Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1661 Preparations for the Voyage

"Even with the modified engines of the SkyCarrier, this voyage will still take a week."

Inside the meeting room, Commander Constantine truthfully informed the senior crew of the Sky Carrier of the situation.

The Sorority Sisters did not participate in this operation; they remained tasked with assisting the First Secret Group in cleaning up Attilan Fortress. With the help of the Martian foundry, their progress would be significantly faster. Even so, they still couldn't make it to Neptune. Only a very few key members, such as Sorority Sisters Chief Tita, boarded the newly repaired Sky Carrier. Furthermore, due to the extremely high contamination level of this mission, the crew size was kept at the minimum operational standard. Tita looked around and realized she couldn't see the Emperor; even with her eyes closed, she couldn't sense his presence. This was highly unusual for the Guardians of the Cleric.

"I didn't see the monarch here, nor did I see Diana. Could it be that the Guardians left the monarch on Earth?"

"Our mission is to prevent the contamination from returning to Earth. The goal is destruction and interception, not rescue," said Commander Constantine of the Royal Guard. "The Sovereign will appear if necessary, the specific reasons for which will be kept secret. Mission details and supply lists have been distributed to the squad leaders of each department. The most important task is to destroy the New Territory and check the level of contamination on the crew of the Couple." He looked at a woman in a red robe, with many traces of mechanical prosthetics, sitting at the command table. "The Martian Foundry cannot provide any direct assistance this time, but it has provided a large amount of repair resources and technical guidance, and has planned the fastest route to Neptune. We will conduct a resupply operation in Mars orbit, including a large number of technical personnel. But this is far from enough. We don't know what awaits us on Neptune. If there are survivors on the Couple, they have likely suffered extremely severe contamination."

"How bad can it be?" Tita asked.

"It's worse than Attilan Castle," said Commander Constantine of the Royal Guard. "We might encounter a living portal."

"Is this the monarch's conclusion?"

The Commander of the Guard retrieved data on the New Territory spaceship. "This spaceship, belonging to Project Pegasus, is equipped with an extremely primitive hyperspace engine and performed a hyperspace jump without any protection. Based on information transmitted by the probes, numerous supernatural phenomena have occurred inside the spaceship, and the hull is highly likely to be contaminated. We may be facing a contaminated spaceship and the supernatural phenomena it exhibits. This boarding operation will be entirely handled by the Guard. This Sky Carrier and its carrier-based aircraft will be prepared as a means of attack. Under no circumstances can we allow the New Territory spaceship to re-enter hyperspace."

"If I'm not mistaken, the New Territory spaceship wasn't designed entirely to accommodate superhumans; there are many passageways you can't access." The woman from Mars, a technical representative with extensive cybernetic enhancements, looked at the Commander of the Guard with her fluorescent blue electronic eyes. "If there are enemies on the New Territory, you can't possibly go to any possible location for an interception mission. Unless you possess technology unknown to Mars?"

The synthesized voice produces an interesting rising tone.

The Commander of the Guard remained noncommittal, uninterested in dealing with the excessive curiosity of the maintenance and damage control chiefs. This technical director from the Martian foundry had signed an agreement not to reveal the unique technologies used on the Sky Carrier, technologies from the Immortal City. Perhaps fueled by the curiosity instilled in her during her Martian bio-incubation period, this cyborg woman was never satisfied. She wanted to know not only the Sky Carrier's engine manufacturing technology, the Guard's own genetic modification technology, and the details of its powered armor, but also how the Guard Order planned to conduct this operation. In fact, she already had a hunch, stemming from some fragmented information.

The Commander of the Royal Guard would never reveal the technical details of the Pym Particles to any unauthorized foundry craftsman on Mars, as it was a bargaining chip in the political game with the Martian foundry. Even though the latter would ultimately acquire the technology, before that, the Emperor needed to use it to extract enough resources from Mars to strengthen his regime on Earth to prepare for the coming crisis and save humanity. Even if the technical director played a significant role, the Commander of the Royal Guard would not trust this fanatical, cyborg-like being, nor would he trust anyone else. The Commander of the Royal Guard trusted no one.

This substance, which can achieve a witchcraft-like phenomenon purely through technological means, is undoubtedly a technological miracle in the universe. It is a technology that is unrelated to psionic technology and transfers mass to another dimension through material means. It is also one of the underlying principles of the shield technology produced by the Immortal City and mainly used in many large war engines. Therefore, the technical details of the Pym Particle are fully protected by the Guardian Order, and even Dr. Hank Pym himself is protected, even if he is not happy about it.

"I'm setting off for Neptune. A week later, I'll be embarking on a long journey there."

A strong arm adorned with antique rings and armbands pointed towards the sky, sunlight shimmering on sweat-drenched skin, making even war-worn scars shine like medals. He then lowered the arm, accepting a plastic can from a slender, pale hand. He squeezed out a cool, creamy substance and rubbed it in his palm, forming a paste. "I don't think Neptune needs sunscreen. It's cold there, almost the coldest place in the solar system, and sunscreen offers no protection against cosmic rays." He turned, his hand, having applied the sunscreen, sliding smoothly down his graceful back. The black-haired witch, lying in the shade of the giant umbrella, wore dark sunglasses and felt the coolness on her back. Her black swimsuit straps were loose, lazily lamenting her almost useless fate on this island. "You're next, Miss Crawford. I'm glad you've adapted to the pace of life on this island, but please don't rush. This island is protected by a shield; the UV rays are regulated, so you won't be at risk of skin cancer."

"So, you have a week to spend on Earth?"

He slightly raised his chin and drank the cool tropical beverage that the white-haired witch had brought him.

The automated bartending robot did a great job; the drink suited his taste perfectly, providing enough sugar to quickly restore his energy—enough to make an average person's insulin spike. He lingered on this blissful life, not like an ascetic who killed it the moment the sweetness rose and was discovered, because he knew he had the resolve to destroy it, just as he had the resolve to embark on his destiny's journey. The divination had revealed that he would travel alone to the past to participate in a long war that would continue into the present and future; he would be alone, dealing with an eternal problem.

“Yes, seven times twenty-four hours.” He knelt, brushing the fine sand from his arms. He had everything arranged. Bayonetta and Jeanne had guessed part of the truth, but they weren't worried, having witnessed his planning abilities firsthand. He had told the witches and the Royal Guard where to find him, but this information remained a secret. Only when the time was right would the memories sealed by psychic energy be unlocked. “I suggest we have some barbecue and beer on this beach this evening. If you don't mind, we also have some jet skis for nearshore travel and shallow-water diving equipment available… I think you're used to it; they're used to not wearing clothes on this island, including bikinis.”

"Why Neptune?" Laura Crawford finally asked the question she'd been wanting to ask. On this hot South American island, she'd grown accustomed to the witches' style of dress and was now basking in the gentle sunlight like the witches who loved sunbathing, except her swimsuit had been replaced with a MicroBikini, brazenly displaying her beautiful, healthy body. "Is there some secret there? Aliens, or prehistoric human remains? That's just a joke. I can accept many possibilities now, but not to the point of believing in conspiracy theories."

"There is a star fortress built by an alien criminal organization."

"I've said it before, I'm not at the point where I believe in conspiracy theories."

"I'm stating the facts. It's an alien originating from the far side of the Large Magellanic Cloud. It wasn't born naturally but was created through genetic engineering. Its genome has some similarities to humans, and it has a similar double helix structure."

Does this mean...?

"There are no gods in this world, Miss Crawford. This situation doesn't prove anything. As long as the sample size is large enough, the final results will converge towards the center. Although life is a coincidence in this universe, it becomes a necessity when the sample size is large enough. And it's not impossible that the genome of life has a similar double helix structure to that of humans, or even the same base pairs."

Salomon, now in his human identity, smiled broadly and appeared very approachable.

Every word he spoke was utterly believable, as if his voice possessed a supernatural charm. Laura Crawford, who wasn't a biochemist and had never encountered research papers on extraterrestrial bacteria, had absolutely no knowledge to question him. She could only sip her chilled tropical fruit drink and nod with a mixture of belief and doubt, until even the cool sunscreen lotion on her skin felt hot from the sun. Only then did she realize that the witch and Salomon had already gone to the ice bucket on the other side of the beach, retrieving fruit and beer from it.

(End of this chapter)