Marvel Magic Case Files

Upon hearing the Emperor's decision, Tita was the first to step forward. The carrier battle group to which this Sky Carrier belonged included several automated missile cruisers from the Martian dockyard. These cruisers, requiring only a small crew, were primarily used to provide firepower for the Sky Carrier. After the Guardians obtained the coordinates, Tita decided to launch several Void Missiles towards them. However, the Emperor decided to send several missile cruisers to completely destroy the alien space station at the coordinates. This decision to reduce their own defensive capabilities was met with unanimous opposition from the Sisters of the Legion. Surprisingly, Tita saw no objections from the Guardians; instead, the Guardian Commander began studying the feasibility of using cruisers to destroy the alien space station.

Her expression betrayed her anxiety. No probe could penetrate the veil of mist on Neptune's ecliptic plane. They knew only that the Event Horizon, equipped with a hyperspace engine, lay beyond the mist, and that any probe approaching the Event Horizon would have to pass through the psionic mist, as if the ship possessed an extraordinary gravitational pull. Unable to observe what lay beyond the mist, Tita feared a formidable enemy beyond the firepower of a sky carrier might appear. "My lord," Tita said, "is this decision wise? We are about to enter Neptune's mist; maintaining sufficient denial firepower is crucial. I have already stated my concerns in the report."

"It's alright, Tita, my messenger has already scouted out what's behind the fog."

The Emperor pointed to the bridge porthole. Immediately afterward, a faint flash of light appeared in the dark void, like a condensation cloud left by a spacecraft burning in the atmosphere, then hurtled towards the porthole at a visible speed. Finally, a silent, white-hot explosion occurred outside the ship, and a large, golden-red bird emerged from the air above the bridge, bringing light and heat.

"Phoenix." The emperor raised his arm, offering the mythical creature a place to rest.

The Sisterhood and the Guardian Order had both seen Phoenix, but none of the others on the bridge had ever seen this mythical, beautiful creature. However, none of their reactions were as exaggerated as the Martian Technologist's—Mars professors' disciplines included biology, but Phoenix clearly wasn't a natural animal. Rather than an animal, it was more like a materialized projection from another dimension. The study of extradimensional spirits was taboo under both Mars and the Emperor; any Martian scholar researching extradimensional beings had to proceed with extreme caution to avoid crossing the red line. Even so, witnessing an extradimensional entity projected onto the material plane for the first time was a precious experience. Natural biological theories were completely unable to explain the supernatural phenomena accompanying such creatures—the Martian Technologist secretly adjusted his eyepiece, attempting to analyze the energy spectrum emanating from Phoenix.

"Tell me what lies beyond the fog. Please don't use poetry to express it; I need a detailed report."

"I understand. Now I need you to return to Earth, go to the witches, and tell them my decision." The Emperor suddenly changed his tone. "Be careful, witches have very short tempers, they'll definitely be angry because of my plans." Tita noticed that, apart from the androids and the Royal Guard, no one else reacted to the Emperor's next words. "They don't want me to abandon them, but this is too dangerous, and they still have missions to complete. I've already explained it to them, but I don't think they'll readily accept my suggestion."

The Emperor knew that the witches preferred bloody battles and the hot baths that washed away the stench of blood afterward to maintaining the safety of the Earth. He entrusted some of the duties of Kamar-Taj to the witches, but those duties paled in comparison to the trials he was about to undertake. In response, Tita heard several melodious cries, followed by the disappearance of the golden-red phoenix amidst a dazzling burst of fire.

"What did it say, my lord?"

Dita looked up and saw that the Royal Guard members, like herself, were eager for an answer. Clearly, all of the Emperor's decisions had exceeded the most basic security protocols. The Royal Guard could not tolerate the Emperor being without their protection while on Earth (the Sisters were unaware of the existence of the Kamar-Taj dungeon), and Dita could not tolerate the Emperor sending away such vital firepower as battlecruisers to attack an alien space station that might exist at some coordinate.

She didn't think the space station warranted the Emperor's attention; he could have easily devised an attack plan after this mission was over—a sudden thought struck her: what was the Emperor so eager to do? This idea, once it took hold, took deep root in her mind, and Tita felt she needed to have a private talk with Constantine. She saw Diana standing behind the Emperor, head bowed, silent. Perhaps this respected first homunculus, the one fully responsible for the Emperor's daily life, knew something. If the Emperor had any secrets, perhaps only Constantine and Diana would know.

"The Lewis and Clark ships haven't reached Neptune's orbit yet. Phoenix has entered the psionic fog and has been tracking them." The Emperor directed the holographic projection of the Event Horizon ship onto the screen. "We are getting closer, and soon we will see the ship that is conducting hyperspace travel."

"This result is consistent with the psychic divination," Constantine said, pointing to Master Wang. "Master Wang's Lewis and Clark spaceship is trapped."

Once on the bridge, Master Wang tried every means to slack off. During the long discussion, he either dozed off or spaced out, until the commander of the Imperial Guards mentioned him. Only then did he stand up unsteadily and reluctantly. His former colleague had become his superior, and he felt somewhat awkward no matter what.

"The reality membrane near that psionic mist is extremely thin; it's a wound torn in the material world by the Event Horizon's hyperspace engine," Master Wang lazily stated, explaining the answer the other already knew. Neither the telescopes in Earth orbit nor the probes launched by the Punishment could accurately measure the extent of that psionic mist, because it was a wound in the reality plane, lacking physical quantities like width and length. Now that the Emperor had arrived on the Punishment, his duties could naturally be transferred, after all, his colleague's abilities far surpassed his own. "It's not surprising that the Lewis and Clark encountered something like this. No one knows how the physical laws of the non-material realm will change. Perhaps the Lewis and Clark will have to travel another solar system's distance, or perhaps they'll arrive at Neptune in the next second."

"Only by reaching the psychic fog can the Lewis and Clark escape that unreal sea. This is a trap, a trap set for me. The beings behind the veil know that only in this way can they get me to investigate the Event Horizon. If we abandon this decision, news of the Lewis and Clark's disappearance will soon spread across Earth, and more people will learn about this classified project. This is exactly what the beings behind the veil want; they've put me in a trolley problem." The Emperor looked at the sorcerer, his earnest gaze making the latter extremely embarrassed. "Sorcerer Hamil, your father has divined many times, and he believes this is a test from another dimension after the death of the Sorcerer Supreme. I hope that after I lead the commando team and the Royal Guard aboard the Event Horizon, you can maintain contact with Kamar-Taj, at least let Kamar-Taj know that I am alright. Constantine, order all the Royal Guard on this ship to prepare; I need all the Royal Guard to board the Event Horizon with me. Tita…"

The sorority's chief commander kept her head down, unwilling to look at the emperor.

"This is a trial for me, but I don't know how long it will last, so I must arrange the next mission. I order you to lead the Retribution carrier and other battlecruisers to attack the alien space station in the Kuiper Belt immediately after delivering us to the Event Horizon. This mission must be completed before Ragnarok, only then can we consolidate our forces in time to deal with Thanos' invasion."

Dita closed her eyes in anguish, as if she had once again missed the chance to walk on the same battlefield as the Emperor.

"I understand," she asked. "Then how can I know if you've completed your mission on the Event Horizon? Our individual communicators don't have enough power for me to meet you in time."

"The king will know," the emperor said. "I will tell him when I have completed the trial."

------

Captain Miller entered the bridge with a worried expression, as did Lieutenant Smith, the pilot, who was also frowning. He took over Lieutenant Smith's watch for the next eight hours. Since the entire crew decided to plunge into the fog, they had been traveling through this unseen fog for several standard days—according to previous calculations, they should have already reached the location of the Event Horizon. However, they were still sailing without hitting anything or being pulled down by Neptune's gravity, which meant they had not yet reached their destination. To deal with any unforeseen circumstances, Captain Miller had to ask Lieutenant Smith to teach the simplest piloting techniques to every crew member except the engine room crew, and to implement a shift system and rationing to ensure the ship could react in an emergency.

"Is there trouble?" Dr. Will, in the passenger seat, looked up.

"The atomic clock is malfunctioning," Captain Miller sighed. The long journey was wearing down everyone's patience; this kind of voyage with no destination in sight could drive anyone to a mental breakdown. Captain Miller also had to ensure that every crew member on board received the most basic food under rations, because NASA had added small amounts of sedatives to the food to stabilize their nerves; without these medications, the crew would find it difficult to calm down and think clearly. "The problem started two hours ago, or rather, probably two hours ago," Captain Miller shrugged. Time was arguably the least important issue at the moment. "We can't determine the time now. I've sent Lieutenant Cooper (the search and rescue officer) and Dr. Peters to check the computers; they both believe it's a problem with the atomic clock."

"Tell me about it." Dr. Will put away his book, looking very interested.

"The atomic clock is behaving very erratically. Sometimes it shows we've traveled back a few days, sometimes a hundred years. But most of the time, it thinks our time has stopped." Captain Miller sighed again, thinking he might need additional psychiatric medication or psychological treatment. "Dr. Peters believes that if we can't penetrate this fog, then the atomic clock problem is completely irrelevant. Besides that, there's the engine room problem. We've already shut down the engines; the remaining fuel must last us until we return to Earth. There are many other issues, which you might not be interested in knowing."

"I can go take a look. You know, I'm probably the only person on this ship who understands the mechanical structure of atomic clocks."

NASA's selection criteria for astronauts are relatively lenient; they don't require astronauts to be pilots by training. They only need to undergo relevant training. Otherwise, Dr. Peters and Dr. Weill wouldn't have been on this ship. Of course, this also puts more pressure on Captain Miller, since short-term training makes it difficult for someone to develop the so-called "astronaut mindset," often resulting in comical situations where behaviors accustomed to gravity become awkward in zero gravity.

"If you still have the energy after your shift," Captain Miller said, "we can't leave the ship unmanned."

"Of course," Dr. Will nodded. "I'm utterly bored looking at this same scenery every day. Go ahead and ask; I know you still have questions, after all, Lieutenant Smith's shift isn't over yet."

"Can you explain what's going on with us?" Captain Miller asked, pointing to the silvery-white mist outside the window.

"I can't do it." Dr. Will put away the data panel. Captain Miller glanced at it and saw it was a photo of Dr. Will and a woman. "We should have reached Neptune's orbit. But the fact that we didn't collide with Neptune's atmosphere only means we haven't reached our destination yet. The universe is very mysterious. There are phenomena in this world that we humans cannot explain for the time being. Dr. Wendy Lawson once showed me many technologies that are beyond human common sense. If it weren't for that...accident that killed her, perhaps humanity's technology would already be capable of colonizing other planets."

"You always mention Dr. Lawson, but I've almost never heard that name before."

"Dr. Lawson didn't teach at any school, nor did she publish any papers. She served S.H.I.E.L.D., and only scholars in the relevant fields knew her name." Dr. Will hesitated for a moment. "It would be foolish to hide information at this moment, but I can only offer my speculation, because other publicly available information is not necessarily accurate. No one knows why Dr. Lawson served S.H.I.E.L.D. But it is believed that Dr. Wendy Lawson may have had contact with some extraterrestrial civilization, otherwise it would be completely inexplicable how she could have created that engine that exceeds the limits of current applied physics—in fact, it took us more than a decade to figure out how to power that hyperspace engine, and Dr. Lawson's achievements in Project Pegasus were not limited to this—however, after Dr. Lawson's death, many research projects came to a standstill. Fortunately, S.H.I.E.L.D. is relatively independent, otherwise Congress would have cut off all research funding."

The plan to repair the atomic clock was extremely slow. Dr. Will spent six shifts inspecting the atomic clock in the time-frequency cabinet, a device that resembled a large freezer with complex wiring and equipment, using the oscillation frequency of atoms to determine time. For Dr. Will, inspecting and repairing this equipment provided him with rare moments of leisure on the spaceship. He had plenty of questions to fill his mind, pushing aside his longing for his deceased wife. Whenever he pondered these questions, he always felt a little more relaxed.

He closed his laptop, stroking his unkempt beard. Because of Captain Miller's concerns about the circulating water resources, they had to cut back on unnecessary waste, including shaving. Just then, Dr. Peters walked over, having finished his work. "I've thoroughly checked the equipment that can be repaired here, but I haven't found anything wrong. If we want to conduct a more thorough inspection, we'll have to disassemble the core equipment and adjust the internal components. I suspect the problem might be with the magnetic shielding layer outside the nuclear reactor or microwave cavity. Who knows if our external environment allows many undetected particles to penetrate the shielding layer?"

"Captain Miller sent me to inform you," Dr. Peters automatically filtered out the long string of technical terms. "He wants to hold another meeting to discuss our next steps. He thinks we should put some of our men into hibernation."

"Isn't his anxiety a bit too much?"

"He shouldn't be anxious," Dr. Peters sighed. "The psychiatric medication I prescribed is completely ineffective. And you, have you been taking your medication as prescribed?"

"I'm in good shape."

"If you could find a mirror, you'd see this is a lie," Dr. Peters said, waving her data board with annoyance. She was to report at the meeting on the crew's nutritional intake, physical condition, and other physical attributes—data that would be used to determine whether Captain Miller's decisions were correct. "Hurry up, and while you're at it, tell Miller your good news. Anxiety might just send him straight to hibernation."