An hour later, William let Selene and Nissa board the spaceship first while he performed a final inspection with his instruments. Only after confirming that everything was in order did he turn and step onto the ship.
In his ear, Sunday reported, "Sir, all spaceship systems and functions are operating normally. Energy reserves are at eleven energy crystals. Everything is ready for takeoff at your command."
"Then let's go. This two-month-long act should finally come to an end."
"Understood, Sir."
As soon as Sunday finished speaking, ghostly blue flames erupted from the spaceship's tail and under its wings. The ship slowly lifted off, gliding out of the mountain cave as its automated doors opened. It ascended vertically several hundred meters into the air.
Then, with a boom, it broke the sound barrier and shot toward space.
Within mere seconds, the spaceship had left Mars' thin atmosphere and automatically adjusted its course toward London.
Standing in the lounge, watching Mars shrink in the holographic projection, William unexpectedly felt a wave of sentimentality. But just as quickly as it came, it faded.
As the ship entered smooth, uniform flight, Selene and Nissa walked out of the cockpit and into the lounge, noticing William's somewhat conflicted expression.
"What's wrong, darling?" Selene asked.
Shaking off his fleeting nostalgia, William shook his head. "Nothing. It's just that now that we're truly leaving Mars, I feel a bit sentimental."
"What's there to be sentimental about?" Nissa rolled her eyes at him. "If anyone should be feeling bad, it's me and Selene."
"What do you mean?" William turned to her in confusion. "You're not saying you don't want me to return to London, are you?"
"Of course! Once you're back in London, you won't belong only to Selene and me anymore."
As she spoke, William's face showed a hint of guilt. But before he could say anything, Nissa tightened her grip on his arm, her lips curling into a mischievous smile.
"And we still have thirty-three hours. Haven't you thought about doing something?"
"Thirty-three hours?"
William's eyes widened in shock. He turned to Selene, only to see that, unlike her usual cold demeanor, she was biting her lip while staring straight at him.
Was this hesitation or a silent agreement with her inner desires?
"William..."
As Nissa shook his arm, William embraced both women. With a single thought, the three of them vanished from the spaceship, reappearing atop a cliff on X17, a distant planet in the galaxy.
When they teleported, Nissa had instinctively shut her eyes in fear. But as soon as she felt the gentle breeze on her face, she opened them, only to be greeted by the sight of a vast blue ocean and golden sandy beaches.
"My god, did we just return to Earth?"
After thinking for a moment, William realized that even though Nissa and Selene knew about X17, they didn't have the precise space coordinates. So even if they were ever captured, their enemies wouldn't know how to reach this planet.
With that in mind, William smiled and said, "This isn't Earth. It's a habitable planet I discovered in the Milky Way—X17."
"You... you discovered a whole planet?" Even Selene tightened her grip on William's arm in shock, stammering, "You—you're serious? You're not messing with us?"
"Heh, do I need to lie to you? Look up, and you'll understand where we are."
At his words, Nissa and Selene immediately looked up. The moment they did, their pupils dilated in shock, their faces filled with disbelief.
"Two moons?"
"Ugh, are moons usually this big?" William flicked Nissa's forehead lightly and, holding their hands, turned toward a two-story villa about 200 square meters in size, sitting near the cliff's edge.
"But if this isn't Earth, why does the house look just like an Earth-style villa?"
William hesitated for a moment before Selene interjected, "Alright, Nissa, why are you asking so many questions? Don't you want to change into a swimsuit and enjoy the ocean?"
The idea of the beach and ocean was tempting to Nissa. Ever since she and Selene had overcome their weakness to sunlight, they had never actually sunbathed or swum in the ocean.
But this was an alien planet—who knew what dangers lurked in the sea? Besides, she couldn't swim.
"I... I can't swim. And is the ocean even safe?"
William realized he hadn't considered that. Though this planet was habitable for humans, there was no telling whether the ocean contained dangerous creatures.
Larger threats could be detected with his psychic scan, but the real concern was microscopic life forms—poisonous or invisible microorganisms that could be deadly if they invaded the human body.
"Forget swimming in the sea. Once we're back in London, I'll take you two on a proper boat trip."
"Yes, yes!" Nissa, already nervous, nodded repeatedly. "Let's just enjoy the view from here. If we're going to swim, let's do it back on Earth."
Selene had only suggested going to the beach to distract Nissa from questioning William further.
"Doesn't matter to me."
And so, William spent a comfortable, blissful time on X17. As for Nissa and Selene, who had initially intended to challenge him, they ended up being completely overpowered.
If he could handle a two-on-one match before, now that his magic abilities and overall physical strength had significantly improved, dealing with them was even easier.
—
While Nissa and Selene rested, William finished washing up, got dressed, and teleported to the largest base on X17.
"Welcome, Sir."
The moment he appeared, all the robots in the base momentarily turned to him, scanning the unexpected visitor. As soon as they recognized him, one of the nearby robots put down its task, stepped forward, and spoke in Sunday's voice.
"Hmm, give me a tour of the base."
"Understood, Sir."
After waiting a moment, a 35-meter-long spacecraft approached.
Sunday invited William to board the ship so he could get a better view of the enormous production base—over twenty meters high and covering an area larger than a hundred football fields.
But as William glanced at the spaceship, a thought suddenly struck him.
Since he could easily lift objects weighing a ton with his psychic power, did that mean he could lift himself?
The moment the idea formed, he didn't even need to test it—his psychic power instantly lifted him, suspending him in midair.
As various thoughts surfaced in his mind, he effortlessly controlled his own body.
Whatever movement he imagined, his body followed—moving forward, backward, ascending, dodging, even hovering and rolling in place.
This felt far better than when he had first worn the Mark armor and taken flight. After all, this wasn't some external force lifting him—this was his own ability.
This could very well be another hidden trump card.
At the very least, if everyone assumed he needed the suit to fly, surprising them by soaring into the sky on his own would give him a massive advantage—whether for escaping or launching a counterattack.
Thinking about the possibilities, William, still hovering in the air, looked at the vast production base below.
Excited, he asked, "Sunday, calculate my flight speed."
"Sir, wait... wait..."
(End of Chapter)
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