Qianyuan: My crew comes from the world of anime.

Wu Jianmiao stared at him very bluntly and said, "The 'doctor' this guy wants right now isn't me."

"I'll leave the rest to you." She wiggled her manicured fingers, then casually put her hands in her pockets and left.

Luo Tianming: "..."

Only he and Nan Mengya, who refused to speak, remained there.

“I’ll wait until you’re willing to speak,” Luo Tianming said proactively. “However, time is limited, so it would be best to do it before four o’clock in the afternoon… otherwise, it seems that the restaurant we went to last time will be closed by then.”

"..."

The indistinct sound was like a girl being conveyed from the outside of a glass bottle to the inside.

This was the only sound she could hear; ever since the blow she had suffered, Nan Mengya hadn't been able to hear anything at all.

In the midst of a long silence and inner turmoil, she inexplicably recalled the decent sandwiches from that restaurant and the aroma of coffee wafting from across the street.

(...I want to go again, but with whom?)

Perhaps it was the reminder that the store closes at four o'clock that gave her courage; Nan Mengya took a deep breath...

At first, the sounds coming from her throat were extremely faint.

After her lips twitched several times, she finally managed to organize her thoughts:

"Captain, am I too stupid...?"

Luo Tianming: "How do you know?"

Nan Mengya: "I... I was tricked this time. When those guys said I could 'go home,' I seemed to stop thinking. I just walked forward without thinking about anything."

"Then, after I stepped through the door... I realized that nothing had happened, and that I had just been fooled."

At this point, she lowered her head even further.

"Actually, I don't care whether I was deceived or not. I... just heard them say that I would never be able to go home, and I lost my way for a moment."

"Actually, I probably thought about it myself. The hope of going home is very slim, but I just didn't want to confirm it in my heart."

Nan Mengya hugged her arms as if in fear, and said in a trembling voice:

"Hey, Captain... am I really never going back to my own world?"

"..."

He felt like she was a kite on a thin string being swept up in a gale, about to be blown away if he wasn't careful, and the only thing connecting them was this thin string.

If he didn't let go, he was afraid that the tangled thread would bleed from his own pain... but he was even more worried that the thread might break at any moment.

Luo Tianming gritted his teeth. Having told so many adult lies, he wasn't going to use another lie to cover it up this time.

“Well,” he said, trying to keep his voice calm, “in probability theory, a probability that is infinitely close to zero is considered impossible. The probability that you can return to your own world is probably that low.”

"...!"

I heard her suddenly gasp for breath beside me.

"Then!" Nan Mengya asked in confusion, "Captain, why did you come with me to find a way home back then?"

"Did you lie to me...?"

She asked the question with all her might, then bit her lip and lowered her head.

Luo Tianming: "If you're talking about how to get back, I really don't know... but I never intended to lie to you about helping you find a way home."

"...Hmm, isn't this lying?" Nan Mengya asked, her tone slightly probing. "Do adults make excuses for lying?"

Luo Tianming nodded without hesitation and said, "Adults are made up of lies."

On the contrary, high school girls must be made of sugar, spices, and something nice.

Otherwise, how could a sweet and fragrant scent waft into Luo Tianming's nostrils as soon as she sat down next to him?

Nan Mengya raised her head and asked with her profile that could charm any man, "Why did the captain lie to me?"

Luo Tianming frankly stated, "There are two main reasons."

"On one hand, it's to give you some hope of survival when you first arrive, so you won't be crushed by despair. On the other hand, it's to cover up something related to you."

"What does this have to do with me?" Nan Mengya asked curiously. "Can I ask? If it's inconvenient, then I won't..."

Luo Tianming confessed, "Well, another reason is to cover up the fact that you were actually 'summoned' by me."

"..."

The impact of Luo Tianming's words was so strong that Nan Mengya blinked her emerald green pupils twice before she could speak.

"Was it the captain who summoned me to this world?"

"..."

Even if she beats him up later, even if Nan Mengya hates him, Luo Tianming made up his mind and nodded.

"But... can't the people who are summoned go back?" Nan Mengya asked, puzzled.

Luo Tianming: "Yes, they said [no returns].

Nan Mengya: "?"

She cast a questioning look at me.

"So, were Miss Levi and the others also summoned by the captain?"

Luo Tianming: "That's right."

"How was it summoned? Was it some kind of dark magic?"

Faced with this difficult question, Luo Tianming answered with some hesitation:

"Uh, how should I put it?"

"It's a bit like... a gacha game? Anyway, I can't decide who I summon, but I can only roughly match the required class."

"Eh~~~" JK made a sound that clearly sounded like she was disgusted.

"This is too much... Aren't bishoujo gacha games just something that only happens in manga?"

Luo Tianming: "...Wait, how do you know about those kinds of comics?"

Nan Mengya turned her head away, as if to change the subject.

After a while, she stopped caring so much about it and just muttered to herself, "So, everyone is just like me... They didn't have to spend a long time with the captain before they developed this kind of relationship."

Luo Tianming: "What did you say?"

Nan Mengya: "No...it's nothing, it was just sleep talking."

After a while, Nan Mengya turned around awkwardly.

“Actually…” Nan Mengya hesitated, pinching a strand of hair from her bangs, and said somewhat guiltily, “I also told a little lie.”

Luo Tianming: "..."

She explained, "It's nothing serious... It's just that, at the very beginning, Captain, didn't you ask me if I knew why I came here?"

Luo Tianming: "Is that so? I'd forgotten..."

Adults should occasionally take advantage of their 'forgetfulness'

Nan Mengya still explained, "When I answered that I didn't know why I came, I was actually lying."

"..."

"I vaguely remember that at that time—I was on the sluice gate, and I had the thought that I didn't want to go home, so I came into this world all at once."

Hearing her contradictory words, Luo Tianming couldn't help but ask, "Don't you want to go home? But you didn't..."

Nan Mengya's mood immediately dropped several shades: "Captain, you know about my sister's situation..."

“The atmosphere at home has changed since then.”

“My parents can argue for hours every day, even over something as small as washing dishes… They argue so loudly that you can hear them even in the room.”

"At the time, I was scared, and maybe I wanted to escape from home, which is why I didn't want to go home."

"Looking back now, I still miss my life back home. I wonder if Mingyi would be worried if I went missing."

"..."

Seeing her worried expression, Luo Tianming could only comfort her, "It's okay, once we find a way back, there shouldn't be any problems in your world."

Nan Mengya then remembered that she had just felt down because she couldn't find a way back.

Strangely enough, she didn't want to go back at all while talking to the captain.

"Hmm... there's always a way," Nan Mengya muttered.

Luo Tianming: "No, there is indeed a way... Didn't you find it before, about that 'god' that exists in the center of Europa?"

Nan Mengya: "Is that real?"

Luo Tianming decided not to hide it anymore: "Well, that might be the last resort to stop this timeline. Even if the chance of going home is infinitely close to zero, I will help you... I'm not lying to you."

Nan Mengya: "..."

Suddenly, she seemed to hope that the captain was lying to her this time.

Next, Luo Tianming talked to her about many things:

It concerns submarines, the center of Europa, the Eye of Europa, mad scientists, messages left by aliens in ruins, the origin of it all, and the things that govern the distorted existence on this timeline.

Chapter 134 Distance

Back on the Nautilus, Luo Tianming explained their long conversation in detail.

A long silence fell over the Nautilus.

silence,

silence……

Still, silence.

Otherwise, what should they say?

Is it the death radiation that constantly threatens the declining lives of all humanity?

Or is he the 'Singer' who even alien technological civilizations cannot help?

Or perhaps we could discuss theories like quantum entanglement and timelines?

After learning about this world, their perception of it changed from a post-apocalyptic wasteland to a world on the verge of destruction.

The ever-decreasing radiation overhead will inevitably force more and more people to venture into the deep ocean, but this is not a long-term solution... It is impossible for all of humanity to live in the deep sea.

The problems of living space, food, transportation, and many more are like countless mountains weighing down on humanity.

Even if preparations begin now, the relocation will take years... The final result will inevitably be that all the outposts on the upper level will be abandoned, and the surviving humans will live in the dark and lightless seabed. The number of stations remaining will determine the number of humans left.

Moreover—if the ancient god of the Eye of Europa is not dealt with, the radiation will never disappear… It is precisely because of this N-dimensional topological structure that radiation from Jupiter is continuously transported to Europa, and one day it will cover the entire planet and kill everyone.

…………

"To be honest, this is really quite shocking."

The well-informed Lucy, holding a cigarette between her fingers, spoke first: "Deep-sea radiation, aliens, evil gods... there are so many elements that they could make a Hollywood blockbuster, the kind that could make 11 movies in a row, you know?"

“Oh my,” Takemi Tae casually interjected, “There are 11 movies? I remember when I was in the day, it was only up to the 8th one.”

"..."

Levi took a deep drag of nicotine: "Honestly, I don't care about any of that bullshit about gods or aliens. What I care about is that you didn't discuss this with us first, but instead told that newbie..."

She was still radiating hostility towards JK... The girl who had been crying and acting withdrawn before was now clinging to Luo Tianming's sleeve and refusing to let go.

Nan Mengya said, somewhat confused, "You guys only just found out about Levi?"

Levi looked at Luo Tianming and said teasingly, "Heh, so this is what they mean by 'the squeaky wheel gets the grease'~"

She was clearly referring to the recent incident of Levi's withdrawal, and also mentioned the fact that Luo Tianming was biased.

Nan Mengya's face immediately turned bright red with embarrassment.

Luo Tianming explained without any change in expression, "Knowing this too early is not good for you. Now you can understand why I always seem so anxious."

"Humanity is currently on a countdown to extinction, but everyone chooses to close their eyes and not see it, only to wake up when the end comes."

Lucy asked, somewhat surprised, "Has no one else realized this?"