had emerged seeming like a completely different person, yet he was still undeniably Wende… they just didn't know how long he had spent on the other side. From an external perspective, Wende had been inside for less than two seconds…
"Let's have Pom-Pom park the train nearby. We should send someone through to investigate first. That would be less dangerous," Himeko said to Welt.
When facing the unknown, it was always right to be cautious. Moreover, for a celestial body that only existed in theory within the scientific community, no one knew if past experience would be of any use. Rashly piloting the train through the wormhole was far too great a risk, and they could not bear the consequences.
After all… this was the last train capable of navigating the star rails. If the Astral Express were to disappear, the "star rails" of the universe would eventually all fall into disrepair. The cosmos would then revert to its former state of inconvenient travel… unless a new [Aeon of Trailblaze] appeared, or another Astral Express emerged from that unknown planet… or people successfully developed point-to-point warp technology.
The star rails minimized the risks and costs of interstellar travel. The Astral Express could not take this chance.
"I'll send a drone in to probe it first. If there are no major issues, we will send a person through, and only then will the train follow."
No one objected to Himeko's proposal. The Astral Express was worthy of such caution.
Seeing the unanimous agreement, Himeko nodded in satisfaction and activated a drone deployed from the train.
Just in case, Himeko also had Dan Heng attach a tether to the drone. This tether was bidirectional; if any problems arose on the other side, they could use it to pull the drone back. If a reverse force emerged from the wormhole, the tether could also be severed automatically.
With all preparations complete, Himeko began to manually pilot the drone.
In the silent, still expanse of space, the drone, adapted for extravehicular work, slowly advanced towards the wormhole…
Ten meters… eight meters… five meters…
As the drone drew closer to the wormhole, the monitor feed began to fill with "snowflakes"—static caused by the wormhole's gravitational influence.
The nearer it got, the more the drone's silhouette began to distort, bending and stretching before their eyes.
"Entering the wormhole."
The drone began to pass through the surface of the wormhole. So far, everything was normal. The drone's communication was cut off on the other side, but no gravitational pulling was detected. The drone was still within their observable range.
At Himeko's signal, Dan Heng began to operate the tether, attempting to pull the drone back from the other side.
The tether on the train began to retract, and the drone was slowly pulled back out of the wormhole's range.
"Drone re-establishing network connection. Checking the drone's data logs. Verifying the time-flow rate inside and outside the wormhole… it's a one-to-one ratio."
Himeko relayed the newly acquired information to the group.
"It seems stable. However, to prevent any other accidents, we still need to go over and take a look ourselves."
"I'll go," Wende volunteered, stepping forward. "I have experience crossing wormholes."
"Mm, Wende is indeed the best candidate. In that case… I'm counting on you," Himeko said, nodding solemnly at Wende.
"Okay."
After putting on a life-support suit for work in outer space, Wende exited the train with a watch in hand. He approached the wormhole, and then entered.
A little over ten minutes later, Wende emerged from the wormhole and, with a look of surprise, shared his experience with the group.
"Look, the flow of time on both sides is the same."
Wende placed the watch on the table.
"It seems this wormhole is indeed safe. Inform Pom-Pom to pilot the train through," Welt said, slowly nodding as he looked at the completely unaffected Wende. For some reason, a sliver of hope suddenly ignited within him.
Could this… be my home?
"Roger, roger! The train is starting up! All passengers, please hold on tight! We're about to enter the [tunnel]!"
Pom-Pom's voice came over the train's broadcast system. The train began to move slowly towards the wormhole… about to pass through!
Will this be a place I recognize?
Welt pushed up his glasses, silently wondering to himself.
---o---
"Lord Overseer, we still have no leads on the celestial body that suddenly appeared near Mars. Based on telescopic observations, it seems to be a wormhole… but we have never observed a wormhole on a cosmic scale. It…"
The researcher was about to explain further to Otto but was stopped by a gentle raise of Otto's hand.
"I understand. You have all worked hard during this time. Let's put this project on hold for now. I will have Amber notify you of further arrangements later."
The researcher opened his mouth, as if wanting to say more, but seeing Otto's completely unconcerned expression, he could only shut his mouth and exit the Overseer's office dejectedly.
"They have arrived, I am certain it is them… No, my old friend, I cannot be mistaken… Of course, I believe they will help us. Will they not?... Haha. If he is willing."
Inside the office, Otto muttered to himself, a deeply unsettling sight.