Destroy the Time Machine: A Double Battle Against the Professor AIs!

Even with the coordinates, it took them a while to find Observation Station 4. The whole station had nearly undergone Terastalization, and hidden among the Tera Crystals, it was genuinely hard to spot.

"What happened here...?"

Nemona stared at the station in confusion. Tera Crystals encased it, but through them she could see signs of an explosion. Part of the wall had been badly damaged, unlike at the other stations.

Penny stepped forward to crack the door lock, but when she gave it a light push, the station door crashed down, sending dust everywhere.

"Cough... The door's broken too."

"Was there an accident? I hope the panel for opening Area Zero Lab hasn't been destroyed."

Puzzled, they entered cautiously. Inside, they found a wreck. Judging by the traces left behind, it had been this way for a long time.

Penny was about to search the ruined station for the panel when a transmission suddenly crackled through. It was noisier than before, cutting in and out, and startled them all.

"Don't do that out of nowhere!"

"Bzz... bzz..."

"Huh?"

"Terastal... interference is severe... you... you... hello..."

"Is that Professor Turo's voice?"

Despite the broken electronic voice, they could make it out. That was as far as they got.

They couldn't understand anything after that. Here, with the electronic voice growing steadily more emotionless, the whole place took on an eerie feel.

"Rebooting—"

"???"

That was the last thing they heard from Professor Turo before the transmission cut off. Everyone stood there baffled. Even Penny, who had been about to speak, fell silent.

"What was that about?"

"I don't know either... He mentioned severe interference. Maybe that's why? Perhaps the professor went to reboot the communications equipment."

"We're almost ten thousand meters underground. Ordinary electronic signals are completely cut off, so I