Yama hated looking at the sea. She wasn't the type who could peacefully gaze at the ocean; even when it was calm, she only cared about the incoming tides. The cerulean sky and the mirror-like surface of the horizon were invisible to her.
"Sometimes I feel like we're living in a world within a dream~"
Hearing the sweet, sentimental voice behind her, Yama hugged one knee, her other foot dangling off the deck. She watched the world's zero point without turning around.
"Of all the planets in the solar system, only Earth has deep oceans, vast skies, solid earth, and... beautiful people. It's like a depicted paradise."
Paradise? A paradise where wave after wave of terrors intended to wipe out humanity? Taxes are fiercer than tigers, but now the Great Beast had already swallowed the bureaucrats and was preparing to enter the inner city for a massacre.
"Perhaps in that starry sky, there are countless 'paradises'." Yama lowered her eyes. "Our uniqueness is merely built on the fact that we can only observe the boundaries of our own cognitive limits. To the entire universe, Earth is neither special nor beautiful."
"But precisely because we live here, it is beautiful~"
"...Boring."
Yama hated such subjective statements—as if everything could be explained by emotion, as if one could burst forth with infinite power just by fighting for the beauty and ideals in one's heart. If the power of "love" alone could achieve everything, then those who died in battle, those who fell on the path forward, those pioneers... they carried love for humanity in their hearts, yet they died worthless and unknown, their bodies not even recovered.
In the end, it was just dying while shouting about love. Her heart had already grown cold.
"One day, I'll prove it to you."
"Prove what?"
"Humanity, love, and... hope."
Yama turned back and saw a beaming smile.
...
"..."
Yama opened her eyes to see the silent, sleeping face of Lin. He had remained in that position all night, and she had spent the night on his lap. Perhaps sensing the change on his legs, Lin also woke from his dream. After their eyes met, they tactfully looked away.
"Where are we now?" Yama flushed cheeks still carried the traces of sleep, though her expressionless face—like a dead nerve—gave off no sense of intimacy. The carriage was swaying, meaning they were still in transit.
"I don't know." Lin could feel through his physical senses that the vehicle's direction was complex and shifting, as if passing through a labyrinth. "...What happens next should be that event."
"Being used as experimental subjects..."
Lin stole an extra glance at the muttering Yama. She truly knew his life like the back of her hand. However, this time, he wasn't alone; Yama was here as his "sister." What followed might be unpredictable.
Ding-dong.
Suddenly, both of them shuddered and looked at each other in confusion. They heard a bell. This bell didn't come from outside the carriage, nor was it in their ears—it appeared directly in their minds. From the way they looked at each other, they both knew the other had heard it too.
They immediately thought of the clock on that tower. Such a heavy, resonant sound could only come from a bell of that magnitude.
"How many hours have passed?"
"Twenty-three hours and fifty-nine minutes."
Lin pushed up his sleeve to look at his watch—an item he had prepared specifically to record time accurately. At this moment, twenty-three hours, fifty-nine minutes, and forty-four seconds had passed since they entered the Bubble Universe, with about a three-second margin of error.
"Twenty-four hours?"
Twenty-four hours was a very significant span. After a full natural day had passed, what would happen? To them? Or to this world?
Ding-dong.
As the bell rang for the second time, the time on the watch hit exactly twenty-four hours.
......................
"No matter how you look at it, you deserved it."
Mobius crossed her arms, delivering a cold verdict with her pretty face full of indifference.
"Wait a second, aren't I the victim here?" Lin protested, rubbing the half of his face that was swollen. "This is physical abuse, isn't it? Can't you guys comfort me a little?"
"Heh..." When Mobius said "Heh," it usually translated to "idiot."
"That's too much. If you treat me like this, I'll die of loneliness."
"Are you even a creature from Earth?"
Lin smiled at Prometheus, who was still staring at him with murderous intent. "Uh... Prometheus, don't you plan on apologizing to me?"
After landing that punch, Prometheus had backed far away from him like a cat with its fur standing up after seeing something filthy, watching him with hostile eyes.
"'If someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.'" She used the simplest language to explain the thought currently in her mechanical brain.
Lin immediately put on a wronged expression and turned to Sakura, who still didn't quite understand what was happening. "Sakura, can you understand me?"
"Ah? Uh... yes."
Sakura actually didn't know what was wrong with Lin, but her intuition told her to stay a bit away from him. Although she could sense something familiar, it was overshadowed by a sense of danger that made the fur on her ears stand on end.
"Wonderful. Then can I touch your ears?"
"No."
Sakura immediately jumped aside in alarm, protecting the beast ears on her head. These ears had many nerves and were extremely sensitive; letting someone else touch them would definitely cause... strange sensations. Especially if it was Lin...
At this moment, Mobius, Vil-V, Sakura, and Prometheus were gathered together. Elysia had gone to notify Kevin, Kosma, Mei, Ato, and Dystopia so they could collectively discuss the issue regarding this Lin. Until then, they had to keep a close eye on him, preventing him from wandering around and flirting with people at HQ.
"Though you're handling this well, unfortunately, that guy isn't as preoccupied with women as you are. So I suggest you confess sooner rather than later, before we do something to you that you definitely won't like," Mobius said, her eyes narrowed as she studied the smiling Lin.
"Not preoccupied with women? Who says?" Lin smiled meaningfully at Mobius. "Is it because I wasn't preoccupied with you before, so you think I'm like that with all girls?"
Immediately, several gazes focused on Mobius. After a few seconds of stun, her face darkened, and she was about to snap.
"I actually thought you were quite cute. Clearly at an 'older sister' age, yet you have the temper of a little girl. You dress yourself up secretly—wanting to be seen but not wanting everyone to notice. When I point it out, you're happy inside, yet your face has to show dissatisfaction."
"You peek at me often, but when I make eye contact, you pretend to be annoyed or disgusted. When I'm on a mission, if I have a reason to contact you, you're happy, but when it's strictly business, you turn icy again."
"I observe you often too, you know. And I really think you're beautiful, especially your legs—"
BAM!
A slender fist smashed into the chattering man's face, sending him flying like a cannonball. He smashed through a wooden table and slammed headfirst into the wall.