A day later.
A vast crimson mist stretched out, through which the Aska cut its path.
In the distance, the broken world was like a shattered pearl, glittering amidst the gloomy expanse.
Because they were about to enter the broken world, Yu Xian made a point of calling everyone to the bridge. Gathered together, they circled the holographic projection in the center of the table. Little Nora reached out and gave the projection a nudge, causing the broken world within the hologram to spin.
"Big Brother, look, doesn't this planet look like Earth?" Little Nora pointed at a planet inside the broken world and asked Yu Xian.
Yu Xian immediately enlarged the holographic projection. Pincer-gripping the planet Little Nora had indicated, he inspected it carefully before nodding. "It really does seem to be Earth. Look at this earthworm shape—that must be the Island Nation."
On Earth, if national borders weren't drawn, most people would have a hard time discerning which region belonged to which country. But the Island Nation was easy to recognize, looking like a broken, segmented earthworm.
"Is this a parallel world?" Nora asked.
Niman nodded. "It could be considered a parallel world to yours. Still, there is one odd thing: the two worlds are located far too close to each other."
"Too close? What do you mean by that?" Yu Xian looked at Niman, puzzled.
Looking at Earth on the projection, Niman explained, "Although they are called 'parallel worlds,' most are merely worlds that happen to resemble one another. In reality, they share no inherent connection. If you had to describe it, it's like two complete strangers who aren't related by blood yet look identical.
"Doesn't your world have the infinite monkey theorem?
"Given infinite time and a monkey striking keys entirely at random, it will eventually type out a complete book—whatever it was called.
"Most parallel worlds are just like that. The Tree Universe holds an infinite, uncountable number of worlds. When the sample size becomes large enough, there are bound to be some worlds that, like two identical leaves, end up completely the same."
"So a so-called parallel world is really just a product of infinite time and infinite possibilities. Normally, they couldn't possibly be so close. We've only traveled four or five light-years from Crescent Bay, and this world is... far too close to ours," Yu Xian said thoughtfully, catching her drift.
It was like Shakespeare finishing a book, only for a monkey next door, banging on keys at random, to type out the exact same book in full the very moment Shakespeare finished his.
It was far too coincidental.
Nora frowned. "Since there's something strange about it, are we going or not?"
"Of course we're going. What's there to fear about Earth? Wouldn't an unfamiliar world be far scarier?" Yu Xian replied with a smile.
While it felt a bit strange for two similar worlds to be located so close together, Earth was Earth. At least they knew what to expect, so there was little to fear.
An unfamiliar world demanded far greater vigilance; after all, no one could tell what bizarre horrors might lurk inside an entirely foreign world.
"Captain and distinguished passengers, we are about to enter an unknown broken world. Please prepare yourselves," Muse announced.
In the next moment, the warship trembled slightly. Even with the Aska's formidable internal shock-absorption system, a faint tremor could still be felt as they breached the world.
Yu Xian watched ripples form across the juice in his cup, immediately turning his gaze to the projection.
On the display, the Aska pierced the spatial barrier, ramming a passage straight through it as it slowly slid into the world's interior.
According to common knowledge on Crescent Bay's network, the higher a world's rank, the thicker its spatial barrier.
For instance, the world where the Ancient Cosmos Dragon resided wasn't particularly high-ranked, allowing spaceships to depart with ease, and Crescent Bay was simpler still.
"It seems this world is fairly high-ranked," Niman also judged from the tremors.
A higher rank meant more unforeseen variables, and even an otherwise identical Earth could present stark differences.
For example, Zhenwo Wuchang was also from Earth, yet clearly represented an entirely different version compared to Yu Xian's people.
Ten minutes later, the tremors subsided. This signaled that the Aska had officially breached this world and could now prepare for the spatial jump.
"Muse, how long until the spatial jump is ready?" Yu Xian asked.
As was widely known, the thicker the world barrier and the farther the destination coordinates, the longer the jump required to charge.
The ship Yu Xian had previously piloted from the Haolidu Company was capable only of short-distance spatial jumps. Had that ship entered this world to perform a jump directly to the next region of space, charging alone would likely have taken years.
Then again...
In truth, Haolidu's ship wouldn't have been able to leave at all once it entered.
Within its maximum jump range, there wasn't a single viable arrival point.
"Captain, the Aska requires three days to complete preparations for the spatial jump," Muse answered after calculating.
Yu Xian let out an audible sigh of relief. Fortunately, it was only three days, not three months or three years. The Aska was truly worthy of being a Star-rank warship; every aspect of its performance far surpassed the cheap vessels leased by Haolidu.
"Then let's just stay put in this world for three days," Niman said with a gentle smile, patting the baby's back.
Although they were curious about what this parallel Earth was like, neither Yu Xian nor Little Nora and the others wanted to invite unnecessary complications. Three days would pass in the blink of an eye, and remaining aboard the warship was by far the safest choice.
"Since everything is settled, I'll head back to my room first," Niman said with a smile, rising with the infant in her arms.
Little Nora's eyes lit up as a thought suddenly occurred to it. "Sister Niman, the baby doesn't have a name yet! How about letting me name her?"
With that, it hopped down from the chair and scurried after Niman.
Yu Xian then turned to Nora. Their eyes met, and sharing an unspoken understanding, both smiled, ready to find a private room for some intimacy and romantic time together.
Yet in the very next instant, Little Nora blocked their line of sight.
It had actually doubled back from Niman's side. Looking up at Yu Xian, it pleaded, "Big Brother, put in a word with Sister Niman and let me name the baby, pretty please?"
"..."
Yu Xian and Nora fell silent. This glittering little third wheel was blindingly bright.
Having already reached the automatic doors to leave, Niman noticed the scene and couldn't help smiling.
It was quite amusing. At the same time, she felt a twinge of sympathy for Yu Xian and Nora. With Little Nora around, the two truly were like parents with a child—if they wanted a romantic world for two, they would have to pit their wits against Little Nora first.
While Yu Xian and Nora were wrestling with their predicament, on the Earth of this world, Yu Tian hid deep in a rugged mountain range, draining the blood of a mountain goat.
A year ago, when aberrant worms invaded the school, he had saved many students. But after discovering that Lano had actually brought silverware to the school, he realized the Blood Clan had tracked him down.
Without hesitation, he killed Lano, seized the silverware from her hands, and fought his way out of the school, fleeing into the desolate wilds where he had lived like a savage ever since, drinking raw blood to survive.
The vile Blood Clan had allied with the authorities to issue a wanted notice for him. Countless bounty hunters across the nation had their eyes on his head. It had been a long time since he last entered a city, and he didn't even know that his best friend, Zhang Jiao, had joined the government and become a soaring star.
"Just you wait, all of you! Sooner or later, I'll have my revenge!"
Yu Tian tossed aside the shriveled goat carcass. Looking toward the distant lights, he masked his face with a black cloth and vanished into the vast night. He had to delve deeper into the wilderness if he hoped to evade the combined manhunt of the Blood Clan and the authorities.
Chapter 271