Falling into the Abyss

Chapter 31: Atonement: Neptune (IV)

They were tense for the first half an hour, but nothing happened. All the space station equipment continued to operate normally, so after communicating with the researchers for the second time, the atmosphere gradually relaxed.

Some of the nonhumans asked the mainframe to give them some beer. Lehm tried to persuade them not to drink because it might not be a good decision in this situation. However, they ignored his advice and insisted on ordering it. Lehm instructed the service robots, and they quickly synthesized beer with a lower alcohol content. Some nonhumans went to play horror games in the entertainment hall, holding invisible machetes in their hands and chopping zombies under the dazzling light. The constant screams and sounds of flesh tearing made peoples scalp turned numb. Other nonhumans had even found some collections of retro rock bands from other planetary countries in the music archives. According to the Cultural Bureaus regulations, this kind of music had been banned in the Earth Union, but it had actually appeared within this military facility. It was ironic yet thrilling. Soon, the unique hysterical singing of death metal resounded through the silent corridors of the space station.

Only Ethan couldnt relax. An ordinary researcher who had previously contacted them had told them that the nonhumans could not actively contact them.

Ethan couldnt help but suspect that the researchers wanted to get rid of them after obtaining the observation reports they wanted. They could simply stop the communication, and the nonhumans would have no way to stop them. This thought made his entire body as taut as a rubber band. He stared out of the skylight, unable to do anything else in case it diverts his attention.

He thought of the crew in the Philadelphia Experiment who had fused with the ship, the terrifying drumming in his ears, and of his body suddenly collapsing. Everything that made up Ethan would turn into a pool of meaningless atoms, floating in a dark and dead universe for the rest of eternity.

That was not the way he wanted to die.

At this time, Cavin sat on the other end of the soft sofa with a beer bottle in one hand, and Ethan moved to the other side unobtrusively. Cavin looked at him with a kind of malicious sneer. Why are you always pulling a long face? Do you miss Samuel? If you are feeling so empty and lonely, then I can comfort you.

Ethan glanced at him in disgust and replied, I dont need it, thank you.

Seriously, you dont smell too much like an Omega. If you look at Adam over there, you can see how beautiful his little face looks. If I look back at you, its not like youre ugly, but youre just like a Beta. Its a waste of your Omega genes.

Seeing the other partys face full of regret, Ethan became a little angry. Whats wrong with a Beta? At least Betas have a brain and wont forget their last name when they smell an Omega in estrus.

Cavin had yet to see Ethan speak so straightforwardly. Cavin raised his eyebrows and smiled. He did not rebuff him but said, Oh, yo? It seems you have a little temper? You dont have a Beta lover, do you? So why are you speaking up for them? In my opinion, its enough to have Alphas and Omegas for the world to continue. Betas are a completely redundant sex.

Well, without Betas, the Omegas estrus would paralyze the world, isnt that right?

Whats wrong with that? Isnt it normal to take three days off every three months?

Ethan rolled his eyes so much that the whites of his eyes were visible. He reached for a random bottle of beer on the table and took two sips. It was likely that the annoying Cavin next to him talked a lot more than usual due to the alcohol. Honestly, dont you think that that brat Samuel is a little strange after following him?

Ethan stopped drinking and glanced at Cavin questioningly.

Ethan wanted to pretend to be calm and relaxed before changing the topic to dispel the other partys doubts, so he deliberately uttered in a slightly disdainful manner, If you just want to condemn Samuel, theres no need to bother making something up first. Wouldnt it be better to say that you envy him having more followers than you and him being more skillful than you.

A Beta would instinctively feel intimidated after seeing an Alphas threatening posture, much like prey. However, he has been beaten by the Forbidden City guards recently, so his skin had thickened. He quickly stabilized his expression and tried to act calm, saying, Im not interested in the enmity between you and Samuel, so dont get me involved.

The atmosphere was currently tense, but the third report had begun. The researcher they had spoken to before appeared on the front wall of every room on the space station and asked in an impassive voice, This is the third report. Please state whether there are any abnormalities or mechanical failures in the space station.

Everyone looked at Cavin, seemingly treating him as the leader. Ethan found this interesting. Whenever a group of people gathers together, it didnt matter who they were, they would always look for a leader to help them make decisions. If the leader did not speak, then no one would dare to speak.

Cavin said impatiently, Absolutely nothing.

Please report whether any abnormalities have been observed outside the space station.

No, theres nothing here. Not even the damn stars are visible.

Got it. Instead of cutting off the connection like they did the last time, the researcher continued, Now, were going to send micro signals to the parallel universe. Ill get back to you in half an hour.

Ethan jerked to his feet. Signal?! What are you going to do?

However, the researcher disconnected the call. Ethan quickly picked up a chair and rushed towards the bottom of the window.

Through the light blue glass, he found that their space station had rotated into a new angle. He could now see a bright star shining in his field of vision. He asked Lehm if there were telescopes in the space station, and after getting a positive response, he ran to the observation room without saying a word.

He could see the situation clearly through the high-powered telescope. It was a red giant, but not an ordinary red giant like Hera. Instead, it was a strange star that was nearly conical but not quite that shape. It was leaning slightly, with its uncomfortably sharp side pointing in their direction. Ethans eyes burned painfully, but he could still see the bright planets floating in orbit around the strange conical sun, both near and far away. It seemed that those planets also had some strange and twisted sharp edges or sported obtuse angles. They also had certain depressions or bulges on them. Almost none of them were spherical, and all of them gave their observers an uncomfortable feeling. One would feel dizzy upon seeing them, making it difficult to distinguish how far away the planets were.

Dr. Xu said that this universes spatial structure was abnormal, and common sense could not be applied to them. However, even if they knew this in theory, they would still feel a kind of nauseous discomfort when they saw these shapes that didnt exist in their universe, arranged strangely and chaotically. They were utterly unimaginable.

Why did they need to send out micro signals? Did they think that there were intelligent creatures around here?

That should be impossible. It would be troublesome for even life to develop in such a chaotic universe, let alone intelligent creatures. Ethan found it difficult to believe that there would be any creatures on those twisted planets.

However, the entire space station suddenly began to shake violently, just like experiencing an earthquake. Beer bottles clattered to the floor, and the furniture not fixed to the ground shifted around on the floor. Even the lights flickered, causing a sense of doomsday-like terror within the nonhumans, panicking as they struggled to remain standing. Those with quicker reactions used their hands to cover their heads or hid under the tables or furniture fixed to the ground, while the timid ones could only lie on the floor, screaming. Ethan also fell off his chair and hit his head hard on the sharp edge of a nearby electronic table, making him dizzy. He hid under the table, holding tightly onto the tables flat corner, which was connected to the ground.

When the terrifying earthquake stopped, the lights stabilized again, and the soothing milky white light quietly emerged from behind the walls. After waiting for a while, the nonhumans got up one after another. They looked at the broken glass and small machines like projectors and coffee machines that had fallen on the ground. Lehms voice immediately sounded, We just had an unusual spatial distortion, but we havent found any significant damage so far. All systems are operating normally.

After listening to the mainframes words, everyones expressions of panic calmed slightly. However, the previous atmosphere of drinking and swearing was swept away. Several nonhumans sat down on the nearest sofa as they shook in fear. A nonhuman suddenly said, Chen Zeng said that the Great Evil God came from a different universe Could we have accidentally entered the universe of that Great Evil God?

His words brought about silence and a few uneasy looks. Although Cavin was also shocked, he was calm as he said, Dont scare yourselves. I have seen the Evil God youre talking about with my own eyes, and its just a strange otherworldly monster. The intent behind his words was obviously to calm their feelings of panic because it was an understatement to describe Shub-Niggurath as a strange otherworldly monster.

Ethan was also a little afraid. According to the theories posed, there were infinite parallel universes. Additionally, according to the Eves legend, its impossible for humans to enter the universe containing the God of Disorder and God of Order. The probability of them entering the universe where the gods were located was very low. However, now that they had even broken the barrier of space, who knew what would happen?

Just like that, the atmosphere had become as tense as a taut bowstring. After the fourth report, Cavin called out to the researcher, We want to end the experiment!!!

However, the researcher did not seem to hear him at all. He just routinely asked, The fourth report has started. Please report whether there are any abnormalities or mechanical failures in the space station.

Yes! There was a space distortion just now, like an earthquake! one beta yelled.

The researcher quickly typed some words on his desktop before asking, According to our records, it was just small-scale space turbulence that is common in parallel universes. There is no danger, so the experiment will continue.

Ethan listened to his indifferent tone, and his brain was spinning fast. Abnormal distortion of spacethis kind of thing frequently happens in this fluid universe? Their space station was like a small fishing boat bumping around in the ocean of the parallel universe. If there were more spatial distortions like the one just now, there would be a large-scale space storm, that is, strong, large-scale space distortions. At that time, could the temporary force field barrier surrounding their space station really hold up?

The experiment is too dangerous! We request to stop the experiment! Ethan stepped forward and yelled, This is not a five-point mission at all!

The researcher showed an indescribable expression of disgust for a moment, as though he thought they were troublesome. We received orders for the experiment to continue. Ill get back to you in half an hour.

Among the shouting of the nonhumans, the researchers voice was cut off.

Over the next hour, similar spatial distortions occurred three more times, each time more intense than the previous ones. However, the researcher kept repeating the words the experiment will continue expressionlessly. However, after the third distortion, Lehms report finally brought them unprecedented panic. Due to the abnormal distortion of the space and the failure of the gravity system in the west wing, I have sealed that area. Please stay away from the anti-gravity zone.

For the first time, the space station experienced an issue. That was to say, the so-called force field barrier was not that strong, and the space station had begun to be distorted and damaged by the laws of the parallel universe.

And the military seemed to have no intention of pulling them back.

When Lehm stated the damage report, no one spoke. The empty silence was so oppressive that it made people want to scream.

After a while, an Omega, Adam, who had been quietly weeping, suddenly raised his head and stretched out a hand, pointing towards Ethan.

Its all because of you! Its all because of the Energy Bureaus proposal! Its all because of you infuriating Gray Fur! Its you who got us here!

Ethans eyes widened slightly, uncertain of why he was suddenly being accused.

From the side, Cavin said, Stop, dont say such useless things.

However, Adam slowly stood up. He was always timid and cowardly and was usually too afraid to say anything. At this moment, in the face of the unknown and possible destruction, his eyes were filled with burning despair, and his resentment poured out at Ethan. His sudden hatred was overwhelming, as though a voice in his mind kept repeating that it was that persons fault, that persons fault, that persons fault.

It was the fault of the Energy Bureaus lackey who had plotted against them. He was not a nonhuman at all, but a spy the government had planted in the Forbidden City! He was the devil that had chosen them as sacrifices in this experiment!

Adam shouted out all of his thoughts and even provided a sound reason for Ethans motives. Ethan had been a member of the Energy Bureau. Since he arrived, he was continuously selected to take part in missions related to the Energy Bureau. Moreover, the last Red Earth mission was so dangerous, but he could return safe and sound. Even the Eve priest came up to him that day and said something to him. After summing up all these facts about him, didnt him being polite, scholarly, and unpredictable all point to him being a spy?

Although this argument was full of flaws, it would appear unexpectedly strong with everyone dominated by fear. The first one to go along with Adam was the African American Alpha, who exclaimed, Thats right! He knew from the beginning that this experiment was about the Philadelphia Experiment and the parallel universe! Hes the rat!

Such a strong assertion produced a particular mystical reaction among the other nonhumans, perhaps because of fear, probably because of despair, or maybe because they desperately needed an object to vent their resentment and blame onto. One after another, they stood up and looked at Ethan with the same cold, chilling eyes.

Ethan could not help but stand up straight, his back a little stiff. He had predicted that there would always be someone who would fall victim to fear when everyone panicked. He just didnt expect this person to be him. He stepped back and reasoned in a voice as calm as he could manage, despite its slight trembles, I entered the Forbidden City because Im guilty of a crime just like all of you. I committed treason, which is more serious than many of your crimes. Regarding this experiment, I came up with such a conjecture because I just experienced the events on Red Earth, and I also previously handled the Energy Bureaus parallel universe proposal. Im just a victim like the rest of you!

However, Adam curled up his mouth sarcastically, carrying a beautiful and vicious smile as he accused, Conjecture? Are you that good at analyzing? The military is doing so many experiments, so why did you know this is the Philadelphia Experiment! I think you are one of them! You shameless traitor! The Energy Bureaus dog!

The author has something to say:

I am a youth who is always writing a super unpopular web novel. If you like my novel, please help me recommend it to others~ Let it not be as cold as the parallel universe(3)?

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