Magallan's Dream

"It's just a bit of a contrast. Dr. Mizuki always gives people a very reliable, gentle, and kind feeling, but now... he seems really handsome."

Whisperain is introverted. Since Mizuki and she are both Aegir and from similar branches, at least when Mizuki was still a person, Xuyu prefers to spend time with Mizuki. Mizuki gives her a sense of security.

"Thank you for the compliment. Xiao Le said that always wearing the same outfit gives people a stereotype, so it's good to change things up occasionally. And who is this?"

Mizuki looked at Dorothy. Of course, he already knew Dorothy's identity and background when she came to Kal'tsit Rhodes Island. Dorothy, since the two had never actually met before, it would be better to ask politely.

"Dorothy Frank, Head of the Rhine Lab Originium Arts Applications Division. Just call me Dorothy. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Mizuki. Director Muelsyse has told me a bit about you."

Dorothy had a good impression of Mizuki, at least that's how it seemed; her golden eyes shone with an enigmatic light, making the woman before her unfathomable.

Kind, gentle, and even saintly—this is perhaps too idealistic and humanitarian for a scientist. This is the most direct assessment of Dorothy by Muelsyse and Saria. She even buys full insurance and extra subsidies for volunteers who are desperate to conduct experiments, and always ensures their personal safety. In Columbia and even throughout the scientific community of Terra, she can be considered a moral exemplar.

"Then I can only hope that my image in Miu Miu's description is as positive as possible. I don't think she said anything bad about me?"

"At least most of them are pretty positive, like being an excellent cook, having strong survival skills, and being very popular with women. Seeing them today, it's definitely true. The two of them standing together really look like siblings."

Compared to Skadi and Mizuki, it's actually Whisperain and Mizuki who look more like siblings together. The shy, introverted, and somewhat socially awkward Whisperain and the sunny and enthusiastic Mizuki are both Aegir, and both are jellyfish, so it seems like they can be paired up in any way.

Mizuki felt that Miss Dorothy's ability to fill in the blanks was comparable to that of the Doctor. He himself had never thought about this kind of thing before, but after Dorothy mentioned it, he felt that it was indeed somewhat similar, because the Doctor had said before that he and Whisperain were both a type of jellyfish, so it was normal for them to have similarities.

"You can't let Skadi hear you say that, she'll get jealous."

With a jealous woman at home, Mizuki couldn't do anything about it. He didn't even dare to call Lemuen" sister" in front of Skadi. If Skadi just stared at him with resentful eyes, that would be one thing, but if she released Ishar-mla, that would be a real problem. Ishar-mla's only thought was to obtain genetic factors from him to promote the development of the Brood Seaborn.

"It seems Dr. Mizuki has her own little troubles too."

Whisperain simply maintained her smile. Although she and Mizuki had only met less than five times, it didn't stop them from finding each other pleasing to the eye. Mizuki, on the other hand, thought of the girls at home, her smile carrying a hint of helplessness, but mostly an undisguised happiness.

"It's a bit noisy and chaotic, but not boring. This is what life should be like. I really enjoy my daily life right now, and I hope you two can also enjoy your time on Rhodes Island."

Mizuki waved the documents in her hand. "Then I'll go report to the Doctor first."

"Miss Dorothy and I are heading to the greenhouse. The recent heavy rains have spurred the growth of many new plant varieties, and Rhodes Island hopes to use this to uncover the secrets of rainwater."

The rain can give birth to life and suppress Originium. It is enough to shake the already precarious balance of Terra. Rhodes Island is not the only one doing this. All the countries of Terra, including Columbia, want to find out the secrets hidden in it.

"In that case, you need to be careful. The fruits of those plants that can bear fruit are edible, but the roots and stems are poisonous. Plants that cannot bear fruit can generally be used as medicine to treat colds or relieve mental fatigue, and can also be used as sedatives."

Whisperain and Dorothy were a little confused by Mizuki's words. They already knew that the blue fruits were edible, but to know about their poisonous and even medicinal uses made it seem as if Mizuki had grown them herself.

"I'll be going now. I hope I'll have the chance to treat you to a meal next time."

With a wave of her hand, Mizuki continued walking towards the Doctor's office, while Whisperain and Dorothy, still puzzled, headed towards Rhodes Island's greenhouse garden.

Upon entering the Doctor's room, as expected, the Doctor was lounging on the sofa, slacking off and snacking, while Amash sat at her desk, reviewing various documents.

"Doctor, Rhodes Island pays you your salary, after all. Is it really okay to slack off like this?"

"What's wrong with that? Rhodes Island isn't supporting me anymore, so why would you stop supporting me? Why bother working hard when someone's taking care of me? Forget it!"

Of all the people Mizuki knew, only Miss Doctor could talk about slacking off so confidently. But she wasn't wrong. Even if the Doctor did nothing, Mizuki couldn't let her go hungry; he still had to take good care of her.

"Thank you for your hard work. This is today's list. I've looked through most of it; there's nothing particularly important."

After placing her things on the table, Mizuki still felt a little uncomfortable looking at Amash, who looked exactly like Kal'tsit.

"OK."

"Also, don't spoil the Doctor too much. She does nothing all day but eat and will gain weight eventually. Make her exercise sometime."

"Let's get this straight first. You're the one on Rhodes Island who spoils her the most." Amash took the documents. "And think about what she would be like if she were to participate in sports."

Mizuki glanced at the Doctor without saying a word. The latter immediately wiped the potato chips from the corner of her mouth and sat down on the sofa. The ripples in her chest from that small action seemed enough to crush the potato chips into crumbs.

From this perspective, it seems that Miss Doctor is indeed Tai He for exercise. Mizuki has seen what she looks like when she moves, and sometimes he can't help but want to ask Friston if humans from the Old Civilization are all a bit special, otherwise why do others store energy more evenly from their food, while only the Doctor's is so... unbalanced.

"Alright, let's change the subject. Do you remember Dorothy Frank?"

Amash is, after all, part of Kal'tsit, and has traveled through many worlds as Mr. K's anchor point. Given Dorothy's position, they should have had some interaction.

"Head of the Originium Arts Applications Division at Rhine Lab?"

"Yes, I came to Rhodes Island with Kal'tsit. We met on the way here, and I felt something was off, but I can't quite put my finger on it."

Mizuki sensed something was wrong, so there was probably a real problem. Amash typed on the keyboard for a while and brought up the file that Dorothy had submitted to Rhodes Island.

"This world is quite different from mine, so I'm not sure how much of the information in my memory is still useful. Dorothy Frank caused quite a stir in my timeline. The special entity she researched called 'Transmitter' can help people connect neural thought and consciousness, which mostly involves the Consciousness Dimension."

Mizuki was very clear about the Consciousness Dimension. The Sea of Life was an independent dimension within the Consciousness Dimension. The entire Consciousness Dimension was like a vast ocean, while the Sea of Life was like a continent on this ocean. There might be other scattered islands and landmasses, but no one dared to miscalculate their distances and locations.

When this topic came up, Mizuki nodded and decided to go back and search through the memories of the Sea of Life to see if he could find any corresponding traces. He was certain that every Mizuki who sacrificed himself had done his best to fight back, and before turning himself into nourishment for the Sea of Life, he must have thought of countless ways to salvage the situation.

Of course, they all failed, but they must have gained experience from their failures, even if it was just to help them avoid the wrong path.

I'll write you a detailed report on this later.

"You still remember everything?"

"I remember, after Kal'tsit took the initiative to intervene in the incident caused by Rhine Lab, the head of Kristen Labs, so I also remember that part of the memory."

"Then I'll leave it to you. Leave the rest to me. Go check on Amiya's situation. I woke Theresa up once before, but Theresa inside Amiya isn't complete. Check her over."

Upon hearing that it concerned Amiya, Amash said nothing more, patted Mizuki on the shoulder, and left.

After she left, the Doctor put on her slippers and sat back in her office chair, crossing her legs and resting her chin on her hand while leaning against the desk.

"Was it necessary to send her away? I don't think you treat her like an outsider."

"It wasn't intentional. Amiya really needs someone to check on her. Kal'tsit said she's not feeling well, so I'll go if necessary."

Mizuki didn't really have that intention. Amash was indeed one of her own, and if there was anything she couldn't tell her, Mizuki couldn't tell anyone else either. She just didn't think it was a good thing for Amash to know about this.

The Doctor wouldn't object to Mizuki's actions; she knew what Mizuki wanted to ask.

"Kal'tsit has already tried, but failed to connect. Although it hasn't reached its limit in terms of the consciousness it can contain, it has already rejected Kal'tsit's existence. Or rather... it wasn't originally designed for the Terra. Perhaps it developed a certain level of intelligence because it contained many fragments of consciousness, and it might even be a bit fickle."

"I didn't tell you to put it on Kal'tsit's head, and how did you know... wait a minute!?"

Mizuki instantly bristled, while the Doctor chuckled foolishly and reached out to tap the Black Crown that had suddenly appeared on her head.

"Because I wore it on my head." The crown made a crisp sound, as if in response to the Doctor. "You know what, this thing actually looks quite nice as a head ornament."

"This is not something you can just use as a decoration!? Take it off right now!"

The Doctor nearly scared Mizuki to death. She could even sense Mizuki's tension and worry, but not fear... That's right, in her original design, Seaborn wouldn't have such emotions, and Mizuki, who evolved from Seaborn, naturally wouldn't either.

But this didn't diminish his concern for the Doctor in the slightest. The crown on the Doctor's head was one he had taken from Mr. K's head. Mizuki himself wasn't sure if the crown had been contaminated by the Warp, so he had it sealed with several layers of protection. And the Doctor just used it like that???

"Don't be so nervous, there's nothing wrong. I've checked, this thing is like it's been reset to factory settings. All the original consciousness is gone, it's just a little bit intelligent now, I'm serious... Oh, don't cry!"

Seeing tears welling up in Mizuki's eyes, the Doctor quickly got up from her chair to wipe them away. If Mizuki were to cry, he would cry himself into a pool of water, since he was truly made of water.

"I'm really fine. You can check if you don't believe me."

Doctor felt a little uneasy, knowing that her actions were risky, but it turned out that she had indeed made the right gamble. The existence of "the Continuance of Civilization," codenamed DWDB-221E, was originally a remnant of the Old Civilization. Therefore, it should have a corresponding reaction to the people of the Old Civilization.

Just like now, the Doctor is holding Mizuki, drawing his thoughts closer to hers, thus opening a door for her to seek sharing and mutual understanding.

Chapter 253 Magellan's Dream

"Wow, this is Foam Fruit. Although I've seen the same cultivated variety in Columbia, the one grown in Sami is definitely different from the one in Columbia."

Looking at the fruit in her hand, which felt as light as a ping-pong ball, Muelsyse opened her mouth and took a bite Muelsyse. The texture was like biting into cream, but sweeter and less cloying.

"One of the main trade items between Sami and Columbia is pharmaceutical raw materials, but I've heard that once companies there are able to artificially manufacture pharmaceutical ingredients or grow raw materials in other locations, they kick their former trading partners to the curb."

Typhon couldn't help but complain, and Muelsyse, who was from Columbia, couldn't help but nod in agreement. This was indeed something that Columbia would do. Once a partner was no longer of use, they would simply kick them aside or even bite them back. This was even the case with business partnerships within Columbia.

"But I didn't expect that even though the planting environment was restored to be exactly the same, there were still so many differences, and the effect was much worse."

Because Rhine Lab had also done similar restoration of planting environments and related cultivation, and it was Muelsyse, as the director of the Ecology Department, who was personally in charge, she was well aware of this, and that was also the idea she had this time.

"Of course." Typhon seemed somewhat smug, but then suppressed that smugness, closed his eyes devoutly, and uttered a phrase in Sami, "For everything is given by the Sami."

Sami, this land located in the north of Terra, is indeed full of all sorts of incredible things, or rather, the land itself is the greatest mystery. Muelsyse originally only came to find his people, but he never expected to encounter so many interesting things. All of this together could fill a ghost story novel.

"I see, it's because Sami himself has something special about him."

Muelsyse finished the Foam Fruit in a few bites, then curiously looked around the forest. Magellan walked behind the group, feeling a little depressed.

This was Sami's first time in Simone. He was accompanied by Typhon, whom Simone had introduced him to, and Muelsyse, who was also there to conduct research. It should have been a happy occasion to have friends and to do research, but Magellan still felt very uncomfortable. He felt like something was missing, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"What's wrong, Mai-Mai?"

"It's nothing, I just... suddenly feel like I've lost something, but I can't remember what it is. It's so strange."

Magellan glanced at her suitcase. She had already checked her luggage once during the rest period, and several times before, and nothing was missing.

Or perhaps what's missing isn't luggage, but something else entirely?

"Should we go back and look for it?"

"Forget it, I still feel like I can't find it. Miu Miu, how far is your destination?"

"It's not far, it's probably somewhere... anyway, it's still a bit far. The people I'm looking for live quite far from the city."

Muelsyse cleverly evaded the topic, and Magellan didn't think much of it. She just felt like she had been walking for a long time, and the forest seemed to have no end. She continued walking with Muelsyse and the others, carrying the things.

As Magellan walked, her anxiety deepened. She couldn't pinpoint what was wrong, but her pace quickened, as if the shadows of the jungle were chasing her from behind, as if the entire forest was about to devour her.

But how could that be? Sami is loving; He will guide the lost home and reward explorers. Even those who did not grow up in Sami's presence are welcome as long as Sami revere or respect this land. Moreover, Mizuki has said that Magellan himself was protected by the land of Sami, and that Sami, the Father of Ancestors, and Ama, the deer lord, both loved her.

Oh, right, Mizuki?!

Magellan suddenly remembered that Mizuki wasn't in the group. That didn't make sense; Mizuki had clearly set off with them from... How far was Rhine Lab's research station from here? No, where exactly was this place?

Suddenly, Magellan realized something was wrong. She had clearly completed the journey, reached the Sami Mountains overlooking the Snowfield, and visited the southernmost city of Sami. She had come to find her teacher, and then... and then what...?

How long have I been walking?

Magellan didn't stop; instead, she quickened her pace. She felt even more strongly that she couldn't stop, but then she discovered another problem.

No matter how fast he quickened his pace, the speed at which the flowers, plants, and trees around him receded remained unchanged, as did the pace of his friends. They were still as nonchalant as ever, strolling leisurely as if on a spring outing. But with the gradually decreasing temperature, the gradually weakening air pressure, and his body becoming increasingly heavy, Magellan felt his consciousness gradually fading away.

"What's wrong, Magellan? Have you remembered something you forgot?"

Simone asked this question beside him. Magellan was about to answer her when he suddenly stopped, because he saw that Simone's face had no features, twisted like a dark abyss. An eerie halo flashed on that deep face. Magellan wanted to back away, but found that he had unknowingly taken several steps back.

"Watch out, Mai-Mai!"

An arrow, piercing through the clouds, struck Simone directly in the head, sending her flying. This unexpected turn of events caught everyone off guard. Before Muelsyse could react, Typhon's arrow pierced her heart, pinning her to the ground.

Black blood writhed on the wound but couldn't flow out, like water trapped in a plastic bag. Typhon frowned, looked around, and couldn't help but sigh.

"Everyone says that Mai-Mai is protected by Sami and Ama, but why do you always encounter these kinds of things? You can't even have a peaceful dream."

Typhon weighed the large black bow in his hand, then nodded. "Fortunately, weapons can still be used in here, and they're effective."

Even in a dream, Typhon seemed to possess Originium Arts and spells from reality. Normally, Magellan would have seized her and interrogated her relentlessly, but now she only felt lingering fear. This could definitely be considered the ultimate nightmare, especially after she saw the two people closest to her become like this.

She finally realized where she was. This was her dream, a dream world pieced together from her memories, which was why she couldn't leave this forest.

"No, Mai-Mai, I know what Sami's dreams are like. This...this isn't Sami's dream, at least not what it should be."

Typhon jumped onto the tree trunk, while Magellan, while opening his equipment case, curiously walked up to Simone, who had been impaled on the tree by an arrow from Typhon.

Magellan's thick skin and years of scientific experience gave her a certain resilience to this situation. She knew she was just dreaming, and Simone and Muelsyse were both safe and sound. But why was she having this dream?

"There's no end in sight, and everything for kilometers around is shrouded in black fog. Hey, you silly bird, what are you doing!"

Seeing Magellan approach the collapsing Simone, Typhon was so frightened that he jumped down from the tree and ran to Magellan's side, pulling her away.

"You really aren't afraid of death? Even if this is your dream, it's wrong to approach rashly. What if something goes wrong?"

"Sorry, Typhoon. I was just wondering why Simone and the others' dreams turned out like that. By the way, you're alright, that's great."

Seeing that Magellan seemed to be alright, Typhon simply sighed, as if he was used to Magellan's fearless spirit.

"I really don't know what to say to you, Simone and Miu Miu. Who's missing from our team again?"

"Of course it's worse..." Magellan started to say, but seeing Typhon's excitement, he unceremoniously lifted his foot, revealing that his thick boot had been fitted with ice skates for skating.

Even if it wasn't as sharp as most people imagine, capable of easily slicing through meat, being kicked by it would still be painful. Typhon quickly retreated, but was still cut.

"First of all, I usually call Typhon 'Little Typhoon,' while Little Typhoon always calls Simone and the others by their first names."

Hundreds of drones surrounded Magellan, and some also surrounded Typhon. This number far exceeded the number Magellan could actually control in reality, but it didn't matter; this was her dream.

"Secondly, she usually calls me 'Dull Feather' instead of 'Stupid Bird,' which is wrong both in Sami and Columbia pronunciation."

Typhon suddenly choked up, completely unexpected that such a basic mistake could occur. Magellan snapped his fingers, and all the drones opened fire. The firepower unleashed by each drone was comparable to that of a Columbia military vehicle armed to the teeth. This was one of the benefits of the dream.

"Mai-Mai! Wake up!"

Suddenly feeling a sharp pain on his face, Magellan sat bolt upright in shock, staring at Typhon and exclaiming. "You're still alive!"

"You're not dead, oh no, you weren't dead to begin with." Typhon was a little confused by Magellan's antics. "You're the one who's dead!"