SOS Signal

Another world, afternoon, a forest clearing in an unnamed forest.

Lin Xue and I, both starving, waited for Pandora-zero to return from hunting.

After a brief, miserable howl, Pandora-zero emerged from the dense woods nearby in her combat gear, dragging a beast that looked like a wild boar but had curved horns. It seemed that, having learned her lesson from watching our previous rations escape, the little one had finally stopped wasting time with food and chosen a swift, decisive solution.

As food, a wild boar was clearly far more suitable than a dragon. At least we would not be faced with a gigantic mountain of meat and have no idea where to start. Besides, whether our fragile teeth could win a close-quarters battle against dragon meat that blades and bullets could not pierce was still unknown. Not to mention that by the time we roasted a dragon weighing dozens of tons, we would probably have starved to death already... Fine, I admitted it. That was just a little self-consolation for missing out on dragon meat...

When Pandora-zero set the unnamed beast, which was even larger than she was, in front of us, Lin Xue suddenly said, "By the way, Chen Jun, do you know how to barbecue?"

"...No. How about you?"

"I'm really good at making Kang Shi Fu..."

"Pandora." I turned to the little loli, who was staring hungrily at the unnamed beast.

With two clicks, Pandora-zero silently produced two black cannon barrels two meters long.

Were you planning to barbecue in the woods using the same method you used on the dragon? Were you sure food carbonized beyond recognition would not kill your big brother?

Next, the three of us stared blankly at our prospective rations.

"Brother." Pandora-zero tugged at my sleeve. "I'm so hungry..."

To hell with it. It was just barbecue, wasn't it?! I refused to believe that a dignified Shilin Emperor could be defeated by a dead pig!

"Pandora, help me cut this thing up." Rolling up my sleeves, I said, "Leave the barbecue to me!"

The facts proved that being a Shilin Emperor had absolutely no necessary connection to being good at barbecue.

"Chen Jun, can this stuff really be eaten?" Staring at the artistic roast meat before us—half raw and half charred black as coal—Lin Xue voiced grave doubts.

Without saying a word, Pandora-zero picked up a piece of meat and took a huge bite.

"It can be eaten," Pandora-zero said in a somewhat surprised tone. "Consuming a small amount will not cause fatal harm."

Sob... I had been looked down on. In a very subtle way, I had been looked down on...

Although the quality of the grilled meat was truly appalling, we could only force ourselves to eat it to avoid starving to death. In this damned place, apart from animals of all kinds—whether magical beasts or ordinary beasts, we had no idea—there were only tall trees with names we did not know. If we did not intend to eat this bizarre barbecue, then all we had left were leaves.

After an intense battle between mind and body, we finally finished that hellish meal.

"I'm never eating barbecue again..." Lin Xue, who had barely managed to eat half her fill before she could not swallow another bite, fell back onto the ground and let out a long breath.

Actually, I felt the same way...

"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I really wouldn't have believed that such a cute little girl could be such a terrifying warrior..." Seeing Pandora-zero obediently let me wipe the grease from her face, Lin Xue could not help but sigh. "Pandora-zero—is that her real name?"

"Yeah." I nodded. "What does that name make you think of?"

"...That myth. Pandora opened the box and released all kinds of calamities into the human world, while only hope was left behind and never released—could Pandora really be connected to that myth?"

"Do you want to know Pandora's true identity?" I looked quietly into Lin Xue's eyes. By now, Lin Xue already knew quite a few things. Letting her know a little more would not make much difference, and it would save her from being confused and imagining things—of course, I would not tell her every secret all at once.

Lin Xue was clearly very interested in the question too, and hurriedly asked, "You can really tell me?"

"If you can keep it secret."

"I can keep secrets!" Lin Xue declared loudly, then added as if afraid I would not believe her, "I'm a senior member of the Esper Team. You can rest assured about my ability to keep secrets! If that's not enough, I can swear an oath..."

"No need to swear," I said with a wave of my hand. "I'm just afraid you won't be able to accept it—Pandora is an Empire General!"

"An Empire General?" Lin Xue was dumbfounded. "A little girl? Uh... she really can't be described as a little girl, and you did say something about 'For the Empire' before... Honestly, Chen Jun, your explanation has made me even more confused. What exactly is this Empire you mentioned? I'm guessing it isn't an empire in this world, right? No country in the modern human world possesses warriors like Pandora..."

"What if I told you it was an extraterrestrial empire? Would you believe me?"

Lin Xue stared into my eyes, saw that I was not lying, and finally shrugged. "All right, I believe you... I thought the existence of Espers was already science-fiction enough, but now even aliens have appeared—and aliens who look exactly like humans, at that... Wait, Chen Jun. You said Pandora is an alien general. Then what's your identity?"

I rose to my feet and faced the setting sun. With a solemn expression, I slowly said, "Actually, I am the Head of State of an Ancient Empire..."

"Pfft—" Lin Xue clearly did not believe me. "Saying Pandora is an alien general is already bizarre enough, and now you're claiming to be the Head of State of an empire. Before trying to recruit you and Pandora into the organization, I thoroughly investigated both of you. Aside from Pandora, who appeared out of nowhere and whose past we couldn't uncover, I know your background inside and out..."

"Contact signal received." Pandora-zero suddenly interrupted Lin Xue.

I asked in surprise, "A contact signal?"

Pandora-zero's eyes had turned ice-blue. As she concentrated on analyzing a signal from who knew where, she replied, "A communication from Sikaro... The missing expedition team has been found. They were trapped by the Defense System in the ruins. After the Null Beacon activated, the Defense System was damaged, allowing them to escape. They are currently at the Esper Team's base with Sikaro."

...Well, the expedition team had returned safely, while we had been unlucky enough to get thrown into another world.

Just as I was lamenting this, Pandora-zero spoke again. "Contact signal received."

"Another contact signal?"

Pandora-zero nodded. "From CCTV-2... It may be accidental noise mixed into the signal fluctuations from communicating with Sikaro."

The little loli had picked up the wrong channel...

As Lin Xue and I broke out in cold sweat, Pandora-zero spoke again. "Contact signal received."

Why were the signals coming one after another? Had Pandora turned into a signal relay station?

"Confirmed as an SOS Signal." Pandora-zero suddenly said something entirely unexpected.

"Analyzing source... Coordinates determined... Analyzing identity of those requesting aid... Shilin combat squad, designation unknown. Clearance classification... Class B battlefield emergency. Assistance recommended."

"You're saying the ones requesting help are a Shilin combat squad?!" I said in shock.

Pandora-zero nodded quietly, then asked, "Proceed to provide assistance?"

"Wait!" I said. "Are you sure it's an Empire Army force? Didn't you say the only awakened Shilin Mother Planet was the one under my control? I don't remember ever dispatching troops anywhere."

Pandora answered, "The other party's identity as Empire Army has been confirmed, but we currently cannot determine which legion they belong to. We cannot rule out the existence of a Shilin Mother Planet that awakened before ours, but for unknown reasons, we are unable to obtain more information from them."

Lin Xue had already been baffled by our conversation. Her gaze darted back and forth between us before she asked, "What are you two even talking about? Alien code?"

"Pandora just received an SOS Signal from the Empire Army, but they aren't my troops. I'm trying to decide whether to go or not."

Lin Xue's eyes widened. "...Chen Jun, when you said you were the Head of State earlier, you weren't joking?"

"When have I ever lied?"

"When you first introduced Pandora to me!"

...I was instantly struck back.

I couldn't be bothered wasting any more time with Lin Xue, so I turned to Pandora, who had been quietly waiting for orders beside us. "Pandora, if a conflict breaks out with them, can you get us out safely?"

"If all restrictions are lifted, I can rapidly deploy Pandora Military Fortress and contend against a medium-sized Shilin Legion—but Brother, I do not believe there is any possibility of them attacking us. Under any circumstances, a Shilin Apostle cannot launch an attack on the Shilin Emperor. That is a grave crime."

Maybe you were right, but I was only a half-baked Shilin Emperor. What if they didn't recognize me as the "highest authority" when the time came?

After weighing it over and over, I still decided to go take a look.

Their origins were unknown, and I couldn't guarantee whether my "Emperor" authority would work, but leaving them alone just wasn't my style. No matter what, they were Pandora's kin.

"Proceed to provide support," I said.

Pandora nodded, then, as if well practiced, slung Lin Xue and me over her shoulders, one on each side. Since the little girl wasn't tall enough, both Lin Xue's and my feet dragged along the ground. But that was fine—once she picked up speed, our bodies would naturally straighten out...

Wait, wasn't that missing the point? Why did Pandora have to transport me like this every single time?! Couldn't I make an entrance in a cooler way?

Unfortunately, Pandora didn't seem inclined to give me time to object.

And so, amid Lin Xue's screams, the Pandora-brand loli chariot sped off in a cloud of dust...